Chapter 84 – 『Qilin Blade』

Lei Hao’s explanation made Su Ming gaze thoughtfully at Xu Yanyan.

“Is this senior who graduated three years ago Xu Qianqian’s rival in the Xu Family?”

Su Ming had gained some understanding of the Xu Family’s internal structure.

From what he knew, the current Family Head of the Xu Family had six children.

That’s right, six.

To pass on the Bloodline and strengthen the Family’s influence, any Hunter Family would encourage having many children, even at a young age.

Especially in those major Families with excellent Bloodlines, every child born could potentially be a future star with superior heritage. Therefore, even some policies of the Base City would lean toward encouraging these Hunter Families to have multiple children, thereby increasing the Base City’s future vital forces.

Given this, in major Families, being able to have many children was considered a good thing. Whether capable or not, they would choose to have more offspring.

Under such circumstances, those from major Families typically had multiple children, while those with only one or two were the minority.

The current Family Head of the Xu Family had six children: four sons and two daughters.

Among these six, Xu Qianqian’s father was the second son, with an older brother above him and two younger brothers and two younger sisters below.

Naturally, all six were married, with even the two younger sisters having taken in husbands, branching out within the Xu Family and each bearing many children.

Xu Qianqian was the daughter of the Xu Family’s second son and a rare only child in a major Family.

Yet, Xu Qianqian’s status in the Xu Family was not low; in fact, it was quite high.

There were two reasons for this.

One was that her father was highly capable. Although he hadn’t branched out much, through his shrewdness and efforts, he had become one of the Base City Executives of Longyao Base City. His status in the political arena far surpassed that of his father, the current Family Head, and he had secured many benefits for the Xu Family.

The other reason was that Xu Qianqian was born with a pure Bloodline, making her indisputably the top among the Xu Family’s third generation, overshadowing all other third-generation descendants and earning great importance from the current Family Head.

Therefore, Xu Qianqian was granted a privately trained force by the Family, cultivated for her since childhood, a treatment none of the other third-generation Xu Family descendants received.

Xu Qianqian’s father, leveraging his status in Longyao City, had also gained support from many of the older generation within the Xu Family. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, when the current Family Head stepped down, he would become the next Family Head of the Xu Family.

His prominence thus overshadowed all his younger siblings, leaving them with little competitiveness.

Only the Xu Family’s eldest son—Xu Qianqian’s father’s older brother, Xu Qianqian’s uncle, and Xu Yanyan’s biological father—had built a faction within the Xu Family that was no less formidable than that of Xu Qianqian’s father.

And as one might expect, such a faction wasn’t built without ambition.

At the very least, Su Ming didn’t believe that the eldest son lacked the aspiration to become the Family Head.

Thus, these two Xu Family brothers had become opposed to each other.

This was likely the internal conflict structure within the Xu Family.

Now, Xu Yanyan, the daughter of the Xu Family’s eldest son, was clearly here with ill intentions.

The schemes Xu Qianqian had encountered this time, and even the ambush she faced previously, were very likely orchestrated by this senior who had already become a Three-Star Hunter.

Xu Qianqian seemed to have an idea of this as well, which was why her attitude toward Xu Yanyan was so icy.”So it was you behind all this after all?” Xu Qianqian spoke coldly, “What have you done to my father?”

Xu Qianqian’s foremost concern was her father’s safety.

Being unable to contact him had clearly caused her considerable anxiety.

However, Xu Yanyan remained tight-lipped.

“What a strange question,” Xu Yanyan said as if it had nothing to do with her, “What could I possibly do to Second Uncle? Hasn’t he always been perfectly fine?”

“Better be true,” Xu Qianqian replied indifferently, “If anything really happens to Father, you won’t be able to explain it to Grandfather.”

“Indeed, since you and Second Uncle are Grandfather’s favorites,” Xu Yanyan’s expression darkened as she sneered, “But don’t celebrate too early. Only through competition will we know who truly deserves to lead the Xu Family in the next generation.”

“If you merely wish to compete, I’m ready anytime,” Xu Qianqian retorted without backing down, staring intently at Xu Yanyan, “But if your actions go beyond mere competition, don’t blame me for showing no mercy.”

Hearing this, Xu Yanyan’s expression shifted slightly.

These words, no different from a threat, clearly struck a nerve with Xu Yanyan.

“You can afford to be arrogant now,” Xu Yanyan scoffed, “I look forward to seeing how long you can maintain this arrogance, my dear sister.”

After speaking, Xu Yanyan glanced at Li Wei who stood nearby.

“Senior.”

Li Wei showed an awkward expression, even appearing somewhat fearful of Xu Yanyan.

As a fourth-year student, Li Wei naturally knew Xu Yanyan who had graduated three years prior.

However, when Xu Yanyan was making waves in the Academy, Li Wei was merely a freshman. Facing Xu Yanyan who had secured the top position in the Hunter Department upon debut as a two-star Hunter, it was only natural he held some reverence.

