Chapter 1322: Ranking of Saint Clans

Even knowing that this Sword Qinsheng's philosophy of the sword differed from his own, he still had to go and take a look. If he could make up for the deficiencies needed for the Three Swords of Lingxu, he could easily charge into the Jia Alley and condense a Nascent Soul realm technique at the Heavenly Dao level.

Besides, everyone's cultivation methods are different. Only by seeking common ground while reserving differences can one achieve mastery and make greater progress.

"Let's go!"

Seeing that he was going, Senior Sister Water nodded, greeted Qing Yu, and the two walked out of the "Righteous Hall."

"In a moment, if the sword intent does not approve and the teacher asks you to leave, it's best not to say a word and just turn around and go! If you harbor hope and say too much nonsense, I'm afraid you'll suffer some hardship!" As they walked forward, Senior Sister Water transmitted her voice.

"Those who cultivate the sword path are mostly like swords in temperament—sharp, fierce, and straightforward. I understand!"

Zhang Xuan nodded.

To have cultivated the sword path to the level of true understanding means that one has integrated one's entire life—essence, energy, and spirit—into it, and one's character often changes accordingly.

Such people hate it most when others dawdle.

Just like the remnant soul of Sword Elder, who acted very decisively, even disappearing so quickly without any lingering attachment!

"Good that you know!" Senior Sister Water breathed a sigh of relief.

To have such strength at such a young age and to understand the sword path to such an extent—his background must be extraordinary. She didn't want to be kind and end up making both sides unhappy!

Thinking of his identity, she couldn't help but be curious: "Your name is Zhang Xuan... When did the Zhang family produce such a genius? I've never heard of it before."

"I'm not from the Zhang family!"

Seeing that he was misunderstood again, Zhang Xuan shook his head.

"Not from?" Senior Sister Water found it hard to believe.

Not from the Zhang family—meaning... without bloodline power, how could he be so strong at such a young age?

"I come from the direction of the Qingyuan Empire. The reason my strength is decent is that I work very... hard!" Zhang Xuan explained.

"This..."

Thinking of how this guy had broken through eight alleys in less than two quarters of an hour and was still going to learn swordsmanship, Senior Sister Water couldn't help but nod: "To achieve such strength at such a young age as a loose cultivator, you really do work hard!"

"Senior Sister Water, you just used bloodline power—could it be that you also come from a saint clan?"

Zhang Xuan also voiced his doubt.

"You... don't know me?"

Senior Sister Water was speechless.

Although she was only at the peak of the Nascent Soul realm, with her identity and appearance, she was quite famous in the outer courtyard of the Saint Son Hall, a prominent figure. This guy actually didn't even know her background... Was he serious?

"This is the first time I've met Senior Sister Water. How could I recognize you..."

Zhang Xuan shook his head.

"First time meeting?" Senior Sister Water finally realized, her beautiful eyes wide: "You're not a student who just passed the assessment today, are you?"

"Yes!" Zhang Xuan nodded.

"Just passed the assessment, and you came to challenge the Righteous Hall, clearing eight alleys in one go?" Swallowing her saliva, Senior Sister Water's face twitched.

New students nowadays were too impressive!

She had studied here for so long and couldn't even pass a Bing Alley, but this guy had just arrived and cleared eight?

"Oh, I finished the exam at noon. First, I went to the Wisdom Hall and passed the Eight-Star Formation Master exam. After passing, I set up an eighth-grade formation, chatted with someone for an hour, returned to my residence, took a bath, and then came to the Righteous Hall..."

Recalling, Zhang Xuan said.

"..."

Senior Sister Water's body stiffened.

The Eight-Star Formation Master exam was difficult to pass. Even the brother of the little princess of the Luo family had failed twice in a row... How come this guy made it sound as easy as going out for a stroll?

Most importantly... even if one became such a level formation master, setting up an eighth-grade formation would take at least three to five months to complete... He became a student of the Saint Son Hall at noon, set up a formation, chatted, came to the Righteous Hall, and it was still afternoon, not even dark yet...

Too fast!

"You... how long did it take you to pass the Eight-Star Formation Master exam?"

Unable to hold back any longer, she asked.

"This..." Frowning, Zhang Xuan thought carefully for a long time: "If we don't count the time for the assessment itself... about five or six minutes! Mainly, Elder Su delayed things a bit; otherwise, it could have been faster."

"Five or six minutes..."

Staggering again, Senior Sister Water felt utterly crushed.

She also wanted to become an Eight-Star Formation Master, but unfortunately, her cultivation was too low and she wasn't qualified, so she had never succeeded. This guy, with lower cultivation than hers, passed the exam in a few minutes...

The more she thought about it, the more distressed she felt, her chest aching and breathless.

"By the way, you haven't answered me yet—are you from a saint clan?"

Seeing the girl's face alternate between red and white, and clutching her chest as if mentally disturbed, Zhang Xuan frowned and asked.

"My name is Shui Qianrou, from the Saint Water Family!"

Suppressing the shock in her heart, Senior Sister Water Shui Qianrou said.

"Saint Water Family?"

Startled, Zhang Xuan recalled something and asked curiously: "I once knew someone from the Saint Wood Family, who practiced wood-attributed techniques. Water, wood... Do the saint clans include families related to the five elements?"

