“This is a story I once read in a tale book. Senior Brother Jin, just listen to it as a joke.” Qin Chuan spoke as he continued walking without slowing down.
“Go ahead, Junior Brother Qin. I’m all ears.” Jin Pang also kept moving, following just half a step behind.
Qin Chuan organized his thoughts and began telling the story. “Once upon a time, there was an Emperor who had a white moonlight…”
“What is white moonlight?” Jin Pang interrupted.
“It means the person one loves,” Qin Chuan explained in the simplest possible way, then continued narrating the Emperor’s story.
“Since he was already a powerful Emperor, why didn’t he just marry the person he loved?”
“And why, to put the child of the person he loved on the throne, did he personally kill his other capable sons? Shouldn’t a dynasty choose the most competent heir? Was the Emperor’s brain broken!?”
“And the Empress’ family commanded an army of 300,000 elite soldiers. Why didn’t they just seize the throne for themselves?” Jin Pang delivered a series of lethal questions like a normal human being.
“I don’t understand either. Who can understand such logic? Maybe that man only cared about love,” Qin Chuan said, and the moment he mentioned love, an idea popped into his head—could he deal with the protagonist and female lead by using this female-oriented logic that love is the greatest thing?
Jin Pang didn’t respond. After venting, he silently replayed Qin Chuan’s story in his mind.
If he substituted the Emperor with the Xiao Clan’s patriarch, the story matched disturbingly well. The only difference was that his mother’s clan didn’t have such immense power. The Yang Clan was a small and insignificant clan to the Xiao Clan.
No—Jin Pang’s expression suddenly changed.
Because the Yang Clan, too, had once prospered. They had produced a Tribulation Crossing Realm cultivator in the past, and that cultivator had left behind a pill recipe—one that could allow someone to cultivate to the late stage of the Tribulation Crossing Realm.
But no one besides the Yang Clan’s patriarch knew about this recipe. Jin Pang only knew because his grandfather revealed the secret to him and Xiao Yi before he died.
If the Xiao Clan discovered this secret, then the Yang Clan would indeed be the “useful first wife’s family” in that story. In that case…
The Xiao Clan…
Jin Pang silently made up his mind. After this matter was over, he would discuss everything with his cousin and make sure his cousin safeguarded that pill recipe.
Both men were lost in their thoughts, but their pursuit of the twin insect did not slow. They even joked lightly along the way.
“Junior Brother Qin, if we fail to kill Xie An this time, you must be very careful next time. Xie An has always had a protector from the Xiao Clan by his side. That’s why I’ve never been able to kill him,” Jin Pang warned.
“What’s the strength of this protector? Is he also in the Tranquil Void Sect right now?” Qin Chuan’s instincts immediately sharpened. Based on how Heaven treated its precious protagonist, Xie An’s protector was bound to show up. New chapters come out on g.com first.
“Peak Soul Transformation Realm. But don’t worry. Before coming in, I already informed my Martial Uncle Zhao Lin to guard outside the Secret Realm. With him there, Xie An’s protector can’t break in, and someone at peak Soul Transformation can’t sense what’s happening inside.”
Jin Pang’s reassurance only made Qin Chuan more anxious. He silently cursed and reminded him solemnly, “Senior Brother Jin, we must end this quickly. Kill Xie An as fast as possible.”
“Alright.” Jin Pang didn’t understand why Qin Chuan was so serious, but he wasn’t against killing Xie An quickly.
The atmosphere grew tense and silent. Neither spoke again.
After about fifteen minutes, Jin Pang whispered, “Junior Brother Qin, the twin insect has stopped ahead. It must have found Xie An. If Xie An sees it, he’ll get suspicious. We can’t go any closer.”
Qin Chuan surveyed the surroundings. His bad luck had likely been consumed when killing Gu Xiran earlier. Now, fortune was on his side. He immediately spotted a perfect place for formations—a small sunken valley.
“Senior Brother Jin, I’ll set up an array there. I can finish in fifteen minutes. Once Xie An enters the valley, he won’t be able to use any teleportation talismans.”
“Good. Leave luring Xie An to me. In half an hour, I’ll bring him here.” Jin Pang met Qin Chuan’s gaze, and the two split up to begin their tasks.
Qin Chuan arrived at the valley and began arranging formations. In only seven or eight minutes, he completed a no-flight formation. But knowing this damn Heaven might protect the male supporting character just as much as the female lead, he added two more no-flight formations on top.
