“Qin Yan… you…” Qin Yukuang stared at Qin Yan, his eyes filled with disbelief. He genuinely couldn't fathom how this person, whom he had watched grow up since childhood, could plunge a sword into his back.

“My apologies, Martial Uncle…” Qin Yan replied calmly, his expression as placid as an undisturbed ancient well.

“So, it was you who leaked the information about our White Cloud Manor?” Qin Yukuang was still clinging to a sliver of hope.

“Of course. Otherwise, why do you think the Imperial Army managed to breach Ninglang Prefecture in a mere half-month?” Qin Yan continued speaking with the same detached tone.

“Why did you betray White Cloud Manor…” Hearing this, Qin Yukuang’s face contorted in anger, yet his body swayed precariously.

“This is called acting righteously, even against kin…” Qin Yan spoke eloquently, showing no sign that he considered his actions wrong.

“You treacherous disciple!” Qin Yukuang roared, his inner Zhenqi surging violently as he prepared to strike Qin Yan with full force. But Qin Yan’s movements were lightning-fast; he abruptly drew the thin sword in his hand and retreated swiftly. Qin Yukuang was already poisoned and his heart had been pierced once; there was no way he could pursue Qin Yan.

His eyes bulged, fixed intensely upon Qin Yan, brimming with indignation.

His body slowly began to collapse, and until his last breath, he would never close his eyes in peace.

All of this transpired too suddenly. It wasn't until Qin Yukuang lay in a pool of blood that the remaining disciples of White Cloud Manor snapped back to reality.

They understood one grim truth: their Martial Uncle had just slain their Martial Ancestor.

“Qin Yan, you villain, I’ll fight you to the death!” The first to react was Qin Yunxiao. As the son of the White Cloud Manor Master, despite his own flaws, he possessed extraordinary talent, reaching the Xiantian Realm at a young age. Furthermore, he had been steeped since childhood in the ideology of absolute loyalty to the Manor. Seeing one of the people he revered most betray the Manor ignited an inexpressible rage within him.

Wielding his slender sword, he lunged toward Qin Yan.

Seeing their Eldest Senior Brother make his move, the other disciples also regained their senses. Though they didn't know why Qin Yan had betrayed the Manor, deep within their hearts, forged from growing up within its walls, lay a profound conviction: anyone who dared betray White Cloud Manor must be executed without mercy.

Without pausing to consider the vast gulf in skill between themselves and Qin Yan, or the reasons behind this catastrophe, they charged toward him, swords drawn.

It had to be admitted: their loyalty to White Cloud Manor remained absolute.

As for Qin Yuting…

She remained utterly stunned where she stood. Having grown up in White Cloud Manor, she shared the same conviction as the other disciples—to pledge their lives to the Manor. For her, White Cloud Manor was everything.

Anyone who dared betray White Cloud Manor deserved ruthless annihilation. But now, the betrayer was her own father, the man who had taught her since childhood to uphold loyalty to the Manor.

What was the reason?

Why did the person closest to her ultimately betray White Cloud Manor? Why?

Qin Yuting’s eyes were clouded with confusion; she stood there foolishly, unsure of what to do.

Facing the attacks of several people, Qin Yan merely sneered. His Zhenqi erupted fully, and the sword in his hand flickered incessantly, instantly weaving intricate patterns of razor-sharp sword qi in the empty air. These were streaks of fiery crimson sword qi, imbued with intense heat.

“Blazing Lotus Sword!” Qin Yan called out softly. The lethal sword qi coalesced into a miraculous lotus flower shape, which then swept toward the attackers.

“Sssshhh-sss-sss…” That was the sound of sword qi slicing through flesh. Only Qin Yunxiao reacted swiftly enough to evade this strike; the four or five disciples who had rushed in first were all killed instantly, not a single one surviving.

“You… you’ve reached the Grandmaster Realm?” As he witnessed the dazzling lotus sword, Qin Yunxiao’s face instantly turned ashen white.

“Heh heh, how is my self-created ‘Blazing Lotus Sword’?” Qin Yan chuckled lightly, holding his long sword as if it were a mere feather, and began walking step by step toward Qin Yunxiao.

“I’ll fight you to the death!” Qin Yunxiao was furious. He had never imagined that Qin Yan had long since reached the Grandmaster Realm, yet had concealed it from the entire White Cloud Manor. How deeply calculating must his schemes be?

His inner Zhenqi surged, forming a cyan glow before him. Qin Yunxiao gripped his sword with both hands, his body dissolving into an afterimage as he lunged toward Qin Yan. Simultaneously, the other disciples of White Cloud Manor, eager to defend their honor, also threw themselves toward Qin Yan.

Ye Jingyu, having recovered quickest, saw Qin Yuting standing there dumbfounded, then glanced at the still-calm Qin Yan in the distance. Without a second thought, he spun around and bolted into the dense forest.

He harbored no sentimentality for White Cloud Manor. Whether Qin Yan betrayed it or Qin Yunxiao and the others sought to punish the traitor, it mattered nothing to him.

He felt no surprise at Qin Yan’s betrayal. From the moment he first met Qin Yan, he knew this was a man of terrifyingly deep calculation; no one could truly discern what lay beneath that eternally unchanging facade.

With such a figure secretly embedded within White Cloud Manor, the Manor was surely doomed to annihilation now.

Was this fate?

“Clang, clang, clang…” The sounds of clashing steel still echoed nearby. Ye Jingyu held nothing back, sprinting forward at full speed. He didn't know what awaited him ahead, but he knew that if he stayed, he would surely die, even if he had once saved Qin Yuting’s life.

He ran madly. The effects of the Baxuan Jue he had cultivated for months were unleashed perfectly in this moment: a speed surpassing that of a Martial Master, reactions exceeding that of a Martial Master, and stamina that seemed inhuman. Even without any Zhenqi, he could maintain this full-speed sprint without striking a single tree.

After running frantically for nearly half an hour, even Ye Jingyu’s current physique was left gasping and exhausted. He had no choice but to stop. He looked back toward the direction he had come from and, seeing no signs of pursuit, finally breathed a slight sigh of relief.

“I truly didn’t expect your physical constitution to be this exceptional. To run this far at full speed without a trace of Zhenqi within you—it’s no wonder my Senior Brother, who never takes disciples, made an exception for you. Truly a rare genius…” But just as Ye Jingyu relaxed, Qin Yan’s cool, measured voice sounded right beside his ear, plunging Ye Jingyu into instant dread. He whipped his head around and saw Qin Yan, clad in a cyan long robe, slowly emerging from the shadows of the trees.

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