Chapter 17: Is Living Well Not Enough?

At the sound of that voice, every member of the Nan Family felt their hearts lurch in fright!

Everyone at the scene began looking around in all directions. Just a few days ago, the Nan Family had given up on Yang Ao — who had just awakened the True Dragon Sword Intent — in favor of a Fury Gate Martial Artist as their son-in-law. That news had spread throughout all of Luyun City.

Now Yang Ao had become the Personal Disciple of a Spirit Sword Academy Elder, his status having leaped from a carp to a dragon. It was obvious he had come to settle the score!

"What's wrong? Scared now? Hiding in your shell like a turtle?" Yang Ao's voice rang out again.

Qin Guan suddenly stood up and looked toward Yang Ao. "What do you want with your grandfather?"

Hearing a response, everyone at the scene turned to look in Qin Guan's direction.

"You little beast — you're his grandfather, so what does that make me?!" Yang Hongmei suddenly erupted in a torrent of curses.

"Ha ha ha!"

Those who understood the family hierarchy all burst out laughing, doubling over with amusement.

"You little bastard! That day my Sword Dao was unstable and you only won by luck. This time, I'll kill you with my own hands — come and fight me!" Yang Ao pointed his sword tip arrogantly at Qin Guan.

"Since you're so determined to die, if I don't grant you that wish, even Yama would be furious with me." With that, Qin Guan began walking toward Yang Ao.

Seeing this, Nan Rou hurried after him.

Nan Yunqi also rose quickly to his feet, leading more than ten members of the Nan Family to follow close behind.

"Good — everyone's here!" Seeing Nan Yunqi and the others, Yang Ao broke into a smile.

"Ao'er, for your aunt's sake, please spare the Nan Family!" Yang Hongmei looked toward Yang Ao and pleaded.

Yang Ao's face suddenly twisted into something ugly, and he snarled furiously:

"Shut your mouth! That day Nan Yunqi said he was divorcing you and told you to get out of the Nan Family, yet you shamelessly clung on and stayed. You're an embarrassment!"

Hearing this, Yang Hongmei froze for a moment, then flared up in anger:

"I am your aunt! All these years I've treated you like my own son — how dare you humiliate me like this!"

Yang Ao pointed his sword at Nan Yunqi and said coldly:

"Fine then. For your sake, I can spare the Nan Family — but only if Nan Yunqi kneels before me, kowtows, and admits his wrongdoing. Do that, and I'll let the Nan Family go today!"

Hearing that Yang Ao wanted her father to kneel, Nan Qiao flared with anger:

"Back when you had nowhere to go, it was my father who took you in! All these years he treated you like his own flesh and blood and never wronged you in the slightest — and now that you've gained power, you turn on us? You're nothing but an ungrateful wretch!"

"Silence!"

Yang Ao roared:

"Qin Guan killed my cousin, and your father sided with him and abandoned me — why don't you say something about that?!"

"You—"

Nan Qiao was about to retort when Qin Guan cut in impatiently: "Enough talk. I'll send you down to meet your cousin in a moment."

"Heh heh."

A gray-robed elder looked at Qin Guan with a faint smile:

"Today, I'd like to see just how you intend to kill my disciple."

Qin Guan turned to the elder and shot back:

"You old fossil — if you're tired of living, I don't mind taking you along with him."

Hearing Qin Guan's words, everyone in the crowd drew a sharp breath. The Nan Family's son-in-law was truly arrogant — he didn't even put a Spirit Sword Academy Elder in his eyes.

The elder's eyes narrowed!

Swish, swish, swish!

More than ten disciples of the Spirit Sword Academy drew their longswords in unison, and a wave of icy killing intent instantly swept over Qin Guan.

"Bullying others with numbers — what a disgrace for the so-called righteous Spirit Sword Academy!"

Nan Yunqi let out a cold snort and readied himself for battle. Though he was mindful of his family's safety, he was not one to cower when things truly came to a head.

The Xiao Family Patriarch, Xiao Yun, let out a cold snort and looked at Nan Yunqi:

"Nan Yunqi, you've got some nerve — a third-rate little family daring to offend the Spirit Sword Academy. I advise you not to act rashly, or my Xiao Family won't mind making the Nan Family disappear from Luyun City entirely!"

The moment those words fell, dozens of Xiao Family disciples all shot to their feet at once.

Seeing this, the surrounding clan members who had been watching backed away, clearing a wide open space.

Nan Yunqi's expression darkened. It looked like they were done for this time!

"Young Miss, shall we intervene?" Elder Xu murmured from nearby.

