Yin Long looked upon the field of burning tulips as he took in Xue Qiuling's words, the thought that it was just an utter waste floating around in his mind. As for her statement about what it was like in larger families, he completely disagreed with it, a fact he wasn't shy about stating.

"I've dealt with larger families quite a bit before I took up wandering, and it is exactly that thought process of yours that is holding your family back. The moment you destroy something so that someone else in your family can't get their hold on it, you've already set your family down the path of inevitable ruin. You should be helping and supporting each other, focusing on eradicating those who think along the lines of what you just told me, otherwise, you might as well just give up on strengthening your family."

Yin Long couldn't even begin to imagine what sort of state the Lang clan would have deteriorated to if everyone in it thought like Xue Qiuling, it might have already been eradicated already. And if he and his sisters had thought like that and constantly fought and undermined each other, then the sect would have definitely been swallowed by the four villages that were supposed to serve them.

Lan Yun knew that Yin Long was speaking from experience, after all, he came from a clan that ruled an entire city, it was much larger than Xue Qiuling's family. As for Xue Qiuling, her gaze narrowed faintly since she could sense the confidence and experience within Yin Long's words, they weren't just something he said on a whim.

And it was since she could detect that experience that she became all the more curious about exactly where this 'wanderer' came from. But she knew that this really wasn't the time to question him, and even if it was, she wasn't going to question him. Digging the truth out bit by bit was far more fun, making him say it on his own like he had done just now was much more satisfying. He had only given the smallest of hints about his past, but it was still enough to signify a small amount of trust, now she just had to work on increasing that trust.

"You may be right, or you may be wrong, only time will tell. But the inviolable truth is that this is how our family does things, this is how we survive. And while I would love to discuss this topic with you a bit further, I'm afraid that we don't have the time. Of course, if you want to hand over everything you just acquired to my sister then we can stay here a bit longer, what do you think?"

It was a question that she already knew the answer to so she wasn't surprised when Yin Long and Lan Yun gestured for her to take the lead. And take the lead she did, grabbing onto Lan Yun and Yin Long's collars while gesturing for Yin Long to pick up Jin Wang. And the moment Yin Long got a hold of Jin Wang, Xue Qiuling kicked off the ground and shot away from the area, running at such a speed that their surroundings blurred.

This was a speed that she shouldn't be able to achieve at her cultivation realm using only her Qi so it was easy enough for Yin Long to guess that she likely also cultivated a speed-based law. And upon realizing what at least two of her laws were, he thought back to the final attack she unleashed during their first sparring match, when he forced her to unleash a bit of Qi.

It was incredibly fast and explosive, if it touched his neck it would likely have taken off his head even though she was using a wooden sword at the time. And now, from the looks of it, the style of sword techniques she focused on was either based on her laws, or her laws were based on the sword technique she used.

Xue Qiuling clearly wanted to get as far away as possible so that her sister didn't catch them, running at what seemed to be top speed for almost half an hour before she finally stopped and let go of Yin Long and Lan Yun. Jin Wang was dropped to the ground by Yin Long, the large cat shaking his body somewhat unhappily after being carried around like a handbag.

Their surroundings hadn't changed much despite running for so long, they were still utterly surrounded by slightly demonic trees, the environment of the valley seemingly never changing. But while their surroundings didn't seem to change, Xue Qiuling only had to study the sky for a bit before she managed to calculate their current position.

"We're right about at the edge of the Root-clawed King's territory, should only be around 10 or so kilometres from the Demon-heart King's territory so we're pretty close to the spot I planned on bringing you. About 20 or so kilometres to the east and then five kilometres north and we'll reach the un-ruled area located between the Root-clawed King's, the Demon-heart King's, and the Iron-back King's territory. That particular area is a hotbed of Demonic beasts, and as such is filled with cultivators hoping to test their mettle now that all the organizations are sending out their disciples for training, you'll find plenty of people to fight there."

This place was known as Four-kings Valley, and as such, it naturally had four beings within it that were strong enough to be worthy of beings its kings. All three were Demonic beasts who resided within the deepest parts of their territories, and as long as no beast or man got too close, or caused too much of a ruckus, they generally wouldn't bother to show themselves.

