Chapter 58 - 56: Upheaval, the Devastated Qin City

Chapter 58: Chapter 56: Upheaval, the Devastated Qin City

The moment that killing intent enveloped him, Jiang Hao felt a chill run down his spine. With no time to think, he immediately swept his sword out in a backhand slash.

BOOM!!!

In an instant, Sword Qi ravaged the entire street. As the two forces collided, the terrifying shockwaves violently dispersed in all directions.

Using the repulsive force, Jiang Hao distanced himself by dozens of meters and looked up abruptly. At the other end of the street, a figure had also retreated after the exchange, looking at him with eyes full of shock. It was a young man in white clothes, with sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes. Between his brows, there was also a newly fused Celestial Pride Mark.

"What terrifying Sword Qi. Who are you, kid? I don’t think I’ve seen you in Celestial City before." Failing to kill with one strike, the young man’s face instantly turned solemn.

Jiang Hao ignored him and quickly turned to leave Celestial City. Seeing this, the young man gripped his sword and shot forward, seemingly wanting to give chase.

"Forget it, Lin Tai. You won’t be able to kill this person anytime soon," another young man said as he tore through the air, stopping the white-clad youth’s pursuit. The newcomer also had a Celestial Pride Mark between his brows, and his aura was equally terrifying.

Lin Tai glanced at him, a flash of regret in his eyes. Sheathing his sword, he said, "What a pity. He runs fast enough. If I could have killed him, I would have one less competitor in the future. Don’t let me run into you again, kid, or you won’t be so lucky next time."

After the white-clad youth finished speaking, the newcomer shook his head disdainfully and added, "Let’s head back to the Lin Race first. From the looks of it, Celestial City is about to descend into chaos."

With that said, both of them soared into the sky, flying toward a slowly revolving grand array somewhere in Celestial City.

At this moment, countless grand arrays manifested their true forms within Celestial City, all protecting the younger generation Cultivators of their respective clans. Although the older generation couldn’t attack the celestial prides who had fused with the marks, they could provide a sanctuary for their own. A defensive grand array was the most direct method. As long as they entered their clan’s grand array, it would be almost impossible for other celestial prides to kill them.

Elsewhere, after distancing himself from Celestial City, Jiang Hao looked back at the massive city. He saw terrifying grand arrays rising from the ground, an astonishing sight to behold. It was obvious that, from this moment on, the nature of the Cultivation Realm had completely changed.

Jiang Hao didn’t linger. He immediately vanished from the area, flying toward Qin City.

Just along the way, he encountered more than one battle between celestial prides. They were all probing each other, and some were even engaged in brutal life-and-death struggles. The Battle of the Celestial Prides seemingly represented the absolute incompatibility among countless geniuses. At this moment, they all became each other’s mortal enemies. After all, for them, one less celestial pride meant one less competitor in the ancient ruins in the future.

Time flew by. Two hours later, when Jiang Hao saw the walls of Qin City, the entire city was already enveloped by a terrifying grand array.

"Halt!"

The moment he approached Qin City, he was immediately locked onto by countless terrifying auras.

"A Celestial Pride Mark? He’s a celestial pride of this generation?" Sensing the aura of the mark on Jiang Hao, the countless Qin City experts on the city wall furrowed their brows.

The expression of one of the presiding experts of Qin City changed drastically. "Immediately reinforce the defensive grand array and block him outside the city!"

The Battle of the Celestial Prides had already begun. No matter how strong their cultivation bases were, these older generation Cultivators didn’t dare to attack a celestial pride. The only thing they could do was use a Supreme Grand Array to keep them out. For a moment, the entirety of Qin City braced itself as if facing a formidable enemy.

"Quickly investigate if there are any peerless experts behind this person! Put the entire city on maximum alert!"

One by one, the Qin City Cultivators reinforced the grand array, fearing that Jiang Hao was a celestial pride from a hostile faction. Once an enemy celestial pride appeared, there was no guarantee they wouldn’t be followed by older generation figures responsible for sieging the city. Ultimately, the current situation had evolved into a state where the older generation experts of both sides could not lay a hand on the young celestial prides.

However, this didn’t mean that older generation figures couldn’t attack each other. Enemy elders could easily act as a siege force, paving the way for those celestial prides and escorting them into Qin City to slaughter. And once powerful celestial prides entered the city with older generation experts clearing the path, it would undoubtedly be a catastrophe. In history, there had been cases where peerless celestial prides were escorted into enemy cities during a siege by older generation figures, slaughtering the younger generation of hostile factions until there was almost a complete generational gap.

