The stars were dazzling.
Millions of miles of silver light resembled ribbons, crossing the realm of nothingness and converging upon the Immortal Suppressing Coffin.
Ling Chen was situated within it, as if entering an unknown, chaotic world. A faint, flickering phantom of true spirit flashed past his eyes.
He reached out to grab it, but he was a fraction of a second too slow; the true spirit phantom slipped right through his fingers with a whoosh.
"No physical form?"
Ling Chen frowned slightly, attempting to communicate with his spiritual sense.
Taking a deep breath, Ling Chen slowly released his spiritual sense, and instantly his entire body felt light, as though he were floating.
It worked!
A surge of joy washed over Ling Chen as he gave chase to the true spirit phantom.
It was getting closer.
Closer and closer.
Just as it was within arm's reach, Ling Chen abruptly reined in his spiritual sense, as if extending a giant hand to grab hold of the true spirit phantom and clutch it tightly in his palm.
In an instant.
A majestic wave of memories flooded into his mind.
"This is..."
As the memories unspooled in his mind, Ling Chen's expression shifted step by step—from confusion, anticipation, and shock, finally settling into sheer disbelief.
"Primordial Divine Glyphs!"
The four words escaped his lips.
Ling Chen stood frozen in place, a wild ecstasy threatening to swallow him whole.
These were not any characters he had ever seen before, but rather the most primitive and purest imprints of the Great Dao, recorded and passed down in the form of divine glyph engravings.
Before long, more detailed and clearer information surfaced in his mind.
"Void Great Handprint."
An imperial-grade martial art personally created by the Void God King before ascending to the Immortal Realm.
Shattering the void.
Destroying the heavens and earth with a single palm.
Utterly tyrannical!
"The Void Great Handprint has a total of nine tiers. With my current cultivation, I can at most cultivate the first tier. Even so, the grade of the Void Great Handprint is comparable to a saint-grade martial art."
Martial art techniques were likewise divided by rank.
First, they were divided from high to low into four tiers—Heaven, Earth, Mysterious, and Yellow—each further divided into upper, middle, and lower grades.
Throughout the entire Silver Moon Ancient Dynasty, as far as Ling Chen knew, even the most profound techniques and martial arts within the imperial family were no higher than the middle Heaven-tier.
And above the Heaven-tier lay the king-grade, imperial-grade, saint-grade, and emperor-grade.
Yet the Silver Moon Ancient Dynasty was merely a worldly dynasty; it was fundamentally unworthy of possessing such things. Only those immortal sects in the mountains and aristocratic holy lands possessed such deep foundations.
The Void Great Handprint surpassed even the emperor-grade, and the power of its first tier alone was comparable to a saint-grade martial art.
"This just happens to make up for my shortcoming of insufficient killing power."
A look of delight entered Ling Chen's eyes as he impatiently began to comprehend the Void Great Handprint.
***
Luoyan City, the He Family.
At this moment, the atmosphere in the main hall was exceptionally cold and heavy.
"Patriarch, you must give us an explanation for this. We used up the medicinal pills and spirit stones given by the Ling Family long ago; what are we supposed to use to pay them back now?"
"Exactly! There's no such thing in this world as taking back a gift once it's given. Besides, it was He Qinglan who provoked Ling Chen—what does that have to do with us?"
"I don't care. If they need to be paid back, you can pay them back yourselves. Anyway, it has nothing to do with me."
In a single night, the news that Ling Chen had set a three-day deadline had spread like wildfire across the entirety of Luoyan City.
Whenever members of the He Family walked outside, they did not know how many sidelong glances they suffered—some called them ungrateful, others waited to kick them while they were down, and still others mocked them for trying to steal a chicken only to lose the rice used as bait.
Naturally, they dared not provoke the Ling Family, so they could only vent all their anger onto He Qinglan.
You're so noble, you're so magnificent, you were the one who wanted to break off the engagement and offend the Ling Family.
Then go and deal with it yourself.
For a time, the gazes directed at He Qinglan by the members of the He Family were filled with hostility and disgust.
"Enough!"
A roar echoed out.
He Yuan slammed a teacup down onto the floor with a loud crash.
"When it was said before that we were going to the Ling Family to call off the engagement, none of you objected. What is the meaning of this now?"