“If Heaven wants to interfere, it still has to be reasonable. I refuse to believe there are Core Formation or Pseudo-Nascent Soul demon beasts hiding in this Secret Realm.”
“No, if there really are Pseudo-Nascent Soul monsters, that’d be troublesome. While I still have time, I’ll add a few killing arrays too.”
“And I need a few trapping arrays. If the female lead shows up, I’ll trap her. I shouldn’t kill her for now.”
“My intuition says if I touch the female lead again, this damn Heaven will wipe me out without hesitation.”
Qin Chuan multitasked—setting up killing arrays, trapping arrays, and defensive arrays. In less than half an hour, everything was complete.
Seeing he still had time, he sat down to adjust his state, preparing himself for battle.
Before long, he sensed someone stepping into the formation. He immediately rose, Heavenly Domain Sword in hand, ready to strike.
Jin Pang rushed into the valley. He didn’t see Qin Chuan, but he didn’t bother looking. He trusted Qin Chuan would not abandon him. He gritted his teeth and ran deeper inside.
“Jin Pang, running is useless. Today, I will kill you.” Xie An chased right behind him.
Jin Pang was covered in injuries, his hair disheveled, fleeing in a pathetic state. Qin Chuan couldn’t help admiring, “Senior Brother Jin’s acting is incredible. I can’t be arrogant. I must learn from him.”
If Jin Pang—currently fleeing for his life—heard that, he would leap up and spit twice at Qin Chuan, shouting, “I’m actually injured! I’m not acting! I’m not acting!!! I’m really running for my life!” Enjoying the story? Read on at novelping . com.
Jin Pang was just in the early Core Formation Realm. Using the Primordial Heavenly Flame by force required sacrificing his own essence blood. A single day of healing wasn’t enough for full recovery. He could only use about 60% of his strength now. Naturally, he couldn’t defeat Xie An, who was also in early Core Formation.
Jin Pang ran ahead, Xie An chased behind, and just as Qin Chuan predicted, Gu Xiran followed behind Xie An. One fleeing, one chasing, one following.
Qin Chuan sighed with relief. Good thing he prepared so much. Everything was within expectation.
He was already gathering power for the strike that had once killed the Pseudo-Nascent Soul wolf demon—only this time, he’d charged it even longer.
The moment Gu Xiran stepped into the trapping array, Qin Chuan unleashed his attack without hesitation. “Heavenly Gang Demon-Slaying Sword!!!”
The sword aura of the Heavenly Domain Sword had long locked onto Xie An. It slashed from behind. Xie An had no time to dodge, no time to react. He could only take the hit.
Xie An was just an early Core Formation alchemist. Weaker than Jin Pang. It was impossible for him to withstand a sword strike powerful enough to slay a Pseudo-Nascent Soul foe. A dull thud echoed, followed by the sound of sword qi cleaving the earth.
“Second Senior Brother!!!” Gu Xiran shrieked like a groundhog. She tried to rush toward Xie An but the trapping array blocked her. Her voice was sharp and grating.
Qin Chuan ignored her.
He swallowed a spiritual energy recovery pill and once more swung the Heavenly Gang Demon-Slaying Sword with full force. He wouldn’t stop until Xie An was dead.
The two consecutive strikes exhausted all of Qin Chuan’s spiritual energy. He landed on the ground, quickly swallowing more pills while simultaneously activating the killing arrays.
At the same time, Jin Pang attacked as well. He sacrificed 90% of his essence blood to power the Primordial Heavenly Flame. A spark ignited into a fist-sized fireball and shot toward Xie An.
“Second Senior Brother!!!” Gu Xiran screamed again as attacks exploded around Xie An. Her voice kept rising in pitch—she could go train the Lion’s Roar technique.
Qin Chuan and Jin Pang temporarily had no combat power. They both stared at where Xie An had been standing.
When the smoke cleared, Xie An lay flat on the ground. His entire body was charred black. Half of his body was gone. What remained was mangled and bleeding. And yet—he was still barely breathing.
Qin Chuan had unleashed two strikes capable of killing a Pseudo-Nascent Soul enemy. Jin Pang had used flame strong enough to kill a late Core Formation cultivator. Several killing arrays were stacked on top.
And they STILL couldn’t kill an early Core Formation alchemist.
Completely absurd.
“What the hell kind of male supporting character is this? This isn’t a male supporting role—this is a cockroach.” Qin Chuan cursed internally as he raised his sword to deliver the final blow.