C13 – The Qiu Family
Late at night, the streets of Silkbarrow were deserted, save for a few bored insects chirping away.
Suddenly, a shadowy figure clad in black disrupted the stillness, materializing on the streets.
“This must be the Qiu family estate.”
Yun Haoyan surveyed a grand manor and murmured to himself.
With a light tap of his toe, a small hole formed beneath him. He reached into his backpack, pulled out a Spirit Stone, and deftly tossed it into the opening.
Yun Haoyan then sprinted around the perimeter of the Qiu family’s manor, strategically planting Spirit Stones into the earth as he went.
In no time, he had encircled the entire estate and returned to the front gate, his bag now empty.
“One hundred and eight medium-grade Spirit Stones, the perfect number to set up a third-grade Bewildering Formation.”
The Bewildering Formation was purely defensive, designed to prevent escape and muffle sound. And though Yun Haoyan had used only medium-grade Spirit Stones, limiting the formation’s duration to four hours, that was all the time he needed to annihilate the Qiu family.
“Bewildering Formation.”
Yun Haoyan invoked a spell, activating the formation, and instantly, the world inside was cut off from the world outside.
“Pill God Body, engage.”
A spectral figure emerged behind Yun Haoyan, his aura escalating rapidly until he reached the second level of Martial Grandmaster.
“Qiu family, the time has come to settle scores.”
His voice boomed, reverberating through the Qiu estate.
“Enemy attack!”
“Who goes there?”
The once tranquil Qiu family was thrown into disarray by the thunderous cry.
Yun Haoyan blasted the family’s wrought iron gate to smithereens.
Determined, Yun Haoyan resolved to exterminate everyone in the Qiu family that night, repaying the debt of how the Yun family had been treated in his past life.
Several Qiu family servants, clad in white, witnessed Yun Haoyan’s forceful entry. They unleashed a battle cry, drew their Azure Swords, and lunged at him.
With a dismissive wave, Yun Haoyan sent the servants hurtling into the stone walls, where they were silenced in an instant.
As the number of Qiu family members swelled at the location, several of their elders converged, including the elder who had shown up at the Yun family’s doorstep that morning. Now, he stood before Yun Haoyan.
“You!” he exclaimed upon spotting Yun Haoyan, his voice booming with indignation. “You’re lucky I didn’t finish you off yesterday. And yet you have the audacity to show up again?”
“Who is this?” inquired an elder with fiery red eyebrows, a fellow elder of the Qiu family, boasting the strength of a third-level Martial Master.
“He’s the son of the Yun family Patriarch, the one who fought Zhao Er today.”
“So, it’s him,” the red-eyebrowed elder remarked, a hint of disdain in his tone. “He has the nerve to come here. Does he think we’re pushovers?”
With that, Elder Hong Mei extended his hand, reaching for Yun Haoyan with a swift motion.
“Sky Eagle Arts.”
The other elders watched Elder Hong Mei’s vivid eagle claw technique with interest.
“Elder Hong Mei’s Sky Eagle Arts have clearly advanced,” they murmured among themselves. “But is such formidable skill really necessary against a Yun family junior?”
“This Yun brat is far too insolent. It’s about time we taught him a lesson on behalf of his father.”
Unfazed by the impending claw, Yun Haoyan remained motionless, his expression stoic. He clenched his fists, summoning the image of a pitch-black tiger that materialized and surged forward with his punch, hurtling towards the eagle claw.