Chapter 120 - 119: The Qi Family’s Panic

BOOM!

With a thunderous explosion, the Spirit Sea Realm ancestor of the Du Family, a major figure of his generation in Qingchang City, had fallen.

Inside the Du Mansion.

The members of the Du Family who had been watching the battle were all stunned, their faces frozen in terror.

"Elder Du was defeated and killed!"

"The Patriarch is dead too! Run—"

Panic erupted through the crowd, and they scattered in all directions.

SHIING!

Luo Tian sheathed his Wind and Snow Sword. His breathing was slightly ragged; he had expended a great deal of energy.

Killing Elder Du had looked swift and decisive, but it hadn’t been as easy as it seemed.

Previously, Luo Tian had Cao Yang gather intelligence from the Martial City. He learned that this ancestor was old and his vitality was waning. He also likely had a hidden ailment, making him a Weak Spirit Sea Realm expert.

To counter this, Luo Tian had made thorough preparations, even having the Celestial Book run an Inference on his plan.

The key step was to use the Cold Mist Domain from his Divine Vein, combined with the Celestial Star Four Techniques’ "Starry Array," to trap Elder Du. This weakened his condition, triggered his internal ailment, and drastically reduced his combat power.

Only under these circumstances was the devastating burst of the Sixth Technique, "Star Fall, Spreading Like Wildfire," able to kill him.

If Elder Du had been in his prime, with vigorous blood and qi, greater combat power, and stronger resistance to the Divine Vein Cold Power...

...then this plan would have had little chance of succeeding.

’Time to go!’

Luo Tian transformed into a wisp of light smoke and, under the cover of night, gracefully withdrew from the Du Mansion.

After a moment.

A middle-aged Martial Artist darted out from a corner, cautiously looking in the direction Luo Tian had left.

"He should be gone. Come on out!"

The middle-aged Martial Artist bore some resemblance to the Patriarch, Du Hong, and a hint of joy showed between his brows.

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

A youth in a green robe and several family servant Martial Artists followed close behind him.

"Father! With Elder Du and the Patriarch dead, the Du Family should be yours to take over now," the green-robed youth said excitedly.

The middle-aged Martial Artist was named Du Shan, the clan-brother of Patriarch Du Hong.

"Take over my ass!"

Du Shan cursed angrily.

"Without a Spirit Sea Realm expert to hold the fort and with most of our masters lost, the Du Family’s vast estate will just become a juicy piece of meat for the other families in Qingchang City to carve up and devour."

It was just as Luo Tian had told Elder Du.

"If you interfere, the Du Family’s destruction is imminent."

The moment Elder Du decided to hunt down Luo Tian, the Du Family’s doom was sealed.

Without formidable martial power to protect it, they couldn’t hold on to their massive family fortune.

"Found them!"

Du Shan and his followers searched the bodies of Patriarch Du Hong and Elder Du, each finding a string of keys.

"Quick, to the family’s secret vault."

The middle-aged Martial Artist led the small group straight into the depths of the Du Mansion.

At this moment, the entire Du Mansion was in chaos. Some were fleeing, while others were looting and plundering.

Du Shan, his son, and their men were the strongest among them, and they quickly fought their way to the family’s secret vault.

"Kill them all!"

With a vicious expression, Du Shan used his Eighth Layer of Meridian Opening strength to lead his men in slaughtering all the clan members near the vault.

Afterward, Du Shan, his son, and their men began ransacking the secret vault at top speed, grabbing all the valuable items.

Soon, a number of valuable items were wrapped up into several large bundles.

"We need to leave Qingchang City as soon as possible," Du Shan said urgently.

SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH!

Before Qingchang City’s official forces could arrive, Du Shan and his group slipped away quietly through a side gate of the Du Mansion.

Late at night.

Du Shan and his son, along with four family servant Martial Artists, snuck out of Qingchang City.

"Do it!"

With cruel expressions, Du Shan and his son suddenly attacked the servant Martial Artists. Flashes of blood and desperate screams filled the air.

In less than ten breaths’ time.

"Du Shan, we were completely loyal to you, and yet you..."

The last servant Martial Artist gave a tragic smile before collapsing to the ground, dead.

HUFF! HUFF!

Du Shan and his son panted heavily, then looked at each other and grinned, feeling a mix of excitement and satisfaction.

Having plundered a trove of valuable treasures from the Du Family’s vault, the father and son could now go to some small place and establish a new, smaller Noble Family.

"Heh heh, what a wonderful show!"

The sound of clapping echoed as a yellow-skinned youth stepped out of the darkness.

It was none other than Luo Tian, disguised as the assassin.

