A seemingly indifferent statement, yet it carried boundless killing intent—cold and chilling to the bone.
But there was no sign of murderous aura on Gu Yuan's body. This is the bearing of a true powerhouse: to kill someone could be as simple as uttering a sentence, yet within that simple phrase hid an endless, hellish threat.
It was as if the person had already been sentenced to death.
"Achoo..."
In the Soul Realm.
Atop the rear mountain, Hun Xiu, who was immersed in training, suddenly sneezed. Rubbing his nose, he didn't think much of it and continued to train with the high-grade Profound-rank battle skill he had obtained from the Battle Skill Pavilion—Soul-Slaying Palm.
Little did he know, a peak powerhouse of this continent had already taken notice of him... and even begun contemplating ways to eliminate him.
Had Hun Xiu known, would he still be calm enough to focus on cultivation?
This was truly one of those moments: sitting at home peacefully, yet a knife descends from the heavens.
Back in the Gu Realm.
Gu Dao did not immediately respond to Gu Yuan's suggestion. Instead, he pondered for a moment, then slowly shook his head and said, "Clan Leader, that's unrealistic. Hun Xiu is the son of Hun Tiandi and is almost certainly the next leader of the Hun Clan. More importantly, he resides within the Soul Realm. It would be extremely difficult to reach him. Our people may be exposed before even getting close."
"Mm." Gu Yuan nodded slightly in agreement. "I've thought it through. Killing Hun Xiu is nearly impossible."
Then, changing the subject, he said, "Forget the one with the super-divine bloodline. Aren't there still two others with divine-grade bloodlines?"
Gu Dao replied, "One is called Hun Feng, also a son of Hun Tiandi. The other is Hun Yu, a son of one of the clan elders."
Gu Yuan asked again, "Do you think eliminating those two is feasible?"
Hearing this, Gu Dao could only shake his head and give a wry smile. "Clan Leader, that's simply impossible. Please don't joke."
"Sigh..." Gu Yuan let out a long sigh. "The Hun Clan is already no weaker than our Gu Clan. Now their younger generation is thriving beyond ours. Give it another hundred or two hundred years, and where will there be space for us Gu Clan in the Dou Qi continent?"
The rise of the Hun Clan's younger generation placed tremendous pressure on Gu Yuan—pressure he could not ignore.
Though they posed no immediate threat, that wouldn't remain the case forever. Once these prodigies matured fully...
The Gu Clan would be left in the dust.
All of the Ancient Clans were gradually facing the same fate: as time passed, their imperial bloodlines would grow weaker and eventually die out—becoming no different from ordinary people.
Just like the once-strongest Xiao Clan, now removed from the Ancient Eight Clans.
And the Spirit Clan and Stone Clan—now also fading. Their Emperor bloodlines were already incredibly thin. If not for a few aged old monsters supporting them, they'd likely have been removed from the ranks of the Ancient Clans as well.
The Gu Clan's Emperor bloodline couldn't last many more generations either.
But the Hun Clan's bloodline remained frighteningly strong.
And now… they even had a super-divine bloodline.
It was enough to make anyone envious.
Hearing Gu Yuan's sigh, Gu Dao remained silent, fully understanding the weight of his concern.
After a long pause, Gu Yuan slowly spoke again. "Gu Dao, what do you think about a marriage alliance with the Hun Clan?"
"Hmm?"
"Marriage alliance?"
Gu Dao looked at Gu Yuan in surprise. He hadn't expected the clan leader to utter the words "marriage alliance."
And with the Hun Clan, no less.
Though the Hun Clan was an equal in power, many in the Gu Clan disliked their methods—especially their shadowy front organization in the outside world, the Soul Hall.
Its ruthless and secretive style earned widespread distaste.
No one disliked it more than Gu Yuan, who had long held a grudge. After all, the Hun Clan had once taken advantage of a crisis to ambush and kill Xiao Xuan, the former leader of the now-fallen Xiao Clan—once Gu Clan's greatest ally.
Some even called Xiao Xuan Gu Yuan's "brother-in-arms."
Gu Dao collected his thoughts and asked, "Clan Leader, you said… a marriage alliance? With the Hun Clan?"
"Yes," Gu Yuan confirmed. "You didn't mishear. I meant exactly that—a marriage alliance with the Hun Clan."
In the end, Gu Yuan even asked rhetorically, "What do you think?"
He had initially only entertained the idea as a fleeting thought, never intending to say it aloud.
But somehow, it had slipped from his lips.
Now that it was out, there was no taking it back. The arrow had left the bow, the water had spilled—it was too late to reverse it.
And to be fair, an alliance through marriage wasn't a bad idea at all.
Seeing that Gu Yuan was serious, Gu Dao fell into deep thought.
After the Xiao Clan was ousted from the Ancient Eight Clans, the Hun Clan had become unusually low-key and mysterious.
Their only visible force in the outside world was the Soul Hall, founded by a five-star Dou Saint from their clan—an organization now feared across the continent.
No one knew just how strong the Hun Clan had become, or what secrets they harbored after a thousand years of quiet growth.
But one thing was certain: they were no weaker than the Gu Clan.
A thousand years ago, the Gu and Hun Clans were neck-and-neck in strength. Even after so long, though both had grown in secret, it was reasonable to assume they remained equal in power.
So, a marriage alliance between the Gu and Hun Clans might not be a bad idea.
Two great powers joining forces—there was value in that.
After carefully weighing the pros and cons, Gu Dao finally said, "I have no objections."
From Gu Dao's perspective, this kind of alliance made sense—even if he wasn't fond of the Hun Clan and their methods.
But… at their level, personal feelings didn't matter. What mattered was the clan.
He then added thoughtfully, "Since we're considering marriage, has the Clan Leader already chosen a target?"
"Of course," Gu Yuan said with conviction. "I want Hun Xiu. Isn't he the one with the super-divine bloodline?"
"If it's not him, I won't consider anyone else."
His tone was firm.
As far as Gu Yuan was concerned, Hun Xiu was a must.
If he couldn't destroy him—then he would claim him.
And to him, acquiring Hun Xiu was far more thrilling than destroying him.
"Achoo..."
Back in the Soul Realm, Hun Xiu sneezed again during his training. He rubbed his nose and muttered to himself, "What's going on?"
Unable to make sense of it, he simply stopped thinking and returned to cultivation.
In Hun Xiu's mind, the most important thing now was to train hard in preparation for the upcoming catastrophe that would befall the Hun Clan.
To become strong enough to at least protect himself in this turbulent world.