Frustration

[Unlimited Combat Level (Proficient Level)]

Effect: Combat intelligence increased by 30%, combat ability increased by 30%, skill Slaughter comprehended.

[Slaughter (Beginner Level)]

Effect: You have tasted the pleasure of killing. Sha Qi surrounds you, but you will not lose your senses.

Qin Yan merely glanced at them before quickly searching the Qiao Family home for valuables.

With the help of his mental perception,

Qin Yan gathered nearly a hundred taels of silver and also obtained a secret manual.

"Ape Strike Staff Technique."

After he packed everything up, a raging fire lit up the entire Qiao Family home against the night.

The morning haze dispersed!

Villagers came to put out the fire, but the Qiao Family home was still reduced to ruins.

Panic spread through the village. The Qiao brothers, who had once acted as though no one could stand against them, had been killed just like that.

No one was more shocked by the news than Song Bao and Qin An. Both thought of Qin Yan at the same time.

They exchanged a glance, their disbelief even greater than their shock.

Brother Yan had really dared to kill.

For respectable young men like them, this news was undoubtedly a tremendous shock.

"This is bad! There's a flood!"

Everyone was still reeling from the destruction of the Qiao Family when the ill-timed cry rang out like a thunderclap.

As everyone was brought back to reality, fear and despair gripped their hearts.

They rushed to the riverbank and saw a swift, muddy torrent roaring toward them.

All the fertile fields near the riverbank had been flooded.

"We're finished!"

Quite a few people slumped to the ground, muttering under their breath.

The rain last night had been so heavy that Qinghe Town, and perhaps even Youshan Prefecture, would likely be struck by the flood.

"What troubled times."

Qin Yan came to the riverbank, and the raging floodwaters made him frown.

This was only a tributary. The Cypress Water River was probably even more dangerous.

The flood would destroy the rice harvest and might cause a famine!

Just then, a group of people hurried over from outside the village.

"Qiao Laosan is back!"

Qiao Shanwei looked like a beast ready to devour someone. Seeing that most of the house had burned down, he dropped to his knees.

"Big brother, second brother, I came back too late."

Tears and snot streamed down Qiao Shanwei's face. After sobbing for a while, he spotted the village chief in the crowd and rushed up to him.

He seized the chief by the collar and roared, "Who killed my brothers and their families?"

The old village chief was startled by the sudden attack. His face darkened, and he tried to break free, only to find that Qiao Shanwei's hand was like a clamp. He couldn't shake it off.

"Qiao Shanwei, let go! Your brothers and their families were killed. How would I know who did it?

For all I know, you provoked some enemy."

The old village chief's face was livid.

Even the two companions who had come with Qiao Shanwei hurried to calm him down.

"Brother Qiao, don't be rash!"

A middle-aged man in a blue robe, with a saber at his waist, placed a hand on his shoulder and spoke in a low voice.

His eyes, however, darted toward the hostile gazes around them.

He feared that Qiao Shanwei would go mad and make them all the targets of everyone's anger.

The other man, a burly fellow with a full beard, also hurriedly said, "Brother, you absolutely mustn't act rashly now. Calm down and think. Who exactly did your family offend?"

Hearing the two men's attempts to stop him,

Qiao Shanwei released the old village chief and kept murmuring, "People we offended?"

One enemy after another appeared in his mind.

But as for someone capable of wiping out all seven members of his Qiao Family and five hired thugs in a single night,

he thought it over again and again, ruling out one enemy after another.

Although he had offended plenty of people, none hated him enough to wipe out his entire family.

Suddenly, a name flashed through his mind.

"Qin Yan...!"

Qiao Family's third son roared like a beast, his eyes bloodshot and his reason on the verge of collapse.

"It must have been that little beast Qin Yan."

His words immediately caused an uproar.

"Qin Yan killed the Qiao brothers? How is that possible?

The two families weren't on the best of terms, but there was no grudge between them."

The villagers present all thought the third son of the Qiao Family had lost his mind from the pain of losing his family.

"Qiao Laosan, when did Qin Yan ever offend your Qiao Family? Stop slandering people here."

