"Qin Guan, show some respect!"

Hearing Qin Guan's words, Nan Yunqi trembled in fear and hurriedly rebuked him.

"You insolent bastard!"

The white-robed elder gave him no chance. With a wave of his sleeve, a sharp slash of Sword Qi shot instantly toward Qin Guan.

Bang!

Qin Guan also waved his hand casually, and the incoming Sword Qi shattered in an instant.

The white-robed elder was slightly surprised. "I seem to have underestimated you. So you're a martial artist."

The elder snorted lightly and added, "Do you know that I only used twenty percent of my strength just now? Seeing as you are a junior and a diligent martial artist, I shall spare you this once."

"Thank you, Senior, for your magnanimity!" Upon hearing this, Nan Yunqi hurriedly stepped forward, bowed, and pulled Qin Guan aside.

"Kid, they're from the Spirit Sword Academy! In their eyes, even Luyun City is nothing but dregs. Don't be rash!"

He tugged at Qin Guan but couldn't move him, so Nan Yunqi quickly leaned in and whispered in his ear.

Just as Qin Guan was about to speak, a laugh suddenly echoed from a short distance away.

"The Spirit Sword Academy really has the nose of a dog, getting here so quickly!"

Everyone looked toward the sound and saw a gray-robed elder leading a dozen disciples in blue robes, all hurrying over.

"Chen Guanxiang. They're from the Yunlan Sect," a disciple beside the white-robed elder said in a low voice.

In Qingzhou, the Spirit Sword Academy and the Yunlan Sect have never been on good terms, and their disciples often clash.

"It's getting lively!"

Before the people from the Yunlan Sect had even arrived, another group of a dozen or so people approached from the distance. They were led by a woman in fiery red brocade and a white-haired elder.

The woman was beautiful, with her hair tied in a high ponytail. She looked crisp and capable, like a valiant female general. Behind them followed a dozen soldiers in black armor, faintly exuding a murderous aura.

The newcomer was the Ninth Princess of the Wei Kingdom, Wei Hongyan.

"We're late, we're late!"

Soon, another group rushed over. It was Tianbao Pavilion, led by none other than Jiang Lianyue and Xu Lao.

Seeing these major powers arrive one after another, Nan Yunqi spoke to Qin Guan in a placating tone:

"Son-in-law, your father-in-law knows you're a great fighter, but no matter how strong you are, you can't possibly take on these four major powers by yourself, can you? The Nan Family is already teetering on the brink of collapse, a complete mess. We can't afford to offend any of them!"

Qin Guan looked at the almost pleading Nan Yunqi and said nonchalantly, "Don't worry, Father-in-law. I've already scanned them all. Not a single one of them is a match for me. The Nan Family can claim this entire area around the great tree for ourselves today."

Huh?

Hearing Qin Guan's words, Nan Yunqi's scalp went numb. In front of the four top powers of Qingzhou, Qin Guan still wanted to monopolize the great tree! He pulled Nan Rou over and said urgently, "Rou'er, quickly, talk some sense into your man!"

The rest of the Nan Family had clearly heard the conversation between Qin Guan and Nan Yunqi. Now, seeing so many influential figures, the confidence and ambition they had mustered moments ago shattered instantly. They realized they had no courage at all to face these powerful factions; before them, they were like ants on the ground.

Nan Rou tugged Qin Guan's hand and whispered, "My husband, please stop scaring Father."

When Nan Yunqi heard Nan Rou, his expression soured. A son-in-law scaring his father-in-law? What a joke! I am doing this for the Nan Family!

At her words, Qin Guan nodded slightly. Monopolizing the tree was indeed a bit overbearing. He couldn't afford to offend everyone and block off the Nan Family's future paths.

After a moment's thought, Qin Guan looked at the Nan Family members. "Are you sure you want to give up this advantageous position?"

Nan Qiao suddenly spoke, sounding displeased, "What can we do if we don't give it up? They're the ones calling the shots. In a moment, they might not even let us stay on the outskirts."

Having tasted the benefits of the pure spirit qi earlier, she was extremely reluctant to hand over their spot.

Just then, Jia Quan spoke respectfully to Qin Guan, "Young Master-in-law, this one knows you're doing this for our own good. In truth, we've already cultivated for two hours longer than anyone else. We are content!"

Hearing this, everyone nodded in agreement.

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Qin Guan was a martial artist who couldn't condense spirit qi to cultivate, yet he still wanted to fight for them. They were very grateful for this, but now that the four major powers of Qingzhou had arrived, refusing to yield was simply courting death.

"Fine, you decide for yourselves," Qin Guan nodded.

Soon, the area around the great tree was occupied by the four major powers. Their members all began to greedily absorb the spirit qi and cultivate.

Nan Yunqi, meanwhile, led his dozen or so people to sit cross-legged and cultivate on the periphery. Although the spirit qi on the outskirts wasn't as dense or pure as it was around the tree, it was still far better than anywhere else.

Time passed bit by bit. Many other family clans received the news and rushed over as well. When they saw the four major powers, they all obediently sat down to cultivate on the outskirts.

An hour later, more and more family clans had arrived. The area was filled with people sitting around the great tree, numbering in the hundreds. However, a ring of space thirty meters wide remained empty behind the four major powers. No one dared to approach them.

Gradually, the space became tight. Seeing some weaker families positioned at the front, many other clans grew dissatisfied.

"Senior Brother Cang Yuan!"

Just then, the Xiao Family's old ancestor, Xiao Yun, approached the area where the Spirit Sword Academy was gathered.

"Junior Brother Yun, long time no see!" The white-robed elder who had clashed with Qin Guan earlier smiled at Xiao Yun.

