Celestial Firmament Realm?

With the words falling, Qin Yihu was the first to walk out from the back hall, with Qin Changlin and the others following closely behind.

Shen Zhou raised an eyebrow at him and said, "Have you reached a conclusion from your discussion?"

Qin Yihu did not directly answer Shen Zhou's question, but instead shifted the topic: "Didn't you say that anyone with the skill could take the Taixuan Sword from you? This old man would like to give it a try."

No answer was an answer in itself!

Qin Yihu's attitude had said it all.

Now even the Qin Family's elder was coveting the Taixuan Sword.

Shen Zhou sneered inwardly, but on his face he showed no concern: "Fine, if you have the skill, go ahead and take it. But I don't have great control over this sword yet, so if I hurt you, don't blame me!"

The subtext of this sentence was: Old man, since you're asking for a fight, don't complain if I go hard on you!

Qin Yihu's eyes twitched slightly, then he replied with a half-smile: "Alright, if you can hurt me, this old man won't hold it against you."

His meaning was: Kid, you think you can actually hurt me?

Their gazes met in the air.

In an instant, it was as if swords clashed and war drums thundered.

To show his seniority, Qin Yihu magnanimously said, "Kid, this old man won't bully you. You go first—"

Before he could finish, Shen Zhou had already unceremoniously raised his sword and struck, shouting, "Old geezer, watch the sword!"

Shen Zhou attacked without warning, holding nothing back. As soon as he moved, he pushed the current power of the 'Trait' to its limit.

He had been sparring with the younger generation of the Qin Family earlier, so the 'Trait' had defaulted to a power level around the fourth or fifth stage of the Transformation Realm, just enough to ensure Shen Zhou could 'invincibly' overpower Qin Mingyue and the others.

Thus, when he swung his sword now, it was a streak of rainbow light, surging with Sword Qi. Its might and momentum made even Qin Changlin and the others pause in shock.

Qin Yihu was also startled. Anyone else would have been too slow to react and would have been taken down by that single strike.

But Qin Yihu was no ordinary man—he was an old geezer whose cultivation had reached the 'Eighth Stage of Transformation Realm.' Facing Shen Zhou's blow, he moved at zero frames, his hands spinning together, and in the blink of an eye, he raised an Elemental Shield before him, growling angrily, "You brat, no martial honor! Attacking by surprise!"

The next moment, the Sword Qi slammed violently into the Qi Protective Screen. Energy clashed, sparks flew, and the powerful impact forced Qin Yihu to stagger back two steps.

Qin Yihu was shocked inwardly: "Such strong power! No wonder Mingyue and the others lost to him!"

Shen Zhou paid no heed to Qin Yihu's fury. He simply kept swinging his sword wildly, sending one streak of Sword Qi after another, each aimed straight at the old man's head.

In his view, since the Qin Family had already decided to throw away their dignity, why bother wasting words with them? Leaving them with a whole corpse would already be generous on his part.

Shua, shua, shua...

In an instant, the Council Hall was filled with flying Sword Qi. The vast room was hacked to pieces, with broken tiles and splintered wood scattering all over the floor.

Great Elder Qin Changlin watched as Shen Zhou's Sword Qi flew out endlessly, as if it didn't need any elemental power to sustain it, and his eyelids twitched uncontrollably.

Qin Changlin then wondered aloud, "Why do I feel like the power of this Sword Qi is constantly increasing? Is it just my imagination?"

Qin Changfeng stared intently at the battle for a moment, then frowned, "It is getting stronger. The Sword Qi's power now is probably close to Third Brother's cultivation level."

Qin Suyun exclaimed in shock, "What? How can that be?"

Qin Changlin mused, "Could it be that the Taixuan Sword enhances the wielder's strength based on the opponent's power?"

Qin Changfeng was stunned.

If that were true, then the Taixuan Sword was even more heaven-defying than they had imagined!

Compared to the shock of Qin Changlin and the others, Qin Yihu was currently suffering in silence.

Not only did he have no chance to counterattack, but he was barely holding on. That kid's power was too bizarre—it seemed that as long as he kept swinging, his strength would keep growing, to the point where Qin Yihu was now struggling to defend himself.

"No, I can't let the kid keep slashing. I have to find a way to break this deadlock!"

With that thought, Qin Yihu gritted his teeth. He gathered all his elemental power in an explosive burst, forcing the Sword Qi before him to scatter. Then, seizing the brief opening, he turned his hand into a claw and lunged forward, trying to capture Shen Zhou, shouting, "Kid, that's enough!"

Sensing the danger, Shen Zhou's eyes sharpened. The power of the 'Trait' surged instantly, and without hesitation, he swung his sword head-on, saying, "Not yet! Have you ever seen a thirty-meter-long Sword Qi?"

Elemental power condensed into solid energy.

In the void, surging Sword Qi truly coalesced into the shape of a thirty-meter-long giant sword.

Before the blade even fell, the sheer sword momentum alone was devastating, cleaving the entire roof of the Council Hall in two in an instant. Then, the giant sword, carrying the force of annihilation, slashed down toward Qin Yihu.

Qin Yihu stared at the giant sword, dumbfounded, standing still as he muttered in disbelief, "The... the Celestial Firmament Realm?"

Qin Changlin and the others were nearly losing their minds.

The Taixuan Sword had actually allowed an ordinary person to unleash power belonging to a 'Celestial Firmament Realm' expert. This was no longer just heaven-defying—it was downright demonic!

"Not good, Third Brother!"