"Stand ready. The moment the Xiao Family dares to lay a hand on anyone from the Nan Family, we move. As for Qin Guan — don't worry about him." Jiang Lianyue said with a light smile.

"Understood. This is a good chance to see just what that young man is capable of." Elder Xu gave a slight nod.

Just then, Qin Guan turned to Nan Yunqi: "Father-in-law, take them and step back."

Nan Yunqi was about to say something, but Qin Guan added: "Listen to me — if you get involved, you'll only hold me back."

Nan Yunqi hesitated for a moment, then finally pulled Nan Rou back with him.

From a short distance away, watching Qin Guan stand alone to face so many enemies, Nan Rou's face went deathly pale.

Seeing the Nan Family withdraw from the circle of conflict, Qin Guan swept his gaze across the crowd, his eyes finally settling on Yang Ao. "Come on then. Come at me first — go ahead and try to kill me."

"Die!"

Yang Ao had long since run out of patience. Sword Intent surged around his entire body as he stepped forward and slashed fiercely at Qin Guan. A sharp sword cry rang out, carrying within it the resonance of a dragon's roar.

That single slash was enough to chill the soul!

A flicker of disdain crossed Qin Guan's eyes. He spread his five fingers into a claw and reached upward, locking the descending sword firmly in his grip.

"Die for me!"

Yang Ao's face contorted with rage. His other hand pressed down on the sword hilt, and the Spiritual Energy in his Dantian flooded madly into both arms as he pushed down with all his might.

Yet no matter how hard he strained, the sword refused to budge even a fraction.

Qin Guan suddenly yanked hard, and Yang Ao — still gripping his sword — was dragged by an irresistible force straight in front of him.

In the next instant, Qin Guan grabbed Yang Ao by the throat and hoisted him into the air, staring at the man who had been so insufferably arrogant just moments before. "Is this all you've got?"

"Ahhh!"

Yang Ao's eyes nearly burst from their sockets. He let out a furious roar, and a golden sword dragon suddenly burst forth from within his body.

"Roar!"

The golden sword dragon opened its great maw and lunged straight for Qin Guan's head.

"Yelp!"

But the golden sword dragon was caught like an eel — Qin Guan seized it by the neck, and it thrashed its tail, letting out a mournful wail.

"Submit, or die."

Qin Guan looked at the golden sword dragon and said coldly.

"Roar!"

The golden sword dragon raised its head and cried out once.

Qin Guan released his grip, and in the next instant the golden sword dragon transformed into a streak of golden light that vanished into the space between Qin Guan's brows.

Witnessing this, the crowd was struck dumb with shock. Qin Guan had actually seized Yang Ao's True Dragon Sword Intent.

Sword Intent does not normally change masters easily, and forcibly seizing it risks a devastating backlash — an extremely dangerous undertaking. Yet no one had expected that with a single sentence from Qin Guan, Yang Ao's True Dragon Sword Intent would simply defect to him!

"Release him!"

At that moment, the elder standing nearby — his expression dark as a storm — spoke in a voice as sharp and cutting as shattered ice.

Qin Guan turned to look at the elder, who said in a low, stern voice:

"Hand over the True Dragon Sword Intent and release Yang Ao. Otherwise, I will make you regret ever coming to—"

"Crack!"

Before the elder could finish, Qin Guan snapped Yang Ao's neck.

At the sound of breaking bone, everyone's heart clenched. The sword genius who had awakened the True Dragon Sword Intent had been snuffed out in the cradle — not given even the slightest chance.

In the distance, Yang Hongmei collapsed to the ground. Qin Guan had not been joking — he had truly killed her nephew.

"You insolent wretch — how dare you!"

Sword Qi surged around the elder's entire body, and a terrifyingly powerful sword pressure erupted from within him in an instant.

In that moment, within a radius of several dozen meters, every person present felt as though countless sword blades were pressed against their foreheads. Their bodies were locked in place by the elder's sword pressure, unable to move a single step.

"So this is the power of a Grand Sword Master?"

Someone in the crowd murmured, their eyes filled with shock and terror. That overwhelming sword pressure made them feel as though they had plunged into an abyss of ice.

Now this should finally draw out that young man's true strength.

From a distance, Elder Xu's eyes narrowed slightly.

Truth be told, he had long wanted to test himself against Qin Guan. Had his Young Miss not stopped him that night, he would have made his move long ago.

"Die for me!"

The elder guided his sword finger, and countless streams of Sword Qi surged forward like a tide, crashing over Qin Guan and swallowing him whole in a moment.

"Husband!"

Nan Rou screamed, watching as the torrent of Sword Qi engulfed Qin Guan. Two crystalline tears burst from her eyes, and in that moment she felt as though the sky above her had collapsed.

