"Who dares steal my wife? I won't let you off!" Qin Yang roared furiously.
Qin Wuyi burst into laughter. "Steal your wife? Preposterous! The Qin and Lou families have been bound by marriage pacts for generations. This generation's match is between me and Lou Mengyu. Who do you think you are, meddling in affairs of the God Dao Clan?"
"God Dao Clan?" Qin Yang sneered. "You've been hiding in your secret realm all this time. The Qin family of the Eight Divine Clans would never have emerged after a thousand years claiming to be the true lineage. Do you really believe a millennium has erased your imposter status?"
"What? You dare call us imposters?" Qin Wuyi's eyes widened. He turned to the elderly leader beside him. "Elder Qin Li, Jin Wanshan here is a friend of our Qin family, and Lou Mengyu is my betrothed. Keep them alive. This brat gets executed immediately!"
Elder Qin Li stroked his beard thoughtfully. "This boy is also a candidate for the Celestial Academy's selection trials. Killing him might not be prudent. We must maintain some courtesy toward the academy, considering you intend to enroll there."
Though their ages didn't match traditional expectations, as a member of the Qin family, admission to the Celestial Academy would naturally follow.
Qin Wuyi considered this briefly before nodding. "Then cripple him instead!"
Jin Wanshan and Lou Mengyu instantly grew anxious. This elder named Qin Li possessed power that defied measurement—surely he was a Zongshi Realm expert!
"Boy, accept your death!" Qin Li roared, his palm striking forward with devastating force.
Copy: Cang Long Art. Host's cultivation realm too low for advancement. Technique 6/10.
Copy: Crazy Dragon Palm. Proficiency automatically set to peak mastery. Technique 6/10.
The palm strike unleashed a gale-force wind as a roaring dragon shadow surged toward Qin Yang.
Qin Yang crouched low, his palms circling before his chest before thrusting forward—a desperate attempt to meet the attack head-on.
Qin Li's brow twitched violently. The boy's opening move was also the Crazy Dragon Palm! Though his cultivation realm was inferior, why did this palm technique feel so refined?
"Crazy Dragon Palm!" Qin Yang snarled, his palms clashing against Qin Li's strike.
Despite his peak Qi Sea Realm cultivation, Qin Yang couldn't project true energy outward. Though his energy reserves were vast and his technique flawless, the resulting power remained woefully inadequate.
Boom!
Qin Yang gritted his teeth to suppress a blood-cough as the impact scrambled his internal organs. His body skidded backward ten meters, leaving three-foot-deep furrows in the ground where his feet had dragged.
"Why? How does he know our Qin Family Martial Arts? Was that Shocking Sword Finger earlier genuine too?" Qin Wuyi gasped in astonishment.
"What? He knows the Shocking Sword Finger?" Qin Li's heart sank. When he looked at Qin Yang again, his gaze had changed - it was filled with overwhelming killing intent!
"This brat can't be spared!" Qin Li had made up his mind to kill, deciding not to hold back anymore.
"You can't kill him!" Lou Mengyu shouted. "He's been chosen by Martial Heaven, the teacher from Celestial Academy! Martial Heaven is a Stellar Realm expert!"
Jin Wanshan also spoke up: "Qin Yang is my friend. If you dare touch a hair on his head, the Gold Family won't let you off!"
Qin Wuyi's eyelid twitched. He hadn't expected this kid to have such powerful backing - chosen by a Stellar Realm expert... And the Gold Family's young master was even using the family's influence to protect him...
Qin Li was also frightened, suddenly too afraid to make a move.
Qin Yang whispered: "Don't act rashly. They won't do anything to you."
"But what about you?" Lou Mengyu asked worriedly.
Qin Yang sneered, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth. He said in a deep voice: "Those who become my enemies will pay the price."
"But..." Lou Mengyu felt anxious. These were Zongshi Realm experts! The secret realm's gate had disappeared, and they didn't know where it had reappeared. The Qin Family was deeply entrenched here - Qin Yang had nowhere to escape!
"There's no 'but' about it! This is between me and them!" Qin Yang's gaze was unwavering. As the true heir of the Qin Family, he would personally eliminate this imposter clan!
