Cold indifference filled Qin Hengyu’s eyes as he rubbed his aching palm.
“Liu Ruyan, in my eyes, you are nothing but trash, so stop testing my patience.”
He did not intend to strike her again.
Liu Ruyan was at the Mystic Ability Realm, one realm above his Spirit Manifestation Realm. Her pride and stubbornness were as hard as iron. Even with only slight force, his palm had begun to sting.
Liu Ruyan struggled, but suddenly her throat felt as though it had been clamped shut. She could not draw a single breath.
Jiang Zhan had made his move.
He would not allow Liu Ruyan to continue interfering with Qin Hengyu.
This…
They truly meant to kill Liu Ruyan.
Watching the scene unfold, Liu Zheng’an finally had to accept that Qin Hengyu no longer held even the faintest trace of affection for Liu Ruyan.
Otherwise,
He would not have struck her so ruthlessly.
Nor would he have calmly allowed Jiang Zhan to nearly strangle her to death.
The next person to be killed would very likely be himself.
With a heavy thud, Liu Zheng’an dropped to his knees and cried out, “I will return the betrothal gifts!”
“I remember clearly. At that time, the betrothal gifts were three Sacred Artifacts, one hundred million top-grade spirit stones, ten million various pills, ten portions of Divine Source, and ten thousand martial arts manuals.”
“Other than the Sacred Artifacts, the manuals, and the Divine Source, the spirit stones and pills have nearly all been used up. I beg the Royal Prince not to take offense.”
“The Liu family was wrong. Even if I must become the Royal Prince’s dog, I am willing.”
Liu Zheng’an had only just reached the Emperor Realm. He did not want to die here.
For that reason, he lowered his head as far as it could possibly go.
“The Great Qin Empire wants dogs, not ungrateful wolves!” Qin Hengyu said coldly. “Since the betrothal gifts cannot be fully returned, Uncle Jiang, throw all of them out of the Great Qin Empire. Leave them their clothes and give them a shred of dignity. Spare them this once.”
“As for the Liu family, if any of them dare come within 5,000 meters of the Great Qin Empire in the future, kill them without mercy.”
With a single sentence, Qin Hengyu severed the Liu family’s path forward and crushed any hope they had of remaining within the Great Qin Empire.
“Yes!”
Upon receiving the order, Jiang Zhan did not hesitate.
With a single thought, the storage ring on Liu Zheng’an’s hand fell off. At the same time, Liu Ruyan was restrained along with him.
Nearby, Jiang Zhan’s sons and the war soldiers also began to act.
A few members of the Liu family attempted to resist, but before they could even move, they were bound. Any storage rings they carried were removed. The weapons on their bodies were stripped away as well.
According to the list of betrothal gifts Liu Zheng’an had mentioned, even if the entire Liu family were sold, they would never be able to repay it. Get faster updates on g.com.
When Qin Hengyu brought up the betrothal gifts, it had only been an excuse to drive the Liu family out.
At that moment, within the grand hall before his eyes, a large amount of fate power remained behind.
Without hesitation, Qin Hengyu activated the Heaven-Swallowing Demonic Art and absorbed it. The fate surrounding him gradually shifted from gray to white.
Black, white, red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, purple, gold.
Although he was still far from reaching purple fate, for him, this was already tremendous progress.
Previously, with black fate, it had felt as though simply not dying suddenly was already an extraordinary stroke of luck.
Was it because his father had been protecting him?
After finishing the absorption of fate, Qin Hengyu was just about to attempt a breakthrough in his Spirit Manifestation Realm when a voice suddenly sounded in his mind.
[Ding! The host has annulled the engagement, slapped the female lead and protagonist in the face, suppressed the Liu family, and gained one enlightenment opportunity!]
…
As the system notification faded, Qin Hengyu indeed saw that his enlightenment opportunities had increased to two.
So it really worked?
