Inside the Qin Family Residence, Qin Zhao Yang rushed nervously to the back courtyard and his face turned solemn upon seeing the scene inside.
He saw a crowd gathered. Some were Eight Paths Sect disciples who were living in the Qin Residence, while the rest were the guards and servants of the Qin Family.
Although the people from Eight Paths Sect weren’t many, all of them had Dao Source Realm cultivations. On the other hand, the Qin Family guards, who were surrounding them, were actually just Origin Kings or even Origin Returning Realm cultivators.
Despite their inferior number, the Eight Paths Sect still held the absolute advantage in terms of strength.
A sense of heaviness could be felt within the atmosphere, and the air was vaguely filled with a trace of blood.
Qin Zhao Yang’s heavy and rapid steps alarmed everyone. The crowd of guards turned around and got excited when they saw him, “Old Ancestor!”
On the contrary, the faces of the Eight Paths Sect disciples, who were being surrounded in the centre, turned ugly.
Qin Zhao Yang gently nodded and walked straight ahead.
The crowd instantly made way, allowing him to walk unimpeded.
When Qin Zhao Yang reached the center and saw what was on the ground, his eyes narrowed and anger welled up inside him.
A female corpse, one that had died in a horrible manner, lay on the ground covered in blood. With just a glance, Qin Zhao Yang could recognize that she was a maidservant of the Qin Family. He did not expect that this maidservant who had served him a cup of tea just a few days ago, would now lie dead in front of him today. Her lifeless eyes were staring at him horrendously, as if crying out for justice.
He observed the corpse and soon determined that her chest had been crushed by a great impact, causing it to cave in. There were even pieces of her internal organs vomited out of the corner of her mouth.
Qin Zhao Yang’s emotions became worked up as he stared at this miserable scene, and the Source Qi in his body began to faintly tremble.
The disciples of Eight Paths Sect kept looking awkwardly at each other, but there was one particular young man, who had fair skin and a handsome appearance, who was the target of the most gazes.
“Who did this?” Qin Zhao Yang took a deep breath and broke the long period of silence. His tone seemed to be calm, but his slightly trembling voice revealed his inner unrest.
While speaking, he lifted his head and swept across the people of Eight Paths Sect with his eyes.
They did not dare to meet eyes with him and all moved their gazes aside.
“Anyone who knows, step out and speak. Don’t be afraid!” Qin Zhao Yang bellowed, looking at the guards and maidservants of his family.
One of the maidservants stepped out, biting her lips, her face pale, eyes swollen, as if she had not gotten over from the shocking scene. Suppressing her tears at this moment, she knelt down in front of Qin Zhao Yang with a puff, “Old Ancestor, Xiao Huan cannot rest in peace like this, please avenge her!”
“Stand up, tell me what happened.” Qin Zhao bent over and gave the maidservant a hand.
After the maidservant got up, she lifted her head and glanced at one of the disciples of Eight Paths Sect. Seeing that this man was also staring at her fiercely, her face turned pale in fright and she couldn’t help letting out a scream.
Qin Zhao Yang noticed this of course and laid his hand on the maidservant’s shoulder, infusing a stream of pure Source Qi into her in order to calm her fears before speaking softly, “With this Old Ancestor here, no one can touch you. Just speak the truth.”
“Yes!” The maidservant gently nodded and started to speak, “By the order of Old Ancestor, Xiao Huan and this servant have been taking care of all the Sir’s daily needs here with all our heart and dared not to slack even in the slightest. Today, we came here to bring refreshments to a certain Sir, but when we put down the platter and were about to leave, then… then…”
When she reached that part, she seemed to have recalled an unwanted memory and her tender body began to tremble, making it impossible for her to continue.
Qin Zhao Yang waited patiently for her as he continued using his Source Qi to support her.
After a while, the maidservant gradually calmed down and continued, “Then that Sir started to express his wicked intention, trying to force Xiao Huan and this servant to stay to serve him. We refused to do so and politely asked him to excuse us in every possible way. Then, all of a sudden, Xiao Huan let out a scream and was thrown across the courtyard. When this servant rushed to check on her, she was already… already…”
Qin Zhao Yang exerted a slight force with his hand and the maidservant passed out instantly. He then ordered a guard beside him, “Help her out and give her some rest.”
“Yes!” The guard carried the maidservant and rushed out of the courtyard.
Qin Zhao Yang turned to look at one of the rooms in the courtyard and saw the door of the room was broken, which was obviously caused by an impact. In combination with the maidservant’s statement, he deduced that the broken door must be the result of the other maidservant, Xiao Huan, being knocked out of the room.
“Who lives here?” Qin Zhao Yang pointed his finger to that room and cast a deadly serious gaze towards the Eight Paths Sect group.
Most of them looked away, with their eyes blinking, as if they knew the reason and felt embarrassed about it.
But a particular man, who seemed to become angry out of shame, raised his head proudly and yelled, “It was this Young Master, so what?”
As soon as he spoke, all of the Qin Family guards turned their gaze towards this man, as did Qin Zhao Yang.
This man was the previously mentioned disciple with fair skin and handsome appearance, a disciple of Eight Paths Sect.
Even under the watchful eyes of the crowd, this man showed not the slightest remorse and instead sneered, “What do you want to do? Before you act, you’d best weigh your own capabilities first!”
Pushing his Source Qi, he released a Second-Order Dao Source Realm cultivation.
Qin Zhao Yang was forced to fall a few steps back and the guards were even worse off, all of them seemingly feeling like they were being crushed by a mountain, showing painful expressions on their faces as their bones cracked.
Although Qin Zhao Yang was suppressed by the opponent’s presence, he did not flinch at all. Instead, he circulated his own strength rapidly to forcefully regain his footing and questioned in a deep voice, “What are friend’s intentions here? Are you planning to destroy my Qin Family?”
“Of course that is not my meaning, don’t make baseless accusations!” The fair-skinned man shouted.
“Did you kill Xiao Huan?” Qin Zhao Yang asked with his teeth gritted.
The face of the white-skinned man suddenly became a bit awkward as he muttered, “It wasn’t intentional… she suddenly bit me and I… accidentally acted and wound up killing her. But look here, look at this wound! Just imagine how hard she must have bitten me!”
He rolled up his sleeves and there was indeed a fresh row of teeth marks on his skin.
“You killed her just because of this?” Qin Zhao Yang hastily took a few steps forward, his clothes flapping along with his movement.
Even though the fair-skinned man’s cultivation was higher than Qin Zhao Yang’s, seeing the old man charging at him like a mad bull, he actually felt slightly intimidated and kept retreating, continuing to give excuses, “I already said I didn’t mean it, what else do you want from me? You are a cultivator too, surely you should know that little accidents like this happen sometimes.”
“Indeed, this old master is a proud cultivator, but this old master has never used his strength to attack an ordinary mortal who possesses no cultivation at all, much less accidentally killed such a person!” Qin Zhao Yang was infuriated.
“Stubborn old dog…” The white-skinned man became angry as well as snapped, “Seems I can’t reason with you.”
“Hahaha…” A sound of laughter suddenly interfered with the scene as a middle-aged man stepped forward and cupped his fist towards Qin Zhao Yang, “Patriarch Qin, can we discuss this somewhere else?”
“If you have anything to say, say it here,” Qin Zhao Yang coldly rejected.
The middle-aged man showed a smile of embarrassment on his face as he stared at Qin Zhao Yang, but deep down inside he was secretly cursing him for not knowing how to appreciate kindness.
He knew that he had to be careful with Qin Zhao Yang now though, so after pondering for a while, he continued, “Patriarch Qin, it was indeed my Junior Brother Lin Yun’s fault for accidentally killing the maidservant of your noble family, and he is extremely regretful about what has happened, so Patriarch Qin, please have mercy on him and let these small matters be made small, shall we?”
“Extremely regretful?” Qin Zhao Yang squinted at the man named Lin Yun and sneered, “Has this old master gone blind perhaps? How come this old master cannot see the slightest regret from him at all?”
The middle-aged man instantly cast his eyes towards Lin Yun. Lin Yun muttered a few words in dissatisfaction, but still reluctantly lowered his head, looking demoralized.
“Patriarch Qin, the dead cannot be restored to life, so you cannot be thinking of asking my Junior Brother Lin Yun to pay for this with his life, right?” The middle-aged man smiled.
“I dare him!” Lin Yun suddenly lifted his head again and snapped.
“You shut up!” The middle-aged man glared at Lin Yun furiously, this time forcing Lin Yun to behave slightly.
The middle-aged man looked back at Qin Zhao Yang, and whispered, “Patriarch Qin, I will tell you the truth. My Junior Brother Lin is usually not an arrogant or domineering person, he is just a bit obsessed with women, which I am sad to say has led to this unfortunate accident. These days, while staying here, he has been behaving himself well, but all of a sudden he seems to have lost his self-control. I am truly speechless about this. The Vice Sect Master has been spoiling him in the Sect, but honestly, even we could not tolerate his temper sometimes. Patriarch Qin, please do not pay his indiscretion any mind.”
“Vice Sect Master?” Qin Zhao Yang narrowed his eyes.
“En, Vice Sect Master Lin Rui is his uncle,” the middle-aged man explained with a faint smile.
Qin Zhao Yang understood his intention.
Lin Yun had someone backing him. However, even if he did not, no one in the Qin Family could do anything to him with his Second-Order Dao Source Realm cultivation.
Now that it was apparent that this Lin Yun had such a strong backer, Qin Zhao Yang understood that it would be impossible to have the former pay for his crime with his life.
The Qin Family could not risk provoking Eight Paths Sect as even though they were not a big Sect, they were still a hundred times stronger than the Qin Family.
Thinking so, Qin Zhao Yang could not help feeling downhearted and lost.
A maidservant from his family was beaten to death in his own home, but even as the Old Ancestor, he was unable to do anything to punish the murderer. This feeling of helplessness troubled his heart.
“Why bother with so much nonsense?” Lin Yun seemed to become impatient and shouted, “Wasn’t it just a maidservant? Can’t we just settle this matter with some compensation? Is a hundred thousand Source Crystals good enough for you? No? Then how about two hundred thousand! For a small family like yours, two hundred thousand Source Crystals is a huge sum of money, enough to spend for several years! Accept my offer or face the consequences!”
There was not even a slight trace of regret on his contemptuous face, as if the maidservant on the ground wasn’t even killed by him.
Hearing this, the middle-aged man did not make any attempt to stop him. Obviously, he had the same thought. It would be best if they could settle the issue like this. If not, he would not mind shedding all the pretence of cordiality and using threats to ensure this matter did not spread out later.
On the opposite side, Qin Zhao Yang, who looked lost earlier, immediately became enraged.
The middle-aged man hurriedly cut in, “Don’t lose your temper, Patriarch Qin. Although my Junior Brother Lin Yun’s words are a bit crass, they are not unreasonable.”
It was clear that the middle-aged man from Eight Paths Sect was trying to resolve the problem peacefully with money. Although the Qin Family was no match for Eight Paths Sect in terms of strength, the latter were ultimately the party at fault here, so the middle-aged man did not want to further complicate the matter and avoid the spread of rumours which might mar their reputation.
Qin Zhao Yang was keeping quiet, and no one knew what was on his mind, but just by looking at him, everyone could see that his eyes were filled with unwillingness and anger. He stood there with his fists clenched so hard that the cracking sound of his bones could be heard.
Even seeing this, Lin Yun continued to mock him with a smug face, “Old Patriarch Qin, you better consider this carefully. One wrong decision will be enough to cost the small Qin Family… “
He sounded gruesome, and his words were full of threat.
At that moment, a voice suddenly came from outside, “A human life… costs just two hundred thousand Source Crystal? Ahem ahem… Just how cheaply do you value life?”
This person coughed softly while speaking, as if they had some serious illness.
“Who’s there!?” Lin Yun was maddened and hurriedly turned to yell in the direction of the voice.
Qin Yu was slowly walking over with the help of Hui’er from that side. She looked pale and fragile, like a small flower beaten by the storm, making everyone instinctually want to protect her.
Lin Yun was dazzled, his eyes lighting up as he gazed at Qin Yu with excitement.
Qin Yu was a beauty, and her current illness added a morbid sense of elegance to her continence, bewitching Lin Yun’s soul, causing him to lust after her.
Just as the middle-aged man said, Lin Yun was obsessed with women. It had been almost two months since he came to Maplewood City and he had been staying in the Qin Residence all this time, finally losing control of his impulses and trying to take advantage of the two maidservants today. If it were not for him, this mess would not have happened.
But when he saw Qin Yu, he instantly regretted his actions. He could not believe that he actually had the thoughts of laying his hands on plain women like those maids which would have only brought disgrace to his status.
[Even if I should have any thoughts, it should be about this woman in front of me!]
“Yu’er!” Qin Zhao Yang’s expression changed dramatically as he rushed over to Qin Yu. Supporting her by her side, he quickly reprimanded, “Why did you come out? Didn’t Old Ancestor ask you to rest well?”
