Chapter 45 - 43: Qin Xiangyuan’s Suspicion

Chapter 45: Chapter 43: Qin Xiangyuan’s Suspicion

The moment the crowd brought up the peerless genius who had emerged in Xingyue City, the conversation instantly heated up.

"That’s right, his name is Jiang Hao. Rumor has it he’s a sword cultivator with a Ninth-Grade Celestial Tier Martial Soul. Just three months after his debut, he broke through from the Peak of Body Refining Realm to the Unity Realm. He even slew a Qilin Child with a First-Grade Celestial Tier martial soul with a single sword strike."

"HISS—a Ninth-Grade Celestial Tier Martial Soul? Doesn’t that put him on the same level as Fairy Qin?"

"Breaking into the Unity Realm in three months is a little too terrifying."

"What’s even more terrifying is that this person is a sword cultivator. Sword cultivators belong to one of the most fearsome lineages out there."

"With the battle of geniuses fast approaching, this person will definitely earn a spot on the Celestial Pride List in the future."

Everyone chimed in, finding the matter completely inconceivable.

The mere mention of a Ninth-Grade Celestial Tier Martial Soul was enough to shock countless people.

In the crowd, a hint of interest flashed in Qin Xiangyuan’s beautiful eyes upon hearing the name Jiang Hao. It couldn’t be helped. Recently, the news of a peerless genius emerging in Xingyue City had already caused a massive uproar throughout the entire Eastern Domain.

However, listening to the crowd’s chatter, the girl in the blue dress beside Qin Xiangyuan immediately retorted.

"What do you mean he’s on the same level as my sister? So what if he has a Ninth-Grade Celestial Tier Martial Soul? Who cares if he’s a sword cultivator? The path of cultivation is all about innate talent. How can a genius born in some backwater place possibly compare to her?"

The girl in the blue dress was none other than Qin Xiangyuan’s younger sister—the second young lady of the Qin family in Qin City, Qin Xiangying.

The moment Qin Xiangying spoke, all the direct descendants of the Qin family and the younger generation of cultivators in Qin City nodded and smiled apologetically, finally realizing they had misspoken.

"Ms. Xiang Ying is right. The path of cultivation emphasizes innate talent. Having an earth-shattering martial soul doesn’t necessarily make one a peerless genius."

"Fairy Qin is the foremost prodigy of our Qin City. In terms of beauty, she is one of the top ten fairies in the Earth Realm of Celestial City. In terms of talent, she is a top-tier existence. How could a mere Jiang Hao possibly compare to her?"

The young men and women instantly began to flatter her wildly. Although they were all outstanding figures among Qin City’s younger generation, they were inferior to the girl before them in both background and talent. Furthermore, residing in Qin City, these youths who were not direct descendants had to rely on the Qin family’s goodwill.

One could only imagine the immense influence of the Qin family, who were capable of establishing a vast, gigantic city within the Celestial City’s Earth Realm.

Seeing the crowd’s fawning expressions, Qin Xiangying seemed quite satisfied. Her older sister, Qin Xiangyuan, however, shook her head with a helpless smile.

"There’s always someone better out there. The biggest taboo in the Cultivation Realm is underestimating your opponent. Until you’ve seen it with your own eyes, no one can confidently claim to be stronger than another."

After speaking, Qin Xiangyuan stood up gracefully and added mildly, "Alright, that will be all for today’s Qin City youth exchange gathering. I will take my leave now. Please make yourselves at home, everyone."

She offered a slight bow to the crowd, and everyone quickly stood up to return a deep bow. Seeing her sister leave, Qin Xiangying bid farewell to the crowd and hurried after her.

The two girls didn’t return directly to their quarters; instead, they walked toward the Qin City Cultivation Chamber.

Before long, the sisters were staring at the door of a sealed chamber from a distance, each harboring her own thoughts.

"A Level One Cultivation Chamber... What a bargain for that guy. Even if Father wants to make up for what he owes him over all these years, there’s no need to specifically clear out a Level One Cultivation Chamber for him, right?"

Looking at the sealed chamber, Qin Xiangying’s pretty face was filled with displeasure.

Qin Xiangyuan, however, smiled astutely. Fixing her gaze on the chamber, she said mildly, "Xiang Ying, you don’t actually think this Qin Fan is that simple, do you?"

"Xiangyuan, aren’t you overthinking things?" Qin Xiangying replied dismissively.

Hearing this, the girl in the pink dress turned to look at Qin Xiangying and smiled sweetly. "When are you ever going to use your brain?"

"Xiangyuan—"

The girl in the blue dress instantly pouted, clearly having heard this more than once. She seemed quite unconvinced and huffed in a fit of pique, "Then tell me, how is he not simple? Isn’t he just a Cultivator at the Creation Realm Third Layer? What else is there?"

At this, Qin Xiangyuan became uncharacteristically serious, as if she were lost in her memories. "Xiang Ying, do you remember the night Father brought him back to the Qin family?"

"Of course I do," Qin Xiangying said coolly. "Mother was furious that night; how could I forget? If it weren’t for him, the already strained relationship between our parents wouldn’t have suddenly ruptured."

As Qin Xiangying finished, Qin Xiangyuan abruptly changed the subject. "Then do you remember the sword wounds on his body?"

"The Cultivation Realm is full of extreme dangers. Getting a little injured is perfectly normal," Qin Xiangying said dismissively.

Qin Xiangyuan flashed a stunning smile. "Xiang Ying, those weren’t ordinary sword wounds. They were inflicted by Sword Qi."

"Sword Qi?" Qin Xiangying was momentarily stunned.

