Chapter 438 - 308: The Ambition to Establish a Sect

Chapter 438: Chapter 308: The Ambition to Establish a Sect

The smile on Su Xue’s face suddenly froze, her expression dimming. She waved her hand gently and said, "Forget it, Ling Xiao. I don’t want to talk about that anymore. Right now, my greatest wish is simply to see the culprits from the Zhe Family who destroyed my family brought to justice. As for wiping out their entire family... I used to think that way, but now... after twenty years of being alone with my family gone, I have a deeper understanding of the principle that every grievance has its source, and every debt its debtor. I only want to kill the original perpetrators! The so-called ’wiping out their whole family’... the Zhe Family has long since branched out and become enormous. How could I possibly kill them all? And what if I involved the innocent, only for the tables to turn again in twenty years?"

Ye Zi nodded gently. Having endured countless hardships since childhood and met all sorts of people, she strongly agreed with her mother’s words. The only people she hated in the Zhe Family were that group of culprits from back then. In fact, considering Ling Xiao’s current relationship with the Zhe Family, the two sides were essentially locked in a struggle to the death. If they managed to eliminate all of the Zhe Family’s powerhouses, it wouldn’t be that different from wiping out the whole family. ’Even if the survivors wanted revenge, would they even have the strength for it?’

But Ye Zi was still very curious about her grandfather’s family. She had heard from Ling Xiao that they were a hidden family, so she couldn’t help but ask, "Mom, I’ve heard that hidden families and sects are divided into super, first-rate, second-rate, and third-rate, as well as unranked ones. So what tier was Grandfather’s family? Also, what are the standards for dividing the strength of these hidden families? Is it based on the number of high-tier powerhouses?"

High Priest Su Xue didn’t want to speak about the traitor within her clan, but she felt a deep sense of guilt toward the daughter she hadn’t raised for a single day. Because of this, she would answer any of Ye Zi’s questions with immense patience.

"Super families have existed since the Ancient Era. They generally aren’t the type of families that need to explore Ancient Ruins to grow stronger. In fact, I’ve heard some super families are even older than the age of the Saint Domain Emperor. This means the powerhouses that have emerged from those families are beyond anything we can imagine. Forget Saint Tiers—I’m afraid they’ve even produced Sword Gods!

Their family’s own domain might be an Ancient Ruin filled with countless treasures! To be called a super family, based on current strength, they must have at least ten Sword Venerable Level powerhouses!

At least fifty Sword Emperor Level powerhouses! As for those below the Sword Sect rank, having several hundred is normal, and as for Demon Sword Masters... they’re simply innumerable! That’s because every super family, without exception, possesses Secret Techniques and unique elixir formulas.

As for first-rate families, they must have at least one Sword Venerable powerhouse, over ten Sword Emperor powerhouses, and dozens in the Sword Sect Realm! Take the Zhe Family, for example. Back in the day, they had a Sword Venerable powerhouse! So, even though they didn’t have that many people in the Sword Emperor Realm, they were classified as being between first and second-rate. In my opinion, any family with a Sword Venerable is already a first-rate family!

Second-rate families might actually have more Sword Emperors than some first-rate ones! But precisely because they lack a Sword Venerable powerhouse, they can only be ranked as second-rate! So, child, don’t judge a family just by its rank. Oftentimes, even a third-rate family might have strength hidden beneath the surface that surpasses that of a second-rate family!

Besides, there are many families and sects that don’t care at all for empty titles. They might possess immense power, but no one knows they exist.

Originally, our Su Family was a small, unranked family. We barely managed to gain a foothold among the great families and sects by relying on a Lower Tier of the Saint Level sword technique we possessed. But our family was always very low-key, and we weren’t numerous; back then, the entire clan was only a few hundred people. Later, my grandfather stumbled upon a Secret Manual in some Ancient Ruins. It described a Secret Technique and had records for refining several elixirs. According to the Secret Technique, an ordinary person using it could reach the strength of a Sword Sect within twenty years! However, their cultivation for their entire life would be capped at the Sword Sect Realm.

If someone of exceptional talent was cultivated from childhood with this Secret Technique and these elixirs, they could absolutely reach the Sword Emperor Realm before the age of thirty! At that time, the strongest person in the entire Su Family... was merely a Tier Six Sword Sect! We were a small family in every sense of the word. Heh, you can just imagine how my grandfather felt when he obtained that Secret Manual from the Ancient Era."

A nostalgic look appeared on Su Xue’s face, her gaze gradually softening. She continued, "I was only two or three years old then. Although the Su Family wasn’t very powerful, we were, after all, a family with a long-standing lineage. The moment I was born, they could tell I was a child with exceptional talent. Unfortunately, I was a girl, and destined to marry out of the family one day. That’s also why I later married a General from the Mortal World!"

As Su Xue reminisced, she grew more talkative. The pavilion was quite cool, as Ling Xiao had used a few Low-Tier Crystal Cores to set up a cooling Array around it. Sitting inside was incredibly comfortable, a welcome respite from the scorching weather.

"Through that Secret Technique, I reached the level of a Sixth Rank Demon Sword Master by the time I was twenty! But that Secret Technique and its elixirs also came with their own shackles. Once you enter the Sword Emperor Realm, further advancement can no longer be controlled by elixirs or the technique. You have to rely on your own effort." Su Xue sighed softly. "Back then, one of my conditions for joining the Ye Family was that if I had sons, the one with the best innate talent would be adopted into the Su Family and take the Su surname. Unfortunately..."