C4 The Proud Son of Heaven

Ling Siying was still basking in the recent joy when she realized that the disciple about to join her sect was now being claimed by another.

"Hadn't you agreed to join our sect?" she exclaimed in disbelief.

"Who let these strays think they could recruit someone of such caliber into their ranks? Be quiet!" scoffed a disciple from the Oathbreakers.

With a dramatic sweep of his sleeve, he sent a fierce gust of wind toward Ling Siying. Newly initiated into the Foundation Building state, she stood no chance against the onslaught. She managed only a feeble resistance before being hurled over ten meters away, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth, clearly indicating internal injuries.

"Sister, are you okay?" Ling Sixiao rushed to her side, steadying her trembling form.

"Cough, cough, cough... Your Excellency, to attack without provocation... isn't that a bit tyrannical?" Ling Siying uttered weakly.

"Hahaha, that's just how we, the Oathbreakers, operate. We embrace our dominance," the disciple boasted with a brazen laugh.

"You're being utterly unreasonable!" Ling Sixiao's face turned beet red with anger, though she refrained from uttering any curses.

"Unreasonable? Today, you'll witness the true manner of the Oathbreakers," he declared. Turning to his fellow disciples, he commanded, "Seize these two women."

"Yes, Senior Brother!" they responded in unison.

Descending from their flying mounts, the Oathbreakers' disciples, all at the Great Perfection stage of Foundation Building, were a force Ling Siying and her sister could not hope to contend with.

"Ding! The prodigy has been detected. Host, please proceed to the arena immediately."

Qin Mu's brow furrowed at the system's alert. The arena was precisely where Ling Siying and her sister were in trouble.

"System, teleport me to Ling Siying's location," he instructed.

"System, activate the invincible Golden Body!"

Without a moment's hesitation, Qin Mu utilized one of his precious system skills upon arrival. Despite their limited uses, he had amassed many over his twenty thousand years of seclusion. In the arena, a dazzling golden radiance materialized, effortlessly deflecting the assailants' blows.

"Ancestor!"

"Mu!"

Ling Siying and her sister burst into smiles, exclaiming with joy.

Qin Mu had never anticipated that he would be greeted with several fierce attacks the moment he teleported in. With no time to spare, he instantly activated his Golden Body skill to save himself.

Turning to see the sisters' predicament, Qin Mu seemed to grasp the situation.

"Ling Siying, what's happening? I sent you to recruit a disciple. Why has it come to blows?"

"Thank you for your protection, Ancestor. Please, we need your help to reclaim our disciple!"

"Ancestor, please act quickly. They're being unreasonable, stealing our disciple from the Skyhaven Clan and they've even attacked my sister!"

Ling Siying began with a word of thanks to Qin Mu, followed by Ling Sixiao urgently calling out from beside her.

"What's the matter?"

Qin Mu inquired of the two.

After they explained the situation, Qin Mu shook his head.

"They haven't taken the oath to join our sect, so how can they be considered our disciple? Besides, the Skyhaven Clan is in search of prodigies, not those with mediocre talent and lacking in loyalty!"

No sooner had he spoken than a young man burst forth, yelling at the top of his lungs.

"Xue'er, you can't do this! We came to Yan City together. If you join a sect like this, what about me? Don't we have an engagement?"

"Silence! We're merely fellow villagers who traveled to Yan City together. Don't spread rumors and tarnish my good name!"

Gu Xue cut him off before Chu Feng could finish.

Chu Feng, the young man, hailed from the same village as Gu Xue. They had been betrothed to each other since childhood. It was Gu Xue's desire to see the big city that had brought Chu Feng along to Yan City, with plans to explore for a few days before returning home.

However, fate took a strange turn when Gu Xue, upon visiting the arena, decided to test her cultivation aptitude at the Trial Stone. To her surprise, she discovered she possessed a medium-level second-grade physique, triggering an anomaly in the stone that caught the attention of a deacon from the Oathbreakers, who came to recruit her as a disciple.

Chu Feng couldn't stand the thought of his betrothed joining a cultivation sect and being separated from him. His outburst was unexpected, leading to Gu Xue's sharp retort and the dismissive glances from the disciples of the Oathbreakers.

"Gu Xue, is what this person is saying actually true?"

"Senior Brother, we are indeed from the same village, but there is no marriage contract between us. He's simply making things up," Gu Xue responded with great respect to the Oathbreakers disciple beside her.

"Hmph, he must be trying to curry favor with you since you've been accepted by the Oathbreakers," the disciple retorted.

"Everyone, this man has shown disrespect to our Oathbreakers' disciple. Teach him a lesson."

Following the deacon's command, Chu Feng was blasted away by the disciples below.

As Qin Mu was about to lead them away, a system notification echoed in his mind.

"Ding dong! Name: Chu Feng

Talent: Advanced Grade C

Characteristics: No bottleneck in cultivation before reaching the Earth Immortal Realm. Simply absorb enough Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth for rapid advancement!"

With the disappearance of the system's voice, Qin Mu halted his departure.

"To think that this unassuming youth is actually a prodigy that comes once in a century."

Qin Mu paused, reflecting inwardly. Ling Siying, head bowed in regret for not arriving at the arena sooner to take Gu Xue away, thus preventing the Oathbreakers from claiming her, collided with the stationary Qin Mu without realizing he had stopped.

The unique scent from Ling Siying, combined with her snow-like skin, momentarily captivated Qin Mu.

But he quickly snapped out of it, knowing that his priority was to take Chu Feng under his wing.

As the Oathbreakers' disciples were about to deal a deadly blow to Chu Feng, Qin Mu teleported in and rescued him using his invincible Golden Body technique.

Caught off guard by Qin Mu's sudden intervention, the disciples were unable to pull back their attacks and were rebounded by the Golden Body.

The deacon of the Oathbreakers confronted Qin Mu with displeasure.

"Fellow Seeker, what do you mean by this?"

"Simply put, I find the actions of your Oathbreakers to be excessively tyrannical."

"The Oathbreakers do not answer to the judgments of others," Qin Mu replied calmly.

"Fellow Seeker, you've already taken that female disciple under your wing. Why persist in such hostility towards this young man? He has a kind demeanor, and I wish to accept him as my disciple. Would you be willing to allow this?"

"I'm curious as to which sect you hail from. There's hardly anyone in the entire Jia Lun Empire that I'm not acquainted with. You, Fellow Seeker, are a new face to me. Could you share a bit about yourself?"

The deacon, not yet certain of Qin Mu's background, refrained from displaying excessive arrogance. Nevertheless, his words carried the unmistakable pride of being part of the Oathbreakers, as he subtly used the weight of the organization to pressure Qin Mu.

"I am the elder of the Skyhaven Clan!"