Vice Order Master Drake Wang and June Meng left happily, while Ian Song got up and walked into the house. Wendy Lin, having gone through major upheaval and both heartbreak and joy, was utterly exhausted and had fallen into a deep sleep.
Looking at the sleeping Wendy Lin, Ian Song couldn't help but smile. He gently brushed his fingers across her delicate cheek. Maybe she sensed something, because she suddenly rolled over and hugged Ian's arm, murmuring, "Brother Song, don't leave me... I'm scared!"
This girl...
Ian couldn't help but find it funny, and at the same time, a wave of tenderness welled up in his heart. Sometimes, fate is just so strange—it brings two people who had nothing to do with each other together.
Now the Dualis Order chess piece was set. With Order Master Ross Luo dead, Drake Wang and June Meng working together could fully control the sect. Besides, Ian had taught them high-level techniques, and both had been stuck at a bottleneck for years. With this momentum, their cultivation would certainly rise to a new level soon.
Counting carefully, Ian now had three chess pieces in play: the Jade Maiden Sect, the Ji Clan, and now the Dualis Order.
But the Jade Maiden Sect was at best a minor force, while the Ji Clan and Dualis Order were only mid-level powers. After all, Taiyin Prefecture had eighteen counties, and both the Ji Clan and Dualis Order were just local forces within one county.
Back on Myriad Spirits Island, Ian Song had enslaved Sean Shen, a scion of the Shen Family from You Prefecture. But that guy was just a pampered playboy and probably didn't hold much status in the Shen Family. Still, Ian had learned quite a bit about the family from him.
The Shen Family actually had a Fusion-stage expert overseeing things, making them a first-tier power. If Ian could gain control over a few more forces like this, it would be a huge help for his future plans.
Ten days passed in the blink of an eye. Suddenly, a surge of powerful qi shot up from within the Dualis Order, and it kept rising higher and higher.
Ian Song's gaze pierced through building after building, landing inside a secret chamber. Right now, Drake Wang's face was flushed red as he desperately tried to break through to the late Out-of-Body stage.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
...
After eighteen attempts in a row, the surging qi actually began to subside. Seeing this, Ian Song frowned slightly. Although Drake Wang had accumulated over a thousand years of cultivation, age had dulled his edge. If he couldn't break through the bottleneck to late Out-of-Body this time, he might never get another chance.
"Well, whether you soar like a dragon or crawl like a worm, it's up to you now," Ian sighed softly, withdrawing his gaze. He wished he could help Drake Wang, but since he himself had only just reached mid Out-of-Body, there was nothing he could do.
Roar!
Suddenly, a fierce roar erupted from Drake Wang's closed-door cultivation chamber.
Hearing that roar, Ian Song was momentarily stunned. He hadn't expected Drake Wang to be so determined, willing to risk everything for a breakthrough. Clearly, Drake knew his sharpness had faded; this was his one and only chance, so he had no choice but to go all out.
But in the next moment...
A massive auspicious cloud suddenly appeared above Drake Wang's cultivation chamber, spreading out to cover a radius of ten li.
Ha ha!
A burst of proud laughter echoed out from within.
He did it!
Ian knew.
Watching this unfold, June Meng secretly breathed a sigh of relief and felt her confidence grow. Breaking through from mid to late Out-of-Body was far harder than going from early to mid, but if Drake Wang could do it, there was no reason she couldn't as well.
So she immediately began her own closed-door cultivation.
Whoosh!
A streak of light flashed by, and Drake Wang landed in the courtyard, kneeling before Ian Song. "Master, I have broken through! Thank you for granting me the technique!"
Drake Wang now looked twenty years younger, restored to the vigor of middle age. The true essence in his body was at least ten times stronger than before, and thanks to his new cultivation method, his zhenyuan was several times more powerful than what the Yin-Yang Harmonizing Art could produce.
He was sure that, even though he'd just broken through, his strength already matched that of veteran late Out-of-Body experts.
Take it.
Ian Song tossed a jade slip to Drake Wang.
Master, what is this?
"Just a Dao art," Ian Song replied casually.
Ian made it sound offhand, but Drake Wang didn't see it that way. He immediately checked the jade slip, and soon his whole body began to tremble with excitement. He kowtowed three times to Ian Song, saying, "Thank you, Master!"
"Only by growing stronger can you serve me better. Get up!" Ian Song smiled. This Dao art was just a fragment of what he considered the most worthless immortal technique from the Library Pavilion.
Even though it was only a fragment, it was still an immortal art. If Drake Wang mastered it, he'd be invincible among Out-of-Body cultivators.
Five days later, June Meng successfully broke through to mid Out-of-Body. Ian Song also gave her an abridged immortal art. If she mastered it, she and Drake Wang together could definitely contend with Deity Transformation experts.
With everything that needed to be done now finished, Ian Song had no reason to stay in the Dualis Order any longer.
It's worth mentioning that after the upheaval in her family, Wendy Lin had come to understand the importance of strength. So, over these days, she worked hard cultivating the Phoenix Veil Art that Ian Song taught her. With pills and top-grade spirit crystals supporting her, she reached the tenth layer of Qi-Refining in just half a month.
"Wendy, do you want to stay in the Dualis Order, or come with me?" Ian Song asked, looking at her.
"I'm going with you, Brother Song!" Wendy Lin replied without hesitation.
The next day, Ian Song and Wendy Lin quietly left the Dualis Order. As for Liam Lin, he stayed behind. Even though Ian didn't like him, he still asked Drake Wang to keep an eye on him.
Three days later, in a forest.
Ian Song stood with his hands behind his back, watching as Wendy Lin wielded her sword, locked in combat with three men.
None of the three men were particularly strong—one was at ninth layer Qi-Refining, the other two at seventh—but working together, they were able to hold their own against Wendy Lin at tenth layer, mostly because she lacked battle experience.
She also wasn't yet proficient in the sword art Ian Song had taught her.
But as time went on, Wendy Lin's swordplay grew smoother, her expression more composed, and she steadily gained the upper hand.
A month later.
Inside a mountain cave, Wendy Lin sat in solemn meditation, qi swirling around her. Suddenly, a soft 'pop' sounded from within her body—she had broken through from the tenth layer of Qi-Refining to Foundation Establishment.
"Brother Song, I broke through!" Wendy Lin called out happily.
As soon as she stood up, Wendy Lin threw herself into Ian Song's arms, delighted. Ian was pleased too, feeling a sense of accomplishment from having guided her. Along the way, he'd deliberately sought out evil cultivators for Wendy to gain experience fighting.
After a month, Wendy Lin had not only gained tons of battle experience, but fully mastered her cultivation, finally breaking through to Foundation Establishment tonight.
Of course, spending so much time together, their relationship had grown much closer—hugs had become an everyday thing.
Ten days later, Ian Song and Wendy Lin entered the Tang Capital hand in hand.