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Originally, Katharine and I thought that the chieftain and elders of the Snow Wolf Tribe would use the authority of the tribe to pressure us, aiming to secure sufficient benefits and the usage rights of the trade route in Fontainebleau, treating it as a passage and logistical base for future campaigns against the human world. However, after hearing Lady Rain's remarks about the marriage proposal, I now realize that they are aiming for something much bigger—they intend to swallow my entire force. The talk of becoming the chieftain's heir is merely a ploy to deceive. As a newcomer who has never been part of the tribal core, how could I possibly challenge the authority that their son has built through life-and-death battles on the battlefield? If I were to marry into Chief Aihahn's Frostmoon family, my entire territory would have to be fully opened to the Snow Wolf Tribe. With their overwhelming numerical advantage, they could marginalize my non-wolf warriors and co-opt my wolf legions, gradually hollowing out my power. Even if they were to give me the position of chieftain in the future, I would merely be a puppet controlled by them. Tsk, tsk, what a cunning plan. It's a shame they really think of me as a fool.

As I exchanged pleasantries with the two Sword Empresses, I began calculating my countermeasures. The Sword Saint, Leimen, seated in the main position, had only opened his eyes slightly when we entered, acknowledging us with his gaze, and hadn't spoken since. Now, seeing that we had finished our conversation, he stood up and waved me over, saying, "Young Xuanfeng, come with me."

Delighted, I knew the reason Leimen called me must be related to his re-deduction of the upper volume of the Nine Yin Manual. Although this was part of the agreement Leimen and I had made, I hadn't really believed he could accomplish this challenge. After all, reverse-engineering internal martial arts from combat applications was something even my master, a great scholar well-versed in all Taoist classics, couldn't achieve. How could Leimen, a warrior from another world, surpass the limits of civilization? Even if his martial cultivation was higher than the Five Supreme Masters of the previous era, he shouldn't be able to cross the boundary between civilizations. I was here today just to try my luck.

However, judging by Leimen's actions, could it be that he had actually succeeded?

Leaving the others in the room, I followed Old Leimen past the wooden screen through the back door into the garden behind the Thousand Sea Ice Chamber. Leimen led me to a small stone house constructed entirely of unprocessed basalt. Each rock weighed over ten thousand jin, and though there was no door at the entrance, a golden crystalline substance filled the empty space, making the stone chamber appear as if it were frozen in amber.

"This is… Senior's battle qi? I never expected that battle qi could be condensed and maintained outside the body for such a long time." Upon touching the crystalline substance, I was immediately shocked. While it was true that even a Sword Hero could release battle qi to form qi projectiles, the idea of stabilizing the violent and powerful battle qi outside the body, akin to a fire mage freezing flames, was a reversal of common principles. Even a Sword Saint might struggle to achieve this. Could it be that… a possibility suddenly dawned on me.

"Senior Leimen, could it be that… you are also studying ‘that’?" I asked incredulously.

"Haha, young friend, you have a keen eye. After a hundred years of mediocrity, I have yet to find the doorway. This technique remains at the Saint Realm." Leimen shook his head, waved his hand to dispel the battle qi enveloping the stone chamber, and stepped inside first.

What Leimen and I were referring to was none other than the dream realm that the "Ancestor of Sword Saints," Leinster, had proposed and attempted to comprehend in his later years—the "Sword God Realm." It was a legendary realm that no one had ever attained. Apart from Leinster's sword, "Heaven Sword—Nameless," he had left no other clues before his death. Almost all later Sword Saints had relied on "divine weapon embodiment" to opportunistically step into the Saint Realm, lacking the qualifications to touch upon this legendary concept beyond the Saint Realm. Only Leimen, the "Sword Saint," had broken through the Saint Realm through his own strength after Leinster. It was surprising that he was so interested in this legendary hypothesis.

"Senior, did you bring me here because you have already deduced the upper volume of the Nine Yin Manual?"

"Young Xuanfeng, to completely recreate the essence of the true scripture and adapt it to our orc physiology would probably be beyond even the original author's capability. However, I have another method. Take a look at this." The old lion smiled and opened a stone box, handing me a silver scroll.

I quickly unrolled the scroll and examined it carefully.

"…The world is born from chaos into order, thus existence arises from nothingness. The power we seek is merely the mastery of the principles and laws of the world. Magic, battle qi, divine arts, alchemy—all follow this principle. However, power borrowed from the world is ultimately constrained by it. The Sea of Star Souls changes ceaselessly, and the World Tree has its master. Human strength cannot challenge the realm of gods and demons. How can one seek power beyond the heavens? Only by tracing the origin of the world. Before Gaia, within chaos, there are laws that give birth to all things. We do not know their names or appearances, but their operation leaves traces. By following these traces and exploring them, we can recreate the path of creation and finally obtain supreme power. The origin of the world, using deficiency to nourish abundance, using existence to bring about destruction…"

The lengthy scroll revealed a world I had never seen before.

The first half of the scroll delved into the principles governing the flow of power, which had nothing to do with regular martial arts. It was more like a Taoist classic such as the "Tao Te Ching." However, because of the different worlds, the methods to pursue the ultimate principles of the world differed in conclusion. Nevertheless, many of the chapters, with their well-reasoned arguments, were like a bolt of lightning piercing through the dark sky for someone like me, who had reached the Sword Master realm and had already encountered the power of the Sea of Star Souls beyond the material plane. It allowed me to glimpse a world I had never comprehended before. However, my current understanding is still too limited to apply these principles to my martial arts.

The second half of the scroll focused on how to integrate these principles with the martial arts of the Nine Yin Manual, explaining how to use the Nine Yin techniques to interpret the principles governing the world. These were the sections I truly needed. Ever since my battle qi had reached the peak of Sword Master, the power of the Nine Yin True Qi had become relatively weak. Despite possessing exquisite techniques like the "Qiankun Extinction Blade" and the "Nine Yin White Bone Claw," I was constrained by the limitations of my true qi's power and couldn't fully utilize them. Moreover, since I had completed the six levels of the "Tendon Transformation and Bone Tempering Chapter," the advantage of the orthodox Taoist heart method, where progress accelerates as one advances, had become unachievable. The innate nine yin true qi had gradually become a backup energy source for supplementing battle qi, which was an immense sorrow for someone who had regarded the Nine Yin Manual as his top martial art in both lives. With this scroll, although it couldn't be said that the mysteries of the upper volume of the true scripture had been fully restored, I was confident that I could make the Nine Yin Manual exhibit miraculous powers rivaling any battle qi or magic.