Chapter 43

While Rui and Sunny were undergoing the final trial, the world of the runic masters had undergone a turbulent change.

Above the illusive empire, two figures could be seen floating in the air.

The figures belong to those of a man and a woman who were holding hands.

The man had long black hair and piercing red eyes, a unique sword symbol shining brightly on his forehead, while the woman was neat and proper, radiating a feeling of peace and kindness with her tied brunette hair and bright blue eyes, a lotus symbol shining green on her forehead.

They both possessed an incredibly breathtaking appearance, their auras carrying a sense of authority.

"Darling, are you sure the energy came from here? Isn't this the territory of the little Han kid?"

Said the beautiful lady while scanning the vicinity with her aura.

In just under a few seconds, she had already scoped out the entire territory of the empire, learning the cultivation levels of each individual and even finding countless hidden secrets.

The man looked at his wife with a gentle gaze, his blood-red eyes having a hint of sorrow in them.

"Yes, I'm certain it's this place. Although the connection is weak, coming here I can feel a small bloodline connection with one of the hidden clans around the external region of the capital."

Said the man, his senses having already pinpointed a location despite still being thousands of kilometers away.

"Hmm, since that's the case, I guess we better ask permission from the Han kid, right?"

Said the woman, clenching her husband's hand a little tighter.

The man clicked his tongue in annoyance, understanding the meaning behind her words.

"Yeah, yeah, I know! I'll follow the rules, alright? Anyway, I can feel the brat's aura from here; he seems to have exited seclusion just to meet these old bones."

Said the man with a small grin. His red eyes narrowed to slits as a sharp sword aura covered his entire body.

Not even a second later, another figure appeared in the sky, not too far away from them.

The figure belonged to a white-haired young man with bright blue eyes. The symbol of a spiral was clearly visible on the young man's forehead, shining in an eerie purple hue. Unlike the simple yet beautiful robes the couple wore to hide their identities, the young man wore extremely luxurious garments, signifying his status as an emperor.

"Greetings to the esteemed Rune Sword Immortal and the Lotus of Life. How can this junior assist you?"

Said the young man with a smile, his handsome face lowering slightly in respect.

The Rune Sword Immortal, Guang Fu Wen Jian, and the Lotus of Life, Guang Qin Lianhua, were the true identities of the mysterious couple.

The man couldn't help but laugh at the greeting, the intimidating aura around him decreasing drastically. He went from a sheathed sword ready to be drawn at any moment to an innocent young man enjoying life.

"Little Han brat, I didn't expect you to actually reach this stage so quickly! How long has it been? A thousand years? What great talent indeed! Now it makes sense why you were able to destroy the Hans and build your own empire on top of it without any backlash."

The woman couldn't help but sigh at her husband's behavior, feeling helpless in the situation.

The white-haired young man couldn't help but blush after he heard those words, his head lowering slightly.

"Senior Guang, can you not bring up the past? It's quite embarrassing... Rather than that, could you please tell me what you're doing in my territory? I was in the process of a breakthrough, and your auras almost caused me to go into energy deviation."

Hearing those words, the man got serious once more, his eyes scanning the young man with curiosity.

"It hasn't even been that long since you reached the true rune stage, but here you are trying to break through to the ascension stage. Quite bold, I might say, but with your talent, it should be plausible within the next few years."

Commented the man, a small chuckle leaving his lips.

"Anyway, I guess I should properly apologize for the disturbance. Since I also need to ask you for a favor, this gift should be more than appropriate to make up for it."

Continued the man, manifesting an item out of thin air into his hand and throwing it over to the young man.

Stunned by the gesture, the young man immediately caught the present and opened his eyes wide in disbelief. Staring at the red-eyed man, he couldn't help but lower his head.

"Thank you, senior Guang, for this fruit of the law... I didn't expect for a fruit to still exist in our twenty-third plane... This junior is eternally grateful; please be free to speak of your request; this junior shall accept it no matter what."

Said the young man, his hands shaking slightly from excitement.

"We are seeking some individuals that might be connected to the matter of our family 900 years ago. From what my darling has noticed, the people seem to belong to a clan under your empire. We wish to interact with this family with complete freedom."

