Chapter 6: Not Afraid Enough to the Core

A mist of scarlet blood, a muffled groan. It seemed the epic clash between these two titans was drawing to a close. Countless gazes were fixed upon the scene. As the radiance of magical power gradually faded, Qin Ming’s form was the first to emerge. His clothes were shredded, revealing well-defined, muscular skin stained with glistening blood that pulsed with surging vitality.

"A wastrel, just as expected, defeated by my Brother Ye Chen."

"Brother Ye Chen, have no mercy; strike him down to end this once and for all," Liu Ruyan cried out in encouragement. The man she had chosen was destined to soar like a dragon!

Liu Xiao stood guard nearby. The outcome was decided. Once Ye Chen slew Qin Ming, it would inevitably provoke the wrath of the Tongtian Immortal Sect. At that point, they would have to rely on the imperial status of his promising future son-in-law. If the Tongtian Immortal Sect dared to move against them, the Shenxuan Dynasty would surely make the entire sect pay with their lives. Thinking of this, he felt much more at ease and peered ahead.

As the spiritual light dissipated further, something seemed amiss.

"Wait, the blood on Qin Ming... it doesn’t seem to be his..."

"You’re right, the two auras are completely different!"

"This is... royal blood? Qin Ming has wounded the Prince!"

Before the cries of astonishment could even fade, a body tumbled from the swirling mist of spiritual energy and crashed onto the ground. It was Ye Chen! He was the one who had been defeated, not Qin Ming!

Ye Chen was in a wretched state, drenched in blood. The royal lineage he took such pride in was hemorrhaging from him. Gritting his teeth, he lifted his defiant eyes, only to see Qin Ming’s heavy foot descending from the sky, aiming squarely for his kidneys. The killing intent swept through like an autumn wind, and with a sickening thud, the organ was crushed. This was one of the most vulnerable parts of the human body; once shattered, reconstruction was nearly impossible, and he would likely never be capable of manhood again.

Liu Ruyan stared blankly at the scene. The cruel smirk on her face had yet to fade, replaced instead by sheer shock. Her emotions were incredibly complex. Had the peerless, gifted Brother Ye Chen truly been defeated by the man she had once looked down upon as a bootlicker? Was this still the Qin Ming she knew and despised? For some reason, a flicker of regret stirred in her heart. If things had gone smoothly without a hitch, and she had married Qin Ming as planned, what would it all be like now?

"You ant from a barbaric land, get off me!" Ye Chen roared in madness. His blood-soaked body began to glow. Ancient stars spun around him as if he were charging into battle wrapped in a cosmos.

But Qin Ming slammed his foot down with sudden, overwhelming force. Under the astonished eyes of the onlookers, those terrifying celestial manifestations shattered completely. Ye Chen was hammered into the dirt like a discarded cur, kicking up a cloud of dust. Before absolute power, all resistance was futile. Qin Ming looked down at him from above, leaving a bitter taste in Ye Chen's mouth.

"You brat from Qingzhou, if you have the guts, kill me!"

Ignoring the provocation, Qin Ming said nothing; he merely lashed out with his fist. He no longer concealed his true cultivation. With a single punch, the scene was harrowing; the biting magical force tore through the air, creating a shrill, humming sound. He was letting his actions show exactly whether he dared to kill or not.

Seeing this, Liu Ruyan forgot everything else. She used her movement technique to dart in front of Ye Chen, spreading her arms as if to sacrifice her own life to protect him. This sudden change caused Qin Ming’s fist to slow significantly. The surging power dancing upon his knuckles seemed to flicker, as if about to extinguish.

Liu Ruyan sneered inwardly. He couldn't bear to kill her? He was truly her number one bootlicker. But just as she was lost in these thoughts, the magical volatility on Qin Ming’s hand flared up once more, becoming several times more violent than before. Fearing that he might fail to kill this pair of dogs and leave a risk of resurrection, he increased the dosage!

