Chapter 27: Chapter 26: Qin Feng’s Counterattack

Qin Muyun left, dejected. He had completely lost the means to participate in this game.

The other young masters of the Qin Family were all smiles and jokes, chuckling as they watched Qin Muyun’s retreating figure.

Qin Muyun’s crestfallen state didn’t intimidate them in the slightest. On the contrary, it made their eyes burn with fervor, further convincing them that Qin Feng must have obtained some heaven-defying benefit.

Several of the Qin Family’s young masters, and even the elders hiding in the shadows, were mobilizing their forces. With glinting eyes, the young masters secretly dispatched their trusted aides, vowing to capture Qin Feng. An increasing number of Martial Artists at the Martial Arts Fourth Layer and above began appearing on the outskirts of the Barbaric Mountain Range to join the search!

The Qin Family’s movements were quietly observed by several other major powers that had been keeping an eye on them. The Yu Family of Xiahe Town and the Ning Family of Mountain and River Town, both powers near Shanghe Town, sent out scouts to discover what could have prompted such a frequent mobilization of the Qin Family’s experts.

...

Qin Feng was heading deeper into the Barbaric Mountain Range, but his change of direction was not an attempt to flee. He had never been the type to take a loss without fighting back.

Qin Qingshan’s schemes, the Qin Family’s senseless pursuit... He was now filled with such a towering rage that he wouldn’t leave even if they begged him to.

He wanted revenge, and he would make them pay dearly!

He was heading deeper into the Barbaric Mountain Range only to evade the Qin Family’s search parties. Qin Feng understood the principle of not standing beneath a collapsing wall; rushing into a known trap to fight to the death was the act of a fool.

He was doing this simply to break out of their encirclement and seize the initiative.

For several days straight, he became a specter of the night, weaving through the outskirts of the Barbaric Mountain Range. He hid by day and moved by night, evading the pursuit and harassment of the Qin Family’s experts. Every evening, he would strike back from the depths of the wilderness, slaughtering the Martial Artists sent to search for him.

Within three days, no fewer than thirty Qin Family search parties had been killed or wounded at his hands. The number of Qin elites who had been killed or seriously injured by him approached a staggering two hundred and sixty.

The Qin Family boasted eight hundred elite disciples—an astonishing number. This meant that nearly one-third of their elites had now died at his hands.

The Qin Family was paying a tragic price for its greed!

He had become an inescapable nightmare for the disciples of the Qin Family!

The enmity between him and the Qin Family had escalated to the point of no return! Over the past few days, Qin Feng had clearly sensed a change on the outskirts of the Barbaric Mountain Range.

Some Qin Family disciples below the Martial Arts Third Heaven had already begun to retreat. The massive losses had reached a level that made the Qin Family’s heart ache. The family had clearly realized that Martial Artists at the Martial Arts Third Heaven could no longer harm Qin Feng. Those who remained were the core experts, all at the Martial Arts Fourth Layer or above.

Qin Feng was unaware of the changes in the mountains. He was busy sorting through the spoils he had acquired from his killing sprees over the past few days. His haul was unexpectedly bountiful. As the saying goes, a man can’t get rich without a windfall, just as a horse can’t get fat without late-night fodder. Qin Feng had ambushed over thirty parties of Qin Family elites. From them, he had obtained dozens of silver banknotes worth a thousand taels each, and even more in hundred-tael denominations. The total came to nearly one hundred thousand taels of silver—a massive fortune, comparable to the annual tax revenue of Shanghe Town. And that wasn’t even counting the loose bits of silver he had discarded. If those were included, the total would be even higher.

In addition, he had looted a total of ten bottles of Top-grade Quenching Essence Pills.

Sixteen bottles of Mid Grade Quenching Essence Pills.

There were also a number of Low Grade Quenching Essence Pills and various other miscellaneous elixirs. Qin Feng had even found a precious First Grade Qi Recovery Pill on the body of a Martial Artist at the Late Stage of Martial Arts Third Layer Heaven.

