Starting with being handed over to the Imperial Concubine, building a family with a thousand-year hi

"By adopting my first adopted son, I received the Heaven-Rank Top-Grade 'Imperial Supreme Body Technique'; by adopting my first demon beast son, I received the Heaven-Rank Top-Grade 'God-Slaying Finger'." Su Mu pondered to himself, a hint of anticipation flashing in his eyes. "If I have my first biological child in the future, what kind of reward will the system give me? It will surely be above the Heaven-Rank Top-Grade!"

The more Su Mu thought about it, the more excited he became, and the more he looked forward to his future cultivation path.

Then, he took out a medicine bottle containing 10 Spirit Essence Pills. Nowadays, he no longer slowly takes Spirit Essence Pills one by one. Whether it is Spirit Essence Pill, Qi Condensation Pill, or Yuan Condensation Pill, he takes them in large handfuls. The imperial aura in the palace is becoming more and more intense, and his power accumulation speed is also accelerating. Taking more pills will allow him to improve his cultivation level more quickly.

Su Mu swallowed all 10 Spirit Essence Pills in one go, circulated his cultivation technique to quickly digest the medicinal power of the pills, absorbed the surrounding imperial aura, and steadily improved his cultivation level.

The afternoon passed quietly as Su Mu focused on his cultivation.

As night fell, the imperial city fell into silence. In the dead of night, Su Mu's true essence suddenly erupted, and the imperial aura around him surged wildly. His cultivation level successfully broke through to the late stage of the Grandmaster realm!

However, he did not stop cultivating. He remained seated cross-legged, absorbing the imperial aura at the fastest speed to stabilize his realm and steadily advance towards the peak of the late Grandmaster realm.

At midnight, the familiar system notification sounded in his mind once again.

[Congratulations to the host's adopted daughter, Liu Ruoyu, for advancing to the early stage of the Innate Realm! The system reward has been sent to the system warehouse. Please check!]

"She broke through so quickly?" A hint of surprise flashed in Su Mu's eyes, but then he understood. "That makes sense. She was already at the late stage of the Acquired Realm before, and with the help of the pills I gave her, taking this crucial step shouldn't have been difficult."

As he pondered, he nodded to himself: "A joyous occasion makes one feel refreshed. She has just been promoted to Empress, which is a tremendous joy for her. Her improved state of mind will also help her break through her bottleneck. Moreover, the Xiao royal family is founded on martial prowess. If an Empress cannot even reach the Innate Realm, it would indeed be a disgrace to the Emperor and the royal family."

While pondering, Su Mu opened the system warehouse to check the rewards. This time, the rewards were also very generous—a large number of cultivation pills were naturally included, and although there were no special pills, the system also gave him an extra sword and a sword technique, which was quite a pleasant surprise.

That sword, named the Purple Geng Spirit-Slaying Sword, was a low-grade Earth-rank magic weapon, far more powerful than the Four Extremes Golden Thunder Sword he had used before. Previously, Su Mu could barely wield a low-grade Earth-rank magic weapon, but now that his acquired essence fire had transformed into true fire, his strength had greatly increased, allowing him to easily wield the Purple Geng Spirit-Slaying Sword and unleash its full power.

That sword technique, named "Extreme Killing Sword Technique," is a mid-grade Earth-rank technique. Like the "Instantaneous Light Sword Technique" he had previously mastered, it is an explosive sword technique. Don't be fooled by the fact that this sword technique only has one move; its power is incomparably formidable, making it an advanced version of the "Instantaneous Light Sword Technique"—the moves are more refined, the explosive power is stronger, and it can kill in an instant.

For Su Mu, who had already mastered the "Instantaneous Sword Technique," mastering the "Extreme Killing Sword Technique" quickly was not difficult. With just a little practice, he could use it with ease.

……

The following morning, as the sun rose in the east, its golden rays bathed the vast, wild plains. The eastern side of Ancestral Mountain shone brightly in the sunlight, its snow-capped peaks reflecting a dazzling white light, appearing exceptionally sacred and majestic.

At this time, the leaders of the various barbarian tribes had already gathered at the foot of Ancestral God Mountain. Among them were several newly elected leaders—their previous leaders had died in battle during the attack on the Great Qian Imperial City, their bodies never to be found.

"The Ancestor has arrived!"

The leaders had been waiting for a long time when suddenly someone shouted loudly, his tone full of awe. Everyone looked up and gazed at the summit of Ancestral Mountain.

A young figure appeared, stepping through the air and slowly descending—this was Tuoba Hongzhen, who had just emerged from the ice palace atop the mountain. Over the past few days, he had frequently immersed himself in the pool within the ice palace, using the special energy of the water to finally recover to his peak condition, his aura now even more powerful than before.

"What exactly were the losses our clan suffered during our invasion of the Great Qian Imperial City?" Tuoba Hongzhen hovered about ten feet above the ground, looking down at the group of leaders with a cold tone and an unquestionable air of authority.

A burly leader stepped forward, bowed, and replied, "Reporting to the Ancestor, the losses of ordinary soldiers were not too great. Including those who scattered and went missing, the total number of casualties was less than 100,000. However, in the process of attacking Daliang City, Longbei County City, and Longmen Pass, our tribe suffered far more casualties."

"The loss of ordinary soldiers is insignificant," another white-haired leader stepped forward and added, his tone full of sorrow. "The most critical issue is the loss of high-end combat power, which is far too devastating! Grandmaster Tuoba Zan perished outside the Great Qian Imperial City; more than a dozen other Grandmaster-level experts also died in the war. Now, the number of martial arts experts in our clan is at its lowest in history, completely damaging our foundation."

"If the Great Qian Empire takes this opportunity to attack our race and retaliate, our race will probably..." An old barbarian frowned and sighed with worry. He didn't finish his sentence, but his concern was evident in his words.

"Don't worry." Tuoba Hongzhen said confidently, his eyes sharp as knives. "The Great Qian Empire will not invade our tribe, because they have no opportunity."

He paused, then continued, "This attack on the Great Qian Imperial City was due to my carelessness and lack of preparation, which led to the disastrous defeat. This time, I will return to the Great Qian Imperial City, alone!"

"This time, I will annihilate the Xiao royal family, kill all their martial arts experts, and avenge Tuoba Zan and my fallen clansmen!"

"Return to your respective tribes, gather your scattered members, reorganize your armies, and train your warriors. When I return from the Great Qian capital, you will lead your warriors on another southern expedition with me, to conquer the Great Qian Empire in one fell swoop, and let my barbarian tribe secure its place in this cataclysmic upheaval!"

Hearing Tuoba Hongzhen's words, the barbarian leaders, though still harboring doubts, dared not utter a single dissent. They all bowed and shouted in unison, "Our Ancestor is mighty! Our Ancestor is invincible! We obey your command!"

Under the awe-inspiring gazes of the crowd, Tuoba Hongzhen did not linger. With a flash, he transformed into a streak of crimson light and flew south alone, his destination the Great Qian Imperial City.