Qin Yu forced a smile, “I felt like something bad was about to happen… I was worried, so I came to see.”
During the conversation, she took a glance at the maidservant’s corpse. Seeing her terrible condition, Qin Yu’s already pale face turned even paler.
“This Young Lady…” Lin Yun smiled brilliantly and began speaking in a voice laced with suave. When he was about to greet Qin Yu, however, the middle-aged man glared fiercely at him and snapped, “Stand back! Don’t you think you’ve caused enough trouble already?!”
Lin Yu was seemingly afraid of this middle-aged man, so after being reprimanded, he kept his mouth shut, looking embarrassed.
Several other disciples from Eight Paths Sect also could not tolerate his behaviour and glared at him with a reproachful look, blaming him for not being able to restrain himself.
“This must be Young Lady Qin Yu,” the middle-aged man cupped his fist and greeted Qin Yu with a faint smile.
“Does Senior know me?” Qin Yu coughed lightly and looked at him with her watery eyes.
The middle-aged man smiled lightly, “When I was inquiring about the news in the city, I heard many stories about the amazing Young Lady of the Qin Family. Seeing you today, it’s clear your reputation is not undeserved.”
It was not common for a lady, who merely had an Origin Returning Realm cultivation and whose vitality was pitifully low due to some unknown severe illness, to actually face and talk freely to a person with the cultivation at the Second-Order Dao Source Realm like him.
The middle-aged man could not see the slightest panic or fear in Qin Yu’s eyes.
More importantly, the middle-aged man sensed that Qin Yu’s lifespan would be up soon, but she still looked calm and composed, as if completely unafraid. One had to know that even old masters who had lived for hundreds of years and had seen great storms in their life may not be able to carry themselves with such poise when their end was approaching.
The middle-aged man could not help but gaze at her again in amazement.
“What Young Lady Yu meant just now… was that our offer was too low?” Even though the middle-aged man thought that Qin Yu was extraordinary, he still did not take her seriously; after all, she was just an Origin Returning Realm Cultivator, and also just a Young Lady from a small family. She could catch his eyes for a bit, but to him, she did not deserve to be treated specially, so after some pleasantries, he went straight back into the topic and continued with his smile, “If so, Young Lady Yu, please offer us your price. We, Eight Paths Sect, are not some great Sect, but we still can afford some Source Crystals.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Qin Yu responded coldly, “Do you think this is a business deal to be bartered and bargained over?”
The middle-aged man looked embarrassed and forced a smile, “Young Lady Yu, what you mean is… “
“Life is priceless!” Qin Yu shouted.
The middle-aged man narrowed his eyes and in a much colder tone than before, he asked “Please speak clearly, Young Lady Yu. I’m afraid I don’t understand your meaning here.”
He had gradually lost his patience. Even though the issue was indeed caused by Lin Yun, he was still a Second-Order Dao Source Realm Master and had already lowered his status and showed much respect to them, hoping that they would accept his courtesy and give everyone a way out.
However, not only was the Old Ancestors of this Qin Family acting stubborn, even this Junior was reluctant to let this matter drop, which of course annoyed him greatly.
Despite the massive gap between their strengths, the middle-aged man still gave them massive face by negotiating with them politely, but their persistent decline of his offer had made him feel humiliated instead.
“A life for a life, that is the principle of Heaven and Earth!” Qin Yu declared.
“What?” The middle-aged man’s face changed. He really did not expect Qin Yu to make such a ridiculous request.
Lin Yun jumped up in shock and snapped, “Woman, are you crazy? How dare you ask for the life of this Young Master? How can you even compare the life of a single piece of trash with this Young Master’s life? Do you have some kind of death wish?”
“Watch your mouth, you bastard!” Qin Zhao Yang burst out with anger and cursed him when he heard that this good for nothing actually dared to insult Qin Yu.
Lin Yu laughed with overwhelming anger as he kept nodding his head, “Good, good, good, everyone in this small family has guts! Today, this Young Master shall teach you some proper manners!”
He released his Source Qi while speaking, getting ready to attack.
“Fool!” The middle-aged man suddenly burst out at Lin Yun as he ground his teeth and shouted, “What do you think you’re doing?”
Lin Yun was dumbfounded and pointed at Qin Zhao Yang and Qin Yu, “You heard them, right? Isn’t it obvious what I’m going to do?!”
The middle-aged man’s face darkened as he sent his voice directly into Lin Yun’s ear, “Killing them is easy, and even if bad rumours spread out, our Sect will just lose some reputation at most. It’s impossible for anyone to stand up for this small family and disturb our Eight Paths Sect.”
“Then what are you worried about?” Lin Yun was confused. He did not understand why the middle-aged man stopped him.
“Are you trying to alarm ‘that’ person? Do you know what would happen to you if you alarmed him for something like this?” The middle-aged man looked at him coldly.
Lin Yun’s expression changed after hearing this. ‘That’ person the middle-aged man mentioned seemed to be a terrifying existence to Lin Yun and his face quickly turned pale just hearing about him, causing his Source Qi to completely deflate.
This scene was imprinted into the eyes of Qin Yu and Qin Zhao Yang. They did not know what kind of secret conversation was held between the two of Eight Paths Sect disciples, but they were surprised that it actually caused the flames of Lin Yun’s anger to be doused.
The middle-aged man turned back to Qin Yu, cupped his fists, and said, “Young Lady Yu, regarding your last proposal, I’ll pretend I did not hear that. Please ask something else!”
Qin Yu coughed a few times lightly, “I understand that with the strength of our Qin Family, we cannot make you pay with your life… “
“Young Lady Yu understands well,” The middle-aged man praised Qin Yu’s wit with a faint smile.
Qin Yu instantly continued, “Although we are incapable of avenging Xiao Huan, she was still a servant of our Qin Family, and we can’t just let her die unreasonably. As a matter of course, we can’t continue to entertain her enemies in the Qin Residence anymore. All of you… leave!”
Everyone from Eight Paths Sect was stunned at her words, staring at Qin Yu with bulging eyes and funny faces.
The middle-aged man let out a dry cough after a long silence, “What Young Lady Yu just said… do you mean?”
Qin Yu answered, “Am I still not clear enough for you? We, the Qin Family, no longer welcome you here. What’s more, we will not forget this grudge and will one day avenge Xiao Huan’s death.”
She looked straight into his eyes while speaking, with no intention to set her gaze aside.
The face of the middle-aged man was getting colder and colder, while the other disciples of Eight Paths Sect did not look much better.
A breeze swept through the courtyard, and the bloody stench in the air became even stronger.
The middle-aged man stared at Qin Yu with his sharp eyes. After remaining silent for a long time, he responded, “Young Lady Yu… Are you serious?”
The corner of his mouth twitched as he spoke, seemingly not having expected things to develop to this point.
If they were really being kicked out from the Qin Residence by Qin Yu, where would the dignity of Eight Paths Sect be? More importantly, if they were driven away like this, this matter would definitely alarm ‘the’ person that he feared the most. When that person demanded an explanation, what was he supposed to say?
He certainly could not disclose this matter to that person, about how Lin Yun accidentally killed a maidservant of another family but they could not take revenge so they wanted to expel Eight Paths Sect from their residence…
If he really said so, he was sure that neither he nor Lin Yun would have good ends.
That person… was not easy to deal with.
“Do I look like I’m joking to you?” Qin Yu gently bit her red lips, refusing to budge.
The middle-aged man unexpectedly closed his eyes and spoke slowly, “Young Lady Yu, can you make an exception for this? We can’t leave the Qin Residence yet for reasons I cannot share!”
Without waiting for Qin Yu’s response, he immediately raised his finger in the sky and shouted, “One million of Source Crystals! Okay?”
After the shout, Lin Yun and the others changed their faces drastically, their voices cracked, “Senior Brother, are you serious?”
One million of Source Crystals was not a small number. Even though this number was within their capability, Eight Paths Sect was not a big Sect and it would still be a burden to them, so if it were not a last resort, they would be unwilling to pay for so much.
Thinking of this, Lin Yun exclaimed, “What’s done is already done, don’t keep harping on and on about a mere slave. Like it or not, we will give you one million Source Crystals but we will not leave the Qin Residence. If you have the strength to refuse, you’re free to come take revenge on me anytime!”
“Scoundrels! All of you!” Qin Yu stomped her feet in anger. Since the Qin Family was incomparable to Eight Paths Sect in strength, it was impossible to cast them out with force. If the Eight Paths Sect insisted on staying, the Qin Family really could do nothing about it.
It was just that Qin Yu never expected that when everything had reached this point, they could still be so shameless to stay. The level of their shamelessness was unparalleled.
“Hahaha!” Lin Yun cackled, “Yes, this Young Master is a scoundrel, so what? Does Young Lady Qin want to teach me a lesson? I’ll give you a chance now, come with me!”
Just as he finished speaking, he rushed over in front of Qin Yu with a flicker and right before everyone’s eyes, he stretched out his hand to grab her shoulder.
The middle-aged man saw this happen and wanted to react, but hesitated, then closed his eyes and pretended he did not see anything.
He was mad that the Qin Family couldn’t appreciate kindness and since they preferred to settle things through force, he simply turned a blind eye to Lin Yu’s actions. Making this small family bear the consequences of standing up against them would allow them to understand who was really in charge here.
“Scram!” Qin Zhao Yang, who was beside Qin Yu, immediately burst out at Lin Yu. Seeing Lin Yu charging towards her, Qing Zhao Yang could not just sit back and watch, pushing his Source Qi madly he sent out a palm that could crush mountains. Clearly, he was not holding back in the slightest.
Lin Yun sneered, “Old man, it seems you don’t understand the immensity of Heaven and Earth. You really think that you can stop this Young Master with just this?”
He did not intend to evade and instead turned his claw into a palm and sent it out to meet Qin Zhao Yang’s.
A sinister force pulsed out as Lin Yun seemed to have transformed into an extremely poisonous snake, flicking its forked tongue as it sniffed its prey.
Qin Zhao Yang’s face changed as he understood that if this palm strike was to hit him, he would certainly not have a good end; after all, he was now old and weak. Although he was a Dao Source Realm cultivator, his remaining strength could not be compared to his prime while on the opposite side, Lin Yun, who was still young, energetic, and possessed a Second-Order Dao Source Realm cultivation, was simply not someone that he could contend with.
But this was a matter of Qin Yu’s safety, so even though he knew he would suffer, Qin Zhao Yang did not fall back, instead pushing his Source Qi even more madly as he met Lin Yu’s aggression head-on.
“Overconfidence!” Lin Yun clicked his tongue and teased with his head shaking slowly.
*Peng…*
The palms touched and their intense Source Qi collided, releasing a powerful shockwave that kicked up a violent wind as well as sand and rock from the courtyard.
Then…
A shocking scene happened.
The moment when the two skills clashed, surprisingly, Lin Yun’s body trembled before his face changed drastically. After he let out a scream, he was thrown out while coughing up a mouthful of blood mid-air before slamming heavily into a building behind him, opening a big pit hole in its walls.
*Hong long long…”
There was a continuous sound of crashing in the room, as if Lin Yun could not control his momentum and was smashed through more and more walls.
“What?” The middle-aged man and the rest of the Eight Paths Sect disciples were dumbstruck as they watched this unbelievable scene with their eyes bulging.
Meanwhile, the guards of the Qin Family, who were initially consumed with fear despite their hatred for the enemy, were equally shocked; but soon, all of them beamed with delight and cheered triumphantly.
“Old Ancestor, you…” Qin Yu looked over in confusion. Although she could not detect Lin Yun’s true cultivation, she sensed he was much stronger than the Old Ancestor.
How did the Old Ancestor knock him back in just one move then?
That was impossible!
Qin Zhao Yang was dumbfounded too. He actually had mentally prepared himself to be critically injured as he laid his life on the line in order to keep Qin Yu safe.
In any case, he would not just sit back and watch Qin Yu being captured and humiliated by Lin Yun.
However, the end result surprised him greatly.
But after a short moment, he seemingly realized something and turned around.
There, he saw a man with a smiling face standing behind him, supporting his back with his hand while infusing him with a stream of pure and vigorous Source Qi.
It was this man who assisted him in knocking back Lin Yun!
Qin Zhao Yang’s eyes lit up as he joyfully shouted, “Yang Kai!”
He found that the one who quietly helped him from behind was the person that he had been waiting for to return to Maplewood City, Yang Kai.
“Ah?” Qin Yu was startled when he heard Qin Zhao Yang’s shout and turned her gaze to look in his direction. When she saw Yang Kai, she could not help covering her mouth and let out a trembling voice, “Sir Yang!”
“Who?!” The middle-aged man from Eight Paths Sect regained his wits and bellowed, furiously glaring at Yang Kai as he shouted, “Who are you? How dare you injure our Eight Paths Sect’s disciple with such a treacherous trick!”
“Eight Paths Sect?” Yang Kai raised his brow after hearing this and instantly swept across the middle-aged man and the disciples of the Eight Paths Sect with his eyes. However, he did not find the person that he was looking for and could not help feeling disappointed, “Are all of you disciples of Eight Paths Sects?”
