Chapter 15: Who Do You Think You Are?

Everyone stared in stunned disbelief at the blood-red demon wolf still twitching faintly on the ground.

It was a third-rank Blood Wolf King!

No one could make sense of what had just happened, and no one had expected a third-rank Blood Wolf King to be lurking within the shrubs.

Awoo!

At that moment, the twenty-odd demon wolves from before, upon witnessing the death of their king, turned tail and fled, howling mournfully as they ran.

Qin Guan emerged from the distant shrubbery.

Everyone turned to look at him with complicated, startled expressions. It was obvious — Qin Guan had been the one to kill the third-rank Blood Wolf King.

A third-rank Blood Wolf King, whose power rivaled that of a Profound Mastery Realm Cultivator, had been killed by Qin Guan in an instant with a single strike. Wasn't that a little too overwhelming?

His strength must be approaching the fourth gate of the Martial Artist path, right?

Qin Guan's body showed no trace of Gang Qi, since only Martial Artists who had opened the Qi Gate at the fourth stage would possess it — everyone silently speculated among themselves.

Qin Guan walked over to the Blood Wolf King, hoisted it up, then strolled to Nan Rou's side with a grin.

"The fur on this wolf is excellent. Keep it — when we get back, making it into a red cloak will look stunning."

"Mm!" Nan Rou snapped out of her daze and nodded eagerly, then tucked the Blood Wolf King into her Storage Pouch.

A Blood Wolf King could fetch over a hundred thousand gold on the open market — even its meat was something ordinary people never got to taste. Everyone watched enviously as Nan Rou stowed it away.

"Ha ha! Worthy of being my son-in-law! Even a third-rank Blood Wolf King falls before him with ease!"

Nan Yunqi beamed with pride. He swept his gaze across the group and said in a firm voice, "From here on, everyone follows Qin Guan and Rou'er's lead. Anyone who objects can go home!"

His words were clearly aimed at Yang Hongmei and Nan Qiao. The two of them could only swallow their grievances in silence — after all, Qin Guan's strength spoke for itself. A Martial Artist approaching the fourth gate had few rivals in all of Luyun City.

"Let's move. The wolf pack's territory is vast, so there shouldn't be much danger ahead."

With that, Qin Guan set off with Nan Rou toward the path ahead.

Having witnessed Qin Guan dispatch the Blood Wolf King so effortlessly, everyone fell in behind him. They no longer crept along cautiously — they walked with a newfound sense of security.

In that moment, they suddenly felt that Martial Artists weren't as hopeless as the legends made them out to be. Especially compared to Chen Guangling and Nan Yunqi, they found themselves thinking that Martial Artists were clearly a cut above Cultivators.

Two hours later, the group halted in a vast, open expanse ringed on all sides by mountains — like an enormous basin.

The moment they stepped into the area, everyone's eyes lit up with excitement, for they could clearly sense the Spiritual Energy here pulsing intensely and with remarkable density!

"First Young Miss, you're incredible! You could sense the Spiritual Energy fluctuations from that far away!"

Jiaquan looked at Nan Rou with boundless admiration.

"Indeed, First Young Miss, you're absolutely amazing!"

Many disciples chimed in with nods. They had all been half-skeptical at the start, thinking it was a bit of a lark — but now that they could feel the Spiritual Energy fluctuations for themselves, every last one of them was filled with admiration for Nan Rou.

This place was completely hidden, surrounded by mountains on all sides. Without Nan Rou's keen perception, it would have been nearly impossible to find.

"That sickly girl couldn't possibly have some kind of special constitution, could she? To have tracked this place down from so far away!" Yang Hongmei glanced at Nan Rou and couldn't help muttering to herself.

Nan Qiao was equally incredulous. Recalling how she had mocked Nan Rou relentlessly not long ago, she felt as though someone had slapped her hard across both cheeks — a stinging, burning shame.

Being praised so lavishly, having never once imagined she could be of use to her family, Nan Rou was overjoyed. She quickly pointed toward a towering tree in the distance and said, "The Spiritual Energy around that great tree is especially dense — the fluctuations are coming from there!"