Several top fourth-year students accompanying Li Wei couldn’t help but stand at attention before Xu Yanyan.

Just as Lei Hao and Jiang Wanyu held reverence for Li Wei as the Hunter Department’s top student, these former freshmen remained quite intimidated in Xu Yanyan’s presence.

Xu Yanyan appeared rather pleased with this reaction.

“The Li Family’s little kid has grown up, I see. I heard you’ve become the top student now?” Xu Yanyan said leisurely to Li Wei, “You’ve gained quite some capability, though your judgment seems lacking. If you’re truly interested in our Xu Family’s Bloodline, you could have just told your senior directly. I could introduce you to some younger sisters from our family – guaranteed to be much warmer and more adorable than this ice block beside you. What do you think?”

This provocative remark didn’t stir any emotional reaction from Xu Qianqian.

Li Wei, however, gave a bitter smile.

“Please stop teasing me, Senior.”

Li Wei found it difficult to voice his troubles.

Others might think Li Wei’s behavior stemmed from reverence for his senior, unaware that even without that reverence, he would still feel inadequate before Xu Yanyan.

As someone born from a collateral branch of the Li Family, Li Wei had long realized the importance of Bloodline through his own experiences. Thus he had set his goal early – to marry a woman of noble Bloodline, gradually elevate his status, and eventually establish his own influence.Such was Li Wei, who, upon first entering the academy, naturally developed feelings for Xu Yanyan, then a fourth-year student, and even pursued her for a time.

Unfortunately, Xu Yanyan had always regarded him as a mere child, often teasing him during their academy days. As a result, Li Wei’s pursuit not only ended in failure but also left him in embarrassing situations due to her pranks.

Now, as Li Wei turned his attention to pursuing Xu Qianqian, he couldn’t help but feel a mix of guilt, apprehension, and even fear in Xu Yanyan’s presence.

He genuinely worried that Xu Yanyan might hold a grudge, seek revenge, and humiliate him.

If he were to be embarrassed as badly as before, especially in front of Xu Qianqian, Li Wei might seriously consider secluding himself at home in closed-door cultivation, never to show his face in the world again.

Fortunately, Xu Yanyan’s focus was not on Li Wei at the moment.

After all, she had been keeping tabs on Xu Qianqian’s recent activities.

“I heard you’ve found yourself a man lately,” Xu Yanyan said to Xu Qianqian with a dangerous smile. “How about introducing him to me?”

At these words, Xu Qianqian, who had been coldly observing until now, finally moved.

“Swish!”

A glint of cold light shot from Xu Qianqian’s hand, accompanied by a faint whistling sound, aimed directly at the upper half of Xu Yanyan’s body.

“Clang!”

A crisp clashing sound rang out before anyone present could react.

The cold light from Xu Qianqian’s hand was intercepted and blocked by a small saber.

“Gasp!”

The crowd erupted in murmurs and exclamations.

“Are… are they fighting?”

Onlookers like An Zijin, Jiang Wanyu, and Yao Beibei couldn’t help but gasp in surprise.

“Tch…”

Xu Qianqian let out a rare click of her tongue, a dagger now gripped in her hand.

The cold glint from earlier was undoubtedly a thrust from this very dagger.

Xu Qianqian had launched an attack against Xu Yanyan without any warning.

However, Xu Yanyan seemed to have anticipated it, showing no surprise at all.

“Same as always—when you can’t tolerate something, you act without hesitation. So impulsive,” Xu Yanyan remarked with a sudden smile. “But I quite like that about you.”

This was the truth.

The reason was simple.

“After all, I’m the same way.”

As she spoke, Xu Yanyan quietly gripped another small saber in her other hand.

Simultaneously, Xu Qianqian also grasped a second dagger.

In the sisters’ locked gazes, Killing Intent began to pour forth unabashedly.

The atmosphere grew tense, ready to ignite at any moment.

Just as the two were about to clash and the surrounding onlookers began to sense the impending danger, a cold snort abruptly cut through the air.

“Who gave you permission to engage in a private duel here?”

Along with these words, an indescribable, terrifying pressure enveloped the entire area.

In the crowd, Su Ming sharply turned his head, looking in a particular direction.

There, two figures were slowly approaching.

They were two men in their prime.

One of them wore a military uniform and a military cap, his build robust and his stride vigorous—clearly a decisive soldier.

However, the pressure that had just descended did not originate from this soldier but from the other man beside him.Like Xu Yanyan and the other hunters of the Xu Family, he wore a standard combat uniform draped with a black cloak, carrying a weapon on his back.

Upon seeing this person, Xu Qianqian’s pupils contracted sharply, and Xu Yanyan instinctively halted her movements.

As for the others present, they erupted into a clamor one after another.

“It’s him!”

“Gao Xu, the Xu Family’s retainer and a Four-Star Hunter!”

“Could it be the ‘Qilin Blade’?”

“I never expected him to come!”

The crowd buzzed with excitement.

(End of Chapter)