"You..."

Du Shan and his son’s bodies trembled, their courage shattering.

This demonic assassin had slaughtered a huge number of the Du Family’s experts, and even their Spirit Sea Realm ancestor had died at his hands.

THUD! THUD!

Du Shan and his son dropped to their knees. "Spare us, my lord! We have no connection to Du Hong’s branch of the family..."

Luo Tian said, bored, "Hand over your valuables, and I’ll let you go."

"Yes, yes!"

Drenched in a cold sweat, Du Shan unfolded the large bundles, letting Luo Tian take whatever he wanted.

Luo Tian’s Spiritual Sense swept over the large pile of treasures.

He dismissed items like gold notes and jewelry.

He had high standards. He was only interested in Cultivation Resources from the Martial Arts Realm, specifically those useful for Cultivation at the Sixth Layer of Meridian Opening or higher.

Before long, Luo Tian had selected a few bottles of Spirit Pills, two Treasure Artifacts, several stalks of two-to-three-hundred-year-old Ginseng, as well as dozens of Secret Manuals and several hundred Spiritual Essence Coins.

Among the bottles of Spirit Pills were a few Upper Grade Qi Refining Pills, which could aid Luo Tian’s Cultivation.

The two Treasure Artifacts were both Low Grade swords of average quality.

Most of the Secret Manuals were Mortal Level Middle Grade or Upper Grade, but there were also two Spirit Level ones.

Du Shan and his son’s hearts were bleeding, but they forced smiles the entire time, looking uglier than if they had been crying.

’That’s about it. A pity there are no Spatial Storage Items,’

Luo Tian mused, still feeling a bit unsatisfied as he packed all the items into a single bundle.

He had only ever seen a Spatial Storage Item once, on Vice Manor Master Yue, who had pulled a Life-extending Pill out of thin air to compensate him.

"As for you two."

Luo Tian’s gaze turned cold as he looked at Du Shan and his son.

"My lord, spare us! We’ve handed over all the valuables..." Du Shan and his son stammered, their voices trembling.

PAP! PAP!

Luo Tian struck twice from a distance. The invisible Palm Force shattered both of their Martial Veins and Qi Veins.

"For all your hard work, I’ll spare your lives. From now on, you can live as ordinary people," Luo Tian said indifferently.

WHOOSH!

With a flicker of an afterimage, Luo Tian’s figure blended into the night and vanished.

Du Shan and his son looked at each other with bitter smiles, feeling both indignant and fortunate.

The remaining treasures and low-level Martial Arts resources were enough for them to live out the rest of their ordinary lives in comfort.

...

「Two days later.」

News that the Du Family of Qingchang City had been wiped out overnight spread throughout the cities of Lingyun County.

All of Qingchang City was shaken. A storm was brewing as the various great families scrambled to seize the Du Family’s remaining assets.

Many factions were interested in the assassin who had destroyed the Du Family.

According to news from the Martial City,

the killer was a yellow-skinned assassin who claimed to have been hired by Luo Tian.

Recalling that the Du Family had once placed a bounty on Luo Tian in the Black Market and even hired assassins to kill him, many factions and Martial Artists couldn’t help but feel a sense of schadenfreude.

Of course, some analyzed that the yellow-skinned assassin might have been Luo Tian himself.

But without evidence, such analysis was futile.

Luo Tian was a Golden Student of the Sun Chasing Holy Mansion and a top-tier genius at the forefront of the Human List. The official authorities wouldn’t risk offending him for no good reason.

And if the killer really was Luo Tian...

...his terrifying strength, capable of annihilating the Du Family, made people even less willing to provoke him.

「Lingyun County.」

The estate of the Qi Family, one of the Four Great Families.

Inside the Council Hall.

"Patriarch! That is all the information and clues we have regarding the Du Family’s destruction and the killer."

A steward finished speaking with a bow.

"The killer... is possibly Luo Tian himself!"

A tall, burly middle-aged man sitting in the seat of honor frowned slightly.

He was the Patriarch, Qi Xiangyun.

The destruction of the Du Family had shaken the Qi Family, filling them with dread.

The Qi Family had also been involved in hiring assassins and had even joined forces with the Du Family to send experts to ambush Luo Tian outside the County City.

The reason was that Luo Tian had crippled Young Master Qi Hong’s arm during the Wu Mansion’s assessment.

"Reporting to the Patriarch! Luo Tian has arrived in Lingyun County."

Another man in a Black Robe leaped gracefully into the Council Hall.

What!

Inside the Council Hall, the Patriarch and several Family Elders were all visibly shaken.

The Du Family of Qingchang City had just been wiped out.

