After unleashing dozens of punches, half of the demon beast hunting ground lay in ruins. Suddenly, a terrifying black hole materialized, devouring everything in its path.
"Damn, I overdid it!" Qin Yang's face darkened as he hastily withdrew his hand and returned to Jin Wanshan's side.
As for the Jadeblood Mantis, having been swallowed by the black hole, it was undoubtedly dead beyond resurrection.
"Qin Yang... you?" Jin Wanshan stared at him in shock, words failing him.
"Well? Impressive, isn't it?" Qin Yang laughed heartily.
"How much fortune did you actually obtain?" Jin Wanshan glanced at the Treasure Rat, then sighed sourly.
"Enough with the showboating. Now that you have this power, it's perfect timing," Jin Wanshan said.
"What do you mean?" Qin Yang asked.
Lou Qinru has threatened Lou Mengyu's parents to force her compliance. With no other choice, she seems to have agreed to marry Qin Wuyi," Jin Wanshan explained.
The smile on Qin Yang's face froze, his eyes turning glacial.
"Don't worry. That won't happen," Qin Yang said calmly, his voice devoid of emotion.
"What... do you plan to do?" Jin Wanshan asked.
"I'll cleanse the family name in my own way," Qin Yang replied slowly.
Jin Wanshan blinked. "What does that mean? I don't understand."
Qin Yang looked at him. "If they persist in their deception and continue to claim the Qin Family's name... then..."
"Hm?" Jin Wanshan asked curiously.
"They'll all have to die," Qin Yang said as if discussing something trivial.
Jin Wanshan drew in a sharp breath. A sudden oppressive pressure emanating from Qin Yang made his entire body tense.
Suddenly, two loud cries echoed through the air.
Qin Yang and Jin Wanshan looked up to see a Silver-backed Great Peng and a Windhawk circling in the sky.
"There's someone on the Windhawk's back!" Jin Wanshan pointed at the blurry figure.
Qin Yang squinted. The two demonic beasts circled in the sky without fighting. Were they here for him too? As for the figure on the Windhawk's back—it was indeed someone, and not just anyone, but Nangong Ling himself!
"Qin Yang, didn't expect me back, did you?" Nangong Ling commanded the Windhawk to lower its altitude. The beast spread its wings, instantly whipping up a fierce wind that kicked up a cloud of dust.
Noticing the dense network of space fractures covering the arena, Nangong Ling gave Qin Yang a deep look and smiled. "You're quite lucky. Those Qin Family members were devoured by the collapsing fractures."
Qin Yang chuckled without explanation. "I was just thinking of killing you, and here you come offering yourself."
"Kill me?" Nangong Ling's voice turned venomous. "Who kills whom isn't decided yet!"
Qin Yang looked at the beast beneath Nangong Ling. "What gives you such confidence? That mongrel?"
"You insolent brat! How dare you disregard this great lord?" The Windhawk roared furiously. How dare such a puny human show such contempt for him!
The Windhawk let out a piercing cry and lunged forward. Nangong Ling hastily intervened to calm it.
Nangong Ling taunted, "Killing him outright would be too merciful. Why not have some fun with him first?"
Qin Yang glanced at the Silver-backed Great Peng nearby, his brow furrowing. This majestic bird's bloodline far surpassed the Windhawk's in strength.
Nangong Ling must have subdued the Windhawk using the Silver-backed Great Peng's power.
"Have fun with him? Sorry, I don't have time for your games." Qin Yang shrugged and addressed the Silver-backed Great Peng directly. "I never expected you to help Nangong Ling subdue a beast. What's in it for you?"
The Silver-backed Great Peng paid no heed to Qin Yang, its attention focused on observing the dimensional collapse to report back to the Qin Family Patriarch - its true master.
The bird replied, "The Nangong Clan maintains good relations with our Qin Family. Assisting him serves my master's interests."
Another "our Qin Family" - Qin Yang's chest burned with anger. "Good relations? You feathered fool! A mere bird dares invoke our family's name? It seems I'll need to purge more than just the Qin Family's old slaves this time."
The Silver-backed Great Peng's eyes blazed. "Silence! Die already!"
"Don't kill him!" Nangong Ling wanted to continue teasing Qin Yang, but the Silver-backed Great Peng wouldn't obey his commands. Helping him subdue the Windhawk was already pushing its limits.
Countless wind blades swept toward them, darkening the sky.
