Preparation

A fierce killing intent blazed.

In an instant, it engulfed the entire hall.

Li Shuyan didn't even have time to warn Li Mu beside him. Acting on instinct, he pulled off the ring on his finger and hurled it toward the hole in the roof.

"Clang!"

The long blade shuddered violently.

Its direction shifted with the force, sweeping toward Li Mu's head.

The latter felt a stabbing pain between his brows.

There was no time to dodge. He could only raise his arms and clasp his hands together around the descending blade, then look up into a pair of eyes brimming with murderous intent.

The indifferent brows of the man before him.

Li Mu found them strangely familiar.

In that instant.

A bolt of lightning seemed to flash through his mind. He cried out in horror, "Father, he's..."

But before he could finish.

The tremendous force transmitted through the blade suddenly knocked Li Mu's hands apart. The blade cleaved straight down from his crown, freezing him in place.

"Thud."

Qin Jiu landed.

Li Mu's rigid body split in two and fell to the ground.

The moment seemed to stretch on.

But from the instant Qin Jiu drew his blade to the moment he landed in the hall.

Less than three breaths had passed.

"Mu'er!"

Li Shuyan was momentarily stunned, then his eyes nearly split with fury. His body surged forward like a tyrannosaur, shattering the bluestone tiles beneath his feet. In almost an instant, he was in front of Qin Jiu, throwing a punch.

The latter's eyes flickered with surprise as he held his blade horizontally across his chest.

"Clang!"

The moment fist and weapon met.

Fine cracks spread across the ground beneath them.

The dust hanging in the air around them.

Was instantly scattered by the powerful gust of wind.

"Second Refining..."

Li Shuyan's expression froze, then he erupted in rage. "A mere Second Refining dares to act like this? You deserve to die!!!"

"Boom!"

Almost at the same time.

The roof exploded again, and two more figures dropped through.

One made no effort to hide the inner force of Second Refining roiling around him. The other held back slightly, gripping a six-sided war hammer and bringing it straight down toward Li Shuyan's head.

"Get lost!"

The latter was nearly crazed by now.

With the newcomer's Second Refining aura so blatantly exposed, Li Shuyan merely dodged the hammer by a hair before reaching out to strike the attacker in the chest.

Yet after only one exchange.

Li Shuyan coughed blood and flew backward.

His left arm dangled limply at an unnatural angle. The hammer-wielder pursued like a shadow, striking him several more times. The Li Family patriarch died on the spot, without managing to say another word.

"Protect the family!"

"Storm inside!"

At that moment.

Shouts of battle gradually rose outside the hall.

They were followed by the clashing of blades.

At the sound, Qin Jiu immediately cut off Li Shuyan's head, then looked toward the masked figure holding the hammer.

"Go deal with the other direct descendants of the Li Family."

"He and I can handle things here."

"No, this is far too dangerous..."

"It's fine."

Qin Jiu shook his head. "I just took Li Shuyan's punch head-on, didn't I? Unless there's a Three Refinements martial artist outside, they can't threaten me. Go. Speed is crucial in war. If anything seems off, we can review it after we get back."

Qin Xuanzhou could only sigh at that.

Then he swiftly left the hall.

Qin Jiu grabbed Li Shuyan's head and walked out of the hall with the other man, heading straight toward the sounds of fighting.

When he tossed the head, its eyes still wide open in death, onto the ground.

The guards' faces changed at once.

"The patriarch, the patriarch..."

Someone's teeth chattered.

He got halfway through his words.

Then instinctively shuffled backward.

The others' gazes darted about as well. They gradually fell silent, then scattered without a word, with some of the more astute ones making straight for the Inner Mansion.

It was clear they understood.

Their opponents had brought out Li Shuyan's head merely as a warning, and had no intention of attacking them.

So the guards promptly turned and ran.

What a joke.

A Three Refinements martial artist had been killed less than a quarter of an hour after the clash began.

Who would dare keep facing them?

"Let's go to the Li Family Secret Vault."

Qin Jiu spoke.

The others' eyes lit up at his words.

Then they all leaped toward the Inner Mansion.

Early in the hour of the tiger.

Less than half an hour had passed since the Li Family patriarch's death.

Under cover of the dark night and high winds.

Qin Jiu hurried back to Qin Mansion with Qin Xuanzhou and the others. Meanwhile, another guard who had stayed behind at Chai Gang had set fire to one of its buildings and returned safely to Qin Mansion.

At that moment, they.

Had all changed out of their clothes and gathered in the East Wing.

"Regarding tonight's events, everyone..."

As Qin Jiu spoke, his gaze swept across their faces.

Qin Xuanzhou's expression was grim. He immediately said, "Rest assured, Family Head. We'll take what happened today to our graves. If anyone dares let even a hint of it slip, I'll personally twist their head off."

At his words.

The others all looked toward Qin Jiu and hurriedly thumped their chests as they pledged their loyalty.

This man, now the head of the Qin Family.

His strength had been on full display tonight.

Even Huang Jing, who had previously served as his sparring partner, and Qin Xudong were now utterly shaken.

He had taken the old Chai Gang leader's head with his blade.

And stood toe-to-toe with the Li Family patriarch.

Neither feat could be explained by the Second Refining realm.

So none of them wanted to leave a bad impression on Qin Jiu now.

Seeing this, Qin Jiu nodded. "Everyone contributed tonight. Qin Xuanzhou will be rewarded with one thousand taels of silver and two bottles of Three Refinements Pulse Protecting Pills. The other five will each receive two hundred taels of silver and two bottles of Bone Forging Pills. Are you satisfied?"

"We thank you, Family Head."

The others accepted happily.

As Second Refining guards, they earned no more than twenty taels of silver a month. Just the two bottles of Bone Forging Pills were worth three hundred taels. Who could possibly be dissatisfied?

Seeing their expressions, Qin Jiu couldn't help shaking his head to himself.

In truth.

The goods they had taken from Chai Gang and the Li Family tonight.

Were worth more than thirty thousand taels of silver in gold and silver alone. That didn't even include the precious medicines, powerful pills, and weapons of rank.

The reason their rewards were so small.

Was primarily because.

These men had also lined their own pockets while transporting the goods.

They hadn't taken much, though.

So he had turned a blind eye.

After handing out the rewards.

Qin Jiu sent everyone away.

Only Qin Xuanzhou remained.

"Xuanzhou, starting tomorrow, help me cut down the numbers in the guard squad. Keep only those who are loyal to the Qin Family."

"Steward Wang isn't currently at the mansion."

"Assess the other collateral-branch descendants, servants, and their families as well. Quickly sort the wheat from the chaff. Our Qin Family needs to prepare to leave Songshan County."

"What?"

Qin Xuanzhou was startled. "Is it because of what happened tonight?"

"Yes, and no."

Qin Jiu nodded, then shook his head.

He didn't say more.

After all, you never knew what was in another person's heart. Those collateral-branch uncles from earlier had left without a second thought. He couldn't very well trust anyone enough to explain his true intentions.

He only told the other man to prepare for their departure from Songshan County.

Qin Xuanzhou hesitated for a moment, then said, "There's no problem with that. But what about the Hundred Beasts Garden..."

"I'll handle that myself."

Qin Jiu said.

His gaze flickered slightly.

He still had five talent slots open. As he improved his strength, he could also see whether he could find any suitable talent imprints.