Just then, several figures emerged from the Cui Residence. The one in front was Cui Shuo. Gone was his usual arrogance; with a face full of reluctance, he walked up to Qin Zhan and said loudly, "Uncle Qin, please rise. Qin Yu and I were merely sparring casually. My cultivation is higher than his, so I already held the advantage. Though Qin Yu's sneak attack angered me, you acted out of paternal concern, which is understandable. If I had truly injured Qin Yu, I would have felt guilty as well." As he spoke, Cui Shuo made as if to help Qin Zhan up.
Qin Zhan did not move. No matter how hard Cui Shuo tried, it was useless, because the time had not yet come.
When the surrounding commoners and cultivators heard Cui Shuo's words, the way they looked at him changed.
"As expected of the Cui Family's genius. Such magnanimity is rare in this world. If it were me, after being sneak-attacked and having my arm broken, I truly wouldn't be able to swallow this insult."
"A thousand mistakes, ten thousand mistakes—all because Qin Yu was too shameless. He couldn't win, yet still wanted to launch a sneak attack."
"This is what magnanimity is. This is what it means for General Cui to teach his son well."
All kinds of praise for Cui Shuo rang out, while the curses seemed to rekindle faintly. But at that moment, a clear female shout suddenly rang out. "What a despicable and shameless scoundrel! What a silver-tongued villain who turns black into white! Clearly, you were inferior and couldn't win, so you tried to seize the chance for a sneak attack. The Qin Family Head stopped you and broke your arm, yet now you claim that Qin Yu was the one who sneak-attacked you."
Cui Shuo's expression changed slightly. Looking at Thirteenth Princess Long Yu as she emerged from the crowd, a trace of gloom flashed through his eyes. He said, "Thirteenth Princess, though I accidentally injured you back then, even Uncle Qin admitted it. Why must you use your status to oppress others and twist right and wrong? Besides, with my Early Astral Qi Stage cultivation, how could I possibly fail to defeat Qin Yu? Everyone, don't you agree?"
"Exactly. Even if she is the Thirteenth Princess, she can't spout nonsense and falsely accuse Young Master Cui."
"No wonder Qin Yu dared to launch a sneak attack. So he has the Thirteenth Princess as such a powerful backer."
"Even a princess cannot disregard the law, can she?"
Waves of rebukes rose up. Long Yu was so furious that flames seemed to burst from her head, and she nearly had them all arrested and thrown into the imperial prison.
At this moment, Qin Zhan slowly rose to his feet. He glanced at Cui Shuo and said calmly, "I hope you will help me pass a message to General Cui. I have done what I promised. I hope he will honor the agreement as well."
Cui Shuo smiled even more broadly at those words. His gaze burned as he stared at Qin Zhan and shouted, "Fellow townsfolk, ask Uncle Qin yourselves—was I, Cui Shuo, speaking nonsense?"
Qin Zhan's face twitched. "Thank you all for your concern. The fault in this matter lies with me, Qin Zhan."
Long Yu, who had stepped out from the crowd, had a livid face, her chest rising and falling.
"I told you so. How could Young Master Cui do something so brazen and shameless? Could it be that the Thirteenth Princess has taken a liking to Qin Yu?" someone in the crowd said again in a strange, mocking tone.
"Cui Shuo, half a month before the grand gathering begins in five and a half months, do you dare go with me to the duel arena in the western district of Tianwu Main City and fight me to the death?" At that moment, Qin Yu suddenly strode several steps forward and roared, his voice deafening.
Cui Shuo's heart skipped a beat. When he saw Qin Yu slowly approaching, his scalp went numb. Qin Yu's bizarre ability to grow stronger with every battle filled Cui Shuo with dread. How could he dare fight Qin Yu again? But if he refused, would that not overturn everything he had said before? Just as Cui Shuo wavered, an aged, low shout rang out. "Enough! What qualifications does a sneak-attacking villain have to issue a challenge? Qin Zhan, why don't you hurry up and take your fine son away? Your Qin Family may be able to afford this disgrace, but my Cui Family cannot!"
Cui Hong slowly emerged from the residence. Though he looked like a flickering candle at the end of its wick, his steps carried the force of a tiger and the wind. He fixed Qin Zhan with a sharp gaze, his eyes full of warning.
Cui Shuo let out a sigh of relief. Staring at Qin Yu, he said with a face full of regret and reluctance, "Cousin Qin Yu, why put yourself through this again? You can't defeat me now—can you defeat me in five and a half months? It is good that you have fighting spirit, but why remain so stubbornly obsessed?"
"You simply don't dare accept, do you?" Long Yu, whose fury had long reached the heavens, sneered coldly.
"General Cui, since this unfilial son of mine insists on seeking death, let him go. Since he wishes to challenge him, let him fight Young Master Cui to the death. I ask General Cui to grant his wish." Qin Zhan suddenly spoke, his cold gaze fixed on Cui Hong.
Qin Yu, who had been walking over, froze in surprise and looked at Qin Zhan. He had not expected Qin Zhan to understand his intentions. This way, the Qin Family could likely hold on for another five and a half months at most. After five and a half months, regardless of victory or defeat, the Qin Family would surely be destroyed by the Cui Residence. But if they did not agree, Qin Yu would not even last a month.
Cui Hong's cloudy eyes narrowed sharply, and the anger in them nearly burst forth. He had not expected Qin Zhan to make such a move. If he accepted, could Cui Shuo defeat Qin Yu? If he refused, would he not be slapping his own face fiercely in public?
"General Cui, since Qin Yu is seeking death, grant him his wish!"
"He should not have been spared in the first place. Since he wants to die, fulfill his wish!"
