Without heeding the gazes of the crowd, Lu Ao let out a cold snort and loudly berated Qin Xuan, who was surrounded by the Lie family.
Upon hearing this, Qin Xuan's eyes flickered upwards.
His gaze pierced through the Lie family elders and locked directly onto Lu Ao.
"Heh, Patriarch Lu, no need to rush."
"We do indeed need to have a good talk about Ling'er. However, it won't be now, but after I've resolved matters here."
With that, Qin Xuan shifted his gaze back to the pale-faced Lie Quan.
"Patriarch Lie, I'll give you one more chance."
"Admit your mistake now, and I can have the Dragon Head grant the Lie family a separate establishment. During non-war periods, you can live without participating in any of the Dragon Country's affairs, just as you do now."
"Furthermore, the state will provide the Lie family with various subsidies and support according to normal establishment benefits."
"But if you remain stubborn, then don't blame me..."
"Don't blame me for what?!"
Before Qin Xuan could finish speaking, a thunderous voice echoed from outside the hall.
Everyone turned to look outside, only to see a majestic elder, exuding a scorching aura, slowly walking into the hall.
With each step he took, he covered nearly dozens of meters. In just two or three strides, he had moved from the garden outside the hall to the center of it.
"Father, your son is unfilial!"
"I implore you to personally handle the Lie family crisis!"
Upon seeing the newcomer, Lie Quan, disregarding his blood-coughing body, immediately lunged forward and prostrated himself in worship.
The other members of the Lie family also knelt on one knee, raising their voices in unison: "Greetings, Old Patriarch."
"Old Patriarch? Could this be the former head of the Lie family, Lie Quan's father, Lie Qing?"
"That's right! Legend has it that he had already reached the late stage of Core Formation fifty years ago. Now that fifty years have passed, he has likely cultivated the Lie family's ancestral Lie Fire Art to its peak!"
Cultivated to its peak?
That means the Great Perfection of Core Formation?
The murmurs of the crowd, not deliberately suppressed, naturally reached the ears of Ke Wudi, Qin Xuan, and the others.
Ke Wudi and Zheng Wanqing looked at their precious disciple with a hint of worry.
Qin Xuan, however, gave his two masters a reassuring look.
Although he was currently only at the peak of Qi Refining, in terms of realm, he was two major realms lower than Lie Quan and Lie Qing.
However, his Tai Xuan Scripture and his God of Slaughter physique provided him with numerous advantages.
Therefore, even without having witnessed the true might of a Golden Core cultivator, Qin Xuan could confidently believe that he was invincible below the Golden Core stage!
Meanwhile, on Lie Qing's side.
Looking at Lie Quan, who was kneeling and spitting blood, Lie Qing couldn't help but let out a cold snort and berate him fiercely.
To think that the dignified head of the Lie family would be beaten to such an extent by a mere brat, it was a disgrace beyond measure.
But no matter what, Lie Quan was his own son.
So, despite his scolding, he conjured a pill from thin air and tossed it to Lie Quan, telling him to get aside and heal.
After sending his son away, Lie Qing immediately turned and looked at the young man who had been surrounded by the Lie family.
He was dressed in black, with sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, like an immortal descending to earth, a divine being gracing the mortal realm.
However, Qin Xuan currently showed no trace of a cultivator's aura.
His demeanor was as calm as still water, as if he were an ordinary person without any cultivation.
"Was it you who just injured Quan'er?"
Facing Qin Xuan, Lie Qing showed no apprehension. On the contrary, he already regarded the young man as a dead man.
As the guests attending the ceremony had said.
Lie Qing had already been in the late stage of Core Formation fifty years ago.
And fifty years of secluded cultivation had allowed him to advance from the late stage of Core Formation to the Great Perfection of Core Formation.
Of course, this was not the end.
With the great changes in the world, even within a small pocket dimension, possessing sufficient heaven and earth spiritual energy was still insufficient to break through the bottleneck of the Core Formation stage and advance to Golden Core.
Therefore, after successfully cultivating to the Great Perfection of Core Formation, Lie Qing had further comprehended and improved upon the original Lie family cultivation technique.
Although his realm had not advanced any further, the nascent Golden Core within his body had expanded significantly!
Even though his current realm had not reached the legendary Golden Core, the nascent Golden Core within his body had already reached the size of a Golden Core.
This meant that in terms of both the total amount of spiritual energy within his body and the intensity of his attacks, Lie Qing could now wield at least fifty to sixty percent of the power of a Golden Core cultivator. Such strength could be considered invincible within the Core Formation realm!
"It was me."
Qin Xuan did not flinch in the face of Lie Qing's questioning.
He straightened his back, his gaze meeting Lie Qing's directly, as if sparks were about to fly.
Lie Qing snorted coldly upon seeing this, "How audacious!"
"You ruined my grandson's wedding, injured my son, and now you're still so arrogant."
"It seems I must show you what it means when I say there are always people better than you, and heavens beyond heavens!"
With a grasp, Lie Qing did not attack Qin Xuan, but first pulled his grandson, Lie Feng, to his side.
Qin Xuan had no intention of attacking Lie Feng, so he naturally allowed the other party to act.
When Lie Qing reached out again, intending to pull Qin Ling'er over as well, Qin Xuan moved.
He waved his sleeve, instantly interrupting Lie Qing's action, then let out a cold snort and stepped forward, blocking Lie Qing.
Seeing this, Lie Qing advanced rather than retreated, unleashing both palms simultaneously, conjuring two balls of extremely scorching flame.
As the flames appeared, the surrounding carpets and red curtains immediately began to burn, gradually spreading to other areas.
"Master, you and Mistress take Ling'er and leave, go a good distance away."
With Qin Ling'er and Ke Wudi behind him, Qin Xuan naturally could not dodge.
He first instructed Ke Wudi and the other to take Qin Ling'er away, ensuring that the little girl would not be affected by the battle between him and Lie Qing. Then, he smiled slightly, extended his hands, and directly met Lie Qing's flames.
Lie Qing couldn't help but sneer upon seeing this.
He knew the power of his own flames; their temperature was at least three thousand degrees!
Yet, Qin Xuan was still reaching out to catch them with his bare hands as if he felt nothing.
This kid was either stupid or crazy!
However, Qin Xuan's subsequent actions made Lie Qing's pupils tremble.
After a moment of hesitation, he turned and fled as if escaping, not even having time to look back.
Just as his hands were about to touch Lie Qing's flames, Qin Xuan instantly unleashed a large amount of spiritual energy.
This spiritual energy replaced Lie Qing's primal energy, becoming the primary fuel for the burning flames.
This burst of energy caused the already scorching flames to rise in temperature by another level.
Although Lie Qing cultivated a fire-attribute cultivation technique, his body had a limit to its tolerance of flames.
The current flames had clearly exceeded the critical point that Lie Qing could withstand.
Therefore, he could only quickly disengage to prevent himself from being engulfed by the explosive flames and completely vanishing from existence.