“My dear daughter, what are you saying? Will your father suffer a loss?” Shangshu Tianye looked unconvinced. When he was young, he fought across the world and rarely met an opponent. In recent years, he had reached a Realm where he couldn't act recklessly, so his reputation wasn't as resounding as before.
“Yes, Father will suffer a loss! Qin Chu has the Sword Spirit Realm, not to mention Level Seven Sword Intent, and he also has Level Six Battle Intent that can augment his Sword Intent. His movement speed is top-tier among those in the Heavenly Origin Realm. If you fight with a cultivation below the King Realm, you will definitely suffer a loss,” Shangshuyu said.
“Level Seven Sword Intent… You, kid, unleash Level Seven Sword Intent and then augment it with Battle Intent for me to see. If you can do it, I will admit defeat,” Shangshu Tianye said, looking at Qin Chu.
Hearing Shangshu Tianye’s words, Qin Chu's Sword Intent erupted, directly manifesting as Level Seven Sword Intent. Then, his Battle Intent was released, augmenting his Sword Intent.
After looking at Qin Chu, Shangshu Tianye waved his hand, “Alright, you kid are ruthless enough.”
“Clan Chief Shangshu, Qin Chu is ignorant, please don’t take it to heart,” Qin Lingxi said.
“Sister Lingxi, don’t say that. My son-in-law is excellent; I’m too happy to be upset. He and I were just being a little petty; I don’t have any dissatisfaction with him,” Shangshu Tianye said.
Afterward, everyone had breakfast together. Shangshu Tianye became much warmer towards Qin Chu, mainly because he was satisfied with his son-in-law and also liked Qin Chu’s straightforward and manly temperament.
“Next, we’ll stabilize for two days. I’ll observe the opponent’s movements, and when the opportunity arises, we’ll directly ambush and kill them to eliminate future troubles. Our Sacred Martial Continent is not a place where anyone can do as they please,” Shangshu Tianye said to Qin Chu after breakfast.
After breakfast, Qin Chu, accompanied by Qingyi and Qianxun, went to the Alchemist Guild to sell Medicinal Pills.
Shangshuyu accompanied Shangshu Tianye, drinking tea at the Vermilion Bird Sacred Clan’s stronghold.
“Daughter, your vision is excellent. This Qin Chu kid is not simple. All he needs is time; his combat strength is beyond reproach,” Shangshu Tianye said.
“Father, as long as you don’t mind his offense, it’s fine. He too, it was just a simple sparring match. What does winning or losing matter? I’ll talk to him later!” Shangshuyu complained about Qin Chu.
“Absolutely not! There are some things you don’t understand. His actions must have been prompted by certain individuals, related to a Legacy. It’s highly likely to be a Sword Emperor Legacy. He is unwilling to concede, and there’s nothing wrong with that. A Sword Cultivator must first possess a Sword Bone. He can do it,” Shangshu Tianye said.
“Father, you’re not against Qin Chu anymore?” Shangshuyu asked with a smile.
“Silly daughter, I’ve never been against Qin Chu. I just couldn’t bear him taking you away from your mother and me!” Shangshu Tianye said.
“No, Yu’er will always be your and Mother’s good daughter.” Shangshuyu’s eyes welled up. She could feel her parents’ love and reluctance.
Shangshu Tianye smiled and patted his daughter’s shoulder, “He is the one suitable for you to entrust your life to. What I fear most is you marrying a good-for-nothing.”
“He’s not a good-for-nothing!” Shangshuyu broke into a smile through her tears.
“That’s good. I’ll keep an eye on him, as long as he doesn’t repeat the mistake of his parents, who were too prominent and drew envy,” Shangshu Tianye said.
Monitoring Qin Chu as he went to the Alchemist Guild accompanied by Qingyi, Qi Qingqing was somewhat annoyed because there was no opportunity to make a move.
“Always protected… I’d like to see how long you can protect him,” Qi Qingqing muttered to herself. Qingyi’s cultivation was not as high as hers, but he would hinder her success and tie her down until other Sacred Martial Continent experts arrived, so Qi Qingqing couldn’t act.
Returning to the teahouse opposite the Vermilion Bird Sacred Clan stronghold, Qi Qingqing continued to observe.
Upon seeing Little Gold Claw take flight, Qi Qingqing made a mark on the map in her hand. She was calculating Little Gold Claw’s patterns. Although Little Gold Claw’s foraging trips outside the city were currently irregular and he didn’t go to the same location, Qi Qingqing knew this was just a facade. Yao Beasts, like humans, have habits, and with observation, she would find some patterns.
At night, after the teahouse opposite the Vermilion Bird Sacred Clan stronghold closed for business, Qin Lingxi found the owner of the teahouse and brought him to the Vermilion Bird Sacred Clan’s stronghold.
“Don’t be nervous, we mean no harm. We just want to ask if your teahouse has had any special or suspicious customers recently, or anyone who didn’t appear before but has been coming to your teahouse for tea lately,” Qin Lingxi asked, looking at the teahouse owner.
“There haven’t been any strangers recently, just old regulars. Everyone just drinks tea, and there’s nothing suspicious,” the teahouse owner said.
“Are they all people from Heavenly Sword City? Within the last three months, six months, or a year, which regular customers have been coming frequently?” Shangshu Tianye asked.
“Within the last year… there’s only one old regular, a woman. I don’t know who she is, but she often comes to the teahouse. Her frequency wasn’t high before, but in the last month, she’s been coming almost every day,” the teahouse owner said.
“Hmm, draw her appearance,” Qin Lingxi took out paper and a pen and handed them to the teahouse owner.
The teahouse owner was also a Cultivator, so drawing a portrait was no problem. In a short time, he drew Qi Qingqing’s portrait.
“She is Princess Lingxi of the Vermilion Bird Sacred Clan, and I am Shangshu Tianye, the Clan Chief of the Azure Dragon Sacred Clan. Today’s investigation is for the safety of Heavenly Sword City. You should pretend you don’t know about this matter and remain calm, as if nothing happened,” Shangshu Tianye instructed the teahouse owner.
“Don’t worry, honored sirs, I understand. I won’t make any mistakes,” the teahouse owner’s body trembled. He hadn’t expected the two people in front of him to be such important figures.
“Go! If there’s anything suspicious, after the teahouse closes, deliver it in the form of a letter to the guards at the entrance of the Vermilion Bird Sacred Clan,” Qin Lingxi took out two Spirit Stones and handed them to the teahouse owner.
After having someone escort the teahouse owner away, Qin Lingxi looked at Shangshu Tianye, “This woman is suspicious. She started coming a year ago, and now she comes for tea every day, which means she’s monitoring our Vermilion Bird Sacred Clan.”
“Aunt, I know this woman. She asked me to refine Medicinal Pills once. She said she had no Materials or Spirit Stones, so she exchanged three Jade Spirit Flowers for a few bottles of top-grade Heavenly Origin Pills,” Qin Chu recognized the woman in the portrait as Qi Qingqing; he still remembered her.
“Nonsense, if she has Jade Spirit Flowers, how could she not have the Materials for Heavenly Origin Pills? She deliberately approached you! This is interesting. Qin Chu, go for tea tomorrow and see what her attitude is,” Shangshu Tianye said, looking at Qin Chu.
“Okay, I’ll go investigate the situation and see if this woman is truly suspicious,” Qin Chu nodded.
“Qingyi, continue to follow Qin Chu. Just act as you normally would, so the other party won’t be alerted,” Shangshu Tianye said to Qingyi.