Demise of Ancient Qin
Qin Jia looked at him and his hands fell in despair. "How long, how long have you been planning?"
He Fan smiled. "It's been 5 years since I formulated this plan. I realized how you were crazily investing in your son and anticipated that it won't be long before you let him succeed your position. I started introducing pawns in your army from that time, and also started brainwashing some of your warriors to join our camp."
"I also disguised as Qin family and posted the assassination mission! No assassin could come here without my knowledge. I just made my move accordingly. I personally saw those assassins without their knowledge, and deduced crucial information about them. I anticipated An Wei's moves too. I also knew Qin Yuanlong will lose if he goes to prison. This is something An Wei could also deduce, but he wasn't aware of Qin Yuanlong's secrets and thus, he didn't know Qin Yuanlong never planned to execute them in front of public to begin with. I knew Qin Yuanlong will enter the prison without informing him! As they say, if a foolish king doesn't trust his minister, then his demise is pre destined!"
An Wei who was nearby was surprised. His identity was secret and thus he didn't speak from the beginning and kept a low profile. But, he didn't expect them to have already deduced his identity. He glanced at He Fan and murmured inwardly. 'He is formidable!'
Qin Jia sighed. He glanced at He Fan and said lightly. "You are exceptional He Fan, you truly are exceptional. So, what do you want to do now. I accept our defeat."
He Fan smiled. "Nothing much, I just want Qin family to be our subject. You don't have to do anything, we would give missions occasionally and you will have to complete it. You can manage your Qin family however you want, I don't really care much about it."
He Zhen was surprised. "Fan-er, this is a right chance to eliminate Qin family!"
He Fan glanced at his father and said in a deep voice. "Father, defeating Qin family and eliminating them are two different things. There is a reason they have been standing still for so many years and no one could eliminate them. If my intuition is right, they still possess a trump card. Even if we succeed in eliminating them, we will suffer more than what we gain. It is not worth it."
Qin Jia laughed. "I never expected you to have already thought so much."
He glanced at Li Gang and said. "You can leave Qin Yuanlong now."
Li Gang didn't care about him and glanced at Fang Chen. Fang Chen nodded.
Li Gang threw Qin Yuanlong towards Qin Jia.
Qin Jia shouted. "From now on, the Ancient Qin family gates will be closed. We will recuperate and other than searching for resources and missions from He family, no one will go out!"
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"Have you heard? He family defeated Qin family!"
"Yes, who would have expected the demise of the Ancient Qin family."
Near the counter, an old man and a young beautiful woman were sitting
"The great Qin family has fallen to such a level! They are reduced to a dog of the He family now." The young woman said.
"We have to appreciate He family for this. To be able to take down the whole Qin family with just 20% of the manpower, this is just incredible."
Meanwhile somewhere else
Fang Chen glanced at He Fan and asked. "Why did you take our help? You could have asked other assassins!"
Yuan Guo also nodded, agreeing with Fang Chen.
He Fan glanced at Li Gang and said while ignoring Fang Chen and Yuan Guo. "You are quite capable! To be able to reach Sword heart and Bow heart at such a young age, you have incredible potential. But, why did you come all the way to Northern part of Central Continent from Azure Mountain?"
Li Gang was surprised. "How did you know?"
He Fan glanced at him deeply. "It is simple. Your spiritual essence resembles those of Southern continent. And your face resembles those of mountainous region people. People in a certain region have similar kind of faces. The mountain with highest population in Southern region is Azure mountain, thus I am aware of how they normally look like!"
Even Yuan Guo was surprised. "You deduce like detectives, but you despise detectives! Why is that?"
He Fan was surprised at the question. He answered in a straight forward manner. "I don't despise them, but I hate the fact that even though they are capable, they waste their potential and limit themselves to a mere detectives."
He Fan threw one of the space ring to Fang Chen and said. "Take this, this was part of our deal. Also, I chose you because you were most suitable and your comrades were captured! There is another reason..."
He paused and then glanced at Li Gang. He smiled elegantly and said in a deep voice. "We will meet again. And when we do, remember, we can be an ally!"
Li Gang glanced at He Fan and asked again. "How did you know I have Bow heart?"
He Fan smiled and transmitted his voice. "I have already reached Bow Domain! It is easy to feel the aura you emit as an archer! I can also feel the aura of Sword heart. Remember, Spear is the king of weapon, and Bow is the ruler of weapons! Even though Sword is a holy weapon with most flexibility and easy to use, at the same level, Spear and Bow will always dominate!"
