The little girl was so frightened by Qin Wangchuan's imposing presence that she froze where she stood, only coming back to her senses after he had walked several steps away.
She lowered her head to look at the hem of her gold-threaded dress, her little face flushing red. Then, with a sudden wail, she stumbled toward Li Qingluan's seat.
"Big Sister! Not only did he use our Li Clan Sword Seal, he also..." The little girl clutched Li Qingluan's sleeve and sobbed. "He was mean to me too!"
Li Qingluan's hand, which had been pouring tea, paused slightly.
"Shh~"
The little girl froze, looking up at her sister, only to find her expression grave, her gaze never leaving Qin Wangchuan for even a moment.
The young man's dark robe cast a long shadow beyond the palace gates. Every step he took cracked the bluestone floor into web-like fissures.
"Didn't you hear him?" Li Qingluan pressed down on her younger sister's trembling shoulder, her fingertips tightening around the elaborate palace sash. "He told you not to block his way."
Her voice was soft, yet it instantly silenced the little girl.
The girl stared in disbelief, and more than half her anger vanished.
Her eldest sister, who had always doted on her, now seemed somewhat unfamiliar. Her phoenix eyes remained locked tightly upon Qin Wangchuan, as though she feared missing something.
"You're angry..." Li Qingluan murmured, a trace of complexity flashing through her phoenix eyes.
"Is it because someone dared to attack you? Or because of... that person named Han Han?"
She had thought that after more than a year together, she had already seen through him—
That little young master who was always composed and unhurried, calm in the face of all things.
He handled matters without a drop of water slipping through, possessing a maturity touched by a hint of youthfulness that naturally made others feel fond of him.
Yet now, beneath the shattered clouds, Sword Qi still lingering around him and sharpness blazing from his eyes, he made her feel strangely unfamiliar.
So, he could be angry too.
So, he could be this domineering too.
That sword had cleaved apart not only an Emperor Artifact, but also her fixed impression of him.
Li Qingluan suddenly realized that she had never truly understood him—or rather, he had never allowed her to see this side of him.
Is this the real you?
"Tsk, tsk."
A flippant snicker came from among the seats.
Qin Zhaoer lounged against a jade table, idly playing with a Spirit Fruit between her fingers. Her red lips curled into a mocking smile. "Little girl of the Li Clan, you dared to stand out without understanding anything. Now that you've been shouted at, you know how to feel wronged?"
"I think you should go home and drink milk!"
She deliberately swung the tip of her shoe embroidered with a golden phoenix, her gaze sweeping over the little girl's flushed face. "Or why don't you beg this young lady? If I'm in a good mood, perhaps I'll stand up for you."
Having said that, Qin Zhaoer did not wait for the little girl's response and merely covered her lips as she laughed, trembling like a flower branch in the wind.
While the few of them were joking, the guests at the banquet watched the subdued attackers and finally understood what had happened.
"Someone tried to assassinate the Ninth Young Master?"
"It's only natural." Another person sneered. "The Longevity Immortal Body is too monstrous. It may even shatter the tripartite balance of the three heavens. If no one coveted it, that would be the strange thing."
"But the Qin Clan's reaction..." The man narrowed his eyes, his voice lowering. "Was far too swift."
"It was as though they had long been waiting for these people to walk into the net themselves."
Everyone's hearts shuddered, and inwardly, they marveled at the Qin Clan's might.
Yet their gazes could not help drifting toward the heavens—where the clouds Qin Wangchuan had split with a single sword had yet to heal, as though the sky itself had been torn open with a hideous wound.
The evening wind howled, scattering the remaining Sword Qi, yet it could not scatter the pressure left behind by that sword scar.
Fine flecks of golden light still glimmered at the cloud's edge. They were fragments of Dao laws left behind after the Immortal Emperor Weapon shattered, like dying stars unwillingly flashing their final radiance.
"To open Heaven's Eye beneath our very noses, they must have used an Undying-grade concealed Emperor Weapon."
"Though this kind of Emperor Weapon possesses no defensive power whatsoever, it is still an Emperor Artifact..."
