An imposing presence

"The Canglang Sword Sect, the Taibai Xie Family, the Dragon River Gang?"

Qin Lian compared them against his memories and vaguely "recalled" information about these groups.

As a major commandery of Jiangzhou, Taibai had a thousand miles of fertile land and a large population.

Taibai Commandery City alone, ten li away, was home to nearly a million living souls.

Such vast lands naturally harbored entrenched powers and formidable figures who roamed unchecked.

At the pinnacle stood the Commandery Governor's Office, which represented the Great Shang Dynasty, the Three Pure Ones Temple, which stood apart from worldly affairs, and the Qin Family, which boasted "Sword Presses Taibai."

But beyond these three powers, several slightly lesser local overlords also held sway in and around Taibai Commandery City.

The Canglang Sword Sect, the Taibai Xie Family, and the Dragon River Gang were among them.

Wu Li, Xie Yushi, and Wang Gang were all experts who had cultivated true qi.

Under Great Shang's nine-grade cultivation system, they ranked at the sixth grade.

"These powers are no match for the Qin Family."

The thought arose in Qin Lian's mind.

But he immediately realized the problem.

Ten years ago, the Qin Family had merely been a powerful clan in a single county.

They had not even ranked among the best in Qingliu County back then.

Their strongest clan elder, Qin Lie, had only been a seventh-grade cultivator who could circulate qi through a full circuit and wrestle tigers and leopards.

It was entirely thanks to "Qin Lian" rising out of nowhere, sweeping across Taibai with his fourth-grade cultivation of Qi Refining into Gang, that the Qin Family had been dragged into Taibai's highest ranks and even seized Dragon Abyss Mountain, which had belonged to the Longyuan Sword Sect at the time.

But the Qin Family had risen too quickly, after all.

Apart from him, only Qin An had reached the sixth-grade True Qi Realm to date, built up through the clan's increasingly abundant resources.

In other words, the current Qin Family only had one sixth-grade cultivator, Qin An, to keep up appearances?

Under these circumstances, several major powers had arrived one after another...

Even without much political sensitivity, Qin Lian realized that these visitors meant no good!

"Three sixth-grade cultivators who've developed true qi, while I'm a fourth-grade cultivator who's refined qi into Gang..."

At this thought, Qin Lian immediately relaxed.

"Oh, I'm fourth grade? I even killed a third-grade grandmaster on the Black Ranking not long ago. Granted, that grandmaster wasn't right in the head, but these enemies are only sixth grade... I'm two or three realms above them..."

He leaned back in his chair. "The advantage is mine!"

The three major powers had only sent sixth-grade true qi cultivators. Presumably, word of "Qin Lian's" grave injuries had leaked, and they had sent people to probe.

Since they were probing, the best solution was to show himself once and dispel the watchful greed of those tigers, leopards, jackals, and wolves.

As long as he was safe and sound, they would naturally retreat and dare not act rashly.

With that, he imitated the bearing of "Qin Wudi, Sword Presses Taibai" and went outside.

Outside the courtyard, Qin Lingzhi was waiting.

"Family Head."

Seeing him emerge, she called out worriedly.

Naturally, she had also heard the shouts from below the mountain.

"Mm..."

Qin Lian wanted to reply, but he was not Qin Lian, after all.

Before someone familiar with him, the more he said, the more likely he was to slip up.

Vague memories of how "Qin Lian" had conducted himself in the past flashed through his mind...

He immediately raised his head, straightened his chest, clasped his hands behind his back, and strode forward.

Not understanding what was happening, Qin Lingzhi hurried after him.

Beyond the inner courtyard, side rooms, a training ground, and equipment rooms lined both sides of the middle courtyard.

An old man was directing people as they busied themselves with something.

Seeing Qin Lian emerge, he hurriedly cupped his hands in greeting. "Family Head."

Qin Lian nodded slightly and continued forward.

Two alert, spirited men immediately stepped up and pulled open the courtyard gates.

Qin Lian stepped over the threshold.

Outside the courtyard, quite a few members of the Qin Family seemed to have gathered after hearing the news, all discussing why the three groups had come to visit at this time.

As he walked out, the dozen or so people present stopped talking at once and turned their gazes toward him, their hearts settling.

Without anyone needing to lead them, almost everyone cupped their hands and greeted him in unison. "Greetings, Family Head."

Every face was respectful, every expression admiring.

