Qin Yuechi paled, pleading urgently: "Lady Zhao, Chen'er is young and spoke impulsively. Please overlook his rash words."
Lady Zhao sneered: "Young? He's nearly sixteen and still hasn't awakened his bloodline at Astral Academy. Instead of striving for the Qin family's honor, he brawls, tarnishes our reputation, and now insults his betters. What punishment does our clan's law demand for this?"
Qin Yuechi swayed. She means to condemn him outright!
"The one deserving punishment is you." Qin Chen's icy gaze locked onto Zhao Feng. "As the Qin matriarch, you let servants bully family members—is this your so-called clan law?"
Lady Zhao's face flushed with rage. Before she could retort, Qin Chen pressed: "And what of your 'virtue,' consorting with that lecherous disgrace Zhao Qirui?"
Zhao Qirui—who'd been leering at Qin Yuechi—choked, face reddening. How dare this whelp drag me into this?!
"You—!" Lady Zhao's hairpin trembled with fury. "Zhao Qirui is my royal cousin!"
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"Ah, secret trysts with kin? How noble for the Qin matriarch." Qin Chen's voice sharpened. "If this spreads, how will the Qin name survive in Great Qi?"
"LIES!" Lady Zhao shrieked. "Guards—SEIZE HIM!"
Two guards lunged. Qin Yuechi threw herself before her son. One guard growled, "Apologies, Lady Yuechi," reaching to shove her aside.
A blade flashed.
Sshlick!
Blood sprayed as the guard's severed forearm thudded to the floor. Before his scream faded, Qin Chen's sword pierced his heart.
"I said: Touch my mother, and you die."
Qin Chen flicked blood from his blade. The dripping crimson echoed in the deathly silence.
Lady Zhao's faction stood paralyzed. Outside, servants gaped in terror. The surviving guard froze, sweat-drenched—suddenly remembering: This "failure" entered Astral Academy on merit. A Human Realm warrior at fifteen.
In martial ranks: Human, Earth, Heaven, Mystic, Sovereign, Sage, King, Emperor, Divine—each tier split into early, mid, and late stages. Before Human Realm lay the Meridian Awakening phase; only by opening seven meridians could one condense true qi.
The guards, mere mid-Human Realm fodder, never stood a chance.
Lady Zhao recovered first, shrieking: "MURDERER! RESTRAIN HIM!"
The remaining guard drew his saber. With a bestial roar, he executed the Qin clan's famed Yellow-tier technique—Venomous Dragon's Strike. The blade arced toward Qin Chen's arm, aiming to maim, not kill.