The Qi Recovery Pill was an exceptionally precious elixir. A single pill could instantly restore the majority of one’s stamina, and even their Inner Breath. At a critical moment, this spirit medicine could be an absolute game-changer. Its value was even greater than that of a Top-grade Quenching Essence Pill, with a single pill being worth over a hundred taels of gold.

Lastly, there were dozens of assorted secret manuals. Most of these were Human Martial Level manuals and weren’t particularly valuable, with many being duplicates.

Only two of the secret manuals were truly valuable. One was a Low-Tier Spirit Martial Level Martial Skill: the Wind Spirit Mysterious Sword Technique.

The other was an incomplete Mid-Tier Spirit Martial Level Saber Technique: the Hundred Veins Returning Yuan Blade Technique.

Qin Feng found a well-hidden cave on a peak in the Barbaric Mountain Range. He stashed all the silver banknotes, secret manuals, and elixirs inside, keeping only a small portion on his person.

He then took out a bottle of Top-grade Bone Tempering Pills that he kept close to his body. Taking one out, he began to execute his fist technique as usual to absorb the pill’s medicinal properties. A series of CRACKLES and POPS echoed from his bones throughout the cave as a scorching energy swelled within him!

Over the past few days, aside from going out each night to bring misfortune to the Qin Family disciples, he would return, swallow a Top-grade Bone Tempering Pill, and practice his techniques to refine the elixir.

Afterwards, he would go out again to ambush the Qin Family’s Martial Artists, using battle to fuel more battle and tempering himself against them as if they were whetstones to stabilize his strength. In the last two days, he had already begun to show faint signs of breaking through to the Late Stage of Martial Arts Third Layer Heaven.

This was while he was actively suppressing his cultivation speed to build a more solid foundation. If he were to cultivate without restraint, breaking through to the Martial Arts Fourth Layer would likely be an easy task.

While Qin Feng was making a fortune and quietly cultivating in the Barbaric Mountain Range, the Qin Family had fallen into a state of depression.

「At the foot of the mountain, inside a tent in the main camp.」

Qin Fang’s face was grim. Seated below him, the other young masters of the Qin Family were all silent. Some of their faces were pale, and the eyes of the group revealed a mixture of unwillingness, anger, and fear.

No one could have imagined that in just a few short days, the Qin Family would suffer such a massive setback at the hands of a good-for-nothing they had always looked down upon.

Qin Feng’s counterattack had been exceptionally vicious, like a sharp dagger repeatedly plunging into the Qin Family’s soft underbelly!

Three days. In just three days, the Qin Family had lost nearly a third of its elites! This was an absolutely terrifying figure. A third of their elites—these were living, breathing disciples of the Qin Family. They were the backbone supporting many of the clan’s assets. With their loss, the assets they supported would also go up in flames. It was as if a huge chunk of flesh and blood had been gouged directly from the Qin Family’s body.

Worst of all were the knock-on effects. The Qin Family’s caravans and storefronts in other regions would all be severely impacted.

If not for the fact that the Qin Family’s upper echelon and core strength were still intact, and that the Patriarch had personally stepped in to direct the situation, the clan might have already completely collapsed.

One person was bringing down an entire family. It was simply unbelievable!

Qin Fang rubbed his throbbing temples, his head feeling like it was about to split. Who could have thought that Qin Feng would be so tenacious, his counterattacks so terrifyingly fierce? Not only had he escaped the Qin Family’s Celestial Net of Heaven and Earth, but he had also launched a surprise counter-offensive.

Just then, Qin Muhai, who was seated in a lower position, suddenly lashed out in anger. "This is all that failure Lao Liu’s fault! If he hadn’t blown the situation out of proportion, why would the family have been so careless as to simply scatter the elite disciples and give that little bastard Qin Feng the chance to slaughter them!"

