Chapter 21: Xia Yunxue's Wrath

“Song Changsheng! You actually dare to treat this Young Master like this? I swear, I will tear you into ten thousand pieces!!” Chang Tianhua let out a piercing shriek.

But in the next moment, Song Changsheng delivered two more slaps, causing Chang Tianhua's roar to come to an abrupt halt.

“Shut your filthy mouth. If you dare speak again, I’ll cut out your tongue,” Song Changsheng said, his tone as cold as the winter wind.

An endless killing intent flooded his eyes. Chang Tianhua’s heart trembled, and he ultimately succumbed to his overwhelming prestige.

Everyone looked at Song Changsheng as if they had seen a ghost. How could a Foundation Establishment cultivator dare to be so insolent right to someone's face?

The expression of the Earth Fire Sect Elder darkened, and a terrifying pressure radiated from his body. However, Song Changsheng remained unmoved, standing tall and meeting his gaze without a hint of fear.

The atmosphere fell into an eerie silence.

Finally, Song Changsheng spoke first: "How should I address you, Excellency?"

"Hmph, this old man is Qu Jinsheng. Kid, my patience has limits. Release Tianhua, or I will kill one member of your Song Clan at regular intervals!"

Qu Jinsheng looked at Song Changxiu and the others, issuing a blatant threat.

"If you dare touch a single hair on their heads, I will immediately send your Young Master to the underworld," Song Changsheng replied, immediately increasing his grip and refusing to back down.

For a moment, Qu Jinsheng felt caught between a rock and a hard place. He couldn't help but feel some regret; he had only left for a short while to drive away demonic beasts, never expecting that Chang Tianhua would be captured alive.

"Why don't you just go die!" Qu Jinsheng looked at Chang Tianhua with eyes full of frustration. If the boy had just died, today's matter would have been easy to handle.

Instead, not only was he alive, but he had become a prisoner!

"Kid, speak. What will it take to release him?" Qu Jinsheng finally compromised.

Song Changsheng slightly loosened his grip and said, "Your Earth Fire Sect intruded upon Song Clan territory without permission and injured our clansmen. You must provide sufficient compensation!"

Qu Jinsheng suppressed his rage and said, "One hundred spirit stones."

Song Changsheng sneered, looking at Chang Tianhua in his hand. "I thought you might be worth something, but only a hundred spirit stones? For a hundred, I'll at most give him back one hand."

As he spoke, he moved to dislocate the boy's arm. Terror flashed in Chang Tianhua's eyes, and he immediately screamed, "Elder Qu, save me! Elder Qu! Give him whatever he wants! Father won't mistreat you!"

Qu Jinsheng barked, "Enough! One thousand spirit stones! If you continue to be insatiable, I'll kill you even if I have to return and face punishment!"

Seeing an opportunity, Song Changsheng nodded. "Let me inspect the goods first. If there's no problem, I'll release him."

"Hmph, as if you won't choke on them." Qu Jinsheng suppressed the urge to strike Song Changsheng dead and pulled a storage bag from his robe, tossing it over.

Song Changsheng used his spiritual energy to pull the bag toward him. Just as he was about to open it to inspect the contents, the moment he saw the shadow of the spirit stones, the already-prepared Qu Jinsheng shot a burst of spiritual energy straight toward Song Changsheng's head.

"Shameless!" Song Changhu and the others were horrified. Just as they thought Song Changsheng was about to perish, a figure appeared before him, blocking the spiritual energy with a wave of a slender hand.

"It's the Fifth Elder!" Upon seeing the newcomer, the Song Clan members were overjoyed. Now, the scales were balanced.

Seeing the spiritual energy blocked, Qu Jinsheng realized that today's matter had become complicated.

Seeing the figure standing before him, a smile appeared on Song Changsheng's face. He had long suspected that an Earth Fire Sect Foundation Establishment cultivator might be traveling with them, so he had requested aid from Xia Yunxue on the way.

Xia Yunxue had actually arrived a while ago, but since the juniors were handling the fight, she had remained hidden nearby to protect him.