Looking at the Qin City experts acting so defensively, Jiang Hao didn’t hesitate and immediately revealed his identity. "I am Qin Fan, a scion of Qin City’s Qin family. Let me in."

His loud voice transmitted into the grand array. Hearing this, countless Qin City experts were slightly taken aback.

"A direct descendant of the City Lord’s Mansion? How can you prove it?" a Qin City defender asked warily.

However, before Jiang Hao could speak, a Cultivator from the Qin family participating in the city’s defense recognized him. "It really is Qin Fan. He’s Patriarch Qin’s son. Quickly, let him in!"

RUMBLE!

As soon as he finished speaking, the city’s defensive grand array rumbled loudly and opened a gap. Dozens of figures then tore through the air, guarding Jiang Hao in the center.

"Young Master, quickly follow us into the city," a presiding expert of Qin City immediately urged.

Seeing everyone acting so tense, Jiang Hao couldn’t help but frown slightly. "Senior, did something happen in Qin City?" he asked as he followed the crowd inside.

"Young Master, you might not know this, but Qin City was just attacked by a few nearby hostile cities. If the City Lord and the others hadn’t returned in time, Qin City would likely not look the way it does now."

Hearing this, Jiang Hao was shocked. The Battle of the Celestial Prides had just begun, yet Qin City had already been attacked?

However, this answer was quickly confirmed. After Jiang Hao entered the city, a scene of devastation greeted his eyes. There were traces of battle everywhere in Qin City. Blood stained the streets, both large and small, indicating heavy casualties. This was Jiang Hao’s first time experiencing the cruelty and bloodshed of the Battle of the Celestial Prides. It seemed to only concern the younger generation of Cultivators, but in reality, a single slight move affected the entire situation.

"Young Master, forgive us, but we have duties to attend to and cannot escort you to the Qin Mansion. This is the entry Token for the defensive grand array. It shares the same origin as the array itself. From now on, you can use it to pass through the defensive grand array. Please keep it safe." After handing Jiang Hao a pitch-black Token, the defending expert turned and left to organize the city defenses.

The Token was completely black and cold to the touch, yet it resonated with Qin City’s defensive grand array from afar. Obviously, this was the credential to enter and exit the grand array.

Along the way, Jiang Hao witnessed true cruelty. The once-peaceful Qin City was now riddled with scars. The scale of the attack it had suffered seemed extremely terrifying. Even now, groups of Cultivators were still forming factions and continuously searching the city. Clearly, there were still enemies hiding within.

Fifteen minutes later, Jiang Hao finally arrived at the Qin Mansion and flew toward the Upper Spirit Garden.

"Brother Qin Fan? Father, it’s Brother Qin Fan!" Qin Xiangyuan spotted him from afar and immediately called out, her face full of joy.

Qin Shiming and several terrifying figures from the Qin family were also in the Upper Spirit Garden. Seeing Jiang Hao, they all couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.

As soon as Jiang Hao landed, Qin Xiangyuan hurried forward with an anxious expression. Showing unprecedented concern, she said, "Brother Qin Fan, are you okay? Where did you go? Father and the uncles were worried sick."

The little girl claimed that Qin Shiming and the others were worried, completely unaware that she was the one whose face showed the most magnified concern.

Hearing this, Jiang Hao looked apologetic while his gaze subconsciously scanned his surroundings. It was obvious—the Qin family’s Upper Spirit Garden had also been attacked. The terrifying aura of battle had yet to dissipate.

Seeing Jiang Hao’s return, the worry in Qin Shiming’s heart vanished with it. "Yuan’Er, take Fan’Er to the Qin family’s Martial Arts Arena immediately. There will be an important announcement later."

"Okay. Brother Qin Fan, follow Yuan’Er."

Without waiting for Jiang Hao to ask anything, Qin Shiming left with a solemn expression, as if he had some urgent matters to handle. Jiang Hao originally wanted to find an opportunity to explain his intention to leave to Qin Shiming. However, given the current emergency, it wasn’t appropriate to bring it up at this critical juncture. He followed Qin Xiangyuan toward the Qin family’s Martial Arts Arena.