Hearing him, the old village chief was momentarily dazed, but then found his claim utterly unreasonable.

Qin Yan had nothing to do with the Qiao Family. Wasn't Qiao Shanwei just dumping a pot of filth on his head?

He wasn't the only one who thought so. Many villagers felt the same.

They had watched Qin Yan grow up. Even if he had changed a little after the family split up, he still respected his elders.

They couldn't find a single fault with him.

Qiao Shanwei didn't care about any of that. He knew what his family had done.

Qin Yan might well have learned that his father's death was connected to the Qiao Family.

That was why he had taken revenge.

And this brat was the only one who fit!

In the crowd, Qin Zhao, the eldest of the Qin Family brothers, was also startled. Why was that mad dog Qiao Laosan making trouble for Old Xuan?

But he soon relaxed. The brat had nearly kicked his family jewels clean off; even if someone took revenge on him, he would deserve it.

Zhao He's face was still wrapped in bandages, and she wore a gleeful expression. She hated Qin Yan even more than Qin Zhao, the eldest Qin brother, did.

Because of Qin Yan, not only had her leg been broken, but the brothers she had called over had also suffered.

With old grudges and new, he wished Qin Yan dead!

"Wife! Stay here. I'll go tell Third Brother to run, quickly..."

On the other side of the crowd, Qin Qing's expression shifted, and he hurriedly instructed the woman beside him.

Though he and Qin Yan had their differences, there was still some family affection between them.

Naturally, he didn't want to watch his younger brother get killed for no reason.

"Husband, hurry!"

Wang Fu understood what mattered. Although she had some complaints about Qin Yan, she still recognized him as family in her heart.

As soon as he left the crowd, Qin Qing saw Qin Yan watching from not far away, and his heart jolted.

"Third Brother, hurry and go! That mad dog Qiao Laosan is looking to make trouble for you."

Qin Yan looked at Qin Qing, who had suddenly run up to him, and was surprised.

He hadn't expected the man not to hold a grudge over what had happened before, much less to come and warn him.

Although he was a little crafty and his morals were somewhat lacking, he had no other faults.

Qin Yan's opinion of Qin Qing improved considerably.

"What are you standing there for, brat? Get going!"

Seeing that Qin Yan hadn't moved, Qin Qing anxiously tried to pull him away.

"Qin Yan's over there!"

One of the Qiao Family's lackeys suddenly spotted Qin Yan behind the crowd and shouted.

"We're finished!"

Qin Qing went pale.

"It's all right!"

Qin Yan took a deep breath and calmly patted his second brother on the shoulder.

He walked toward Qiao Laosan in the crowd.

"How did that boy Qin Yan suddenly get so tall?"

Quite a few people were surprised when they saw Qin Yan now. He was already taller than all of them.

After all, the boy was only fourteen, yet he was nearly 1.8 meters tall.

Chen Hui and Li Meng were also a little surprised when they saw Qin Yan. He was so powerfully built at only fourteen; his innate talent for martial arts was probably considerable.

Qiao Laosan had already told them some of the basics. No wonder he wanted the boy dead.

"Qiao Laosan, I have no quarrel or grudge with your Qiao Family. What gives you the right to say I did it?"

Qin Yan's state of mind had changed somewhat.

The three men before him didn't feel particularly dangerous, so naturally he wasn't afraid.

"That's right. Qin Yan is a good child. What proof do you have?"

They were all from the same village, especially those who shared the Qin surname and lineage, and one after another spoke up to rebuke him.

Even if your whole family was dead, you couldn't falsely accuse someone like this.

Seeing this, Qiao Shanwei felt a sudden urge to spit blood. Was he supposed to say, I killed your father, so you took revenge on my Qiao Family?

Naturally, he couldn't say that aloud, and his face turned red with the effort of holding it in.

His gaze was so vicious it could almost kill.

Then, as if he had made up his mind, he said, "I say you did it, so you did it."

Today he was throwing caution to the wind. He was determined to butcher this brat.

The talent visible to the naked eye made him increasingly uneasy.