Silence fell after the people from Tianbao Pavilion departed.

All eyes turned to Qin Guan, filled with a complex mix of emotions. No one had expected the unassuming Qin Guan to be a 3rd Realm Warrior!

Nan Yunqi also wore a look of disbelief. He had always thought Qin Guan was a weak 2nd Realm martial artist, never expecting the man to have hidden his strength so deeply!

After a moment, the Great Elder, Nan Shunda, suddenly spoke.

"Qin Guan, a 3rd Realm Warrior is indeed powerful. But are you aware that Tianbao Pavilion is backed by a patron at the Profound Connection Stage? If you have any gratitude for the Nan Family taking you in, hurry to Tianbao Pavilion and admit your guilt!"

Second Elder Nan Yuantong nodded. "He's right. An expert of the Profound Connection Stage is not someone a 3rd Realm Warrior like you can hope to challenge. You should sever all ties with the Nan Family immediately and go to Tianbao Pavilion to atone for your actions!"

"Go on, you're not welcome in the Nan Family!"

"That's right! The Nan Family doesn't welcome you!"

As soon as Nan Shunda and Nan Yuantong made their stance clear, the Nan Family members behind them began to clamor in agreement. If Chen Guangling brought that Profound Connection Stage patron back with him, they would all be doomed.

Seeing so many people trying to drive Qin Guan away, Nan Rou rushed to his side and gripped his hand tightly.

"Enough!"

Nan Yunqi roared, glaring at Nan Shunda and Nan Yuantong. "I am the Head of the Nan Family. It is not your place to make decisions here."

At this, he glanced at Qin Guan. "Qin Guan is the Nan Family's son-in-law. Since he has married into our family, he is one of us. At a time like this, shouldn't we be united against a common enemy?"

Hearing this, the Great Elder, Nan Shunda, sneered.

"United? Nan Yunqi, spare me your grand pronouncements. It's obvious you just want to use the rest of us as cannon fodder to protect your precious son-in-law!"

Nan Yunqi's voice was grave. "Nan Shunda, we are facing a powerful enemy, yet you choose now to sow discord. What are you plotting?"

Just then, Second Elder Nan Yuantong chimed in.

"Nan Yunqi, spare us your false righteousness! Qin Guan has caused our family to offend Tianbao Pavilion. From now on, the Nan Family will struggle to survive in Luyun City. If we don't get rid of this menace, our family will never have a future!"

After speaking, Nan Yuantong looked at the other family members and added, "In any case, I will not sacrifice myself for an outsider. When Tianbao Pavilion arrives, I will not lift a finger to help."

With that, Nan Yuantong walked to one side. Seeing this, the group of Nan Family members behind him followed suit.

"I won't be helping either!" Nan Shunda declared before walking to the opposite side. At the same time, the people who supported him immediately followed.

In an instant, the dozens of Nan Family members were split into three factions.

Some of those standing behind Nan Yunqi looked around nervously. Soon, a few defected to Nan Shunda's side, while others ran to join Nan Yuantong. They were up against Tianbao Pavilion; none of them wanted to be cannon fodder for Qin Guan.

In a matter of moments, only a dozen people remained behind Nan Yunqi. The Family Head had been completely undermined.

Witnessing this, Qin Guan sighed to himself. *It seems my father-in-law's position as the head of the family is not as secure as I thought.*

"Haha!"

Nan Yunqi suddenly threw his head back and laughed. He had known this day would come sooner or later; Qin Guan was merely the spark that lit the fuse.

Seeing the sorrow in her father's laughter and how many had abandoned them, Nan Rou looked at Qin Guan and whimpered helplessly, "Brother Guan."

Qin Guan just smiled and gently patted Nan Rou's head. "Don't be afraid. This is a good thing."

And so, silence fell once more. It seemed everyone was waiting for Tianbao Pavilion's arrival. One faction was ready for a fight; the other two were preparing to surrender.

Meanwhile, just as Chen Guangling and his men reached the entrance of Tianbao Pavilion, they ran into two people.

Upon seeing one of them, an old man in a green robe, Chen Guangling's eyes lit up. He rushed forward and dropped to his knees with a thud.

"Old Xu! You've come at the perfect time! Someone attacked our Tianbao Pavilion! You must seek justice for us!"

Old Xu frowned slightly. "Someone in Luyun City dares to disrespect Tianbao Pavilion?"

