Qie Residence Occupied?

Spatial Power rippled like water as Qie Qiong brought his parents, Qie Yunzhou and Lin Wantang, with him.

He stepped out of a spatial rift, returning at last to Cloud Sea Prefecture City, which he had been away from for decades.

Complex expressions appeared on Qie Yunzhou and Lin Wantang's faces.

They had thought they would never return here in this lifetime.

After all, though Transcendents could not stay in the mortal world for long, they would not go ten years without returning even once.

"We're back... We're finally back..." Tears welled in Lin Wantang's eyes.

Qie Yunzhou took a deep breath and looked around, his gaze eventually settling on the sprawling residence at the center of the prefectural city that had once belonged to the Qie Clan.

But the sight before them filled all three with fury.

The once solemn and dignified Qie Residence had been completely transformed.

The plaque bearing the words "Qie Residence," which symbolized a thousand years of glory for the Qie Clan, had vanished without a trace. In its place hung a huge plaque carved with flame patterns: "Blazing Sun Residence."

The residence's gatehouse had been expanded to an even more outrageous size and painted in glaring gold and crimson, giving it a gaudy, vulgar appearance.

Where the Qie Clan's personal guards had once stood at attention, several strangers now stood in flame-patterned leather armor.

On the streets surrounding Qie Residence, a few of the Qie Clan's former shops and businesses could still be seen, but they had all changed their signs and raised the "Blazing Sun" banner.

Some old residents of Cloud Sea Prefecture City gazed from afar at the old site of Qie Residence, now occupied by interlopers. Their eyes were full of helplessness, yet they dared not voice their anger.

Lin Wantang's expression darkened a little as she gripped her son's arm tightly.

They had been confined for ten years. Though they knew the family's influence in the mortal world must have waned considerably, they had never imagined it would be uprooted, with even their ancestral home seized by others.

Qie Qiong's gaze was icy, and a heart-stirring pressure radiated from him.

He said nothing, merely walking step by step toward the gate.

The guards at the entrance naturally saw these three "visitors," whose clothes and bearing were anything but ordinary.

The leader of the guards was an Earth Rank Knight with a scar across his face. Seeing them walk straight toward the gate, he showed a flash of impatience.

"Stop! This is the Blazing Sun Residence, a restricted area! No unauthorized persons may approach!" The scarred guard captain stepped forward and shouted sternly, his hand resting on the hilt of his saber.

The guards behind him stepped forward in unison, forming a loose encirclement.

To them, Cloud Sea Prefecture City was already the "back garden" of the Blazing Sun Residence.

Qie Qiong didn't stop walking. He merely looked at the glaring "Blazing Sun Residence" plaque and asked in an even voice, "Since when did Qie Residence change its name and ownership?"

"Qie Residence?" The scarred captain paused, then sneered. The guards behind him burst into laughter, too.

"Hahaha! What country bumpkin are you? Qie Residence? That place has been gone for ages!"

"There's only the Blazing Sun Residence in Cloud Sea Prefecture City now!"

"The Qie Clan? Hey, I heard the Holy Land locked up both their Transcendents. They'll never get out in this lifetime! Those few strays left behind don't deserve to occupy this city."

"Exactly! Lord Lieyang Huo dealt with them ages ago. If you know what's good for you, get lost—or don't blame us for being rough!"

The guards chattered among themselves, their words brimming with contempt for the Qie Clan.

Clearly, in their eyes, without a Transcendent to back them and without even a Title Knight, the Qie Clan posed no threat whatsoever.

"Dealt with them?" Qie Qiong repeated softly, a cold curve appearing at the corner of his mouth.

The guards who had spoken all felt an inexplicable chill in their hearts.

Just then, an even louder commotion came from inside the residence.

A richly dressed, slightly plump young man with an arrogant expression came swaggering out, flanked by guards and with two women in his arms.

"What's all that noise outside? You're disturbing this young master's pleasure..."

His voice cut off abruptly. His gaze swept over the three people at the gate, and when it landed on Lin Wantang, his eyes immediately lit up with lecherous greed.

"Well, well! Where did this beauty come from?" The fat man shoved away the woman in his arms, completely ignoring Qie Qiong and Qie Yunzhou as he brazenly looked Lin Wantang up and down. "Tsk, tsk. That face, that figure—far better than the vulgar women in my residence. Come, come, beauty, come back to the residence with this young master. Serve me well, and I'll make sure you... Argh!!!"

Before he could finish speaking, something changed without warning!

Without any sign, the hand he had reached toward Lin Wantang, along with half his arm, vanished soundlessly before his own horrified eyes.

Next, his head seemed to be crushed by an invisible hand. The entire lower half of his skull was instantly obliterated.

It all happened in the time it took a spark to fly off a piece of flint—so fast the fat man didn't even have time to feel pain. Only the lecherous terror frozen on the remaining half of his face remained.

