Cohabitation with Sword Spirit-Chapter 139 - 112: Professional Scapegoat

Qian Ye's sense of alertness was instantly heightened to the maximum.

This was not just an ordinary deserted field, but the Qian Family's secret training ground, meant exclusively for the core disciples of the family to cultivate. It was completely isolated from the outside world by several layers of arrays, making it impossible for ordinary people to even come close.

Zhou Yu was able to bring a food box inside because, long ago, during a time when he and Zhou Yu were inseparable and deeply affectionate, he had given her access. But Qian Ye was certain that this mysterious armored person had definitely not come through normal channels!

This was a standard case of unauthorized intrusion!

Though the security in Qingyun City was good, it wasn't completely without disturbances from demons. Every few years, some reckless demon from the evil path would come to Qingyun City to wreak havoc, and unfortunately, among the victims, there were always some disciples of reputable sects. But... Qian Ye never expected such an incident to befall him!

Qian Ye froze for a moment, quickly realizing and sharply said, "Zhou Yu, come over here to me!"

At the same time, his palms glowed with a brilliant golden light, and the power of the Gold-Burning Palm at the eighth heaven was pushed to the extreme. Simultaneously, the hundreds of spirit stones in the Qiankun Bag were ignited by true essence, catalyzed into a reactive state, ready to explode at a moment's notice, wielding power comparable to the full blow of a Cloud Flipping Realm master.

With such strength, among cultivators under twenty, unless encountering a freak like Li Fengyun, he was practically invincible... However, it was all meaningless! No one could guarantee that your opponent will always be under twenty! There were no fair stages in this world; being oppressed by powerful seniors was absolutely normal!

Qian Ye, extremely tense, strained his eyes to investigate the armored person... Fortunately, judging from the opponent's true essence fluctuation, they were only about Late Stage Cloud Surge Realm, still within a manageable range.

While thinking this, he heard the armored person let out a contemptuous laugh.

"Gold-Burning Palm, Qiankun Throw? Ha, just to forcibly practice such a trifling trick and compete for the so-called hollow honor of the Qingyun Grand Competition, you'd hurt an innocent girl and trample on her pure heart; a model of human scum, nothing more."

Hearing these words, Qian Ye was instantly infuriated: "The matter between Zhou Yu and me is none of your business! Who exactly are you, and how did you get in here?"

The armored person declared grandly, "I followed the scent of a heartbroken maiden, of course! Even if separated by a hundred miles, I could smell the air of sorrow."

Qian Ye furrowed his brow, realizing this armored person most likely tailed Zhou Yu here. The formation of this training ground wasn't perfect and indeed had such loopholes. Therefore, whenever Qian Family members came and went, they would carefully confirm that no one else was nearby.

Thinking of this, Qian Ye couldn't help but give Zhou Yu a glance, then sternly said to the armored person, "This is the Qian Family training ground!"

"Ha, what of the Qian Family training ground? Wherever there is a sad, beautiful lady, there shall I be, the warrior that guards the heart of maidens!"

Qian Ye felt a chill run down his spine, wondering which grave this demon of the evil path had crawled out from! How could one even utter such words without exploding themselves?!

However, before he could think more, he saw the armored person step forward, exuding a pressure that was shocking and heart-stopping.

"Scum, enough talk. Having harmed a beautiful girl, prepare to face the righteous punishment!"

Then, that dark silhouette fearlessly advanced!

Qian Ye's heart tightened, realizing that this battle was unavoidable. Although the opponent, judging from the true essence fluctuations, was only at Cloud Surge Realm, not even equal to himself, the fact that they could stealthily enter the Qian Family training ground meant their skills were not to be underestimated.

Against an opponent whose depth was unclear, Qian Ye always advocated going all out, leaving no moves in reserve. At once, he launched two fully powered Gold-Burning Palms, with two circles of golden ripples spreading and locking the space within several dozen meters. In mid-air, hundreds upon thousands of golden runes appeared, each condensing intense true essence. Once triggered, they would explode fiercely, not only damaging the opponent's primordial spirit but also depleting their fortune—should their fortune be insufficient to offset, it would reflect back onto the primordial spirit, further increasing damage, a quite ferocious and domineering move.

With Qian Ye's current strength, after sufficient energy build-up, the fully realized form of the eighth heaven Gold-Burning Palm was wielded with confidence that beneath the Cloud Flipping Realm, no one could block it head-on. Meanwhile, in this brief time, he took the opportunity to infuse several thousand—well, actually several hundred—spirit stones in an excited state from the Qiankun Bag into his palm, for a Qiankun Throw!

However, just as Qian Ye was stealthily dipping his right hand into the Qiankun Bag, he was stunned to see the armored person slowly stepping forward, crossing over to him in a single stride!

The pitch-black armor came straight at him, cutting dozens of afterimages along its path, each like a lamp in the night drawing the surrounding golden runes to stick around before exploding fiercely, yet wasting the damage in emptiness.

The next moment, when the armored person stood nearly face-to-face with Qian Ye, they inevitably brushed against dozens of golden runes, allowing them to explode on themselves and blossom into dozens of blue ripples—these forces, embodying pinnacle-level true essence of Cloud Surge Realm, couldn't even sway his protective true essence!

