Chapter 315: Chapter 314: Return to the Imperial Capital
"Y-y-you..."
High in the sky, fierce winds howled. The moment Hua Wuchang opened her mouth to speak, a blast of wind caught her words, rendering them an incoherent mumble. Seeing this, Qin Ya circulated his True Essence. An invisible Transparent Body Shield instantly enveloped the two of them, blocking the howling wind so it could no longer affect them in the slightest.
Hua Wuchang finally breathed a sigh of relief. She then looked at Qin Ya, her expression like she had just seen a ghost. "Are you really Qin Ya?" she asked.
She was genuinely suspicious. ’Could this be some bored Extraordinary, deliberately disguised as Qin Ya just to mess with me?’ At the thought, she glanced down from their thousand-meter altitude, gulped, and instinctively tightened her grip on Qin Ya’s arm, terrified that this potential imposter would drop her.
"Heh, of course I’m Qin Ya."
"Really?"
"The real deal."
"Prove it," Hua Wuchang said, still skeptical.
"Heh. The first time we met was in the Imperial Capital’s Chaotic Stone Forest. You were trying to assassinate me, but for all your disguises, you couldn’t fool me."
"Alright, I believe you."
At the mention of this, Hua Wuchang couldn’t help but feel a flash of annoyance. ’My Disguise Skill is foolproof, so how come it never works on this guy...’
’Wait, now isn’t the time to get hung up on that.’
She stared at Qin Ya and suddenly shrieked in alarm again.
Qin Ya’s brow furrowed slightly. "What are you making such a fuss about?"
"What do you mean, ’making a fuss’? Spit it out! How did you become an Extraordinary?" Hua Wuchang demanded, staring at Qin Ya with her beautiful eyes, which now held a brilliant, searching light.
"How else? Through Cultivation."
"Cultivation?" Hua Wuchang’s eyes widened in disbelief. "Are you telling me you cultivated for over half a year and just came back as an Extraordinary?"
"What else? What did you expect?"
Hua Wuchang was completely stunned. ’He cultivated for over half a year and became an Extraordinary Martial Artist? Good heavens, since when were Extraordinary Martial Artists a dime a dozen?’
’No, it’s just that this kid is too much of a freak.’
’My heavens, what even is a genius? I used to think those scions of the great families in the Imperial Capital were heaven’s favored children, but compared to Qin Ya, they’re nothing! They can’t even be mentioned in the same breath!’
’I can only imagine the uproar he’ll cause when he returns to the Imperial Capital. How shocked will all those self-proclaimed prodigies be!’
"Freak!" Hua Wuchang muttered, her tone tinged with an unmistakable jealousy. After all her bitter Cultivation, she was still only at the Celestial Essence Realm.
’But this guy... he vanishes for over half a year and just comes back as an Extraordinary.’
"Heh." Qin Ya chuckled softly and said no more.
Having comprehended the Mysterious Speed, Qin Ya’s Sky-Controlling flight was exceptionally fast. While a typical Extraordinary would need at least half a day to reach the Imperial Capital, Qin Ya took less than an hour—and that was without even going all out...
’Is this the Imperial Capital?’
Qin Ya sighed, looking down at the Imperial Capital below.
Its former prosperity had vanished like smoke. The streets were nearly empty, and collapsed houses lay unattended. The once-bustling shops from his memory were now tightly shuttered. Swirling leaves added to the desolate and bleak atmosphere...
At a glance, a stranger might mistake it for a ghost town. Perhaps the only proof that this was still the seat of the empire was the magnificent Imperial City, which remained as resplendent as ever.
"I’ve only been gone for half a month, and the Imperial Capital is already like this," Hua Wuchang gasped in surprise.
Just then, a sound of tearing air caught their attention. Qin Ya looked over and saw a figure streaking toward them at an incredible speed. It was an Extraordinary!
"Whoa, our luck can’t be this bad," Hua Wuchang cried out. "I just got back, and I’ve already run into an Extraordinary."
