Qin Ze and Lei Ling'er walked side by side toward Yuelong City.
Along the way, Qin Ze collected some useful spiritual herbs, while Lei Ling'er curiously asked various questions about them.
Qin Ze answered casually, explaining the effects of these herbs and what kinds of elixirs could be refined from them.
Lei Ling'er was very modest, but inwardly she felt a bit astonished.
Although Qin Ze was not an alchemist, his understanding of medicinal herbs was completely no less than that of an alchemist, and even much stronger than some young alchemists.
As they walked outside the city gates of Yuelong City, a voice suddenly came from behind them.
"Young... Young Master..."
Qin Ze turned his head, and his heart gave a sharp jolt. "Xiaoshan?"
Before him stood a chubby teenager named Xu Shan.
Xu Shan was his attendant and also a companion who had grown up with him since childhood.
In his past life, after Qin Ze fled the Qin Family, he never saw Xu Shan again, and only later learned that Qin Wuyang had intended to use Xu Shan to trick Qin Ze into coming back.
Refusing to comply, Xu Shan was beaten to death by Qin Wuyang.
Seeing Xu Shan again in this lifetime, Qin Ze was overcome with a myriad of emotions.
In his past life, he had been betrayed by many people. At that time, the thought in Qin Ze's mind was that if Xiaoshan were still alive, he certainly would never have betrayed him.
"Xiaoshan, what are you doing here?" Qin Ze asked.
Xu Shan ran up to him, his eyes flickering slightly.
"Young Master, I haven't seen you in so long. Come, let's go into the city for a drink." Xiaoshan stepped forward and grabbed Qin Ze's hand.
Qin Ze was slightly startled.
Xiaoshan had suddenly appeared at this moment, offering to bring him into the city.
Moreover, several distinct auras could be sensed not far away; there were people lying in ambush nearby.
Could it be that Xiaoshan had also betrayed him?
Just at that moment, however, he heard Xu Shan suddenly lower his voice and say, "Young Master, run quickly! Qin Wuyang sent me to trick you into entering the city. He wants to capture you and take you back, and kill you once Qin Hao becomes the head of the family."
Qin Ze's heart was stirred. It seemed his judgment of him had indeed not been wrong.
Earlier, Xiaoshan had spoken in a loud voice, obviously because Qin Wuyang's men were still nearby, and he was intentionally saying it for them to hear.
What he was saying right now was his true heartfelt wish.
"Young Master, run quickly!" Seeing Qin Ze standing still, Xu Shan pushed him anxiously.
At that moment, several people not far away saw that something was wrong and came running toward Qin Ze.
Xu Shan became even more anxious. "Young Master, run! Hurry and run, they're going to kill you."
As he spoke, he ran toward the incoming men, trying to stop them.
"Little bastard, how dare you betray the Great Elder." One man quickly stepped forward and kicked Xu Shan to the ground.
Qin Ze's eyes flashed with instant fury.
He looked at the newcomer. This man was named Qin Taizhi, the younger brother of Qin Wuyang and the Fifth Elder of the Qin Family.
Most of the current Great Elders of the Qin Family were Qin Wuyang's own people.
"Qin Ze, you can't run away. Obey and come back with us to the Qin Family, or don't blame me for being unpolite."
Qin Taizhi waved his hand, and five martial artists from the Qin Family quickly stepped forward, surrounding Qin Ze and the others.
Each of these five men was at the Eighth or Ninth Level of Earth Spirit Realm.
Qin Taizhi, standing at the back, possessed an even higher cultivation at the First Level of Heaven Spirit Realm.
The corners of his mouth curled up into a smug expression.
Now that the five men had surrounded Qin Ze, he had completely cut off all paths of retreat for Qin Ze.
Today, this Qin Ze had no way to fly away.
Lei Ling'er tugged at Qin Ze's clothes and asked in a low voice, "Well? Can you handle this?"
Although the poison in her body had been cured, she still could not use her strength.
And Qin Ze's cultivation seemed to be only at the Sixth Level of Earth Spirit Realm.
Facing these opponents at the Eighth and Ninth Levels of Earth Spirit Realm, and even the Heaven Spirit Realm, they would definitely lose in a fight.
If he truly couldn't manage, she would have no choice but to force herself into action.
"Scram, or else die," Qin Ze said coldly, his gaze fixed icily on the five men before him.
