When Yun Jin saw the terrified looks on their faces, she kindly explained, "Don't be so nervous. I just mean I'd like to have a few friendly spars with your people."
Spar?
That was even scarier!
Yun Jin could tell they were misunderstanding, so she added, "I need a breakthrough, and the only way to find it is through battle. I'll be challenging the strongest experts from each race, one by one. During these fights, I'll gain insight, and so will they. Tell them I'll control my strength, I won't let anyone die."
Everyone nodded repeatedly.
Good, good, good.
As long as no one died, that was fine.
But the thought had barely formed before their faces twisted helplessly.
Since when did their strongest warriors reach the point where Yun Jin needed to hold back? If they dared to repeat her words exactly when they went home, they'd probably get beaten on the spot.
Still, Yun Jin's power was undeniable, and she did have the right to say that.
"Alright, Senior Yun, I'll relay your message," Yu Shiyi said stiffly, stepping forward as the representative.
Yun Jin nodded, then looked around. "Aren't you all leaving yet? Or do you plan to hang around the Shi Tribe and stir up more trouble?"
"Leaving, we're leaving!"
"We'll depart tomorrow!"
"No, no, we'll go today!"
"No, forget it, we're leaving now!"
Yun Jin nodded in satisfaction. "Then go."
The envoys from all the tribes didn't dare stay another moment. They fled the Shi Tribe's territory at once.
With everything that had happened—the upheaval within the Shi Tribe, the appearance of a peerless powerhouse like Yun Jin—they needed to get this news back to their tribes as fast as possible.
In Stone City, countless citizens had witnessed Zhi Yue's downfall through the water curtain outside the royal palace.
They'd also witnessed the birth of the King Stone.
For the next few days, the king kept Yu Songnian by her side no matter what affairs she handled.
No one in the Shi Tribe objected.
Even though Yu Songnian claimed that the King Stone didn't determine strength, in the Shi Tribe's ten-thousand-year tradition, the one who held the King Stone was the next ruler.
Everyone had already accepted that Yu Songnian would one day inherit the throne.
Once the nobles were dealt with and the news reached the other tribes, the missions of Yue Zhao, Si Wanning, and Yu Songnian were officially declared complete.
With the King Stone revealed, the king back on the throne, and the other races awed into silence, the mission to restore the Shi Tribe's prestige had been a total success.
Yun Jin's mission was also marked as completed. Her task allowed her to choose freely between supporting the royal family or the nobles.
Although she'd personally killed Zhi Yue, the royal family still ruled now, so in the system's judgment, she'd helped the Shi royal line.
After claiming their rewards at Wushuang Sect, Yun Jin and the others returned.
Soon after, Yun Jin accepted another mission in the Shi Tribe's territory, this time bringing An Tong along.
She picked a mountain range within the region, planning to establish the Wushuang Sect's new branch there.
An Tong personally set up a teleportation array deep within the range.
Not long after, disciples from Wushuang Sect began arriving to construct the new base. Once the foundation was complete, Yun Jin planned to open the branch for new recruits.
The beings of the Boundless Sea and Nanlan Continent had talents that differed from those of the Central Continent. Recruiting disciples from these lands would fill certain elemental gaps within the Wushuang Sect's overall balance.
For now, both the Boundless Sea and Nanlan Continent branches would act as affiliated sects. If any disciples proved truly outstanding, they'd eventually be brought into the Wushuang Sect's main sect.
Once the branch construction was underway, Yun Jin chose a quiet spot in the mountains to go into seclusion. She'd gained quite a few manuals this time, most of them earth-element techniques.
The Nanlan Continent's races were fascinating. Their abilities varied wildly, but almost all cultivators there possessed at least one earth-element spiritual root.
It was probably tied to the nature of the land itself.
These manuals happened to fill in some missing pieces in Yun Jin's understanding of the Primordial Earth.
Over the next month, she devoured the insights hidden within those texts like a starving beast. When a month passed and the branch was nearly complete, Yun Jin emerged from her seclusion.
Her progress was astonishing.
The earth element contained five supreme Laws:
Control of Earth Element.
Impenetrable Wall.
Earth Tremor.
Nourishment of Earth.
Harmony of Earth.
During that month of seclusion, Yun Jin had directly comprehended one of them—the Harmony of Earth.
Its effect surprised even her.
Previously, she'd mastered three Primordial Forces in succession, yet since she hadn't completed the full Five Elements, they clashed slightly with one another.
But once she grasped the Primordial Earth's Harmony, that inner conflict among the elements vanished almost instantly.
Earth was the spirit of the land, the foundation of all things. Its harmony allowed all elements to coexist in balance.
Now she possessed Fire's Explosiveness, Wood's Protection, Water's Embrace, and Earth's Harmony.
All she lacked was Metal's Sharpness—the element of ultimate offense.
Once she mastered that, she'd complete the Five Elements and truly achieve the Primordial Five Element!
Yun Jin could feel it deep within her soul. She wasn't far from mastering all five.
The elements seemed to guide one another. Her comprehension of water, wood, and fire had made earth far easier to grasp. Once she mastered earth, the combined resonance of the four elements would naturally lead her toward Primordial Metal.
"I said I'd start challenging the other races after a month," Yun Jin murmured. "Looks like it's time to move."
So many races...
Where should she begin?
She only knew one person—Yu Shiyi.
Then it was decided. She'd start with the Yu Tribe.
Yun Jin made up her mind happily and vanished from the mountains.
Meanwhile, in the Yu Tribe, Yu Shiyi had already delivered Yun Jin's challenge. The entire tribe had grown tense at the mention of that peerless expert.
Yu Yi, the tribe's greatest powerhouse, had come out of seclusion early to prepare. On one hand, Yun Jin was from the Central Continent. He had to defend the pride of Nanlan Continent. Their races couldn't lose to humans again.
On the other hand, he longed for battle. For someone at his level, it was incredibly rare to meet a worthy opponent.
The Yu Tribe gathered quietly in anticipation.
Sensing where the tribe's powerhouses were gathered, Yun Jin flew straight there.
She descended slowly.
Yu Yi opened his eyes sharply, staring at her. "You're the human expert everyone's talking about?"
Yun Jin nodded. "That's me."
Without another word, she asked calmly, "Fight?"
Yu Yi stood, a fierce aura bursting from him. "Fight!"