"Boom..."
With a single punch, ordinary yet packed with immense force, Qin Ze struck straight at Qin Taizhi's claw-like hand like an iron hammer.
A crisp snap echoed as the palm bone shattered.
Howling in agony, Qin Taizhi stumbled back repeatedly, wincing as he glared at Qin Ze in sheer disbelief.
Although he already knew Qin Ze was stronger than him, he never imagined the gap would be this vast. Even with his martial skill deployed, he had been crushed by a casual, ordinary punch from Qin Ze.
"Next, it's your turn," Qin Ze said coldly.
"Qin Ze, I am the Fifth Elder of the family! How dare you try to kill me?" Qin Taizhi shouted.
Qin Ze smiled coldly.
At this point, who was there that he wouldn't dare to kill?
Yet, truth be told, he had no intention of killing Qin Taizhi right now. The family assembly was tonight; he would let the man go back first to deliver the message and make Qin Wuyang and Qin Hao squirm. As for himself, he would take his time and return when the assembly began.
"Didn't you just say you were going to break my legs?" Qin Ze stepped forward and kicked straight into Qin Taizhi's shin.
With another loud snap, Qin Taizhi clutched his leg and shrieked in despair.
"I'm not going to kill you. Piss off!" Qin Ze barked.
Believing that Qin Ze genuinely lacked the guts to kill him, Qin Taizhi gritted his teeth and snarled, "Qin Ze, this isn't over! Just you wait!"
With that, he dragged his broken leg toward the city gates.
Qin Ze withdrew the Supreme Undying Mantra, his cultivation dropping back to the Sixth Level of Earth Spirit Realm.
Lei Ling'er watched him, her eyes brimming with curiosity. She could clearly tell that Qin Ze had used some powerful technique to temporarily boost his strength. Such methods existed in the Bahuang Domain—though rare, they weren't entirely unheard of. What startled her, however, was the composure and decisiveness Qin Ze had shown while taking lives—something she had never witnessed in anyone of his age. Only men of her father's generation, tempered by years of constant bloodshed on the battlefield, possessed such a temperament.
While she was deep in thought, she saw Qin Ze crouching down to search the bodies of the dead men.
"What are you doing?" Lei Ling'er asked, frowning.
Qin Ze tossed a few small pouches in his hand and said, "Just as I thought. The Qin Family sent them after me, and the bounty was two Earth Spirit Pills per man. It would be rude not to collect."
Seeing the stunned look on Lei Ling'er's face, he laughed heartily. "I've made a habit of checking bodies for treasures after every kill for so many years."
Lei Ling'er was utterly speechless, assuming Qin Ze was just boasting. He was only sixteen or seventeen—how many years could he possibly have spent killing people?
By now, Qin Ze had already walked over to Xu Shan.
Xu Shan looked up at him, tears of excitement welling in his eyes. "Young Master, how did you get so strong? I was scared to death just now!"
Qin Ze looked Xu Shan up and down. The boy still had the same roly-poly figure and round face. Years of hard labor in the family mines hadn't managed to slim him down a bit. At the moment, he was covered in dust, with a dark footprints stamped across his belly—the calling card of Qin Taizhi's kick.
"Xiaoshan, with me here from now on, no one will ever bully you again." Qin Ze gave Xu Shan's shoulder a firm slap.
Xu Shan grinned foolishly. "As long as you're safe, Young Master, I'm thick-skinned and it doesn't matter. Where are you planning to flee? I'll go with you and serve by your side."
Qin Ze looked in the direction of the city gates.
"I'm not running. I'm heading right back to the Qin Family shortly to settle accounts with them once and for all." Qin Ze narrowed his eyes, a murderous glint flashing through them.
Hearing this, Xu Shan grew anxious. "You mustn't go back, Young Master! I heard Qin Wuyang has invited all the major families to attend this time. If you go, aren't you just walking right into a trap?"
Qin Ze patted Xu Shan's shoulder with a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, Xiaoshan. I'm not who I used to be. Besides, I'm going to elevate you to a status where others can only look up to you in awe."
Xu Shan beamed, his eyes squinting into mere crescents. "I don't care about any of that. As long as you're powerful, Young Master, I'll follow you even if it means death."