On the way, Qin Xiangyuan didn’t forget to advise him, "By the way, Brother Qin Fan, you shouldn’t expose your cultivation base for now. Father means for you to be a hidden trump card for the Qin family. At a critical moment, it might have an unexpected effect."

As she spoke, a trace of worry rippled in her beautiful eyes. "The Battle of the Celestial Prides has already begun. Brother Qin Fan, from now on, Yuan’Er will follow you. If we join forces, we’ll definitely be able to rise to prominence during the Battle of the Celestial Prides."

Hearing this, Jiang Hao remained silent. After three years together, this girl had completely treated him as a direct descendant of the Qin family and her own brother. But in order not to implicate the Qin family, he was already prepared to leave the Earth Realm of Celestial City.

Completely unaware of all this, Qin Xiangyuan was still chattering non-stop about the subsequent arrangements. "Brother Qin Fan, Father also mentioned just now that during the Battle of the Celestial Prides, the direct descendants of the Qin family will be divided into five teams. That way, even if one team is lost, our entire army won’t be wiped out. Brother Qin Fan, you and I will lead one of those teams into the fray together.

"Every time the Battle of the Celestial Prides occurs, countless ancient ruins open up. This is the best opportunity for our generation to rise.

"Brother Qin Fan, Yuan’Er wants to watch you rise to the top during the Battle of the Celestial Prides. In Yuan’Er’s heart, you are the most invincible person."

While Qin Xiangyuan was speaking, the two arrived at the Qin family’s Martial Arts Arena. At this moment, countless Qin family disciples and an innumerable amount of younger generation Cultivators of Qin City were gathered there.

When Jiang Hao appeared in the Martial Arts Arena, it instantly caused a stir.

"Qin Fan? He actually obtained a Celestial Pride Mark too?"

"Can someone with a cultivation base at the Unity Realm Second Layer gain the recognition of the Tai Chi Cloud?"

"The Unity Realm Second Layer isn’t too bad. The Celestial Pride Mark isn’t only reserved for proud daughters of heaven like the Young Miss. It just means he barely squeezed into the ranks of the celestial prides."

Advancing from the Creation Realm Third Layer to the Unity Realm Second Layer in three years indeed wasn’t too bad. However, there were quite a few geniuses in the Qin family’s Martial Arts Arena who had obtained the Celestial Pride Mark right now, so no one took him too seriously. Little did they know that fifteen minutes later, they would completely explode in an uproar over Qin Shiming’s arrangements.

As the entire Martial Arts Arena buzzed with a cacophony of voices, Jiang Hao keenly noticed that hundreds of figures with terrifying auras had inexplicably appeared around the perimeter. The cultivation bases of these figures were unfathomable. The Spiritual Power fluctuations within their bodies were even more profound and terrifying than Qin Shiming’s. They stood quietly at the edge of the Martial Arts Arena, their gazes scrutinizing all the young boys and girls of Qin City.

"Little Sister Xiangyuan, who are these people...?" Jiang Hao couldn’t help but ask. Those hundreds of figures were clearly not Qin family experts.

Hearing this, Qin Xiangyuan glanced at those imposing figures with her beautiful eyes. A touch of respect appeared on her pretty face as she said, "They’re said to be experts Father invited to watch over Qin City."

"Invited experts?" Jiang Hao was utterly stunned.

Xiangyuan simply nodded. "Yes, the Elders are also quite shocked. I’m actually very surprised myself. I don’t know where Father found so many Loose Cultivators, and their strength is terrifying enough to make one’s heart tremble."

Listening to Qin Xiangyuan’s words, the first person Jiang Hao thought of was Gu Qingyan, the Young Master of the Divine Pill Pavilion. Based on his understanding of the Qin family, even though Qin Shiming was the City Lord of Qin City, he absolutely did not have such terrifying connections. If one randomly picked any of those experts, they wouldn’t be someone the Qin family could invite.

There was only one possibility: these experts took orders from that young girl. They were the forces she had sent to protect him—a Pill Master—and the Qin family.

And the truth was indeed so.

The moment Jiang Hao entered the Martial Arts Arena, hundreds of profound gazes locked onto him, but their brows all furrowed slightly. The request they had received was to protect the Qin family and a young man. But Gu Qingyan had not told them anything about that young man.

"Is this the young man the Miss thinks so highly of?"

"With a cultivation base at the Unity Realm Second Layer, what makes him worthy of the Miss placing such high importance on him?"