Daqin arrests alchemists, what does it matter to me as a qi refiner?

"Yes, Young Master Zhao, please don't worry about us. We were too weak!" They apologized to Yang Ling, their faces pale. They knew their strength was lacking before they came, but they didn't expect the other party to be so ruthless.

"If you can't even handle this, what are you doing participating in the selection competition? If I were you, I'd quit right now and go back to train properly to avoid making a fool of myself. Besides, the major families have never had the right to compete with trash!" The Yan family disciple laughed heartily and quickly echoed.

"That's right, they're even weaker than me. I didn't even participate in the selection competition!"

"How dare you! If I were you, I would have quit long ago!"

"That's right!"

They were so angry they almost ground their molars to powder, and their whole bodies trembled. Unfortunately, they were far weaker than their opponents, and they had no chance to take revenge.

Yang Ling stood in front of them.

"It's not your fault, it's just that a few dogs have been barking incessantly. They really need to be taught a lesson, lest they become arrogant and think they're above the law!" Yang Ling said, enunciating each word clearly. The old man, who had initially intended to intervene, paused slightly upon seeing Yang Ling's actions. What was Yang Ling planning to do?
An elder from the Yan family stepped forward and angrily rebuked, "What are you trying to do? Do you intend to attack any of our Yan family disciples?"

He laughed smugly, certain that Yang Ling wouldn't dare to make a move. However, his calculations were flawed. Yang Ling looked up and met his gaze, making no attempt to conceal his aura. The old man standing to the side couldn't help but advise:

"You absolutely mustn't do anything foolish, or they might resent you even more!"

"We can settle this score slowly, there's no rush, right?"

Yang Ling sneered.

He had only one thought in mind: to kill them all. Yang Ling charged forward recklessly, unleashing a palm strike at them. His palm pressed down on them like a mountain. The Yan family elder roared, "How dare you humiliate our disciple in front of us! Are you tired of living?"

"You're courting death, so we'll grant your wish!" They had intended to provoke Yang Ling, but they hadn't expected him to actually fall for their trap. Just a few words were enough to trigger a massacre, so it was perfectly reasonable for them to deal with Yang Ling as well. They didn't act rashly, but instead glanced at the old man.

Seeing that the old man showed no intention of helping, they boldly launched their attacks, intending to kill Yang Ling. Only the old man could see that they wouldn't even be able to get close to Yang Ling, let alone kill him. The moment Yang Ling roared and approached, they regretted their actions. They had been so confident, but they hadn't expected Yang Ling's aura to surge so dramatically. In just a moment, before he could even react, he screamed in agony.

He was slapped down by his palm and fell to the ground, his head bleeding and his face bruised and swollen. His blood was churning, and he coughed up blood. The atmosphere suddenly turned icy, and everyone was speechless for a long time.

Who could have predicted that Yang Ling was really as powerful as the rumors suggested? The elder was at least on par with Yang Ling in strength, yet he was defeated by Yang Ling in one move and seriously injured.

Yang Ling took a few steps back, his expression calm.

This level of attack is nothing to him.

"I only crippled him, I didn't kill him outright, I've already shown mercy!" Yang Ling's words were like a bolt from the blue for them. In their eyes, Yang Ling crippling that man was worse than simply killing him, and yet he said it wasn't bad enough—who was he slapping in the face?

The old man glanced at Yang Ling and asked with concern:
"Young Master Zhao, are you alright?" Yang Ling's lips curled up slightly, his face was rosy, and he was in excellent condition.

"Old man, do I look like something's wrong?"

"As for why I didn't cripple him outright, it was to give you a warning. Even you can't provoke me so easily. Otherwise, no matter how powerful or influential you are, I will not hesitate to take action!" Yang Ling's expression was serious, and his tone was icy. The others couldn't help but shiver. If someone else had said these words, they certainly wouldn't have believed them, but after witnessing Yang Ling's strength, they had no choice but to believe it.

The man who had just been attacked by Yang Ling struggled to his feet, practically crippled. He moved his lips, but ultimately swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue. Yang Ling's performance had left him utterly shocked, his pupils filled with astonishment, and he kept thinking to himself: How did Yang Ling do that? It's just too amazing, too unbelievable!