This time, the one to speak wasn't the man but rather the woman. Despite her gentle voice, one could hear the clear undertones in her speech.

The young man frowned, trying to understand what these two seniors were talking about. Although 900 years was a long time, for the Ascended Rune Masters, it was nothing more than a small period of secluded meditation.

Suddenly, the young man recalled a rumor. The rumor stated that the Rune Sword Immortal's involvement in the massacre of half a continent 900 years ago was due to the loss of a family member.

"You may do as you please. With the gift Senior has given me, I can accept any favor, except, of course, the obvious ones. Though I would like to know which clan is connected to this matter, since you know, they are my people."

Said the young man with curiosity. He was really curious as to which clan would actually be involved with the most murderous ascended of the plane.

At that moment, the husband and wife fell silent as they both looked at the white-haired young man blankly.

"Oh yeah, we don't know their identities... Um, it's a clan located a few hundred kilometers outside the capital with a very small number of people. It should be one of the hidden clans in your empire."

Explained the man, as if flustered by his lack of knowledge. After all, he had come all the way here to seek out these people, and he had no idea who they were or what their names were.

The white-haired young man stared dumbly at the husband and wife, trying to recall what clan matched those characteristics.

"From what I recall, the only clan matching that criteria is the Guang clan."

Just as he said so, he face-palmed, realizing a massive problem. It didn't really take a genius to connect the dots after he thought about it.

Although he had researched the clan before he took them under his wing, their ancestor had already died by that point, and a few generations had passed. There were many clans with the same surname throughout the continents, so he never connected the two together.

Who would have imagined that the Rune Sword Immortal who cherished family the most would have a random branch clan so far away without his knowledge?

"Senior Guang, are these people a branch of your clan?"

He couldn't help but ask, glancing at the slightly annoyed Guang Fu Wen Jian.

───  ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅  ───

After Rui's departure to partake in the trial of fortitude, the clan underwent some changes.

It was evident that with each subsequent generation, the talents of the clan members were becoming greater, with the current generation being the greatest by far.

Just with Rui and Jian alone, the clan had already lucked out. By adding people who had relations with their clan, like Xiong Liliang and Wuya San, the clan could be said to be flourishing.

Though, after the addition of Gui Xue, the clan seemed to undergo a period of stagnation. Thankfully, that didn't last for long, as strangely enough, after the small period of stagnation, the progress of the clan was even faster than before.

Gui Xue was currently sitting on the training grounds of the clan, staring at the sky in boredom.

Although he had sworn to take revenge on the puppet sect, his progress in cultivation was extremely slow, as he mostly relied on his corrupt energy and physical strength from the experiments done on him.

This meant that he didn't have a clear path of progression, especially when one included the weird rune on his forehead.

Since he was basically an abomination created by combining different human bodies using forbidden skills, he was, of course, one of a kind.

Gui Xue had been racking his brains as to how he would be able to progress to become powerful enough to deal with his enemies, but he honestly couldn't come up with anything.

Getting up from his laying position, he glanced at the people training.

Currently, only the younger generation is using the grounds, as most adults are busy with other matters.

The people training didn't exceed five, being mostly kids or young rune masters who were training their bodies.

Of course, there were exceptions.

Guang Jian and Wuya San were currently sparring as dozens of energy waves were launched all over the place. The two were geniuses in their own specialties: Jian with the sword and Wuya San with soul and spiritual attacks.

Wuya San had already entered the middle sea stage and was almost in the late sea stage, while Jian had just reached the peak of a first-stage rune master.

Although Rui had entered a time-dilated space, a few months had already passed outside, especially after his transfer to earth. Rui didn't know this, but his transfer to earth had cost him a few months of time, despite being transported there almost instantly.

Thankfully, he had still left a wisp in the clan, which showed that his vital signs were more than alright, so the clan members weren't really panicked, just worried about what was taking him so long inside the trial.

The gathering in the eastern mountains had long ended, and the portal had strangely closed, which meant that no one was left inside the trial. They tried investigating if Rui had exited the gate, but they didn't get any witnesses or any information about his whereabouts.

Jian had trained extremely hard, his love for swords and swordsmanship in general flourishing through the countless spars.

