Chapter 32: I Am Your Beloved Qing Ba

Li Xingyao racked his brains, unable to comprehend why, as a master at the peak of the Qi Refinement stage, he could not break free from mere spirit threads formed by someone at the fifteenth level of Qi Refinement. Under normal circumstances, the martial skill of such a low-level cultivator should be as easy for him to shatter as snapping a twig. Yet today... how could this be? Could it be that the youth before him harbored a truly mysterious background? Otherwise, how else could any of this be explained?

With both eyes swollen, Li Xingyao glared at Qingxi through gritted teeth. "Who are you, really?"

Qingxi laughed nonchalantly. "What’s this? Finally remembered to ask my name? Since you’re being so honest, I’ll kindly tell you. My surname is Qing, and my courtesy name is Baba."

"Qing Baba?" Li Xingyao’s face twisted with confusion. This name sounded odd to him.

"Be good, son!" Suddenly, a mischievous grin spread across Qingxi’s face.

It was only then that Li Xingyao realized what was happening, and he erupted in fury, "You damned brat, how dare you mock me?"

"Of course I’m mocking you! Weren’t you just so arrogant? Are you still feeling cocky now?" With that, Qingxi unleashed another flurry of chaotic Vajra punches, beating Li Xingyao thoroughly until his face was swollen like a pig’s head.

Nie Yu and the Tang brothers lay on the ground, stunned. They completely forgot about the pain in their own bodies, dumbstruck by what they saw. During this time, the three of them had fought alongside Qingxi, tricking and bringing many disciples of the Scarlet Flame Sect to tears. Qingxi’s contributions had been invaluable, as every plot and scheme had been his idea.

Yet no matter how formidable Qingxi seemed, in their eyes, it was still impossible for him to defeat a prodigy at the peak of the Qi Refinement stage like Li Xingyao. The gulf between the fifteenth and thirty-third levels of Qi Refinement was simply too vast.

However, right before their eyes, Qingxi felled Li Xingyao within a few moves and beat him senseless. It could be said that Qingxi had accomplished something only a master of the Innate Realm could hope to achieve.

"Don’t just stand there gaping—recover your strength quickly and get ready to run." Qingxi noticed the three were still frozen in astonishment, so he tossed each of them a healing pill.

Then, turning back to Li Xingyao, he expertly relieved him of all his treasures, including a high-grade spirit sword. Yet what intrigued Qingxi most was the silver bracelet on Li Xingyao’s wrist.

"Scan complete. This is a storage bracelet containing a cubic space—a valuable item indeed." The system assistant’s prompt made Qingxi’s lips curl into a cocky smile. With a swift motion, he pocketed the storage bracelet.

"You... you’re nothing but a thief!" Li Xingyao was so furious that he coughed up blood, hatred blazing in his eyes.

"And when you came to our Lingyuan Sect’s territory to plunder resources, I suppose you called it something else?" Qingxi knocked Li Xingyao out with a chop to the neck, then walked over to the three companions.

Thanks to the miraculous effect of the healing pills, they swiftly regained their mobility, but their eyes remained wide with astonished respect as they waited for Qingxi to explain.

"You may not know this," Qingxi began, "but my master is Elder Ouyang Changfeng. Fortunately, he left me a few treasures, or else today I’d have been lost for sure."

Thinking of his notoriously unreliable master, Qingxi silently fumed, and without hesitation, shifted all credit for the easy victory over Li Xingyao to him.

"What? Your master is Elder Ouyang Changfeng?" Nie Yu gasped. "But isn’t it said that he never takes disciples?"

"I heard that even Senior Sister once tried to become his disciple, but was refused," Nie Yu added in shock.

The Tang brothers were equally astonished, staring at Qingxi in disbelief.

Qingxi had never expected that his casual comment would provoke such a strong reaction from the trio—nor that he would learn such shocking news. So the prodigy Qiu Yingying, blessed with a rare spiritual root, had once tried to apprentice herself to Ouyang Changfeng? And even more astonishing—she had been rejected?

Doubting his own ears, Qingxi took out his elder-disciple token and asked, "My master is indeed Ouyang Changfeng. But did you just say Senior Sister once tried to apprentice herself to my master? Is this true?"

Seeing the word "Ouyang" inscribed on the token, Nie Yu had no doubt that Qingxi was Ouyang Changfeng’s disciple. His gaze toward Qingxi changed entirely.

As Qingxi met Nie Yu’s gaze, he suddenly felt a chill down his spine, as if a drunkard were leering at a beautiful woman. When he glanced at the Tang brothers, he saw that their expressions toward him had shifted dramatically as well.

Tang Jiang ventured tentatively, "Junior Brother Qingxi, could it be... that you are the legendary genius who mastered a hundred and ten martial skills in just two days?"

Qingxi scratched his head bashfully. "That would be me."

"It really is you?" Nie Yu dropped to his knees, clinging to Qingxi’s leg and shouting, "Junior Brother! From now on, I’m following you!"

Qingxi stared, dumbfounded, having never expected such a reaction. He quickly tried to wriggle free. "Don’t do this... I have very normal preferences!"

Quickly, he grabbed the unconscious Li Xingyao, tied him to a tree, and then made a hasty retreat toward the edge of Tiger Roar Forest.

As for the three companions, they followed beside him with unabashed admiration, forming a protective formation around Qingxi. The Tang brothers, who at first had no intention of guarding Qingxi, now flanked him on either side.

On the return journey, with the help of the system assistant, Qingxi broke the seal on Li Xingyao’s storage bracelet and began to inventory its contents. The high-grade spirit sword aside, the storage space alone contained quite a haul: high-tier pills, medicinal herbs with ten or twenty years of potency, and ancient manuals detailing martial skills.

But at the very bottom of the storage space, Qingxi also discovered a broken stone tablet. For now, he had no time to study it and decided to wait until they returned.

What Qingxi did not know was that, not long after the four of them left Tiger Roar Forest, a graceful figure in black robes arrived at the forest’s heart. She approached the disciples of the Scarlet Flame Sect, who were bound and stripped, and glanced over them with visible distaste.

"Who are you?" Li Xingchen, now awake, was startled by the icy aura of the black-clad woman.

By sheer coincidence, Li Xingyao had also regained consciousness. After finally tearing free from the spirit threads and escaping, he was relieved to see his younger brother Li Xingchen unharmed. But when his gaze landed on the graceful black-robed figure, his pupils contracted sharply.

Slender silhouette, black robes, an aura as cold as frost... "You—you’re Qiu Yingying, the prodigy of the Lingyuan Sect!" As one of the top ten inner disciples of the Scarlet Flame Sect, Li Xingyao had naturally heard many rumors about Qiu Yingying.

Now, seeing the legendary attire and feeling that innate chilling presence, he was utterly stunned.

Could it be that their invasion had truly enraged Lingyuan Sect’s leader, Qiu Mingzi? Otherwise, why would the prodigy Qiu Yingying have come to a place as ordinary as Tiger Roar Forest for training?

Whatever the reason, Li Xingyao was more than a little afraid of Qiu Yingying’s appearance here.

At that moment, Qiu Yingying’s icy gaze fell upon Li Xingyao.

A chill surged up from the depths of his soul.