The disappearance of the Sword Grave caused a massive stir across the Cloud Continent, drawing the attention of countless powerful cultivators who rushed to investigate what had happened.

After all, the Sword Grave had long been regarded as one of the great mystery sites of the continent, existing for several hundred thousand years since its sudden appearance.

Many believed it to be a hidden inheritance left behind by a legendary figure of the past, yet despite endless attempts over the ages, no one had ever been able to obtain it.

Until now.

With its sudden disappearance, powerful figures from all over the continent flocked to the former site, hoping to uncover the identity of the inheritor. However, when they arrived, all that remained was an ordinary canyon. The towering sword-shaped rocks were gone without a trace, leaving behind nothing but a barren, unremarkable landscape.

At first, each of them relied on their own methods, searching independently for clues. But when none could find even the slightest lead, they began working together, combining their efforts to track down the supposed inheritor.

Even then, luck was not on their side.

No matter what method they used, no matter how deeply they probed, they could not uncover a single clue.

Frustration soon turned into anger.

In a fit of rage, several of these powerful figures lashed out, unleashing their strength upon the canyon. The aftermath was devastating. Nearly half of the Sword Grave Canyon was reduced to rubble as rock formations crumbled and the land itself was overturned.

The Kikilala River that flowed through the canyon became blocked, disrupting its natural course and causing problems for the regions downstream that relied on it for survival.

The destruction did not end there.

With their habitat ruined, large numbers of demonic beasts were forced to flee the canyon, scattering into the surrounding regions. Many of them wandered into mortal territories that had long been safe from such threats.

Villages, towns, and even cities fell under attack. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

While cities managed to withstand the assaults due to the presence of strong cultivators, keeping casualties to a minimum, the same could not be said for smaller settlements. Towns and villages, lacking sufficient protection, were devastated. Entire communities were wiped out, and only a handful of the fortunate managed to survive.

These incidents enraged the Protectors.

So many lives had been lost for no reason, all because of the reckless actions of a few irresponsible cultivators.

The Protectors of each region immediately moved. They hunted down every culprit involved in the destruction and handed them over to Protector Gandolf, the overseer of the South Region where the incident had taken place.

In the end, ten Soul Formation Realm cultivators, each with great status and influence, were punished. Their physical bodies were destroyed, their souls imprisoned.

All of their assets and wealth were confiscated and used to rebuild the devastated areas and compensate the victims. The blocked river was cleared as well, allowing the Kikilala River to flow once more.

The entire continent was shaken by this outcome.

Once again, it served as a grim reminder of the law and order that governed the Cloud Continent.

---

In the Leyan Family City Lord office,

Leyvi let out a long sigh after hearing the full report.

"Haa... I didn’t expect things to turn out like this after we left. I feel bad for those who lost their lives. They died because of me."

His voice carried a rare heaviness.

Compared to cultivators, it was the deaths of mortals that affected him more. They had no power to defend themselves, no means to resist what descended upon them.

He had already anticipated that people would come to investigate the moment Anda inherited the airship. That much was expected.

But he had never imagined it would escalate into such chaos.

Perhaps those cultivators thought that since no one lived in the canyon, it wouldn’t matter how much they destroyed. But actions rarely ended where they began. More often than not, the second and third-order consequences were far more devastating than the first.

Just like this time.

"Husband, you don’t have to feel guilty. It was their actions that caused those deaths. It can’t be blamed on you."

Layla stood up from her chair and moved over, sitting on the armrest of Leyvi’s seat. She gently stroked his hair, her voice soft as she comforted him.

"I know. But still, I can’t help feeling this way. What about our territories? How much were we affected by this incident?" Leyvi lifted his head and asked.

"Aside from the water shortage affecting people living along the river, many aquatic demonic beasts began attacking humans when the river dried up," Layla reported calmly. "Some of them couldn’t move well on land, but others had no problem adapting. Thankfully, those areas are not far from here, so I was able to send help in time. After the river flowed again, the surviving demonic beasts retreated back into it. I’ve recalled the Bara Corps, but left a few stationed there to monitor the situation in case the attacks resume."

"That’s good to hear." Leyvi’s expression eased slightly. "My beautiful City Lord wife is truly capable. Not only do you handle affairs within the city flawlessly, you can even govern the entire Bara land without issue. I’m really lucky to have a wife like you. I hope you don’t mind this lazy husband of yours leaving everything to you."

As he spoke, he rested his head on her soft thigh, his hand slipping under her blouse with familiar mischief.

Layla smiled, clearly pleased, and allowed it without resistance.

Her husband always spoke as if he contributed nothing, downplaying himself like he was merely idling around. But in her eyes, none of this would exist without him. What she saw was a man who always did his best to keep his wives happy, someone who supported their dreams without hesitation.

When she heard about the life-and-death situations they had faced during the Mystic Realm expedition, her heart had tightened with fear. The thought of losing them had been unbearable.

Only then did she fully realize how deeply she loved her husband and the Leyan Family.

Status, power, wealth, happiness. Everything she had now stemmed from Leyvi and Anda. Without them, she would still be working as a normal receptionist, nothing remarkable.

And to repay them, the least she could do was ensure that this land became the most prosperous place in the Cloud Continent.

And for that to happen, it wasn’t enough for cultivators alone to thrive. She had to ensure that the mortals within the land could also feel safe and live in peace without constant fear. The recent events had made one thing painfully clear. Mortal lives were fragile.

However, providing that security was not as simple as assigning cultivators to guard every village and town scattered across the land. Even those stationed in mortal cities were only there as part of their duties, exchanging protection for cultivation resources. The towns did have cultivators as well, but most of them were weak, only capable of dealing with bandits, not powerful enough to face demonic beasts.

So the only viable path was to give mortals the means to protect themselves.

Technology.

From her husband, Layla had learned that the mortals of the Protogaea Continent had developed weapons capable of killing Core Formation Realm cultivators. Even if such weapons were rare and reserved for emergencies, their existence alone proved that mortals were not as powerless as they seemed.

Under normal circumstances, high-level demonic beasts rarely left their territories to attack human settlements. Most threats came from low-level and intermediate-level demonic beasts. If mortals could be equipped with weapons strong enough to deal with those, their lives would change drastically.

The problem was that they could not achieve this on their own, not yet. They lacked both the knowledge and the security needed to begin. They needed guidance, protection, and time to grow.

And that responsibility would fall to her.

With the wealth the Leyan Family possessed, allocating a significant portion of resources to such a project was not an issue. What mattered now was taking the first step.

The foundation.

She needed to find the key material that could change everything.

Crude oil. Or as it was known here, cursed oil, death sludge.

A substance feared and avoided, yet one that held immense potential. Apparently, with the proper methods of refinement, it could produce countless useful materials. And one of them was creating powerful explosives.

Layla’s plan was simple in concept, but vast in execution. She would first gather capable cultivators to study and experiment with crude oil, to uncover its properties and refine its uses. Once enough knowledge had been accumulated, it would be passed down to the mortals.

At the same time, the Leyan Family would provide protection, ensuring that these early developments were not crushed before they could take root.

Only when mortals were strong enough to stand on their own would they no longer need to rely on cultivators for survival.