The Prodigal Son

The west gate of the imperial city.

Just as Xu Wan was getting impatient, Qin Yu finally arrived with his men.

Qin Yu rode forward and asked Xu Wan in surprise, "There are only so many of you?"

This is a major case they're investigating!

Xu Wancai brought five people?

Are you kidding me?

"I've been waiting for you here!"

Xu Wan glared at Qin Yu. "The others have already left! Alright, enough talk! Let's catch up with them!"

Without saying anything more, Xu Wan immediately turned her horse around.

Qin Yu shrugged and led his men to follow her.

On the way, Qin Yu asked Xu Wan about the situation again.

Their journey would take them out of Dieguan, through Tongzhou, Longzhou, Juzhou, and finally to Chenzhou, a distance of over 1,800 li.

Their plan was to reach Xining Prefecture, the capital of Chenzhou, within seven days.

In addition to the three hundred men from the Baojing Division under Xu Wan's command, there were also three hundred men led by Pei Du, the head of the four military commanders of the Baojing Division.

Five hundred of them had already set off for Chenzhou a few days earlier to make preparations.

Around noon, they finally caught up with the people in front of them.

Having traveled such a long distance, their horses were somewhat exhausted, so they decided to rest for a while before continuing their journey.

Pei Du looked to be in his thirties, and he walked with a brisk and powerful gait, clearly a capable person.

Qin Yu was about to go up and greet Pei Du when Pei Du walked over instead.

"I know you're a restless person! You want to come along and watch the excitement? Fine! But if you dare cause us any trouble, even if you're the grandson of the Duke of Wei, I won't be polite to you!"

Pei Du, with a stern face, immediately warned Qin Yu.

Yoho!

Is this like running into a dragon-like invincible genius on the street?

"You dare!"

Qi Dachui immediately stepped forward, glaring at Pei Du with his bull-like eyes.

"Whether I dare or not, you'll find out by trying!"

Pei Du's face was cold.

Qi Dachui's face darkened, and he took another step forward.

It seems he wants to have a showdown with Pei Du on the spot.

"Big hammer!"

Qin Yu raised his hand to stop Qi Dachui, then raised an eyebrow at Pei Du, "Even Zeng Guan didn't put on airs in front of me, so when did it become your turn to do so? If I want to, you all have to listen to me!"

As he spoke, Qin Yu directly pulled out the warrant that the old man had given him before he left.

Xu Wan's eyelids twitched suddenly as she looked at the warrant in Qin Yu's hand.

The Duke of Wei actually left a warrant for Qin Yu?

Surprised, Xu Wan quickly leaned closer to check the warrant.

Xu Wan quickly confirmed that the warrant in Qin Yu's hand was genuine and nodded to Pei Du.

Pei Du's face stiffened.

The task of eradicating the Holy Fire Cult was directly handled by Qin Fumeng.

Qin Fumeng's handwritten order was equivalent to a military order.

After a moment's thought, Pei Du said in a deep voice, "A general in the field may disobey even the emperor's orders to some extent, let alone an order from the Duke of Wei!"

Don't try that on me!

Qin Yu's gaze turned icy. "I haven't taken command yet because I know there are many things I don't understand, and I don't want to gamble with the lives of my brothers! But when I give the order, anyone who dares to disobey will be executed!"

Upon hearing Qin Yu's words, a cold glint suddenly flashed in Pei Du's eyes.

Xu Wan glanced at Qin Yu with slight surprise, then quickly stepped between the two and said to Pei Du, "Brother Pei, I have something to tell you. Let's go talk over there!"

As she spoke, Xu Wan quickly pulled Pei Du aside, but she was secretly puzzled.

To be honest, Qin Yu did have a certain imposing presence just now.

Watching Pei Du and Xu Wan's retreating figures, Qin Yu couldn't help but frown secretly.

I've never met Pei Du before!

Why is he targeting me from the start?

Could it be that he likes Xu Wan and sees her as his rival in love?

Or perhaps he wanted to stand up for Xu Wan?

Ok……

Probably!

After pondering for a moment, Qin Yu walked over and sat down next to Dong Liu, who was sitting on the side watching the commotion.

"The Great Monk."

Qin Yu nudged Dong Liu with his elbow, "Can you gauge Pei Du's strength?"

"Anyway, hitting you is definitely not a problem."

Dong Liu said casually.

"Isn't that just nonsense?"

Qin Yu rolled his eyes.

The head of the four military envoys of the Treasure Mirror Bureau can't even beat himself. What kind of job is he?

Dong Liu rolled his eyes. "You're asking all nonsense. Do you think I shouldn't be talking nonsense?"

"Does that mean you can tell?"

Qin Yu asked expectantly.

"You're asking nonsense again."