He was currently smiling manically as he swung his longsword with complete freedom, as if his sword were an extension of his body. His red runic energy ran rampant as it tried to slice up Wuya San.

Wuya San also couldn't help but smile gently as a golden light covered his body, perfectly blocking all the attacks with ease. Extending his empty hand, he raised countless pebbles from the training grounds and launched them at Jian with incredible speed.

Jian was forced to parry the attacks, turning himself into a whirlwind of swords.

Seeing Jian block his torrent, San extended his other hand, performing a gravitational pull on Jian and pressing down on his body, slowing him in the process.

A grin escaped Jian's lips at the sudden increase in pressure, his eyes and rune shining a blood red color.

"Thousand blades, falling snow."

Muttered Jian as countless miniature swords appeared around him, looking like snow.

In an instant, half of the training ground was covered in snow, which sent shivers down Gui Xue's spine. Although he could easily resist the attack due to his incredibly hard body, he knew that if all that energy was concentrated in one place, he wouldn't be so sure about his chances of survival.

Of course, that would require Jian to have that much control over his skill and runic energy, which was impossible at the moment.

Wuya San grinned at the sight as a wave of gold energy covered the area just outside where the snow ended.

Seeing this, Jian waved his sword towards him, his entire body brimming with momentum. At that moment, the snow made out of small energy swords rushed towards Wuya San, ready to rip him apart.

Wuya San couldn't help but laugh at the attack as it came towards him.

Clasping his hands, he decided to finally get a bit serious.

"Supreme Spirit, Lotus!"

He shouted as a giant golden lotus formed under his feet. In an instant, his entire body was covered in a dozen lotus-shaped shields. At that moment, the shower of sword energy clashed with the lotuses.

Surprisingly, nothing happened after the clash, resulting in a silent but powerful defeat for Jian, who was exhausted from the mental, energy, and physical toll the technique had on his body. The sword's energy was dissipated without causing even a hint of damage to San.

Seeing Jian had admitted defeat, Wuya San removed all the golden energy and fixed the training ground in an instant using his spiritual power.

This was the power of spiritual masters. It was a power extremely similar to telekinesis, though with a lot more diversity. He could do a lot more than just telekinesis.

"Good job, Jian! The progress you've made is incredible! I can't believe you are almost at the sword-heart stage!"

San complimented Jian, staring at Jian's pleased expression.

Although Jian was defeated, he wasn't unhappy in the least. With the amount of progress he had made, anyone would be proud, but Jian had a completely different approach to his emotions. He didn't care about his progress or his defeat.

What he cared about was protecting his family and having fun, and right now, he was having a lot of fun while getting stronger for his family.

Jian gave a toothy grin to San, followed by a pleased giggle.

Gui Xue, who was only spectating, was stupidly staring at the duo, not knowing how to react.

'I really have to find a way to get stronger! I bet Rui has become even stronger while he was out as well!'

He couldn't help but think as he got up from his place and began training his martial arts haphazardly, trying to find a way to cultivate further through trial and error.

At least it was better than just lazing around.

───  ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅  ───

Xiong Liliang was currently sitting cross-legged in a meeting with three other individuals.

Sitting next to him was a young lady with long black hair and amber eyes. Just like other members of the Guang clan, she was extremely beautiful, her amber eyes being unique in the whole clan due to her mother's heritage. The rune of Perthro shone brightly on her forehead, signifying her status as a rune master.

This individual was Guang Mei, Daito's only daughter.

Sitting across from the two of them were the Guang family's elders, Guang Zhe and Daito.

Xiong Liliang was covered in cold sweat from toe to head as Daito coldly stared at him with menacing eyes.

On the other hand, Zhe had a smile on her face, pleased with the situation.

"I didn't expect that the recruit from outside would not just join our family as an external member but as an internal member. I guess I should give you my congratulations already; I wholeheartedly agree on your marriage, though the matter is already well known by the clan at this point."

Zhe spoke casually, as if this matter wasn't of any importance.

Daito, on the other hand, ground his teeth, slamming the table in front of them with his fist, surprisingly not breaking it in the process. He was an expert, after all; he knew how to control his strength.

"I REFUSE! This can't happen! I WON'T LET MY DAUGHTER MARRY ANYONE UNLESS I APPROVE OF IT!"

