"Sister Luoyan, are you joking?"
Hearing Shi Luoyan's words, Qin Qingyue froze in her tracks.
Seeing the cold gleam faintly hidden in Shi Luoyan's clear, autumn-water-bright eyes, Qin Qingyue could not help but change her expression.
She could sense that Shi Luoyan truly had killing intent.
She wanted to kill Qin Haotian! Born into a royal manor, Shi Luoyan had lived a life of luxury and abundance since childhood.
This had gradually fostered a proud and willful personality in her.
Yet, after all, she was still a young girl of sixteen or seventeen, and speaking so lightly of taking a person's life truly startled her.
Moreover, this person still had blood ties to her.
In name, he was even her own elder brother.
Therefore, facing Shi Luoyan's inquiry, Qin Qingyue momentarily did not know how to reply.
"It seems that you are not entirely without feelings for this adopted brother of yours."
"And no wonder, humans are not made of wood and stone, how could anyone be completely devoid of emotion?"
Sensing the hesitation on Qin Qingyue's face, Shi Luoyan smiled meaningfully.
"Sister Luoyan, no, it's not like that."
Qin Qingyue quickly explained, "Although Qin Haotian and I share some blood ties, I couldn't care less about whether he lives or dies."
"To me, he is no different from a stranger on the street."
"It's just that my mother cares very much about Qin Haotian. If Qin Haotian dies, my mother will probably be very sad."
Qin Qingyue parted her lips slightly, voicing the worry deep in her heart.
As she spoke these words, Qin Qingyue herself had no idea what she was feeling.
In the end, driven by some inexplicable impulse, she stood up from the desk, and in a low voice, made a solemn request to Shi Luoyan.
"Sister Luoyan, I know you don't want to marry Qin Haotian."
"But no matter what, it hasn't reached the point where you need to harm, kill, or wipe him out completely."
"Furthermore, once word leaks out, I'm afraid you won't be able to give an account to my parents."
"If all else fails, please consider my feelings and spare his life."
Listening to Qin Qingyue's request, Shi Luoyan was silent for a moment, then suddenly broke into a smile.
"Since you've spoken up, how could your elder sister be so heartless?"
"I promise you, I can spare Qin Haotian's life."
"However, he must leave the Imperial City and never appear again."
Understanding Qin Qingyue's attitude, Shi Luoyan hesitated for a moment, yet changed her mind.
If she insisted on killing Qin Haotian, she would likely lose this good sister of hers.
Besides, if Qin Haotian really died, War King Manor would inevitably investigate.
Even as a princess, she would probably not be able to withstand the War King's wrath.
Hearing this, gratitude appeared in Qin Qingyue's eyes, and she bowed respectfully to Shi Luoyan.
"Thank you, Your Highness, for your grace!"
At the same time, she also began to reflect on her own behavior.
No matter how unlikable Qin Haotian was, he was still her flesh and blood, an elder brother connected by blood, yet she had wrung her brains out to help an outsider deal with him. Was such behavior improper?
At this thought, her mood suddenly grew heavy, as if something was blocking her chest, vague and indistinct, neither able to be spit out nor swallowed down.
Then, she let out a lingering sigh, lost any mood to linger further in the imperial palace, bid farewell, and returned to War King Manor.
After Qin Qingyue left, Shi Luoyan's gentle smile vanished completely, her face as cold as frost as she slowly clenched the fists inside her sleeves.
"Qin Haotian, although I promised Younger Sister Qingyue to spare your life..."
"No matter whether you are hiding your cultivation realm or not, this princess will make you a cripple!"
"Don't blame this princess for being ruthless; if you must blame someone, blame your own bad luck!"
Inside the dilapidated temple.
At this moment, Qin Haotian was checking his own attribute panel.
Name: Qin Haotian
Cultivation: Xiantian Realm Mid Stage
Martial Arts: Supreme Forgetting Emotions Slash
Treasures: Devouring Demon Gourd, Netherworld Demonic Sword
Slaughter Value: 1
After studying it for a moment, Qin Haotian finally figured out the use of this Slaughter Value.
Allocate points!
Whether it was his cultivation realm or the progress of his martial arts mastery,
everything could be upgraded by allocating Slaughter Value!
"It seems that from now on, I am destined to walk a path of slaughter."
The next moment, with a thought in his mind, Qin Haotian applied his sole point of Slaughter Value to his cultivation.
Immediately, Qin Haotian felt his cultivation realm at the Xiantian mid stage loosen slightly.
Yet it vanished in a flash.
"It seems I need to kill a few more people."
Following that, Qin Haotian walked straight out of the Earth God temple and strode uninhibited toward the most bustling and lively area in the Imperial City.
Having killed the men sent by Zuixian Tower, Qin Haotian naturally had not forgotten to loot their corpses.
Looking at the spatial rings in his possession, the corners of Qin Haotian's mouth curled up slightly.
Although these fellows' cultivation levels were not high, they were quite well-off.
Ever since he left the royal manor, Qin Haotian had been completely penniless.
These delivery boys had arrived just in time to resolve his urgent needs.
His purpose on this trip was to brew Myriad Spirits Wine.
The Devouring Demon Gourd could devour spiritual treasures of heaven and earth to brew Myriad Spirits Wine.
A moment later, Qin Haotian arrived at the most prosperous market in the Imperial City.
His purpose in coming here was to procure some raw materials for brewing Myriad Spirits Wine.
In the bustling district of the Imperial City, looking out as far as the eye could see, the streets extended in all directions, filled with bustling pedestrians, competing shops, and the rising and falling cries of hawkers.
If it were his first time here, he might have been dizzy and overwhelmed by the sights.
Fortunately, Qin Haotian had spent a full three years mingling here before, wandering through the three districts and six markets every day, so it didn't cause the current Qin Haotian any sense of disorientation.
Glancing around casually as he walked, it didn't take him long to find a shop selling beast blood and medicinal herbs.
"Young master, what do you need?"
"Our shop encompasses everything under the sun; as long as you can name it, this little one can procure it for you!"
Seeing the newcomer, the shop assistant beside the counter immediately beamed with smiles, bowing and scraping with utmost flattery, acting just like a long-lost friend.
Qin Haotian cut straight to the point: "Do you have fierce beast primordial blood here?"
Hearing that there was business to be done, the assistant's smile became even more brilliant.
"Young master, you've certainly come to the right place!"
"Ours is a decades-old established shop, fully stocked with fierce beast primordial blood of all grades!"
"We have everything from the One-horned Wolf, Snow Mountain Vulture, to the Ash-wood Fox and more—over a hundred varieties in total!"
Hearing this, Qin Haotian didn't drag his feet at all; he fished out a pouch of spirit stones from his spatial ring and tossed it casually onto the counter.
"Cut the nonsense!"
"Give me primordial blood of second-grade fierce beasts equivalent to the value of these spirit stones."
Although he had made a windfall, it was only enough for Qin Haotian to purchase some second-grade fierce beast primordial blood.
"Please wait a moment, young master!"
"This little one will get your goods ready right away!"
Running into such a straightforward buyer, the little assistant was overjoyed.
A moment later, Qin Haotian walked out of the shop with a trace of satisfaction on his face.
Having stocked up on fierce beast primordial blood, he stopped on his way back to buy several jars of century-old aged wine before returning along the same path to the dilapidated temple.