"Just joking." Qin Hao cupped his hands.
Fang Heng continued, "Brother Qin's swordsmanship is unrivaled. Even I admire it greatly. But... you should not have treated Fang Ming that way."
"Brother Qin may not know this, but Fang Ming's cousin Fang Xiong was once the strongest of our Fang Family's younger generation. He was in seclusion at Red Cliff, striving to reach the Eighth Layer of Saint Martial Realm. When he heard what happened to Fang Ming, he prepared to come out and seek justice for him."
Fang Heng's expression was grave. He was offering a well-intentioned warning.
The crowd erupted.
"What? That madman Fang Xiong is coming out of seclusion?"
"Now this will be interesting. Fang Xiong has never appeared on the Hidden Dragon Ranking, but he's certainly no weaker than its top ten. After Qin Hao killed Wang Xuan and achieved a Hundred Consecutive Wins, the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion ranked him twelfth, one place above Wang Xuan."
"Right. The Hidden Dragon Ranking only covers young people under twenty-five. Fang Xiong is too old to qualify, but in terms of strength... even two Wang Xuans together probably couldn't beat him. I hear his Blade Laws Domain has reached the peak of the seventh rank!"
"Fang Xiong is obsessed with the Blade Laws. He's spent years training in seclusion at Red Cliff. I never thought he'd come out over Fang Ming and seek a fight with Qin Hao."
"I'm not so sure. Fang Xiong may have heard about Qin Hao's exploits and simply be using this as a pretext to go after him."
At the city gate, everyone talked at once, astonishment plain on their faces.
"Fang Xiong wouldn't dare!"
Fang Lang flew into a rage. "Qin Hao is my brother and an honored guest of the Fang Family.