Chapter Fourteen: The Outbreak of Conflict

  The sun rose high, and the dazzling sunlight directly shot into the stone room, gently covering a young man's body. Half of his body was shrouded in light, while the other half hid in darkness.

  The young man sat quietly, his eyes closed tightly, his small face solemn. Although there was still some childishness between his eyebrows and eyes, the dignified expression and sharp posture made him look much more mature.

  That young man was Qin Hao.

  It had been a whole day and night since Qin Hao successfully cultivated the Xuanxuan Formation for the first time. In this one night, Qin Hao did not eat or drink, his mind focused solely on the Xuanjing.

  And his efforts were naturally rewarded.

  Out of the 100 Xuanjing, apart from four second-grade Xuanjing that he couldn't handle yet, all the others had been used up. He successfully crafted thirty-five first-grade intermediate Xuanjing Seals, five first-grade high-level Xuanjing Seals... As for the rest, Qin Hao lowered his head to take a look, and saw that the ground was covered with sparkling shards...

  Apart from this, Qin Hao also found that his Xuan Qi control was smooth and proficient, with less of the awkward feeling compared to before.

  The principle is very simple, in fact, what Zhen Shi examines extremely carefully is spiritual power and control over the mysterious energy.

  The reason is simple, engraving the formation diagram on the Xuan Crystal and refining the Xuan Seal Formation is a test of extreme control. If there is even a slight mistake, the result will be the Xuan Crystal self-destructing, the Xuan Qi counter-attacking, lightly causing injury and vomiting blood, severely causing meridians to break, not dying but becoming crippled...

  Therefore, the formation master is also a relatively dangerous profession. In order to create a high-level seal array, it is often necessary to find a quiet and uninhabited place when gathering materials to avoid being disturbed.

  It's usually a quiet and deserted place, also a good place to bury corpses. If an accident happens in such a place, no one will know even if you die there, which is still a good thing. What's most feared is not dying, but being left unattended for ten days or half a month, watching yourself slowly dying, calling out to heaven and earth without response, that's the real tragedy.

  Thinking of this, Qin Hao felt speechless, and looking at the debris on the ground and his right hand that was blown red during the explosion of the Xuan Crystal, he felt a sense of helplessness again.

  Fortunately, the self-explosion power of the first-order mysterious crystal was not too high, otherwise he would have followed in the footsteps of some predecessors.

  Qin Hao pinched a mid-grade Xuanxuan formation from the sandalwood box, and a thread of Xuanqi extended from his fingertips. As the thread flowed into the crystal, the new energy barrier in the crystal instantly dissipated, and the surface of the crystal quickly disintegrated into dust, drifting away in the air. As the crystal dispersed, the ball of energy within the crystal climbed up Qin Hao's fingers, eventually covering his palm.

  Qin Hao also stretched out his palm and patted it on the ground at this time.

  Bang!

  The Xuanjing energy on his palm burst open instantly, and a shallow palm print appeared on the ground.

  The power of the Sixfold Condensation! Qin Hao made a judgment. Just now, Qin Hao didn't use his strength at all, but he could reach the power of the Sixfold Condensation in one move. This is the effect of the Sealing Mystique Array. If you master a high-level Sealing Mystique Array, even a low-level warrior can exert great strength in an instant.

  The highest level of Qin Hao's hand was only a first-class high-level seal, and its power did not exceed the ninth heavy Xuan, and it could still only be used once. It was really a bit shabby.

  Qin Hao suddenly felt troubled again. He had thought that making these things into a mysterious array would be enough, but in the end he still had to think of a way to solve it.

  It seems I have to go to Tiannanfang again. Qin Hao couldn't help but sigh.

  Tian Nan Fang is the largest commercial district in Tian Lang City, where you can find all sorts of goods such as weapons, armor, crystals, herbs and more. Many things can be found here, and items can also be stored and sold or auctioned off within Tian Nan Fang.

  The greatest benefit of this Tian Nan Fang is that it belongs to the city master, with credit and safety. The people of Tian Lang City absolutely do not have the guts to make trouble in the Fang. Of course, occasionally there are some outsiders who do not know the current situation, but on a certain occasion, two powerful outsiders who looked quite strong suddenly took action inside, but were tied up in an extremely round posture and hung at the gate of Tian Nan Fang for three days, after which no one dared to take action.

  Of course, it's also impossible for everything to be advantages. The most obvious one is that the seller must pay a 20% commission after receiving the money, which is enough to make people feel painful.

  After some thought, Qin Hao felt that he still had to go and get a haircut. However, before doing so, he had to go to Tian Nan Fang to check out the situation.

  Qin Hao stood up, put away the sandalwood box in a certain corner of the stone room, brushed off the dust and debris on his body, and walked out of the stone room.

  After leaving the stone room, Qin Hao felt something was strange. Originally, there should be many people practicing in the nearby stone rooms, but at this moment, all the other rooms seemed to be empty. Even Qin Yuxian, who usually worked very hard, had disappeared without a trace.

