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The heavy, crushing pressure from the sky made the entire room shake.
Xiao Lie quickly stepped forward. He bowed deeply, his face pale with fear.
"Senior, please!"
Xiao Lie begged, his voice trembling.
"I apologize on his behalf! He is just an arrogant, foolish boy. Please do not punish the entire clan for his stupidity!"
Sam slowly turned his eyes away from the window. He looked down at Xiao Yulong, who was still shivering on the floor.
"I am not just angry because he was rude,"
Sam said calmly.
He pointed a finger at the terrified young man.
"I am angry because he is the one who tried to murder your grandson."
Xiao Lie gasped. He looked at Xiao Yulong in total shock.
"What?"
Xiao Lie whispered.
"It is true,"
Sam explained, tapping his nose.
"My senses are much sharper than a normal person's. I can smell the exact same dark poison that was inside Xiao Che coming right from his clothes. He is the one who poisoned him."
Xiao Yulong's face turned completely white. He scrambled backward against the wall.
"No!"
Xiao Yulong yelled, shaking his head wildly.
"He is lying! It wasn't me! I didn't do it!"
Sam just sighed and shook his head.
"Why would I lie?"
Sam asked simply.
"Look at the sky, boy. If I wanted to kill you, I would just do it. I wouldn't need to make up a story. Absolutely no one in this world could stop me."
The room went dead silent. Xiao Yulong stopped yelling. He knew Sam was completely right. A man with a hundred thousand flying swords did not need to lie to a weak mortal.
Xiao Lie's hands curled into tight fists. He was incredibly angry. This arrogant boy had almost killed his grandson out of pure jealousy.
But Xiao Lie was also the Fifth Elder. He had to protect his family's home.
Xiao Lie dropped to his knees right next to Xiao Che.
"Senior Sam,"
Xiao Lie pleaded, keeping his head down.
"He has committed a terrible crime. But please, I beg you. Do not annihilate the Xiao Clan. There are many innocent people here who had nothing to do with this."
Sam looked at the old man. He let out a soft breath and slowly lowered his hand.
*Whoosh!*
Up in the sky, the terrifying ocean of pink swords instantly vanished. The bright blue sky returned, and the heavy pressure disappeared.
"I will spare your clan,"
Sam agreed gently.
"But I will not let a murderer stay here to try again. He must be completely exiled. Stripped of his name and thrown out of the city."
Xiao Lie looked up, relief washing over his tired face.
"I accept your terms,"
Xiao Lie promised firmly.
"I will take him to the Patriarch right now. I will make sure he is exiled today."
"Good,"
Sam nodded.
He looked over at Xiao Che and gave the timid boy one last, warm smile.
"Take care of yourself, Xiao Che,"
Sam said.
"Practice the technique I gave you. Your life belongs to you now."
"I will never forget you, Senior!"
Xiao Che cried, bowing his head again.
Sam had gotten exactly what he came for.
He had the Sky Poison Pearl and the Mirror of Samsara safely in his ring, and he had changed a boy's tragic fate into a happy one.
He didn't have anything else to do with the Xiao Clan.
Without another word, Sam turned around and calmly walked out of the room, leaving the clan behind him to find a quiet place for his final breakthrough.
Deep inside the Xia Clan estate, a beautiful girl in a red dress sat quietly in her room.
This was Xia Qingyue.
She had her eyes closed, practicing the cold, icy arts of the Frozen Cloud Asgard.
Suddenly, her door opened. Her master, Chu Yueli, walked in very quickly.
The usually calm and cold fairy looked completely shaken.
Xia Qingyue opened her eyes.
"Master?"
Xia Qingyue asked softly.
"What is wrong?"
"Qingyue, you must be very careful tomorrow,"
Chu Yueli warned her, her voice serious.
"I just witnessed something impossible. There is a man in this small city. He has absolutely no profound energy, but his aura is like a massive ocean. And earlier... he summoned a hundred thousand flying swords in the sky above the Xiao Clan."
Xia Qingyue's beautiful eyes went wide.
"A hundred thousand swords? How strong is he?"
"He must be in the Sovereign Profound Realm,"
Chu Yueli said, shaking her head.
"He is much, much stronger than even our Sect Leader. If you see him, do not do anything to offend him. Just lower your head and walk away."
Chu Yueli gave her one last warning and left the room.
But Xia Qingyue did not feel fear.
She felt a sudden, burning spark of hope.
For years, her only goal in life was to find her missing mother.
But her mother was not from this world.
She was from a higher, impossible place called the Realm of the Gods.
*If this man is a Sovereign,*
Xia Qingyue thought, her heart beating fast.
*If he is stronger than anyone on this continent... Maybe he comes from the Realm of the Gods. Or maybe he knows how to get there!*
She could not just sit in her room and do nothing.
Even though tomorrow was her arranged wedding day to Xiao Che, this was far more important.
Late that night, Xia Qingyue put on a simple white cloak and secretly sneaked out of the Xia estate.
She searched the quiet, moonlit streets of Floating Cloud City for hours.
Finally, she found him.
He was sitting alone on the edge of a quiet stone bridge, looking up at the stars.
But he wasn't completely alone.
Xia Qingyue hid behind a wall and watched in amazement.
Sitting on the man's shoulders were two tiny, incredibly cute wooden dolls.
One was spinning around happily, and the other looked like a tiny, angry green monster.
They were moving and talking like real, living beings.
She had never seen anything so magical in her entire life.
She took a deep breath, gathered her courage, and stepped out of the shadows.
Sam heard her footsteps.
He turned his head and looked at the beautiful girl in the white cloak.
He blinked in surprise.
With his meta-knowledge from the story, he knew exactly who she was.
*The main female protagonist came to find me?*
Sam thought, feeling a little amused.
"Hello,"
Sam smiled, patting Little D on the head so she would stop spinning.
"You are Xia Qingyue, right? Shouldn't you be getting some sleep? Tomorrow is your big wedding day."
Xia Qingyue stopped a few feet away.
She looked at the wooden dolls, then looked right into Sam's calm, deep eyes.
"The wedding does not matter to me right now,"
Xia Qingyue said, her voice quiet but full of deep emotion.
"I heard about your power, Senior. I came to find you because I need to ask you a question. It is the most important question of my life."
Sam leaned back against the stone bridge.
"Go ahead,"
Sam said gently.
"Ask."
Xia Qingyue took a step closer, her hands gripping her cloak tightly.
"Do you know about the Realm of the Gods?"
She asked, her voice shaking just a little bit with desperate hope.
"Are you from there?"
Sam looked at her. He saw the pain and the deep longing in her eyes.
He knew she was just a young girl looking for her lost mother.
"I am not from the Realm of the Gods,"
Sam answered honestly.
Xia Qingyue's shoulders dropped. A look of deep sadness washed over her face.
"But,"
Sam continued, his voice turning warm and confident.
"I do know exactly what it is. And I know the people who live there."
Xia Qingyue's head snapped back up. Her beautiful eyes filled with bright, happy tears.
"You do?"
She whispered.
"I know a lot of things,"
Sam smiled softly. He stood up from the bridge and brushed off his coat.
"But I cannot stay in this city to talk about it tonight. I was just about to leave."
"Leave?"
Xia Qingyue asked quickly, not wanting to lose her only hope.
"Where are you going?"
"I am going to the dark beast forest outside the city,"
Sam explained, looking toward the distant trees.
"There is a very dangerous, very angry little girl named Jasmine hiding in a cave out there. I need to go find her before things get messy."