Direct Disciple

"Qin Guan, don't be rude!"

Hearing Qin Guan's words, Nan Yunqi trembled all over in fright and hurriedly rebuked him.

"Bastard!"

The White Robed Old Man gave him no chance at all. With a wave of his sleeve, a sharp Sword Qi instantly slashed toward Qin Guan.

Bang!

Qin Guan merely waved his hand as well, and the incoming Sword Qi shattered in an instant.

The White Robed Old Man was slightly surprised. "I truly underestimated you. So you're a Martial Cultivator."

After saying this, the old man snorted lightly and continued, "Do you know that I only used twenty percent of my strength just now? Considering that you're a junior—and a Hardship Cultivation Martial Cultivator at that—I'll let you off this once."

"Thank you, Senior, for showing mercy!" Hearing this, Nan Yunqi hurriedly stepped forward and bowed, pulling Qin Guan back to the side.

"Boy, they're from the Spirit Sword Academy. Luyun City is nothing but trash in their eyes, so don't act rashly!"

When Nan Yunqi tugged at Qin Guan but failed to move him, he hurriedly leaned close to his ear and tried to persuade him.

Qin Guan was just about to say something when laughter suddenly rang out from not far away.

"The Spirit Sword Academy's noses really are like dogs'. They actually got here so quickly!"

Everyone turned toward the sound and saw a Grey Robe Elder hurriedly approaching with more than a dozen disciples dressed in blue.

"Chen Guanxiang—they're from the Cloud Mist Sect," one of the disciples beside the White Robed Old Man said in a low voice.

In Qingzhou, the Spirit Sword Academy and the Cloud Mist Sect had always been on bad terms, and conflicts between their disciples often broke out.

"This is quite lively!"

Before the Cloud Mist Sect's people had even arrived, another dozen or so people appeared in the distance. At the front were a woman in fiery-red brocade robes and a White-Haired Old Man.

The woman was strikingly beautiful, with her hair tied into a high ponytail. She looked fresh and capable, like an awe-inspiring female general. Behind the two of them followed more than a dozen Black Armored Soldiers, faintly radiating a Killing Intent.

The newcomers were the Ninth Princess of Wei, Wei Hongyan.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, sorry!"

Soon, another group hurried over—the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion. Leading them were Jiang Lianyue and Elder Xu.

Seeing one great power after another arriving, Nan Yunqi spoke to Qin Guan in a gentle voice:

"Son-in-law, your father-in-law knows you're very capable in a fight, but no matter how strong you are, you can't possibly beat these four great powers by yourself, can you? Our Nan Family is already tottering on the brink of collapse, with feathers scattered everywhere. We can't afford to offend any of them!"

Qin Guan looked at Nan Yunqi's nearly pleading expression and said indifferently, "Father-in-law, rest assured. I already took stock of them just now, and not one of them can fight. Today, our Nan Family can have this area around the tree all to ourselves."

Huh?

Hearing Qin Guan's words, Nan Yunqi's scalp went numb. In front of Qingzhou's four top powers, Qin Guan still wanted to monopolize the tree. He grabbed Nan Rou and hurriedly said, "Rou'er, quickly persuade your husband!"

Everyone from the Nan Family had clearly heard Nan Yunqi and Qin Guan's conversation earlier. Now that they saw so many powerful figures, the courage and ambition they had painstakingly gathered shattered in an instant. They realized they did not have even the slightest confidence to face these powerful forces. In front of them, they were no more than ants on the ground.

Nan Rou held Qin Guan's hand and said softly, "Husband, stop frightening Father."

When Nan Yunqi heard Nan Rou's words, his face immediately fell. A son-in-law frightening his father-in-law—what a joke! I'm doing this for the Nan Family!

Hearing this, Qin Guan nodded slightly. Monopolizing the tree was indeed a little overbearing. He couldn't offend everyone and cut off the Nan Family's future path.

After thinking it over, Qin Guan looked at the members of the Nan Family. "Are you sure you want to give up this advantageous position?"

Nan Qiao suddenly sounded somewhat unwilling. "What else can we do if we don't give it up? They have the final say anyway. Before long, they might not even let us stay on the outskirts."

Having already tasted the sweetness of the pure Spiritual Energy, she was a hundred times unwilling to hand the position over to someone else.

At this moment, Jia Quan respectfully addressed Qin Guan:

"Son-in-law, I know you're doing this for our sake. In fact, we've already cultivated for two hours longer than everyone else. We should be content!"

Hearing this, everyone nodded.

Qin Guan was a Martial Cultivator and could not gather Spiritual Energy to cultivate, yet he still wanted to fight for them. This made them deeply grateful. However, now that Qingzhou's four great powers had all arrived, refusing to yield would be courting death.

"All right, then. You decide for yourselves." Qin Guan nodded.

Before long, the area around the tree was occupied by the four great powers. The people from each faction all began greedily absorbing the Spiritual Energy and cultivating.

Nan Yunqi, meanwhile, led more than a dozen people to sit cross-legged and cultivate on the outskirts. Although the Spiritual Energy there was not as dense and pure as around the tree, it was still beyond comparison with anywhere else.

Time passed little by little. Many family factions received the news and hurried over as well. Once they saw the four great powers, they all obediently sat on the outskirts to cultivate.

An hour later, more and more family factions arrived. The area centered around the tree was packed with people—several hundred in all. Yet behind the four great powers, a circular ring ten zhang wide had been left empty, and no one dared approach them.

Gradually, positions began to grow scarce. Seeing some weaker families ahead of them in line, many families started voicing their dissatisfaction.

"Senior Brother Cang Yuan!"

Just then, the Old Ancestor of the Xiao Family, Xiao Yun, arrived at the area occupied by the Spirit Sword Academy.

"Junior Brother Yun, it's been a long time!" The White Robed Old Man who had previously clashed with Qin Guan looked at Xiao Yun and smiled.