Xue Qiuling took the lead in bringing Yin Long and his group towards the un-ruled area, which was more commonly known as the Blood Caldera. And as they started to approach the area, Yin Long and Lan Yun discovered how it got its name. The land around them started to slant downwards even when they were still about 11 or so kilometres away from the area, the slant growing steeper and steeper as they got closer.

By the time they officially reached the Blood Caldera, they were able to see the land around them rise up outwards, proof that the area was indeed a large basin. And for the first time since they entered Four-king's valley, there was a change in the environment.

There were no trees in the Blood Caldera, only massive ferns that had crimson veins running down their leaves. There was also the occasional man-sized bloody flower or mushroom growing in the area, but the massive ferns clearly dominated the plant life in the area, growing so dense that they actually obscured one's vision.

The air here was even stickier with the scent of blood, the earth itself taking on a reddish hue due to how much blood had been spilt here over time. It wasn't just the environment that changed when they entered the area, Xue Qiuling's own atmosphere also changed a fair bit, becoming much more serious and solemn.

"As I said, this area is a hotbed of cultivators and Demonic beasts, each one more vicious than the other. It's also fully possible that we'll meet people as strong or even stronger than me here so we need to be vigilant at all times, don't stray too far from me."

Xue Qiuling made sure that they understood the warning and then started to cautiously move around within the Blood Caldera, following the sounds of screams and battle to discover people. But they didn't just wantonly charge into every battle they saw, quietly observing them from a distance and judging whether or not it was a battle worth getting involved in.

Xue Qiuling judged the battles based on whether or not they would get hurt and how much they could stand to gain, but Yin Long had a far simpler way of judging whether or not they should get involved in a battle. Were the people taking part in the battle strong enough? If the answer was no, then there was no point in joining the fight since they wouldn't be able to sharpen their skills.

Yin Long's picky nature prevented them from taking part in any battles straight away, but there was no way for them to avoid combat forever. And the time for combat came after they had spent around two hours in the caldera, Xue Qiuling's steps suddenly halting as a somewhat bitter smile formed on her face.

"Well, seems like we've got the battle we asked for."

She swept her gaze around the surroundings, which were so covered in ferns that it was impossible to see any living beings. But Yin Long nodded his head at her words, his senses having picked up the same thing as her.

"There's probably a hidden array scattered throughout the area that notifies them whenever someone enters the area. It's a fairly simple yet clever tactic, well suited for what's going on here."

About nine people had entered the range of his senses, surrounding them from all sides. The way they all moved at the same time, as well as the timing at which they moved, was too suspicious so Yin Long found it unlikely that they had coincidentally spotted Yin Long's group. They were probably lying in wait here and ambushing anyone who moved through the area.

He was, however, a bit curious about just how they discovered Yin Long's group, as an array was the most likely answer, but he couldn't pick up anything that resembled an array in his senses. But nevertheless, they had been discovered and were about to be attacked, Yin Long leaning in and whispering a few quiet words to Lan Yun.

"If things start to look too dangerous, we'll just run. Training is one thing, but its best to not risk anything."

Lan Yun knew that Yin Long wasn't just talking about risking their lives, he was also talking about risking revealing all of their own skills. Yin Long wasn't too keen on revealing the ability of his parasitic soul, and he certainly wasn't keen on revealing the Netherworld energy that stuck around in his soulsea.

The three people brought out their weapons, Lan Yun her axe, Yin Long his white sword, and Xue Qiuling a rather wide and long straight sword that had a yellow centre and an orange edge. Jin Wang and Yin Long's eyes were slightly excited as the group of four entered a formation where they covered each other's backs, Xue Qiuling burning down some of the surrounding ferns to reveal their ambushers.

The nine people that were revealed through the flames were all clad in the same grey robes embroidered with the image of a mountain shaped like a wolf howling at the sky. The image had popped up a few times in some of the biographies he had read within the Swan Queen Hall's martial library so he knew that it belonged to the Crag Howl sect, which at this point had become one of the three entities competing for control over Starfall city.

The strength of the group was fairly good, five of the nine had broken into the realm of the Immortal Doors. But other than the one who seemed to be the leader of the group, a man in his mid-twenties who had reached the 4th Immortal Door, the others were only at the 2nd Immortal Door. As for the remaining four, they were all at the peak of the Mortal Door realm, only a short step away from breaking through.