"Old Xu, the aggressor is a 3rd Realm Warrior, and he's incredibly arrogant! He called us a bunch of worthless thugs, nothing but country bumpkins who can't stand on a real stage. He told me to go back and get the best fighter we have, saying he's going to beat us so badly we'll be picking our teeth up off the floor!"

Chen Guangling wildly exaggerated, spicing up his story. Although Tianbao Pavilion's own patron was also at the Profound Connection Stage, Old Xu's power was on a completely different level. If he could get Old Xu to intervene, that 3rd Realm Warrior would be swatted dead with a single slap!

Old Xu was somewhat surprised to hear it was a 3rd Realm Warrior. For a small place like Luyun City to produce such an expert was unexpected. But his surprise quickly turned to anger.

"A mere 3rd Realm Warrior dares to be so audacious? Take me to him!"

With that, he turned to the woman in white behind him. "My Lady, I will go resolve this matter and return shortly."

Hearing Old Xu respectfully address the woman in white as "My Lady," Chen Guangling's pupils contracted. He scrambled to turn and kowtow before her. "This lowly one was blind and failed to recognize your greatness! My greetings, Your Ladyship!"

The woman in white ignored Chen Guangling, saying coolly, "I'm bored anyway. I might as well go see what the commotion is about."

Chen Guangling was overjoyed. He quickly led Old Xu and the woman in white toward the Nan residence. Before long, the group arrived in the main courtyard of the Nan Family estate.

Seeing Chen Guangling return with reinforcements, Nan Shunda and Nan Yuantong practically tripped over each other as they rushed forward to grovel and beg for mercy.

"Get out of my way!"

Chen Guangling shoved them aside. He didn't have time for them and led his party straight toward Nan Yunqi's group.

Chen Guangling stepped aside, then pointed a finger at Qin Guan, who stood at the front, and snarled,

"Old Xu, that's the little bastard! He's the one who called everyone from Tianbao Pavilion worthless thugs!"

Following Chen Guangling's finger, Old Xu's eyes fell upon the person he was pointing at. He started in surprise, and the beautiful eyes of the woman in white widened in an instant.

When Qin Guan saw Old Xu and the woman in white, his brow furrowed slightly. "It's them."

These were the same two people he had encountered while crossing the river two days prior.

"Little bastard, cat got your tongue? Weren't you so arrogant before? Threatening to beat Tianbao Pavilion until we couldn't..."

"Urgh!"

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Before Chen Guangling could finish his sentence, he suddenly coughed up blood and was sent flying.

Everyone was stunned. What was going on? Why had Pavilion Master Chen been sent flying and coughing up blood again?!

In the distance, as he flew backward spitting blood, a storm of confusion raged in Chen Guangling's mind. He scrambled back, a look of utter bewilderment on his face, and stared at Old Xu.

He was about to protest that Old Xu had hit the wrong person, but when he saw the ugly look on Old Xu's face, a sense of dread washed over him, and the words died on his lips.

While everyone stared in disbelief, Old Xu stepped forward, faced Qin Guan, and said with a smile,

"Young friend, I believe there must be some misunderstanding here!"

A misunderstanding?

Hearing Old Xu's words, everyone present was stunned. They didn't know who this Old Xu was, but judging from Pavilion Master Chen's attitude, he had to be an incredibly important figure. Why would such a powerful man take the initiative to call this a misunderstanding with Qin Guan?

Qin Guan looked at Old Xu but said nothing.

Seeing Qin Guan's silence, Old Xu felt a bit awkward. He and his lady had been planning to visit Qin Guan to recruit him. He never imagined that before they could even make their offer, this idiot Chen Guangling would go and offend him first. What a useless oaf, more trouble than he's worth!

"Yes, yes, this was all just a misunderstanding!"

Nan Yunqi quickly stepped forward and said to Old Xu with a placating smile.

The old man before him was unfathomably powerful. Although Nan Yunqi didn't understand why he was being so conciliatory, since the man was offering an olive branch, it would be foolish not to accept it.

Nan Yunqi had barely finished speaking when Qin Guan suddenly spoke up. "I have two conditions. One: Chen Guangling and his son, Chen Shaojie, die. Then this matter is over. Two: Tianbao Pavilion compensates my father-in-law with one hundred bottles of Qi Refining Powder in exchange for their lives. Then we can also let this matter go."

Everyone gasped in shock upon hearing Qin Guan's conditions. He dared to negotiate with Tianbao Pavilion?

Where did he get the audacity to make such demands of them?

