"Heh, that’s not something Patriarch Shangguan needs to worry about."

Qin Ya gave a faint smile. Gazing out over the vast Shangguan Family estate, the corner of his mouth curled as he said softly, "The Shangguan Family has stood firm in the Hundred Cities for so long; I imagine its foundations are quite impressive. Let me have a proper look."

"What are you trying to do?" Shangguan Bei’s expression changed.

Qin Ya ignored him. A flicker of his Divine Thought scanned the area, and he soon arrived at a place shrouded by an Array. He abruptly slammed his palm into the Defensive Array, but to his surprise, it didn’t move an inch, as impregnable as a fortress.

Though affected by the Poisonous Fog and unable to draw upon their True Essence Qi Seas, Shangguan Bei and the others in the distance could still use their Divine Thought. They clearly perceived Qin Ya’s actions. Seeing him attack their family’s Treasure Vault, Shangguan Bei sneered, "This Defensive Array may not be of the highest Grade, but without the proper technique to disable it, even a Celestial Human would have to spend a great deal of effort to break through."

"With your level of strength, it’s impossible for you to break this Array."

Shangguan Bei’s voice reached Qin Ya’s ears via Divine Thought, but Qin Ya only offered an indifferent smile. It was true that his Cultivation was formidable now, but even at full power, he was merely on par with an ordinary Celestial Human Martial Artist.

’I can break this Array, but it will take some time.’ The Poisonous Fog refined from the Muddy Water Black Lotus was potent but not fatal. Moreover, its effects on a Celestial Human would only last for about half an hour.

After that, their Cultivation would slowly begin to recover.

By then, it wouldn’t be so easy for Qin Ya to escape.

"How could a mere Defensive Array possibly stop me!"

Qin Ya let out a cold cry. As the words left his lips, he slowly drew a long, purple sword from his waist. With every inch the blade cleared its scabbard, the heaven-piercing sharpness of his aura intensified, to the point where snakes of lightning began to flicker in the air.

"Ting Xiao, shatter it!"

"Heh, my thoughts exactly!"

The Ting Xiao Sword let out a piercing cry. Immediately, a colossal bolt of Thunder Sword Qi materialized from the void and, with terrifying power, chopped down at the Defensive Array. A deafening BOOM erupted. The Defensive Array flickered with trembling light but held for less than two breaths before abruptly shattering!

The Thunder Sword Qi’s momentum didn’t falter. It slammed into the ground, kicking up clouds of dust. When everyone looked, their eyes widened in utter disbelief. A pavilion had been cleaved clean in two. An immense gash, several meters deep and over a hundred meters long, was carved into the earth, with lightning still crackling within it.

"Gasp... That Sword Qi is terrifying!"

"This is horrifying! How could Qin Ya possibly be this powerful?"

"Quick, look! That’s the Shangguan Family’s Treasure Vault!"

On the ravaged ground, the light of countless treasures glinted.

However, many of the items among the glittering lights were now broken and incomplete, clearly a result of that astonishing Sword Qi. Watching everything unfold from a distance with his Divine Thought, Shangguan Bei’s expression shifted uncontrollably between fury, terror, and heartache...

"Qin Ya!!"

He let out a low, furious roar. His eyes were crimson and shot with blood, his expression as twisted as a feral beast’s. There was no doubt that if Qin Ya stood before him now, he would lunge forward and try to tear a chunk out of him with his teeth, even without being able to use his True Essence.

That was the Shangguan Family’s Treasure Vault!

That was a century’s worth of the Shangguan Family’s accumulated wealth!

Destroyed by a single slash from Qin Ya’s sword!!

’The Shangguan Family... is finished.’

Seeing this, the Elders from the Ouyang and Mu Noble Families exchanged a glance, the same thought suddenly occurring to them. After the havoc Qin Ya had wreaked, the Shangguan Family’s Primordial Qi was surely devastated. Their power would be reduced by at least half. Even if their two great families didn’t take this chance to strike, the other forces in Lieyang City would rise up and attack them like a pack of wolves.

In the end, a new power would rise to become one of the Three Great Noble Families, replacing the Shangguan!

The disciples and Elders of the Shangguan Family seemed to realize this too. Their faces turned ashen, and a sense of helplessness washed over them. Who could have imagined that a mere Sky-Controlling Martial Artist could reduce the Shangguan Family to this state?

No one could have predicted it. No one would have dared to even imagine it!

On one side, a Noble Family with deep foundations and several Celestial Human experts.

On the other, a mere Loose Cultivator of unknown origin, possessing only a Sky-Controlling Cultivation.

The two were as incomparable as an elephant and an ant. Yet now, this ant had thrown the elephant that was the Shangguan Family into a state of utter chaos...

From this moment on, the Shangguan Family had gained a new nightmare.

Gazing at the shattered, glittering treasures on the ground, Qin Ya’s lips curled into a smirk. He felt not a shred of regret; after all, none of it had been his in the first place. His Divine Thought swept across the area, and he collected a few items that caught his eye into his Storage Ring.

"Who dares to cause such a disturbance here!"

Just then, a deep and domineering voice echoed from a corner of the Shangguan Family estate. An elderly Celestial Human shot into the sky, his sharp eyes sweeping the surroundings. His gaze landed on the area shrouded in black fog, and his brow furrowed. When his Divine Thought swept over it, his expression changed dramatically. "What is going on?!"

This Celestial Human Elder wondered if he was dreaming.

The scene before him was simply too unbelievable.

Hundreds of the most outstanding disciples from the Three Great Noble Families, a dozen Extraordinary cultivators, and even Patriarch Shangguan and the other Elders were all collapsed on the ground, completely at the mercy of another. In the distance, the family Treasure Vault had been shattered.

"What... what in the world happened here?"

The Celestial Human Elder muttered to himself, his face a mask of astonishment. He knew that today was the summit of the three families, the day to decide how power in the Hundred Cities would be divided. He had never been interested in such affairs and had gone into seclusion for Cultivation in his quarters.

He had suddenly heard a deafening explosion outside, and upon coming to investigate, he was met with this scene. Then, his Divine Thought detected a young man in white robes standing amidst the ruins of the Treasure Vault. His pupils contracted. ’It’s him... Qin Ya!’

He had heard of Qin Ya and had even seen his portrait before, so he was naturally clear on the grudge between him and the Shangguan Family. Seeing him here, a thought—one that would have seemed utterly preposterous to anyone else—suddenly took root in his mind.

’Could all of this... have been his doing?!’

Shaking his head, the Celestial Human Elder immediately shot toward the black fog.

Trapped and immobilized within the Poisonous Fog, Shangguan Bei and the others felt a flash of joy upon seeing the Celestial Human. But when they saw him charge toward the fog, their faces filled with horror. They knew just how powerful the Poisonous Fog was.

Not even a Celestial Human could neutralize it. Shangguan Bei immediately sent a message via Divine Thought to the approaching man, "Stop! Fifth Elder, whatever you do, don’t get near this Poisonous Fog!"

The Fifth Elder received Shangguan Bei’s message and halted at once. Frowning at the Poisonous Fog, he asked, "Patriarch, what happened?"

"We’ll talk about this later! Hurry up and subdue Qin Ya!"

Shangguan Bei’s transmitted thought was tinged with savagery. The Fifth Elder shuddered. He could sense the immense, vicious aura in the Patriarch’s Divine Thought—like that of a demon crawling out of Hell. The realization shook him to his core. His gaze pierced the distance of several hundred meters, landing on the distant figure of Qin Ya, his eyes filled with shock.

’So, it really was all his doing!’