He screamed, his sharp eyes staring daggers at Xiong Liliang.

"But father! The elders have already agreed and are already preparing for our wedding! The whole family knows about it! Can't you just accept my wishes for once?"

The first to speak was Mei. She was currently looking extremely pitiful, as her father was refusing to allow the marriage between her and Liliang.

Liliang, on the other hand, had remained still like a statue, not even uttering a sound. Sweat was constantly dripping from his chin.

The situation was like this due to some circumstances.

After Liliang joined the clan, Guang Mei constantly approached him, and they became great friends. However, things slowly became more and more intimate as they spent more time together, officially becoming a couple not long after.

It was during Rui's absence that the two of them finally decided to announce their relationship to the clan, ready to be married.

However, tragedy soon struck in the form of Daito's refusal. Thankfully, though, despite his refusal, the rest of the clan still proceeded with the wedding plans, having already finished the bulk of the work. The only thing left was seeking approval from the grand elder.

As Guang Zhe had approved, the marriage was now officially scheduled to be held next week, despite Daito's persistent refusal.

Who would have expected the always mischievous Daito to act like this when it came to his daughter? Well, it was to be expected since Daito's wife had already passed away, leaving behind a sole daughter who he took care of with his life.

He was not yet ready to see his precious daughter get married, especially with someone like Liliang.

Strangely, Daito had certain standards for his daughter's husband, and Liliang had fallen short on only two.

First being appearance, and the other being rune.

Liliang was by no means ugly; however, he could only be considered average by rune master standards. This, of course, was subject to change as he advanced in ranks, since the appearance of a rune master changed to become more "perfect" as they reached a higher stage.

Of course, appearance didn't matter as much to Daito as the rune did.

As Liliang was a Hagalaz user, this meant that he was a walking bomb wherever he was, a person who had to keep himself in control at all times.

Daito didn't like that in the least.

Mei pleaded with her father, tears slowly covering her petite face.

Seeing this scene, Liliang mustered up his strength and decided to speak.

"Sir, while I understand your concerns and respect your love and care for your daughter, I want to assure you that I take my responsibilities as a rune master seriously, especially the safety of those around me. I have trained diligently to control my abilities and minimize any risks. As you know, I do not wish to possess this ticking time bomb, but it's impossible to remove it unless I successfully become an eight-rank rune master."

With these few words, he had grabbed the attention of everyone, with Daito's gaze being especially scrutinizing.

"I also love Guang Mei deeply, and I want to make her happy. We have the support of the clan and the grand elder. I am willing to work hard to meet your expectations over time, and I hope you can find it in your heart to accept our relationship."

He continued, his head lowered in a plea. He couldn't let his significant other suffer due to his own inability.

Guang Zhe watched the exchange with a thoughtful expression. She understood the concerns on both sides and hoped for a peaceful resolution. She spoke gently to Daito, trying to mediate the situation.

"Daito, love is a powerful force, and it can bring happiness to our family. While I understand your worries, we should also trust in our clan members and their abilities. Liliang has shown great dedication, and we should support Mei's choice."

Daito's anger seemed to simmer down slightly as he considered his elder's words. He turned to Guang Mei, his expression conflicted.

"Mei, you know how much you mean to me, and I want the best for you. But I also fear for your safety. Can you promise me that you'll be cautious and keep yourself safe?"

Mei nodded fervently, tears of gratitude and understanding in her eyes.

"Father, I promise. I'll always be careful, and I'll do everything in my power to ensure our happiness."

She said this, bowing her head at the same level as Liliang. The two of them had the exact same pose as they pleaded.

Daito sighed deeply, his shoulders slumping. He looked at Liliang, his gaze still filled with hesitation.

"Liliang, you better take good care of my daughter. If anything happens to her because of your rune, I won't hesitate to intervene."

He finally said so, relieving both Mei and Liliang of the burden of his denial.

Liliang nodded earnestly.

"I understand, sir, no… father! I'll do everything I can to protect her and ensure her happiness."

He shouted with excitement, his voice rising by a few pitches.

It seemed like a tentative understanding had been reached, though the situation was far from perfect. The wedding would continue as planned.