C1 Qin Xiao's Situation

First chapter: Qin Xiao's situation.

"Xiao, you're finally awake!" An excited voice entered Qin Xiao's ears.

Qin Xiao opened his heavy eyelids, and his vision finally became clear. The first thing he saw after waking up was a middle-aged in his 40s. His eyes were bloodshot like a phoenix's eyes, and his nose was sharp like a hawk's. His lips were thick and even, and his face was as resolute as a knife. However, his messy hair and bloodshot eyes were evidence that he wasn't in a good state.

Despite being in his 40s, he looked like he was at the end of his lifetime.

"Father!" Qin Xiao struggled to get up. He knelt in front of Qin Dingtian, his eyes were moist. "I was unfilial and implicated you."

What happened a few days ago was still vivid in his mind. When Qin Xiao thought of it, the hatred he felt was simply overwhelming.

The Purple Town was located on the east side of Nanyang City, Liufeng County, Great Desert Kingdom. It was considered one of the most powerful towns in Nanyang City. The outstanding status of Purple Town among the 16 towns of Nanyang City was attributed to the existence of the Qin family.

The Qin family, a family with only more than 50 years of history, firmly occupied the position of the greatest power in Purple Town 40 years ago. When the Qin family was in the hands of Qin Xiao's grandfather, Qin Li, it was—simply put—their most glorious era. Back then, it was even above the City Lord's Mansion of Nanyang City in power and prestige. Then, something inexplicable happened 16 years ago. For no apparent reason, Qin Li died. Consequently, Qin Xiao's father, Qin Dingtian, became the Qin family's patriarch.

Although Qin Dingtian was the youngest among the six brothers in the family, his talent was the highest. Currently, he was a late Rebirth Stage expert. He was definitely the number one expert in the Qin family. In the entire Nanyang City, only the City Lord could defeat but by only a small margin. In the entire Nanyang City, he was easily the second strongest—and that was no exaggeration.

In a world where martial arts was respected, and strength naturally determined everything.

The cultivation here was divided into four stages: Brutal Force Stage, Spiritual Strength Stage, Rebirth Stage, and Bone Transforming Stage.

Each stage was further divided into four ranks: early, middle, late, and peak. Suffice to say, Rebirth Stage martial artists stood at the absolute peak in Nanyang City. Owing to that, there were no more than 20 Rebirth Stage martial artists in Nanyang City. That was in no way an impressive number when you consider that three of those Rebirth Stage martial artists were Qin family members. However, this was enough to show how powerful the Qin family was.

Then again, the stronger and more prosperous a family was, the more internal struggles it suffered from. Furthermore, the City Lord's Mansion had always regarded the Qin family as a thorn in their side. If it wasn't for Qin Dingtian's awe-inspiring strength, the City Lord's Mansion would've suppressed the Qin family already.

Also, you should be aware of this idiom, right? Two tigers cannot share the same mountain.

Qin Xiao's uncle, Qin Dinghu, precisely used this fact to pave a path for himself. He joined forces with City Lord's Mansion and came up with a simple yet effective plan. They decided to frame Qin Xiao for molesting the City Lord's daughter. This resulted in the city lord, Soong Xiongyan, flying into a rage. He attacked the Qin Residence to kill Qin Xiao on the spot.

Qin Dingtian wasn't a fool. He naturally knew what was going on. Presumably, they were a bit weaker than the City Lord's Mansion. However, had the entire Qin family been united, the City Lord Mansion wouldn't have dared to go to war with the Qin family just because of this matter. Sadly, all of this was planned by Qin Dinghu; of the other four brothers of the Qin family, three fully supported Qin Dinghu. Only Qin Dingtian's second brother, Qin Dingfei, backed him. Unfortunately, Qin Dingfei's talent was the weakest among the six brothers of the Qin family. Currently, he was only an early rank Spiritual Strength martial artist. He had never had the right to speak in the Qin family.

Under such circumstances, Qin Dingtian could only use his patriarch's position to exchange for Qin Xiao's life.

Qin Dingtian heaved a long sigh and helped Qin Xiao up. He said, "Forget it. Xiao, as long as you are okay. Everything will be okay as long as we're still alive. That's more important than anything else. It wasn't your fault; I already know that it was their plan. They have been eyeing my position for years. It was only my strength and high prestige that kept them at bay. Sadly, they are working with that cunning Song Xiongyan, so I'm afraid they won't get anything from this endeavor."

Qin Xiao clenched his fist so tightly that his bones were on the verge of being crushed. He hated his uncles, and he hated Song Xiongyan even more.

Qin Dingtian's gaze fell on Qin Xiao once again, and he said with a pained expression, "It's just that you have suffered. Unfortunately, you've suffered under their wicked scheme. With your talent, you would've definitely had a bright future. Your uncle and Song Xiongyan knew this and were worried that you would seek revenge in the future. Although you've managed to keep your life, Song Xiongyan destroyed your foundation, leaving no hope for your future."

Qin Xiao's fist clenched further, producing cracking sounds. Right now, his heart was overflowing with hate.

In the Heavenly Dragon Continent, a martial artist's talent determined everything.

Generally speaking, a martial artist could hold an Awakening Ceremony when he was 16 years of age. The Awakening Heavenly Talent thus obtained was deemed as a gift from heaven.

