An endless, overwhelming aura completely enveloped Shangguan Lie. His bones, muscles, and even his spirit were enduring immense pressure. In just a few breaths, the aura had him drenched in sweat.

THUD. Shangguan Lie could no longer withstand the pressure. His knees buckled, and he fell to his knees before Qin Ya. Born into the Shangguan Family and pampered since birth, he had never suffered such treatment. An immense sense of humiliation exploded in his heart, momentarily driving away the fear Qin Ya had inspired in him.

"Qin Ya, I swear I’ll tear you limb from limb!"

Shangguan Lie gritted his teeth, his eyes bloodshot as he glared at Qin Ya like a vengeful demon, wishing he could gnaw the flesh from his bones and grind them into powder.

Facing Shangguan Lie’s rabid roars, Qin Ya remained cold and silent. The overwhelming aura merely intensified. BOOM! Shangguan Lie’s body was slammed flat against the ground. His bones emitted a series of CRACKS, and he twitched uncontrollably like a dying dog, yet the curses never stopped.

"Qin Ya, I hope you die a horrible death!"

"You bastard! I’ll grind your bones to ash..."

The surrounding crowd was already stunned, a chill creeping into their hearts. For scions of Noble Families like Shangguan Lie, the only thing more important than their Cultivation was their reputation. To be humiliated like this in front of everyone... the cruelty was no less than death by a thousand cuts.

"My God, Brother Qin is... ruthless."

Zhangg Fei swallowed hard from a short distance away. He never imagined that the young man who had been chatting so amiably with him moments ago could turn so cold and ruthless in the blink of an eye.

"Still have the strength to curse?" Qin Ya said mildly. "Looks like it’s not enough."

A frigid chill then emanated from beneath his feet, traveling through the ground to Shangguan Lie and seeping into his limbs, his very flesh and blood...

HSSSS...

"What... what did you... do to me?"

Shangguan Lie stammered, his voice trembling. By the time he finished speaking, his eyebrows, lips, hair—his entire body—were coated in a layer of Frost.

"It’s nothing. I just saw you were sweating. Thought I’d cool you down."

"You... you filthy... animal."

Shangguan Lie kept cursing, but Qin Ya paid him no mind. As time passed, Shangguan Lie’s curses grew fainter and fainter, until at last, he fell silent.

Only then did Qin Ya relent.

"Live out the rest of your days as a cripple."

Qin Ya spoke dispassionately, then rose to his feet. Without a single glance at the man prone on the floor, he walked out of Lianyu Tower. Everywhere he went, Martial Artists scrambled to get out of his way, terrified that the slightest misstep would earn them the same fate as Shangguan Lie.

After Qin Ya left, one of the Martial Artists cautiously approached to check on Shangguan Lie. The man’s expression grew more and more shocked, until it was twisted in sheer horror.

"How is he?" someone asked.

The Martial Artist took a deep breath, a fearful look in his eyes. "His meridians have been corroded by the cold energy and have withered away. His True Essence Qi Sea... it’s been shattered..."

GASP... The crowd drew a collective sharp breath.

In other words, Shangguan Lie had been... crippled!

From this day forward, Shangguan Lie would be no different from a commoner. No—after such a grievous injury, he would likely be worse off than even a common person.

"Qin Ya has really gone and done it this time!"

To the crowd, Qin Ya’s previous actions against the Shangguan Family had just been minor skirmishes. They thought that if he just sincerely apologized and showed some deference, the matter would be dropped.

But now they realized how wrong they were. Utterly and completely wrong.

There was no way Qin Ya would ever apologize. He was a lawless madman who had actually dared to destroy Shangguan Lie’s path of Martial Arts. This was tantamount to burning his own bridges, to declaring war on the Shangguan Family. A man who would take on a massive Noble Family all by himself—if he wasn’t a madman, then what was he?!

"Lieyang City is about to erupt."

