"Qin Ze, you are truly dead this time."
Qin Ze narrowed his eyes slightly and thought to himself, *"What? Lei Longhu didn't find his daughter? That shouldn't be."*
"Men, take him to the council hall." As Mo Tianwen's voice fell, several guards stepped forward with clubs, preparing to seize Qin Ze.
Qin Ze waved his hand, signaling that he would go of his own accord.
The guards looked at each other, then cautiously followed behind with their clubs in hand.
City Lord's Mansion, council hall.
Lei Longhu sat at the head of the table with a dark, livid expression.
Seeing Qin Ze being led in as if he were a prisoner, a flash of anger rose in his eyes.
"Exalted Lord, the prisoner has been brought. How do you wish to deal with him?" Mo Tianwen asked with a hint of excitement.
Lei Longhu abruptly stood up and strode toward Qin Ze.
Assuming that Lei Longhu intended to administer punishment personally, Mo Tianwen glared at Qin Ze in exasperation, hating him for failing to live up to expectations.
Instead of striking Qin Ze, however, Lei Longhu walked right up and delivered a vicious slap.
The blow did not land on Qin Ze. It struck Mo Tianwen.
*Crack...*
Mo Tianwen was sent flying through the air, crashing heavily to the ground.
"You idiot, I told you to invite him here, not drag him here in chains!" Lei Longhu roared.
Mo Tianwen sat on the floor, wanting to cry but lacking the tears.
Having failed to see the young miss return in Qin Ze's company, he had assumed Qin Ze was lying. Panic had overtaken him, and out of sheer reflex, he had acted with anger, terrified that Qin Ze's deception might implicate him.
*Could it be that the Eldest Miss was actually found?*
Lei Longhu stepped up to Qin Ze and said with absolute sincerity, "My young friend, your divination earlier was spot on. My daughter truly almost went looking for the Red-Eyed Heavenly Wolf."
"Fortunately, we arrived a step ahead and managed to kill that Red-Eyed Heavenly Wolf directly."
Mo Tianwen could not believe his ears.
*A Red-Eyed Heavenly Wolf actually existed?*
*And the Eldest Miss really went after that fierce beast?*
*Something like that can be divined? Is this guy actually a fortune-teller?*
Qin Ze calmly replied, "If I'm not mistaken, you didn't find Lei Ling'er, did you?"
Lei Longhu let out a heavy sigh, making it clear that Qin Ze had guessed correctly.
"Ling'er ran away from home this time, and it's obvious she still hasn't forgiven me. When she saw us hunting the Red-Eyed Heavenly Wolf, she fled far away."
"Now that the wolf is dead, her safety shouldn't be an issue anymore, right?"
Qin Ze nodded. There shouldn't be any particularly formidable beasts lingering around Yuelong City.
In his past life, he had spent a considerable amount of time staying in that forest, and it was quite safe.
Suddenly, however, he caught the expression on Lei Longhu's face and seemed to guess what was coming.
"You didn't call me here just to ask me to go find Eldest Miss Lei, did you?"
Lei Longhu's eyes lit up.
"My young friend is truly clever. Since you're a new face, she won't be on her guard when she sees you."
"And you're very sharp. Given that you were able to pinpoint her location earlier, finding her shouldn't be too difficult."
"When you see her, just tell her that her father will no longer force her to do anything against her will."
"Once she hears that, she'll forgive me and return on her own accord."
Qin Ze calculated the time. There were still five days left before Qin Hao ascended to the position of head of the family.
Taking a trip out to find Lei Ling'er should be entirely feasible.
"Fine. But what do I get out of helping you?" Qin Ze looked up at Lei Longhu, neither humble nor overbearing.
Mo Tianwen gritted his teeth so hard they nearly shattered.
Being able to do even a small favor for the Domain Lord was the honor of a lifetime.
How dare this scoundrel Qin Ze actually demand a reward?
Lei Longhu furrowed his brows slightly, but quickly replied, "If you help me with this favor, consider you and me friends for life."
"Right, take this Martial Sovereign Ascension Pill as a gift."
With that, he produced a medicinal pill and held it out.
As soon as those words were spoken, everyone's gaze locked onto the pill.
Mo Tianwen stole a glance and swallowed hard.
The Martial Sovereign Ascension Pill was a miraculous pill that allowed martial cultivators to advance at an astonishing pace.
