"Dutiful" Ling Ying

Bang!

With a tremendous crash, Jia Lie Bi's Four-Star Great Dou Master Dou Qi surged forth, throwing the entire room into chaos.

The three kneeling men had pressed their faces completely to the floor. The guard who had delivered the report was so weak in the legs that he could barely stay upright by clutching the doorframe.

"...Investigate! Even if you have to turn all of Wutan City upside down, find this person for me!!"

Jia Lie Bi roared hoarsely. Three High-Rank Battle Masters of the household had been slaughtered like chickens in a single day, yet they did not even know who the killer was.

The people in the room scrambled out in a panic. Jia Lie Bi had intended to sit back down, only to discover that his chair had already been shattered by the Dou Qi he had released moments ago.

Left with no choice, he stood where he was and slowly closed his eyes.

"Could it be..."

All at once, Jia Lie Bi remembered the four men he had dispatched a few days ago after his son had pestered him beyond endurance.

A Two-Star Battle Master and three High-Rank Dou Practitioners, sent to kill a boy who had supposedly just returned from Jia Nan Academy.

All four had vanished overnight. To this day, neither the living nor the dead had been found.

What was that boy's name again?

Qin Yu.

He had heard that the boy was quite close to the Xiao Household. Could it be...

Cough, cough.

Jia Lie Bi coughed softly. A figure wrapped head to toe in black, their face obscured, instantly appeared before him.

"Go investigate that boy's relationship with the Xiao Household."

The person said nothing and silently withdrew.

"Whew... Damn bastard. He really is ruthless."

Jia Lie Bi took a deep breath. Whenever he thought of the three High-Rank Battle Masters who had died, his heart ached terribly.

Those three had been the pillars of the Jia Lie Household, yet now they had been wiped out just like that.

Setting aside all other household matters, the most serious consequence of this incident was the blow it would deal to the family's morale.

They could wipe out three High-Rank Battle Masters today, but what about tomorrow? Would they keep killing those beneath them?

If everyone in the household began thinking that way, would the family not fall apart?

Jia Lie Bi clutched his hair and paced back and forth through the room. He had to come up with a countermeasure as soon as possible.

It was already deep into the night, yet Xiao Xun'er was unusually still awake.

The reason was simple: Ling Ying had just discovered a... suspicious person.

"Miss, this isn't my fault. That fellow was sneaking around and trying to approach your room."

Ling Ying spread his hands, wearing an innocent expression.

Ordinarily, Ling Ying could not be bothered with spies who infiltrated the Xiao Household.

But this fellow had done the one thing he absolutely should not have—he had dared approach Xiao Xun'er's room. Ling Ying could not simply stand by and watch!

He still remembered how, more than ten years ago, he had somehow failed to keep watch and allowed the Xiao Household's third young master, Xiao Yan, to walk right into the young lady's room.

"Can you tell who he is?"

"He is an Eight-Star Battle Master. I suppose... he should be from the Jia Lie Household?"

After pondering for a moment, Ling Ying offered his guess.

"After all, Miss, you know that Qin Yu caused quite a commotion during the day."

"Mm. Handle him as you see fit. I'm going to rest."

Xiao Xun'er had no particular opinion on Qin Yu's actions. It did not matter whom he killed, so long as he did not lay a hand on Xiao Yan.

Ling Ying nodded. He had originally intended to drag the man out of the Xiao Household and dispose of him, but after glancing back at Xiao Xun'er's room, he decided to deal with him on the spot.

After casually erasing the man's corpse, Ling Ying returned to his post and focused himself once more on guarding Xiao Xun'er's room.

He could not make the same mistake he had made more than ten years ago. Otherwise, he truly ought to take his own life to atone for it!

Elsewhere in the Xiao Household, Qin Yu and the First Elder had not gone to rest either.

In the First Elder's room, besides the two of them, sat a burly middle-aged man.

The current head of the Xiao Household, Xiao Zhan.

The First Elder had practically dragged him over that night. Before coming, the First Elder had only said, "There is an important matter to discuss," and mentioned nothing else.

Xiao Zhan entered the room full of doubts, but when he saw Qin Yu present as well, his furrowed brow relaxed.

Naturally, Xiao Zhan had already learned of what had happened in Wutan City that day.

All three High-Rank Battle Masters of the Jia Lie Household had been killed, and each of them had been slain in a single strike.

The one responsible was most likely the young man before him.

"Little Friend Qin Yu, I will only ask you one thing."

After speaking for a while, Xiao Zhan raised his head and looked directly at Qin Yu.

"Are you confident that you can deal with a Two-Star Great Dou Master?"

As those words fell, the candlelight in the room flickered, and the First Elder's gaze settled upon Qin Yu as well.

"A Two-Star Great Dou Master is not a problem."

Xiao Zhan's gaze tightened slightly as he stared at Qin Yu for a long while, seemingly weighing the truth of those words.

Qin Yu did not avoid his gaze.

Since he had the confidence to say that, he had naturally tested it in practice.

Just yesterday, before taking action, he had sought out Instructor Ruo Lin.

When Qin Yu proposed that he wanted to test the gap between himself and a Da Dou Shi, the woman, usually gentle as water, readily accepted his challenge.

The location of their match had been a stretch of wasteland outside Wutan City.

Though it had only been a spar between teacher and student, Instructor Ruo Lin had been forced by Qin Yu to use the full strength of a Three-Star Great Dou Master.

After both sides unleashed their strongest attacks, Instructor Ruo Lin looked at the cracks covering her Dou Qi Armor, her expression incomparably complicated.

There was shock, but also gratification.

A year ago, Qin Yu had still been a One-Star Dou Practitioner. Now, he could suppress even her, a Three-Star Great Dou Master, head-on, and had nearly shattered her Dou Qi Armor.

Dou Qi Armor was a powerful defensive technique exclusive to Da Dou Shi.

"It seems that before long, this teacher of yours will be left so far behind that I cannot even see your shadow."

Of course, a true life-and-death battle was entirely different from a spar that stopped short of the finish.

Thus, during his match with Instructor Ruo Lin, Qin Yu had not drawn power from the earth to restore himself.

With that nearly limitless source of power added in, dealing with a Two-Star Great Dou Master would be more than enough.

Xiao Zhan did not ask where Qin Yu's confidence came from. He merely looked into Qin Yu's eyes for a long time.

"Good."

He lifted his teacup, drained the remaining tea in one gulp, then heavily set the cup down on the table.

"Since you can hold off a Da Dou Shi, then the Xiao Household will do this."

The First Elder's eyes immediately lit up, but Xiao Zhan had not finished speaking.

"All the obstacles the Jia Lie Household has placed in our way, openly and covertly, over these years—it is time they repaid every last bit of it with interest."

The First Elder nodded heavily, and even the wrinkles on his face relaxed.

The Xiao Household and the Jia Lie Household had fought for many years, each winning and losing in turn. Neither had ever truly managed to overpower the other.

But this time, Qin Yu's appearance had completely tipped the scales.

With three High-Rank Battle Masters dead in a single day, the Jia Lie Household's middle-tier combat strength had been left with a massive void.

If the Xiao Household launched a full assault at this moment, the Jia Lie Household would be unable to organize any effective resistance at all.

Yet Qin Yu shook his head.

"Now is not the time."