Meanwhile, Qin Li and Qin Wuyi were engaged in a hushed conversation.
"What's there to fear? Once this brat dies, the Gold Family's young master will naturally know when to yield. As for Lou Mengyu... won't you be able to mold her perfectly after marriage?" Qin Li gritted his teeth. "Only our Qin Family knows the location of the secret realm's entrance. Within this realm, we are the gods! Everything here submits to our will!"
Qin Wuyi's brow furrowed. "Elder Qin Li, why this sudden urgency to kill him?"
Qin Li's piercing gaze held a chilling weight that made Qin Wuyi's blood run cold.
"Could it be... he actually..." Qin Wuyi's body shuddered.
"Highly likely!" Qin Li confirmed. "Other martial arts aside, his Shocking Sword Finger... to have clashed with you and severed your finger, this is no fragmented technique we possess. After lying dormant all these years, we can't afford any mistakes! We've reached the point of no return! If the God Dao Clans or even the Celestial Academy discover our secret, none of us will survive!"
Impersonating members of the Eight Divine Clans was a grave insult to their sacred authority. Moreover, the Celestial Academy had longstanding ties with the Qin Family. If they discovered this deception, they would never let it go unpunished!
After all, a thousand years ago, when Emperor Cang Qiong learned of the Qin Family's destruction, he had fought the Emperor of Heaven for three days and three nights in a fury... This forgotten history was now known to few!
Who was Emperor Cang Qiong? None other than the first headmaster of the Celestial Academy!
"What? You dare not move?" Qin Yang sneered at Qin Li, waving a finger mockingly. "You think you can kill me? You're not worthy."
His icy voice sent shockwaves through the crowd.
Everyone stared at Qin Yang with expressions of utter disbelief.
This brat was provoking a Zongshi Realm expert?
Beyond the Zongshi Realm, each step represented a heaven-defying leap. The chasm between cultivation realms couldn't be bridged by mere talent!
No technique or martial art could support a cultivator in challenging a superior realm!
"You insolent boy! Stealing our Qin Family Martial Arts and plundering our resources! You deserve no mercy!" Qin Li roared, charging forward as he slapped the label of traitor onto Qin Yang.
"Qin Yang!" Lou Mengyu cried out in alarm.
"Don't fear. Wait for me," Qin Yang said, gazing deeply into her eyes. "I'll return to bring you home."
At the same time, he turned to Jin Wanshan with a plea: "Take care of her for me!"
Dragon Soaring Step!
Qin Yang executed the Dragon Soaring Step with peerless mastery, narrowly evading Qin Li's attack. After confirming his direction, he bolted into the distance.
"You think you can escape, boy?!" Qin Li roared, giving chase. Though employing the same technique, his proficiency remained at the peak of perfection rather than supreme mastery, leaving him momentarily unable to close the gap.
The two figures transformed into twin streaks of light, one pursuing, one fleeing, their distance widening by the moment.
Qin Wuyi chuckled darkly. With Elder Qin Li in hot pursuit, Qin Yang's fate was sealed. He turned his gaze to Jin Wanshan and Lou Mengyu, a confident smile playing on his lips. "Shall we proceed?"
Qin Wuyi and the Qin Family disciples all possessed only Qi Sea Realm cultivation. Lou Mengyu, refusing to submit, prepared to resist.
Jin Wanshan restrained her, his voice urgent yet measured. "Within this secret realm, we stand no chance against them. Forcing their hand now would change nothing - it would only worsen our position!"
"What then?" Lou Mengyu demanded, her eyes blazing with fury. "Am I to marry this imposter?"
Jin Wanshan exhaled deeply, his gaze lingering on the path Qin Yang had taken. "All we can do now is wait. We must trust in Qin Yang."
"But Qin Li is at the Zongshi Realm..." Lou Mengyu protested. When Jin Wanshan winked at her, her tension eased.
In her panic, she'd forgotten - Qin Yang possessed a trump card capable of stunning even Zongshi Realm beasts...
Lou Mengyu clenched her fists, her heart pounding. Qin Yang, I'll wait for you...