Schemes

Deep within the Gale Mountains, thunderclouds churned, and purple lightning writhed like dragons.

After disposing of the Wu brothers, Qin Chen became a streak of black lightning. In a few bounds, he crossed ten li and reached the place where Qin De was undergoing his tribulation.

At that moment, the heavenly tribulation had reached its most critical point.

Rumble!

A bolt of purple tribulation lightning as thick as a bucket tore through the heavens, carrying the might to destroy heaven and earth as it struck viciously toward Qin De, who sat cross-legged in the center of the gorge.

Yet faced with this heavenly might, enough to reduce an ordinary Xiantian Paragon martial artist to ash, Qin De showed not the slightest fear. His eyes snapped open, brilliant light shooting from them, and a powerful aura far surpassing that of ordinary Xiantian martial artists surged into the sky.

"Just what I wanted!"

Qin De shouted. Rather than retreating, he advanced, soaring straight into the sky to meet the tribulation lightning.

What circulated within him was precisely the Nascent Soul stage cultivation art Qin Chen had taught him-the Primordial Ancestral Dragon Art.

Qin De's palms whirled, and his powerful true qi condensed around his body into a lifelike golden dragon silhouette. With a dragon roar that shook heaven and earth, it fearlessly met the descending tribulation lightning.

Boom!

Dazzling lightning instantly swallowed Qin De's figure. A violent shock wave of energy swept outward, stripping a thick layer of stone from the rock walls on both sides of the gorge.

Qin Chen stood at the edge of the gorge with his arms folded, watching the scene calmly.

He knew full well that, with his father's current foundation and the formidable power of the Primordial Ancestral Dragon Art, there was no uncertainty whatsoever about his surviving this Golden Core heavenly tribulation.

Sure enough, when the lightning faded, Qin De's figure emerged once more. Although his clothes were somewhat torn, his aura was more concentrated and powerful than before.

Deep within his dantian, a round core the size of a longan fruit, radiating brilliant golden light, was slowly taking shape.

The Golden Core stage-achieved!

As the Golden Core condensed, the churning tribulation clouds overhead seemed to lose their target and began rapidly dispersing.

A ray of sunlight pierced the clouds and fell upon Qin De, draping him in golden radiance.

Qin De slowly descended to the ground. Feeling the immense power surging ceaselessly through him like mighty rivers, his face filled with irrepressible elation.

"So this is the power of the Golden Core stage? It truly is as different from the Xiantian realm as heaven is from earth!" Qin De clenched his fists. Feeling the tremendous strength that seemed capable of tearing mountains and rivers apart with every movement, his heart swelled with bold ambition.

He turned toward Qin Chen, who stood nearby, his eyes filled with gratification and pride. He knew that everything he had achieved today was thanks to this monstrous prodigy of a son.

"Chen'er, how did things go over there?" Qin De reined in his aura, walked up to Qin Chen, and asked with a smile.

"Just two rats. They've already been dealt with." Qin Chen's tone was flat, as though he had merely swatted two flies.

"Oh? Those two old fellows Xiang Guang sent?" Qin De raised an eyebrow, a gleam flashing through his eyes.

"Yes. Wu De and Wu Xing, both at the Golden Core mid-stage." Qin Chen nodded and briefly described the battle.

When he heard that Qin Chen had actually beaten two Golden Core mid-stage cultivators to pieces using physical strength alone, Qin De could not help drawing a sharp breath, despite having prepared himself.

"That body of yours is even more terrifying than a demonic beast's!" Qin De marveled. Then a meaningful smile appeared on his face. "Still, it's good those two old fellows died! That old fox Xiang Guang will probably be so pained by this loss that he coughs up blood."

As it turned out, it was not that Qin De had truly been unable to conceal his whereabouts during this tribulation. Rather, this was a trap he and Qin Chen had meticulously planned.

They had deliberately let word slip, allowing the Great Chu Imperial House to learn that Qin De was about to break through to the Golden Core stage.