Within just a few months, it could elevate one's cultivation all the way to the Zunwu Realm.
A single pill like this allowed for a rapid, explosive breakthrough straight into the fourth major realm.
For the First Heaven—and especially for a small backwater like Yuelong City—this was practically an immortal elixir.
Qin Ze, however, merely shook his head slightly.
"While an ascension pill like this grants fast progress in the early stages, it impairs the speed of later cultivation. It's best not to use it unless absolutely necessary."
In truth, the drawbacks went beyond that. When attempting to break through to the Ten-Star Great Emperor Realm, it would actually double the time required, making the trade-off entirely not worth it.
Of course, if one had no ambitions of ever breaking through to the Great Emperor Realm in the future, using it was fine. But Qin Ze certainly had no intention of taking it himself.
Lei Longhu chuckled faintly. The fellow didn't even have much of a cultivation base yet, yet here he was worrying about early versus late-stage cultivation.
"Very well then, just name what you want."
Qin Ze said, "My previous batch of Earth Spirit Pills is all gone. If the City Lord can manage to get me some more, that would be ideal."
*A hundred pills, and he finished them already?*
Mo Tianwen stared at Qin Ze in astonishment.
However, noticing Lei Longhu's murderous glare, he scurried out in a panic to hunt down more Earth Spirit Pills.
Lei Longhu looked over Qin Ze with a critical eye. "Did you really consume a full hundred Earth Spirit Pills?"
He sensed the martial cultivation aura emanating from Qin Ze.
When they had last met, the youth possessed zero martial aura whatsoever.
Yet in a mere four days, his aura had already reached the Fifth Level of Earth Spirit Realm.
Furthermore, the vitality and temperament the young man exuded bore no resemblance to an ordinary Earth Spirit Realm cultivator at all.
*Just how on earth does he cultivate?*
Qin Ze smiled and remained silent.
At that moment, Mo Tianwen returned clutching a pouch of pills.
"These are all the Earth Spirit Pills currently available in the City Lord's Mansion—a little over four hundred of them."
Earth Spirit Pills were far from cheap, costing one hundred silver taels per pill.
This single pouch amounted to forty thousand silver taels.
Under Mo Tianwen's heart-pounding gaze, Qin Ze stowed the pills away into his travel pouch and turned to walk out.
"Wait a moment!" Lei Longhu called out, stepping forward to press the Martial Sovereign Ascension Pill into Qin Ze's hand.
"Little brother, whether you want this thing or not, take it as a gift from me first. Even if you sell it, it's worth a tidy sum," Lei Longhu said.
Qin Ze made no pretense of refusing. "Old Lei, rest assured. Since we're brothers now, your daughter is my niece, and I will definitely get this matter sorted out for you."
With that, he strode swiftly away.
*Old Lei?*
Mo Tianwen's legs turned to jelly with terror.
Never in his life had he seen anyone dare to address the Domain Lord in such a manner, let alone have the audacity to call him "Old Lei"...
Lei Longhu was left dumbfounded as well.
While he did feel a certain affinity toward this Qin Ze, the kid was far too quick to assume a position of familiarity.
Watching Qin Ze's receding figure, he was utterly at a loss for words.
...
Leaving Yuelong City behind, the winding path through the woods was quiet and secluded.
Qin Ze walked at a moderate pace, reaching an uninhabited bamboo grove when a sudden surge of Qi flared behind him, rapidly closing the distance.
The Qi was not weak—it belonged to a mid-to-late stage Earth Spirit Realm expert.
Qin Ze, however, showed no panic. He had been aware of the tail all along and had deliberately guided them toward this remote location.
His pursuer was Chen Yan, a trusted confidant of Qin Wuyang.
The moment Qin Ze had departed the Qin Family, Chen Yan had been dispatched by Qin Wuyang to tail him in secret.
Launching a sudden sneak attack now was meant to test Qin Ze.
If Qin Ze possessed no cultivation, Chen Yan would break one of his bones.
If he did have cultivation, Chen Yan would kill him outright or cripple his cultivation entirely.
*Boom...*
Chen Yan's ferocious fist force slammed straight toward Qin Ze's back.
Qin Ze whirled around, raising a fist of his own to meet the incoming strike head-on.
*Crack...*
Chen Yan's fist shattered upon impact. Wincing in pain, he stumbled back several paces, clutching his broken hand and gritting his teeth.
"Brat, your strength is actually..."
"How can this be..."