Fang Lan''s visit in recent days was not a coincidence or a simple desire of Xie Qing! It was all part of Aizen''s... no, Xie Qing''s brilliant n!


    Through jealousy, he could only increase the pressure on the Xie family, thus inflicting a wound that would be hard to heal without powerful support. No matter how the Xie family tried to attract new allies, few would be willing to help them during this period.


    "Brother, do you want us to take up the sword of justice with you and stand against the Bai family? There are other ways to die without having to go naked into the predator''sir!"


    Of course, all proposals for alliances or mutually beneficial assistance received one answer: "Get lost!", which could hardly be called unexpected.


    Xie Hai and Xie Hui were in shock and barely restrained themselves from crying, while Xie Hui was now at the meeting.


    "Y-y-y-ou... you say you will no longer help our family?!" Xie Hui shouted in shock.


    "Wow, young master Xie has good hearing. You heard correctly," the envoy replied sarcastically.


    "B-but... what about the agreement?! Didn''t you need this technique?!"


    "We do need it, so you can give it to us right now. Then we will consider continuing our cooperation," the envoy said shamelessly, and seeing Xie Hui''s anger, tried to fort" him: "Don''t worry, we will resume support when the dust settles from the incident with the Bai family."


    "Pfft!"


    Xie Hui snorted angrily. Of course, he had no intention of giving his n''s technique now, or he would simply be deceived.


    He was even angrier that his ally had abandoned him at such an important moment. When everything is settled, Xie Hui will no longer trust them enough to resume cooperation! Even naivety has its limits!


    After a brief conversation, the envoy left very quickly, leaving an angry Xie Hui alone.


    "Damn! Damn! I swear, I''ll find the bastard who arranged all this and cut his throat!" Xie Hui said angrily, clenching his teeth.


    "Apchoo!"


    Xie Qing sneezed loudly and barely managed to hold the teacup to avoid spilling it on himself. In front of him sat Fang Lan, who was pouring tea.


    "Hm? Did you catch a cold?" she asked.


    "How could that be? If I caught a cold at this level, I would be recorded as the most useless cultivator in the world," Xie Qing said with a bitter smile, but he was already beginning to believe it. The young man thought: "Lately, I''ve been sneezing a lot. Could it be that I''m cursed?"


    However, even after deep reflection, he could not find a reason why such a noble person as himself could be cursed. Most likely, he did catch a cold.


    ***


    "See you tomorrow, Brother Xie Qing," Fang Lan said goodbye to him with a bright smile and added: "Tomorrow I will bring my sisters for you to draw as well. Just on this day, I will pay you for all your debts."


    "Sister Fang, do not offend the noble and innocent heart of this artist. You can simply pay with a kiss on the cheek," Xie Qing said with a serious face and without a drop of shame.


    "..."


    Fang Lan lost her voice and began to quickly look around to make sure no one was watching...


    Smack.


    Before Xie Qing could react, Fang Lan''s figure disappeared, leaving him alone, puzzled. He touched his cheek, where he could still feel the slight warmth and the scent of Fang Lan''s lipstick.


    "I was joking..."


    While Xie Qing stood there, slightly surprised by the sudden kiss, Bai Bai, who was watching all this with a spiritual item, popped his eyes out.


    Boom!


    The disciples who were sitting in the restaurant pavilion looked in his direction and saw that Bai Bai had mercilessly broken the table.


    "Bastard!" his enraged voice rang out.


    Bai Bai did not wait forpensation to be paid and immediately left, leaving the disciples in shock.


    "Brother, do you think that because you''re from an influential family, you can break tables whenever you want? And... you''re right! Let''s not provoke him, guys."


    Meanwhile, Bai Bai had already sent a message to his subordinates to begin the attack on Xie Qing. His eyes gleamed with anger.


    "You''re dead, bastard. You''re dead! I have a lot of authority among the elders, so cleaning up after you will be easy! Count thest minutes of your life, piece of shit!"


    ***


    "The boss has given the order. This time we are allowed to beat him up good and then ''identally'' kill him. Got it?"


    "Yes... sigh, another innocent soul perishes. Sniff-sniff."


    "Stop sniffling, it''s disgusting."


    A group of five people hiding in the shadows watched Xie Qing, who was casually returning home.


    In this group, there were two cultivators at the Core Formation stage – 3rd level and three cultivators at the same stage, but at the first level.


    Theirbined power could easily kill a cultivator at the peak of the Core Formation, so they thought that killing a weakling like Xie Qing would be an easy task.


    And when Xie Qing entered the zone where there were no disciples and no guards, two of them appeared right in front of Xie Qing.


    "Hm?"


    "Halt, cowboy!" one of them eximed and grinned predatorily, pulling out a hammer: "How about this... I saw that you, younger brother, are having trouble developing, and as an older brother, I want to help you!"


    "Jian Liu... you could havee up with something cooler," the other disciple muttered.