Qian Ye's most powerful burst, Qiankun Throw, was seized firmly by his right hand before it could be launched, completely immobile.

Terrified, Qian Ye tried several times to retract his right hand, but felt as though it were being crushed by a few mountains simultaneously. The opponent's strength exhibited an overwhelming dominance, rendering his attempts at infusing true essence and vibrating muscles utterly futile.

Yet at this moment, the true essence fluctuation exuded by the armored person remained at Cloud Surge Realm!

This, what kind of monster is this?

In his shock, Qian Ye heard the armored person's mockery.

"Using Gold-Burning Palm for control, Qiankun Throw for victory, is this the routine you've prepared to win the Qingyun Grand Competition? Ha, haha, you think this is like hitting a wooden stake? It seems the straight male chauvinists in this world really are cast from the same mold, ridiculously self-absorbed."

The next moment, Qian Ye only felt the grip on his right hand suddenly doubling, a searing pain shot through his nerves along his arm, causing his vision to blackout, while the relatively fragile wrist bone emitted an almost cracking groan.

Meanwhile, struggling to retaliate with his left hand, he saw a black fist rapidly appear within his vision, growing quickly.

Boom!

With a single punch, Qian Ye's Protective True Essence was shattered, a sharp pain surged through his nose, and tears involuntarily welled up, distorting his vision into a blur.

It felt like ten clock towers were ringing simultaneously inside his head, making everything spin and his balance falter. Using the last ounce of his strength, Qian Ye circulated the Spirit Gathering Circulation to force himself from losing consciousness.

In his struggle, Qian Ye seemed to see the dark armored figure slowly approaching Zhou Yu.

Qian Ye, caught between shock and anger, shouted desperately, "Don't touch her!"

The armored figure slowly turned his head, and though his expression was hidden behind the helmet, Qian Ye clearly saw a disdainful smile.

"Ha."

The next moment, Qian Ye could no longer withstand the piercing pain flooding his mind, as darkness engulfed his consciousness.

——

Upon regaining consciousness, the first thing Qian Ye saw was his father's furious face.

Qian Ye disregarded everything else and immediately asked, "Where is Zhou Yu!?"

Qian Long snorted coldly, and a stream of freezing True Essence flowed into Qian Ye's body, sending a shiver through him and clearing his head.

"Speak, what exactly happened?"

Qian Ye remained silent for a moment before slowly recounting his recent ordeal in full detail.

Upon hearing this, Qian Long trembled all over.

"Bastard! How dare anyone cause trouble right in the Qian Family training grounds!?"

Then, he said in a cold voice, "Thirteen, Seventeen, investigate this. Search throughout Cyan Cloud; dig deep if you must, but find that armored heretic!"

Beside Qian Long, two semi-visible figures nodded and then vanished with the wind.

These were the Qian Family spies, acting as the eyes and ears of the Patriarch, with the authority to access the entire intelligence network to gather critical information throughout the Cyan Cloud Region.

These spies might not have profound Immortal Dao cultivation, but few events could escape their notice within Cyan Cloud City. Even the Li and Lu families, as well as large organizations like the Sword Sect and the Mutual Aid Association, often had their confidential information collected and attained by them.

However, half an hour later, the two Qian Family spies returned to the Patriarch with shame.

"You're saying the trail suddenly went cold inside Cyan Cloud City? Interesting..."

There are only a few possible reasons for the Qian Family spies to suddenly lose a trail.

First, a Great Cultivator with extremely profound cultivation and Immortal Technique intervened, disrupting the trackers' pursuit. Such formidable individuals are not uncommon in Cyan Cloud City; the patriarchs and senior elders of several great families could achieve this if they wished.

Second, the spies' pursuit was forcibly terminated by someone with authority overriding their access. Typically, this implies an insider within the Qian Family. Though the spies dispatched by Qian Long are answerable only to him, they inevitably rely on the Qian Family's intelligence network for gathering information. During this process, if a core member of the Qian Family discovers and deems their work inappropriate, they might use means such as closing off the intelligence network to forcibly halt the spies' activities.

Third...

No, the third possibility is unnecessary to consider; when he thought of the second option, Qian Long already had a hunch about the answer.

Filled with a touch of anger, Qian Long left Qian Ye and returned to the Qian Family Mansion, heading straight to Jin Yin Mountain, where in a cramped underground space, he found his treasured daughter.

"Qian Yue, how dare you..."

Hearing Qian Long's voice, crackling like thunder, the girl opened her eyes from a light sleep, revealing a playful smile.

"Yes, ever since I found true love, I've become much bolder. Perhaps this is the courage granted by love. Hehe, Dad, what brings you here?"

"Don't give me that cheeky smile!" Qian Long barked in anger, and the Mountain-Overturning Realm peak-level True Essence fluctuation erupted, making the girl's face pale instantly, silent as if frightened.

"Was it you who hired someone to knock out your brother and abduct Zhou Yu!?"

Qian Yue opened and closed her mouth several times before softly nodding.

"Yes, it was me."