After buying enough medicinal herbs from Huaa Que, Qin Ya dragged the chattering Qin Yuxiang, who had been talking nonstop with Leng Ningshuang, back home. Along the way, Qin Yuxiang kept giving him strange looks, sighing mournfully from time to time.
"Sigh, Xiaoya is all grown up now, keeping secrets like this from his aunt."
"Aunt, what are you talking about?"
"Xiaoya, what do you think of Miss Leng?" Qin Yuxiang asked suddenly.
"You sure change the subject fast. Um, she's great."
"Is that so? She's beautiful, has a gentle personality…"
The two chatted idly as they returned to a jubilant Qin Mansion.
The Qin Mansion was unusually different today. The clan disciples all wore smiles, and even the Elders, who were usually stern and unsmiling, couldn't completely hide the flashes of excitement they felt.
"Aunt, is there some kind of celebration at the Qin Mansion today?"
"I haven't heard anything." Qin Yuxiang's fine brows furrowed as she tried her best to think.
Just then, a passing clan member said excitedly, "Among the younger generation of the three great families, Li Peiyi is currently the leader. But now that the Young Master is back, he will surely be the one to lead them from now on. The Qin Family will finally surpass the other two families."
Qin Ya and his aunt looked at each other, both seeing the surprise in the other's eyes.
"Qin Yunlong is back." Qin Yuxiang's face turned a little pale. An image suddenly surfaced in her mind: the high-spirited youth from all those years ago, delivering a palm strike as mighty as a mountain…
"Aunt, what's wrong?" Qin Ya's brow furrowed. He noticed that her expression was off. 'Could this have something to do with Qin Yunlong?'
Qin Yuxiang shook her head, her expression returning to normal. "Let's go, Xiaoya."
"Okay." Qin Ya gave Qin Yuxiang a deep, meaningful look.
After returning to his room, Qin Ya took out the Primordial Heaven Qi Furnace. A sharp glint flashed in his eyes as his hands moved like butterflies flitting through flowers, forming one Seal Technique after another.
Finally, Qin Ya forced a drop of his essence blood from his fingertip, letting it fall into the furnace.
The Primordial Heaven Qi Furnace emitted a hazy cyan glow, which then receded.
"Whew, the ownership ritual was a success." Qin Ya breathed a sigh of relief.
The bewitching Purple Lotus Celestial Flame suddenly leaped from Qin Ya's fingertip, dancing elegantly before transforming into a Fire Serpent that circled the Primordial Heaven Qi Furnace twice.
"The Purple Lotus Celestial Flame, the Primordial Heaven Qi Furnace…"
Qin Ya's gaze grew distant. 'Ten thousand years have passed. So much has changed. My old friends from the past are either gone or dead. Now, looking at these two personal items of my past life as a Pill Venerable, I feel a hint of comfort amid all this melancholy.'
"It's a good thing you're both still here."
Calming his mind, Qin Ya took out the medicinal herbs and began the alchemy process.
With the help of the Primordial Heaven Qi Furnace, he managed to refine a batch of twelve Earth Spirit Pills in just half a day—incredible efficiency.
If any other Alchemists were to find out, they would be absolutely dumbfounded.
A mere Human Element Realm Ninth Grade Martial Artist had actually refined a batch of Third Grade Earth Spirit Pills, and without wasting a single bit of the medicinal ingredients.
It was a one hundred percent success rate!
After taking an Earth Spirit Pill, Qin Ya began his cultivation. In about an hour, the Medicinal Power of the Earth Spirit Pill was perfectly absorbed by his Leakless Body, bringing him another step closer to the Profound Origin Realm.
After cultivating, Qin Ya's thoughts returned to Qin Yuxiang's strange behavior from earlier.
'Why did Aunt's expression change so strangely when Qin Yunlong was mentioned? No, I have to go ask about it.' To Qin Ya, Qin Yuxiang was his most important relative. If she was unhappy, he couldn't be happy either.
"Qin Ya, I really don't know!"
