A Mess

The crowd was seething, people surging in waves. Several thousand sons of nobility looked as though they had seen the murderer of their fathers, striding furiously toward Lin Qi.

Even Lin Qi found himself suppressed by the savage aura radiating from them, instinctively taking a step back. But after taking only that one step, the untamed defiance in his bones, the wild arrogance unique to the Tiger Clan's direct bloodline, suddenly erupted. Lin Qi's eyes widened. He stepped forward angrily, gathered his battle qi, and unleashed a tremendous tiger's roar.

A white tiger over a meter long condensed behind Lin Qi. The hazy beast opened its jaws and roared, then abruptly condensed into a mass of white light, ready to pounce forward. Due to cultivating the Profound Tiger Force Fundamental Wheel Seal, Lin Qi's body had become increasingly formidable and monstrous, but his battle qi had declined to a level just short of peak high Heavenly Rank.

Thus, the tiger form manifested from Lin Qi's battle qi could no longer compare to the fierce tiger he had condensed when he was at the peak of the Saint realm.

Every one of the youths before him was an elite carefully nurtured by the great noble houses of the Blood Qin Empire. While still in their mothers' wombs, precious medicines had nourished their innate Primal Qi. After birth, they took medicines to cleanse their meridians and internal organs, soaked in medicinal baths to strengthen flesh, bones, and sinews, and received all manner of investments without regard for cost. Every one of them had attained Heavenly Rank cultivation before reaching thirty.

Though Lin Qi's tiger form looked imposing, to these youths, all of whom possessed Heavenly Rank strength, it was nothing special.

Especially with Lin Qi's gaunt face, darkened eye sockets, and the