Mu Yuan, whom he met in the Hongyuan Empire, was from the Saint Wood Family. Now this Water Family appeared—could it be that among the saint clans, there really were so-called five-element families?

Otherwise, how could it be such a coincidence that the Water Family practiced water-attributed techniques and the Wood Family practiced wood-attributed power?

"The five-element families are first-class families among the saint clans. You... don't even know that?"

Shui Qianrou was truly speechless.

Although the five-element families were first-class, they always stood together in unity. Even the Zhang and Luo families had to be wary of them... This guy had already been admitted to the Saint Son Hall and hadn't even heard of this?

Too ignorant!

But thinking about it, she understood.

The Qingyuan Empire was a remote small place, so it was normal not to have records about saint clans.

You cannot discuss ice with a summer insect, nor the sea with a well frog, nor the Dao with a commoner!

The same principle.

Thinking this, she shook her head and spoke: "Saint clans are divided into several levels. You... should have heard of this, right?"

"Yes!"

Zhang Xuan nodded.

Within the eight great empires, there were also saint clans, like the family of Xue Ning, the Third Young Master Xue, but they were all third-class.

"Saint clans are divided into four levels. First, the super clans, whose status, even if not comparable to the headquarters of the Master Teacher Pavilion, is still higher than the headquarters of the Alchemist Association and the Artifact Refiner Association! They have absolute say and lofty status on the continent... They are the Zhang Family, the Luo Family, and the Jiang Family!"

Shui Qianrou explained: "Second, the first-class families, where the five-element families belong. The Water Family and the Wood Family are among them! Some major powers are also in this category, such as the Icefield Palace, the Alchemist Association..."

"Oh!"

Zhang Xuan suddenly understood.

He had long known that the Zhang and Luo families were powerful, super behemoths, but he didn't expect them to be first-tier families, with status higher than the headquarters of the Alchemist Association.

No wonder, when he heard that he liked the little princess of the Luo family, Teacher Wu and others were so worried.

"Third, the second-class families, whose status is similar to the Empire Alliance! There are many families of this level, over a hundred. As for third-class families, they are similar to the titled empires, scattered everywhere, and there are too many to count. I'm not sure of the exact number."

Shui Qianrou briefly detailed the four levels of saint clans.

Zhang Xuan nodded.

With that explanation, he understood.

If the super clans like the Zhang and Luo families were compared to the Qingyuan Titled Empire, then the five-element families were like the Hongyuan First-Class Empire, the second-class families like the second-class Huanyu Empire, and the third-class families like the Xue family were similar to the Kingdom Alliance.

It seemed that saint clans also had a strict hierarchy.

"A friend of mine... is from the Saint Yuan Family. Which level does this Yuan Family belong to?"

Remembering Yuan Tao, Zhang Xuan asked again.

Since the Icefield Palace was comparable to a first-class family, he wondered what level the Yuan Family was. If it was too low... he should consider bringing him back.

Seeing that he really knew nothing, Shui Qianrou said helplessly: "Among the five-element families, the Wood Family, Water Family, and Gold Family all have surnames corresponding to the elements. The Fire Family's surname is Chi, so the Saint Chi Family is the Fire Family among the five elements! And the Earth Family's surname is Yuan. If your friend is from the Saint Yuan Family, that is the five-element Earth Family!"

"Five-element Earth Family? A first-class family?"

Zhang Xuan was stunned.

He didn't expect the Yuan Family to be so powerful.

"Yes, and not only that, the Yuan Family is the strongest among the five elements, with heavy and fierce power and unmatched defense..." Shui Qianrou said.

Although the Water Family's techniques and bloodline power could embrace all things and overcome hardness with softness... their attack power was still too weak!

Among the five elements, the Gold Family had the strongest attack, but in terms of heaviness and defense, the Yuan Family was undoubtedly first, unmatched.

"That's good..."

Hearing that the Yuan Family was so powerful, Zhang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief.

In that case, he no longer needed to worry about Yuan Tao.

With such a powerful family, they must have means to help him improve quickly. It was possible that his cultivation was no weaker than Zhao Ya's.

"This is my teacher's residence. In a moment, try to speak as little as possible..."

As they were talking, Shui Qianrou stopped explaining and transmitted her voice.

Looking up, Zhang Xuan realized they had walked quite a distance and arrived at a spacious courtyard. Before even entering, he could feel strands of sword intent crisscrossing, as if returning to the Sword Pool.

"This is where Elder Sword Qinsheng lives? Truly extraordinary!"

Zhang Xuan's expression turned serious.

As expected of a sword grandmaster not inferior to Sword Elder, even though he had comprehended the true meaning of the sword, arriving here suddenly made him feel suppressed by the aura and somewhat unable to move freely.

"There is a sword qi at the entrance that will block ordinary students. I'll go in first and report to you, asking the teacher to let you in. Then we'll talk about the rest..."

Taking a deep breath, Shui Qianrou approached the courtyard gate. Just as she was about to enter, she saw a sword qi swirling around the young man's fingertip, trying to escape but unable to.

"Sword qi? You mean this one?"

Zhang Xuan was startled.