And now Luo Tian had appeared in Lingyun County? How could it be such a coincidence?

"Could it be that this boy plans to make a move against our Qi Family?"

An uproar broke out in the Council Hall, and many people looked panicked.

After all, someone had single-handedly barged into the Du Family and killed their Patriarch and Spirit Sea Realm ancestor.

"Silence!"

Patriarch Qi Xiangyun released the aura of a Half-step Spirit Sea expert, and the hall fell quiet.

"Even if that Luo Tian has the combat power of a Spirit Sea Realm expert, he poses no threat to our Qi Family," Qi Xiangyun said proudly.

As one of the Four Great Families of the County City, the Qi Family had a deep foundation with more than one Spirit Sea Realm expert. They weren’t like the Du Family, who had been left with only a single old and feeble Weak Spirit Sea Realm master.

"Hmph! That’s only for the time being."

A deep, aged voice sounded as a man in his fifties with a handlebar mustache walked in from outside the hall.

"Grand Elder!"

Patriarch Qi Xiangyun and the others quickly stood up and bowed respectfully.

"Grand Elder, what are your thoughts on this matter with Luo Tian?" Patriarch Qi Xiangyun asked humbly.

"You will go personally to apologize to Luo Tian and bring a generous gift," the Grand Elder ordered.

"But..."

Patriarch Qi Xiangyun and the others were shocked, their expressions a mixture of surprise and confusion.

Even if they were wary of Luo Tian, did they really need to be so subservient?

"Hmph! Your intelligence is so slow!"

The Grand Elder’s face was flushed with anger.

"A good friend of mine is a Mentor at the Sun Chasing Holy Mansion."

"According to the news he sent, that Luo Tian is on excellent terms with the Eldest Princess. Even Marquis Zhenyuan fell at his hands. When the Holy Mansion’s Law Enforcement Elder tried to punish him, he was stripped of his position by the Monarch."

HISS!

The upper echelons of the Qi Family all sucked in a cold breath. An atmosphere of panic spread through the hall.

What they had known was that Luo Tian had become a big shot in the Golden Area and fought his way into the top thirty of the Human List. He was already a genius with dangerous potential, enough to make the Qi Family wary.

But they never would have expected...

...that Luo Tian possessed such terrifying power and background.

"Is... is all of this true?"

Patriarch Qi Xiangyun, still reeling from the shock, felt his back become soaked with cold sweat.

Whether it was Duke Dingyuan or the Holy Mansion’s Law Enforcement Elder, both were major figures that the Qi Family could never afford to offend.

"Even if all of that were just rumors, Luo Tian’s Mentor, Lin Dongfeng, has healed from his old injuries, recovered his combat strength, and can now crush an ordinary Holy Mansion Elder," the Grand Elder sneered.

Lin Dongfeng!

The eyes of the high-ranking members went wide, and they shuddered with fear.

At their age, they all knew of Lin Dongfeng’s formidable reputation from back in the day.

An ordinary Holy Mansion Elder has the combat power of the Sixth to Seventh Layer of the Spirit Sea Realm. Just one of them could wipe out the entire Qi Family.

"Grand Elder, I understand. I will go find Luo Tian to apologize immediately."

Patriarch Qi Xiangyun took a deep breath.

...

「In an inn in Lingyun County.」

Luo Tian had reverted to his original appearance and was staying in a guest room.

Over the past two days, he had dealt with the spoils of war from the Du Family.

The two Treasure Artifacts, the Martial Arts Secret Manuals, and the few stalks of two-to-three-hundred-year-old Spirit Pearl Medicinal Materials were all sold to the Black Market, earning him over a thousand Spiritual Essence Coins.

Of course, Luo Tian had memorized the Martial Arts Secret Manuals, including the two Spirit Level Martial Skills, and recorded them in the Celestial Book to help perfect his Cultivation and Martial Skills.

Leaving the inn,

Luo Tian headed straight for the Chen Family of Lingyun County.

Today was Chen Haofei’s grandfather’s birthday, and he had promised to go and present a gift.

Once he finished this matter,

he would set off for the Azure Cloud Kingdom Capital.

’As for the County City Qi Family, I’ll settle the score with you once I become a Sunshine Student.’

Luo Tian snorted coldly to himself.

A short while after Luo Tian left the inn,

the Patriarch of the Qi Family, Qi Xiangyun, rushed over, only to find it empty.

"What! Luo Tian checked out and left?"

Qi Xiangyun’s face turned pale, his heart filled with anxiety.

If he missed this opportunity, he feared Luo Tian’s next return would bring the danger of annihilation to the Qi Family.