“Indeed!” Seeing Yang Kai seemingly aware of their reputation, the middle-aged man became emboldened, “Who are you?”
The middle-aged man couldn’t hide his bewilderment while speaking. For some reason, he found Yang Kai’s face to be a little familiar, as if he had seen him somewhere before, but he could not remember where.
Still, he did not back down and rebuked, “You have injured our Eight Paths Sect’s disciple. I don’t care who you are, if you cannot give us an acceptable explanation, don’t even think about leaving alive!”
He spoke with full confidence because when he scanned Yang Kai with his Divine Sense, he found that this boy only had a First-Order Dao Source Realm cultivation. With this kind of strength, he didn’t need to put Yang Kai in his eyes.
It was just that he did not know what kind of Secret Technique Yang Kai had used to toy with Lin Yun together with Qin Zhao Yang. However, after some thought, the middle-aged man assumed that whatever Secret Technique Yang Kai used simply combined the force of two individuals, catching Lin Yun off guard.
“Heh…” Yang Kai looked at the middle-aged man in astonishment, “I really didn’t know that Eight Paths Sect’s disciples were so impressive! Someone who wasn’t aware would believe you came from Star Soul Palace.”
The middle-aged man’s face mixed with anger after being stung by Yang Kai’s mockery, gritting his teeth and shouting, “Enough of your nonsense. Surrender yourself if you want this to end peacefully, refuse and you cannot blame us for being impolite.”
Yang Kai looked at him with an odd expression and replied, “Do I know you? Why would I expect a stranger like you to treat me well? You’re quite funny!”
He next turned to Qin Yu after that and whispered, “Does this man have a problem with his head?”
Qin Yu could not hold her laughter after seeing his hilarious face.
However, Qin Zhao Yang frowned. He knew that Yang Kai was no ordinary person, otherwise, he would not have given him the entry quota to the Four Seasons Realm, but he was not sure if Yang Kai could handle the situation here given that there were so many Masters on the opposite side, making him feel a bit anxious.
“Little brat, it seems like you can’t wait to die!” The middle-aged man exclaimed in anger.
“Stop shouting already,” Yang Kai gave him a disdainful look. “You’re embarrassing both of us.”
Yang Kai ignored the middle-aged man after that and turned to Qin Zhao Yang, “What’s going on here? I only vaguely heard something about a million Source Crystals after I arrived… Explain it to me please.”
He was telling the truth. After receiving the Tribulation Fruit from Azure Sun Temple, Yang Kai rushed to Maplewood City without rest, but as soon as he entered the city, he sensed that there was something wrong as there were too many powerful Masters present compared to when he left.
Upon reaching the Qin Residence, Yang Kai happened to see the scene where Qin Yu was trying to drive away some strangers, but since he was unaware of the circumstances, he decided to observe the situation first. Only after he saw Lin Yu lash out did Yang Kai reveal himself in order to help Qin Zhao Yang.
After being asked by Yang Kai, Qin Zhao Yang glared at the middle-aged man resentfully and succinctly explained what had happened just now.
Yang Kai kept silent as he listened and only after he understood did he lift his head and address the middle-aged man, “So basically, the story is like this: The Qin Family treated all of you well, but one of you killed their servant, and not only did you not feel sorry or even admit your mistake, you instead used your Sect’s strength to try to seize their residence and even tried to abduct the Qin Family’s Young Lady…”
The middle-aged man could not help falling quiet as he was powerless to refute Yang Kai’s assertions.
“Tsk tsk… such tyrannical actions are simply… outrageous!” Yang Kai said in contempt.
The middle-aged man took a deep breath and said, “This one had already offered a million Source Crystals to settle this matter, but they did not appreciate my kindness!”
“Good!” Yang Kai raised his brow, “According to friend then, a million Source Crystals is enough to buy a life and anyone who refuses such an offer would be rejecting kindness, right?”
During his speech, he immediately waved his hand.
In an instant, a hill of Source Crystals piled up in the courtyard. There were countless Source Crystals in this pile, numbering at least ten million.
The disciples of Eight Paths Sect, despite not having poor backgrounds, were still dazzled by this hill of Source Crystals. All of them were staring at it and gulped as they wished they could run up and snatch them.
Qin Zhao Yang and the rest were even more dumbfounded, as they did not understand what Yang Kai was up to.
“Come, come, come,” Yang Kai enthusiastically beckoned to the disciples of Eight Paths Sect with a bright smile on his face, “Be my guest, everyone take a million Source Crystals, not one more or less…”
All of a sudden, the atmosphere of the conversation changed as the smile on Yang Kai’s face turned into a gloomy sneer as he continued, “Once you take them, I’ll kill all of you!”
*Deng deng deng…*
All of the Eight Paths Sect disciples took a few steps back, looking at Yang Kai in shock, and one of them even shouted, “Are you making a joke?”
Although a million Source Crystals was no small sum, one still needed to be alive to enjoy them. What was the point of taking Source Crystals when they didn’t have their life?
The face of the middle-aged man grew even more sombre as, at this point, he fully understood Yang Kai’s intentions.
Yang Kai clearly wanted to treat him the way he had been treating the Qin Family. After he understood this, he could not help sneering, “I see that you are not from the Qin Family, so why wade into this muddy water? We can still be friends if you step away now.”
“Who wants to be friends with you?” Yang Kai sneered, “Just accept my offer, or don’t you understand how to appreciate kindness?”
The middle-aged man raged at this taunt, “It looks like we have nothing left to say!”
“Piercing Light, Nine Frozen Heavens!” The middle-aged man was a decisive person, so seeing that there was no room for negotiation, he decided to strike first. Swiftly summoning a snow-white sword into his hand, he held it up and condensed a frigid light around it, one that seemed capable of penetrating deep into one’s Soul and freezing the world around it.
The complexions of the disciples of Eight Paths Sect changed slightly as they hastily retreated. Obviously, they understood how powerful this move was.
Qin Zhao Yang hurriedly grabbed Qin Yu and retreated with her while the Qin Family guards and servants also cleared out in an instant, not wanting to get involved in this fight.
Sword Qi swirled and with a flick of his wrist, the middle-aged man surrounded himself in sword light and charged straight towards Yang Kai, freezing the air he passed through into ice.
“Hahahaha!” Yang Kai stood on the spot, grinning mockingly as he stared down his approaching opponent with utter contempt, not even attempting to dodge.
Seeing Yang Kai acting so confident and arrogant, the middle-aged man could not help feeling stunned as a faint unease filled his heart.
“How dare a small fly like you act so presumptuous in front of this Young Master!” Yang Kai’s grin turned into a sneer and with a flicker, he disappeared. The next instant, he reappeared right in front of the middle-aged man and stretched out a finger towards him.
On the tip of his finger was a flash of golden light, one condensed from extremely dense and pure Source Qi.
*Dang…*
With a soft ring, the middle-aged man’s face changed wildly as he froze mid-air, his eyes bulging as he stared in horror as his full-powered strike was blocked by his opponent’s finger.
Even more horrifying was that Yang Kai’s finger, made of flesh and blood, was completely unharmed despite it clashing with a sword artifact. In fact, looking closely, it was the middle-aged man’s sword that appeared to be dented from this clash.
As the middle-aged man stood flabbergasted, his sword gave a final tremble before the ice-cold aura surrounding it finally dissipated.
“How can that be?” The middle-aged man exclaimed, his eyes threatening to pop out of their sockets.
He released his Divine Sense once again to investigate Yang Kai’s cultivation, but he could only sense he was a First-Order Dao Source Realm Junior, a Minor Realm lower than himself. However, this power shown by Yang Kai was definitely not what a First-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator should have.
Yang Kai’s mind-boggling abilities completely left him at a loss as he felt he was now in deep trouble.
“Luo Yuan was one thing, but you’re not my opponent!” When Yang Kai snorted coldly, the intensity of the Source Qi on his fingertip suddenly increased drastically, releasing a golden flash of light as it shot forward.
“You know Junior Brother Luo?” The middle-aged man trembled as he stared at Yang Kai in amazement. All of a sudden a realisation dawned on him as he exclaimed, “You’re Yang Kai! Yang Kai from the Four Seasons Realm!”
He seemed to finally recall something and yelled in surprise.
As soon as this shout rang out, the golden light swallowed him, and the middle-aged man screamed in agony as he was shot out and smashed into the ground, opening up a giant pit inside of which he writhed in pain.
“Yang Kai?”
“The same Yang Kai from the Four Seasons Realm?”
“Yes! It’s him! It’s definitely him! No wonder he looked so familiar!”
Nearby, the disciples of Eight Paths Sect all yelled in panic.
It was only at this moment that they finally recognized Yang Kai, who outsmarted and overpowered all the Southern Territory’s geniuses with his Extraordinary Treasure Pills in the Four Seasons Realm. During the incident in Four Seasons Realm, while Yang Kai was carrying out his exchange, some of them had been watching from a distance.
They did not dare to get too close because Luo Yuan was already present at that time, and therefore, it took them until now to recognize his face.
It was not until the middle-aged man’s realization that everyone else realized Yang Kai’s identity.
At once, all of them paled and began leaking cold sweat.
Although they had never fought against Yang Kai, they knew what happened in the Four Seasons Realm.
Even rising stars like Wu Chang, Luo Yuan, and several others were unable to touch a single hair on Yang Kai’s, so it need not be mentioned what their chances were.
The most recent opening of the Four Seasons Realm had been the debut of two new rising stars. One of them was Luo Yuan from their Eight Paths Sect, who was an equal match against Wu Chang of Heavenly Martial Holy Land, a genius whose strength could not be underestimated.
The other was Yang Kai.
Possessing only a First-Order Dao Source Realm cultivation, he was also a Dao Source Grade Alchemist who had refined the Extraordinary Treasure Pills and toyed with all the masters in the Four Seasons Realm like they were children.
It was safe to say that even if the reputations of these two rising stars weren’t on par with those of Xia Sheng, Wu Chang, and Xiao Chen, they were not far behind.
This was also the reason that while other small families in Maplewood City were hosting disciples from two or three Sects, the Qin Family only hosted Eight Paths Sect.
Because of Luo Yuan, the cultivators from other Sects dared not to provoke them. Luo Yuan wasn’t even afraid of Wu Chang. In this world, besides Emperor Realm Master, who else would he fear?
“Hai hai…” The middle-aged man from Eight Paths Sect was knocked over by Yang Kai but did not suffer any mortal injuries, so he stood up quickly as he coughed and looked over at Yang Kai in fear, gritting his teeth as he cupped his fists “This one had failed to recognize Grandmaster Yang! Please do not take offence!”
His cultivation was higher than Yang Kai’s, and he was also older than Yang Kai, so addressing Yang Kai as Senior or Sir would be too humiliating to himself; however, concerned that Yang Kai would be displeased if addressed him as brother, the middle-aged man settled on calling him ‘Grandmaster’. In any case, the other party was a Dao Source Grade Alchemist, so it wasn’t an inappropriate title.
“What?” Qin Zhao Yang was shocked as he stared at the middle-aged man, amazed at how this man could be so arrogant before but changed his attitude so quickly and was addressing Yang Kai so respectfully in a blink of an eye, even calling him ‘Grandmaster’…
There was a strange light glimmering in Qin Yu’s beautiful eyes as it seemed she was thinking of something.
“What’s so strange…” Yang Kai grinned.
“Grandmaster Yang, please be forgiving…” The middle-aged man smiled.
Yang Kai changed his tone, and said coldly, “Is there a need to be forgiving with a dead man?”
The smile on the middle-aged man’s face froze as a chill crept up his spine. Hurriedly, he said, “Grandmaster Yang, what happened today is indeed my Junior Brother Lin’s fault…”
“Of course he is in the wrong!” Yang Kai snorted coldly.
“But please, Grandmaster Yang, please consider that Junior Brother Lin has learned his lesson and give him a chance to repent!” He pleaded earnestly.
“A life for a life. I only knocked him out just now, and you call that a lesson?” Yang Kai sneered sarcastically, “Are the lives of others only worth this much to you?”
Sweat beaded on his forehead as he saw Yang Kai’s unrelenting posture. Gritting his teeth, the middle-aged man painfully and anxiously said, “Just so Grandmaster Yang knows, Junior Brother Lin Yun… is the nephew of Vice Sect Master, Lin Rui!”
He brought up Lin Rui, in hopes that Yang Kai would be aware of the dangers of pushing the situation further and would thus spare Lin Yun’s life. However, Yang Kai just snorted, “Lin Rui? What thing is he? Why should I care what he thinks!”
The middle-aged man turned pale, realizing that matters would not end well today.
“In any case, I will have to kill someone today, it can either be you, or that guy over there who fainted,” Yang Kai flicked his wrist and summoned the Myriads Sword into his hand. Instantly, the air filled with Emperor Pressure as the Emperor Aura sword rippled with intimidating energy.
Lifting the large Myriads Sword towards the middle-aged man, Yang Kai shouted, “You choose!”