Jin Wanshan's face turned pale with fear. Remembering Qin Yang's earlier display of power, he quickly hid behind him. Still feeling uneasy, he edged backward again.
"Blood Jade Twin Swords, Combined Strike!" Qin Yang shouted, his hands moving in a blur. Sword qi surged forth to meet the attack.
The blades collided in a series of explosions.
The Silver-backed Great Peng dove down, then circled back in retreat upon seeing this move.
"Pathetic! Don't kill me? You think some broken bird can take me down?" Qin Yang sneered.
"This..." The Silver-backed Great Peng's mind reeled. How is this Jadeblood Mantis' technique?
The Silver-backed Great Peng was renowned for its speed and diamond-hard bones. Wind blades weren't its strongest attack - its true power lay in velocity and iron wings.
As it dominated this secret realm, it feared only two things: the thick-skinned Tian Swallowing Beast and that accursed Jadeblood Mantis.
The Jadeblood Mantis' hunting stance and decapitating strikes could match its speed in an instant.
This was precisely why the Silver-backed Great Peng had relentlessly pursued the Jadeblood Mantis, yet failed to secure its kill.
"Hmph, just a human after all. That sword energy must have been a fluke." The Silver-backed Great Peng glared at Qin Yang. With its wind blades proving ineffective against such lowly prey, there was no need for further testing - it would simply end this now.
"Die!" The Silver-backed Great Peng charged forward, transforming into a streak of silver lightning.
Beside them, Nangong Ling's jaw hung open in shock. Had Qin Yang truly unleashed those sword energies? Had he already reached the Zongshi level?
Qin Yang frowned, facing the Silver-backed Great Peng without fear. But what about Jin Wanshan... Wait? Where's Jin Wanshan?
Qin Yang's divine sense swept out, revealing Jin Wanshan had fled long ago!
"You keep fighting. I'll head back and tell Lou Mengyu you've reached sufficient strength..." The voice faded into the distance.
"I..." Qin Yang's face flushed with frustration. What kind of teammate was this? If not for his recent breakthrough, Jin Wanshan would have sold him out completely.
Still, this worked to his advantage - he could now fight without restraint.
Dragon Soaring Steps! The version fused with hunting posture made Qin Yang's figure vanish into thin air.
The Silver-backed Great Peng, swift as lightning, had already closed the distance. Its silver wings swept downward like a crescent moon, leveling the entire structure in a single strike.
Yet terror surged through its mind - how could this human boy wield the Jadeblood Mantis' forbidden techniques?
A primal sense of danger gripped it. The bird's wings thrashed as it tried to flee, but a voice colder than hell's depths cut through the air:
"Blood Jade Twin Swords! Beheading Strike!"
Qin Yang materialized on the bird's back, arms crossed as he channeled spiritual energy into twin blades at his fingertips.
His arms slashed downward, carving spatial rifts that severed the Silver-backed Great Peng's head from its body.
The bird's eyes bulged with defiance. For countless years it had prepared for the Jadeblood Mantis' signature move, never expecting to face it from a human boy.
The spatial rifts expanded outward, merging with distant black holes as space itself began to collapse.
Qin Yang stomped hard, driving the Silver-backed Great Peng's corpse into the spatial tear. Then he leaped upward, soaring clear of the collapsing space.
Nangong Ling had been contemplating pursuing Jin Wanshan. Now that he knew what had transpired in Kitchen 3, only two remained aware of the incident: Qin Yang and Jin Wanshan.
Before he could order the Windhawk to attack, the battle below unfolded in an utterly unexpected reversal!
He had been certain of Qin Yang's demise, yet now...
"It seems fate truly favors you," Nangong Ling snarled, his eyes flashing with malice. "Windhawk, kill him!" With Qin Yang having ascended to the Zongshi rank, Nangong Ling knew he stood no chance against him.
The Windhawk let out a piercing cry. Instead of attacking Qin Yang, it turned and fled toward the horizon at breakneck speed.
Qin Yang stared in shock. The Blood Jade Twin Swords—Beheading and Decapitation—felt remarkably comfortable in his hands. He'd been about to strike again when the Windhawk suddenly retreated?
Nangong Ling roared in fury. "Why are you running? I ordered you to kill him!" Then realization struck. "Could the spatial rift already be..."
"What spatial rift?" the Windhawk screeched, its feathers ruffled in panic. "What demon did you unleash this time?" It shot away at record velocity, as if its tail had been scorched by fire.