His eyes bulged, filled with disbelief.

"You insulted my mother. Die."

Qie Qiong's voice was cold, without a trace of emotion.

The next moment, the fat man vanished completely into thin air, without leaving behind even a drop of blood.

"Lord Lieyang Huo!" Only then did the knights guarding the fat man react, crying out in terror as they instinctively tried to flee.

There was no helping it. The fat man who had just died was the strongest person in the Blazing Sun Residence in Cloud Sea Prefecture City. He had been killed without the slightest chance to resist, let alone them, when the strongest among them was only Silver Moon Rank.

But what answered them was Space Cutting.

"Shh! Shh! Shh!..."

Several faint silver lines flashed through the air.

The guards froze in place. They hadn't even managed to run a step before they were dead beyond any doubt.

In the blink of an eye, only the two beautiful women, now so terrified they had collapsed to the ground, and one guard Qie Qiong had deliberately spared remained in front of the Blazing Sun Residence gate. Everyone else had been reduced to ash.

The scene fell into complete silence, broken only by fearful gasps.

Qie Qiong's gaze fell on the surviving guard.

"You." His voice wasn't loud, but to the guard it sounded like a demon's whisper. "Go back and tell your master, Blazing Sun Transcendent."

"First, get out of Cloud Sea Prefecture City immediately, and return every piece of Qie Clan property you seized, just as it was."

"Second, within three days, he is to come here in person and kneel to atone for his crimes."

"Tell him that if he doesn't come, he should know the consequences."

Qie Qiong believed that the so-called Blazing Sun Transcendent must have heard about the battle at Thunder Sacred Land. He didn't believe that man didn't know the consequences.

Actually, if Qie Qiong hadn't returned early, the Blazing Sun Transcendent would probably have restored Cloud Sea Prefecture City to its former state.

Qie Qiong paused. "Get lost!"

At the word "lost," the guard didn't dare linger for even a moment. He scrambled away toward the gates of Cloud Sea Prefecture City.

Qie Qiong paid no more attention to the fleeing figure. He turned his gaze to the "Blazing Sun Residence" plaque hanging high above, and a golden gleam flashed in his eyes.

"Rumble!"

The glaring plaque exploded in an instant, turning into a shower of splintered wood.

Qie Qiong's voice rang out calmly, carrying to every corner inside and outside the residence:

"This is the Qie Residence, a restricted area. Unauthorized persons are to leave on their own. Anyone who stays will die."

Inside a quiet chamber.

Qie Qiong sat cross-legged.

"Ten years. Just give me another ten years..." he murmured inwardly, his fingers tapping unconsciously. Each tap sent out a faint ripple in space.

Deep within his Sea of Consciousness, the silver pages of the "Golden Light" secret tome slowly unfolded.

Though he had won his battle with Lei Wuji, it had also revealed his shortcomings.

He was now a Grade Two True Meaning Transcendent, but he was still only at the First Level. Though Grade Two True Meaning far surpassed any lower True Meaning in profundity, its power was only at the peak of Demigod Rank, not enough to reach Deity Rank.

He couldn't even damage that Demigod Rank Divine Realm War Soldier.

This seclusion was to raise his True Meaning of Space a few more levels.

As for what was happening outside, his father and Fang Yun would take care of it. There was no need to worry.

Since Qie Qiong had insisted that the mine have no contact with the outside world before they left, the Lieyang Family didn't know about that place. The Qie Clan's elite forces hadn't all been lost.

As for the Blazing Sun Transcendent, Qie Qiong felt only a trace of cold indifference toward him.

The three-day deadline was the last bit of face he was giving the other man. If the Blazing Sun Transcendent knew what was good for him and came crawling to beg forgiveness, Qie Qiong could consider leaving the family a single root to carry on its line.

Qie Qiong closed his eyes and stopped thinking about him.

A mere Transcendent. He could simply crush him to death.

Three days passed like an instant as Qie Qiong sank into deep meditation during his seclusion.

Footsteps sounded outside the quiet chamber. It was Qi Lingfei, who had been at the mine when the Lieyang Family came back then.

He had escaped that disaster, then stayed at the mine until Qie Yunzhou recalled him.

Anger filled his voice. "Patriarch, the Blazing Sun Transcendent didn't take your words seriously at all. He still hasn't come."

Inside the quiet chamber, the figure that seemed to have merged with space slowly opened his eyes.

A silver glint flashed deep within them, then faded. Killing intent surged within.

He had never expected the Blazing Sun Transcendent to be so stubborn.

"Understood."

His voice passed through the stone door and reached Qi Lingfei's ears.

The next instant, the quiet chamber was empty.

Blazing Sun City was the city of the Lieyang Family. Unlike the Qie Clan, who lived in the prefectural city, they had built their own city outside the official city limits.