Lei Ling'er felt a slight shock in her heart. In just an instant, Qin Ze's imposing manner had become so fierce.
Her father, Lei Longhu, sometimes revealed that kind of murderous gaze.
Yet Qin Ze was about the same age as her, and yet he also possessed such murderous intent. Exactly how many things had he experienced to forge this kind of disposition?
"Young Master, run!" Not far away, Xu Shan was still shouting.
Qin Taizhi glared furiously at Xu Shan and cursed, "Little bastard, we'll catch this trash first, and then we'll finish you off."
With that, he waved his hand and shouted, "Break his legs first and see where he can run to."
At the order, all five of them attacked Qin Ze together.
Qin Ze's eyes shifted. The Supreme Undying Mantra revolved, and spiritual energy surged through his entire body, instantly elevating his strength to a level as formidable as the Late Heaven Spirit Realm.
When those fists landed on his body, he felt no pain at all.
Qin Ze clenched his fist, crouched slightly, and then threw a fierce punch directly toward the chest of the nearest man.
"Crack..."
With the sound of breaking bones, a figure flew backward three steps and crashed to the ground.
Everyone turned around in astonishment to see one of the men vomiting blood and convulsing on the ground.
The clothes over his chest were caved in, clearly indicating that his sternum had been shattered.
Qin Taizhi also stared at Qin Ze in shock.
The four martial artists he had found today were all at the Eighth and Ninth Levels of Earth Spirit Realm; how could Qin Ze possibly send one flying with a single punch?
Lei Ling'er was also somewhat surprised.
Earlier, when she saw Qin Ze withstand a blow from the Red-Eyed Heavenly Wolf, she had assumed the wolf hadn't exerted its full strength and that he had just been lucky.
Now it seemed that Qin Ze's strength was far beyond the simple Sixth Level of Earth Spirit Realm.
At that moment, the martial artist on the ground twitched twice more and stopped moving.
Qin Taizhi gritted his teeth and barked, "Qin Ze, how dare you kill someone! Get him, smash him to death!"
Receiving the order, the remaining four men no longer held back, unleashing their martial techniques as they charged at Qin Ze.
Qin Ze remained unhurried. He raised his hands and threw two punches, dropping another two martial artists to the ground.
His strikes were extremely heavy, showing no intention of holding back.
Of these two, one had his sternum shattered as well, while the other took a blow to the head and died on the spot with blood bleeding from his seven orifices.
The two remaining men panicked instantly.
They had originally thought they were just dealing with a kid who barely knew any martial arts, but they had run into a fiend instead.
In the time it took to catch a breath, three men had already been killed.
The two turned to run, but Qin Ze grabbed one by the collar, lifted him over his head, and smashed him into the other.
With a miserable shriek, both men crashed to the ground together.
Qin Ze walked briskly toward the pair.
Both of them were terrified and hurriedly begged for mercy, "Don't kill us, don't kill me..."
"We were only following orders, please don't kill..."
Qin Ze gave a cold laugh. "I already said just now: scram, or die."
With that, he delivered a punch to the head of each man, and both breathed their last on the spot.
After finishing them off, Qin Ze turned around and cast his gaze upon Qin Taizhi.
Qin Taizhi shivered, a trace of fear flashing deep within his eyes.
Even he could not manage to kill five martial artists of the Eighth and Ninth Earth Spirit Realms all at once.
Could Qin Ze's strength already surpass his own?
"Qin Ze, you dare commit murder! Just wait until I report this to the City Lord's Mansion, you're dead for sure," Qin Taizhi said loudly.
Qin Ze laughed coldly. "You were the ones who intended to kill me first. I fought back and killed in self-defense, is there any problem?"
"Besides, this is an internal affair of the Qin Family, and the City Lord has no business interfering."
Having said that, he walked quickly toward Qin Taizhi.
Qin Taizhi gritted his teeth, knowing there was no avoiding this today. An aura surged around him, and he unleashed a martial technique toward Qin Ze.
"Fierce Tiger Claw!"
This was a martial technique of the Qin Family, yet Qin Ze himself had never been allowed to learn it.
Over the years, Qin Wuyang had controlled the Qin Family and had not given Qin Ze even a shred of martial cultivation resources.
Seeing this technique now, a surge of fury erupted in Qin Ze's heart.
"Break for me!"