Chapter 114: Failing to Avenge This Grudge, Failing as a Father

Qin Wenyan, nearing the age of fifty, had a youthful appearance. He casually sat at the desk, dressed in a loose robe, exuding elegance and grace.

As Qin Feng prostrated himself on the ground, recounting the incident with anger, Qin Wenyan's expression remained unchanged. He remained calm and composed, toying with a white jade ruyi in his hand.

However, his back straightened, invisibly exuding an immense dignity.

"Father, I implore you to make a decision on behalf of your child!" Qin Feng kowtowed on the ground.

"Have you finished speaking?" Qin Wenyan asked, his expression devoid of sorrow or joy.

One who remained as calm as a lake despite the raging thunder in their chest was worthy of being called a general!

Undoubtedly, Qin Wenyan, the prefectural governor who held the power over nineteen cities in Yunhe County, possessed a depth of insight far beyond ordinary individuals.

Qin Feng glanced at his father, and an inexplicable chill ran down his spine. His anger and hatred dissipated by more than half.

Qin Wenyan gently caressed the ruyi in his hand, his tone flat. "Blame it on me for being too busy dealing with trivial matters these years and neglecting your education, which allowed you to become like this—arrogant in appearance but with a spine as weak as mud."

Trembling, Qin Feng said, "Father, the events tonight were not of my instigation, but..."

Bang!

Qin Wenyan slammed the jade ruyi in his hand onto the ground in front of Qin Feng. It shattered into pieces, and shards of jade splattered on Qin Feng's face.

He trembled, visibly frightened, as he stared at his father in a daze.

Qin Wenyan remained as calm as ever, his voice devoid of ripples. "In my entire life, I detest those who seek excuses to absolve themselves of responsibility the most. As my son, you have proven to be so incapable, truly disappointing me."

Qin Feng was filled with panic and unease.

"Enough, ultimately, it is my fault as a father for neglecting your education. Today, I will no longer punish or reprimand you."

Qin Wenyan rubbed his temples, letting out a sigh, a trace of pity evident in his expression.

A tiger does not eat its own cubs, let alone this son in front of him, who may be lacking but is ultimately Qin Wenyan's own blood.

"Father... I was wrong!" Qin Feng kowtowed on the ground, his voice bitter. "I have brought shame upon you tonight!"

Qin Wenyan waved his hand. "You may rise."

Until Qin Feng stood up, his gaze deep and solemn, he spoke softly, "Feng'er, remember this: in this world, right or wrong doesn't matter. As long as you win, you are right; if you lose, you are wrong."

"This is called 'the victor is king and the loser is a bandit.'"

Speaking thus, Qin Wenyan's eyes flashed with a hint of coldness. "Regarding tonight's incident, there are two things you need to understand."

Qin Feng quickly said, "Please enlighten me, Father."

"First, if we don't avenge this grudge, both you and I will lose face. The deaths of the six guards of the prefectural governor's residence will destabilize the military's morale."

"Second, that young man named Su, who knew your identity and still dared to kill without hesitation, must have some reliance. We cannot rashly seek revenge until we investigate his background thoroughly."

Qin Wenyan stared directly into the eyes of his son, Qin Feng, and said, "Plan first before taking action, only then can we maneuver freely."

Qin Feng's heart filled with joy. How could he not hear that his father had already decided to avenge him?

Taking a deep breath, he said, "Father, I understand. I will first gather information about this person's background and wait for the right opportunity to strike!"

"Correct," Qin Wenyan nodded. "Being cautious is never a bad thing. It will increase our chances of success when seeking revenge."

Having said that, he seemed uninterested in saying more and said, "You may go now. Before seeking revenge, you must not step out of the house."

Qin Feng hesitated for a moment and said, "Father, when you decide to take action, can you take me along as well?"

Qin Wenyan nodded. "Yes."

Qin Feng's heart was filled with excitement as he turned and left.

"I hope this lesson will help you grow..."

Qin Wenyan sighed softly.

When he was alone, a hint of helplessness appeared on his brow.

While they say a tiger doesn't beget a dog, it was evident that Qin Wenyan's son still had a long way to go.

"Summon someone."

Calming his mind, Qin Wenyan's expression returned to its usual placidity.

"My Lord."

A black-robed old slave entered silently.

"Investigate the identity of that young man surnamed Su, including his recent activities and the people he has interacted with. Unearth everything for me."

Rubbing his temples, Qin Wenyan pondered, "Do not disturb him until we have gathered all the information, to prevent him from escaping from Yunhe County."

"Very well."

The black-robed old slave nodded quietly.

"Send someone to the city and suppress tonight's incident. We must not let it become common knowledge. The reputation and prestige of our prefectural governor's residence cannot withstand such turmoil."

"Understood."

"And also..."

As he said this, Qin Wenyan furrowed his brow, seemingly determined. "Detain Rou Rong first."

Rou Rong!

That was the name of Huang Qianjun's aunt, and of course, she was also the favored concubine by Qin Wenyan's side.

"My Lord, is it necessary to go this far?" the black-clad old slave whispered.

Qin Wenyan's expression was indifferent. "This matter is related to Huang Qianjun as well. If Rou Rong knows that I am going after Huang Qianjun's friend, she will surely come to plead on their behalf. Instead of that, it's better to eliminate that possibility from the start."

As he spoke, he took a deep breath, and a glint of coldness surged deep in his eyes. "If a man cannot even protect his own son, he is unworthy of being a father!"