At the city gate, the gold-and-crimson Blazing Sun banner that symbolized the Lieyang Family snapped in the wind. The guards wore flame-patterned armor, all standing with their heads held high.

Without any warning, the space at the gate rippled like water.

A figure dressed in silver robes stepped out of the void and stood with his hands behind his back, right in the middle of the city gate.

The newcomer was Qie Qiong.

The guard captain, a knight at the peak of Earth Rank, had never seen anything like this. Before he could say a word,

he froze as if a binding spell had been cast on him. His eyes moved in terror, but he couldn't make a sound or move his body.

Space Lockdown.

Qie Qiong did not even glance at them. He stepped forward.

With one step, he appeared before the Lieyang Clan's main gate.

The eight guards standing before the gate, all with fierce auras, did not even have time to cry out. Their bodies were swept by an invisible blade of space and instantly disintegrated into the tiniest particles.

Qie Qiong walked into the residence.

"Enemy attack—!" The alarm blared from deep within the estate.

In an instant, large numbers of elite guards from the Lieyang Family, the knights they had recruited, and even several Title Knight guest retainers poured out from every direction, surrounding Qie Qiong as he stepped into the courtyard.

"Reckless fool! How dare you break into the Blazing Sun Residence..."

"Kill him!"

All kinds of fire spells rained down upon the silver-robed figure at the center.

Faced with an attack powerful enough to instantly kill a Title Rank expert, Qie Qiong did not stop. He continued forward.

Wherever he passed, the Lieyang Family members blocking his way—whether guards, knights, or guest retainers—vanished without a sound.

At last, he stopped before the brightly lit main hall.

Qie Qiong stepped into the Lieyang Family's main hall, and space itself seemed to grow sluggish in his presence.

Inside the hall, Lieyang Jin, patriarch of the Lieyang Family, was kneeling on the ground with a deathly gray face. Behind him stood four elders, their faces equally pale.

However, when Qie Qiong's gaze swept over him, Lieyang Jin shuddered violently and slammed himself down in a full prostration. His voice trembled as he tried to explain:

"My lord! Lord Qie Qiong, please calm your anger! Please hear this humble one out!" Lieyang Jin didn't dare raise his head. He spoke at a rapid pace. "The moment we received your message, we knew disaster had struck! We never harbored the slightest hope of escaping responsibility. We immediately intended to mobilize the entire clan and reach Cloud Sea Prefecture City as quickly as possible to beg your pardon and submit to your judgment!"

He raised his head, tears streaming down his face, his eyes filled with helplessness and grief. "But...but only then did we learn that our Old Ancestor... that the old master had already fallen! It happened at the very beginning of the earth-shaking battle between you and the Imperial Family's Old Ancestor, Lei Wuji!"

Only then had they learned that the two Transcendents of the Qie Clan, who had been placed under house arrest by the Imperial Family, had returned—and in such a manner.

Lieyang Jin's voice grew choked with sobs. "With the Old Ancestor gone, our clan has lost its pillar of support, but we wouldn't dare show the slightest negligence! We've already sent someone to beg your pardon."

He slammed his head down again, his voice filled with sorrow. "But please judge for yourself, my lord. The journey from Blazing Sun City to Cloud Sea Prefecture City is a long one. A Saint Rank Transcendent can reach the prefectural city within three days, but anyone below Transcendent rank—even a Title Rank expert—could never reach the Qie Residence in such a short time to await your judgment, no matter how hard they traveled day and night."

Qie Qiong was clearly taken aback by his words. He had considered countless possibilities, but never this one.

He hadn't expected that the Saint Rank Transcendent he had killed with the attack he dodged was actually the Lieyang Family's Transcendent Old Ancestor.

He didn't know whether the man had been lucky or unlucky. After all, Qie Qiong had already decided how he would make him die.

He hadn't expected the man to die without any pain.

And he hadn't expected things to line up so coincidentally: only one Transcendent had died in his battle with Lei Wuji, and that Transcendent had turned out to be the Old Ancestor of the family occupying resources in the mortal world that belonged to his Qie Clan.

Qie Qiong's cold voice echoed through the silent hall. "Because your Old Ancestor happened to die at my hands, members of your clan below Silver Moon Knight rank may live." Spatial ripples curled around his fingertips. "But the patriarch and elders must pay for occupying the Qie Clan's land and insulting my mother."

Lieyang Jin's body trembled. Behind him, the elders' faces turned ashen.

They

After a long silence, the patriarch bowed his head heavily to the floor. "Thank you, my lord, for leaving my clan a bloodline."

He raised his head, his eyes bloodshot. "The Lieyang Family is willing to return all its holdings and erect a memorial stele for the Qie Clan's fallen, atoning for our sins for generations to come."

Before his words had even faded, Dou Qi burst from his palm, instantly shattering his own heart.

The elders behind him exchanged bitter smiles, then all drew upon their Dou Qi and killed themselves.