Chapter 563 - 305: Shangguan Qingying: What Else?

The Qin Family’s territory.

Within the clan’s headquarters, inside the grand and imposing Clan Assembly Hall, Patriarch Qin Zhongqi sat on a wide Jade Chair, his face livid as he remained silent.

Below him stood a young male and female Cultivator, hand in hand. The woman was devastatingly beautiful, elegant, and poised; the man was handsome and refined.

With the mysterious power of the Era Star Palace, Ling Changqing and Shangguan Qingying had effortlessly infiltrated the Qin Family’s core territory. They slipped past numerous visible and hidden security lines and walked straight into the Clan Assembly Hall.

Patriarch Qin Zhongqi happened to be in a meeting with a group of high-level Elders, so the pair caught them red-handed.

"Patriarch Qin, do you have anything left to say?"

Ling Changqing watched him with a smile, like a predator sizing up its prey.

Around them, the group of high-level Qin Family Elders were ashen-faced. Even the other Nascent Soul True Monarch, Qin Zhongyuan, didn’t dare to breathe a word.

"Y-You... you’ve actually reached Divinity Transformation?"

After a long silence, Qin Zhongqi’s lips trembled as he spoke, his eyes filled with despair.

At this moment, everything was already irreversible.

Faced with a genuine Divinity Transformation Powerhouse like Shangguan Qingying, all the Cultivators of the entire Qin Family combined wouldn’t be enough for her to deal with. What could they possibly do?

’Is this the day the Qin Family finally meets its end?’

"It’s time for this to end!"

Shangguan Qingying’s vermilion lips parted as she said unhurriedly, "From the moment your father betrayed the clan, you should have known this day would eventually come!

You can’t take what doesn’t belong to you, nor can you protect it. It is only right that you return it to the clan now!"

"Doesn’t belong to us?"

Qin Zhongqi sneered through clenched teeth. "A decade or so ago, your Zhao Family was beset by troubles both internal and external, forced to concede to us at every turn. If you hadn’t found such a fine son-in-law, how could those two girls have successfully advanced to Nascent Soul True Monarchs?"

By now, Qin Zhongqi had gathered some intelligence about the Zhao Wanyi sisters and concluded that Ling Changxing must have been instrumental in their successful advancements.

Yes, Ling Changqing had been using the identity of Ling Changxing in public, so Qin Zhongqi had no idea that he was the legendary Child of Destiny.

Of course, he also never imagined that Shangguan Qingying’s successful advancement to a Divinity Transformation Powerhouse was also thanks to Ling Changqing.

"Since things have come to this, there’s no point in saying anything more."

The other Nascent Soul True Monarch, Qin Zhongyuan, sighed. "The Qin Family can surrender, but the younger clan members are innocent. Can you spare their lives?

At the end of the day, they share the Zhao Family’s bloodline. We had the same ancestors hundreds of years ago. You don’t have to exterminate us completely, do you?"

Shangguan Qingying chuckled. "Playing the family card now, are we?"

"That’s simple,"

Ling Changqing said calmly, "You two Nascent Soul True Monarchs, open up your Divine Souls and allow the Matriarch to plant a Restriction. Then, everyone in the Qin Family can live!"

The implication was that all Qin Family Cultivators, regardless of their Cultivation level, would be demoted to slaves. They would have to bleed and sweat for the clan, working themselves to death for the rest of their lives!

As for their previous life of luxury, they could forget about it.

Qin Zhongqi’s face flushed red, and he gritted his teeth. "We share the Zhao Family’s bloodline! We can surrender, but Matriarch, you cannot humiliate us like this!"

Although the situation was hopeless, Qin Zhongqi still clung to the fantasy that, as a Nascent Soul True Monarch, he should be treated with a dignity befitting his status.

"Then there’s nothing to be done!"

Shangguan Qingying shook her head, no longer willing to waste time with this old fool. She raised a delicate hand, and an invisible, tremendous power enveloped the entire hall, sealing off the Clan Assembly Hall completely.

Qin Zhongqi roared. A brilliant light erupted from his body as over a dozen Defensive Magical Artifacts and Magical Treasures flew out to protect him, preparing to risk everything in a final, desperate struggle.

"A futile, final struggle. Why bother?"

Sharp sword-light crisscrossed through the air, effortlessly tearing through all of Qin Zhongqi’s defenses and suppressing the Patriarch until he couldn’t move.

A moment later, Shangguan Qingying had planted a vicious Restriction in the Divine Souls of all the Qin Family’s high-level members, including the two Nascent Soul True Monarchs.

From then on, they became the Zhao Family’s slave Cultivators—the kind who were bound to toil for the clan for their entire lives with no hope of release.

What followed was much simpler: taking inventory of the clan treasury, notifying the Zhao Family’s Cultivator forces to come over, and taking control of the Qin Family’s Marketplaces and all other assets on their territory.

An inspection revealed that the Qin Family’s remaining assets weren’t substantial. After all, they had yet to recover from the severe blow they had suffered in previous years.

However, from Shangguan Qingying’s perspective, simply eliminating this traitorous branch and reclaiming all their territory was the greatest gain for the Zhao Family.