Qin Xiangyuan continued her analysis. "Not only was he injured by Sword Qi, but the person who unleashed it was definitely no ordinary Cultivator. Do you remember that Father returned to Qin City once before he went to pick him up?"

Hearing this, Qin Xiangying lowered her head in thought before suddenly coming to a realization. "It seems he did. He even took away quite a few of our Qin family’s experts that day."

"Father wasn’t the only one who took away many of our older experts that day; Uncle Zhang did too. Uncle Zhang also brought along quite a few guarding experts from Artifact Refining City." Qin Xiangyuan opened her beautiful eyes, a shrewd light glinting within them.

It was obvious that Qin Shiming’s unusual actions that day had caught Miss Qin’s attention, and she had even investigated the movements on Zhang Tiesheng’s end in Artifact Refining City.

"Although Father and Uncle Zhang moved very covertly, they still couldn’t escape my notice," Qin Xiangyuan said with a touch of smugness.

However, even at this point, Qin Xiangying still hadn’t caught on. "Xiangyuan, what does that prove? Qin City and Artifact Refining City dispatching experts is a totally common occurrence. What does that have to do with Qin Fan?"

Hearing Qin Xiangying’s words, Qin Xiangyuan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, and she even flicked the young girl’s forehead.

"Xiang Ying, think about it carefully. First, Father and Uncle Zhang took away so many experts. Immediately after, Qin Fan was secretly brought back by them, heavily injured. If we hadn’t happened to bump into them, who would have known Qin Fan was hurt?

"Moreover, based on my observations over the past three months, quite a few of our elders have been missing from the Qin Mansion. If my guess is right, they are currently in secluded meditation, healing their injuries.

"An injured young man, the emergency deployment of experts, and an earth-shattering genius who just rose to prominence... Can’t you connect the dots?"

After Qin Xiangyuan finished speaking, Qin Xiangying followed her sister’s train of thought and fell into deep contemplation. At this point, even a fool could piece everything together.

In an instant, endless ripples surged in Qin Xiangying’s beautiful eyes. Staring at Qin Xiangyuan in utter shock, she gasped in horror, "Xiangyuan, are you saying... Jiang Hao?"

BOOM!!!

The moment she made the connection to that name, Qin Xiangying felt as if she had been struck by lightning.

As Qin Xiangying cried out, Qin Xiangyuan hurriedly covered her sister’s mouth. However, turbulent waves were already raging in the younger girl’s beautiful eyes.

"I can’t be certain if it’s him yet, but all the signs match up too perfectly. If it really is him, we absolutely cannot breathe a word of this."

Hearing her sister’s warning, Qin Xiangying nodded subconsciously.

Just as the sisters finished speaking...

RUMBLE!!!

The heavy sound of a stone door shifting echoed from afar. The two looked toward the sound and saw the door of the Cultivation Chamber slowly opening. A figure clad in white robes walked out from within.

This was the first time the sisters got a clear look at the young man’s appearance. He had well-defined features and an extraordinary temperament, brightening one’s eyes like an exiled immortal.

At the same time the white-robed young man appeared, Qin Shiming and Zhang Changsheng walked over, seemingly discussing something with him.

"Come on, let’s head over too."

After a brief hesitation, Qin Xiangyuan immediately pulled Qin Xiangying along and strode over.

"Good, not bad at all. You’ve fully recovered in three months and even consolidated your cultivation. Fan’Er, you really didn’t disappoint Uncle Zhang."

As the three were chatting, Qin Xiangyuan and her sister walked up to them.

"Father, Uncle Zhang." The sisters bowed slightly to Zhang Tiesheng, then smiled sweetly.

The moment Zhang Tiesheng and Qin Shiming saw Qin Xiangyuan, they were momentarily taken aback and discreetly exchanged a glance. However, the two of them instantly recovered their composure.

"Yuan’Er, Xiang Ying, this is Qin Fan. Fan’Er is a bit older than you two. From now on, he will be your older brother," Qin Shiming introduced them in a formal manner.

"Greetings, Qin Fan. I am Xiangyuan, and this is Xiang Ying."

The two sisters bowed slightly to Jiang Hao, and Jiang Hao returned a slight bow, saying, "Greetings, Xiangyuan and Xiang Ying."

After they became acquainted, and Qin Shiming said a few more things along the lines of "we’re all one family from now on," Qin Xiangyuan led Qin Xiangying away. Throughout the entire conversation, however, the sisters constantly scrutinized Jiang Hao, as if trying to discern something from him.

Watching Qin Xiangyuan walk further away, Zhang Tiesheng and Qin Shiming furrowed their brows.

"That child Xiangyuan is far too intelligent. After she bumped into us when we returned that night, she secretly investigated the movements of my Artifact Refining City. I’m afraid that girl has already grown suspicious," Zhang Tiesheng said with a bitter smile. Having watched Qin Xiangyuan grow up, he understood just how incredibly clever this young woman was.

Qin Shiming also wore a grave expression. After all, no one knew a daughter better than her father.

"The fewer people who know Hao’Er’s true identity, the better. Only if the people of the Qin family genuinely treat him as a direct descendant will it be possible to deceive the world."

"Are you saying we need to find a way to dispel Yuan’Er’s suspicions?"

At this, both of them fell into deep thought. Once suspicion had taken root, how could it be so easily erased?

"Unless..."

A moment later.

Qin Shiming slowly raised his head and couldn’t help but look at Jiang Hao. Zhang Tiesheng seemed to have thought of something as well, staring at Qin Shiming with eyes full of disbelief.