"Qin Yang, you shouldn't have come!" Lou Mengyu shouted anxiously. "Didn't I have Jin Wanshan notify you to stay away?"
At that moment, the sword-drawn Qin family patriarch and Fourth Elder finally turned their gaze toward Qin Yang.
"So you're Qin Yang?" The patriarch roared with laughter. "You've delivered yourself to our doorstep! Perfect timing - we'll resolve both external threats and internal strife in one fell swoop!"
The Fourth Elder's brow furrowed as he truly assessed Qin Yang for the first time, only to discover he couldn't gauge the young man's strength at all.
Outside the ancestral hall, the roars of demonic beasts echoed. Inside, the elders' faces paled.
"Fourth Elder!" the patriarch snarled. "You've been using this chaos to control the beasts too!"
The Fourth Elder laughed heartily. "I've been preparing for this moment since dawn!"
He turned to Qin Yang. "We owe you our gratitude. Without you, our losses would have been catastrophic. Now I'm certain of our success!"
With that, the Fourth Elder vanished from the hall.
"Traitor! You won't escape!" the patriarch roared. "All hands on deck! Eighth Elder, stay with my son to eliminate Qin Yang. The rest follow me to purge the traitor!"
The Fourth Elder's personal guard was crushed to death by an elder's casual strike.
"Yes, sir!"
"By your command!"
One after another, figures flew out, leaving only Eighth Elder—a white-haired old man—and Qin Wuyi behind.
"This..." Qin Yang had already prepared to unleash a slaughter, but in the blink of an eye, everyone had vanished.
"Qin Yang, I've received your gift," Qin Wuyi said coldly, staring at Qin Yang.
"Oh, do you like it?" Qin Yang glanced at Eighth Elder. "Shall I send you another?"
Qin Wuyi burst into laughter, turning his back to Qin Yang and facing the ancestral tablets with supreme confidence. "Rest assured, I'll make you meet the same fate. But before that, I'll make you witness my wedding to Lou Mengyu."
Thud! The sound of something rolling.
A spherical object rolled to Qin Wuyi's feet.
"Eight Elder!" Qin Wuyi roared. "Qin Yang is mine to deal with! I haven't given the order yet—why did you—"
Before he could finish, a chill shot up his spine and into his brain.
The rolling head on the ground had messy brown hair—this wasn't Qin Yang.
The head stopped rolling, revealing Eighth Elder's face twisted in contempt.
His expression hadn't even changed. Before he could feel shock or fear, Qin Yang had already beheaded him!
"What did you just say? I didn't catch it. Could you repeat that?" Qin Yang frowned, his brow furrowed. He had just entered hunting mode, having severed Eighth Elder's head and left it rolling on the ground.
The opponent was a Zongshi after all. Even when a lion hunts a rabbit, it gives its full effort. Thus, Qin Yang truly hadn't paid attention to what Qin Wuyi said...
Besides, what he said wasn't important anyway.
Qin Wuyi felt like he'd fallen into an ice cave, staring at Qin Yang in terror. This power... how could it be so terrifying? Even if Father himself had acted, he couldn't have moved so quickly!
In the span of a few breaths, Qin Yang's strength and ruthlessness had been fully demonstrated!
He looked desperately toward the ancestral hall's entrance. The demonic beasts were rampaging outside, and the Qin Family patriarch and the other elders were fully engaged in battle with the Fourth Elder, leaving no one to notice this situation!
Lou Mengyu covered her mouth in shock, her beautiful eyes shining with excitement.
"What do you think? Impressive, right?" Qin Yang laughed proudly.
"Tsk! Showoff!" The panda on Qin Yang's shoulder made a disdainful face.
Qin Yang's face turned dark. "You're my damn beast! Don't ruin my moment!"
"Wah! So cute... Wait... a beast?" Lou Mengyu's eyes sparkled with stars.
The panda let out a wolf-like howl, leaping from Qin Yang's shoulder straight into Lou Mengyu's arms.
