Meanwhile, Qin Yushen chased after the fleeing giant dragon.
"Hand over your Peace Pendants," Song Yan Ning demanded, looking down at the men on the ground, her whip cracking menacingly. She wasn’t worried about Qin Yushen; with his strength now at the Foundation Establishment Late Stage, dealing with that giant dragon was effortless.
"We are from the Heavenly Trace Sect. How dare you rob us?" one man said shakily as he climbed to his feet, glaring at Song Yan Ning. Being members of one of the seven great sects of the Hidden Sect, any Disciple could easily annihilate an ordinary family.
"You talk too much!" Song Yan Ning’s whip lashed out mercilessly at the man.
The man was sent flying by Song Yan Ning’s whip.
Song Yan Ning swept her cold gaze over the others. "Hand over your Peace Pendants, or don’t blame my whip for its ruthlessness."
The men on the ground glared furiously at Song Yan Ning, but with their grievous injuries, they were no match for her and reluctantly handed over their Peace Pendants. However, they wouldn’t forget this and vowed to retaliate the next time they entered. The people of the Heavenly Trace Sect were not to be trifled with!
Song Yan Ning took the Peace Pendants and transferred all the points into her own.
"You of the Heavenly Trace Sect will not let this go unpunished, wait and see!" one man said fiercely, hatred blazing in his eyes. They wouldn’t spare these individuals or their families, no matter their identity or who pleaded for mercy.
Song Yan Ning smiled indifferently. "That depends on whether you’ll have the chance." With a slight exertion of her grip, the Peace Pendants turned to ash.
The men instantly vanished, disqualified from entering the Emperor Realm without their Peace Pendants.
Song Yan Ning was not worried about her identity being revealed. Everyone entering the Emperor Realm wore masks and used aliases, making it hard for anyone, unless very familiar, to recognize.
Of course, she wouldn’t hesitate to kill them if possible. However, the Emperor Realm had its own rules, and besides retention or deletion of entry qualifications, no one there could decide on life and death.
"Amazing!" Qu Lingfeng and the others admired Song Yan Ning greatly. Only she was a match for the equally cunning Qin Yushen.
"Let’s go find Qin Yushen," Song Yan Ning said with a smile, stepping towards where Qin Yushen was observed to have just slain the giant dragon and was retrieving the Crystal Stone from its forehead.
In the Heavenly Trace Sect, five infuriated men awoke simultaneously. Having gone through several selections to enter the Emperor Realm, and now to have lost their qualifications, their anger was immense. They swore to seek out those responsible and destroy them and their families, even if it meant searching the ends of the earth.
The five steadied their emotions and headed towards the Main Peak. This matter had to be reported to the Sect Master. Losing spots in the Emperor Realm was a significant loss for the Heavenly Trace Sect, especially since it involved five members.
Jiang Donghao was meditating when he heard the Disciple’s report that Xu Qing and four others sought an audience, which surprised him because they were supposed to be training in the Emperor Realm at this time. Something significant must have happened for all five to come together.
"Let them in!" Jiang Donghao opened his eyes, instructing the reporting Disciple at the door.
"Yes!" The Disciple responded respectfully, turning to relay the message.
Led by the Disciple, Xu Qing and the others entered the main hall, bowed deeply to Jiang Donghao, who was seated at the head, and greeted, "Sect Master!"
Jiang Donghao nodded slightly. "What has happened?"
"Sect Master! Our Jade Tokens to enter the Emperor Realm were destroyed," Xu Qing said, though nervously, knowing the Sect Master would be enraged, but they had to report the truth.
"What?! Who did this?!" Jiang Donghao’s expression darkened, his fierce gaze filled with intense anger. Whoever dared destroy the Heavenly Trace Sect’s Jade Tokens was courting death!
"The Disciples do not know who did it, but among them was a young girl, about twelve or thirteen years old. She was the one who destroyed our Jade Tokens," Xu Qing recounted everything that happened in the Emperor Realm with a trembling voice. It was humiliating for the Disciples of the dignified Heavenly Trace Sect to be bullied by mere children.
Jiang Donghao narrowed his eyes. "Are you sure they aren’t Disciples from another sect?" If they were from another sect within the Hidden Sect, he would need to carefully consider his actions.
"They shouldn’t be," Xu Qing and the others replied, not entirely sure themselves.
Jiang Donghao pondered for a moment. "Go and investigate. Find out their identities at all costs," he ordered.
"Yes!" Xu Qing and the others responded respectfully. Even if the Sect Master hadn’t instructed them, they would have sought to uncover those identities and avenge their humiliation manifold.
Jiang Donghao waved his hand, and after Xu Qing and the others left, he sighed deeply. The Heavenly Trace Sect had not been doing well in recent years. It had been five years since he sent several members to a secret realm, and there had been no news of them. He didn’t know whether they were unable to return from the secret realm or had met with some mishap, and they could only wait for the realm to open again to learn more.
Song Yan Ning and Qin Yushen arrived at the most famous ancient town in Yang City. Although Yang City was not as bustling as Beijing, its ancient towns, with their charming bridges, pavilions, towers, ancient cobblestone paths, were a delight to the eye.
"Let’s go boating," Qin Yushen suggested, noticing boats crossing the lake, and took Song Yan Ning’s hand, heading towards the dock.
Song Yan Ning shook her head and laughed. Sometimes, she found Qin Yushen rather childish, which made her ponder how he had ever earned the nickname ’Iceberg Young Master.’ He seemed anything but an iceberg; ’Volcano Prince’ or ’Childish Prince’ would be more fitting.
"What are you thinking about?" Qin Yushen asked, noticing the smile on Song Yan Ning’s face, his own lips curving up slightly. He was always very happy when he was with her.
"I’m wondering how you got your nickname, ’Iceberg Young Master’," Song Yan Ning teased, playfully blinking.