Stepping on the Demoness to become the strongest

In early October, Yan Yu was transferred to Pingjing, where he flew a spectacular display of the True Obscurity Sun Sword Intent with the performance crew in the skies above Pingjing City. The media hailed it as "the strongest tribute since the founding of the nation."

In terms of visual effects, there wasn't much to see. The radiance of the True Obscurity Sword's light was so bright and dazzling that even with sunglasses, everyone could only see a source of light streaking across the sky, the other planes barely visible.

Still, the people at the event took pride in being bathed in the light of True Obscurity Sun, and despite official warnings, many sneakily took out their phones to try capturing the sword light — ending up with useless cameras.

On October 5th, a photo of the True Obscurity Sword passing over Pingjing was chosen by Time Magazine for their cover, headlined "The Arrival of the Age of Revelation."

As the average concentration of Spiritual Energy on Earth continued to rise, the level cap was finally raised to the Golden Core Realm. All around the world, widespread unusual meteorological phenomena began to occur, and some animals exhibited inexplicable mad behaviors.

There were claims of wild dogs flipping cars over without harm to themselves, wild cats gnawing down to the bone on passersby's ankles without the victims noticing, pet hamsters chewing through metal cages, and even boring holes into concrete walls, crows with red eyes that made anyone making eye contact with them become dull and stupid... The recipients of extraordinary powers seemed no longer limited to certain human individuals but had begun to spread to animals.

As more strange incidents occurred, the people grew increasingly tense and anxious.

Fortunately, the second batch of college student cultivators in Lu Country had begun to form teams and join the routine public security tasks, greatly relieving the shortage of officially trained cultivators.

The girls hadn't returned yet, likely because Zhao Yuanzhen wasn't around. Mei Yingxue temporarily stayed at the villa, asking Yan Yu questions about True Obscurity Sun Sword Intent every day.

In everyday interactions, Teacher Mei truly was a pure Sword Immortal. She didn't watch TV, didn't wear makeup, wasn't a foodie, disliked travel, used a mobile phone only for calls, and considered a bed for Breathing Exercises — in short, she had no hobbies or interests. Even Yan Yu felt that swordsmanship itself wasn't her passion; she delved into it simply because "I am a Sword Immortal," not because she found studying swordsmanship interesting.

"Would you like something to eat?" Yan Yu opened the cabinet and took out a bag of snacks secretly stashed by the Enchantress.

"Thank you, but no," Mei Yingxue politely declined. "I've been Fasting. After fasting, there's no need to eat or drink, you know that, don't you?"

"I know," Yan Yu replied, "but these are snacks Zhao Yuanzhen hid to enjoy alone without us knowing, so it would be rather dramatic if you ate them."

After a moment's thought, Mei Yingxue actually picked up a bag of rice crisps and tore it open.

"Not bad," she said after tasting one.

"I'm glad you like it," Yan Yu responded.

"Mei Yingxue murmured softly, "Having been raised by the Demonic Sect from a young age, she had a wayward Dao Heart, treating human life as grass. I'm genuinely curious about how you managed to correct her nature."

The official explanation given to Mei Yingxue was that Zhao Yuanzhen really liked Yan Yu and was reformed by "love."

Mei Yingxue was noncommittal about this explanation. She admitted to her own bias against those from the Demonic Sect, so she couldn't deny the possibility of the Enchantress turning over a new leaf. Now that she was on friendly terms with Yan Yu, she casually inquired about the truth.

"The thing is, her nature isn't evil; she's just a bit unruly and difficult to manage," Yan Yu again explained that the incident from years ago, when Mei Yingxue's junior brother was killed, was actually a set-up by her own senior sister. He suggested that Zhao Yuanzhen realized the truth belatedly and said, "...She reflected on it afterward, but still harbors a psychological trauma from when you pursued her back then, which is why she has been afraid to meet with you and explain."

"I see," Mei Yingxue thought carefully and realized there were indeed many doubts about the incident from the past, and the Sect might be aware of them. However, to the Sect elders, even if it was Zhao Yuanzhen's senior sister who was responsible, killing the Demonic Sect Enchantress from the hostile side was deemed justifiable during the confrontation between good and evil.

Now that they were on Earth, the conflict between good and evil was replaced by the righteousness of nation and family, so naturally, Mei Yingxue put aside the old Sect grievances.

Still, it seemed from Yan Yu's words that Zhao Yuanzhen hadn't let go after all.

"Maybe I should talk to her," Mei Yingxue suggested seriously. "Clear things up."

"No," Yan Yu immediately laughed, "I think the best way for you two to get along is to not meet each other."

"Um..." Mei Yingxue thought for a long time and felt Yan Yu made some sense, so she dropped the idea for the moment.

Her phone suddenly rang. She picked it up, listened for a moment, got up, and said to Yan Yu:

"I have official business. I need to go."

"Alright, I'll see you out." Yan Yu escorted her to the door and watched Mei Yingxue take off with Sword Control. Suddenly, he realized he might have heard a strange term in the conversation on the phone:

"Shroud."

Speaking of the Shroud, it reminded him of the previous life when Golden Core Realm Transcendents appeared, and the threat of intercontinental bombing grew more significant. Therefore, the Western world established the first Shroud Barrier: a Holy Relic at its core and a defense Barrier spanning hundreds of thousands of square kilometers, not only effectively resisting long-range bombings from outside the Barrier but also suppressing non-clerical extraordinary professions within it and increasing the rate at which Clerics appeared.