"What, do you want another beating from me? If you do, I can grant your wish! But next time, I guarantee you won't be so lucky!" Yang Ling's eyes flashed with murderous intent. He was not one to be bullied, and that elder dared to act wildly and humiliate him; he was simply asking for trouble.

If there were a next time, he would definitely kill him in one move, let alone spare his life. The old man looked at Yang Ling with a hint of admiration in his eyes. Yang Ling was able to defeat him in one move and emerge unscathed, which he never expected. Furthermore, Yang Ling's skills far exceeded his imagination.

"It's alright. If you still feel it's not enough, I can help you kill him, how about that?" the old man said on Yang Ling's behalf. The moment he finished speaking, the man's heart tightened. If the old man intervened, they would surely die.

He shifted back, trying to avoid their gaze, wondering: Is it too late to escape now? Yang Ling waved his hand and said:

"We've already taught them a lesson, and I believe they won't dare to cause trouble again for the time being. Don't worry, this is nothing to me!" Yang Ling said casually, as if he had never taken the matter seriously. It was precisely because of this that they felt humiliated.

"Alright, let's hurry in! Don't waste any more time, the selection competition has already started!" Yang Ling blurted out. As he stepped into Sunset Valley, a chilling aura made Yang Ling vaguely feel that something was wrong with this place. After entering, Yang Ling parted ways with them. He didn't want to travel with the other families, who had long since made him their target.

Following him will only make you a burden...

He possessed exceptional healing abilities, able to quickly recover to his peak condition without their help, so Yang Ling wasn't worried about it. Only Feng Xueyuan accompanied Yang Ling throughout.

"Where exactly are you taking me? You just came in and you're leading me here?"

"Besides, is the person you're waiting for really here? Is your friend even reliable?" Feng Xueyuan crossed her arms. She had been waiting here for quite a while, and Yang Ling only came because of one of her remarks. Hearing Yang Ling's words, Feng Xueyuan couldn't help but roll her eyes.

"Can't you be a little more patient? It's not a huge deal. Besides, why are you in such a hurry? I haven't even said anything yet!"

"They'll be here in a bit, so don't worry so much," Feng Xueyuan said seriously. How could Yang Ling not worry? He touched his nose, his eyes narrowing slightly. Just then, he heard footsteps beside him. He quickly perked up, thinking: Could it be someone from the family? They shouldn't be able to move that fast, right?

A large group of people walked over and stood in the middle of them. Among them was a young and lovely woman who looked around. The people behind her were somewhat dissatisfied.

"Qingqing, do you know what the consequences will be if our families find out we're helping them? Even if it's your right, you can't take such a big risk. It's too dangerous, and what if something goes wrong!"

Kong Qingqing naturally knew that if Feng Xueyuan hadn't said she was coming to find her, she wouldn't have dared to bring anyone from her family.

"Yes, I think Senior Brother is right. You mustn't be fooled by them. Their sect is already becoming the target of everyone's criticism. If we still join them, aren't we just asking for death?" They were all from the Kong family, and the people they brought were all carefully selected from the family. So it's normal that people don't pay attention to them because they came temporarily and were inconspicuous to begin with.

"Look, that's the person we're looking for. Come on, everyone, don't be in such a hurry, it's nothing serious!" Kong Qingqing led them into the crowd and immediately noticed Feng Xueyuan. The moment she saw Feng Xueyuan, Kong Qingqing waved to her, and Feng Xueyuan was overjoyed.

"See, I told you she'd come looking for me. Qingqing, you're finally here! This is the person I told you about!"

"That's great! You two should hurry up and follow me. The selection process has already started, we can't dawdle like this, or we might not even get a spot!" The others glanced at Feng Xueyuan, not finding anything particularly strange about her. Feng Xueyuan was undeniably beautiful, but Yang Ling's unhurried and arrogant demeanor truly puzzled them. They looked at Yang Ling and said:

"Who are you? I don't think your strength is anything special!" The reason they said Yang Ling's strength was nothing special was because Feng Xueyuan had just told Yang Ling to conceal his aura and not be so conspicuous.