"Qin Ya, you’d better hope that’s someone from the Academy or the Royal Family," Hua Wuchang said. "Given your past deeds, they’re still friendly toward you. If it’s someone from the Noble Families or the Black Market, then you can only blame your bad luck."
"Heh. It seems our luck isn’t very good," Qin Ya said with a faint smile. With his powerful sight, he had already seen who the newcomer was.
WHOOSH. The newcomer stopped in front of Qin Ya.
"It’s you!!!"
The newcomer was a middle-aged man in a white robe. He stared at Qin Ya, his eyes filled with profound shock and a raw, palpable killing intent. His voice was laced with ice as he said, "I never expected you would have already become an Extraordinary!"
When Hua Wuchang saw who it was, she instantly fell into despair.
"Sigh... Qin Ya, if I’d known this would happen, I never would’ve come back with you."
"How unlucky can you get? The very first person you meet after coming back is an enemy—and one who wants to give you the death by a thousand cuts, with zero chance of reconciliation!"
"You’re on your own."
Qin Ya ignored Hua Wuchang’s rambling, his gaze fixed coolly on the man before him. He chuckled softly. "It’s been a while, hasn’t it, Patriarch Wang."
The newcomer was none other than the man who harbored a mortal grudge against Qin Ya for killing his son... Wang Mingxiu!
In the past, Qin Ya had killed his son, Wang Yan, in the fighting arena. In retaliation, Wang Mingxiu’s wife placed a bounty on Qin Ya through the Black Market. Qin Ya, however, gave them a taste of their own medicine, using a massive number of Elixirs to place a counter-bounty on the Wang Family, which dealt them a crippling blow.
His wife also died in the ensuing conflict.
The grudge from the death of his son and wife was irreconcilable. Back then, he had held back only out of deference to the Royal Family and the Academy. Then, Qin Ya had entered Hidden Dragon Valley and vanished for over half a year. Now, seeing Qin Ya again, his hatred had not faded in the slightest; on the contrary, it had only deepened with time.
Seeing that Qin Ya had become an Extraordinary filled him with not just shock, but an even greater resentment. ’Why? Why is it that you could kill my son, bring about my wife’s death, cripple my family, and cause me to be punished by the Old Ancestor, while you just get to become more and more successful?!’
’And now you’ve even become an Extraordinary Martial Artist!’
"Die!!"
With no more words, Wang Mingxiu attacked. Boundless Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi coalesced into a monstrous pillar of fire that surged violently toward Qin Ya.
Qin Ya’s expression was indifferent, showing no trace of fear. He remained rooted to the spot, not even flinching. Hua Wuchang, held in his grasp, turned deathly pale, her eyes filled with despair. ’Ah, is this finally it? Am I going to die...’
’After being an assassin for so long, I guess it’s true you don’t get a peaceful end.’
She slowly closed her eyes, waiting for death to come.
But after a good while, the expected pain did not arrive.
’What’s happening?’
Hua Wuchang froze for a moment, then slowly opened her eyes. She was greeted by an unbelievable sight. The boundless flames were stopped cold by an invisible barrier three meters from Qin Ya. Not even a whisper of heat made it through. Hua Wuchang stared blankly and mumbled, "Isn’t that just for blocking the wind?"
That was right. The barrier before her was the True Essence Qi Shield, emanating from Qin Ya as he circulated his True Essence. With just this shield, he had completely blocked Wang Mingxiu’s attack. In that single instant, the disparity in their power was made clear!
’Holy crap, this damn freak is actually this strong!!’
Hua Wuchang came back to her senses and cursed inwardly.
’After all, Wang Mingxiu had been an Extraordinary for several years now. And Qin Ya? Even though he was also an Extraordinary, she never would have thought he could be stronger than Wang Mingxiu!’
’He was just too young, after all.’
’But the scene playing out before her eyes completely shattered her understanding of the world!’
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