"Chen'er, be careful!"
"Young master, get out of the way!"
"It's over. He Qinglan has already reached Foundation Establishment, but Young Master Ling seems to have lost all his cultivation. With a strike like this, he won't survive."
Everything happened in a fraction of a second.
He Qinglan was confident of victory and utterly arrogant, as if she could already see Ling Chen's head exploding and dying a miserable death right before her eyes.
So much for the number one genius.
Now he was nothing more than a cripple!
But—
With a loud bang.
The scene everyone had imagined did not happen.
As the dust and smoke cleared, Ling Chen was seen standing in place completely unharmed, his expression calm and unruffled.
On the other hand, He Qinglan was as pale as a sheet, her face drained of color as a large cyan handprint grabbed her by the neck and suspended her mid-air like a lamb waiting for slaughter.
"H-How is this possible!"
"Didn't they say Young Master Ling was already crippled? How can he be this strong?"
"Chen'er, are you alright?"
"Ling Chen, you scoundrel, let Qinglan go right now!"
A cacophony of noisy voices erupted.
He Yuan was panic-stricken and was the first to charge at Ling Chen, but before he could even get close, Ling Zhongheng brought his saber down in a single sweep, sending He Yuan flying with a violent surge of saber Qi and leaving him sprawled on the ground in a sorry state.
"What kind of trash are you, daring to make a move against our young master."
Dead silence!
Ling Chen was not in a hurry to squeeze the life out of He Qinglan. Instead, he fixed a piercing gaze on Qin Yan.
"You even like a cheap bitch like this? You really do have a penchant for damaged goods. Why don't you beg me? Who knows, if I'm in a good mood, I might just spare this bitch's life."
"Audacious!"
Qin Yan was furious, his expression ferocious.
"Ling Chen, this young master orders you to let go of Lanmei right this instant, or I'll have your entire clan buried with her!"
"Ha, Young Master Qin is certainly full of mighty airs."
Ling Chen looked up and laughed aloud. Facing Qin Yan's threat, he actually let go of He Qinglan. The cyan handprint instantly vanished, and He Qinglan fell limply from the air.
Qin Yan was just about to step forward when a sudden change occurred!
Another giant handprint materialized out of thin air, instantly smashing He Qinglan into a fine powder before she hit the ground.
He Qinglan was dead!
Seeing this, Qin Yan stood frozen in shock, dumbfounded.
"Y-You, you!"
"I'll kill you, this young master will kill you!"
Qin Yan roared frantically. He didn't truly care about He Qinglan, but Ling Chen had dared to deliberately toy with him. This was a slap to his face, a slap to the face of the Qin Family of Qingzhou.
Besides, He Qinglan was a cultivation furnace he had carefully selected, waiting to be enjoyed once he returned to Qingzhou, but now it had all been ruined by Ling Chen.
"Die!"
In an instant, murderous intent fully emerged.
Qin Yan lashed out with a punch straight at Ling Chen's face.
After fusing with Ling Chen's Grade-3 Spiritual Bone, he had already broken through to Late Foundation Establishment. Crushing Ling Chen would be as easy as crushing an insignificant ant.
"Chen'er!"
"Stop him."
"Young master, watch out."
The members of the Ling Family panicked completely.
They had just been astonished by Ling Chen's cultivation, but compared to Qin Yan, the gap in their cultivation was simply too vast. Qi Condensation and Foundation Establishment were separated by an insurmountable chasm, not to mention that Qin Yan was already at the Late Foundation Establishment stage.
However.
Ling Chen was not afraid!
Ever since he began practicing the Nine Calamities Profound Scripture and broke through to the Ninth Layer of Qi Condensation, Ling Chen had never fought at full strength.
Right now, he could just use him to test it out.
In an instant.
His Dantian trembled, and his Qi surged and churned.
Facing Qin Yan's lethal strike, Ling Chen did not dodge or evade, and similarly lashed out with a punch.
"Boom—"
Faintly, the sound of thunder and roaring tigers seemed to ring out from within Ling Chen's body.
A head-on collision!
Fists met, and the sound of breaking wind was endless.
In the blink of an eye, the two exchanged over a hundred blows. As their figures crossed and separated, Ling Chen took a step back, while Qin Yan's arm also went numb, the web of his hand stinging with pain.
Utter humiliation!
Qin Yan stared at Ling Chen in disbelief. His cultivation was clearly at an absolute advantage, yet they had actually fought to a draw.
If word of this got out, he, Qin Yan, would undoubtedly become a laughingstock.
"Seventh Elder, kill him!"
Only by killing Ling Chen could his humiliation be washed away.