Old Xu's brow furrowed, and a flash of displeasure crossed his eyes. He hadn't expected Qin Guan to not only refuse to show him any respect but to also openly humiliate Tianbao Pavilion. No matter how strong Qin Guan was, the prestige of Tianbao Pavilion was not something he could trample on.

At this thought, Old Xu's voice turned grave as he looked at Qin Guan. "And what if I refuse?"

Seeing that Old Xu was clearly angered, Nan Yunqi was so frightened his legs felt like jelly. He quickly waved his hands dismissively. "Old Xu, the young are hot-headed. Please don't take him seriously! We wouldn't dare..."

As Nan Yunqi was trying to smooth things over, Qin Guan cut in coldly, "Refusing is also an option. We can settle this with a fight. I'll represent the Nan Family. All of you can come at me at once."

"Insolence!"

Old Xu roared at Qin Guan's contemptuous challenge, and a terrifying wave of pressure instantly erupted from him.

"Old Xu."

Just as Old Xu was about to strike, the woman in white, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke.

"My Lady." Old Xu reined in his aura and turned to face her.

"Agree to his terms," the woman in white said coolly.

Old Xu's expression was strained, but after a moment, he turned to Qin Guan. "Tianbao Pavilion can agree to your conditions. The choice is yours."

Hearing Old Xu's words, Chen Guangling was so terrified he nearly collapsed. He fell to his knees, crying and begging,

"Old Xu, I have served Tianbao Pavilion for so many years! Even if I have no great merits, I have toiled tirelessly! The Pavilion can't do this to me!"

Chen Shaojie also scrambled over on his knees, trembling uncontrollably. He couldn't understand why Tianbao Pavilion would be afraid of a 3rd Realm Warrior.

The question in Chen Shaojie's mind was shared by everyone present. They were all baffled as to why Tianbao Pavilion would actually agree to Qin Guan's demands.

"Father-in-law, do you want the hundred bottles of Qi Refining Powder, or the lives of this father and son?" Qin Guan asked, turning to Nan Yunqi.

Nan Yunqi was practically scared out of his wits. He stammered in a small voice, "One hundred... one hundred bottles of Qi Refining Powder."

It was unthinkable! Killing the Pavilion Master of Tianbao Pavilion? He didn't even dare to entertain the thought; it felt like a crime just to consider it. The gap in status was simply too vast.

On the other hand, if they could really obtain one hundred bottles of Qi Refining Powder, it would be an astronomical fortune for the Nan Family!

Hearing Nan Yunqi choose the hundred bottles of Qi Refining Powder, both Chen Guangling and his son breathed a sigh of relief. At least it was just a matter of compensation.

"Pay up," Qin Guan said, holding out his hand.

"I... I don't have that many," Chen Guangling stammered, looking toward Old Xu.

"What are you looking at me for!" Old Xu glared.

Terrified, Chen Guangling quickly turned to his subordinates. "Everyone, chip in! I'll pay you all back later!"

Chen Guangling quickly took out a Storage Bag and began collecting from his men.

In no time, one hundred bottles of Qi Refining Powder were gathered. Chen Guangling handed the Storage Bag to Qin Guan.

Without even a glance, Qin Guan tossed the bag to Nan Yunqi.

As Nan Yunqi caught the Storage Bag, he felt as if he were in a dream. Had such a massive amount of resources truly fallen into his hands just like that?

The Nan Family disciples' eyes were fixed on the Storage Bag in Nan Yunqi's hand, their greedy and fervent gazes completely undisguised.

Normally, an ordinary disciple only received one bottle of Qi Refining Powder every two months. Those with better aptitude might get one bottle a month. Even Nan Qiao only received three bottles per month.

One hundred bottles of Qi Refining Powder!

Regret!

At this moment, many of them were filled with true regret, especially those disciples who had just abandoned Nan Yunqi. They were kicking themselves.

No one had imagined that not only would Qin Guan emerge unscathed, but their opponents would end up compensating them with one hundred bottles of Qi Refining Powder!

Nan Shunda and Nan Yuantong's faces were grim. They had hoped Tianbao Pavilion would eliminate Nan Yunqi for them, but the outcome was the complete opposite of what they had expected.

Just then, the woman in white approached Qin Guan with a smile. "Young Master Qin, may I have a word with you in private?"

After a moment's hesitation, Qin Guan followed the woman in white as she walked away.

---

Proofreader: Peter Pan