Having received her signal, Song Changsheng knew his "big thigh" was nearby; otherwise, he wouldn't have made such a low-level mistake as getting distracted.

"You old rogue! To be so shameless as to strike a junior—is this the character of your Earth Fire Sect?" Xia Yunxue's beautiful eyes flashed with fury as she lashed out at Qu Jinsheng.

Qu Jinsheng's face turned ugly, and he said coldly, "Elder Xia, do not use such harsh words."

To his surprise, Xia Yunxue's anger flared even more. She pointed at his nose and scolded, "You old rogue! You dare do it and then forbid me from speaking? Get over here, and I'll take your dog's life!"

The onlookers felt a sense of déjà vu; it seemed someone had said something very similar just a moment ago.

"Do you truly think this old man is afraid of you? Come and fight!" Qu Jinsheng was a figure of some standing in Lingzhou; being insulted like this made him lose face.

"Get over here!" Xia Yunxue transformed into a streak of light, riding her sword into the sky. A furious Qu Jinsheng pursued her.

Before long, the booming vibrations of battle echoed from the sky. The people on the ground looked up, seeing only two streaks of light—one blue and one red—constantly colliding in the air, with nothing else clearly visible.

Song Changhu, who had partially recovered, nudged Song Changxiu beside him and whispered, "Didn't they say the Fifth Elder was the gentlest among the family elders? Why does she feel even more hot-tempered than the Second Elder?"

Song Changxiu rolled her eyes at him. "Changsheng is the Fifth Elder's reverse scale. Anyone who dares touch him, she certainly won't let them off."

Song Changhu understood, thinking to himself once more, *Having a good mother really makes a difference.*

The same words, but the sentiment this time was entirely different from the last.

Song Changsheng watched the battle in the sky nervously. Both combatants were in the early stages of Foundation Establishment, so it was hard to say who would win.

However, he had completely underestimated the power unleashed when a mother goes all out. After half an hour of fighting, a brilliant flash of light streaked across the sky.

A figure fell heavily to the ground in a freefall. Everyone's eyes immediately converged on the spot. Once they saw who it was, the Song Clan erupted in cheers.

In contrast, the expressions of the Earth Fire Sect members were as grim as if their own fathers had died.

Xia Yunxue returned to the ground on her sword. Her breathing was slightly rapid, but there were no obvious injuries on her body, suggesting she had won the battle decisively.

"Cough, cough, cough..." Supported by the Earth Fire Sect disciples, Qu Jinsheng struggled to stand up. He said bitterly, "They say the Song Clan's Fifth Elder is just a pretty vase with no substance. It seems the rumors are quite accurate."

"Hmph, you old rogue! You'd better give me an explanation today, or I'll bury you all here to serve as fertilizer!" Xia Yunxue declared with overwhelming dominance.

"I have already given one thousand spirit stones!" Qu Jinsheng shouted angrily.

"That was to ransom the boy. You still need to ransom your own lives."

Ultimately, under Xia Yunxue's tiger-like prestige, Qu Jinsheng and his group had to scrape together over a thousand spirit stones and offer most of their belongings as collateral. Only then were they able to preserve their miserable lives and flee in disgrace, not even daring to leave any threats behind.

Xia Yunxue distributed a portion of the belongings to everyone, taking the lion's share for herself. As for the thousand spirit stones in Song Changsheng's hand, they naturally belonged to him.

While Song Changxiu and the others were tending to Song Changhu's injuries, Song Changsheng said with some dissatisfaction, "Mother, why did you let them go just now? If Qu Jinsheng had died here, it would have been a massive blow to the Earth Fire Sect—far more important than this bit of wealth."

Xia Yunxue reached out with a finger as slender as a green onion and poked Song Changsheng's forehead, rolling her eyes. "Now you're lecturing your mother? Killing Qu Jinsheng is easy, but have you thought about the consequences? The clan needs stable development right now; it is not the time for large-scale conflict.

Besides, that fellow's essence was damaged by me today; he won't be of much use in the future. And that Earth Fire Sect Young Master—wasn't he also dealt a secret blow by you?

We have already gained plenty of advantages today. Let's spare their dog lives."

...

(End of Chapter)