The Qin Family (1)

Kai's party left the outpost early in the morning and reached Huang City by midday. The Qin lady's guards had closely followed Kai's group the entire way back but were still too terrified to make any moves against them.

Kai could see the large city gates on the horizon but found that the road was blocked by a group of almost 50 men all dressed like the Qin guards. The guards who had been following Kai also noticed this and quietly rejoiced. With this many family guards on their side, they should be able to overpower Kai and his group.

Kai told Old Lao to stop the wagon. He had figured that the guards could have sent someone to inform the Qin family so this much was still within Kai's expectations.

He had already given clear instructions to his people that if a fight were to break out, they had to ride away on the wagon as quickly as possible. Mina would be in charge of their protection as they escaped while Kai stayed behind and fought whatever forces had been thrown at them. They had also agreed on a few different rendezvous locations just in case, so Kai would know where to find them in any situation.

Kai jumped off the wagon with a tied-up Qin Weiwei slung on his shoulder and walked up to the Qin guards confidently. He slowly inspected them and found that only two of them were [Mortal Grade-4] body cultivators. The rest were [Mortal Grade-2] and [Mortal Grade-3] body cultivators.

In front of them was a man wearing green robes with short black hair that was greying on the sides. His eyes exuded a youthful spirit that belied his looks.

"Hello sir, I am Dong Hai. Head steward for the Qin family. Might I know your name?". The man spoke in a professional tone despite seeing Qin Weiwei on Kai's shoulder. The look on his face didn't change and he made no demands for her release.

"You can call me Kai", Kai said as he felt no hostility coming from the man. They were probably trying to intimidate him with their numbers, but this wouldn't work on Kai who was already used to fighting large groups of terrifying beasts. A few guys with swords and spears weren't as scary.

"Mr. Kai, I hope you will be so kind as to follow me back to the Qin Manor as our patriarch wishes to speak to you regarding the...unfortunate events that have unfolded."

Kai gave it some thought then agreed. "Mina, take everyone into the city, I'll find you once my business is concluded".

"Yes, Master!" Mina said. Old Lao pulled on Qiulong's reigns and the wagon headed off towards the city". Kai didn't want them tagging along since this could be a trap. He was able to communicate with both Ryu and Mina using his telepathy skill [Dragon's Whispers], so as long as they stayed in the city, he could periodically check in on them. Huang City also had a strict no-violence policy so they would be a lot safer there.

None of the Qin guards made any moves to stop or follow the wagon so Kai breathed out a sigh of relief. Fighting or escaping would be a lot easier when he didn't have to protect anyone.

"Mr. Kai, This way please", said the steward, pointing towards a magnificent carriage on the side. Kai nodded and border the carriage with Qin Weiwei under his arm. He wouldn't let her go until he was compensated seeing as she was all the leverage he had.

Just outside of Huang City, was miles upon miles of farmland that seemed to stretch on forever. On one of those massive plots, was a massive sprawling estate that took up an area the size of a small village.

Kai was escorted through the lush gardens by the entrance and into the lobby of the main building. He was lead to the entrance of a massive hall. There he saw four people passing time quietly. At first, he noticed three old men with snow-white beards wearing luxurious-looking robes seated cross-legged on a high platform. Two of the old men were quietly playing chess, while the one was off to their side practicing calligraphy.

Below the platform was a single man with his eyes closed, seemingly in a trance. He had a thick red beard and large powerful-looking muscles that even his loose robes couldn't hide.

Kai carefully inspected each of them and was surprised, to say the least.

[Human Mortal-Grade-3][ 688 Qi]

[Human Mortal-Grade-3][ 629 Qi]

[Human Mortal-Grade-4][ 880 Qi]

Not only were they relatively strong Body Cultivators, but the old men were also all [E-Rank] Internal Cultivators!. The one who intrigued Kai the most was the old man who was practicing Calligraphy. Not only was he a [Mortal-Grade-4] body cultivator, but his Qi was very close the entrance of [D-Rank].

Kai was initially shocked, but quickly calmed down when he noticed their ages. Despite their scary-looking statuses, the men were obviously far past their primes.

"They must have reached their limits a long time ago and probably have no hope of reaching higher cultivation levels", Kai thought as his eyes scanned the last person in the room.

The last person looked a lot younger than the three old men but still looked like a middle-aged man. He was sitting below the platform with his eyes closed.

[Human Mortal-Grade-4][ 430 Qi]

"He looks strong, but compared to these old men, he's a little lacking..." Kai thought as he stood at the entrance of the hall.

"Dong Hai greets Grand Elders and the Clan Patriarch!", The steward said as he stood by the doorway with a deep bow.

The Patriarch opened his eyes when he heard this and motioned for them to enter. Dong Hai turned to Kai and motioned for him to enter first. Kai had been a little nervous before coming here but decided to take the risk for the potential rewards. However, seeing that none of the Qin Family big wigs were above [E-Rank] gave Kai a large boost in confidence. At this stage, Kai felt confident that nobody below [D-Rank] could stop him if he wanted to escape.

Furthermore, his new skill [Primordial-Dragon Scale Armament] was a powerful D-Rank skill that protected him from even a [Grade-3] beast's attacks. One had to remember that in the system's rankings, a [Grade-3] beast was just as strong as a [D-Rank] human cultivators if not stronger . When faced with [E-Rank] internal cultivators like this, Kai didn't feel too much pressure.

Kai walked in confidently then placed Qin Weiwei by his feet before he cupped his hands. "Greetings, My name is Kai. I have come here to seek compensation from the Qin family for the mistreatment I have suffered at the hands of one of your clan members..."

*snap!*

The sound came from the Elder who had been practicing his calligraphy. His brush had suddenly snapped in half, splattering ink all over the page and ruining the work.