Qin Yun's eyes didn't even have time to narrow as a fierce gale crashed into a shimmering film of light hovering just above the hole he stood in. A giant flag hovered above his head, protecting both him and Lin Huiling from the destructive green waves drowning the world.

“Lian Qian! How dare you stop me from seeking justice for my clan junior’s demise?!” Ma Yongzheng howled, his deep voice clearly piercing through the high winds.

"You really should learn to hide your hypocrisy," Lian Qian said, scoffing slightly at how absurd this reaction even was. "Should he have let himself be killed when his life was in danger? How absurd."

Lian Qian couldn’t help but show his scorn for his opponent despite his usual indifference.

“How can you compare his pathetic life against one of my clan’s young genius?! Given time, he could have been one of the pillars supporting the Ma clan,” Ma Yongzheng barked, enraged. Yet, Lian Qian shook his head in derision.

“Yet he fell to the hands of a young man who’s not even a cultivator. Some young hero he was,” Lian Qian added.

Yet, while he did say those words, he couldn't help but contemplate how Qin Yun had even achieved such a thing. He was fully aware of how strange and bizarre Qin Yun seemed at times, with all the knowledge he possessed, yet he still didn’t think he would ever be witness to the fall of a peak Void Core cultivator to the hands of a mortal. This threatened to overturn everything he knew about cultivation.

“He obviously used sinister methods to do so. If anything, that black sword must be demonic in nature; otherwise, how do you explain the recent heavenly tribulation?” Ma Yongzheng tried to rationalize, wishing to sway Lian Qian with his words, hoping for the slightest opening to unleash his rage on Qin Yun below. Yet, his words failed in their purpose. Lian Qian remained steady in his convictions.

“Isn’t that a stretch?” Lian Qian replied with a chuckle, all the while effortlessly parrying the massive storm and the blades of serrated wind colliding with the bell protecting his body. “Let's be real, this is a matter of face for your clan, plain and simple. Using your logic, I should have been well within my rights to enact vengeance upon your Ma Clan junior for the debacle he caused in our store. Let's say Qin Yun killed him on my order to regain the Lian Clan's face. Case closed; do you have anything else to add?"

At that moment, Lian Qian showed a radiant smile, which contrasted with Ma Yongzheng's ugly expression. While his logic was absurd, Lian Qian wouldn't miss an opportunity to rub it in the Ma Clan's face. The incident with the black token had been too much of a headache for the Lian Clan’s elders to deal with.

In fact, most had been split on how to handle it. Some wished to go straight to the Ma Clan and demand an explanation, yet Lian Qian had shot it down, knowing full well what their reactions would have been. Would they lower their heads to the Lian Clan? Impossible. The odds of a giant tentacle monster splitting the sky were much higher than the Ma Clan apologizing for anything they did.

Others wished to punish Lian Ling heavily, wishing for him alone to take responsibility for it, hoping it would appease the other clans, especially the Sun Clan. Yet, Lian Qian also denied them. Firstly, Lian Ling was his son, no matter how lacking he might seem. While he recognized that punishment was due, he would never go as far as what some of the elders hinted at, namely crippling his Qi centre or banishment.

While Lian Ling had been a disappointment in this instance, and some things were bound to change, it was the parent's job to take responsibility for how their children acted. As such, Lian Qian concocted a plan, a plan to take the fight to the Ma Clan.

While an apology was unlikely, the Lian Clan didn’t require that. All they needed was for their authority to be recognized, and what authority was better than overwhelming might? As such, all Lian Qian had to do was prove to the world that he possessed the strength to protect their investment, and what better way was there than to prove it than against one of the Ma Clan's elders?

This was truly multiple birds with a single stone. He could save his son, recover his clan's lost prestige and stick it to the Ma Clan in a single strike, and he owed it all to Qin Yun for this. Yes... really. Qin Yun was the trigger for all this. Lian Qian couldn't help but think that Qin Yun had intentionally spurred a conflict between two great clans on purpose.

Down below, Qin Yun could infer Lian Qian's thoughts as their gazes met. Of course, he intended to create a minor conflict between the two clans once he decided to give back the black token. Still, he hadn't expected Lian Ling to honestly give the token to Ma Zhiqiang, thus making the conflict's scale much larger.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

At best, Qin Yun hoped some friction between the two would alleviate the rumours about him and his wife, all the while making sure the Lian Clan would owe him for the loss of the black token. All he wanted was to take advantage of the situation and get a small bit of revenge, yet the situation quickly grew out of his control.

Qin Yun marvelled at how unpredictable the world was and how a single diverging moment could have such grandiose ramifications. This sudden tribulation as Qin Yun completed his project on his new black sword was also unexpected, and he couldn’t help but applaud Lian Qian for how masterfully he had taken advantage of it.

Lian Qian had also been flabbergasted by the sudden heavenly lightning and how quickly the Ma Clan had rallied their forces. While he doubted they had predicted this turn of events, he figured the troops had always been ready to be deployed, most likely in case the Lian Clan came knocking on their doors. While the Ma Clan was confident in its strength, it wouldn't dare underestimate the Lian Clan's means. After all, both were two of the four strongest entities in Jin City.