  After walking out for a while, passing by the martial arts arena, Qin Hao found that there were not as many people in the martial arts arena as usual.

  Qin Hao walked with his head down, full of doubts, and his mind was elsewhere until he saw a pair of feet appear in front of him. Qin Hao then looked up to find that the person standing in front of him was none other than Qin Fenglin, whom he hadn't seen for many days.

  "Brother Qin." Qin Hao nodded politely.

  Qin Fenglin patted Qin Hao's shoulder and smiled: "Qin Hao, I didn't expect that last time when I said a few words to you, you really understood."

  Qin Hao smiled faintly, his sudden "enlightenment" seemingly unrelated to Qin Fenglin. It seemed that he had been dragged down by him a few times before and now wanted to regain some spiritual comfort.

  Qin Fenglin seemed to be unaware of Qin Hao's expression, and continued to say: "You've worked hard these days, but it's still not enough! Why didn't you go with Qin Shan and the others today?"

  "Where did Big Brother and them go? I haven't been out much these past few days, don't know the situation." Qin Hao curiously asked the question in his heart.

  Today's trial in Tiān Nán Fāng is a regular one, practiced by several Ling Xuan Jiǔ Chóng Wǔ Zhě. The master let Yǔ Xiān and Qín Shān take some people to watch.

  Tian Nan Fang's trial? Ling Xuan's strong man?

  Qin Hao also came over with interest and said to Qin Fenglin: "Brother Qin, I'll go take a look too."

  Seeing Qin Fenglin nod in agreement, Qin Hao walked out of the door.

  Tian Nan Fang has three sparring matches every ten days, arranged by the City Master's Mansion. Perhaps there is some intention to attract people to watch, but more often it is to deter some hoodlums who are unclear about the situation and plan to cause trouble. Usually, the ones who spar are Ling Xuan's 4th or 5th rank warriors, but today two 9th rankers suddenly appeared, and Qin family's young son ran over to watch, which was quite natural.

  At this time, it's likely that not only the Qin family, but also the elders of other families will let their younger generations go and watch, to gain some combat experience.

  For Qin Hao, looking at these things is not entirely useless. At least it can let him probe the power that Old Man Chen has from some subtle clues. He still has some interest in that old man...

  Qin Hao walked forward along the bluestone road, and after walking a distance along this road, he would arrive at Tian Nan Fang.

  As Qin Hao walked along the main road in the city, he found that the streets which were once bustling with activity seemed to have become somewhat deserted. The shops were all empty, with only one or two scattered customers and a group of idle servants staring blankly into space.

  From time to time, several people panted and ran past Qin Hao's side, and judging from their direction and the scattered words they left behind, it seemed that they were heading towards the vicinity of Tian Nan Fang.

  Qin Hao was somewhat surprised. When did the competition in Tiān Nán Fang become so popular? Logically speaking, even if it were a competition among Ling Xuan strong practitioners, it shouldn't have caused such a big stir.

  Before he could think carefully, a somewhat familiar white figure suddenly rushed over from the front. The figure was in a hurry, with sweat all over his face and no time to wipe it off, just running quickly all the way.

  "Qin Pu." Qin Hao called out. Qin Hao quickly recognized him, the man was one of the members of the family's guard squad, Qin Pu. Because he often followed behind Qin Fenglin, Qin Hao also had some familiarity with him.

  That figure's footsteps paused for a moment, hastily stopping and turning back to look, discovering that the person calling him was Qin Hao, hurriedly paying respects saying: "Young Master."

  "It's okay, what's making you so nervous?"

  The people in the Family Guard always had a cold and hard expression on their faces, with very few other expressions. Qin Hao was really curious about what could have caused him to react this way.

  "Master Qin Shan and Lin had some conflicts. Now both sides are sending people to fight in the square."

  Martial duel? Martial stage? Qin Hao's face suddenly sank. In the center of the square, there was a martial stage, also the place in Tianlang City where people used their strength to resolve disputes. Once on the martial stage, injuries could not be avoided. If both parties had a grudge, it was even more likely that they would be beaten until seriously injured.

  "Lin Bi? Very good. Really very good?" Qin Hao revealed a mouthful of white teeth: "Who was the one who fought against him on the martial arts stage?"

  At this moment, Qin Pu standing beside Qin Hao felt a little nervous, and Qin Hao's words were squeezed out from between his teeth one by one.

  Qin Puqiang calmed his mind and said: "It's Yu Xianxiaojie."

  Qin Pu's words were cut off halfway as Qin Hao directly took a step forward: "Go back and report to my father."

  Qin Hao waved his hand at Qin Pu and sprinted directly to the square. Along the way, Qin Hao used all his strength, not daring to stop for a moment. For him in this life, he didn't want to let Qin Yu Xian suffer even the slightest harm...

  *

  Ran to the nearby square, and what caught the eye was a crowded crowd.