"Crippling a Martial Artist’s path is crueler than killing them. It would be one thing if Shangguan Lie were just some ordinary disciple, but he’s the son of Patriarch Shangguan."

"How could Patriarch Shangguan possibly spare the man who crippled his son?"

"And that’s not all. Qin Ya just threw the disciples of the other two great families out of Lianyu Tower. And right now, all Three Great Noble Families are gathered in Lieyang City."

"Gasp... there’s really no way out for him now."

"My heavens! Who knows how long it’s been since something this exciting happened in Lieyang City! Ha, ever since Qin Ya showed up, there’s never a dull moment!"

"Make way, make way! Get out of this young master’s way!"

Just then, an incredibly arrogant voice rang out. Shangguan Hao appeared, dressed in fine brocade robes with a beautiful woman in his arms, swaggering over like the very picture of a hedonistic young master.

Seeing him, the crowd parted to let him through, amused smiles on their faces.

"What’s all the commotion? Let this young master see!"

Shangguan Hao walked over and followed the crowd’s gaze. Instantly, his pupils shrank to pinpricks. At that same moment, the beautiful woman in his arms suddenly shivered as if a cold wind had just swept by. "...Third Brother!"

............

’Hm. Trouble’s arrived.’

Qin Ya was walking down the street when suddenly, several streams of Divine Thought swept over him. A few breaths later, several Extraordinary Strong Persons descended from the sky. One of them, an Extraordinary, stared coldly at Qin Ya and said in an icy voice, "Kneel, and I might let you live!"

Just then, several young men rushed over from the distance. Qin Ya glanced at them, the corner of his mouth twitching into a slight smile. They were none other than Ouyang Hua, Mu Long, and the others he had thrown out of Lianyu Pavilion. The Extraordinaries in the sky were clearly their reinforcements.

"Brother, kill him!"

"He’s the one who humiliated us! We’re counting on you to get justice for us, Brother Mu!"

As soon as they arrived, they began to furiously denounce Qin Ya.

The Extraordinary Martial Artist who had spoken first repeated coldly, "Kneel!"

"Heh." Qin Ya let out a soft chuckle.

’Hunted by the Blood Nether Association, plotted against by Shangguan Lie, berated by the scions of the Three Great Noble Families, and now being ordered to kneel in the middle of the street!’ The killing intent in Qin Ya’s heart had already reached its boiling point. He slowly rose into the air, a white spear suddenly appearing in his hand. He leveled it at the Extraordinaries across from him. "Enough talk. Let’s fight!"

"I, Ouyang Zhen, will grant you the gift of death!!"

The Extraordinary Martial Artist who had spoken first—Ouyang Zhen—spoke with cold finality. With a flicker of movement, a greatsword appeared in his hand. It was black and gold, its blade covered in red patterns like the veins on a leaf. He brought it around in a diagonal Slash aimed at Qin Ya’s waist.

CLANG! The soundwave spread out in ripples, and a powerful gale swept through the area. Far below them, the street exploded with a BOOM, leaving a massive crater.

"Fall back!"

"Look out, get away!"

Seeing the devastation, the crowd rapidly retreated into the distance. Only a few other Extraordinary Martial Artists took to the sky, watching the battle with keen interest.

"To be able to block that slash... you do have some skill."

Ouyang Zhen held his black-and-gold greatsword, his eyes fixed on the youth who had blocked him with a spear. His voice held a trace of admiration, but then, his expression suddenly shifted.

"Is this all you’ve got?"

A cold glint flashed in Qin Ya’s eyes. With a tremor of his spear, a violent torrent of Thunder erupted forth. As the Thunder washed over him, Ouyang Zhen’s body went momentarily numb. In that single instant of hesitation, Qin Ya raised his foot and kicked him.

BOOM! He was sent flying like a cannonball, slamming into the ground and carving out another massive crater. High in the air, Qin Ya looked down upon him.

"Nothing special."