As he spoke, he raised the corner of his mouth slightly and sneered, “Would you like to die in place of that guy? Since he’s the nephew of your Vice Sect Master, if you die for him, perhaps your precious Vice Sect Master will take good care of your family after you’re gone!”
“This, this… I, I, I…” The middle-aged man backed away as he babbled incoherently, trembling at the mere sight of the Myriads Sword in Yang Kai’s hand. Although he had never seen an Emperor Artifact before, he knew that this great sword was an extraordinary weapon. He also knew that Yang Kai was not joking. The murderous intent in Yang Kai’s eyes was clear and unmistakable.
However… Although Lin Yun held great status in Eight Paths Sect, how could he be willing to die in his place?
“If you refuse to choose, I’ll decide myself,” Yang Kai snorted lightly before he turned to Qin Zhao Yang, “Patriarch Qin, they killed one of your clan, I will consider it as revenge for the clan by using the Qin Family’s artifact for the execution, is that alright?”
“Absolutely!” Qin Zhao Yang shouted heavily, “Please go ahead, Brother Yang!”
Yang Kai nodded lightly and he lifted up the Myriads Sword, just as he was about to perform a strike though, his expression changed and he turned his eyes towards the sky and curled his lips, “Since you’ve come, you should just show yourself, why bother hiding?”
“There’s someone else?” Qin Zhao Yang’s complexion changed as he quickly looked in that direction, but saw nothing, becoming somewhat suspicious.
A moment later, a wave of ripples appeared in the void and two figures suddenly appeared.
It was a man and a woman, the man was a youth with a cold, aloof face, as if everything and everyone was beneath him. The woman was petite and cute, with a round face. She stood quietly behind the young man, her beautiful eyes were always on his back, as if there was nothing else in the world apart from him in her world.
“It’s him!” Qin Zhao Yang’s expression turned gloomy.
He immediately recognized this man and woman as the lead disciples of Eight Paths Sect and the one who brought this middle-aged man and the other disciples of Eight Paths Sect to the Qin Family.
Since the day they arrived, this young man had entered closed-door cultivation and it was rumoured in the Qin Family Residence that he was cultivating frantically without even taking any time to rest.
Qin Zhao Yang also knew that this person was named Luo Yuan, one of the rising stars, just like Yang Kai, who appeared in the Four Seasons Realm.
The round-faced woman, on the other hand, seemed to be the daughter of Eight Paths Sect’s Sect Master and she was hopelessly enamoured with Luo Yuan. Since they arrived, she had been guarding his courtyard, never taking a step away. It was a pity that this was just unrequited love, however, as it was quite clear from Luo Yuan’s attitude he did not return her affection.
“Junior Brother Luo, Young Lady!” The middle-aged man was overjoyed when he saw these two people appearing, but soon he seemed to have thought of something and became horrified.
Luo Yuan glanced at him lightly and frowned, “You’re quite noisy!”
His words silenced all the members of Eight Paths Sect, their faces paling, as if they were extremely afraid of Luo Yuan.
It was the truth though. In Eight Paths Sect, everyone, including the Sect Master and Vice Sect Master, was afraid of Luo Yuan. The Sect Master had once said that Luo Yuan was a one-in-a-billion genius and that one day he would gain fame and reputation across the Star Field, rising above all others, so everyone in the Sect had never said no to any of his requests, big or small. The hope of bringing glory to the Sect was all pinned on Luo Yuan.
Luo Yuan’s words were equivalent to the words of the Sect Master. He occupied the best cave mansion in the Sect and was given nearly half of the cultivating resources available. When he was cultivating, no one dared to interfere, unless they wanted to die.
This was also the biggest reason why the disciples of Eight Paths Sect did not want to magnify the issue before – they did not want to disturb Luo Yuan!
Who knew that he was still alarmed in the end.
The disciples of Eight Paths Sect were both terrified and delighted – terrified that Luo Yuan might punish them for putting him in a bad mood, while on the other hand, delighted that a strong backup had come to rescue them out of trouble.
“Ah… It’s you!” At that moment, the round-faced woman who had been standing behind Luo Yuan came back to her senses and broke her obsessive gaze away from Luo Yuan. She looked around with a frown and cried out when her eyes met Yang Kai, “You are that… that…”
She could not remember Yang Kai’s name.
Yang Kai smiled slightly, “Yang Kai!”
“Yes, yes, you are the one who exchanged an Extraordinary Treasure Pill with me in the Four Seasons Realm. Why are you here?” The round-faced woman recalled her last encounter with Yang Kai.
“Why can’t I be here?” Yang Kai was amused.
The round-faced woman tilted her head and thought, silently agreeing that the question she asked was a bit nonsensical. She then smiled at him and did not speak again.
Luo Yuan’s gaze was locked on Yang Kai, a boundless fighting intent suddenly flashing across his eyes that were originally as quiet and still as water.
Yang Kai grinned, “How long have you been here?”
Luo Yuan said lightly, “Not too long!” After a pause, he added, “I was alerted when you summoned that artifact in your hand, then I came and saw that you wanted to kill a disciple from my Sect.”
He carried an indifferent tone as he spoke, but the annoyance and coldness were clear in his words.
No matter what, he was still a disciple of Eight Paths Sect so he could not just sit back and watch a fellow disciple get killed.
The middle-aged man was overjoyed and shouted hurriedly, “Junior Brother Luo, this person who thinks he’s unbeatable is disrespecting our Sect. Not only did he attack Junior Brother Lin Yun, but he also wounded me. Junior Brother Luo, please seek justice for us!”
He changed his previous yes-man attitude towards Yang Kai and became extremely arrogant, feeling secure and confident now that he had a backer here.
“Really?” Luo Yuan frowned and looked at Yang Kai coldly.
Yang Kai smiled, “En, I knocked out the one lying there, and I hurt the one who spoke earlier.”
“How bold of you!” Luo Yuan raised the corners of his mouth, “This is what men should be like, I admire you!”
“Is Brother Luo going to stand up for them?” Yang Kai looked at him with a smile.
“There’s a Secret Technique that I have been cultivating recently, but I seem to have reached a bottleneck, and closed-door meditation has been fruitless to break through it…” Luo Yuan suddenly talked about an irrelevant topic, but the scorching intent in his eyes intensified as he spoke. The Source Qi in his body trembled as he shouted in a low voice, “I was still worried that I could not find a worthy opponent here in this pathetic countryside, but it’s perfect now that Brother Yang is here!”
“Do you want to use me to break through the bottleneck of your Secret Technique?” Yang Kai looked at him oddly.
“Indeed!”
“Why should I help you?” Yang Kai quipped, “I won’t do anything that doesn’t get me anything!”
“You have no choice,” Luo Yuan snorted coldly as he stepped forward and approached Yang Kai, his aura strengthening with each stride.
From the posture he assumed, regardless of whether Yang Kai agreed or not, he was going to make a move.
Yang Kai frowned.
Luo Yuan was no ordinary cultivator, not to mention that he was already a Third-Order Dao Source Realm. His extraordinary combat power alone should not be underestimated.
If it was not necessary, Yang Kai would rather not get into a fight with him. They were still in the Qin Residence and fighting a battle here would definitely flatten at least a third of this place while also likely wounding the already weak Qin Yu and the others.
Yang Kai was not as unscrupulous as Luo Yuan and would not act without giving any consideration to others.
“Stop!” At this moment, Qin Yu suddenly yelled.
Luo Yuan paused, a look of displeasure flashed across his face as he shouted in a low voice, “Who are you?”
There was a murderous intent on his face as he looked extremely unhappy being interrupted by Qin Yu. If he was not actively suppressing himself, he likely would have killed her already.
Qin Yu said, “Qin Family Qin Yu!”
Luo Yuan retracted his murderous intent upon hearing this and muttered “So you are the owner of this place, huh?”
A frown appeared on his face as he fell silent for a time before asking, “What is it you want to say?”
His murderous look before had subsided and it was replaced with a cold but still polite posture, surprising Yang Kai greatly.
“I would never presume to tell you what to do. You are strong after all and the Qin Family is weak,” Qin Yu said sarcastically. “It’s just that a disciple of your Eight Paths Sect killed a servant from our family, so shouldn’t Your Excellency give us an explanation first?”
“Killed a servant from your family?” Luo Yuan’s face became cold, “Such a thing happened?”
“The body is still here, can you not see it?” Qin Yu ground her teeth.
Luo Yuan turned his gaze to the female corpse in the courtyard and frowned before he gazed towards the middle-aged man and asked, “What happened?”
The middle-aged man was flustered and did not know how to answer. He stammered and was unable to say anything.
“I will count to three. If you have not answered by then, you know the consequences!” Luo Yuan’s expression became colder, “One… “
The middle-aged man suddenly shuddered and began rapidly explaining what had happened without leaving out any details or adding any inflammatory remarks.
After hearing what had happened, Luo Yuan thoughtfully said, “So, Brother Yang made a move because of this?”
“Ye… yes…” The middle-aged man glanced at Yang Kai and nodded in agreement, not daring to falsely accuse Yang Kai.
“I understand now!” Luo Yuan nodded before his figure flickered and he shot into a nearby ruined room. When he emerged once more, he was carrying the fainted Lin Yun in his hand.
Yang Kai looked at him with interest, uncertain how Luo Yuan would deal with Lin Yun and what kind of explanation he would give the Qin Family.
“You’re the Young Lady of the Qin Family, right?” Luo Yuan looked at Qin Yu and said lightly, “Since he was the murderer, watch carefully!”
Luo Yuan then madly poured his Source Qi in the hand holding Lin Yun’s neck.
In an instant, Lin Yun swelled up and his skin turned blood red.
Yang Kai’s eyes narrowed, secretly amazed.
The faces of the disciples from the Eight Paths Sect filled with shock as the middle-aged man cried out, “Junior Brother Luo, don’t!”
Lin Yun woke up from his unconsciousness in severe pain at that moment, but he was still a little dazed and had no clue what was happening. The sight which greeted him, however, was Luo Yuan’s face so Lin Yun couldn’t help calling out in shock, “Luo… Senior Brother Luo!”
“En,” Luo Yuan nodded casually before increasing the strength of his grip as he poured more Source Qi into him.
“Ah…” Lin Yun screamed, realizing that something was wrong, “Don’t… don’t… “
*Peng… *
With a loud explosion, Lin Yun popped in Luo Yuan’s hands and turned into a blood mist that scattered across the sky. However, even though Luo Yuan stood right next to him, he remained completely spotless.
Silence filled the courtyard.
The entire Qin Family stood frozen in place while the disciples from Eight Paths Sect looked at each other in shock, none of them daring to take a breath.
No one expected that Luo Yuan would kill Lin Yun just like that!
Weren’t they fellow brothers from the same Sect? Wasn’t Lin Yun the nephew of Eight Paths Sect’s Vice Sect Master?
Everyone was flabbergasted by the cruel and cold-blooded brutality of Luo Yuan.
“Are you satisfied with this explanation, Young Lady Qin?” Luo Yuan looked at Qin Yu.
Qin Yu gritted her teeth “Satisfied!”
The murderer had died in front of her eyes, what else could she say? A life for a life, Luo Yuan actually fulfilled this condition, so there was nothing left for her to complain about.
“Good!” Luo Yuan nodded lightly, disregarding what other people thought as he turned back to Yang Kai, “Brother Yang, let’s begin!”
Yang Kai was flummoxed, “Begin? Begin what? Can you not control yourself a bit more? Do you just want to fight and kill all day?”
Qin Zhao Yang thought that Yang Kai was afraid of Luo Yuan, so he hurriedly stepped up, “Little Brother Luo, since we have settled the matter and the murderer had paid the price, let’s sit down and have a good chat, this Old Master will offer his best hospitality.”
Luo Yuan ignored him and continued to focus his attention on Yang Kai, “Brother Yang, you are disappointing… What happened to your domineering madness in the Four Seasons Realm? How can you reach the peak of the Martial Dao if you shy away from challenges?”
“The peak of the Martial Dao?” Yang Kai curled his lips fiercely, “I am only a First-Order Dao Source Realm now, isn’t it too early to start thinking about such things?”
“A successful person is always farsighted!” Luo Yuan said, “Brother Yang, you shouldn’t be so short-sighted.”
Yang Kai said seriously, “Wrong, wrong, it’s all wrong!”
Luo Yuan asked unexpectedly, “What’s wrong?”
Yang Kai replied, “I think it’s only right to be realistic, to take one step forward at a time instead of reaching out for something that is beyond one’s grasp.”
Luo Yuan frowned, “If one has no ambitious goals, how can they move forward?”
He looked like he was preparing to debate with Yang Kai to get his way, so Yang Kai responded impatiently, “Let’s just agree to disagree and mind our own business.”
“I want to fight Brother Yang now!”
“You’re still not giving up…” Yang Kai stood forward immediately and snapped, “What’s the point of fighting against me? With the abilities I possess, you can’t even touch a single hair on my head!”