Qin Changlin snapped back to reality. Seeing Qin Yihu frozen in shock beneath the colossal Sword Qi, he rushed forward to help block it. In the blink of an eye, he raised a Qi Protective Screen above their heads, shielding the two of them.

Qin Changfeng followed closely, joining forces to resist.

The next moment...

The giant sword came crashing down!

A thunderous roar erupted, followed by a sky-shaking blast of air and a rampaging gale.

The deafening noise left everyone with a brief ringing in their ears, while the sheer force of the impact and the storm it kicked up made it impossible to keep their eyes open.

The three little ones had long since taken cover to the side, but even the residual shockwaves of the battle sent them tumbling to the ground. They pressed themselves flat, hands clamped over their ears, and only then managed to survive the ordeal.

After a long while, the wind died down and the Sword Qi subsided.

The three little ones shook the dust off themselves and lifted their heads to look at the battlefield—and froze.

At this moment, the vast Council Hall had vanished entirely, replaced by a scene of shattered walls and rubble, a post-war wasteland of utter devastation.

Deep chasms carved into the ground stretched like abysses for over ten meters, a sight that made the heart pound with fear.

A Dai couldn't help but gape in confusion: "Did Boss Shen really chop that out just now?"

San Mazi and Xi Mei wore equally incredulous expressions.

They had seen Shen Zhou fight before, but never had any of his strikes produced such a spine-shaking spectacle.

This completely shattered their understanding of what Shen Zhou was capable of.

On the other side, the younger disciples of the Qin Family had also hidden themselves when the battle between Shen Zhou and Qin Yihu began. Now, staring at the scene before them, they too were dumbfounded.

That kid did this?

And we were actually provoking someone so terrifying?

"Pfft..."

"Cough, cough..."

At that moment, at the center of the battlefield.

As the dust and smoke cleared, the figures of Shen Zhou, Qin Changlin, and the others finally came into view.

Qin Changlin and Qin Changfeng stood there with torn robes and blood at the corners of their mouths, battered and disheveled.

Qin Yihu, though unharmed, was clearly shaken by what had just happened, still not fully recovered from the shock.

As for Shen Zhou, he stood his ground with sword in hand, his face somewhat pale. Blood seeped from his pores beneath his clothes, and a tearing, heart-wrenching pain wracked his body.

Shen Zhou gritted his teeth against the agony. Why is this happening? Why am I hurt? And that feeling just now, like my body was about to explode... Could it be that the power unleashed by the 'Trait' is too strong, and my body too weak—like that wooden sword earlier—so once it exceeds my physical limit, I suffer backlash myself?

Thinking this, Shen Zhou clenched his jaw. I can't put off training anymore. I need to get on it immediately. This hurts like hell!

But for now, the matter wasn't over.

Since he had already put on a grand show, he might as well see it through to the end.

So, forcing down the discomfort in his body, Shen Zhou put on an air of calm indifference as he walked before the Qin Family elders. He raised his sword, pointing it at the three of them. "Now," he said, "does anyone else want to try?"

Seeing Shen Zhou's invincible bearing, Qin Changlin spoke with a bitter expression. "I never imagined you could resonate with the Taixuan Sword to such a degree. If I told you we've already decided to treat you as an honored guest—not only marrying Mingyue to you but also doing everything in our power to help you reach the pinnacle of martial arts—could you pretend what just happened never occurred?"

Shen Zhou's face was expressionless as he countered, "If it were you, could you?"

Qin Changlin's expression faltered, and then he shook his head with a wry smile.

Truly, one wrong move, and the whole game was lost.

Given the strength and potential Shen Zhou had displayed with the Taixuan Sword, it was more than enough to prove he was the person the Qin Family had been searching for.

But because of their momentary greed, the family's relationship with him had shattered. They had truly lifted a rock only to drop it on their own feet—reaping what they sowed!

Shen Zhou sheathed his sword and said flatly, "I won't pursue what happened earlier. Consider it repayment for the sword you gave me. From this day forward, neither I nor the Taixuan Sword have any connection to the Qin Family. You're on your own."

Having made a clean break with the Qin Family, Shen Zhou turned and walked toward the three little ones. After confirming they were all right, the four of them left the Qin Family together, without hesitation or delay, swift and decisive.

Watching their retreating figures, regret spread through every heart in the Qin Family.

"If we hadn't targeted him before, would he have helped us restore the Qin Family's glory?"

"Who would have thought that once he drew the Taixuan Sword, he could unleash the power of the 'Celestial Firmament Realm'—and that's with him not even knowing how to cultivate. If his strength grows, what fear would the Five Great Families hold?"

"Sigh... it's too late to say anything now."

Behind the crowd, Qin Mingshu looked at his sister Qin Mingyue with a complicated expression.

His sister had always been proud and devoted to the martial path, but now that she had been defeated in a single move by a young man who had nearly been her fiancé, he wondered if she too felt regret.

After the battle, Qin Mingyue stood quietly by the ruins. There was no regret in her eyes; in fact, a faint smile even lingered at their corners. But buried deep beneath that smile was a chilling, unsettling madness.

As the Qin Family began cleaning up the wreckage, an aged figure suddenly appeared at the edge of the ruins.

The figure leaned on a green wooden staff, dressed simply, with a head of snow-white hair pinned up by a single wooden hairpin. As she approached, she spoke: "What happened here?"

Everyone turned to look. Seeing who it was, a wave of joy swept through the crowd, as if they had found their pillar of strength. They called out in unison: "Ancestral Aunt..."