"Indeed, Senior Brother Cang Yuan. We've both grown old," Xiao Yun said emotionally, grasping Cang Yuan's hand.

"Junior Brother, call your clansmen over to cultivate here. I've saved a spot for you," Cang Yuan said with a smile, stroking his beard.

"Thank you for your kindness, Senior Brother!" Xiao Yun immediately waved to his people in the distance.

Seeing the signal, the dozens of Xiao Family members quickly ran over. The twenty or so people who had previously defected to the Xiao Family, including Nan Shunda and Nan Yuantong, also benefited from this. They excitedly sat down to cultivate behind the Nan Family members, bowing and scraping with fawning expressions as they tried to curry favor with the Xiao clansmen.

Seeing this, everyone was filled with envy. It really paid to have connections; a simple greeting could yield such great benefits.

"Those traitors, acting like a bunch of Pekes."

Over where Nan Yunqi was, his group saw Nan Shunda and the others trailing behind the Xiao Family, and they all gritted their teeth in hatred.

"Young Hero Yang, come over here!" Xiao Yun suddenly called out into the crowd.

Seeing that Xiao Yun was about to introduce him, Yang Ao hurriedly ran over.

"Senior Brother Cang Yuan, let me introduce a young man to you," Xiao Yun said to Cang Yuan with a smile.

"Junior Yang Ao pays his respects to Senior Cang!" Yang Ao bowed respectfully, his attitude extremely humble.

"And this is...?"

"His name is Yang Ao. He recently awakened the True Dragon Sword Intent. This junior brother was hoping that Senior Brother would accept him as a disciple," Xiao Yun explained.

"What? True Dragon Sword Intent!" Cang Yuan was stunned.

Hearing the words "True Dragon Sword Intent," everyone looked up toward Yang Ao. Even the elders from the other three major powers couldn't help but size him up.

Becoming the center of attention, Yang Ao couldn't help but puff out his chest, a smug look appearing on his face.

"Senior Brother, he is a year older than the ideal age, and his Way of the Sword has only just broken through to the Sword Apprentice realm. However, his comprehension is excellent, and he has awakened the True Dragon Sword Intent. What do you think?" Xiao Yun asked with a smile.

"Of course, that's no problem. Might I be able to witness this True Dragon Sword Intent for myself?" Cang Yuan nodded eagerly.

"Yes!"

At his word, Yang Ao slightly curled his fingers. In his palm, a golden strand of Sword Qi, accompanied by the faint sound of a dragon's cry, began to spin rapidly, emitting the sound of slicing air.

"Tsk, tsk. Worthy of the name True Dragon Sword Intent. To be so powerful just after awakening!"

Cang Yuan exclaimed in amazement, then looked at Yang Ao. "Are you willing to enter my tutelage and become my personal disciple?"

Hearing the words "personal disciple," Yang Ao immediately dropped to his knees. "Disciple pays his respects to Master!"

"Haha, excellent! Excellent!" Cang Yuan laughed heartily while stroking his beard. He hadn't expected such a pleasant surprise on this trip to the Secret Realm—accepting a disciple who had awakened the True Dragon Sword Intent.

Everyone present was filled with envy. Even becoming an apprentice at the Spirit Sword Academy was a supreme honor, yet Yang Ao had directly become an elder's personal disciple. His future was limitless!

In the distance, seeing Yang Ao become Cang Yuan's disciple, Nan Yunqi had a bad feeling. The rest of the Nan Family members also grew uneasy.

"Ahem!" At that moment, Yang Hongmei suddenly let out a cough.

Nan Yunqi, who hadn't spoken to Yang Hongmei in three days, suddenly grabbed her hand. "Hongmei, if Yang Ao comes looking for trouble with us later, you have to put in a good word for us!"

"Nan Yunqi, weren't you acting all tough? What, now..."

"Mother!"

Just as Yang Hongmei was about to say more, Nan Qiao shot her a look.

Seeing this, Yang Hongmei reined in some of her arrogance and said coolly, "I can vouch for the members of the Nan Family, but as for those with other surnames, I can't make any promises."

As she spoke, her gaze swept nonchalantly over Qin Guan.

"What do you mean, other surnames? Everyone here is part of the Nan Family," Nan Yunqi said irritably.

"Mother, please look out for Qin Guan. He is your son-in-law, after all," Nan Rou pleaded with Yang Hongmei.

Yang Hongmei shook her head and said helplessly, "It's not that I don't want to help. The key issue is that he killed Ao'er's cousin. How can you expect me to plead for him in this matter?"

"My husband, let's just go. Can we just not explore the Secret Realm?"

Nan Rou suddenly grabbed Qin Guan's hand, wanting to leave. Although Qin Guan was powerful, Yang Ao had now become the disciple of a Spirit Sword Academy elder. The might of the Spirit Sword Academy was unimaginable.

"Don't worry."

Qin Guan patted Nan Rou's hand, then looked at Yang Hongmei. "I spared his life on our wedding day. If he dares to cause trouble later, I will kill him, even if you plead for him."

Hearing that Qin Guan intended to kill Yang Ao, Yang Hongmei sneered. "Heh, you talk big. Ao'er is now the personal disciple of a Spirit Sword Academy elder. If you dare to kill him, his master will not let you go!"

"Then I'll just kill his master as well," Qin Guan said with a faint, nonchalant smile, as unruffled as a passing breeze.

"Where is the Nan Family? Where is Qin Guan?"

The moment Qin Guan finished speaking, Yang Ao's arrogant and vengeful voice suddenly boomed across the field, reverberating throughout the entire area.