"Move out!"

At Nan Rou's words, everyone hurried toward the great tree.

The Spiritual Energy was so rich!

The closer they drew to the tree, the more intensely they could feel the density of the Spiritual Energy surging around it.

"Family Head! A Century Blood Ginseng!"

Just then, Jiaquan pointed excitedly at something not far away.

Everyone immediately looked in the direction he was pointing. Beneath the great tree, nestled in lush green grass, grew a blood ginseng root radiating an enticing crimson glow.

"Over there — a Ganoderma mushroom!" another disciple cried out in surprise.

"A Spirit-Gathering Herb!" Nan Qiao exclaimed as well.

"Ha ha, we've struck it rich!"

Nan Yunqi led the group in a rush toward the tree.

"Everyone spread out and check if there are any other treasures!" After stowing the Century Blood Ginseng, Spirit-Gathering Herb, and Ganoderma into his Storage Pouch, Nan Yunqi quickly ordered everyone to search the area.

After a thorough sweep, the group discovered quite a few more valuable spiritual materials, all growing in the vicinity of the enormous tree.

Beneath the tree, bathed in the extraordinarily pure and dense Spiritual Energy, Nan Yunqi's eyes gleamed with barely contained elation. He glanced around quickly, then said urgently, "Before anyone else finds this place, let's make the most of it and cultivate!"

Over a dozen people hurriedly sat down around the tree. An opportunity like this came along once in a lifetime — it was far superior to consuming any amount of Qi Refinement Powder or Pills. Every one of them began greedily and frantically absorbing the Spiritual Energy.

"Silly girl, why are you staring at me? Start cultivating." Noticing that Nan Rou was gazing at him instead of meditating, Qin Guan said with mild exasperation.

"Mm." Nan Rou nodded and sat cross-legged. She knew Qin Guan was a Martial Artist and couldn't gather Spiritual Energy to cultivate — a golden opportunity like this had no place for him — and that naturally made her feel a little uneasy.

Watching everyone sitting there in deep meditation like old monks, Qin Guan felt a pang of envy.

How wonderful it would be if he too could gather the Spiritual Energy of heaven and earth to cultivate the Sword Dao!

The thought made him look forward to the Ancient Relic all the more. If it truly held the Inheritance of Senior Yang Tianni, he had to seize this chance no matter what!

With that in mind, Qin Guan tilted his head back and gazed up at the great tree that pierced the clouds above.

The Spiritual Energy was emanating from this tree — it must be the boundary nexus connecting to the Ancient Relic.

Two hours passed. Suddenly, a surge of powerful Spiritual Energy burst from Nan Qiao's body — she had broken through. Her Cultivation, which had been stalled at the sixth level of the Qi Refining Stage for a long time, finally shattered through the bottleneck, leaping up a minor stage to reach the seventh level of the Qi Refining Stage.

For someone as young as Nan Qiao to reach the seventh level of the Qi Refining Stage — that was already considered genius-tier in Luyun City.

Soon, a few more disciples among the group broke through in succession, their faces lighting up with delight.

The Nan Family was a third-rate family. Over the years, internal strife had never ceased, draining their resources from within. The share of resources that trickled down to each individual was pitifully small, leaving the clan members with almost no chance to grow.

As Nan Yunqi had said, a truly powerful family must advance together in unity. If internal conflict never stops, that family is not far from decline and ruin.

Hmm?

Qin Guan, who had been growing rather bored, suddenly noticed that Nan Rou's Cultivation was rising rapidly. In just two hours, she had broken through a minor stage, reaching the fourth level of the Qi Refining Stage — and her Breakthrough had been utterly silent, as natural as drinking a glass of water.

That speed genuinely startled him. A prodigy like this, if nurtured within a major power, would undoubtedly become a great emperor!

Gazing at Nan Rou's gentle, breathtakingly beautiful face, Qin Guan found himself liking what he saw more and more. Who would have thought he'd end up marrying a woman with the potential of a great emperor!