"Patriarch, you're wrong there. Breaking off the engagement is one thing, but nobody said we had to return everything we were given."
"Besides, the Ling Family is not to be trifled with. Since we've offended them this time, I think Patriarch you'd better take He Qinglan and go make a personal apology, lest you drag our entire clan down with you."
"You!"
He Yuan turned red with anger, looking helplessly at He Qinglan standing nearby.
"Good daughter, what on earth is that Ling Chen thinking? Why is he suddenly... Look, why don't you make a trip to the Ling Family and humble yourself a little? That Ling Chen used to be head-over-heels in love with you; he surely won't pursue this matter."
"Dad!"
He Qinglan spat in displeasure.
"Ling Chen and I have already made a clean break; why should I bow my head to him? The Ling Family is nothing more than a bunch of country bumpkins from Luoyan City—could it be that I'm afraid of them?"
"Exactly! That Ling Chen actually dared to have people beat me up. When Brother Qin arrives, sooner or later he'll uproot their Ling Family, every last one of them—no one will have an easy time of it."
He Zhao chimed in with a soft, defiant snort from the side.
At the mention of the "Brother Qin" he spoke of, He Yuan's expression immediately turned ingratiating as he lowered his voice.
"Good daughter, give your father a definitive answer: when exactly is Young Master Qin coming?"
"Brother Qin is..."
"Sister Lan!"
Before He Qinglan could finish, a voice rang out. As everyone looked over, they saw a haughty-looking young man in brocade robes walking in swaggering strides.
"Brother Qin!"
The moment He Qinglan saw the newcomer, her face lit up with joy as she immediately threw herself at him, crying out pitifully, "Brother Qin, you've finally come. That Ling Chen didn't die, he..."
"Rest assured, Sister Lan, I already know everything."
Qin Yan slapped a large hand down on He Qinglan's buttocks, giving them a fierce squeeze as he laughed dismissively, "A mere young master of a small family dares to act presumptuously in front of this young master?"
"With Brother Qin here, Qinglan has nothing to be afraid of."
"Haha."
Qin Yan pulled He Qinglan into his arms by her slender waist and let out a loud laugh.
"Uncle He, I heard that the Ling Family acts arrogant and domineering, relying on a spiritual mine they possess. This time, I've come precisely to eliminate this scourge for the people."
The moment He Yuan heard this, he understood completely.
The reason the Ling Family could firmly sit on the throne as the number one power in Luoyan City was precisely because they had monopolized a spiritual mine, making them fabulously wealthy. Otherwise, how could they possibly have produced so many spirit stones and medicinal pills as a betrothal gift?
"Young Master Qin is righteous and wise. That Ling Family has been committing all sorts of atrocities in our Luoyan City; with Young Master Qin taking action, it naturally brings great joy to the people. However, that spiritual mine is extremely well-concealed, and outsiders do not know where it is located. This matter will still require Young Master Qin to exert some effort."
"Is that so?"
Qin Yan gave a cold smile.
When he had previously hooked up with He Qinglan, she had already let slip that Ling Chen possessed a third-grade spirit bone, and he had also heard about the Ling Family's spiritual mine.
That was why he had secretly set an ambush to first seize Ling Chen's spirit bone. Coming here now, he was naturally targeting the spiritual mine.
"Uncle He need not worry. When the Ling Family comes knocking at our door, we simply need to catch them all in one net. Under harsh interrogation, I refuse to believe they won't talk."
"Young Master Qin is brilliant. However, as far as I know, the Ling Family has a Golden Core ancestor who is ruthless and vicious. Relying solely on the strength of our He Family, I'm afraid..."
A Golden Core ancestor.
Such a person was a top-tier powerhouse throughout the entirety of Luoyan City.
"Hah, a mere Golden Core, that's all."
Qin Yan spat disdainfully.
"Uncle He need not worry. You only need to lure them here, and I will handle the rest. Once we've dealt with the Ling Family, I think Uncle He is well-suited for the position of Luoyan City Lord."
Lord of a city! He Yuan's eyes lit down with a blazing light, his face beaming with joy as he hurriedly fell to his knees in kowtow.
"This old man thanks Young Master Qin for the promotion!"
At this moment.
He was wishing the Ling Family would hurry up and come to their door so he could wipe them all out in one fell swoop!