“Enough!" Ma Yongzheng yelled, clearly displeased by Lian Qian's attitude. "How long are you going to protect that kid? Are you truly willing to gamble your clan's survival in a war with our clan just for him?"

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Lian Qian shrugged dismissively. “Besides, you were the ones who started this conflict. This is merely payback. There’s no use trying to guilt me into ending this by involving someone else.”

“It seems you won’t stop until someone dies,” Ma Yongzheng replied, his eyes dilating somewhat.

He hadn't expected such a firm stance from Lian Qian; in fact, this seemed so far removed from his usual temperament. Lian Qian was known for being flexible in handling the various issues he had to deal with as patriarch of the Lian Clan. But now, he was a rock in Ma Yongzheng's path, a rock he couldn't avoid no matter what.

“Someone already did," Lian Qian mockingly said as he gazed at the corpse lying in the mud, which only prompted an even uglier expression from Ma Yongzheng. "The time for words is already long past. You should have thought of that before messing with my clan. You people need to learn to let sleeping dragons lie, and pain is the best way to make someone learn.”

At this time, Lian Qian's expression was savage, to say the least. Even his own daughter could barely recognize him. Lian Qian pointed a finger forward, and then the bell grew exponentially, pushing back the sharp winds that futility collided with its surface. In fact, ever since the start of the battle, not a single blade of wind had managed to leave its mark on the bell's surface. This bell was impenetrable for all intent and purposes, at least from someone of Ma Yongzheng's calibre.

Seeing that slinging Qi at his opponent would achieve nothing other than banging his head against a brick wall, Ma Yongzheng opted for a more direct confrontation. His only hope in getting past that damnable bell was to concentrate all the firepower he possessed into a single point. Yet, even that seemed hopeless. Still, Ma Yongzheng had been much too riled up to think of another plan.

Wind Qi coiled around his feet, lightening the load his legs had to bear and granting him extra mobility. He sprung forth from his vantage point, slicing through the stagnant water pooling at his feet from the constant rain, creating a temporary ravine that collapsed unto himself after his passage. Yet, a massive amount of water was propelled backward, akin to a jet engine in a rainstorm.

Ma Yongzheng flew forward faster than Qin Yun could even conceive without using Qi to enhance his senses, only for his hand to end its journey unto the flickering edge of the ethereal bell. Ma Yongzheng's gauntlet pulsed with light as he injected most of his Qi into it, trying to heighten its destructive power by using the wind blades surrounding it. Yet, all it accomplished was slicing away the rain in an explosion as the bell stopped the wind dead in its tracks.

The bell rang, absorbing most of the impact and diffusing the Qi-laced strike outwards, only to rebound most of the force toward Ma Yongzheng through sympathetic resonance.

Ma Yongzheng, despite how sturdy and trained his body was, couldn't help but feel the impact deep into his internal organs. He felt some of them shatter as a ball of blood and organ matter threatened to be expelled through his mouth. Yet, through sheer force of will, he managed to swallow it back, as showing the injuries incurred through the rebound would be much too shameful for him to admit.

Lian Qian couldn't help but admire Ma Yongzheng's willpower, yet he wouldn't show mercy. Although Ma Yongzheng's injuries only left a small gap in his defence, Lian Qian didn't fail to take advantage of it.

Through a wave of his sleeve, Lian Qian put into motion all the rainwater that had been laced with his Qi as it fell from the sky. This was the battleground he had prepared for just such an occasion. All the water on the ground pooled toward Ma Yongzheng at insane speed, creating something resembling a maelstrom. Only then did it rise into the air, creating an opaque orb that revolved around Ma Yongzheng, imprisoning him within.

Moments later, Ma Yongzheng finally recovered the stability of his chaotic Qi, which was disturbed by the rebound. He promptly launched an attack with even more wind blades, trying to slice away his watery prison. Unfortunately, any effort he exerted was futile. Any blade that managed to free itself from the orb would only leave a single gash into the water that would soon be replaced by the next torrent.

Rather than relaxing his guard and prompting the rain to stop, Lian Qian only deepened it. He knew better than to show weakness in front of an injured beast. As if on cue, Ma Yongzheng howled, trying to blow away the surrounding water through a wind explosion, yet Lian Qian had been prepared.

The bell, which had been used as a shield since the start of the battle, was now used as a prison surrounding the flowing watery orb. Despite all his efforts, nothing Ma Yongzheng did could break this dual-layered jail.

Lian Qian finally relaxed slightly, knowing he had won this battle. Still, he had a decision to make: Should he go through with his plan and show the world what happened to those who dared to cross his clan, or should he show his magnanimity? While most would choose to be ruthless, both choices had their own merits.

Still, as Lian Qian was deep in thought, he heard a voice emerge behind him. While he had always been aware of his surroundings, he hadn't expected this person to involve herself in this matter. He turned his head as he frowned, seeing a young, beautiful woman as radiant as the sun, yet what she said left him perplexed.

She said, "Please do not be hasty in your decision, if only for my sake."