So what if he was a genius?
Once dead, he wouldn't be worth a single cent!
The grey-robed old man was equally astonished in his heart, never expecting that a tiny backwater place like Luoyan City could produce such a monstrous talent.
If he wasn't nipped in the bud, he would likely become a grave threat.
"Junior, die."
Throwing away his dignity, the grey-robed old man launched a sudden sneak attack.
But at that very moment.
The heavens and earth suddenly grew dark, and in a flash, a sword light seemed to tear through the firmament itself.
"No!"
The grey-robed old man was frozen in place with terror, crying out at the top of his lungs.
"A Natal Sword Cultivator, you're a Natal Sword Cultivator!"
Others might not understand the significance of those words, but Qin Yan, who hailed from the Qin Family, looked as though he had seen a ghost, his entire body trembling slightly.
"No, impossible."
"In this wretched, desolate wasteland, how could there possibly be a Natal Sword Cultivator!"
The sword light descended.
The grey-robed old man tried to struggle, but he found himself completely unable to move.
His eyes widened as he watched that streak of sword light converge into a line before his eyes, transforming into a wisp of sword qi that pierced straight down through his glabella.
In an instant.
A line of blood spread out, splitting his entire body cleanly in two.
Then a flash of flowing light emerged, about the size of a palm, looking identical to the grey-robed old man.
A Nascent Soul!
He instinctively wanted to flee, but the residual sword qi sealed off the heavens and earth, transforming into a massive net that descended to envelop him.
"No!"
The spiritual light dissipated, and the Nascent Soul grew dim.
A dignified Nascent Soul expert, destroyed body and soul in the span of a single breath!
At the same time.
That aged voice rang out once more, though it sounded noticeably more fatigued this time.
"Those who dare offend my Ling Family shall die!"
This sight scared everyone present into terrified silence.
Was this the number one family in Luoyan City?
Was this the true strength of the Ling Family?
They killed a Nascent Soul elder from the Qingzhou Qin Family without a second thought!
"It's over. The heavens have, the heavens have fallen."
"Dammit, how could the Ling Family have such a powerful expert?"
"It's all He Qinglan's fault. She's the one who doomed us."
The members of the He Family acted as though they were in mourning, dropping to their knees in sheer panic one by one.
He Qinglan was dead.
The Qin Family's Nascent Soul expert was dead.
Who would be next in line?
A surging wave of passion ignited within Ling Chen's heart as well. Of course he knew the weight of the four words "Natal Sword Cultivator"—they were existence of absolute rarity among cultivators.
Perhaps not even ten such individuals could be found across the entire Silver Moon Ancient Empire.
In the past, he too had wanted to embark on the path of a Natal Sword Cultivator, but even with a Grade-3 Spiritual Bone, the hope had remained slim.
Yet now.
He possessed a Grade-7 Sword Bone, alongside supreme treasures like the Immortal Suppressing Coffin.
A Natal Sword Cultivator—he was destined to become one!
"Qin Yan!"
A furious roar rang out.
A lingeringly terrified Qin Yan snapped back to his senses. Looking at Ling Chen closing in step by step, he put up a bold front and roared shrilly.
"Ling Chen, don't come any closer! Don't you dare come any closer!"
"What are you trying to do? Do you dare commit such treasonous acts!"
"I am the young master of the Qingzhou Qin Family! My, my Qin Family has a Deity Transformation patriarch, so you, you better not do anything reckless."
He was scared.
At this moment, Qin Yan was finally terrified.
Looking at his pale complexion, Ling Chen let out a disdainful, cold huff.
"What's wrong with Young Master Qin? Where is that arrogant and unruly attitude from earlier? Where is that overbearing swagger? Why have you suddenly turned so cowardly?"
"You!"
Qin Yan also realized he had lost his composure. The Seventh Elder was only from a collateral branch of the Qin Family, whereas he was the young master of the Qin Family, blessed with a Grade-3 Spiritual Bone and designated by the patriarch as the future family head.
The Ling Family would never dare to act recklessly.
So what if he was a Natal Sword Cultivator? Could he really dare to start a war with his Qin Family?
At that moment, however, Ling Chen had already closed in right beside him, lowering his voice as a bone-chilling whisper drilled into his ear.
"Eldest Young Master Qin, was my item to your liking?"
"Wh-What do you mean?"
Qin Yan feigned calmness; he absolutely could not admit to it right now.
Ling Chen gave a thin smile, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"I might be willing to part with my things, but you have no right to forcibly snatch them away."
"Since Young Master Qin has fallen into my hands, what do you suppose the Qingzhou Qin Family will use to ransom you?"