"You can’t say that. Lao Liu was only searching with his own men. He isn’t a decision-maker in the family; he can’t mobilize the clan’s elites!" a disciple from a side branch sneered. As he finished speaking, he shot a subtle glance at Qin Shu, who sat with his head bowed, feigning indifference. This disciple was one of First Young Master Qin Shu’s men.

Soon, other disciples stood up to voice their own accusations, and the atmosphere in the large tent grew thick with tension.

A few elders in the corner watched this scene with grim expressions. ’Even at a time like this, these young masters are still caught up in internal strife, trying to shift the blame and attack their rivals,’ they thought. ’It seems the Qin Family has truly fallen into decline.’

The only one in the tent who remained silent was Qin Fang. He was in a difficult position he couldn’t complain about. While he wasn’t the one who had initiated the pursuit, he was the one in charge here.

Though it seemed his brothers were just bickering and pointing fingers at each other, they were, both openly and secretly, trying to undermine him—the supposed future Revival Lord.

Many in the Qin Family were now implicitly aiming their blame at him. He had been hailed as the Qin Family’s Revival Lord, yet now he had allowed the family to suffer such a great loss. Behind his back, many were gossiping and questioning his abilities.

The prestige he had worked so hard to build was now under serious threat. Qin Feng’s counterattack had not only crippled the Qin Family, but also him, the future Patriarch. Qin Fang knew that if he failed to capture Qin Feng and seize his great opportunity, he would face an unimaginable backlash.

He had every reason to believe that when that time came, the people of the Qin Family, with nowhere else to vent their anger, would turn their spears on him. He would be branded the eternal sinner responsible for the Qin Family’s decline.

"Young Master, you mustn’t worry. We still have a chance! As long as the Law Enforcement Hall can capture that traitor Qin Feng and you seize his opportunity, this entire crisis will be resolved!" a trusted aide said with a smile at his side.

Though furious, Qin Fang did not lose his composure. His aide had spoken his very thoughts.

At these words, a cold look appeared on Qin Fang’s face. He gritted his teeth and snarled, "That’s right! What is that little bastard Qin Feng worth? How could he possibly compare to me, Qin Fang? I refuse to believe that little bastard can escape the pursuit of the Law Enforcement Hall. Everything he has will belong to me, Qin Fang, sooner or later!"

"The Patriarch truly did not misjudge you!" Just then, the hunchbacked steward, Qin Zhong, stepped out from behind him. His expression was gentle, and he wore a kindly smile. "Qin Feng is a nobody, a person of lowly birth," he said with a laugh. "What right does he have to receive such a great opportunity? He may be relying on some petty cleverness to gain a temporary advantage and act fierce for a time, but in the end, he won’t be able to hold on to the Creation he has found. It won’t be long before all of his gains belong to you, Seventh Young Master. He is destined to be your stepping stone! Only you, Seventh Young Master, can lead the Qin Family and make it prosper!"

Seeing Qin Fang nod repeatedly, he continued with a faint smile, "When the Patriarch was young, he encountered an unparalleled expert. This peerless master once gave the Patriarch some guidance, saying that within three generations, a Revival Lord would surely appear in the Qin Family to lead it to a new peak. That person is you, Seventh Young Master!"

"This was an Unparalleled Great Power, a being with the ability to shape the heavens and the earth. His every word is a manifestation of the Celestial Dao, and what he says is never wrong! You can rest assured, Seventh Young Master!" 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Hearing this, Qin Fang nodded, and a look of confidence and pride returned to his eyes.

The hunchbacked old man, Qin Zhong, smiled in satisfaction. "Though this boy Qin Feng may have a stroke of good fortune and is stirring up a storm for now, his luck and Qi Fortune will ultimately converge upon you, Seventh Young Master. The men from the Law Enforcement Hall have already laid their trap. I believe he won’t be able to run for much longer. Once we capture him and force him to hand over his Creation, you, Seventh Young Master, will surely be able to step on his skull and soar into the heavens!