Mid-air, Qin Yang lifted the panda by the scruff of its neck, holding it before his face. His eyes glinted with faint draconic might, their depths frozen with killing intent.
"Tell me, what were you trying to do?" Qin Yang's voice cut like ice.
The panda shivered. "N-nothing... I wasn't doing anything..."
"Qin Yang, you're scaring it!" Lou Mengyu chided, snatching the panda from his grasp and cradling it to her chest.
"He's male," Qin Yang said sourly.
Lou Mengyu chuckled. "You're jealous of a cute little spirit beast?"
"Little?" Qin Yang thought of the panda's true form - it likely stood twice as tall as this ancestral hall!
He shot a glance at Qin Wuyi, deliberately ignoring him. Let the man keep company with the Eighth Elder's severed head a while longer. A swift end would be too merciful.
Turning to Lou Mengyu, Qin Yang asked, "Jin Wanshan must have told you about my strength. Why did he still warn me not to come?"
"Because of... Martial Heaven!" Lou Mengyu's eyes darted behind Qin Yang.
Qin Yang's muscles tensed. He whirled around, fist already accelerating toward his target.
Martial Heaven raised his palm in a blocking motion, but underestimated Qin Yang's power. The punch forced him back several steps, each retreat echoing through the hall.
"What a formidable physique!" Martial Heaven observed Qin Yang in silence. "I came to rescue you..."
"Rescue me? Do you think I need saving?" Qin Yang countered sharply.
Martial Heaven found himself momentarily speechless - perhaps Qin Yang truly didn't require rescue...
"You two... what's wrong?" Lou Mengyu looked utterly bewildered. Why did they seem like mortal enemies?
"Where's Nangong Ling?" Qin Yang demanded coldly.
"With me here, you won't touch him." Martial Heaven snorted derisively.
His dark, rigid face resembled a coffin lid as he glared at Qin Yang. Yet inwardly, he seethed - Qin Yang had actually survived that calamity and arrived here so swiftly!
"Given the fierce battle outside, shouldn't you mediate?" Qin Yang's lips curled in amusement.
Martial Heaven replied calmly, "I won't interfere in Qin family matters."
Qin Yang nodded. "As you wish."
He formed his fingers into a sword-like gesture, unleashing a divine blade that shot toward Qin Wuyi.
Clang! Boom!
Martial Heaven blurred into motion, his fist exploding the true qi sword mid-flight.
The blast's shockwave sent Qin Wuyi tumbling backward, blood spraying from his mouth in crimson arcs.
"Breaking your word? Do you dare call yourself a teacher?" Qin Yang spat contemptuously. "How dare you interfere in Qin family affairs!"
"You? The Qin family?" Martial Heaven frowned. "How long will you keep pretending to be a Qin descendant? I know you like Lou Mengyu, but this is just youthful recklessness! The waters of the Eight Divine Clans run deep—too deep for you to wade into!"
"Such eloquent words for a lecture," Qin Yang said with a shake of his head. "Youthful recklessness, indeed." He paused before continuing, "First you stopped me from killing Nangong Ling, now Qin Wuyi. Are you determined to oppose me at every turn?"
"The blood on your hands grows deeper. If you don't stop now, the consequences will be severe," Martial Heaven warned gravely.
His gaze fell upon the severed head lying nearby—the work of Qin Yang, no doubt. With such a bloodthirsty nature, how could he not intervene?
At that moment, a rotund figure burst into the ancestral hall, shouting as he ran.
"Lou Mengyu! I couldn't find Qin Yang, but I've got good news—the Qin family's members are fighting among themselves! You won't need to take the—"
His words cut off abruptly as he spotted Qin Yang standing between Martial Heaven and Lou Mengyu.
"What medicine?" Qin Yang demanded, his frown deepening as an ominous feeling gripped his heart.
"Tell me now—what did you take?" Qin Yang's voice rose to a roar as he grabbed Lou Mengyu's hand with desperate force.