The King of Qingzhou?

“As long as I have the time, the ten counties of East Qingzhou will be mine,” Qin Huai stated confidently, studying Lu Zifu with interest. He wanted to use this influential person to investigate the Sacred Heart sect’s strength in Qingzhou.

“Ha, as long as I’m here, I can easily dismantle everything the Nine Dragons sect has built,” Lu Zifu retorted arrogantly. “Now that you’ve reached the visceral prefecture realm, you should realize we’re not on the same level as those insignificant ants. We can control their fates.”

“Indeed,” Lu Zifu continued, “perhaps the control over the ten counties isn’t appealing enough for a prodigy like you.” He continued, “A visceral prefecture realm prodigy, just twenty years old and risen from a barren land. I haven’t seen one like that in a while.”

He smiled, seemingly at ease around Qin Huai. “So here’s my proposal. There should be twenty counties east of Qingzhou City. How about you take charge of all of them?” He confidently laid out his offer.

Qin Huai’s eyes widened in surprise. “The eastern part of Qingzhou is the largest but also the poorest among the fifty prefectures,” he slowly responded. “Though the twenty eastern counties don’t have many resources to fight for, they’re also quite far from Qingzhou City. However, they cover about forty percent of Qingzhou’s territory.”

“Such a promise makes me, Qin Huai, seem like half the king of Qingzhou when viewed on a map,” he concluded.

“So, what do you think about this offer?” Lu Zifu asked confidently.

“Forgive my frankness, but I don’t believe the Sacred Heart sect holds that much power,” Qin Huai responded, shaking his head. “As far as I’m aware, the Sacred Heart’s territory is in Great You’s west. Especially in Qingzhou, they don’t hold much sway.”

Lu Zifu laughed heartily again. “If everyone knew about the movements of my Sacred Heart sect’s disciples, we couldn’t have become the number one sect in Great You. The largest power in Qingzhou isn’t the five great sects, it’s our Sacred Heart, the Holy Church, and another faction. Only the two clans can genuinely impact Qingzhou’s situation,” he proclaimed, extending two fingers toward Qin Huai.

Qin Huai maintained his calm, though his heart was pounding. He knew that the other party was one of the eight sage kings mentioned by the Emperor of Qingzhou, a descendant of the ancient demon Kun Peng clan.

Yet, he had not expected the Sacred Heart sect to have such a deep reach in Qingzhou. Were they already on par with the demons who had been operating here for thousands of years? “Words are useless,” Qin Huai said, his expression calm.

“Heh… As I thought, a Chosen One. Even after hearing such news, you have kept your composure,” Lu Zifu mused. “If I’m not wrong, you’ve been to Qingzhou City before.”

Qin Huai nodded, confirming it. There was no need to hide it.

“Good. In half a month, you’ll receive a letter from Wuji Mountain,” Lu Zifu announced, a slight smile playing on his lips. “The letter’s sender will be the new Mountain Chief of Wuji Mountain.”

At this, a strange expression finally crossed Qin Huai’s face. Of course, he understood Lu Zifu’s meaning: the Sacred Heart sect was on the verge of taking over Wuji Mountain.

“Unfortunately, I’m afraid I won’t have the time to wait that long,” Qin Huai said, his expression turning serious.

“What a shame,” Lu Zifu said, standing up as his smile faded into a cold expression. “The main issue with prodigies like you is they often misjudge the situation, thinking they are the only heroes in this world.”

Lu Zifu’s potent life force started to flow out, making the entire meeting hall tremble.

“Do you know when a prodigy dies?” He looked intently at Qin Huai. Answering his question, he said, “Before they fully mature. A deceased prodigy is no different from any average person. They’re both just corpses. Right now, I’ll offer you one final chance.”

“No need,” Qin Huai replied with a resolute tone.

The moment he finished speaking, Lu Zifu found his vision blur as Qin Huai, who was previously several meters away, threw a punch toward his face.

Bang! A sacred sovereign totem manifested. Lu Zifu’s body became covered with mysterious, blood-colored patterns. His face started to decay in an instant but was restored just as quickly. He threw his fists, blood arcing through the air like a blood-red scimitar, aiming to hit Qin Huai’s vitals from every direction.

Buzz…

Suddenly, Lu Zifu staggered and fell, finding himself in a lush, green area. Growls echoed from all directions as countless beasts with bone pattern realm strength rushed at him, baring their sharp fangs.

It was the bronze realm! action

“Small tricks!” Lu Zifu scoffed, and thousands of blood lines shot out from his fists, slaying all the bone pattern realm beasts. “Is this all you have?” He looked up just as a gigantic palm slammed down from the sky.

“Bronze realm, green sky palm!”

Trees within hundreds of meters radius collapsed, and the ground cracked open, swallowing the flowing blood as if it were a bottomless pit.

“Do you really think you can kill me so easily?” Lu Zifu’s voice echoed from the dust.

In the next second, the ground shook, and dust rose into the sky. From the swirling smoke and dust, Lu Zifu burst out, blood around his body surging like a tide.

His injuries healed visibly fast, and hundreds of thousands of blood veins formed a huge wing that flew towards Qin Huai. The gust caused by the blood-colored wings caused the surrounding bone pattern realm beasts to explode on contact.

Boom!

The blood-colored wings slammed into Qin Huai, causing a ripple effect in the sky.

“How is it, brat? The power of my Sacred Heart’s disciples is not to be underestimated,” Lu Zifu gloated, looking up at the sky.

But his expression gradually stiffened. White hair fluttered in the wind, and a dazzling white light shone in Qin Huai’s eyes as if he was looking down at him like a king.

“Are you trying to tickle me?”