Qin Ze laughed out loud. To live and die together—that was what made true brothers.
"Come on, let's head into the city for a good meal first. We'll return to the Qin Family tonight," he said, leading Xu Shan and Lei Ling'er toward the city.
***
Along the way, Lei Ling'er kept casting sidelong glances at Qin Ze. Unable to hold back any longer, she finally asked, "Your martial cultivation isn't bad at all, so why haven't you learned any martial skills?"
"No time, I've been too busy. Besides, I use the sword, and I didn't have a decent blade on hand, so I just hadn't learned any yet," Qin Ze replied casually.
Lei Ling'er couldn't shake the feeling that Qin Ze was just bragging; mastering martial skills was far from simple.
On second thought, however, Qin Ze realized Lei Ling'er had a point. Since he was going back to the Qin Family to throw down, knowing a martial skill would definitely come in handy. The only snag was his lack of a good sword at the moment.
At that moment, Lei Ling'er stopped in her tracks, the ring on her finger glowing faintly.
Qin Ze's eyes lit up.
Clearly, this was a storage ring, and she was currently using her divine sense to scan the items kept inside. Storage rings were exceedingly rare in the Bahuang Domain, and among the younger generation, only someone of Eldest Miss Lei's stature could possibly possess one. Yet this naive girl lacked any cunning, casually wearing such a priceless treasure right on her finger. No wonder she had been targeted for assassination. People wouldn't even need a reason to kill her—just the ring alone made it a high probability.
Before long, Lei Ling'er produced three manuals and handed them to Qin Ze. "These three are all sword techniques, though they're only of Mortal Grade, Lower and Middle Yellow tiers."
Martial skills and treasures in the mortal realm were divided into six major grades according to their might and rarity: Mortal, Spirit, Revered, Heavenly, Saintly, and Divine. Each grade was further subdivided into three tiers: Lower, Middle, and Upper.
Given Qin Ze's current cultivation at the Sixth Level of Earth Spirit Realm, his body certainly wouldn't be able to handle overly powerful martial skills. At the same time, Mortal Grade Lower and Middle tiers were a bit too weak. Moreover, his own memories held no shortage of martial techniques, but they were from so long ago that dredging them up was somewhat troublesome.
He waved away the three manuals and said, "I can handle sword techniques myself. Do you have a decent sword you can lend me?"
Lei Ling'er put the manuals away, though she managed to find a crimson longsword inside her storage ring and handed it over instead. "This Blazing Flame Sword is a Spirit Grade Middle-tier weapon. I'm not sure if your current cultivation is enough to wield it." She wanted to see what kind of sword techniques Qin Ze could pull off once he had a sword in hand.
Qin Ze took the Blazing Flame Sword and gave it a few test swings; it felt reasonably well-balanced. However, with every swing, a wave of scorching heat bled into his body. He could ward it off using his spiritual qi, so it wasn't a major issue.
"Alright, this will do. Many thanks," Qin Ze said.
Armed with a suitable Spirit Grade weapon, Qin Ze quickly searched his memories for a matching technique. In his previous life, he hadn't used swords during his early days, mostly learning simpler fist and palm techniques. He hadn't touched the sword until much later, when he learned several Revered Grade sword techniques. Among them, the Azure Underworld Sword Art was one he had used for a long time, and he had mastered it quite thoroughly.
Revered Grade sword techniques were fundamentally impossible for martial cultivators at the Earth Spirit Realm to execute. Even if they managed it, their bodies would shatter under the strain. However, backed by the massive cultivation boost from the Supreme Undying Mantra, Qin Ze was barely able to withstand the burden of the Azure Underworld Sword Art.
The Azure Underworld Sword Art was bold and unrestrained. Though classified as a sword art, it rarely relied on precise stabs; its key stances were sweeping and slashing strikes. Such sword moves were exceptionally effective when dealing with multiple opponents. When backed by superior strength, a practitioner could keep four or five enemies from even getting close.
Qin Ze led Lei Ling'er and Xu Shan into the city, finding a high-end restaurant and ordering a full table of dishes.The twenty taels of silver he had fished off Chen Flame [Chen Yan] earlier came in handy precisely for this.