Qin Lian lowered a hand to indicate that there was no need for ceremony.

His steps never paused, and the people ahead spontaneously cleared a path.

As Qin Lian passed through the crowd, his view opened up to reveal towers and courtyards stretching from the mountaintop down to the mountainside, hundreds of buildings scattered across the slopes.

In every building, varying numbers of Qin Family members, attendants, retainers, and craftsmen worked, each performing their own duties.

There were no fewer than a thousand people.

Including the servants and tenant farmers at the foot of the mountain who depended on the Qin Family for their livelihood, Dragon Abyss Mountain had a population of over ten thousand.

This...

Was the Qin Family of Taibai!

In a reception hall halfway up the mountain.

Qin An was indeed handling the reception.

Qin Ping and several other seventh-grade Circulation Realm cultivators were also present.

"Elder Qin, our sect leader personally went to the Heavenly Medicine Sect to obtain this Good Fortune Treasure Pill, to thank Family Head Qin for ridding our Jiangzhou of a great menace. All I want now is to present this treasured pill to Family Head Qin in person, yet you won't even permit that..."

Wu Li's voice kept echoing through the hall. "Surely you aren't trying to overstep your bounds and seize power while Family Head Qin is indisposed?"

"That's certainly possible! But I, Wang Gang, have admired Family Head Qin for years. I will never allow such a thing to happen!"

"I told you, the family head has already retired to rest. Please come back another day! And please refrain from voicing such groundless speculation!"

Qin An responded.

His words were full of refusal.

But the others had not achieved their aim and would not accept it at all.

"Rest? Family Head Qin is in his prime, protected by true astral qi, and brimming with the vigor of a dragon and tiger. How could he sleep in broad daylight?"

"Qin An, I went out of my way to invite Divine Doctor Zhou from the provincial capital solely to treat Family Head Qin. Yet you won't even let us see him. You're showing us far too little regard."

Just as Qin An was considering how to send these people away, a commotion came from outside.

Immediately afterward, a young figure hurried in, his eyes filled with excitement and joy...

"First Elder... the... the family head is here!"

"What!?"

Qin An's expression changed.

The family head!?

Wasn't the family head already at death's door, with only a day or two left before departing this world? How could he possibly come down the mountain!?

Not only he, but Wang Gang, Wu Li, and Xie Yushi, who had just been heatedly insisting on seeing Qin Lian, also suddenly fell silent.

Qin Lian was still alive!?

They exchanged looks, each seeing the fear in the others' eyes.

Whatever they thought, Qin Lian soon appeared outside the hall, accompanied by Qin Lingzhi, Qin Lie, and the others.

When he actually saw Qin Lian able to walk, with a complexion...

That seemed quite good, Qin An immediately rose and went to meet him.

"Family Head, my apologies for disturbing your rest."

His expression appeared calm.

But the worry in his eyes was difficult to conceal.

"No matter."

Qin Lian nodded slightly.

His gaze turned toward Wu Li, Xie Yushi, Wang Gang, and the others.

They hurried forward and cupped their hands in greeting. "Greetings, Family Head Qin."

"Leave the gifts. You may go."

Qin Lian spoke indifferently.

It was not a discussion, but an order.

"Yes."

"Seeing that Family Head Qin is well puts our minds at ease. We'll take our leave."

The men who had insisted on seeing Qin Lian just moments earlier now dared not utter a single unnecessary word.

After offering their respects with the utmost deference, they left one after another.

Qin An signaled for someone to watch them leave before approaching with a face full of concern. "Family Head, your health..."

"A minor matter."

Qin Lian said.

After some thought, to avoid shocking everyone too greatly, he offered an explanation grounded in the actual circumstances. "I was indeed injured, but not so badly that I couldn't hold on. I merely wanted to bluff those lurking in the shadows into revealing which blind fools were eyeing our Qin Family like tigers watching their prey. This time, I did gain something."

"Feign... feigning injury?"

Qin An froze.

The state he had been in yesterday...

His breathing had already been as faint as a thread, and he called that feigning injury?

Did that make sense?

But...

Looking at Qin Lian now, with his normal complexion and composed expression, he did not seem like someone gravely injured and dying.

Could the family head truly have been feigning injury?

Yet he and the family's physician had examined him dozens of times over the past month, and every examination had shown his condition worsening by the day!

Had all of that been false!?

Even he, tending to him at his very side, had been deceived?

A grandmaster's might was terrifying indeed!