His voice resounded like the clash of weapons, filled with a murderous intent.

...

The next morning.

After having breakfast at Zhuo'an Cottage, Su Yi returned directly to his room.

He wanted to refine a batch of formation discs.

At the very least, he needed to ensure the safety of Feng Xiaofeng, Feng Xiaoran, and Huang Qianjun when he wasn't present at Zhuo'an Cottage.

Until the evening.

In his room, Su Yi looked at the eighteen formation discs he had crafted before him, revealing a hint of relief.

Each formation disc resembled a round compass, forged from spiritual materials, with inscribed patterns of runes and clouds.

"I'm lucky to have reached the initial stage of the Gathering Qi realm. Otherwise, it would probably take me several days just to refine these little trinkets..."

Su Yi thought to himself.

Yesterday, he had started cultivating at the "Opening Aperture" level of the Gathering Qi realm. Relying on his solid foundation from the Blood Shifting realm, he had quickly tempered all "108 Spiritual Apertures."

Although the entire process took three hours, it was completed smoothly from beginning to end, without any obstacles.

One reason was his strong foundation, and the other was that the Crane Soaring Art was an unparalleled method for foundation building. The profound techniques for tempering spiritual apertures were extraordinary in the world.

All of this allowed Su Yi's cultivation to steadily reach the initial stage of the Gathering Qi realm.

"I suppose other cultivators would find it hard to believe, wouldn't they?"

Su Yi thought to himself.

According to his knowledge, among the cultivators in the Da Zhou Empire who had reached the Gathering Qi realm, those who had tempered more than half of their 108 spiritual apertures were incredibly rare, almost one in a thousand.

Those who had tempered over half were almost exclusively disciples of top major forces, such as the Ten Great Academies and the top clans in various states.

As for those who could temper all "108 Spiritual Apertures," they were almost like legends!

It wasn't due to insufficient talent but rather the scarcity of spiritual energy in the secular world and the scarcity of martial arts inheritance. Even in the hands of top forces, there were hardly any complete methods to temper all 108 spiritual apertures.

However, achieving this was not impossible.

It was said that some disciples of top major forces were willing to spend several years of cultivation to successfully temper all 108 spiritual apertures one by one.

Of course, the price paid was years of time and effort, and there was no guarantee of ultimate success.

In contrast, Su Yi had connected all 108 spiritual apertures overnight, which was undoubtedly too exceptional.

This meant that even though he had just broken through to the initial stage of the Gathering Qi realm, his foundation far surpassed others at the same stage.

It was enough to leave those peerless geniuses in the secular world in the dust!

But for Su Yi, achieving only this step was far from enough.

Measuring by the standards of the Nine Provinces of the Great Wilderness, such achievements could be considered astonishing, but the core disciples of those top sects could also accomplish the same.

Su Yi's goal was simple: to cultivate spirituality in each of the 108 spiritual apertures and achieve the "Enlightenment of All Apertures"!

At that time, each spiritual aperture would become like a miniature secret realm, with marvelous phenomena occurring within them, connecting with the power of heaven and earth and reflecting the light of the Great Dao.

Such martial attainment could be considered one in a million, unparalleled in the Nine Provinces of the Great Wilderness!

Without further ado, Su Yi picked up the formation discs and left the room.

He began to set up the formations, burying each disc in different areas of Zhuo'an Cottage.

And beneath each formation disc, he placed ten spirit stones.

There was no other way. This was still the secular world, and there were no spiritual veins underground. To activate the formations, he could only rely on the power of the spirit stones.

"Fortunately, what I have refined this time is only a fraction of the mystery of the 'Eight Desolate Mountains and Rivers Formation.' By using the power of the spirit stones to activate it, I can connect with the power of heaven and earth and maintain the operation of the entire formation."

"Although its power is far from comparable to the complete Eight Desolate Mountains and Rivers Formation, which can easily burn mountains and boil seas, it is enough to trap Martial Masters in the Nurturing Furnace realm within it..."

Su Yi carefully checked everything again to ensure there were no mistakes before nodding.

"Senior Brother Su, what are you doing?"

Not far away, Feng Xiaoran pushed the wheelchair with Feng Xiaofeng and approached.

"I'm setting up formations."

Su Yi replied and handed a jade talisman to Feng Xiaofeng, saying, "Junior Brother Feng, please keep this jade talisman safe. In case of any enemy attack while I'm away, crush it."

The jade talisman was inscribed with rune patterns and was carved from a second-grade spirit stone.

By crushing it, the internal energy would erupt, awakening the formations set up around Zhuo'an Cottage and trapping the enemy within.

"Remember, only use it when it's a matter of life and death. Once you activate it, you and Xiaoran should stay in the main hall and not step out."

Su Yi earnestly advised them.

Feng Xiaofeng had never encountered the art of rune formation before and was puzzled by Su Yi's words.

However, despite his confusion, he solemnly agreed, thinking that it must be a trump card left by Su Yi.

Su Yi smiled and gazed into the distance, towards the horizon.

"After settling the past grievances tomorrow and dealing with all the hidden dangers, it won't be too late to go to the Qinghe Sword Mansion and meet Ling Xue."

As the evening approached and he looked at the fiery sunset in the distance, Su Yi suppressed the desire in his heart to meet Ling Xue.

He didn't want to involve Ling Xue in the danger.

Although he feared no one in Yunhe County, if the enemy used Ling Xue as a breakthrough point and did something despicable, it would be difficult to prevent.

In that case, it would be better to postpone the meeting for now.