Li Gang nodded. He understood his hidden meaning: 'You should concentrate on Archery more than Swordsmanship.'
He Fan suddenly asked him. "Why did you stop cultivating?"
Li Gang was surprised that He Fan deduced even this! He took a deep look at him and transmitted a voice. "My potential has exhausted. I can no longer improve."
He Fan was surprised at his answer. He replied back. "There is no such thing as exhausted potential. If you want to improve, you have to cultivate. I know you want quick improvement, and for that reason, you must be searching for a way to improve your talent. Think about negative impact it has. If you fail to find a way, it will be too late. If you keep on cultivating, then before your lifespan exhausts, you might be able to reach Rank 5 and thus increasing your life span again. Although it will take hundreds of years, you shouldn't waste your time!
After saying that, he paused and thought inwardly. 'He should also be aware of what I am saying, then why is he not cultivating? Could it be that he already knows a way to improve his talent?'
After talking for few more minutes, he said goodbye to everyone and started leaving!
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Fang Chen, Yuan Guo and others also started leaving. The Qin family is finished, and even though they didn't complete their mission, there is no point in staying here.
Fang Chen distributed the resources evenly between them.
Few days later, they reached the Ethereal Sect. This time, they recuperated before travelling, and thus took more time to return.
Fang Chen, Li Gang and others immediately went back to their rooms and took a rest. This journey was filled with adventures and unexpected outcomes. Who would have expected every thing was planned by He Fan.
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Li Gang thought about He Fan's words and murmured. "If I didn't had any way to improve my talents, I would have been practicing the cultivation technique. But I am sure, after leaving Ethereal Sect, I can manage to improve them within 10 years at least."
At this time, a servant knocked at the door. He said. "Senior brother Zhang, Hall Master is calling you!"
Li Gang recollected his thoughts and replied. "Ok!"
Saying that, he stood and left for meeting Ming Chuan.
Few minutes later
Ming Chuan glanced at Li Gang and asked calmly. "When did you reach Bow heart?"
Li Gang glanced at Ming Chuan and replied calmly. "I was just a margin away from it, and reached it during the journey."
He paused then continued. "I realized during my journey that archery is not just about shooting arrows, it is beyond that. One should be able to feel the existence of their target without using their five senses. Initially it was difficult, but with the help of Sword Heart, I was able to catalyze my progress."
Ming Chuan smiled. He said lightly. "Now you should have realized why Bow is called the ruler of the Weapons!"
Li Gang nodded. "Yes, Sword Heart allows me to lock my target and attack within a certain range, but I feel that the range of Bow Heart is unlimited, it keeps on increasing based on my abilities. Of course, Sword Heart range also increases, but nowhere near what Bow Heart can achieve. However, the lethality of Bow Heart at a closer range is weaker as compared to Sword Heart."
Ming Chuan nodded. "That's right, after all Bow is not the real King of Weapons, so it has this disadvantage. This is also the reason people consider Spear as the strongest weapon. However, do you know why people still prefer Swords?"
Li Gang nodded. "It's because Sword is easier to master as compared. They can advance faster, and thus defeat the Spear and Bow user! A Bow user will only be able to reach Bow heart, while in the same duration, a sword user can reach Sword Soul!"
Ming Chuan nodded. "It appears that you have already comprehended the hierarchy of weapon mastery."
Li Gang replied calmly. "Yes, They are: Intent, Heart, Soul, Manifestation, Myriad, Unity, Domain, Abstract."
Li Gang thought about it and asked Ming Chuan. "Hall Master, what realm are you at?"
Ming Chuan sighed. "I have practiced Bow all my life, and was able to reach Manifestation realm. I have tried to go beyond, but failed to do so. Even though I am at the peak of Archery in this world, in front of our ancestors who reached at the realm I can't even imagine of reaching, I am still an ant."
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Tianwu City, in a dark alley
He Fan was passing by and said lightly. "Come out!"
An old man and a young woman came out.
The young woman said calmly. "Your senses have gotten sharper."
He Fan ignored her and looked at the old man. The old man also glanced back with his deep eyes and said. "The whole Central Continent looks quiet, but the major factions are already making their moves. The Celestial Sect looks quiet most, but in fact, they have made the most suspicious moves."
He Fan moved towards him and passed him. He looked in a certain direction and said calmly. "The Celestial Sect will unify the Central Continent."
The old man caressed his beard and asked. "What about you?"
He Fan smiled. "Of course, I will join you, but before that, I can't let them have an easy life."