  The area around the martial arts arena was already packed with people, the air was filled with the sounds of chatter, arguments and jeers.

  Qin Hao's eyes moved to the martial arts arena in the center, where a purple-clothed girl was entwined with a young man.

  The girl in purple was Qin Yuxian, and the young man was Lin Bi.

  Qin Yuxian and Lin Bi were both exerting their full strength, rapidly moving around the stage, suddenly charging at each other, creating a flurry of punches that filled the air with dazzling light, and whenever their fists clashed, a burst of brilliant light would erupt, before they quickly retreated.

  On the surface, Qin Yuxian and Lin Bi seem evenly matched.

  But Qin Hao found that Qin Yuxian's footsteps were somewhat disordered, and the connection of her martial skills was also stiffened a lot, actually already at a disadvantage.

  Qin Hao's eyes quickly scanned the scene and soon found Qin Shan and a dozen or so other Qin family juniors, and he walked straight over.

  Qin Hao squeezed through the crowded crowd, getting closer to them, only to find that each of their faces was slightly swollen and red, with a few threads of blood oozing from Qin Shan's mouth.

  "Big brother, what's going on?" Qin Shan asked in a cold tone.

  "Qin Hao, you're here too." Qin Shan wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and smiled bitterly: "After coming out of Tian Nan Fang just now, I ran into people from the Lin and Lan families. They said some unpleasant things, then started fighting, and that's how it ended up like this." Qin Shan's face looked ugly as he spoke.

  Just as Qin Shan was speaking, Lin Bi launched a flurry of punches at Qin Yu Xian on the stage, his fists and palms wrapped in golden light and accompanied by a whistling sound as they struck Qin Yu Xian's chest. Qin Yu Xian crossed her arms in front of her body, barely managing to block the attack, but she couldn't withstand the force of the impact and stumbled backward, letting out a muffled groan as several strands of blood seeped from the corner of her mouth.

  Qin Hao saw this situation, his face became even more solemn, and he coldly laughed: "The Lin family and the Lan family started trouble first? Very good."

  Qin Hao let out a breath and then shouted loudly towards the stage: "Yu Xian, that's enough, come down."

  Qin Yuxian's body suddenly stiffened, that stunningly beautiful profile slowly turned around, her small face filled with stubbornness.

  Her beautiful eyes quickly swept over Qin Hao, but then immediately turned back to focus on dealing with Lin Bi's attack, without any other reaction. "Rain Fairy, that's enough, don't do this." Qin Hao's heart grew increasingly anxious, this girl didn't show any intention of retreating at all, still being so stubborn.

  Lin Bi's mouth curled up in a sinister arc, his hands' offensive became even more fierce, the position of the attack was also increasingly vicious, forcing Qin Yuxian to retreat again and again as Lin Bi let out a cold laugh.

  In the past, he had eaten a lot of losses from Qin Hao in the city master's mansion, but he couldn't take revenge. Today was different, today he had the upper hand from start to finish, and today was the moment when he made the Qin family unable to hold their heads up. Thinking about the ruthless part, Lin Bi's heart became more and more pleased, and he completely suppressed Qin Yu Xian.

  The Lin and Lan family juniors saw this scene and burst out laughing at Qin Hao.

  "If our ancestors knew that we had such useless descendants, I don't know if they would climb out of their coffins to give us a couple of slaps."

  "More than a dozen men can only hide behind one woman's back, isn't this losing face all the way home?"

  "What? Isn't that Qin Hao, the genius son of the Qin family head? How can he still appear here? Is he tired of hiding and wants to come out and fight to the death?"

  "Genius? Now he can only hide behind others and rely on them for protection. I think he's probably not even brave enough to step onto the martial arts stage."

  "Huh? Eight successes? If he really dares to come up, will Qin Yuxian be put in front? Just a 14-year-old girl holding the scene, and the rest are cowards."

  The voice grew louder and the tone more vicious. The eyes of the people surrounding the square also showed some disdain for the Qin family's children. Although they didn't know why several families were fighting, or what caused the incident, at this moment, a dozen men stood below the stage, letting a 14-year-old girl compete with others on the stage was a fact.

  In this world that values martial prowess and pursues the way of martial arts, such a weak behavior is enough to be despised by most people.

  Qin Shan's eyes turned red, his fists clenched tightly, the veins on his neck bulged out, and he panted heavily, unable to say a word.

  The crowd of Qin family juniors behind Qin Shan also had red eyes, looking extremely angry but unable to utter a single word.

  Qin Hao took in everyone's reactions, but didn't say much. He just stared tightly at Qin Yuxian.

  Qin Yuxian on the fighting stage had been forced to the edge of the stone platform, his aura weakened a lot, and his evasive footsteps were also much slower.

  Bang! A loud crashing sound suddenly rang out.

  Qin Yuxian and Lin Bi clashed again with a punch. Lin Bi only took a small step back, while Qin Yuxian's body flew backwards towards the stage floor.

  Thank you