"Hahaha! Qin Yang, didn't expect this, did you? You've finally fallen into my hands!"
Qin Wuyi's face twisted with pride and fluctuating emotions, making him feel almost intoxicated. His expression shifted between venomous malice and furious anger.
"Wuyi!" The Qin Family patriarch frowned. With Martial Heaven still present, couldn't he show some restraint?
Qin Wuyi, consumed by his earlier confrontation, paid no heed to such concerns. He stepped closer to Qin Yang and raised his hand to strike him across the face.
Qin Yang stared at Qin Wuyi, his face completely expressionless.
Qin Wuyi's hand froze mid-air, too terrified to complete the motion.
"Now that Qin Yang's awake, let's hurry up," Nangong Ling urged. The area was becoming increasingly dangerous. Watching others evacuate - even Gongsun Ming and Lou Qinru had fled - made him anxious. If not for his desire to witness Qin Yang's death firsthand, he would have been the first to leave.
Qin Wuyi snorted coldly. For some inexplicable reason, a deep shadow of fear clung to him. In the end, he dared not strike Qin Yang. Lowering his hand, he sneered, "I told you before - I'll make you watch as I marry Lou Mengyu!"
Martial Heaven's face darkened. "Lou Mengyu is..." he began, then paused. "I must take her away now. The Spirit Restraining Pill's effects are fading. I can't stay longer."
After a pause, Martial Heaven continued, "Regarding the Qin-Lou marriage alliance, I'm sure the Lou Clan will select a more suitable candidate..."
"No! I want Lou Mengyu! She's mine in life and mine in death!" Qin Wuyi roared, striding over to seize the delicate Lou Mengyu in his arms.
"Remove your filthy hands!" Qin Yang barked.
"Where's your strength now? Come at me then! You who could kill Elder Qin—can you even touch me now?" Qin Wuyi sneered, his laughter dripping with arrogance.
Martial Heaven turned to Qin Wuyi. "Hand over Lou Mengyu."
"Why should I? She's mine!" Qin Wuyi snarled.
Martial Heaven's face darkened. How dare anyone disrespect me so!
"Martial Heaven, drop the act!" Qin Yang's eyes glinted coldly. "With the situation as it is, you still pretend to care? How nauseating."
After a brief struggle, magical chains bound him securely—the same type used to restrain demonic beasts.
Yet these chains... imposed no restriction on the bound person's strength!
Qin Yang scanned the crowd, his gaze lingering on the Qin Family Patriarch before sweeping over the assembled Qin clan members.
"Having old slaves like you in our Qin Family is our greatest shame," Qin Yang said softly. "Fighting against you would lower my intelligence, not just disgust me."
"Still spouting nonsense with death at your door?" The Qin Family Patriarch spoke with assured confidence. "I know you're strong, but bound like this, how can you use any martial techniques? Do you plan to rely on speed to ram people to death?"
Within the ancestral hall, a wave of derisive laughter erupted.
"Come on, come on! You want to ram me?" one elder bellowed.
This was followed by another round of mocking laughter.
"ROAR! I am the Tian Swallowing Beast - the mightiest under heaven!"
Outside the hall, the panda found itself pinned by a dozen demonic beasts. Its body suddenly shrank, allowing it to slip through the gaps. Then, with a sudden expansion, it leaped high into the air.
The demonic beasts had no time to react. Just as they began to collapse, the panda descended like a mountain, its foot smashing down with devastating force.
The beasts roared in fury, but the panda's rage burned hotter. Seizing a serpentine beast, it used it as a whip to lash at everything in its path.
"Qin Yang, I'm coming to help you!" the panda roared.
The Qin Family Patriarch's face paled. "Martial Heaven," he said urgently, "please stop that beast. The Tian Swallowing Beast can devour anything - it's the only creature in the secret realm capable of breaking these chain talismans."
Martial Heaven frowned repeatedly. The beast was charging toward them while fighting, and if it reached them, countless lives would be lost.
With a flash of movement, Martial Heaven threw a punch.
The panda, undaunted, was about to clash fists with the opponent when Qin Yang's voice rang in his ear: "His black fist is highly unpredictable! Don't take it head-on!"
Startled, the panda grabbed the snake-like demonic beast and hurled it like a weapon at the incoming fist.
As they watched, the creature's aura dwindled rapidly, its form shrinking with each passing moment.
The panda drew in a sharp breath and switched to guerrilla tactics against Martial Heaven.
"You should worry about yourself first!" Nangong Ling sneered, running his fingers along his bow. "Can you still block my arrows with those bound hands? Oh, and your mouth too! Though I wonder if it might shatter your teeth instead. Ha!"
Qin Yang's response came as laughter rather than anger, growing louder with each passing moment.
"What's so funny?!" Nangong Ling roared, enraged. Even in this desperate situation, Qin Yang refused to yield!
The laughter faded as golden flames blazed in Qin Yang's eyes.
"Without Martial Heaven, how long do you think it would take me to slaughter every last one of you?"
Suddenly, golden light erupted from Qin Yang's body - no, it was golden flames consuming him!
"The magical chains will keep you trapped!" Qin Wuyi shouted, retreating half a step in fear. The others tensed, weapons at the ready.
"Oh? Is that so?" Qin Yang replied calmly.
The magical chains glowed crimson from the searing heat, and within the ancestral hall, even the air seemed to catch fire.
"Rest assured," the Qin Family patriarch said with unwavering composure, "not even a demonic beast could break these chains. A mere Qin Yang has no hope of escape."
The chains burned scarlet, their surfaces crackling with golden flames, yet remained intact, binding Qin Yang securely.
Suddenly, the golden divine light in Qin Yang's eyes vanished, replaced by a frosty azure glow.
Before anyone could react, the ancestral hall transformed as if transported from a molten hell to an arctic glacier.
Crack!
The chains, once blazing hot, now frozen solid, shattered as one link snapped under the extreme temperature shift!
The sudden transition proved too much for the enchanted bonds. In a chain reaction, all the magical chains binding Qin Yang exploded into fragments!
The Qin family patriarch drew in a sharp breath, retreating backward in a flurry of steps. He collided with the ancestral tablets without noticing, his voice trembling where his former confidence had been.
"Ten Qin sons, attack! Kill him, kill him!" the patriarch roared.
Nangong Ling and Qin Wuyi shook like reeds in the wind, their elders' faces turning ashen.
The devil had actually broken free...
"Qin Yang, surrender immediately or don't blame me for harming Lou Mengyu..." Qin Wuyi threatened, attempting to use the girl as leverage. But his vision blurred - the girl he held had somehow ended up in Qin Yang's arms!
Qin Yang caressed Lou Mengyu's cheek tenderly. He might have been mistaken, but he could almost feel her faint warmth.
With disgust, he flung his filthy hands away from Lou Mengyu, letting them land at Qin Wuyi's feet.
Qin Wuyi stared blankly at the discarded hands. Why did they look so familiar?