Suppressing the female lead and protagonist in this manner truly granted enlightenment opportunities.
He did not understand the underlying principle.
But no matter what, it was a good thing.
By this time, Jiang Zhan had completed the task and returned.
“Royal Prince, why did you not eliminate the roots entirely?” Jiang Zhan asked after entering the hall. He had not asked earlier in order to preserve Qin Hengyu’s dignity.
Now,
Only he and the Royal Prince remained inside the hall, so he raised the question directly.
In Jiang Zhan’s view, given the Liu family’s attitude and the way they had been treated, they should not be allowed to continue existing.
Even if the Liu family were wiped out, no one in the entire star domain would dare say a word.
The Great Qin Empire still had a living Great Emperor.
Beneath the ground, within the Divine Source, countless Ancestors and predecessors lay dormant. This was the true foundation of the Great Qin Empire.
“It isn’t worth it,” Qin Hengyu replied calmly. “If we destroy the Liu family outright, whether they were right or wrong would be decided by others. You saw their behavior. Leaving that family alive will only cause trouble. Outsiders will naturally see that the fault lies with them.”
“Liu Ruyan and Ye Xingchen both carry a golden fate protecting them. If you kill them directly, it will bring misfortune and curses upon us.”
“If we want to deal with the Liu family, we must use a dull blade to carve them apart slowly. Have people watch them in secret and gradually take that overwhelming fate into our hands.”
Qin Hengyu did not conceal his ability to see fate.
Jiang Zhan was one of the people closest to him. Revealing this ability would only deepen Jiang Zhan’s trust.
“You can see fate, Royal Prince?”
Shock flashed through Jiang Zhan’s eyes.
Fate was something only the Great Emperor was rumored to perceive. Ordinary people could not glimpse even the slightest trace of it.
“My fate is black. I require a method to reverse fate. By suppressing Liu Ruyan and Ye Xingchen, the results have been remarkable,” Qin Hengyu said. “Uncle Jiang and Brother Jiang Yizhan both possess blue fate, which ranks at the lower end of the upper three grades.”
After explaining, Qin Hengyu felt a trace of helplessness. Among all the people in the Great Qin Empire, their fate truly was not very strong.
No wonder they could never win against a Chosen One.
“The Great Emperor once said that his greatest regret was that he could not change the Royal Prince’s fate,” Jiang Zhan said solemnly. “He also mentioned that the Royal Prince’s former confusion was not unrelated to fate. The Great Emperor once attempted to defy the heavens and alter your destiny, but he failed and suffered backlash instead.”
“If the Great Emperor were to learn of your current condition, he would be overjoyed.”
After hearing this secret, Qin Hengyu fell into thought.
His fate had once been forcibly altered?
And it had failed?
Even in the original novel, this had barely been mentioned. It seemed that after the Great Emperor made a move once, he had soon fallen.
Qin Hengyu pondered for a while before focusing once more on Liu Ruyan and Ye Xingchen.
“Next, keep a close watch on them. Find ways to suppress them. Do not let them live comfortably. Do you understand?”
He planned to spend this period cultivating to improve his realm and strength.
But Ye Xingchen and Liu Ruyan had to be continuously suppressed. They could not be allowed to rise.
“Yes!”
After learning of the difference in their fates, Jiang Zhan grew even more cautious.
The Royal Prince was no longer the same as before.
He was not like his somewhat naive sons. Jiang Zhan could already sense that the Great Qin Empire might undergo subtle changes because of Qin Hengyu’s existence. Naturally, he wished to deepen his connection with the Royal Prince.
At that moment, a familiar voice echoed beside Qin Hengyu’s ear.
“My son, come here!”
Inside the hall, Jiang Zhan also heard the voice and dropped to one knee, his expression filled with excitement. “Great Emperor!”
At the same instant, Qin Hengyu felt the world spin around him. His body moved beyond his control, and in the blink of an eye, he arrived in another space entirely.