Qin Yuan knew that this woman cared deeply about the sect's hierarchy, but he hadn't expected her to actually scold him like this.
As an Elder—and now possessing the Immortal Sword Body—this hurt his pride a little.
He rolled his eyes, then straightened his expression and looked serious.
"No," he said.
"What do you mean?" The woman immediately frowned, her naturally sharp brows knitting together.
"Hahaha, Miss, you're still young. There are many things you don't understand yet," Qin Yuan replied with a laugh.
"So what if that brat is the Fourth Young Master? And so what if you are the First Young Miss?"
He continued, his tone turning cold.
"You're just talented children deemed promising, treated specially to the point that Elders are required to escort you. In reality, it's only to make the sect look prestigious—sending a Paragon as your guard. But do you really think the sect sees you as equal to us Elders?"
His eyes grew disdainful.
"In the time I've spent in this sect, there have been over a thousand Young Masters. Only five became Paragons. The rest died, disappeared, or failed to ever reach this realm over millions of years. And you, Miss—so what if your talent is peerless? You're not guaranteed to become a Paragon either."
Both the current Qin Yuan and the original were hot-tempered, but unlike before, he no longer cared about anyone's background when scolding them.
Xia Xinghe froze after hearing his words.
But when her expression returned to normal, she suddenly shot him a mocking look.
"So you want to look down on us just because you were lucky enough to become a Paragon?" she said, turning around—only to glance back.
"Wait a few years. I'll beat you as a Saint!"
Qin Yuan: "..."
"Hmph, hmph!" Qin Yuan snorted unhappily.
This girl needs to be taught a lesson later, he thought.
When he was alone, the glowing tattoos across his body lit up once more.
He closed his eyes, beginning to comprehend the Law of Sword, relying on his new, terrifyingly high sword talent and his Paragon-level thinking speed.
Though newly reincarnated, he didn't care about the world. Becoming stronger was what mattered.
In an instant, he immersed himself in cultivation.
Normally, comprehending laws had been extremely difficult for him—like untangling a knotted thread. Most of his current achievements were due to sheer luck.
But now, it felt like he was simply reconnecting broken threads.
Now I understand why those with high talent reach higher realms so easily, he thought.
Paragon was the Fifteenth Realm. Below it were fourteen realms, each with nine stages.
Yet many geniuses reached the Tenth Realm—the Great Sovereign Realm—in less than a hundred years. Some even reached it in their thirties, like Xia Xinghe.
If they could advance that fast, then what about Qin Yuan, who now possessed the highest-tier talent while already standing in the Paragon Realm?
After just a few hours, he opened his eyes again. His status panel had changed drastically.
(Law:)
Law of Water: 91%
Law of Sword: 35%
"Wow!" Qin Yuan's lips formed an "O."
Even beyond 70%, I might still advance quickly with this kind of talent, he thought.
He paused briefly, then continued cultivating until nightfall.
(Law:)
Law of Water: 91%
Law of Sword: 70%
DING!
(Your comprehension of the Law of Sword has reached 70%. One of the Immortal Sword Body's innate techniques, Absolute Sword Command, has been unlocked!)
(Innate Techniques:)
Absolute Sword Command
Immortal Sword Transformation (Locked)
"From morning to night… I doubt anyone would believe this. With the Law of Sword, I'm now at the peak of the Great Sage Realm."
Qin Yuan felt satisfied.
He stood up and stretched.
He planned to continue cultivating, but decided to relax for a moment.
He looked at the ring on his middle finger—his Storage Ring.
Inside, besides his weapons, there were only around fifty thousand Spirit Stones—pathetically little for a Paragon.
However, there was plenty of food and wine.
Qin Yuan took some out and began eating and drinking.
He looked around.
This was the peak of a giant mountain, surrounded by dense forests as far as the eye could see. Behind him stood a massive luxurious wooden house.
No—one could say the entire mountain and its forests were his home.
It was vast, but still felt small to him.
The Sacred Emperor Sect controlled an entire grand world for themselves, not allowing outsiders to enter without permission.
No matter how much he ate, Qin Yuan's stomach never felt full, so he kept eating and drinking.
So much delicious food awakened his greedy side.
"Hmph!"
A cold snort suddenly echoed, sending a powerful shockwave. The forests below swayed violently, and the mountain itself almost lifted off—if not for the protective formations.
In the next instant, a short, skinny old man appeared before Qin Yuan.
Though his body looked frail, he wore a golden silk robe and had a sharp silver beard.
His small eyes looked like a pair of crimson diamonds—frightening when they stared at someone.
"Elder Pang!" Qin Yuan called out his title instinctively.
This man was the second weakest Elder, only slightly stronger than Qin Yuan.
He had been a genius in the past, but ultimately stagnated at the Second Stage of the Paragon Realm for six million years.
Of course, even if he suppressed his cultivation to the First Stage, he was still stronger than Qin Yuan.
"Elder Qin, I was wondering what you were doing, refusing your duty even when Miss Xia personally came to see you," the old man said.
"Is there something?" Qin Yuan asked.
"Because you didn't do your job, the Fourth Young Master has gone missing during his adventure. The Sect Master wants you and me to find him," Elder Pang replied.
Qin Yuan: "..."
"Why do we need to find him? It's normal for cultivators to disappear and die. Later, we'll just get a new genius to become the next Fourth Young Master," he said.
His cultivation had actually been interrupted by this pointless matter.
Qin Yuan knew that the young master was extremely arrogant—exactly the type of character who randomly becomes a protagonist's enemy. With that attitude, a short lifespan was expected.
Elder Pang's face twitched when he saw Qin Yuan clearly unwilling to do this task.
"We must find him, dead or alive. If he's dead, we'll hunt down his killer and avenge him. Do you think I want to do this? This should have been your task, but it's the Sect Master's order, so I have no choice either. What? Don't you want to do it?"