Just as everyone believed Qin Guan was about to be pierced by ten thousand swords, his eyes snapped open!

A surge of mighty Gang Qi erupted with a thunderous boom. His entire body was enveloped in a faint red radiance, and the surrounding Sword Qi was instantly ground to dust.

In that moment, Qin Guan was like a ferocious beast breaking free of its seal — his figure wrapped in roiling Gang Qi, radiating an explosive, earth-shattering power!

"Good heavens — Martial Artist Gang Qi!"

"He — he's actually a Qi Gate Martial Artist!"

Everyone present was stunned. No one had expected Qin Guan to be a Qi Gate Martial Artist. Throughout all of Qingzhou, there were probably very few Martial Artists who had reached the Qi Gate.

"A Qi Gate Martial Artist is indeed rare, but against someone who is also at the fourth gate and whose Sword Dao has reached the level of Grand Sword Master, his odds of winning are slim." From a distance, the gray-robed elder of the Yunlan Sect shook his head slightly.

Hearing this, the disciples behind the gray-robed elder nodded in agreement. Tempering one's body to the fourth gate and opening Gang Qi was indeed no small feat.

But Martial Artists have a limited range of combat techniques. Cultivators, by contrast, can channel their Spiritual Energy to drive all manner of Cultivation Techniques and arcane skills in battle — their margin for error far exceeds that of a Martial Artist. And on top of that, Qin Guan was facing a Grand Sword Master.

In all of Qingzhou, those whose Sword Dao surpassed the Grand Sword Master level numbered fewer than fifty.

The elder's eyes narrowed: "So you're a Qi Gate Martial Artist. I had underestimated you."

As his words fell, the elder's hands flashed together like lightning. In an instant, the Spiritual Energy around him churned and surged into a violent confluence, and a sword of pure energy — like the silver gleam of breaking dawn — came crashing down toward Qin Guan.

Just as the energy sword was about to strike Qin Guan's head, he vanished on the spot!

Where did he go?!

The crowd gasped in shock!

The elder's pupils contracted sharply. He jerked his head upward — but the moment he tilted his face back, before his gaze could even focus, a fist carrying savage, overwhelming force instantly filled his entire field of vision.

Fierce as a charging tiger, fast as a thunderclap!

Boom!

With a tremendous crash, Qin Guan's fist drove the elder's head straight into the ground, carving out a massive crater with the elder's skull at its center.

That single punch left the elder completely unable to stand — it felt as though his entire body had been shattered to pieces.

While the crowd was still reeling in shock, a flash of red streaked through the air and Qin Guan vanished again. In the next instant he appeared directly in front of the Xiao Family Patriarch, Xiao Yun.

Xiao Yun was seized with terror. Before he could even react, Qin Guan's fist sent him crashing to the ground. Then the Xiao Family head, Xiao Yeshan, suffered the same fate — a single punch from Qin Guan shattered his Dantian.

Xiao Yeshan clutched his abdomen and howled in agony as torrents of Spiritual Energy poured out from his broken Dantian. With his Dantian destroyed, he was now a cripple.

"You little bastard!"

Xiao Yun's eyes nearly burst from their sockets. But the moment he struggled to his feet, a wave of dizziness hit him and he collapsed again — just like his senior brother, the elder, his head had been driven into the ground by Qin Guan's fist.

Witnessing such overwhelming power from Qin Guan, the entire scene fell into a dead silence!

No one had been able to follow it — no one could tell how Qin Guan had defeated the elder, Xiao Yun, and Xiao Yeshan in such a short span of time.

Terrifyingly strong!

In that moment, Qin Guan stood like a war god, radiating an absolute, inviolable dominance.

"That young man's body techniques are so refined — utterly flawless!"

From a distance, Elder Xu's face had gone ashen after watching Qin Guan crush the three of them with absolute superiority. He quietly thanked his lucky stars — it was a good thing he hadn't made a move that night. Otherwise, the elder's fate would have been his own.

The Yunlan Sect Elder, Chen Guanxiang, who had earlier dismissed Qin Guan's chances, was now deeply embarrassed, his aged face stiff and rigid: "The gap between people truly can be enormous..."

Not far away, the woman in red — Wei Hongyan — had a strange light dancing in her beautiful eyes, her thoughts unreadable.

Just then, Qin Guan suddenly grabbed Xiao Yun and hurled him down in front of the barely-conscious elder.

"One of you wanted to kill me, the other wanted to wipe out the Nan Family. Two old fossils at your age — is living well not enough for you? Why did you have to provoke me?"