Dong Liu said lazily, "I haven't seen him fight anyone, how would I know his strength? Does anyone have their strength printed on their face?"

"..."

Qin Yu was speechless for a moment.

"He has at least the strength of the eighth realm."

At this moment, Qi Dachui, who was standing next to him, took over the conversation.

How did you know?

Qin Yu was curious.

"He's not afraid of me!"

Qi Dachui gave a simple and direct answer.

amount……

It makes sense!

Indeed, below the eighth realm, no one would dare say they could definitely defeat Qi Dachui, who possesses innate divine strength.

However, the Eight Realms are nothing special.

Although Dong Liu has always refused to reveal his strength, it's obvious to anyone that he is at least an eighth-level expert.

It could even be the ninth realm.

Even if Dong Liu and Qi Dachui joined forces, they still couldn't defeat Pei Du?

However, one must be strong to succeed!

If I had the strength of the ninth realm, would Pei Du dare to speak to me like that?

Thinking of this, Qin Yu nudged Dong Liu again, "Do you know any shortcuts to quickly improve your strength?"

Actually, he had already asked the old man this question a long time ago.

However, he was met with a face full of spittle in return.

But he felt there must be a shortcut.

Shouldn't the main characters have some kind of lucky encounters?

What top-tier martial arts techniques, rare and precious materials, or some master directly gifting you decades of internal energy?

All of these can be arranged!

"Of course!"

Dong Liu picked up the wine flask and took a swig of wine. "You went to Beiqi alone, without hiding your whereabouts or identity. As long as you can survive for a year, you can at least become a master of the seventh or eighth realm."

"I……"

Qin Yu's face darkened.

Isn't this exactly the same as what the old guy said about having tens of thousands of people fight against him?

"If you want to become a master, don't be lazy!"

Dong Liu glanced sideways at Qin Yu. "You know Tuoba Liuyun, right?"

Qin Yu was speechless. "If I didn't even know Tuoba Liuyun, that old man would have buried me alive long ago!"

Tuoba Liuyun, the number one expert in Northern Qi, and also the Grandmaster of Northern Qi Swordsmanship.

In that battle a few years ago, Tuoba Liuyun almost single-handedly broke through Wuguan Pass.

In order to reclaim Wuguan, Da Ning dispatched three grandmasters, including the old man.

That battle was fierce and chaotic. It took three Grandmasters from Da Ning—one dead and two wounded—to severely injure Tuoba Liuyun.

The old man was literally knocked down from the Grandmaster realm by Tuoba Liuyun.

As Tuoba Liuyun retreated with severe injuries, he unleashed an extremely terrifying sword strike, killing over three hundred people.

Among them were his father and brothers!

Tuoba Liuyun is the Qin family's number one mortal enemy!

Dong Liu said quietly, "Tuoba Liuyun is a martial arts prodigy, one in a thousand years. At the age of twenty-two, he became the youngest ninth-realm master in history. In the five years that followed, although he defeated all the masters below the Northern Qi Grandmaster level, he was unable to break through..."

In his quest for a breakthrough, Tuoba Liuyun ventured alone into the territory of the Mole people, assassinated the Mole prince, and drew the attention of all the Mole experts who came out to besiege him. He narrowly escaped death several times.

Three years later, Tuoba Liuyun finally became the youngest grandmaster in history.

Even so, Tuoba Liuyun did not slack off.

For many years afterward, Tuoba Liuyun devoted himself to studying swordsmanship, and his swordsmanship reached its pinnacle.

Hearing Dong Liu's words, Qin Yu couldn't help but smile bitterly to himself.

He understood what Dong Liu meant.

Even a peerless genius like Tuoba Liuyun, who appears only once every thousand years, still had to make tremendous efforts to improve his strength.

Moreover, he had just recovered from his congenital heart defect.

After expressing his feelings, Qin Yu asked curiously, "By the way, is it really that difficult to break through from the ninth realm to the grandmaster level?"

Even a genius like Tuoba Liuyun took eight years and made tremendous efforts to become a grandmaster.

"As difficult as climbing to heaven!"

Dong Liu replied, "To become a grandmaster, one needs not only talent, comprehension, and hard work, but also a bit of luck..."

Many self-proclaimed martial arts prodigies at the ninth level of martial arts spend their entire lives without ever becoming a grandmaster!

The distance between a ninth-realm expert and the grandmaster realm may seem to be only one step, but in reality, there is a huge chasm between them!

Qin Yu was surprised.

Isn't this just the martial arts version of "cutting with one slash"?

It may seem like it's just a little bit short, but in reality, it would take hundreds of thousands of cuts to get it off.

At this moment, Xu Wan walked over. "From now on, we'll be traveling day and night! Don't complain!"

Qin Yu disagreed.

It's not like I'm carrying the horse myself, how hard could it be?