Fanxing City erupted in commotion.
"Damn Guiyan Gang! They couldn't have picked a better target than Celestial Academy!"
"The teacher hasn't even moved yet, and the students are already this brutal!"
"Where could Guiyan Gang possibly hide someone? If they don't show up soon, given that boy's temper, he might really start a bloodbath!"
Qin Yang surveyed his classmates and called out, "Gather everyone together. You all head back to the inn and wait for news. Try contacting Martial Heaven if you can."
Scanning the surroundings, Qin Yang furrowed his brow. "Jin Wanshan, does the Chamber of Commerce have any experts?"
Jin Wanshan hesitated. "Are you worried about our classmates' safety?"
He puffed out his chest. "Don't worry, I can ensure their safety."
"Where are you going? I'm coming too!" Lian Feng protested, unwilling to return to the inn.
Qin Yang shook his head. "I'll go alone."
After grabbing a random passerby to ask about the Guiyan Gang's headquarters, Qin Yang set off immediately.
The students watched Qin Yang's retreating figure, their hearts filled with conflicting emotions.
Martial Heaven had disappeared at the critical moment, and now Qin Yang had taken charge of everything!
Lian Feng gazed deeply at Qin Yang's departing back, gratitude swelling in his heart as he silently prayed.
"Don't worry," Jin Wanshan said, patting Lian Feng's shoulder. "Since Teacher Wu dared to leave, he must be certain no one here can threaten us. With Qin Yang on the case, we'll find Lin Wan'er quickly."
At the headquarters of the Guiyan Gang in Fanxing City, the messenger who had earlier brought the news stood among nearly a hundred men lined up at the gate. A brown-haired elder glared at them, his face contorted with anger.
"Look at yourselves!" he roared. "I warned you repeatedly not to touch Celestial Academy people, yet you disobeyed!"
His face flushed crimson as he continued, "You ignorant curs! Who dared to lay hands on them?"
A subordinate answered cautiously, "It was Li Dulong's magical artifacts shop."
"Where is he now?" the elder demanded.
"Li Dulong went to handle the matter," the subordinate replied.
The white-haired elder nearly fainted from fury. "With his incompetence? Who's handling whom? I'm asking about that Celestial Academy student! Where is he?!"
The subordinates exchanged bewildered glances. Why did their leader fear the Celestial Academy so much? The academy was located in distant Central Province...
"Where is he?!" the elder stomped his foot in frustration.
"The two men escorting the girl went missing halfway through the journey and never returned to headquarters," another subordinate reported.
"Could they have gone to the Julong Mountain stronghold?" one of the men suggested.
The white-haired old man was about to ask again when his heart suddenly tightened.
All his subordinates' eyes widened as they stared in disbelief at what lay behind their leader.
Qin Yang's sudden appearance instantly tensed the atmosphere, the air thickening with a profound pressure.
"Julong Mountain?" Qin Yang frowned, having overheard their conversation for some time now.
"Who are you?" the white-haired old man squinted, his eyes narrowing.
This kid's so young, he thought in shock. Could he be a new student from Celestial Academy? But how does he possess such strength? Have I gone mad? I didn't even sense his approach!
"Where's Julong Mountain's hideout?" Qin Yang demanded coldly.
The white-haired old man snorted angrily. "A mere student dares question me? If your teacher came personally, that might be different!"
"Oh?" Qin Yang's eyebrow twitched as he formed a sword-like gesture with his fingers.
A divine sword of five colors materialized, circling menacingly around the old man.
The white-haired leader's eyelid twitched uncontrollably. His face paling, he blurted out, "Julong Mountain's hideout is the Guiyan Gang's absolute secret. Only a select few know it - we'll never reveal it to outsiders!"
Qin Yang's gaze swept across the group of subordinates before him, a faint smile curling his lips. With a casual flick of his finger, the divine sword whirled into action, reaping the lives of those once-vibrant souls in a bloody dance.
The white-haired old man's expression drastically changed as he suddenly dodged and punched, exploding the Five-Colored Divine Sword.
"What's the meaning of this? Slaughtering my Guiyan Gang members right before my eyes?" The old man's face twisted with rage.
"I'll ask again," Qin Yang said softly, "Where's Julong Mountain's stronghold? Take me there."
The white-haired old man took a deep breath, his fists trembling. That Five-Colored Divine Sword was actually a true energy sword condensed from spiritual energy! The mere recoil force had disrupted his true energy flow. This brat's strength was far greater than he'd imagined!
The old man said, "This was indeed our Guiyan Gang's fault for accidentally offending the Celestial Academy. Rest assured, I'll give the academy proper compensation. Besides, you've already killed so many of our men..."
"You're wasting my time," Qin Yang shook his head, flames blazing in his eyes. His hand formed a seal and moved to his lips.
"The Celestial Academy has always been reasonable and discerning..." The old man's face darkened.
"Sorry, I'm not here to discuss reason!" Qin Yang shook his head again, taking a sudden deep breath.
The Divine Path's Heavenly Sound exploded like the Heavenly Emperor's wrath from the Nine Heavens.
"Hell Flame: Fire Eruption!"
The headquarters of the Guiyan Gang erupted into a sea of flames.
The sturdy limestone slabs shattered and disintegrated, reduced to ashes in the blink of an eye. The gang members had no time to react, their bodies vanishing completely in a wisp of smoke.
Qin Yang turned his gaze, reducing the entire Guiyan Gang headquarters to ash in a single motion.
"You... are you human or a demonic beast?" The white-haired elder, his body charred black, could barely defend himself despite his desperate efforts. This was only because Qin Yang had deliberately spared him!
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Two divine swords, radiating an icy aura as if forged from solid frost, pierced through the elder's shoulders.
With a thought, Qin Yang lifted the old man's body into the air, suspended by the divine blades.
"Life or death?" Qin Yang asked softly.
The white-haired elder stared at Qin Yang's scholarly appearance, unblinking as he slaughtered so many. A sense of despair flooded his heart.
Where did this demon come from?
As the elder observed his frozen state, the divine swords continuously seeping cold energy into his veins, freezing his true qi, he suddenly burst out in a cackle of laughter.
"You want to know our Julong Mountain hideout? You'll regret it."
Qin Yang's eyebrow twitched. His divine sense detected survivors on the nearby street. With a flick of his finger, the divine swords claimed their lives before they could even turn to flee.
The white-haired old man's pupils contracted. "Very well! I'll grant you this!"
Qin Yang snapped his fingers. The two divine swords vanished instantly as the old man's body collapsed to the ground, unable to maintain his footing.
The pair departed the city immediately. Panda had intended to follow, but Qin Yang instructed him to stay behind and protect the other students.
"Too slow!" Qin Yang observed the old man's unsteady gait. After confirming their direction, he hauled the white-haired man up and activated the Dragon Soaring Steps. Surrounded by swirling illusions of divine dragons, they shot skyward.
At Julong Mountain's hidden cave entrance, Qin Yang materialized alongside the brown-haired old man he'd flung to the ground.
A mental scan revealed a tunnel extending deep into the cavern.
"Still time to regret this!" The white-haired old man sneered. "If you don't enter, I'll bring them out now. But if you go in..."
"Silence!" Qin Yang's kick preserved the man's life, yet shattered his qi passageways, rendering his cultivation useless.
The old man's face turned ashen. He knew this outcome meant certain death. He'd considered ending himself, but seeing Qin Yang enter the cave, he paused.
"Boy, I'll wait here," the old man growled, "to watch you suffer worse than death!"