A Clean Break

The sitting room.

Qin Jiu looked at the three men in silence.

Decades ago, they had depended on the fields their fathers had guarded, struggling to survive. Later, after Qin Guihong rose to prominence, he had remembered their blood ties, gathered the branches of the Qin Family together, and given them the finest resources in Songshan County.

But now, these men could make the whole county tremble with a single stomp.

These Three Refinements experts.

Yet they found it impossible to weather hardship alongside the Qin Family.

The hall soon fell silent.

The three exchanged glances. One of them looked conflicted and seemed about to speak again.

Qin Jiu raised a hand slightly, then turned to Wang Yue and said coolly, "Send someone to fetch Qin Xuanzhou."

A short while later.

Qin Xuanzhou appeared in the hall.

"Since everyone's here."

"I'll get straight to the point."

"Uncles Jingxin, Jingming, and Jingzheng want to leave the Qin Family. Considering the turmoil in the county, I don't want to force them to stay, so I've called Cousin Xuanzhou here as well. I don't know if you feel the same way. If you want to leave, you can go with the three of them today."

After speaking, Qin Jiu slowly closed his eyes.

He activated his Ghost Illumination talent.

The scene shifted, and three wisps of pale-gray mist appeared in the hall.

Seeing them, he sighed softly. He knew that if he forced the three men to stay, he would only breed resentment in their hearts.

"Leave the Qin Family?"

Qin Xuanzhou was stunned. But soon, his brows shot up, and he turned to the other three, speaking in anger.

"You ungrateful bastards..."

His temper flared.

He immediately began cursing them out in the hall.

Then he pointed at one man's nose and roared, "After we dealt with Qin Xiong that day, I thought what you said sounded wrong. This whole mess must've been started by you, you old bastard."

"Have you forgotten back then..."

"Younger generation, mind your manners!"

The man's face turned livid as he said coldly, "That was back then. I've done more than enough for the Qin Family over the years."

"Xuanzhou, whether you leave or not is your business."

"With demons at the city gates and the Demon Suppression Bureau constantly drafting people, if you keep living in the Qin Mansion, sooner or later you'll end up like Guest Elder Lu—dragged off and killed in a demon's jaws. We don't want to keep risking our lives for this."

"You..."

"That's enough."

Qin Jiu spoke without expression.

"Today's matter isn't about who's right or wrong, and I don't want to pry. Anyone who wants to leave the Qin Family can go home and pack their belongings now."

"Steward Wang, go to the accounts office and withdraw three thousand taels of silver."

"Give each of their three households one thousand taels. Consider it a settling-in gift from me on my father's behalf."

"From this day on, you and the Qin Family..."

"Are severed, once and for all!"

At those final words.

The three men's expressions changed almost in unison.

But in the end, none of them said a word. Each left with a dark expression, flicking his sleeves.

Before long.

News of the Qin Family's collateral branches leaving.

Spread like wildfire through the Qin Mansion and across the Inner and Outer Cities.

Several Three Refinements experts had accounted for nearly half of the Qin Family's strength. With their departure, one of the four great families of the past had practically fallen apart overnight.

As for the Qin Family's businesses.

Just two days later, they had all shut their doors.

This set off even fiercer discussion outside.

The Qin Mansion, East Wing.

In the courtyard.

Qin Jiu held a gleaming, three-foot-long saber with no edge, practicing with complete concentration.

Wang Yue occasionally spoke up.

Correcting the way he put his strength into each move.

"Young Master, you've mastered Tyrant Blade's secret techniques—the patterns and variations. But when you fight someone face-to-face, there's a good chance they won't attack the way you expect or have in mind. They might even resort to underhanded tricks to take you by surprise."

"Like hidden weapons or a surprise arrow..."

"Poison, or throwing lime powder in your eyes, and so on."

"Such tricks are common in the martial world and can catch you completely off guard."

At this, Qin Jiu stopped his saber.

Then he nodded. "I've only just mastered this saber art. In the end, I'll have to fight someone for real to learn where I fall short. Please go and fetch Huang Jing and Qin Xudong."

On the very night he completed the great cycle of qi and blood.

He had already nurtured a wisp of inner force.

And officially entered the Second Refining stage.

Now that he had also learned Tyrant Blade's secret techniques, it was only natural he wanted to test them in actual combat. Only then could he put his learning to the test.

Before long.

Wang Yue returned to the courtyard with two figures.

"Greetings, Head of the Family."

The two bowed in unison.

Qin Jiu looked them over, then nodded. "I called you here today for a simple reason. I want to test myself in a real fight."

"A real fight?"

The two couldn't help but freeze.

The first time they'd been summoned, they'd only been told to help him practice his punches.

How had it come to this after only a short while...

Qin Jiu paid no attention to what they were thinking. He took two blunt sabers from a nearby weapons rack and tossed them to the pair.

"Qin Xudong, you go first."

"Yes."

The latter bowed.

But Huang Jing suddenly nudged him in the waist.

Then he gave him a look.

Qin Xudong understood. Huang Jing was worried that he'd take the words too literally and treat this as a real fight.

He gripped his saber and walked to the center of the courtyard.

As he wondered how he could make it look like he was giving his all.

Qin Jiu moved.

His saber flashed with cold light and lunged straight for Qin Xudong's face.

The latter froze for a moment.

Then instinctively raised his saber to block.

"Clang!"

The instant their weapons met.

Qin Xudong's expression changed drastically. The saber nearly flew from his hand, and the immense force transmitted through its blade made his knees bend slightly.

After that one strike.

Qin Jiu didn't attack again. He merely gave him a look.

The latter sucked in a sharp breath.

Then his expression turned solemn.

He circulated his blood and strength at once, and his whole body left a blur as he shot straight at Qin Jiu.

"Idiot!"

Seeing this, Huang Jing couldn't help cursing under his breath.

As a Second Refining martial artist himself, how could he fail to see Qin Xudong's condition? The man was actually giving it everything he had.

But the next moment.

Huang Jing's expression stiffened, and his mouth slowly fell open.

In the center of the courtyard.

As soon as Qin Xudong made his move.

Qin Jiu was even more astonishing. He kicked off the ground, cracking the bluestone, and reached Qin Xudong before he could react. His saber instantly turned into a sheet of blade light, enveloping the other man.

"Clang, clang-clang-clang!"

In a flash.

Sparks flew everywhere.

Qin Xudong stood rooted to the spot, desperately blocking with his blood and qi close around him. His body slid backward, stiff as a stake.

"This... this..."

Huang Jing's eyes nearly popped out of his head.

He could see it.

A tremendous force was driving Qin Xudong backward, making him slide across the ground.

And who was the one attacking him?

A martial artist who had only reached the First Refining stage after breaking through for the second time just days ago!

Huang Jing's heart churned like a stormy sea.

As for Qin Xudong, he had no time to think at all.

The moment they clashed.

He was enveloped by an indescribable force.

All he could do was keep swinging his saber to defend himself.

If he paused for even a moment, instinctive terror welled up in his heart, as though the saber before him were pressed against his throat and his head could roll at any second.

"Thanks for the effort."

As those words rang out.

The saber's assault came to an end.

Qin Xudong felt as if he'd just escaped with his life. He let out a long breath and promptly plopped down on the ground.

Qin Jiu was about to say something more.

When a figure suddenly entered the courtyard.

"Young Master, I've bought the Yin Underworld Soil you asked for."