The moment he spoke, the entire Martial Arts Arena fell silent.
The Qin Clan Disciples who had been sparring stopped at once, staring in astonishment toward the source of the voice.
Someone murmured:
"Isn't that Elder Qin Wenhe, who serves at the Old Ancestor's side year-round?"
"Now that you mention it, I remember. I've seen him from afar a few times."
"What happened? What could make such an important figure come to the Martial Arts Arena in person to find someone?"
Before the murmuring could die down, Qin Wenhe's gaze swept across the arena like lightning, his robes stirring despite the windless air. His invisible pressure made several disciples closest to him unconsciously retreat half a step.
"Young Master, this...?" Cao Xiangwen glanced hesitantly at his young master, a trace of unease flashing in his eyes.
He clearly had a guilty conscience.
Qin Xuan frowned as well, but quickly relaxed.
A disdainful curve lifted his lips. "It's nothing. Perhaps it has something to do with the matter that was rumored earlier—the clan is choosing ten Dao Children. Maybe he's here to bestow an opportunity on us."
He wasn't bragging. He was confident that, among the clan's younger generation, his strength and talent both ranked near the top.
He straightened his robes and strode toward Qin Wenhe.
The disciples in the Martial Arts Arena made way for him.
Qin Xuan walked with unhurried steps, his sleeves fluttering as an air of arrogance surrounded him.
He stopped before Qin Wenhe, clasped his hands in salute, and called out, "This disciple, Qin Xuan, pays his respects to Elder. May I ask why you summoned the two of us?"
Cao Xiangwen followed close behind and bowed respectfully, but kept his head lowered, daring not meet Qin Wenhe's eyes.
Qin Wenhe's gaze was as deep as an abyss as he silently scrutinized the two men before him.
After a moment, he said coolly, "You're Qin Xuan?"
Qin Xuan lowered his head further. "I am."
His gaze shifted to the other man. "You're Cao Xiangwen?"
"This disciple, Cao Xiangwen... pays his respects to Elder."
Once he had confirmed their identities, Qin Wenhe's gaze suddenly turned cold. His presence, deep as an abyss and oppressive as a prison, instantly enveloped the entire Martial Arts Arena.
He spoke slowly, his voice calm but carrying unquestionable authority:
"By order of the Ninth Young Master, execute the traitors Qin Xuan and Cao Xiangwen, to uphold the clan's rules!"
The moment the words fell, the whole arena erupted!
The Ninth Young Master—wasn't that the Qilin Child with the Longevity Immortal Body?
But wasn't he only five years old, no matter how you counted it?
Qin Xuan's pupils contracted, and his face changed dramatically. "Traitors?! Elder, what do you mean? This disciple is wholly loyal to the Qin Clan and harbors no disloyalty!"
Cao Xiangwen trembled all over, cold sweat pouring down his forehead as he instinctively retreated half a step.
However, Qin Wenhe said no more. He merely moved his mind—
"Pfft!"
Before the two could react, they were beheaded in an instant.
Qin Xuan's head soared into the air, disbelief still frozen in his eyes.
He was a prodigy among the Qin Clan's younger generation, almost without equal among his peers.
Yet before a ten-thousand-year-old monster like Qin Wenhe, he wasn't even a chick. He had been decapitated without even the right to resist.
Cao Xiangwen hadn't even had time to scream. The moment his neck was severed, blood gushed out, only to be bound in midair by an invisible force, unable to fall.
And more strangely still, the two of them weren't dead!
Qin Wenhe's gaze was indifferent. He lightly tapped a finger, and a thread of law power fell upon them, forcibly locking their life force and keeping them in a state between life and death.
"Soul Search." He gave a soft snort and waved his hand.
The Deacon Elder beside him immediately understood. He stepped forward, took an Image Recording Stone from his sleeve, and prepared to perform the Soul Search.
"There's a restriction!" The Deacon Elder had only just begun when he suddenly cried out, his expression turning grave.
The bodies of Qin Xuan and Cao Xiangwen actually contained restrictions specifically designed to prevent Soul Search!
—There really was something wrong!
In another clan, they might have been helpless against such a restriction. The moment they forcibly broke it, the person carrying it would have had his Divine Soul instantly annihilated.
But this was the Qin Clan.
The Deacon Elder gave a cold snort and flipped his palm. A green leaf appeared.
This wasn't an ordinary leaf, but a Divine Leaf from the Qin Clan's Undying Divine Tree!
Divine might surged, crushing the restriction in an instant.
Then, without hesitation, he performed the Soul Search, forcibly extracting their memories.
