"Furthermore, you garbage half-breed, how could you ever compare to the one destined for greatness in my Qin Family?"
Qin Lie looked coldly at Qin Xuan, a murderous intent surging violently in his eyes.
Hearing this, Qin Xuan sneered contemptuously. "Destined for greatness? Is Qin Qingfeng even worthy?"
"In my eyes, he is nothing more than a vulnerable dog defeated by my own hands. If he is truly destined for greatness, then since I defeated him, does that not mean destiny itself belongs to me?"
As these words fell, Qin Lie's expression instantly stiffened, his hair and beard trembling with rage.
With murderous intent filling the air and taking on a nearly tangible form, he practically roared, "Qin Xuan, you spout wild nonsense and slaughter your own kin! Today, I shall execute you, this beast, on behalf of the ancestors of the Qin Family!"
The next instant, Qin Lie took a fierce step forward, his spiritual energy erupting suddenly and enveloping Qin Xuan in a terrifying pressure.
"Hum!"
Under his crushing pressure, the entire grand hall shook, as if about to collapse at any moment.
Qin Xuan, standing at the very center of the pressure, was forced to bear unimaginable weight. The ground beneath his feet caved in, and his legs sank deep into the earth.
"Die!"
Displaying his full strength as a Peak Tongxuan Realm cultivator, Qin Lie gathered spiritual energy across the sky into his palm and struck down at Qin Xuan.
"Bang!"
As the blow landed, a thunderous roar erupted. The ground split open, dust filled the sky, and sharp gale-force winds swept out in a shockwave, mixing with the smoke and dust to obscure everyone's vision. Meanwhile, Qin Xuan's body, like a lone leaf tossed in a raging sea, was instantly swallowed up...
"As expected of the Patriarch! With a blow like that, even a Tongxuan Realm expert would be left without a whole corpse. That piece of trash is thoroughly dead."
"Tsk tsk, a mere piece of trash daring to speak insolently to the Patriarch—he entirely deserved to die."
"Wise is the Patriarch, cleaning house to restore peace to our Qin Family."
"That trash can die for all I care, but it's a pity—won't our Qin Family's chosen one be crippled by this?"
Seeing this, the surrounding members of the Qin Family clapped and cheered.
"Strange..."
Amidst the chorus of approval, Qin Lie furrowed his brow, a flicker of doubt crossing his eyes.
For some reason, the palm strike he had just unleashed seemed to have been blocked for a fraction of a second by some mysterious force.
Though the mysterious power came and went in a flash, as the one who threw the punch, he had still sensed it.
That said, he didn't dwell on it. No matter what tricks Qin Xuan had up his sleeve, under the overwhelming, lethal strike of a Peak Tongxuan Realm expert, survival was utterly impossible! If a mere Zhoutian Realm cultivator could block him, wouldn't he become a laughingstock?
"Whoosh!"
Suddenly, with a swift whoosh, a heavily battered figure shot out from the billowing dust. Moving with astonishing speed, he vanished toward the distant horizon in the blink of an eye.
At the same time, a roar mixed with fury and towering hatred resounded across the sky, echoing through the clouds.
"Old dog Qin Lie, do you really think your pathetic skills are enough to kill me?"
"You snakes in the same hole, bullying and humiliating me—today, I, Qin Xuan, make a clean break with all of you. From this day forward, our paths diverge!"
"And another thing!"
"The humiliation of today, I, Qin Xuan, will repay a hundredfold in the future!"
Every single word from Qin Xuan fell like thunder upon their hearts, sending a deep tremor through every member of the Qin Family. Some even began to wonder in secret: could this fellow truly grow into a scourge in the future?
"Rebellion! This is outright rebellion!" Qin Lie's face turned livid, veins bulging as he roared incessantly.
In his mind, even if he killed Qin Xuan, the latter should only have bared his neck to accept execution. He never expected Qin Xuan to actually dare betray the Qin Family.
"Someone come!"
"Seal the city! Even if you have to dig three feet into the ground, ferret this traitor out and execute him without mercy!" Qin Lie shattered a stone lion in front of the grand hall with a single palm strike to vent the towering fury in his chest.
"Understood!" The members of the Qin Family hurriedly cupped their fists.
"Whoosh!"
Taking a deep breath, Qin Lie forced himself to calm down, then flickered into motion, appearing before Qin Qingfeng, who lay unconscious on the ground like a dead dog.
Looking at his son's miserable state, his bloodshot eyes flashed with heartache born of anger. He lifted Qin Qingfeng, hastily jammed a round, snow-white medicinal pill into his mouth, and began circulating his spiritual energy to help refine it.
Under the effect of the pill, the pierced wound on Qin Qingfeng's chest actually healed at a visible rate.
A moment later, Qin Qingfeng's eyelashes trembled as he slowly opened his eyes. Gazing at his father before him, his gaze quickly dimmed, filled with utter despair.
After a long while, his throat moved, and he let out a hoarse, weak voice, "Father... I..."
"Say no more!" Qin Lie waved his hand, cutting Qin Qingfeng off, and gently consoled him, "Father knows what you want to say; you don't need to apologize."
"Qingfeng, your path is still long. As the one destined for greatness, you must not grow arrogant in victory nor discouraged in defeat if you are to climb all the way to the peak. Can you really not even endure this little setback?"
Looking at his son and noticing a glimmer of spirit returning to his eyes, Qin Lie bit his lip and pressed his advantage, encouraging him, "Child, think carefully: today's defeat is not entirely a bad thing for you."
Qin Qingfeng's eyes reddened slightly, and he nodded gently. "Father, I understand. Rest assured, Your Son will not sink into despair or be utterly crushed by this."
"That's good, that's good." Hearing this, Qin Lie let out a heavy sigh of relief.
Then, changing the subject, he slowly said, "Now it seems that with your talent, lingering in this corner of the Qin Family is no long-term solution. I have already asked someone to make arrangements; in three days, you will head to the Xuanqing Sect to cultivate. That is where your true stage lies."
"Your son obeys." Clenching his fists, Qin Qingfeng reignited his fighting spirit.
Catching sight out of the corner of his eye that everyone around was watching him, he hurriedly put on an expression of heartfelt sincerity and said, "Father, although Qin Xuan was somewhat reckless, his crimes do not warrant death. If he is captured another day, please do not kill him—just hand him over to me."
"Very well!" Qin Lie replied casually.
To him, as long as Qin Qingfeng was safe and able to rise in the future, nothing else mattered.
...
The biting cold wind howled. Before the dilapidated City God Temple, a figure stumbled forward before leaning heavily against the door frame.
This person was none other than Qin Xuan.
Having fled all the way here to escape the Qin Family's pursuit, he was now on the verge of exhaustion.
"Pfft—"
Suddenly, with a retch, Qin Xuan's complexion alternated between flushed and pale as he vomited a mouthful of blood.
Despite his difficult predicament, his expression remained calm as he casually wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.
"I'll rest and recover here..." Qin Xuan muttered to himself.
This place was desolate, ruined, and rarely visited by people. For Qin Xuan, it was an excellent hiding spot.
Creak—
The next moment, Qin Xuan pushed open the broken door and entered the temple.
He walked up to the statue of the City God and slumped down, but quickly braced his hands against the floor to prop up his upper body, sitting cross-legged to begin healing his wounds.
To withstand a strike from Qin Lie—a Peak Tongxuan Realm powerhouse—using merely the cultivation of the Zhoutian Realm...
To anyone else, it would be nothing short of a miracle.
No one knew how he had pulled it off...