To preserve his rule over Chu State, Xiang Guang would inevitably dispatch top experts to stop him.

The Qin Family, in turn, could use this opportunity to weaken the Xiang Family's top fighting strength with full justification.

As Golden Core guest retainers whom the Great Chu Imperial House had supported for a hundred years, the Wu brothers were among the Xiang Family's strongest trump cards, apart from their mysterious ancestor, Xiang Yang.

Now that Qin Chen had easily torn those two trump cards to shreds, the Xiang Family's strength had undoubtedly suffered a grievous blow.

"Father, although the Xiang Family has lost the Wu brothers, its foundation remains. We must not underestimate it," Qin Chen reminded him.

"I understand." Qin De nodded, wisdom gleaming in his eyes. "Our foremost task is still to build up our strength."

"Time is on our side." The corners of Qin Chen's lips curved into a confident smile.

Father and son exchanged a smile. Everything passed between them without words.

Deep within the Imperial Palace in the Chu State Imperial Capital.

Xiang Guang sat on the Dragon Throne, anxiously awaiting news from the Wu brothers.

A full day and night had passed since the two had departed for the Gale Mountains. By all rights, with their Golden Core mid-stage cultivation, dealing with Qin De while he underwent his tribulation should have been as easy as reaching out and seizing him.

Yet even now, no news had come back.

Could something have gone wrong? An ominous premonition rose in Xiang Guang's heart.

Just then, a black-clad covert guard stumbled into the hall and dropped to his knees with a thud, reporting in a trembling voice, "Y-Your Majesty, something terrible has happened!"

"What are you panicking for? Speak! What exactly happened?" Xiang Guang abruptly stood and demanded harshly.

"Y-Your Majesty, the soul tablets of our two honored elders, Wu De and Wu Xing... have shattered!" the covert guard stammered, his forehead covered in cold sweat.

"What?!"

As though struck by lightning, Xiang Guang collapsed helplessly onto the Dragon Throne, his face instantly turning deathly pale.

Shattered soul tablets meant their souls had scattered, their bodies had perished, and their cultivation had vanished!

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!" Xiang Guang roared madly. "The Wu brothers were both at the Golden Core mid-stage! Together, they could hold their own even against someone at the late Golden Core stage! Even if that rebel Qin De broke through to the Golden Core stage, he would only have just entered the early Golden Core stage! How could he possibly have killed them?!"

"Please calm your anger, Your Majesty!" Trembling all over in fright, the covert guard hurriedly explained, "I have already sent men to investigate the Gale Mountains. They found signs of a fierce battle there, and... and..."

"And what? Spit it out!" Xiang Guang bellowed.

"And neither elder's body was found at the scene. There was only... only a puddle of mangled flesh and some magic treasure fragments..." The covert guard swallowed and forced the words out.

"Mangled flesh? Magic treasure fragments?" Xiang Guang's eyes widened, filled with disbelief.

What terrifying power would it take to beat Golden Core cultivators into mangled flesh and even blast supreme-grade magic treasures into fragments?

Could some peerless expert still be hiding behind the Qin Family?

"Investigate! Get to the bottom of this! Find out who killed the Wu brothers!" Xiang Guang roared hysterically, madness and fear mingling in his eyes.

He knew that the skies over Chu State were about to change.

The Qin Family was no longer a subject the imperial house could manipulate at will, but a fierce tiger that had already bared its fangs, ready to pick someone to devour at any moment!

"Pass down my orders! Impose martial law throughout the country! All armies are to enter the highest state of combat readiness! At the same time, send someone to the Ancestral Mausoleum immediately and ask our ancestor to emerge from seclusion!" Through gritted teeth, Xiang Guang issued a string of orders.

He knew that his only hope now was their ancestor Xiang Yang, who had been in seclusion for many years.

As long as Xiang Yang emerged, no matter how many trump cards the Qin Family held, only death would await them!