“Uh…” Luo Yuan was taken aback and suddenly recalled that Yang Kai was proficient in the Dao of Space. Back in the Four Seasons Realm, Yang Kai had been able to utterly ignore all of the powerful Masters targeting him precisely because no one below the Emperor Realm could stop him from coming or going as he pleased.
Luo Yuan really may not be able to even touch a hair on Yang Kai…
“Don’t run…” Luo Yuan thought for a while and proposed, “Let’s have a passionate, bloody fight like real men.”
Everyone looked anxious.
Yang Kai looked at him disrespectfully and sneered, “Have you gone stupid from cultivating too hard? Why shouldn’t I use all of my abilities in a fight?”
“Silence!” The round-faced woman who kept standing behind Luo Yan suddenly frowned and yelled at Yang Kai, “Don’t speak ill of Senior Brother Luo.”
“Brother Yang…” Luo Yang bellowed at Yang Kai, “Let’s fight!”
Yang Kai facepalmed, feeling speechless about this man.
At this moment, the surrounding atmosphere changed again.
With the sound of whistling in the air, the figures of many Masters appeared from all directions and all of them cast their eyes on Yang Kai’s Myriad Sword as soon as they arrived. After their attentive observation, their eyes glowed in greed.
They were certainly alerted by the Emperor Pressure of this Emperor Artifact, so they all came from their places to examine it and after seeing the Myriads Sword, they naturally coveted it.
The people who came here were basically Third-Order Dao Source Realm Masters while there were no Emperors present. Even if a cultivator of their level had seen an Emperor Artifact occasionally, it was still just a glimpse and none ever had a chance to possess one.
But now, to their surprise, an Emperor Artifact appeared in a small Maplewood City, and it was a sword-type artifact that specialized in killing!
They scanned with their Divine Senses and could not help feeling delighted when they found Yang Kai was just a First-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator.
Luo Yang frowned involuntarily, displeased at the sight of newcomers. Pushing his Source Qi, he created a visible ripple in the air with him as its centre that served as a warning blast to the surroundings.
“All of you, scram!” He let out a burst of anger at these people who were interfering with his battle with Yang Kai.
*Deng deng deng…*
Those people who came, regardless of cultivation or age, were deterred by this display of power and presence and quickly retreated a certain distance away in fear.
Not to mention that everyone recognized Luo Yuan due to his recent rise in fame, even if they did not, and after seeing the power he just released, they knew that he was not an ordinary Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator, so why would they play with fire?
However, two among them remained where they stood, unintimidated by Luo Yuan.
The two were both elderly men, one of them looked as if he was meditating with his eyes closed, completely ignoring the presence of Luo Yuan, turning a deaf ear to him, while the other just sneered as a light flashed across his eyes, as if mocking Luo Yuan for his overconfidence.
These two were Flying Saint Palace’s Left and Right Protectors, Gao Shan and Liu Shui.
The two Protectors had been staying in the City Lord’s Mansion earlier, guarding Young Palace Master Ning Yuan Shu, but as soon as they sensed the Emperor Pressure released by an Emperor Artifact, they asked Ning Yuan Shu for permission and hurried over. They just happened to arrive just as Luo Yuan was unleashing his anger.
“Young man, you should not become angered so easily…” Protector Liu Shui grinned at Luo Yang with a proud and aloof attitude fitting for a Senior, “You’ll be hurt if you act so recklessly.”
“Hmph!” Protector Gao Shan opened his eyes and snorted coldly, “Youngsters nowadays really don’t know the immensity of Heaven and Earth. They don’t put the heroes of the world in their eyes just because they have a little capability. One day, that arrogance will get you in trouble.”
“Two Seniors are wise!” Yang Kai looked at them with a humble face and nodded repeatedly, cupping his fist as he greeted them, “This Junior couldn’t agree more with the words two Seniors spoke. I believe these two Seniors must not be ordinary men to be able to speak like this.”
“It’s nothing, it’s nothing,” Liu Shui smiled at Yang Kai, finding this little brat quite pleasing to his eyes.
“Those who are willing to be taught will be successful!” Gao Shan did not hesitate to praise too.
“May this Junior ask for these two Seniors’ honoured names?” Yang Kai asked with a respectful look.
“Old Master Gao Shan!”
“Old Master Liu Shui!”
The two of them answered one after another, then spoke in unison, “We are the Left and Right Protectors of Flying Saint Palace!”
Their introduction seemed to have gone through many drills, and they spoke their lines proficiently, without any pauses.
“Flying Saint Palace…” Yang Kai’s face changed as he responded in amazement, “I can’t believe these two Seniors are the famous Protectors Gao Shan and Liu Shui who are famous throughout the whole Southern Territory!”
Looking at the face of Yang Kai, Gao Shan and Liu Shui were pleased with his flattery, with Gao Shan smiling faintly and asking, “So you have heard about our names?”
“Of course, two Seniors’ names resound like thunder across the land!” Yang Kai started spewing nonsense while looking completely earnest.
“HAHAHAHA!” Gao Shan and Liu Shui looked at each other and laughed out loud.
Everyone else who was listening couldn’t help glaring at Yang Kai with utter contempt for his flagrant bootlicking.
At the same time, they also secretly despised the two old fools, Gao Shan and Liu Shui. These two had lived for so many years yet only possessed Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivations and could be so easily won over with a little sweet talk from a mere brat. How could these two old fools possibly be the two Protectors of Flying Saint Palace?
It seemed that everyone was meeting Gao Shan and Liu Shui for the first time though, so they kept looking at each other with exasperated faces.
“But…” Yang Kai’s face suddenly turned solemn, about to say something but stopping just short.
“But what?” Gao Shan frowned, curiously looking at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai forced a smile and replied, “But it seems that some here do not respect two Seniors. Before two Seniors came here, this Junior happened to hear some unflattering remarks about you!”
“What? Who dares disrespect us Old Masters?” Gao Shan was infuriated and swept his cold eyes across the crowd.
When those cultivators met eyes with Gao Shan and Li Shui, they flinched and looked away. Although these two old men were indeed a bit foolish, there was no doubt about them being strong, otherwise, it would be impossible for them to seize the City Lord’s Mansion.
Therefore, the other Sects could only seek out other families to stay at as they were afraid of the strength of these two old men and dared not to compete with them for the City Lord’s Mansion.
“Was it you?” Gao Shan suddenly stared furiously at a shifty-eyed middle-aged man and yelled.
“No no no!” That middle-aged man quickly waved his hands and explained with cold sweat on his forehead, “This one arrived after you two, how could it have been me?”
“En,” Gao Shan did not suspect him, then he turned to another person, “Then what about you?”
“There is no such thing, this humble one has long admired two Seniors, why would I utter any words of disrespect?” The man singled out answered seriously.
“Who was it then!? Speak now so this Old Master can teach them some proper manners!” Liu Shui was mad too and asked Yang Kai with a glare.
Yang Kai stuttered slightly as he hesitated, “This Junior doesn’t dare to say… This Junior is weak and afraid of being killed after speaking!”
“Say it, don’t be afraid. Who has the courage to touch you when you have these two Old Masters here to protect you? Whoever dares to hurt you, these Old Masters will slaughter his entire family!” Gao Shan ensured Yang Kai’s safety and puffed up with pride.
“With the words of Senior, I can feel relieved,” Yang Kai acted thrilled and swiftly pointed with his finger and shouted, “It was him! It was this boy! Before two Seniors came, he boasted that Gao Shan and Liu Shui, who were supposed to be the strongest in Maplewood City right now, were just some ants in his eyes and he could easily crush them with just his finger. He also said Flying Saint Palace was nothing but a gathering of trash that shelters evildoers, and that all the cultivators in it were not born from their fathers and mothers, but from… “
“From what?” Gao Shan was completely incensed and his clothes began flapping despite there being no wind.
“It’s better for this Junior to not say it, it’s too humiliating!” Yang Kai said in a depressed tone.
“Why you!” Gao Shan was boiling mad and burst out in anger,
“Good, good, good!” Liu Shui also glared at the person pointed out by Yang Kai and sneered, “Young man, you seem to have a foul mouth. Why don’t you show me how you plan on crushing these two Old Masters with just one finger!”
Luo Yuan frowned and looked at Yang Kai, “You’re pointing at me?”
Yang Kai yelled, “Luo Yuan, be a man! Do you want to deny your own words? Masters Gao Shan and Liu Shui are present now! I dare you to say what you just said again! Let’s just see if these two Old Masters beat you to death!”
“En, I understand,” Luo Yuan lightly nodded, surprisingly, he made no attempt to explain himself.
Seeing him not deny the charge, Gao Shan and Liu Shui started to believe Yang Kai more and more.
Gao Shan reprimanded, “Boy, you’ve only earned a bit of fame yet you already think you’re invincible? You need to be taught that there is always someone better than you and have your attitude corrected, for your own sake.”
“Why bother speaking any nonsense with him? He must suffer death for insulting both of us!” Liu Shui snorted coldly as he looked scornfully at Luo Yan, “Little Brat, will you surrender yourself to be executed, or do you prefer we Old Masters come take your head? Let me say this first, if it’s the former, you will suffer less, but if it’s the latter, heh heh… you’ll beg for death before we’re done!”
Listening to Liu Shui’s words, Yang Kai was feeling on top of the world for successfully roping Luo Yuan into this mess.
As he expected, a person as arrogant as Luo Yuan would not sit there doing anything after being threatened. Forget about the fact that he hadn’t said anything insulting about these two old men, even if he did, he would still not have compromised at this moment. Raising his eyes, Luo Yuan revealed a wild and intractable face as he pushed his Source Qi and grinned, “Two old dogs want to take my life? Do you have the ability?”
“You’re only one step away from your grave, yet you’re still speaking boastfully. Take this, boy!” Gao Shan finally lost his temper completely and palmed towards Luo Yuan.
In an instant, the clouds up in the sky began to swirl as the flow of the surrounding Principles began to change and condense into a gigantic palm print that smashed down from above and enveloped Luo Yuan.
The faces of all the cultivators present turned pale.
Given that Gao Shan was a Protector of Flying Saint Palace and had a solid cultivation at the Third-Order Dao Source Realm, his strike was exceptional. Everyone was thinking of a way of defending or evading the attack that could possibly come in their way.
Their faces turned ugly as they kept thinking about it as they realized that they could only dodge this attack while counterattacking would only result in their defeat …
However, Luo Yuan remained standing where he was without any thoughts of evading, as if he were paralyzed in place.
The round-faced woman who was standing behind him, too, stood frozen, her beautiful eyes fixed on Luo Yuan’s heroic back, not even the noises of the crowd entering her ears.
*Hong long long… *
The gigantic palm print which was formed from a combination of Source Qi and Principles slammed down, causing space around Luo Yuan to shake and wicked winds to be kicked up. Even the threads of Divine Senses which were monitoring the situation were being swallowed up in this massive current, making it impossible for others to see what was happening inside.
Several houses in the Qin Residence were also flattened by this explosion and turned into ruins.
“Hmph! This is the result of trash acting arrogant in front of this Old Master!” After Gao Shan’s move hit its mark, he snorted loudly as he folded his arm behind his back, assuming a victory pose.
“It was just a young man who had only cultivated for a few years and thought he could stand against these Old Masters. Such wanton overconfidence!” Liu Shui sneered.
“Is that it?” The voice of Luo Yuan suddenly came out from the centre of the chaotic swirl of energy, followed by a burst of radiance that scattered the halo of light in the next instant.
Luo Yuan reappeared in front of everyone, a layer of Source Qi covering his body that was so dazzling it almost blinded Gao Shan and Liu Shui.
Not only was Luo Yuan unharmed, but even the round-faced woman who had been standing behind him was not affected at all. However, after being attacked like this, the round-faced woman seemed quite annoyed and she frowned deeply towards Gao Shan and Liu Shui.
“This, this, this…” Gao Shan could not help taking a few steps back, looking at Luo Yuan like he had seen a ghost, unable to believe what he saw.
“How can this be?” Liu Shui exclaimed in shock. He was clear just how powerful Gao Shan’s move was, so even if Luo Yuan was a Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator as well, it should have been impossible to take it directly unscathed. But the truth was shown in front of his eyes and he was stupefied by it.
“I was still worrying that I couldn’t find a good opponent!” Luo Yuan grinned fiercely, his expression causing all who saw it to shudder, “Since you old dogs have come to me, I have no need to hold back…”
He licked his lips while speaking, as if he suddenly saw a delicious dish after starving for a long time.
His look nearly frightened Gao Shan and Liu Shui to death.
As soon as he finished speaking, Luo Yuan gradually raised his hand and a vigorous Source Qi started pulsing from his body, making a strange noise like waves crashing against rock.
“Stop!” A gentle voice interfered at the crucial moment.
Luo Yuan frowned and turned to the direction of the sound. Realizing it was from Qin Yu, he asked with a cold face, “What is it now?”
Previously he was interrupted by Qin Yu when he was about to act against Yang Kai, and now when he was about to fight Gao Shan and Liu Shui, Qin Yu interrupted him again. If it weren’t for the fact that she was the host here where he was staying, Luo Yuan would not have paid any attention to her.