The group of nine didn't immediately attack them, observing them silently as the leading youth waved his hand and blew out the flames. Some of his shoulder-length black hair was singed, but he didn't seem to care about it, his blue eyes narrowing at Xue Qiuling for a second.

"You're... Xue Qiuling, the 7th ranked disciple of Swan Queen Hall, no? I didn't expect that even someone like you would pop up here."

As the Heron's Grace Dojo was one of the main rivals of his sect, he had made sure to study up on the various strong disciples from their halls, checking up on their previous battle records and the like. Xue Qiuling herself had done the same so she wasn't surprised at being discovered, only spitting out a short reply.

"You're here, so why can't I be?"

Xue Qiuling didn't fear this youth, Fang Houye, they might be at the same cultivation realm but she was a bit stronger than him. The problem was the eight other people, especially the four that had reached the realm of the Immortal Doors. Fang houye shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly at Xue Qiuling's curt reply, casually waving his fingers towards them.

"Let's get rid of them, might as well lower the strength of their Dojo since they gave us this gracious meal."

They were from rivalling forces so it only made sense to kill the other whenever they met, especially in a time like this where every organization was preparing for the upcoming competition. The nine men moved forward as one, Xue Qiuling using her eyes to gesture towards Fang Houye and two of the people who had reached the 2nd Immortal Door.

She shot forward the moment she made her gesture, her sword turning into a colourful blur as flames roared to life with each swing she sent out. With her blocking those three, the remaining two people at the 2nd Immortal Door charged directly at Lan Yun, the remaining four people at the peak of the Mortal Door realm charging at Yin Long.

Yin Long looked down at Jin Wang and gestured towards the two people charging at Lan Yun, Jin Wang letting out a low growl to show his understanding before he charged straight at the two people. His sudden attack caught Lan Yun off-guard, her smile turning somewhat bitter as she quickly chased after him.

With those two charging at their enemies, Yin Long turned his gaze onto the four people surrounding him and attacking him as one. He let out a soft and long breath, raising his arm and blocking the one-handed axe that was coming straight for his head.

He twisted his wrist and bent it, the axe sliding down along the edge of his blade and colliding with the sword that another one of the enemies was attacking him with. As for the attacks coming from behind him, he turned his body to the side so that sword stabbing at his back slid past him, his free hand reaching out and grabbing onto the wrist of the one who launched the stab.

He yanked on the person's arm so that he stumbled forward, his attack continuing straight ahead and heading for the man holding the axe that Yin Long had already blocked. As for the final person, he was forced to halt his attack since he would end up hitting the shoulder of the youth who Yin Long had pulled forward if he continued to swing his sword.

And after he foiled all four attacks, Yin Long straightened his wrist at full speed. The axe he had blocked had collided with the other man's sword and bounced away, resulting in Yin Long's sword flicking past the axe-wielding man's face when he straightened his wrist. The attack had moved through the opening produced when the man's axe bounded away, cutting directly through his nose and leaving a bloody cut straight across his face.

The axe-wielding man was forced to awkwardly twist his body to avoid the incoming stab from one of his allies, it was one of the reasons he wasn't able to properly dodge Yin Long's attack. Yin Long wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to kill the axe-wielding man, moving his arm in the same rolling motion as if he was wielding a greatsword. His arm flipped around and maintained the momentum of his flicking sword, the slash now coming back while aiming at the man's throat.

But there were still two others there who could react, not counting the youth whose wrist Yin Long was holding onto and forcing forward. The two sword-wielding men slashed out with their weapons, one aiming at Yin Long's chest while the other slashed down at his head. Yin Long clicked his tongue slightly and raised his left arm, bringing up the sword-wielding hand of the youth whose wrist he was grasping onto.

The youth's sword collided with the stab aiming at Yin Long's chest, Yin Long moving his wrist in a wavy motion to raise his own slash to intercept the sword coming for his head. But he didn't just block the slash coming at his head, he followed through on the waving motion and redirected the attack so that it slid past him and descended onto the head of the youth who he had just pulled up.

The youth's head was split in two, Yin Long letting go of his wrist and snatching up the sword that the youth dropped when he died. The flat side of the sword was still blocking the tip of the incoming stab that had been aimed at his chest, Yin Long tilting the sword so that the edge slid along the incoming stab.