"The power of that sword just now can no longer be explained by ordinary Dao techniques. Could it be... a Supreme Being?"
"You mean a Supreme Dao Technique?" Another person sucked in a cold breath. "Could it be that the Ninth Young Master possesses two heaven-defying physiques?"
"Wait!" Someone suddenly cried out in a low voice. "Forget the Supreme Being for now—look at his aura!"
Everyone focused their attention. They saw a faint layer of immortal radiance winding around Qin Wangchuan, his aura surging wildly with every breath.
Even with the Immortal Bone and Second Brother's pendant concealing it, it could not be completely restrained.
Just a wisp of it being exposed was enough for everyone to discern his cultivation.
"The Fifth Realm?!" someone blurted out.
"No, he is half a step into the Sixth Realm!" an elder said gravely. "He could break through at any moment."
"A ten-year-old in the Sixth Realm?!"
Everyone was aghast.
Qin Xuanji, hidden in a corner, listened to the crowd's amazement, and a faint smile silently appeared on his lips.
Turning his head, he saw that his fifth sister, Qin Qingzheng, had parted her lips slightly, too shocked to speak.
That is only natural. Even Eldest Brother, monstrous as he was, spent a full sixteen years reaching the Fifth Realm. Ninth Brother has truly shattered common sense this time.
Watching everyone's expressions, Qin Xuanji felt secretly delighted.
Surprised, aren't you?! I raised him!
I just don't know why he called out to that boy from the Ji Clan...
Ji Wuchen slowly rose from before the jade table.
The Hidden Patterns upon his black clothes flowed beneath the candlelight like living things, as though countless tiny runes were roaming through the fabric.
He raised a hand to stop the attendants who wished to follow him, his figure pausing slightly.
Then he gave Qin Wangchuan a deep bow. His manner was respectful, yet his sharpness remained undiminished.
"Young Master Qin."
His voice was low and clear, echoing throughout the hall.
"I have heard that Young Master possesses Exceptional Talent. Having the fortune to witness it today, might I ask for a lesson or two?"
Although Ji Wuchen did not know why Qin Wangchuan had suddenly called his name.
No matter what, however, the purpose of his visit would not change.
He had come today to compete against this monster everyone spoke of and determine who stood higher!
The hall instantly fell silent, every gaze converging on Ji Wuchen.
"Has Ji Wuchen gone mad?" An elder stroked his beard and shook his head, his eyes full of disbelief.
"A thirteen-year-old Sacred Body at only the Fourth Realm is indeed remarkable, but..." The richly dressed man beside him let out a mocking laugh. "Young Master Qin is three years younger than him, yet he has already touched the threshold of the Sixth Realm."
Hearing this, everyone nodded one after another, their gazes turning in unison toward the figure in the center—Spiritual Power churned around Qin Wangchuan. It would not have been strange even if he broke through the next second.
"To issue a challenge at a time like this..." A female cultivator in violet lightly shook her round fan. Before she could finish, she gave a meaningful sigh.
"He is simply bringing humiliation upon himself." At last, someone voiced everyone's thoughts. Though the voice was soft, it made the entire hall fall still.
A thirteen-year-old at the Fourth Realm might still fall somewhat short of being a true monster, but he was nevertheless among the finest of the Prodigies.
But compared to Young Master Qin, it was simply the difference between heaven and earth.
The superior and inferior were clear at a glance!
"Heh, that one from the Ji Clan has always looked down on everyone. It is time he learned that there is a Heaven Beyond Heaven."
The discussions rose and fell, but soon returned to silence—because Qin Wangchuan moved.
He quietly listened to Ji Wuchen's words, then slowly spoke.
"Fine."
A single simple word, yet it instantly tightened the atmosphere in the hall.
After saying that, he spoke no further. He turned and stepped forward, walking straight toward the hall's exit.
His dark robe fluttered faintly in the night wind. His back was solitary and sharp, like a drawn sword with all its edge exposed.
Ji Wuchen followed close behind.
The two arrived outside the hall.
Before you continue