Qin Feng, the grandson of the Qin Family's Third Elder, was dangling from a tree, held up by Qin Ya's single hand. He looked at the fierce Qin Ya before him with a terrified expression, begging for mercy.
"Hmph. You're the Third Elder's grandson, how could you not know? Tell me, what's the history between Qin Yunlong and my aunt?" Qin Ya said with a cold snort.
"Qin Yunlong is at Mingxin Academy year-round and only comes back occasionally! What kind of history could he have with the Sixth Elder? Even if there was something, I wouldn't know about it!"
Qin Ya's brow furrowed. 'Maybe I'm overthinking this.'
"Qin Ya, why don't you go ask the Great Elder's granddaughter, Qin Yao? She's completely infatuated with Qin Yunlong, so she's sure to know everything about him."
'Qin Yao? The Great Elder's granddaughter.'
"Hmph." Qin Ya set Qin Feng down and left with a cold expression.
Just as Qin Ya was about to go look for Qin Yao, he was suddenly summoned by Qin Hai.
'Qin Hai is summoning me?' Qin Ya wondered as he made his way to the Qin Family's main hall.
As soon as he entered, Qin Ya saw Qin Hai, and beside him, a young man in white robes who bore a slight resemblance to the Patriarch.
'This must be Qin Yunlong.'
"Qin Ya, I've called you here to ask you something."
"What is it?" Qin Ya asked indifferently. He was inwardly surprised by Qin Yunlong's cultivation. 'Spiritual Element Realm. The number one genius of Anxing City truly lives up to his name.'
"I heard you killed the Wolf King during the Mang Mountain hunt. That was a Wolf King capable of taking down experts from Lianyun City. I'm curious how you killed it. And the Violent Bear was even stronger than the Wolf King. How did you kill that one?"
"Oh? And how does the Clan Leader believe I killed them?" Qin Ya returned with an indifferent smile.
Qin Hai's expression darkened. Losing his patience for further discussion, he said directly, "Qin Ya, you used to be nothing but trash, yet the Qin Family still raised you for over a decade. And in all that time, you've made no contribution to the family…"
"Enough!"
Before Qin Hai could finish, Qin Ya cut him off with a shout. He stared coldly at the Qin Family Patriarch before him, his icy voice filled with rage. "The Qin Family raised me for over a decade? Why do those words sound so grating to my ears?"
"My aunt is a Qin Family Elder who has risked life and limb for the family. My uncle even died fighting for the family in the clan protection war! If my aunt hadn't fought tooth and nail to keep me here in her capacity as an Elder, you probably would have thrown me out of the Qin Family long ago."
"The only reason I was allowed to stay in the Qin Family was because you wanted my aunt to continue slaving away for you! It was all for your own selfish benefit. To be able to state it in such a sanctimonious way… you truly are worthy of the title Clan Leader. Heh."
"Besides, I'm sure you've heard a thing or two about what I've been through these past ten-plus years in the Qin Family, Clan Leader. If it weren't for my aunt's protection, I don't know how many times I would have died. And because of me, I imagine my aunt has suffered no small amount of criticism from all of you, right?"
"Now you're just scheming to get your hands on whatever treasure you think I might have. Hmph. 'Raised me'? What a joke."
Qin Ya's sudden outburst was like a barrage of knives, his words turning Qin Hai's face pale, then green, and finally settling into an expression of indescribable, shameful fury.
"Qin Ya, to spout such nonsense, are you not afraid of death?" Qin Hai mobilized the True Essence in his body, unleashing the oppressive aura of his Profound Origin Realm cultivation and directing it at Qin Ya.
Faced with Qin Hai's imposing aura, Qin Ya remained completely unmoved.
An oppressive aura is merely a suppression of one's spiritual will. Who was Qin Ya? What kind of scenes hadn't he witnessed in his past life as a Pill Venerable? How could his spiritual will be shaken by someone like Qin Hai?
"Good, good, good. What a sharp tongue. Your aunt is Qin Yuxiang, isn't she?" At this moment, Qin Yunlong, who had been silent ever since Qin Ya arrived, suddenly spoke up.