"Qin Ming, what are you doing?" Liu Ruyan shrieked.

However, Qin Ming’s fist showed no mercy, its blazing power vast as an ocean. At that moment, Ye Chen gritted his teeth and struck Liu Ruyan with a palm, shoving her away. Qin Ming’s fist descended, and Liu Ruyan’s delicate body exploded into a mist of blood upon contact. The last look in her eyes as she perished was filled with profound regret.

Liu Ruyan’s interference had bought Ye Chen a moment to catch his breath. He scrambled to a safe distance and frantically crushed the jade pendant hanging at his chest. His expression remained cold. He had always held to one belief: women were meant to be eye candy, and when necessary, they were meant to be betrayed.

"Qin Ming, this Prince will remember you. When I return, I will surely exterminate the entire Tongtian Immortal Sect."

As he spoke, the fragments of the shattered jade pendant turned into points of crystalline light, rapidly forming a vortex in the mid-air.

"I am Ye Wuyun, the First General of the Shenxuan Dynasty. I have come to retrieve our Prince. Whoever dares to obstruct me shall be executed without mercy."

A phantom hand reached out from within the vortex, quickly landing beneath Ye Chen and hoisting him up, ready to pull him into the swirl. Standing upon the spectral palm, Ye Chen licked his lips, his eyes full of provocation. "Qin Ming, I am leaving now. What can you do to me?"

Qin Ming remained expressionless. He secretly signaled for the help of "Old Man Ding," and upon receiving a response, he cast his gaze upon the departing Ye Chen. "You are indeed free to leave."

Hearing this, Ye Chen ignored his injuries and laughed maniacally. Was he scared? Before their Shenxuan Dynasty, let alone a mere Qin Ming, even the entire Tongtian Immortal Sect combined wasn't enough to satisfy their appetites. In this world, everything depended on one's background.

But before Ye Chen could laugh for long, Qin Ming’s cold voice rang out once more.

"I said you could leave. But I never said you could leave alive."

No sooner had the words fallen than Ye Chen felt the phantom palm beneath his feet suddenly shudder, as if affected by some invisible force, and then come to a dead halt.

*Oh no.* Ye Chen felt a surge of dread. Soon, he saw Qin Ming swinging his fist toward him.

*Thud!*

The violent force of the punch struck his brow instantly. The raw power surged into his skull, pulverizing his soul and brains alike. Finally, a splash of crimson exploded in the air.

After slaying Ye Chen, the phantom hand was no longer frozen; it retreated into the vortex amidst a howling gale. After a moment of silence, a roar of fury echoed from within. It seemed that while he could go back, only his corpse would be returning!

The vortex closed, and everything returned to peace. The scene was deathly silent, the drop of a needle audible. Everyone’s eyes held deep shock. The "wastrel" Qin Ming had forcefully executed a Prince from the Central Plains.

Liu Xiao’s head was spinning; his eyes wide, his face still etched with an expression of disbelief. His daughter had perished, and his future son-in-law had fallen! Only a short while ago, he had been daydreaming of the glory of his Liu family, and now, they had plummeted from the clouds in an instant. A surge of manic killing intent rose in his mind.

Yet, at the very moment his intent manifested, a fist came crashing down. Before Liu Xiao could even react, his skull was split in two.

*Killing intent in the mind, the head split in two!*

Qin Ming calmly retracted his fist. He had shown killing intent? Then he could not be left alive. If someone was a threat, he would root them out entirely. He could not sleep soundly knowing his enemies were still breathing.

Such clean and decisive methods shocked even the sect masters and elders present—men who had long been tempered by blood and carnage. After all, until this moment, it had been widely rumored that Qin Ming was a wastrel incapable of cultivation.

The most shocked of all were Lin Rou and her father, Lin Yuan. They were the people closest to Qin Ming, yet they never imagined that this boy had been hiding his true self so deeply.