Qin Yang stared in surprise at the token produced by the middle-aged man—it was a Celestial Token!
"Could it be that Martial Heaven is also a Zongshi Realm cultivator?" Qin Yang asked.
The middle-aged man shook his head. "Impossible! He's a Stellar Realm expert!"
He winked at Qin Yang. "You must want to know how he rescued the person under your sword, right? I'll tell you if you promise to spare him. How about it?"
Black lines appeared on Qin Yang's face. This guy was a real chatterbox!
Seeing Qin Yang about to strike again, the middle-aged man cried out repeatedly, "Wait, wait, wait! You'll regret it!"
Qin Yang took a deep breath to calm himself. As the saying goes, no one slaps a smiling face. This middle-aged man who'd popped up out of nowhere simply didn't inspire any killing intent in him.
"I won't regret it!" Qin Yang said through clenched teeth.
"Yes, you will!" the man said with a serious expression.
"I won't!"
"You will."
"I won't... Ugh! I'm not wasting any more breath on you! If you don't get out of my way, don't blame me for being rude!" Qin Yang had reached his limit.
The middle-aged man wore an exasperated expression as he said, "Very well, I'll tell you why Martial Heaven could rescue him. Because he entered the realm too."
Qin Yang froze. "But you said he was a Stellar Realm expert?"
A Stellar Realm cultivator shouldn't be able to enter a Zongshi-level secret realm! The realm would collapse instantly under such power!
And this collapsing realm can't even withstand the full strength of a Zongshi Realm expert!
The man explained, "That's because of Elder Wu from the Wanshan Chamber of Commerce—a fourth-order dan refiner."
"Elder Wu?" Qin Yang's curiosity was piqued.
The man continued, "Though he's only a fourth-order dan refiner, he has access to high-grade pills through the Chamber. He happened to possess a fifth-order Spirit Restraining Pill."
"A fifth-order Spirit Restraining Pill?"
"Exactly. It suppresses one's aura and cultivational level by a major realm. The effect lasts two hours, after which it wears off or can be dispelled manually."
The middle-aged man looked at Qin Yang and said, "I must say, your Celestial Academy teachers truly go to any length to protect you students."
He waved the Celestial Token in his hand and continued, "Every rescuing cultivator received one of these Celestial Tokens. Once they find you, if they encounter problems beyond their capabilities..."
His unspoken meaning hung heavy in the air.
Qin Yang suddenly burst into laughter.
The man stiffened. "What's so funny?"
Qin Yang gestured at the proliferating spatial fractures around them, their terror growing by the moment. "You think he could resolve problems you can't handle in this situation?"
The man drew a sharp breath. "You cheeky brat! How dare you! He's your future teacher!"
"None of that matters," Qin Yang declared, his eyes hardening as he formed a sword seal with his hands. "I must kill Nangong Ling!"
Behind him materialized several divine swords.
The man gasped, his face paling. He muttered repeatedly, "These Celestial Academy students are far too fierce... Truly deserving of being the continent's top power..."
"Wait, who? Who did you say he was?" The middle-aged man's face suddenly paled. He swallowed hard and blurted out, "Nangong Ling... That's someone marked as high priority on the list!"
His expression turned grim, as if he'd swallowed a fly. The possibility of turning a blind eye had vanished completely. But this kid before him was unnervingly strange, like some kind of demon. He didn't seem to be a match for this...
"High priority?" Qin Yang asked. "Is Wei Yu also marked as high priority?"
The middle-aged man frowned, then pulled out a list from his pocket.
"Let me check... Don't be impatient..."
"Gongsun Ming... Lou Mengyu... Lou Qinru... Wei Yu! Wei Yu is here!" The man nodded. "Do you know where he is?"
Qin Yang pointed at the grave. "He's lying in there."
The man gasped in shock. "You've already killed Wei Yu?"
Qin Yang was speechless. Just as he opened his mouth to explain, Nangong Ling realized he might have a chance to escape!
He suddenly sprang up, darting behind the middle-aged man and pointing at Qin Yang. "That's him! He's the one who killed Wei Yu!"
Qin Yang's eyes blazed with killing intent. "Nangong Ling, did you really think you were safe?"
The middle-aged man stood firm with his sword raised, wariness etched across his face. "I advise you not to make any sudden moves. While I may not be your match, it just so happens that I've recently reached the peak of the Zongshi Realm."
"Frost Giant Hand Seal!" Qin Yang roared, his hand shooting forward in a sweeping motion.
A thirty-meter-wide hand seal engulfed the sky, its icy touch causing the temperature to plummet.
"Sweet mother of—!" The man's scalp prickled as he whirled around, scooping up Nangong Ling and making a hasty retreat.
Only after escaping the frost giant's reach did he realize his back was drenched in cold sweat. He hastily sent a message to Martial Heaven via his Celestial Token.
When he turned back to look at Qin Yang, he found the man had already retreated.
The middle-aged man watched as the frost giant hand seal was swallowed by a spatial rift, letting out a relieved sigh. His eyes suddenly lit up with understanding.
Suddenly, the middle-aged man's heart skipped a beat—Qin Yang had vanished!
He sprinted frantically, swinging his sword in wide arcs around himself.
The power of a Zongshi Realm master sliced through unstable space, creating spatial fractures that actually halted Qin Yang's advance!
"You're playing with fire, courting your own destruction!" Qin Yang materialized, his figure emerging from the spatial distortions.
The middle-aged man wore a mask of terror, forcing a strained smile. "No choice. You're too ferocious—I can't defeat you..."
As the spatial fractures spread and connected, entire sections of reality began collapsing.
Qin Yang dared not strike, fearing even his movement techniques might send him plunging into the void—a fate certain death.
Nangong Ling's killing intent remained, but was it worth trading his life for mutual annihilation?
"Qin Yang? Nangong Ling?" Martial Heaven's figure materialized mid-air, space rippling around him like disturbed water.
Martial Heaven frowned. Even with Spirit Suppressing Pills, this secret realm couldn't withstand the strain?
His gaze, filled with conflicting emotions, settled on Qin Yang. "I know everything now. We should leave this realm first."
"Know everything? What exactly do you know?" Qin Yang demanded.
"Nobody will hold it against you for impersonating a Qin family descendant," Martial Heaven said.
Qin Yang thought to himself, So it's true!
"Hmph, impersonating?" Qin Yang shook his head. "What else do you have to say?"
Martial Heaven looked astonished. "You've already reached the Zongshi Realm? This... this is nothing short of a miracle!"
The Treasure Rat poked its head out, looked around, and jumped down, disappearing into the shadows.
"So that's how the Treasure Rat works..." Martial Heaven nodded to himself. "You've certainly had some good fortune."
After a pause, Martial Heaven added, "Don't worry. Even with the Eight Divine Clans' death warrant, the Celestial Academy can protect you."
"I have my own hands and feet. Why would I need the Celestial Academy's protection?" Qin Yang replied firmly. "Anyone who wants to kill me is welcome to come. Let's see who lives to tell the tale!"
Martial Heaven frowned and turned to the middle-aged man. The man opened his mouth as if to speak but stopped. Nangong Ling beside him quickly sought another protector.
"Teacher Martial! He killed Wei Yu! We can't let him join the Celestial Academy!" Nangong Ling wailed, tears streaming down her face.
"What? Wei Yu is dead?" Martial Heaven's pupils contracted.
His worst fear had come true - a scion of the Eight Divine Clans had fallen. But how could Wei Yu have been killed by Qin Yang?