Time flowed on without pause. In the blink of an eye, another two hours had passed — an eternity for Qin Guan, but a fleeting moment for the Nan Family members deep in cultivation. They were completely immersed, lost to the world, with no sense of time whatsoever.

Boom!

Suddenly, a tremendous surge of Spiritual Energy erupted from Nan Yunqi's body — he had broken through. The bottleneck that had blocked him for years finally shattered, and his Cultivation soared to the fourth level of the Spirit Refinement Realm.

"Ha ha!"

Unable to suppress his joy, Nan Yunqi laughed aloud. He looked around guiltily like a thief, then immediately entered meditation again, frantically absorbing more Spiritual Energy.

"This guy was so heartless toward Rou'er before. I really want to drag him out of here and throw him back to the Nan Family."

Watching the corners of Nan Yunqi's mustache curl upward with his grin, Qin Guan's hands suddenly felt a little itchy.

Soon, another two hours passed. Every one of the dozen or so Nan Family members had reaped tremendous gains — long-stalled bottlenecks were broken through one after another. Cultivating in an environment like this made them feel, for a time, that they were no less talented than any genius.

Noticing that Nan Rou had broken through yet another minor stage, Qin Guan walked over and roused her. He couldn't let this girl keep cultivating — her Cultivation was growing too fast, and for someone with such a shallow foundation, that was not a good thing.

With her talent, breaking through was as easy as breathing — but building a solid foundation was what mattered most.

"What is it, husband? I was right in the middle of cultivating." Jolted awake by Qin Guan, Nan Rou pouted with displeasure.

Qin Guan flicked her lightly on the nose and said softly, "Your Cultivation is growing too fast — you're already at the fifth level of the Qi Refining Stage. You can't keep going. Use the method I taught you to absorb Spiritual Energy and temper your foundation instead. Understood?"

"Oh, alright."

Nan Rou nodded and returned to her spot.

She had just settled back down when, from not far away, a dozen or so white-robed disciples suddenly appeared, rushing toward them at high speed with eyes full of urgency and greed — like a pack of bandits.

"I didn't expect anyone to have arrived before us!"

The white-robed elder leading the group looked at Qin Guan and the others with mild surprise.

Visitors!

The Nan Family disciples who had been cultivating all felt their hearts sink as they sensed the newcomers approaching.

The group quickly reached the great tree. The moment they felt the pure, dense Spiritual Energy radiating from it, their eyes blazed with intense desire.

Noticing the embroidered emblem of an elegant flying sword on each newcomer's chest, the Nan Family disciples all showed expressions of deep reverence.

Spirit Sword Academy — the foremost power in Qingzhou, an existence they could only look up to their entire lives.

"Which faction are you from?" the white-robed elder at the front asked.

Nan Yunqi bowed respectfully toward the elder and said, "I am Nan Yunqi, Family Head of the Nan Family of Luyun City. Greetings, Senior of Spirit Sword Academy!"

Upon hearing this, the white-robed elder said indifferently, "It seems you've been here for some time. Step aside and yield your positions. A small family like yours should be grateful for having gotten a head start and claimed some fortune — know when you've had enough."

Hearing the elder demand they give up their spots, the Nan Family members were filled with reluctance and resentment. Nan Yunqi's gaze was restrained, his fists clenching and unclenching beneath his sleeves. A cultivation ground this sacred was a once-in-ten-thousand-years opportunity — surrendering it willingly was something he truly could not bear.

"What? Do you want to force this old man to act?" The white-robed elder swept his gaze across the group and said in a stern voice.

"Please calm yourself, Senior. We will yield our positions at once!" Nan Yunqi took a deep breath. Though deeply unwilling, facing Spirit Sword Academy, the Nan Family didn't even amount to a single strand of hair — they had no choice.

"Wait." Just as Nan Qiao and the others were reluctantly rising to give up their spots, Qin Guan suddenly spoke. He looked directly at the white-robed elder. "We found this place first. Who do you think you are, telling us to just hand it over?"