“What do you want to do?” Qin Yu looked coldly at Luo Yuan and questioned with her teeth gritted.
“Isn’t it obvious?” Luo Yuan answered, “Can’t you tell what I was about to do?”
“I can!” Qin Yu did not fear Luo Yuan despite the differences in their strength and she continued to glare at him with her beautiful eyes, “It is exactly because I can tell that I have no choice but to stop you.”
“What do you mean? Speak clearly!” Luo Yuan scowled.
“Do you intend to destroy my Qin Residence?” Qin Yu asked.
“No, I don’t.” Luo Yuan replied seriously.
“Then do it somewhere else!” Qin Yu snorted, “If all of you don’t want to sleep on the street tonight, find another place to fight!”
“Ah…” Luo Yuan pondered for a moment before nodding, “Makes sense!”
The disciples of Eight Paths Sect were staying in the Qin Residence, so if the Qin Residence was really levelled, everyone from Eight Paths Sect would have nowhere to stay and their reputation would plummet for numerous reasons.
Looking up at Gao Shan and Liu Shui, Luo Yuan shouted, “Two old dogs, follow me!”
After that, his figure flickered and he rushed out of the city. When he left, he flew right over Gao Shan and Liu Shui’s heads, a naked provocation.
Gao Shan and Liu Shui could never tolerate a Junior acting so haughty before them, so they immediately turned to give chase.
In the blink of an eye, three Third-Order Dao Source Realm Masters disappeared from everyone’s vision.
“Ai…” The round-faced woman who had stood behind Luo Yuan all this time unexpectedly sighed and looked sorrowful.
From beginning to end, Luo Yuan had never turned his eyes to her or paid any attention to her at all, making her feel quite sad. Gritting her teeth, she turned to glare at Yang Kai and blamed him, “It’s all your fault!”
“Why are you blaming me?” Yang Kai grinned.
“If not for your deceitful lies, Senior Brother Luo would not have left!” The round-faced woman pouted, revealing a cute and playful face.
“Nonsense! In fact, you should be thanking me,” Yang Kai smiled.
“Why should I?” The round-faced woman stared at Yang Kai from the corner of her eyes and mocked, “I don’t see a reason for me to thank you.”
Yang Kai answered with full confidence, “Of course there is. If I did not create troubles, you wouldn’t have been able to see your Senior Brother Luo’s care for you.”
“Senior Brother Luo’s care for me?” The round-faced woman raised her brow and her pretty face blushed before she stomped her foot angrily, “Don’t be ridiculous, Senior Brother Luo only cares… he only cares about pursuing the Martial Dao. He would never care about me…” After a pause, she asked again with hope, “Can you tell me? How did Senior Brother Luo show he cared about… me?”
Before Yang Kai could answer, Qin Yu interjected with a faint smile, “Young Lady, I’m afraid you were blinded by the situation because you were too close to it. When Protector Gao Shan struck just now, were you injured in the slightest?”
“No!” The round-faced woman shook her head.
“Then who was it who protected you?” Qin Yu questioned again.
Realization dawned on the round-faced woman and her beautiful eyes lit up as her originally sorrowful expression turned energetic, as if she had been gifted some precious treasure, causing her to smile brightly.
Qin Yu continued, “If your Senior Brother Luo didn’t care about you, you would be seriously wounded now.”
“He… He just… just did it out of convenience, he did not care about me,” The round-faced woman lowered her head, blushing and anxious. Even though she denied it with her words, her demure face had betrayed her thoughts as she looked like she was drunk on honey.
“However… aren’t you worried about your Senior Brother Luo? Although Gao Shan and Liu Shui have some problems… up here, they are still not easy to handle,” Yang Kai smiled while tapping on his own head.
The round-faced woman replied, “There’s nothing to be worried about. Those two men would definitely be crying for their mothers soon enough!”
She had absolute confidence in Luo Yuan.
At this point, she turned her gaze at Yang Kai and asked with a smile, “You still have time to talk about all these things? Better worry about yourself first.”
“What should I be worried about?” Yang Kai sneered and looked around, “It’s just a gathering of trash!”
“What did you say!?”
“Little brat, you’re too full of yourself, I have to teach you a harsh life lesson.”
“Whose family did this boy come from? What a foul mouth he has! Haven’t your parents taught you any manners?”
His surrounding cultivators started to yell at him.
The three strongest cultivators had left them, so the remaining people naturally had no more concerns, all of them staring covetously at the Myriads Sword in Yang Kai’s hand as they plotted and schemed to acquire it.
“Heh heh heh…” An elderly man suddenly laughed as he looked down at Yang Kai kindly, “Little brother, where did you get your sword from?”
“You mean this?” Yang Kai swung the Myriads Sword across his chest and pointed it, releasing a sword light from its blade as he smiled and said, “I picked it up on the road.”
“Then it must be the one that this Old Master lost a few days ago, no wonder it looked so familiar. Little brother, please return it to me!” The elderly man continued hurriedly.
The group of cultivators around looked at the elderly man dumbfounded, thinking to themselves, [This is too shameless. Even if you wanted to rob treasures, you should find a better excuse. The excuse that you just gave was so… ridiculous! Even fools won’t fall for it!]
“I was the one who picked it up so it’s mine now, why should I give it to you?” Yang Kai’s face darkened as he stored the Myriads Sword directly back into his body.
Seeing this scene, the elderly man gulped and asked eagerly, “Little brother, as long as you are willing to give this Old Master his sword back, this Old Master will guarantee you prosperity and wealth for the rest of your life. You may not know, but this Old Master is the Evil Moon Valley’s Vice Valley Master, Qu Huai Ren, and he is always faithful to his word.”
Yang Kai stared at him and said, “I don’t believe you.”
“If you don’t believe me, you can ask them. They can testify for this Old Master,” The elderly man pointed at his surrounding cultivators anxiously.
All the cultivators around sneered when they heard it, and put on a face of ‘this is none of my business’.
“See, they don’t believe you either,” Yang Kai derided, “You must be trying to cheat me out of my treasure!”
Qu Huai Ren’s eyes flashed a fierce light as he snorted coldly, “Fine, you’ve forced this Old Master to get rough with you. Don’t blame this Old Master for acting ruthless now.”
Saying so, he moved in a flash with a ruthless look, like a great peng swooping down from above as he charged towards Yang Kai with his one hand stretching into a claw.
“What… What do you want to do!?” Yang Kai looked flustered and kept stepping back.
“Heh heh heh… little brat, if you want to blame someone, blame yourself for having such bad luck! You were just digging your own grave showing off your treasure with just a trivial First-Order Dao Source Realm cultivation! In your next life, if you’re lucky enough to be reborn as a human, remember this, an ordinary man is innocent but his treasures make him guilty!” Qu Huai Ren spoke earnestly but he did not slow his movements, pressing towards Yang Kai while releasing undisguised killing intent.
“I… I’ll fight you!” Yang Kai shouted fiercely, releasing a roar that reverberated like thunder, causing the ears of those present to ring. Initially, when the cultivators around saw the elderly man making a move, their expression changed and some of them even pushed their own Source Qi, seemingly planning to join the fray.
However, everyone could not help but be stunned at Yang Kai’s roar.
A brilliance flashed across the ground where Yang Kai stood on, and the Myriads Sword Emperor Artifact was summoned out by him again. At that moment, he waved his sword around frantically, as if frightened silly by Qu Huai Ren’s attack and unable to release his strength properly.
“Give it to me!” Qu Huai Ren was overjoyed when he saw the Myriads Sword and stretched out his arm to snatch it, excitement covering his face as if he had already seen himself ruling the world with the treasure he just obtained.
*Chi… *
*Pu… *
Five severed fingers flew out in the next instant as blood splattered everywhere.
“Uh…” Qu Huai Ren was standing not far in front of Yang Kai, frozen on the spot. Staring at Yang Kai dumbstruck, as if he had not fully recovered from his shock, he could only feel a coolness on his hand and chest, as well as a sharp, rising pain.
The next moment, he saw the corner of Yang Kai’s mouth curve upwards, showing a mocking grin. This grin made him shiver involuntarily as he vaguely felt something was not right.
*Dida, dida…*
The clear sound of blood dripping reached the ears of the crowd and the stench of it quickly filled the air.
Nobody seemed to understand what was going on, but they soon awoke from their daze and were shocked by the scene when they raised their eyes to Qu Huai Ren.
Qu Huai Ren’s body was frozen in place, motionless, while it was still in a pouncing posture, his hand stretched out. However, all five fingers of that hand had been cut off smoothly and cleanly, blood spurting from the wounds.
What was more shocking though was a sword had impaled Qu Huai Ren, half of the blade pierced through his back, and blood dripped down the sword tip continuously, splashing all over the ground, completely dyeing it red.
Gulping, everyone had the same thought run through their minds, [What is going on?]
They only saw Qu Huai Ren rushing toward Yang Kai aggressively, while Yang Kai waved his artifact around frantically. They all assumed that Qu Huai Ren would quickly overpower Yang Kai and snatch away the artifact, but the reality was completely different.
From the looks of it, it seemed that Qu Huai Ren had accidentally impaled himself on Yang Kai’s sword.
The blade seemed to have cut through the main arteries of the heart, leaving no possibility of survival.
Some of the cultivators’ eyes flickered in realization and the contempt and disdain they had before disappeared in a flash, replaced with solemnity as they gazed at Yang Kai.
Others still looked blank.
“You…” Qu Huai Ren said, and before he had a chance to finish the sentence, blood gushed out of his mouth uncontrollably like a fountain.
“You just sought death yourself, you can’t blame me!” Yang Kai snorted before slamming his palm against Qu Huai Ren’s chest, sending him flying.
Qu Huai Ren’s vitality quickly dissipated mid-air, and the life left his eyes. He had stopped breathing even before landing onto the ground, dying quite miserably.
How could Qu Huai Ren have known that he, the Vice Valley Master of Evil Moon Valley, would die in a small place like Maplewood City. Qu Huai Ren would never have thought that he would end like this before he came here.
“You killed Vice Valley Master Qu!” A middle-aged man suddenly declared, coldly. He seemed to be quite fond of Qu Huai Ren, so seeing him die in front of him infuriated him and was not about to let it slide. Flicking his wrist, this middle-aged man summoned a golden globe of light into his palm and shouted, “Boy! Surrender now and follow me to Evil Moon Valley to confess your crimes, and maybe you can survive, otherwise without a doubt, you will die!”
As the words fell, the golden light in his hand exploded, transforming into a big golden net directly above Yang Kai, trapping him.
He figured that one of the reasons why Qu Huai Ren died tragically at the hands of Yang Kai was his carelessness, while the other was the formidable artifact in Yang Kai’s hands. If that wasn’t the case, how could a Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator be defeated in such a short time by Yang Kai’s mere First-Order Dao Source Realm cultivation?
People fumble, horses stumble. Qu Huai Ren must have been too careless.
He was afraid of the razor-sharp Myriads Sword, and did not plan to fight Yang Kai head-on, instead choosing to use his artifact to restrain Yang Kai first.
Dao Source Grade energy fluctuations pulsed from the golden net. As soon it appeared, it seemed to separate everyone inside it from the outside world with an invisible force, forming a unique blockade.
“Profound Gold Heaven Capturing Net!” Someone in the crowd instantly recognized the artifact’s name, his face changing dramatically.
The middle-aged man coldly snorted then clenched his fists, focusing his attention on controlling the power of his artifact.
Yang Kai retreated a few steps, but no matter how much he tried to flee, he could not escape this Profound Gold Heaven Capturing Net. Suppressed by the invisible force, which surprised him too, Yang Kai secretly felt that this was a mysterious and intriguing artifact.
“Little brat, you can’t escape. My Profound Gold Heaven Capturing Net hasn’t failed me ever since I refined it. Give up!” The middle-aged man sneered and flipped his hand, shrinking the big golden net around Yang Kai and then condensing it into a sphere of golden light, completely sealing him inside.
“Hahahaha!” The middle-aged man laughed gleefully at this success, but soon, his smile froze and his eyes widened, “How is that possible?!”
Yang Kai, who was supposed to be bound by the Profound Gold Heaven Capturing Net, slowly faded and vanished completely.
It was just an afterimage.
“Oh oh, that was dangerous!” Yang Kai’s voice suddenly came from the side. The middle-aged man fixed his eyes on the direction of the voice and saw Yang Kai wiping the cold sweat on his forehead, still in a state of shock.
“Brat, you…” The middle-aged man’s face changed slightly as he gawked at Yang Kai, wondering how he escaped the capturing power of his artifact without him noticing.
“Not bad, not bad at all, this is a good artifact. I want it!” Yang Kai said, reaching out and grabbing at the golden light.
“Ah!” The middle-aged man was startled as he saw Yang Kai grab towards his artifact. Pushing his Source Qi madly, the man formed a series of seals with his hands.
The golden sphere buzzed and vibrated as it tried to escape Yang Kai’s grasp, violently shaking and causing his hand to ache.
This was an artifact that was painstakingly refined and shared a Soul connection with the middle-aged man, so it was only normal it would show resistance when a stranger tried to seize it.