In what was once Patriarch Qin Zhongqi’s luxurious study, a new master now resided.

Ling Changqing sat behind the Azure Jade Table, before him piles of Jade Scroll Books, thick ledgers, and confidential letters.

"I never thought taking down our old rival would be this easy!"

Dressed in a bright red palace gown with a Cloud Hairpin Phoenix in her hair, Shangguan Qingying shifted in Ling Changqing’s lap and sighed with emotion.

"This is just the beginning!"

Ling Changqing laughed. "Once the clan has consolidated its gains, we can continue to expand. We’ll swallow up all the surrounding powers with ill intentions and take the clan to the next level!"

"Mmm, you’re right, my dear."

Shangguan Qingying’s beautiful face flushed red. She gave him a seductive glance, letting him untie her gown and have his way with her voluptuous, enchanting body.

If it weren’t for this young man’s help, it would be questionable whether the Zhao Family could even defend its original territory, let alone eliminate its old enemy.

’It seems that fate truly favors the Zhao Family, and favors me.’

"By the way,"

Shangguan Qingying asked, "The Qin Family also has a lot of outstanding debt. If the creditors come knocking later, how do you think we should handle it, my dear?"

According to Qin Zhongqi’s confession, the Qin Family had borrowed heavily from more than a dozen surrounding Nascent Soul powers. The principal plus interest amounted to tens of thousands of Top-grade Spirit Stones.

For any Nascent Soul power, this was no small sum of Spirit Stones.

Once news spread that the Qin Family had fallen and all its assets and territories now belonged to the Zhao Family, those surrounding powers would surely not be resigned. They would certainly try to pressure the Zhao Family’s leadership into paying the debts.

"We won’t acknowledge any of it!"

Ling Changqing snorted. "If they have the guts, they can just bring their forces here for a war. Let’s see if they have what it takes to force our clan to bow its head and concede!"

This was actually in line with the conventions of the Cultivation Realm. When a power was defeated and destroyed, the conqueror was under no obligation to settle its old debts.

With the Qin Family’s foundation gone, its past debts were wiped clean. The Zhao Family’s leadership didn’t have to acknowledge them.

Of course, this wasn’t an absolute rule. If a creditor was powerful enough to force the new owner to inherit the debt, no one could say anything about it.

But with Shangguan Qingying’s current Cultivation, naturally no Nascent Soul power would dare to negotiate terms with her.

"Mmm, that’s for the best."

Shangguan Qingying leaned gently against him. As a Divinity Transformation Powerhouse herself, she figured those powers wouldn’t have the courage to demand payment from her.

"There’s one more thing,"

The elegant beauty wrapped her slender arms around Ling Changqing’s neck. Her lustrous, beautiful eyes narrowed slightly, her breath as fragrant as an orchid:

"I’ve looked over the young Female Cultivators of the Qin Family. Many of them are quite outstanding in looks and figure. It would be a waste to send them to work as slaves. Why don’t you... keep them for yourself, my dear?"

Ling Changqing looked slightly stunned. "Are you serious? They’re all descendants of clan traitors."

"What else?"

Shangguan Qingying stroked his cheek, a teasing smile on her face. "I know you have a taste for this sort of thing, my dear. If I don’t keep them for you, should I just let some outsider benefit in the future?"

The fate that awaited a Female Cultivator forced into slavery didn’t need to be spelled out. Those who knew, knew.

"Don’t overthink it. I’m not interested."

Ling Changqing pulled her in for a kiss. ’Aren’t the women of the Zhao clan good enough? There’s no need to look elsewhere.’

As for those outstanding female slaves from the Qin Family, Ling Changqing might take them on as Maids, but they could forget about ever becoming his concubines.

"Fine, we’ll do it your way!"

Shangguan Qingying huffed coquettishly and said no more.

「Several days later.」

Zhao Wanqing arrived with over seven thousand clan Cultivators. Their Cultivation levels ranged from Golden Core, True Pill, and Pseudo Core to Foundation Establishment Cultivators, but the majority were, of course, at the late stage of Qi Cultivation.

They quickly took control of the important assets in the Qin Family’s territory, including Marketplaces, large cities, Mine Workshops, Medicine Mountain Spirit Fields, and Spirit Vein Cave Mansions.

With this, the Qin Family’s territory was formally merged with the Zhao Family’s, becoming one. The Zhao Family had now regained the foundation of a veteran Nascent Soul power.

When the news spread, the leaders of the surrounding powers grew restless. They began arranging meetings to discuss how to deal with the pressure from the Zhao Family.

Their final conclusion was that they absolutely could not stand by and watch the Zhao Family take over the Qin Family’s territory and assets. They had to join forces and pressure Shangguan Qingying to give up her annexation of the Qin Family.

「Ten days later.」

Special envoys from these Nascent Soul powers arrived together, intending to negotiate terms with Shangguan Qingying.

At this point, they were still unaware that Shangguan Qingying had become a Divinity Transformation Powerhouse. They merely thought she had gotten lucky in destroying the Qin Family and thus still clung to unrealistic fantasies.