Countless angry shouts rose as the surrounding commoners and cultivators spoke indignantly.
Cui Hong nearly coughed up a mouthful of old blood in rage. Several hundred people in the crowd had been arranged by him to distort the truth, but no matter how carefully he calculated, he had not anticipated that these people knew nothing of what had actually happened. They only believed that the Cui Residence wanted to kill Qin Yu. Now that Qin Yu was seeking death himself, they naturally added fuel to the flames.
Cui Shuo's expression changed slightly as he looked at Cui Hong in fear.
"I also ask General Cui to grant Qin Yu's wish." Long Yu seized the opportunity to add fuel to the fire, shouting loudly.
"Grant his wish!"
"Grant his wish!"
For a time, voices surged like a boiling cauldron, and furious shouts shot into the clouds, echoing above Tianwu Main City.
Cui Hong stared at Qin Zhan with an ever-changing expression, unable to suppress the killing intent in his eyes. Whether Cui Shuo could win was secondary. Once he agreed, he could not do anything to Qin Yu during these five and a half months. If Qin Yu were killed, everyone would only pin the blame on the Cui Residence. This left Cui Hong stifled with frustration. He had lifted a stone only to smash his own foot.
What deep scheming. If this boy is not eliminated, the Cui Residence will be in danger! Cui Hong glanced at Qin Yu in alarm. Now, even Cui Hong could not refuse. He could only say helplessly, "Fine! I shall accept on Cui Shuo's behalf. Since you seek death, I shall grant it to you!"
Cui Shuo's pupils contracted sharply. He swallowed, recalling Qin Yu's ferocity, and fear rose uncontrollably in his heart.
"Very good. Let's go." Qin Yu cast Cui Shuo a sidelong glance, a cold smile on his lips. Then he looked at Qin Zhan, whose entire body was filthy but whose eyes remained fixed brightly on him. Qin Yu found that gaze somewhat blinding and could not bear to look at it. He turned and left.
Qin Family.
"Why did you kneel? Did you think kneeling would make the Cui Family spare us? Or did you think that with this one kneel, you could repay all the neglect of these years?" Qin Yu glared coldly at Qin Zhan and rebuked him.
Qin Zhan showed no anger at Qin Yu's rebuke. There was only gratification. He kept looking at Qin Yu, as though he still could not believe that this was his own mediocre son. Only after a long while did he speak. "If I had not knelt, the Cui Family would never have spared you. If I had not knelt, I would not even have seen a sliver of hope. By kneeling, I gained a sliver of hope."
"Is that so? Then since you believed there was a sliver of hope, why did you ask Cui Hong to accept the challenge? Wouldn't that make your sliver of hope come to nothing?" Qin Yu said mockingly.
"At the very least, this will keep you from being assassinated before the grand gathering. The Cui Family is not as simple as you imagine." Qin Zhan sighed deeply.
"And after the grand gathering? I fear the Qin Family will inevitably be destroyed by the Cui Family. Can you watch helplessly as the Qin Family, which you painstakingly built over more than ten years, is wiped out?" Qin Yu asked.
"The Qin Family? From the day I founded it, I had already considered this day. The Qin Family was merely a tool for gathering wealth. How confident are you of facing Cui Shuo in five and a half months?" Qin Zhan asked. Unknowingly, his tone had become calm, as though he were speaking with an equal rather than his own son.
"I know what I'm doing," Qin Yu said.
"Do not be careless. The Cui Family is not as simple as you think. A great clan stands behind them! During these five and a half months, Cui Hong will spare no cost to increase Cui Shuo's strength," Qin Zhan warned.
"The Azure Lotus Cui Family?" Qin Yu asked calmly.
Qin Zhan's pupils contracted slightly as he studied Qin Yu in astonishment, as if reassessing him. After a long while, he asked in a low voice, "How did you learn of that?"
"There are so many records in the Library Pavilion concerning the early founding of the Wu Kingdom. Added to that, the Cui Family acts above the law beneath the Son of Heaven's feet. That is enough to prove that their backer is formidable. And the Azure Lotus Cui Family's influence spreads throughout the eastern Azure Lotus Heavenly Domain, so the conclusion follows. However, most Cui Family descendants probably do not know this."
"Put nicely, the entire Wu Kingdom is a nation. Put bluntly, it is a puppet that has long been carved up by countless powers," Qin Yu said lightly. Back then, he had read through every book in the Library Pavilion and naturally uncovered many hidden secrets. Moreover, Zi Xun'er had also hinted that the Cui Family was far from ordinary.
"And for you to make the Qin Family flourish amid the many forces of the Wu Kingdom, you must have borrowed the Cui Family's influence. Or rather, the Cui Family owed you a favor, didn't they?" Qin Yu glanced at Qin Zhan and spoke slowly.
Qin Zhan did not answer. As Qin Yu spoke, the way he looked at him became entirely different, though there was even more gratification and anticipation in his eyes.
"Cui Hong's status in the Azure Lotus Cui Family is not high. The reason he secretly supported you was mainly because he owed you a favor. That favor should have concerned his life—or rather, you saved his life. Cui Hong is greatly ambitious and deeply calculating. The reason he supported you may be related to Mother's identity. Mother should have been a disciple of the Myriad Heavens Battle Sect. Cui Hong wanted to use you to establish ties with the Myriad Heavens Battle Sect, but things did not go as he wished. Yet the wood was already in the boat—he had become your father-in-law!"
"You arranged the battle between Cui Shuo and me, already prepared to sacrifice the Qin Family. But what I do not understand is this: what exactly are you waiting for? You have lain low here for years—what are you waiting for? Though you and the Cui Family are joined by marriage, you feel no affection for them. You even... harbor some resentment!"
Before you continue