Perceiving the resistance of this artifact, Yang Kai’s eyes flashed sharply, raised his head, and shouted to the middle-aged man, “Look here!”
“What?” The middle-aged man was trying to wrest his artifact out of Yang Kai’s control and was taken aback when he heard this shout and unconsciously looked up.
The next moment, a chill filled his heart, causing him to shudder.
A stream of pure Spiritual Energy rushed towards him at that moment, its power swift and sharp, like a sword that was thoroughly refined over and over again. Instantly, the middle-aged man’s Soul defences were cut through and a slash impacted his Knowledge Sea, raising violent wind and waves.
“Ahhhhhh…” His face turned pale immediately and he clutched his head, screaming in agony.
Everyone moved away from the middle-aged man in shock.
His Soul, spiralling out of control upon receiving the assault from Yang Kai, made the middle-aged man lose control of his Profound Gold Heaven Capturing Net.
Yang Kai pushed his Source Qi hard at that moment and directly suppressed the resisting artifact. Then, he violently poured his Spiritual Energy into the artifact, wiping away the middle-aged man’s Soul Imprint. Finished, Yang Kai tossed the golden net into his Space Ring.
This artifact was successfully stolen away by Yang Kai!
Everyone was dumbstruck and finally realized that something was not right.
Seizing another’s artifact was not something an ordinary person could do. Unless there was a massive difference in their Soul cultivations, the Soul Imprint of the original owner could not be erased in such a short period of time.
But Yang Kai accomplished just that.
In other words, given that he could erase the Soul Imprint of the middle-aged man in an instant, it meant his Soul was far stronger than that of the middle-aged man.
Everyone drew a sharp, cold breath.
“You were pretending to be weak!” Someone bellowed, finally recognising Yang Kai’s act, a look of fear covering his face.
Even if Qu Huai Ren’s death was a result of carelessness, accidentally impaling himself on Yang Kai’s sword, what happened to the middle-aged man could not be excused as an accident.
This was definitely a crushing defeat based on strength, which could not be explained by luck.
The middle-aged man rolled around the ground, clutching his head, seeming to be gravely injured. It was uncertain if he could ever recover, but even if he could, a wound on one’s Soul would take a huge amount of time and energy to repair, assuming he didn’t go insane first.
“Who else has a decent artifact? Let me have a look,” Yang Kai looked around, smiling coldly.
Everyone took a few steps back, with dark expressions on their faces.
These people originally thought of stealing Yang Kai’s artifact, but they never expected just the opposite would occur. It seemed like now that the boy had tasted the sweetness, he was wanting more…
“No, no, my artifact is only of Origin King Grade, little brother will definitely not be interested,” Someone explained sternly.
“Origin King Grade is already quite good, my artifact is only an Origin Returning Grade…” another person immediately continued.
Everyone looked at him with contempt.
The man retorted, “What’s wrong? Can’t I be poor? Is it that embarrassing for a Dao Source Realm Cultivator to use an Origin Returning Grade artifact? Why are you looking at me like that!?”
As he spoke, he turned to Yang Kai, smiled, and cupped his fists, “Little brother should have no interest in an Origin Returning Grade artifact, yes? Ah, that’s right! This little one just remembered that he has an important affair to attend to, farewell!”
With these words, without waiting for Yang Kai’s response, he fled.
The others secretly cursed him for being quick-footed and seizing this opportunity. Many others hurriedly bid goodbye to Yang Kai with cupped fists and left hastily.
“Wait!” Yang Kai suddenly snorted coldly.
Everyone turned around in shock and looked at Yang Kai vigilantly, lest he do something unfavourable to them.
“You can’t just come and go as you please! Life is not that easy!” Yang Kai snorted coldly.
Everyone gulped, their faces ugly, knowing something bad was about to happen. They were really afraid of what this little brat was going to do.
Yang Kai pointed to the ground, “Take away this corpse and the guy who sounds like a slaughtered pig!”
“Ah…”
“Yes, Yes, Yes!”
“Hurry up and help!”
The crowd yelled and dragged away Qu Huai Ren’s body and the middle-aged man who was still screaming, all of them swiftly disappearing.
And with that, the thirty or so Dao Source Realm cultivators who came after being alarmed by Yang Kai’s Emperor Artifact left the Qin Residence in a flurry.
Except for one, who was still hovering mid-air.
Yang Kai looked at that person with his eyes squinted and found that it was a well-dressed young woman with a graceful figure and fair complexion. Her hair was flowing down her back like a waterfall and she was wearing a turquoise dress. Her beautiful eyes shone brightly and although she kept a distance from Yang Kai, fear could not be seen in her eyes.
The cultivation of this young woman was not high, but not low either, Second-Order Dao Source Realm. It seemed she was from some second-class Sect or big family.
“Why didn’t you leave?” Yang Kai turned solemn when he noticed that she was not leaving.
The young woman replied after hearing it, “Little Brother, may I ask if you are Grandmaster Yang?”
Yang Kai frowned and started to secretly raise his guard, asking instead of answering, “Who are you?”
The young woman hurriedly introduced herself, “This Mistress is Thousand Leaves Sect, Ye Jing Han.”
“Thousand Leaves Sect?” Yang Kai narrowed his eyes. He vaguely had some impression about this Sect, but nothing deep; however, he was certain that it was not some big Sect, probably similar to Blue Feather Sect, which did not have an Emperor Realm Master commanding it.
Across the entire Southern Territory, there were numerous Sects like this, each claiming some territories in order to live and multiply. Perhaps, some of their ancestors had achieved some glorious accomplishments, but afterwards, they suffered from a decline over the generations.
Blue Feather Sect was one such Sect. The ancestors of Blue Feather Sect’s Sect Master Wu Meng Shan was a peak level figure in the Star Boundary in the past, Heaven Devouring Great Emperor. This was a man able to cover the Heavens with only one hand, so powerful that the wind and the clouds were under his command. But in this generation, Wu Meng Shan was just a Sect Master of a small Sect and possessed only a Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivation.
In this world, no Sect endured forever, no family that would not decline and die out. Only Star Soul Palace and some of the greatest Sects could maintain their prominence for ten thousand years or more.
“Are you really Grandmaster Yang?” Ye Jing Han asked eagerly.
“You’ve got the wrong person,” Yang Kai replied without hesitation.
A few people from the Qin Family and the Eight Paths Sect disciples could not help staring at him weirdly when he made this response.
“You’re right, he is Grandmaster Yang Kai!” The round-faced woman who was infatuated with Luo Yuan suddenly shouted happily. After she spoke, she turned a grin to Yang Kai.
Yang Kai immediately gave her a fierce glance.
“So, you really are Grandmaster Yang!” Ye Jing Han could not help feeling a little thrilled after confirming Yang Kai’s identity.
“I already said you’ve got the wrong person. There are many people with the same name in this world, so please hurry up and leave, otherwise, I may be rude to you,” Yang Kai swung his hands impatiently, like he was trying to drive away a fly.
Ye Jing Han bit her lip lightly as she looked at Yang Kai pitifully, “Grandmaster Yang, can you please just listen to a few words from this Mistress? This Mistress will leave after speaking.”
“No thanks!”
“You…” The round-faced woman seemed to be unable to stand it anymore and rebuked, “She is already begging you like this, so why can’t you just listen to her speak? Don’t you know anything about being caring and considerate towards women?!”
Yang Kai glared at her, “No, I don’t! Also, everyone came here just to steal my treasure, so why should I bother indulging her? If this happened to your Luo Yuan, what would you do?”
“What do you mean my Luo Yuan…” The round-faced woman’s face blushed and started to be restless again. But after a while, she returned to her cold face and snorted coldly, “If anyone dared to touch Senior Brother Luo, I’d kill them!”
She put on a murderous face that shocked Yang Kai greatly as he didn’t imagine she had such a vicious side to her.
“Patriarch Qin, send this guest off,” Yang Kai spoke to Qin Zhao Yang, then waved to Qin Yu, “Sister Qin, follow me!”
“En,” Qin Yu hurriedly moved towards Yang Kai.
To the side, Qin Zhao Yang pondered for a moment before he flew up into the air and started talking to Ye Jing Han. It seemed that he was trying to convince Ye Jing Han to leave but she kept refusing and begging.
“Oh right!” Yang Kai turned around when he was about to leave and sneered at the disciples of Eight Paths Sect, “Behave yourselves, if any of you dare to cross the line again, I’ll make sure you answer to me!”
The few disciples of Eight Paths Sect had cold sweat beading on their foreheads when they heard this and none dared to ignore Yang Kai’s order, nodding one after another.
After they clearly saw how Yang Kai slew Qu Huai Ren and robbed the middle-aged man’s artifact just now, they understood that they were no match for him, and if they did provoke him, they would not end well.
The round-faced woman smiled, “Relax, I will look after them to make sure they don’t cause a fuss.”
“That would be best, otherwise, don’t blame me for not giving Luo Yuan any face!” Yang Kai snorted lightly, turned, and left.
Yang Kai led Qin Yu all the way to a secret room where he had her take a seat. Qin Zhao Yang rushed in hurriedly a moment later, seemingly having settled the matter with Ye Jiang Han. He gazed at Yang Kai hopefully, and asked restlessly, “Little Brother Yang… About the trip to the Four Seasons Realm… Did you get it?”
Ever since Yang Kai returned, he did not have the time to ask about the matter of the Tribulation Fruit. Now that he was finally free, it was natural that Qin Zhao Yang couldn’t wait to know the result.
Qin Yu’s tender body also could not help trembling as her breathing became a bit hurried, seemingly unable to control her emotions.
After all, this was a matter of life or death to her. How could a young girl, who was still not eighteen, who had not fully seen the beauty of the world or experienced its various wonders, meekly accept death?
Yang Kai glanced at both of them and smiled faintly, “Fortunately, I have not failed my mission!”
While speaking, he took out a jade box from his Space Ring and opened it with a flick, showing an ice-carved jade-like spirit fruit that immediately attracted their eyes.
Qin Zhao Yang observed it attentively with his eyes wide-open while Qin Yu could not help but stretch her fair neck and look at it dumbfounded.
“This is… It is, it is! It’s the Tribulation Fruit!” Qin Zhao Yang burst into laughter after observing it for a while, tears of joy flowing down from his eyes, “That Senior once showed me a projected image of this spirit fruit and it matches perfectly.”
Qin Yu immediately covered her lips with her hands after hearing this, a weight finally lifting from her shoulders, her whole body going limp with relief.
“There were a lot of twists and turns in obtaining this spirit fruit, that’s why I couldn’t come back immediately. I’m sorry to have made you wait so long,” Yang Kai explained briefly.
Qin Zhao Yang said through his tears, “Don’t worry, don’t worry. This time, thanks to Little Brother Yang, Yu’er has hope to survive!”
“By the way, Patriarch Qin, did that Master back then say anything about how this should be consumed by Sister Qin? Does it need to be refined into a pill? If so, I can help with that,” Yang Kai asked solemnly.
“There is no need to refine it!” Qin Zhao Yang shook his head, “That Senior said we only need to find the Tribulation Fruit and let Yu’er eat it directly. Her World Tribulation Body is rejected by the Heavens and Earth, causing her vitality to be cut off, so the Tribulation Fruit will act as a medicine that could act as a formless bridge in order to reconnect her broken vitality and ultimately keep Yu’er from suffering from her physique in the future!”
“Then, let’s not delay this matter, let Sister Qin eat it immediately,” Yang Kai hurriedly passed the jade box to Qin Yu.
Qin Yu received the Tribulation Fruit from Yang Kai, gazed at it, then lifted her head again to look at Yang Kai and Qin Zhao Yang. Seeing their encouraging faces, she did not hesitate anymore. Stretching out her beautiful and delicate fingers, she took out the Tribulation Fruit from the jade box, put it into her mouth and chewed it slowly.
The spirit fruit was ingested into her stomach just like that.
Qin Zhao Yang looked at Qin Yu anxiously, and asked worriedly, “Yu’er, do you feel any discomfort?”
Qin Yu shook her head, “No, I just feel a bit cold… “
Just after she spoke, her face abruptly changed. Her pretty face was almost twisted as she seemed to be suffering from tremendous pain, but at the same time, an extremely extraordinary power began to emerge from her body, forming a layer of bright and transparent white light, enveloping her entirely.
Yang Kai’s expression changed slightly. He used his Divine Sense and saw that the original condensed black Qi around Qin Yu’s body was slowly dissipating into the bright light. Qin Yu’s expression gradually eased as the black Qi slowly disappeared, and a trace of vitality was born from her tender body, diffusing over her limbs.
Witnessing this scene, Yang Kai nodded lightly as he knew that this should be the right solution and Qin Yu would definitely be cured with this.
“Little Brother Yang, this, this, this…” Qin Zhao Yang was in a state of utter stupefaction.
Yang Kai smiled faintly, “Patriarch Qin, let’s go out first. Sister Qin should be fine here, she will just need some time.”