The change in situation happened so fast that the attacker didn't have the chance to react, Yin Long straightening the sword and driving the tip into the chest of the one who stabbed at him. He dodged the stab by bending his knees and twisting his body at the same time, the edge of the blade leaving a cut in his white robe.

The man who had just been stabbed couldn't help but look at his own pierced chest in confusion, simply not able to understand how Yin Long was handling them so easily. But those questioning thoughts were the last he ever had, light vanishing from his eyes as he collapsed like a sack of potatoes.

Yin Long hopped back while still crouching, dodging the descending axe that was aiming for his head. The two other youths didn't immediately chase after him, the bearded one wielding the axe looking at him with sharply narrowed eyes. The man questioned Yin Long with a confused and wary voice, but Yin Long didn't even give him a proper response.

"Exactly who are you?"

"No one important, don't worry about it."

The expressions of the two remaining men sank slightly when Yin Long didn't even bother giving his own name, the two sharing a quick glance before charging forward together. They simultaneously took out a pill from their interspatial rings and swallowed them, the aura radiating from their bodies suddenly strengthening somewhat as their veins started to bulge. Yin Long's expression suddenly sank coldly, his tongue clicking sharply.

"Tch!"

The two men thought he was reacting to their actions, but then they noticed that Yin Long's gaze wasn't even on them. His gaze had slid past them and landed on Lan Yun, who was busy working with Jin Wang to deal with the two people at the 2nd Immortal Door. She was holding up well, but one of the people that Xue Qiuling had been holding back had slipped away from her and was going straight for Lan Yun, ambushing her from the back.

And upon seeing this scene, Yin Long stopped trying to hone his sword skills and unleashed his Qi for the first time since the start of the battle. He shot straight at the two people and slashed out with his sword, the law of the sword surging forward and forcing both men to raise their weapons to block. But the moment they blocked the Qi attack, which had arrived a bit before the sword itself, Yin Long reached them.

His sword collided with the axe of the bearded man and his empty left hand shot forward, his soul surging out and gathering up the surrounding space to form a small dagger. The man hadn't been prepared for the sudden weapon so the tip pierced straight through his throat, Yin Long sweeping out with his left arm and nearly beheading the man.

He flipped his grip on the weapon so that he was holding it in a backhanded grip, the tip pointing at the side of the bearded man's throat. And then he gathered up more of the surrounding space to extend his weapon, the sudden growth of the sword resulting in it piercing through the bearded man's neck.

Lan Yun was strong, as was Jin Wang, but dealing with three people at the 2nd Immortal Door would be exceedingly hard for them, especially with one of them attacking from the back. Lan Yun knew about him, but her enemies didn't give her the opportunity to turn around to block, putting her in an awkward and dangerous situation.

She was Yin Long's closest friend, and he had no interest in seeing her get hurt like this while he stood back despite having the chance to help. As such, he stopped bothering with hiding his parasitic soul and unleashed it for all to see.

And if just his action of drawing in the surrounding space to create his sword wasn't enough, what he did next was certainly enough to draw the attention of Xue Qiuling and Fang Houye, who were the only ones who had the presence of mind to keep an eye on the entire battlefield.

The two men who had their throats pierced and cut fell to the floor as lifeless corpses, Yin Long stepping over them and dashing straight at the man who was attacking Lan Yun from the back. And as he stepped over the corpses, his white sword was thrown into his interspatial ring, his parasitic soul welling forth.

The four corpses were raised up and shot towards his open right hand, liquefying into a crimson blade that seemed to have pieces of bones and four faint faces floating around within it. The standard pattern of scaled leaves covered the entire blade, a bloody stench and aura of power radiating from the blade.

Yin Long dashed directly into the path of the attacking youth and slashed down at his head, drawing a crimson line through the air and forcing the youth to raise the double-ended sword he was wielding. His arm trembled and sank slightly as he blocked the attack, the power contained within the sword far above what he had expected.

The black-eyed youth quickly gathered his strength and pushed away Yin Long's sword, hopping back using the momentary reprieve he had earned himself. Yin Long's back was actually touching Lan Yun's as the youth jumped back, a single second later and things could have become exceedingly grim. But even so, he managed to let out a short breath, maintaining a casual if somewhat bitter expression.

"Well, now this is awkward, I really wasn't planning on actually fighting properly like this."