    Xie Qing lost his voice, looking at this "well-meaning" older brother. Then the young man sniffed the terrible smell, as if his head had been stuck in a sewer, and wrinkled his nose, saying:


    "Older brother, let this younger brother teach you what it means to wash."


    "..." the smelly disciple lost his voice and thought: "You used my own words, but why does it sound so offensive?!"


    However, after the surprise came anger. The disciple clenched the hammer in his hand and suddenly rushed forward. The speed of a cultivator at the Core Formation stage was no joke – they could reduce the distance to their opponent in one movement.


    Xie Qing sighed, realizing that he had overdone it a bit and mocked the jackal, so he drew his sword. His hand bent and the de neatly blocked the strike.


    Boom!


    In Xie Qing''s ears, there was a muffled sound from their collision, and he felt a slight tremor in his wrist. He was slightly inferior in strength.


    "Body cultivator, huh?" Xie Qing muttered, and then smiled: "I have a little trick for you."


    Focusing his mind, Xie Qing activated the strengthening technique he had acquired in the past: "Rising Legend!"


    Immediately, Xie Qing felt a significant increase in his strength and Qi. The de of his sword sparked, and in the end, with a crash, the disciple''s weapon broke!


    "Wh-what?!" Jian Liuy shouted in shock, and his hand trembled with pain.


    The strength of Xie Qing''s sword, which he obtained after killing Guan Baichi, was worth a separate mention. Although this sword had no special characteristics, it was also as hard as bedrock... that is, divine metal!


    The attackers were stunned. They felt that Xie Qing was only at the Qi Condensation stage – 7th level, but hisbat power was questionable, and no one considered him a dangerous opponent.


    But now, with his bare physical strength, he broke Jian Liuy''s weapon, which was at the third stage of Core Formation! This was a sensation!


    "Tsk... guys, let''s not hold back, he''s dangerous!"


    After Jian Liuy came to his senses, he quickly shouted and called his buddies. They, although stunned, joined the battle, not wanting to stand aside.


    Very soon, they engaged in battle. Xie Qing was under great pressure, and although he could resist, from time to time he let through blows that did not cause serious injuries but were painful.


    "Ha-a-a!"


    A powerful blow hit Xie Qing''s chest, pushing him back. It so happened that all five of them stood in front of him like bandits, and he smiled.


    "Finally, the whole gang is here," he muttered, and then his eyes shed gold: "Dragon''s Gaze!"


    "!!!!"


    The disciples froze in shock, feeling that they could not move. The world around them darkened, and the only thing they saw was two huge golden eyes, like the eyes of a lizard, staring at them unceasingly.


    In these eyes was majesty, coldness, and a thirst for killing. Many of them who were weak in spirit immediately lost their minds and some lost consciousness.


    The stronger Xie Qing bes the stronger his techniques. Thus, now he could put his opponents into an illusion, thereby not allowing them to move.


    And so, in consciousness, only Jian Liuy remained, who felt as if the ground was slipping out from under his feet. When he was already beginning to lose consciousness, a piercing pain struck him in the chest area, where his heart was located.


    Immediately, the darkness subsided. He looked shockingly at the ground, seeing that it had turned red. The pungent smell of blood reached him, and Jian Liuy began to feel a piercing pain.


    Raising his eyes, he saw the de that had fully entered his body, and then Xie Qing, who was looking at him with a cold smile.


    "Y-you..."


    Jian Liuy was shocked. He did not expect that a cultivator weaker than him could inflict such a serious wound on him. In his mind, a thought appeared that began to fill his thoughts with each second.


    "I''m done for!"


    ***


    Xie Qing casually wiped the blood from his de, tearing the clothes on Jian Liuy''s body. After he carefully walked along the sword, it was as clean as before the battle.


    "Excellent!" Xie Qing admired and then turned his gaze to the five corpses: "Ah, what a pity. But who asked them to attack me?"


    He casually wiped off the drops of blood that began to flow from the corners of his mouth. Although there were no serious injuries, Xie Qing still did not get off without wounds. Butpared to his opponents, he was as lively as ever.


    "Now I need to deal with this problem," Xie Qing thought, and then took out amunication token. Pouring Qi into it, he waited a few seconds, and feeling the vibration, realized that the connection was established.


    "Hm-m-m? It''s rare for you to contact me through the token, foolish disciple," Xu Mei''s excited voice sounded.


    "Hehe... I''m so happy to hear your beautiful voice, Master," Xie Qing said with a smile, and then became serious: "I have some minor problems. Can youe to me?"


    "Hm? Okay, wait for me there. I''ll be right there,"


    Xu Mei immediately realized that something was wrong and, using her spiritual sense, found Xie Qing. After that, she moved through space and appeared in a ce next to the young man.


    Surveying the area, she lost her voice and turned to look at Xie Qing.


    "Do you think I''m a cleaner? What''s this bloody mess?!"