“Are you sure, Little Brother Yang?” Qin Zhao Yang was worried, but he realized he should not question him so he hurriedly explained, “It’s not that this Qin doesn’t believe in you, it’s just… “
“I understand,” Yang Kai smiled. “Patriarch Qin, excessive worrying would cause panic. Just scan Qin Yu’s body with your Divine Sense.”
Qin Zhao Yang immediately acted as he said, and after a while, he sighed in relief.
“So now, can we leave without worry?” Yang Kai slightly smiled.
Qin Zhao Yang was a little embarrassed by his teasing and replied awkwardly, “Yu’er has had a difficult life since her childhood. Her parents passed away in her early years, leaving her the only remaining bloodline of our Qin Family, and she stuck with this Old Master through the difficulties for more than ten years. If she also… “
“I understand,” Yang Kai nodded solemnly.
Both of them left the secret room while talking.
With a flick of his wrist, Yang Kai drew out the Myriads Sword and handed it to Qin Zhao Yang with both hands, “Patriarch Qin, I am returning this sword to the Qin Family. Please accept it.”
Qin Zhao Yang gazed calmly at the Myriads Sword, after a long time reaching out to gently brush its blade as he said, “The Myriad Sword is the legacy of my Qin Family’s ancestors, and also the treasure of my Qin Family. For thousands of years, our ancestors had taken regaining the family’s prestige as their responsibility, with their first goal being gaining enough strength to wield the Myriads Sword once more. However, there were only a few of them who had managed to achieve this, and by the time it was this Old Master’s generation…”
He sighed heavily and continued, “The sword has been covered in dust for centuries now, not seeing the sun nor the sky. If my ancestors in Heaven knew of this, I’m sure they would put all the blame on me.”
Yang Kai responded, “Sister Qin has an extraordinary talent as she has already reached the Origin Returning Realm at only eighteen. After being set free from her suffering this time, she will definitely stand out as a rising star in time.”
Qin Zhao Yang smiled faintly, “This Old Master has pinned all his hopes on Yu’er, so this Old Master would like to ask Little Brother Yang to keep this sword first!”
“En?” Yang Kai raised his brow.
Qin Zhao Yang continued, “The power of this sword can only be unleashed in your hands. Little Brother Yang, you can make use of it first until one day, when Yu’er enters the Emperor Realm, then you shall return it to her, is it acceptable?”
Qin Zhao Yang was acting like an old man who would die soon and was arranging his own funeral affairs.
A shimmer of light flashed in Yang Kai’s eyes as he realized that Qin Zhao Yang was taking precautionary measures.
Although Qin Zhao Yang was not young anymore, he was still a Dao Source Realm cultivator, so there was no worries about him living a few more decades without any accidents.
However, his cultivation was not remarkably high, and the path of cultivation was always filled with thorns, so no one could guarantee they would have a peaceful death or predict what kind of disasters or crises would befall them.
If such a day came, no one would be left to protect the Qin Family anymore.
Qin Zhao Yang wanted Yang Kai to keep the Myriads Sword for a few reasons. First, an ordinary man is innocent but his treasures made him guilty, so he was worried that the Myriads Sword would draw trouble to the Qin Family. Second, he probably wanted to use this as a bridge, in order to bring Yang Kai closer to the Qin Family.
As long as the Myriads Sword was still in Yang Kai’s hands, he would definitely not sit back and watch if the Qin Family ever suffered any tribulations and, if worse came to worst, there would still be someone to take care of Qin Yu.
Yang Kai already guessed the intentions of Qin Zhao Yang with just a quick thought, but after pondering for a while, he decided not to refuse and replied, “Since Patriarch Qin trusts this Yang so much, I shall make use of this sword for some time in a way that will not damage the prestige of the Qin Family’s ancestors!”
He was familiar with the use of the Myriads Sword now and had already comprehended the few Sword Dao Secret Techniques that could only be used properly with this treasure, so Yang Kai had no objections to keeping it since it could still come in handy.
“Very good, very good!” Qin Zhao Yang was overjoyed.
*Hong long long… *
At that moment, a muffled sound of thunder was heard, like the stampede of thousands of dragon horses, shaking the Heavens and Earth for a moment. At the same time, the surrounding World Energy shook violently.
“What happened?” Qin Zhao Yang turned his face and asked in shock.
Yang Kai’s eyes also flashed brightly and he instantly released his majestic Divine Sense to scan the surroundings. Soon, he looked in a particular direction outside of the city and muttered, “The source seems to be over there. It’s as if something extremely powerful has awakened.”
“Let’s investigate!” Qin Zhao Yang shouted after listening to his words.
Yang Kai was thinking the same and quickly executed his Movement Skill to fly off.
Just after flying out of the Qin Residence, they ran into a beautiful figure who was standing quietly mid-air. It was Ye Jing Han from Thousand Leaves Sect.
The young woman seemed to have not left and kept waiting outside the Qin Residence.
After she saw Yang Kai’s figure, her beautiful eyes lit up and she called out to him, “Grandmaster Yang! Grandmaster Yang!”
“Go away, go away. Don’t block the way!” Yang Kai waved his hand impatiently and flew past her so fast that he was just a black dot in the sky in the blink of an eye.
Ye Jing Han looked at his shadow with gritted teeth, stomping her foot before hurriedly chasing after him.
“Patriarch Qin…” Yang Kai, who was flying in front, glanced back at Ye Jing Han and whispered, “Did this woman tell you why she was looking for me?”
Qin Zhao Yang grinned and answered, “Little Brother Yang is famous, handsome, and in possession of a good cultivation, the very definition of an outstanding man, so isn’t it normal that young girls would be attracted to you?”
After listening to Qin Zhao Yang’s flattery, Yang Kai brushed his hair back, straightened his chest, and slightly lifted his head.
A moment later, his face sank as he spat, “Can we be serious here?”
Qin Zhao Yang shook his head, “She didn’t tell this Old Master clearly, she just said that she needed to talk to you. I saw that this woman was quite pretty, and even though she is a little older than you, she has a tender body and mesmerizing eyes. Little Brother Yang, why don’t you consider listening to her request?”
Yang Kai bulged his eyes and scanned Qin Zhao Yang up and down, as if he needed to examine this person again. After a long examination, he replied, “Patriarch Qin, please behave yourself. It’s inappropriate for an old man to say something like this!”
“HAHAHAHA!” Qin Zhao Yang laughed out loud, patted Yang Kai on the shoulder and spoke in earnest, “You are wasting your youth if you are not indulging. Young man, seize the opportunity!
“Anyway, I don’t think it’s anything good. Don’t pay attention to her!” Yang Kai curled his lips.
During their conversation, numerous other flowing lights had appeared around them. Apparently, they were the Dao Source Realm Masters who were living in Maplewood City and similar to Yang Kai and Qin Zhao Yang, they were also on their way to check the situation.
“Ah! Yang Kai! You bastard!” An angry voice suddenly came from the side.
Yang Kai turned his head and saw a familiar face staring at him furiously.
This person was the former Maplewood City Vice City Lord, Zhuang Pan!
There was another person beside Zhuang Pan, a good-looking young man with red lips and white teeth. His cultivation was not high, just First-Order Dao Source Realm.
Inexplicably, Yang Kai suddenly felt that this person was a bit familiar, but he was certain that he had never seen him before.
“Yang Kai!” After hearing Zhuang Pan, the eyes of the young man beside him brightened, looking towards Yang Kai with a scorching gaze and asking Zhuang Pan, “So, he is the brat surnamed Yang you mentioned?”
“It’s him, that little rat!” Zhuang Pan gritted his teeth.
“Who are you calling a rat?” Yang Kai looked at Zhuang Pan in contempt and smiled sarcastically.
Zhuang Pan’s face turned red, but he was not stupid enough to step into Yang Kai’s trap, instead just glaring at him with hatred.
“Patriarch Qin, who is this young man?” Yang Kai whispered to Qin Zhao Yang. He saw that although this young man was handsome, he looked sinister. If one were to consider that he was shoulder to shoulder with a villain like Zhuang Pan, Yang Kai knew for sure that he was not anything decent.
“Flying Saint Palace’s Young Palace Master, Ning Yuan Shu!”
“Young Palace Master?” Yang Kai was shocked, but he quickly figured it out. It seemed that after the death of the former Flying Saint Palace Young Palace Master, someone new had been promoted to take up the position. Since Ning Yuan Shu and Ning Yuan Cheng were biological brothers, it was natural that they looked similar to each other so it was no wonder Yang Kai found him to be familiar just now.
When they were speaking, Ning Yuan Shu ordered Zhuang Pan, “Since it’s him, then there’s no need to be polite. Zhuang Pan, seize him, this Young Master wants to interrogate him.”
After receiving the command, Zhuang Pan turned his head pitifully and said with a frightened stutter, “Young Palace Master, that… well… that is…”
“What? Do it quickly! Do you dare disobey my commands?” Ning Yuan Shu got frustrated looking at him and slapped his face, causing Zhuang Pan’s neck to shrink in fear.
“This subordinate… can’t beat him,” Zhuang Pan answered with a look of grief. After saying it, he was like a deflated ball.
Ning Yuan Shu stared at him with his eyes widened, “He is a First-Order Dao Source Realm Cultivator, the same as you. What’s more, Lord Father had trained you personally for three days, why can’t you beat him?”
“Last time I was miserably beaten by him until the spirituality of my artifact had been lost…” Zhuang Pan muttered.
“Waste! What use are you then?!” Ning Yuan Shu was infuriated and kicked Zhuang Pan on his waist. Zhuang Pan screamed in pain, and staggered to the side.
Ning Yuan Shu ignored Zhuang Pan and glared at Yang Kai as he bellowed in a deep voice, “Boy, come over here now!”
He looked egotistic, as if he was the owner of the world and no one would dare to disobey his command.
When the surrounding cultivators heard him, they were startled and immediately put some distance between them and Ning Yuan Shu.
These cultivators were mostly just coming back from the Qin Residence where they had witnessed the earlier scene caused by Yang Kai. All of them knew Yang Kai was not a person who they should mess with, so when they saw Ning Yuan Shu plucking at the whiskers of this tiger, who would dare to stay near him?
Even for those cultivators who had no idea about this, they were quickly being informed by their friends and were made aware of the current situation.
In a heartbeat, all the cultivators in a hundred-metre radius of Ning Yuan Shu vanished.
Ning Yuan Shu was bewildered, but thinking everyone was deterred by his imposing presence, his ego only swelled further, making him truly feel like the first Master beneath the Heavens.
“Patriarch Qin…” Yang Kai made a weird expression and asked, “Why do I hear a dog barking in this wilderness?”
Qin Zhao Yang burst into laughter, “Probably just some wild dogs wandering about, Little Brother Yang doesn’t need to care about it!”
If before, as the Patriarch of a small family, he would not dare to offend Flying Saint Palace. Even though Flying Saint Palace was not a big Sect, there was still an Emperor Realm Master helming it with countless Dao Source Realm cultivators at his command.
The Qin Family’s good days would come to an end if they offended such a great force, as everyone in the Qin Family could be easily slaughtered by a single Second-Order Dao Source Realm Master sent by Flying Saint Palace.
But right now, he was full of gratitude and respect towards Yang Kai, so he was more than willing to offend Flying Saint Palace. Even if it was Star Soul Palace, he would probably still side with Yang Kai.
Both of them spoke loudly, not trying to conceal their voices, so Ning Yuan Shu naturally heard them and flew into a rage.
“How dare you spout such drivel, boy! Do you know who this Young Master is?!” Nin Yuan Shu smiled in anger and shouted at Yang Kai with a sinister face.
Yang Kai then looked at him from the corner of his eyes, “Who the hell are you?”
Ning Yuan Shu looked extremely annoyed and fulminated against him, “Listen carefully, this Young Master is Flying Saint Palace’s Young Palace Master, Ning Yuan Shu!”
“Flying Saint Palace Young Palace Master?” Yang Kai could not help bulging his eyes in fear, “You are the Flying Saint Palace’s Young Palace Master?”
“Indeed!” Ning Yuan Shu felt instantly satisfied after seeing his frightened appearance and put on a wicked smile like that of a poisonous snake.
The next moment, Yang Kai’s expression turned solemn and responded in a serious tone, “Sorry, never heard of such a place.”
“You…” Ning Yuan Shu was maddened again after realizing that Yang Kai was toying with him and shouted loudly, “Die!”
As he shouted, he pushed his Source Qi, creating a vortex-like power around his figure as it flickered, leaving behind a number of afterimages as he flew in front of Yang Kai and sent out a palm strike.
“This is your fate for offending me!” He did not forget to sneer as he moved in to attack.
However, his palm strike was destined to accomplish nothing as Yang Kai simply stretched out his hand, intercepted this palm by seizing Ning Yuan Shu’s wrist, and diverted it aside.
Ning Yuan Shu was caught completely off guard and lost his balance, almost crashing into Yang Kai in the process.
When he looked up, his face was only a palm length away from Yang Kai’s, the perfect distance to witness the taunting grin filled with mockery on his opponent’s face.