Yang Ling suppressed his aura to be as ordinary as an ordinary person, so they naturally couldn't detect him. Yang Ling didn't say anything, and the group didn't bother arguing with him. They hadn't expected that Feng Xueyuan's so-called help meant bringing a group of people even more than themselves. Was this really help, or just trouble?
However, in their eyes, Yang Ling was the one who was really dragging them down.

"Please don't take offense, everyone. These are my senior brothers. Don't worry, we've already promised, and we won't go back on our word!" The senior brother smiled upon hearing Kong Qingqing's words.

"What are you saying? Since it's someone our junior sister wanted to invite, how could we refuse!"

"We can't possibly offend our junior sister!"

Yang Ling stood aside, too lazy to bother with certain people.

"Alright, let me introduce you two. This is Qiu Xiao, my senior brother. He's one of the top three strongest disciples in the Kong family, quite formidable!"

"This is Lin Chong... Oh, right, my name is Kong Qingqing!" Kong Qingqing introduced Yang Ling and Feng Xueyuan one by one. Lin Chong and Qiu Xiao were very close, seemingly inseparable. As for the most inconspicuous one, Kong Li, he looked honest and simple, seemingly without any guile.

"My senior brother is incredibly powerful, so you'd better be careful. But he'll definitely lend you a hand if it really matters!" Kong Qingqing said, emphasizing each word. Yang Ling's lips twitched slightly upon hearing Kong Qingqing's words.

After saying that, they walked forward.

"This is only the outer edge of Sunset Valley. Most of the monsters here are not very intelligent, so we don't need to worry too much. Once we go inside, there will be more powerful monsters, so we need to be careful!"

“Those demonic beasts will be difficult to deal with if they come in groups!” Kong Qingqing spoke first. Yang Ling stood silently to the side, his expression calm and composed.

Apart from Kong Qingqing, the others didn't seem to be easy to get along with.

"What's wrong with you? My senior brother is helping you, and you're acting like you didn't hear him!" Qiu Xiao was a little annoyed and shouted at Yang Ling. Feng Xueyuan frowned slightly, clearly seeing that Qiu Xiao was deliberately picking a fight.

Yang Ling met Qiu Xiao's gaze and gave a cold laugh.

"I didn't say a word, so say whatever you want!" Qiu Xiao pointed at Yang Ling, unable to utter a word for a long time. This guy doesn't look like much, but he's got quite the nerve. If it weren't for Kong Qingqing's insistence on taking him along, who would want to be with them?

He turned his head to the side. Lin Chong glanced at Yang Ling and said casually:

“Since it’s my junior sister who’s taking care of these people, we have some kind of relationship. Now that we’re all in a team, we should look out for each other. It would be terrible if something happened and someone lost their life!” His words were pointed, subtly targeting Yang Ling. Feng Xueyuan clenched her fists, wanting to stand up for Yang Ling. At the crucial moment, Yang Ling stopped her, casually saying:
"It's alright, we can protect ourselves!" He was with them mainly to avoid drawing too much attention and better conceal his strength. He wasn't that interested in any treasures; securing a spot in the selection competition was the most important thing. If several families wanted to kill him, let them try. Lin Chong gave Yang Ling a cold glance, feeling that Yang Ling was taking him far too lightly.

He didn't reply, thinking he just hoped Yang Ling wouldn't be begging him for help later. Along the way, they encountered many demonic beasts, most of which lacked intelligence and were all slaughtered. Yang Ling didn't lift a finger the entire time. Seeing this, they looked down on Yang Ling even more.

He probably doesn't have much ability, yet he dared to participate in the selection competition. Yang Ling ignored their reactions and turned to ask Feng Xueyuan:

"Are we close to other families? For example, the Huo family and the Yan family!"

“They do seem quite close. Let’s avoid a direct confrontation with them for now. It’s fine if we run into them, but if we encounter those unreasonable geniuses, then we’ll be in trouble!” Kong Qingqing said before Feng Xueyuan could even speak.

"By the way, why are you asking these questions?"

"It's nothing, I was just a little curious!" Yang Ling replied calmly.

"You're right, let's avoid them, just in case something unexpected happens!" Kong Qingqing's facial muscles twitched. Yang Ling wanted nothing more than to kill those family members immediately, but now he had to avoid them. Feng Xueyuan observed Yang Ling's actions, secretly suppressing a laugh. (End of Chapter)