Those who could awaken a Heavenly Talent were people with a great future. People with talent were bound to walk further on the heavenly path than most. Sadly, those without talent were thus deemed to walk the path of the ordinary, weak mortals. They would usually waste their life with nothing to show for because the heavens didn't select them.

As for Heavenly Talents, they came in all strange shapes and sizes. Some were terrifying powers, and some were powerful cultivation techniques. They could even be some mysterious manual of unknown origin. Memories of some mighty experts or weapons held by the divine beings—it could be anything.

In summary, talent was everything, and no one could predict their talent before the ceremony.

Also, the Heavenly Talents were divided into grades. They went from First Grade to the strongest Ninth Grade. Of course, like any other fantasy world, there was a rare and unique Heavenly Talent above the Ninth Grade. However, it was only recorded in history books, and no one knew if there was anyone with that sort of talent.

Most martial artists here could at most awaken the Grade-1 talent. However, in a remote place like Nanyang City, even a First Grade martial artist was considered a genius. The number of youngsters who could awaken a Heavenly talent each year in Nanyang City could be counted on one's fingers. Suffice to say, not many could awaken a Heavenly Talent.

If someone could awaken a Grade-2 Heavenly Talent, they were called rare geniuses. Such a person could shake the entire Nanyang City.

As for Grade-3 Heavenly Talents, well... the past century of Nanyang City hadn't seen one.

If someone awakened a Grade-3 Heavenly Talent, even the major powers of Liufeng County would simply pounce to take them as their disciple.

Apart from determining one's future, Heavenly talent also aided one's cultivation. Higher the grade, the higher the cultivation speed—a simple rule.

If Qin Dingtian hadn't awakened the Grade-2 Heavenly Talent, his strength wouldn't have reached such a level.

"By the way, Father, how long have I been unconscious for?" Qin Xiao suddenly thought of something and asked.

Qin Dingtian said, "It has been three days. I was distraught about you."

"What? Three days?!" Qin Xiao stood up and looked outside. "So today is the day of the ceremony? If I miss the ceremony, I can't awaken my Heavenly Talent! Father, I want to participate in the ceremony."

"No, you can't go." Qin Dingtian suddenly became solemn. "Song Xiongyan broke your meridians and injured your soul. Your body can't withstand the baptism of the ceremony. Do you know it can kill you? Your life is more important than anything else! As long as you can live a peaceful life, I'm willing to take care of you. Live like an ordinary human, away from harm, threats, and schemes. Don't worry about revenge; I'll take care of that."

Qin Dingtian's words left no room for discussion.

However, how could Qin Xiao not refute him?

Only he knew how much effort and resources Qin Dingtian had put into him.

As his son, how could he not share the responsibility with his father? How could he rely on his father for the rest of his life? Wasn't death better than this?

Qin Xiao knelt down once again and said with a resolute expression, "Father, I know that you have always hoped that I could become an excellent martial artist and help you accomplish something. All these years, I've been working very hard, so I definitely won't let you down. The Awakening Ceremony is my only chance to turn the tables; I will not give up. Even if I may die, I should have a try. I would rather die on the altar than live the rest of my days as an ordinary mortal."

"Father, you have taught me since I was a child that the path of Martial Dao is a path that defies the heavens; in this path, one's heart was the most important factor. Without a firm strong heart, walking far on this path is impossible."

"If I give up because I am afraid of death, then I will really become a joke. I'm afraid that the Qin family will laugh at me for the rest of my life. Do you really want me to spend the rest of my life in humiliation?"

His words struck Qin Dingtian's heart like a lightning bolt. He couldn't help but clench his fists.

After a long time, Qin Dingtian helped Qin Xiao up and said with a determined face, "Good! With such a firm will, you may still have a glimmer of hope. If you want to fight, we will fight together. If you fail, I will definitely slaughter my way to City Lord's Mansion and fight Song Xiongyan to death."

Qin Dingtian's eyes were filled with determination.

Qin Xiao gritted his teeth and swore in his heart, "I will definitely succeed; I must succeed! I will take revenge for this."

The martial arena of the Qin family was especially lively today. The yearly ceremony was something that everyone attached great importance to. All the core members of the Qin family were present. After 50 years of development, the number of people in the Qin family had grown exponentially. There were nearly two hundred core members in the family. Of course, most of them were people with other surnames who had submitted to the Qin family.

As he had wished, Qin Dinghu finally became the patriarch of the Qin Family. Naturally, he was in high spirits. After making an impassioned speech, he announced the start of the Awakening Ceremony. This year, 12 disciples of the Qin family were participating in the Awakening Ceremony. Only four of them were surnamed Qin.

"Why are patriarch and Qin Xiao here?"

"Don't talk nonsense. Qin Dingtian isn't patriarch now; he's just Fifth Elder. "

"Qin Xiao is indeed like a cockroach. He was beaten so badly, but he is still participating in the ceremony."

"No matter how resilient he is, what's the use? He is now a cripple, not the number one genius. So, what if he could've been a mighty force in the future? No matter what, he still ended up like this."

When Qin Xiao and Qin Dingtian appeared in the martial arena, mocking voices echoed, instantly making them the center of attention.