Although Qin Xuan and Cao Xiangwen had been beheaded, their consciousnesses were still clear. Now, as their souls were forcibly searched, they were in such agony that they nearly crumbled. Their Divine Souls were peeled away inch by inch, and their memories from birth unfolded like a scroll, then were recorded one by one by the Image Recording Stone.
Their earlier memories were more or less ordinary. Qin Xuan had been exceptionally talented since childhood and had been greatly valued by the clan, while Cao Xiangwen was a collateral disciple of the Cao Clan who had diligently cultivated and longed to rise above his station.
However, when the memories reached several years ago—
In the scene, a black-clad figure had quietly appeared in the Cao Clan Ancestral Hall, then followed the Cao Clan's connections to find Qin Xuan.
"With your current talent, you'll always be a green leaf in the Qin Clan, forever stuck as someone else's foil. You'll never reach the summit." The black-clad figure's sinister voice echoed from the Image Recording Stone. "We can help you, but... there'll be a price."
Qin Xuan had initially refused in no uncertain terms. But soon, under the black-clad figure's temptations, he agreed to the demand and received many treasures that could improve his aptitude.
The watching Qin Clan Disciples burst into an uproar!
"Qin Xuan... really was a traitor?!"
"I knew his talent was strange! He'd only been above average before, then in the blink of an eye he surpassed me. So he'd joined forces with an outside clan!"
Even more shocking were Cao Xiangwen's memories—
It turned out the Cao Clan had been a nail planted by an outside clan from the very beginning!
They had infiltrated the Qin Clan's affiliated families, secretly gathering intelligence and waiting for their moment.
"To think the Cao Clan had only been pretending to submit all these years... Was it all arranged by another clan?!"
"They put on such a good disguise. Those scum!"
After completing the Soul Search, the Deacon Elder's face darkened, killing intent surging in his eyes.
Among the affiliated families, the Cao Clan had seemed to be one of the most loyal and capable. Who would have thought they were spies?
Then he turned to the person beside him, his face full of admiration.
"We have you to thank, my lord."
"If this hadn't been exposed today, I can't even imagine what might have happened in the future."
"It wasn't me." Qin Wenhe hadn't expected matters to be so serious either. He coldly swept his gaze across the arena, his voice tinged with bewilderment and admiration. "Everything today was arranged by the Ninth Young Master."
"He discovered the traitors, and he issued the execution order."
"Now that the evidence is conclusive, those who betray the clan—show no mercy!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he swept his sleeve. Qin Xuan and Cao Xiangwen's bodies and Divine Souls shattered at once, turning to ash and vanishing.
The entire arena fell deathly silent!
Every disciple held their breath, shaken to the core.
Qin Wenhe's gaze was cold as he spoke slowly:
"I hope you will all take today's events as a warning."
He paused, then added, "His Highness the Ninth Young Master is watching you."
The pressure had reached its peak. Everyone who heard him drew in a sharp breath.
Their awe and wariness toward the unseen Ninth Young Master grew even stronger.
A five-year-old child, not only born with an Immortal Body and able to foresee the future, but also decisive in his actions!
He had sent someone over and ordered the executions without giving them so much as a chance to explain.
When Qin Wenhe brought the Image Recording Stone to Qin Fuhai, Qin Fuhai was equally astonished.
"He really said he learned of it in a dream?"
The teacup in Qin Fuhai's hand cracked with a sharp click. An amber trickle of tea seeped through the fissure and dripped onto the Black Jade Desk.
The voice of this Peerless Expert, who had ruled the Qin Clan for tens of thousands of years, trembled for once. His fingers unconsciously rubbed the edge of the Image Recording Stone. "My five-year-old grandson can see the past and know the future, and he's even found a... Heavenly Emperor?"
"Could the Immortal Bone really have such a wondrous use?"
Qin Wenhe stood with his hands lowered. "The young master did indeed say he learned of it in a dream. The traitors have now confirmed that what he said was true. Ye Jianwei should still be in Qixia Town. According to the young master, she's a blind girl. She may truly be a future Heavenly Emperor."
A strange silence suddenly fell over the hall.
Qin Fuhai slowly rose to his feet. His dark imperial robes stirred without wind, while the Dao Rhyme around him surged like a tide. It was clear that his heart was anything but calm.
Just as he was about to speak, the entire great hall suddenly froze—
Time seemed to have been pulled away. Even the drifting scent of tea hung motionless in the air.
"Let this old man see the Image Recording Stone." A voice that seemed to come from ancient times echoed through the hall.
Before you continue