Same Surname, No Connection.

Jian Meili. Hailing from one of the apex powers and influences in the Divine Continent, she was the Princess of the Sublime Sword Empire and the beloved daughter of the Sublime Sword Emperor.

Such grand titles raised her status to the peak of the world. She was born with a golden spoon and was raised within the most exceptional environment. If that was all, then everything would've been fine, however, a lion never begets a dog.

Similar to her father, Jian Meili proved to be worthy to be the daughter of the Sword Emperor. She was born with otherworldly features and temperament that even immortal fairies and goddesses paled in comparison with her. But other than her unparalleled beauty, this proud daughter of the heavens also possessed peerless talent and potential!

She finished both the Mortal Flesh Body and attained Spiritual Awareness at a young age of 9! But her shocking cultivation speed didn't decrease one bit, instead, it increased! She reached the peak of the Astral Sea Realm at 13 and developed her Noble Will to finally enter the Noble Plane at a mere 16 years of age, leaving the world speechless and in awe.

She then proved her worth as both an unparalleled genius and the princess of an empire by beating and thrashing all of her peers with the same cultivation as hers! She continued to display unequaled combat prowess and remained undefeated as she reached the peak of Noble Plane at the age of 26.

After such achievements, both the masses and the peak geniuses of the Divine Continent gave her the title of 'Sword Goddess', due to her exceptional comprehension and accomplishment on the Sword Path.

Jian Meili was so gifted to the point that even the Sword Emperor admitted that his talents when he was her age, was no match if they were compared!

And right now, this illustrious figure was currently in the desolate and barren Lonely Devilwood Forest.

Staring at her plain-looking face that would blend within a crowd of people, Tian Long asked as he displayed a charming smile. "What could you be doing in this place, Sword Goddess Jian?"

Since Tian Long could deduce her identity due to the presence of the sword, Silverlight, Jian Meili didn't deny it. But instead—

"I could ask the same thing to you, Tian Long." She said as she looked at the young man in the eyes.

Tian Long's heart trembled when he heard Jian Meili say his name.

'She knows me?' he thought in his head.

Seeing his silence, Jian Meili continued. "The son of Tian Yingjie and the forsaken genius of the Tian Clan."

As she talked, she started walking towards the white-robed young man. "Not many people in this world know of your existence, but I am one of the extremely few that happen to know who you are."

Returning a look to the pair of golden eyes staring straight at her, Jian Meili didn't stop.

"You are the son of one of the strongest and most famous experts in the Divine Continent."

"You possessed heaven-defying talents and unparalleled looks."

"You, a dragon among men who should be out in the world displaying your glory for all to see."

At this moment, after inching closer and closer to Tian Long, Jian Meili finally came to a halt as she stood before the young man who was only slightly taller than her and tilted her head upwards.

"You, who probably everyone in the Tian Clan thought to be dead, what are you doing in this place?"

As he heard Jian Meili's calm and graceful voice, Tian Long felt as if her soft words were instead sharp daggers that pierced into his heart.

He clenched his fists as he remembered those past memories that were now his. His heart burned at the indignance he had suffered.

Tian Long's handsome face distorted as a fierce expression took over him. His expression was akin to that of a wounded and cornered animal that was about to retaliate one last time.

Crack, crack!

Bone popping sounds escaped his tightened fists as crimson blood dripped from it.

'My glory!'

'My honor!!'

'My birthright!!!'

Where are they?!

Just as Jian Meili was expecting the young man to lash out in response, she was surprised at what took place the next second.

Right then, the inner turmoil in Tian Long's mind stopped, his chaotic heart turned steady, and his rapid breathing returned to normal.

In but a breath of time, Jian Meili surmised that Tian Long's mindset must've changed a whole lot.

Of course, if it was either a good change or a bad change, nobody knew that except for the person himself.

With his Dao Heart reaffirmed, Tian Long exhaled a turbid air.

"I have done nothing that could either bring anger or shame to my clan, yet they condemned and banished me, my very own family! As if that wasn't enough, they even went to the extent of destroying my energy channels, crippling my cultivation, and throwing me in this uninhabitable place for humans."

After saying that, Tian Long gazed upward at the blue firmament which he found quite beautiful at this moment.

"Then so be it," he muttered softly. "I might share the same surname as the Tian Clan, but from this moment on, there will be no connection between us."

"Regarding my father's reaction, I hope he won't be too angry."

And as for who he'll be angry at...

'Although, I haven't even seen him or my mother yet...' Tian Long thought in his head as he lamented the fact that even his body's previous owner hasn't seen Tian Yingjie, let alone the current him.

Jian Meili didn't say anything as she looked at the now-seemingly-carefree Tian Long who had a smile plastered on his face.

'System, do you have the ability to purge bloodlines?' Tian Long asked in his mind.

Answering his question, the words of the ever-so-monotone voice resounded in his ears.

[The Bloodline Function is only available when the Apex System is Level 2.]

[The required Cultivation base for a system upgrade has been achieved. Do you wish to upgrade the system?]

Hearing the system's words, Tian Long smirked before refusing the upgrade. 'Not right now, and not in this place.'

Since Jian Meili was here, Tian Long didn't dare upgrade the Apex System at this moment, lest something weird happens to him.

He wouldn't know what to explain and how to explain himself then!

"Answering your question, I was thrown like garbage in here by the Tian Clan. It seems they didn't even want to dirty their hands by killing a trash like me themselves, so they simply crippled my cultivation and broke every bone in my body before leaving me here." Tian Long said with a beaming smile as if he wasn't talking about himself.

"What about you?"

"..."

Jian Meili couldn't help but turn speechless as she looked at the young man with an odd gaze. "Now that you mention it, I've heard that they indeed shattered your energy channels and tortured you, leaving you in a state that neared death... how come you don't look like as they described?"

Linking his hands behind his back, Tian Long shifted his body sideways as he adopted a scholarly posture, letting his long, jet-black hair flutter alongside his handsome white robe. He then gave Jian Meili a look which clearly said 'Why should I tell you that?'

"Everybody has their own secret trump card, your highness. We've just met, surely you're not planning on peeking on all my secrets right?" said Tian Long as if he was saying a matter-of-fact. "On the other hand, you haven't answered my question."

Although still curious how Tian Long saved himself from definite mortality, Jian Meili reeled in her curiosity. "Actually, I've bee looking for my—"

ROARRRRR!!

At that moment, before she could even finish her words, a resounding roar shook the whole forest as a gigantic shadow loomed over herself and Tian Long.