"Challenge me? You think you're worthy?"
Qin Qing's clear eyes coldly regarded Qin Lie, who lay on the ground, as if he were a supreme ruler looking down on insignificant creatures.
The members of the Qin Residence were all stunned on the spot.
Although Qin Qing was the Young Master of the Qin Residence, he had always been known for his gentle nature. Because of his low-profile and restrained demeanor, some members of the family regarded him as weak and incapable.
For this reason, quite a few people had discussed whether Qin Qing might be unsuitable for the position of Young Master.
However, Qin Qing's sudden strike against Qin Lie caught everyone off guard.
At this moment, Qin Qing wasn't considering these matters.
He slapped Qin Lie away with one palm, purely out of an instinctive anger.
Because of Dragon Soul's awakening, not only was the Soul Palace remodeled, but his bloodline and bones also underwent transformation.
Dragons!
As ancient spiritual creatures, they possess infinite might and are a symbol of dominance.
Without a doubt, Qin Qing's character also became tainted with the nature of the dragon.
Moreover, during the practice of the "Emperor Dragon Secret Technique," this Secret Technique displayed a domineering aura like that of an absolute ruler, which subtly influenced changes in Qin Qing's disposition and temperament through the process of cultivation!
"Brother..."
Even Qin Shuang, standing by the side, looked at her brother somewhat dazed, sensing that the brother before her had changed from the past.
"Little Shuang!"
The chill in Qin Qing's gaze dissipated, and he looked at his confused sister with tenderness.
Soon, Qin Qing's expression grew solemn again.
He squatted down, lifted Little Shuang's sleeve, and then turned over her clothes on her back.
Instantly, the flames of anger in Qin Qing's heart blazed fiercely once more.
On Little Shuang's arms and back, there were numerous purple and blue bruises, which seemed to be whip marks from being lashed with force!
"Little Shuang! What happened?"
Qin Shuang stammered, seemingly hesitant and unwilling to speak directly.
"Who did this to you?"
Qin Qing abruptly stood up and roared at those around him.
At that moment, a girl with a gentle appearance, dressed in a plain long dress, stepped forward and said softly, "Third Brother. When I returned from Luochuan yesterday, I saw Little Shuang kneeling on the ground; it seemed... it seemed she was begging Qin Lie for medicine."
Qin Qing glanced at the girl.
She was Qin Yue, the daughter of his seventh uncle, Qin Tong.
She studied Martial Arts at the Great Qian Martial Institute in Luochuan.
Qin Yue's graceful eyebrows furrowed, clearly in distress, and she continued, "At that time, Little Shuang looked in great pain, as if she were having an attack of her ailment. But the pain-alleviating Wind Rock Powder was in Qin Lie's hands, and he refused to give it straight to Little Shuang. I... I also saw Qin Lie drop the Wind Rock Powder into horse dung, wanting to make Little Shuang eat from it!"
Upon hearing this, Qin Qing's heart turned icy cold.
He was well aware of his sister Little Shuang's condition.
It started around when she was three years old; every so often, large patches of red patterns would appear on her body, even faintly emitting a red glow.
And during those times, Little Shuang's body would suffer from excruciating, tearing pain!
Such agony inflicted on a child of three was unspeakably cruel.
Over the years, Qin Qing had tried many methods. A Pharmacist once told him a treatment plan, but the cost was something Qin Qing simply couldn't afford.
Thus, for these years, whenever Little Shuang had an attack, she could only rely on Wind Rock Powder to relieve the pain!
The Wind Rock Powder was inexpensive and within their means, but the side effects it produced became more and more severe, making Little Shuang look increasingly gaunt, with dry and yellowed hair due to severe malnutrition.
"Little Qing, we were not at home at the time," Qin Tong explained. "We went out looking for you! Otherwise, such a thing would never have happened!"
Qin Qing nodded slightly, his heart not blaming others.
He felt more blame towards himself.
This time, he had truly been blinded by what was called love!
If he hadn't had an accident and undergone the remodeling of the Soul Palace, awakening the Dragon Soul, what would have been the outcome?
Who would have taken care of six-year-old Little Shuang?
Looking at Little Shuang's childish face, still bearing the marks of injury, Qin Qing felt an even deeper pain in his heart.
"Little Shuang! Your brother has let you down!" Qin Qing hugged his sister in his arms, and said with his face close to hers, "Your brother will never leave you again! And I won't let anyone bully you ever again!"
"Mhm, Brother!" Little Shuang nodded her little head, and a hint of pride shone in her innocent eyes as she said, "Brother, I didn't eat the horse dung. You taught me that we must have integrity!"
"Mm, good girl, Little Shuang!" Qin Qing patted Qin Shuang's head and stood up once again, his eyes like that of a bloodthirsty ferocious beast, glaring at Qin Lie with murderous intent.
Qin Lie felt a shiver in his heart, the look in Qin Qing's eyes instinctively making him feel fear!
But soon, Qin Lie calmed down.
"Qin Qing, staring at me like that, do you want to kill me?"
"That's right, the injuries on your sister's body, I was the one who whipped her."
"Your sister, this sickly weakling, clearly couldn't bear the pain, yet stubbornly refused to eat the horse dung mixed with Windstone Powder, so I whipped her fiercely, what are you going to do about it?"
"You and your sister, you're both useless, one unable to awaken the Martial Soul, the other a born cripple. Qin Yi was wise all his life, how did he produce such useless offspring like you two?"
The more Qin Lie spoke, the prouder he became, and the mocking smile on his face grew even thicker.
"Bastard! You deserve to die!" Qin Qing's heart was aflame with rage, his voice low like a wild beast.
"Heh, I deserve to die? With you, this useless thing, you also want to kill me?"
"Attacking me off guard just now? Otherwise, you think you can hurt me?"
Qin Lie looked on with even more disdain, believing that he had simply not been on guard earlier.
In terms of cultivation, both he and Qin Qing were at the Eighth Level of Body Refining.
Moreover, he had awakened his Martial Soul, the Sixth Rank Martial Soul—the Howling Moon Silver Wolf.
A Martial Artist who had awakened their Martial Soul could already begin to harness Soul Power, not something ordinary Martial Artists could compare with.
"A sneak attack?" Qin Qing sneered coldly, "You're saying I sneaked up on you? Fine, get ready now, because I'm about to 'sneak attack' again!"
With that, Qin Qing took a step toward Qin Lie.
"Wait!"
Just at that moment, Qin Zhen suddenly spoke:
"Qin Qing, if you want to battle Qin Lie, it's not impossible, but it needs to go through the family's approval, a fair fight!"
"What do you mean?" Qin Qing looked at Qin Zhen.
"Qin Qing, the family council had already decided to depose you as Young Master and announce Qin Lie as the new Young Master!"
"However... now that you've coincidentally returned at this time... why not, take this opportunity for you and Qin Lie to have a fair fight. If you lose, you will relinquish the position of Young Master!"
Qin Qing was taken aback for a moment, but then he understood.
Qin Zhen suggested that he and Qin Lie fight to decide the position of Young Master at this time because he seemed aware of the dissatisfaction in the hearts of the seventh uncles and wanted to use this opportunity to shut them up completely, while also establishing his son Qin Lie's authority in front of all members of the Qin Residence.
"Heh, they want to use me to establish authority?"
Qin Qing sneered in his heart.
"Little Qing, don't agree to him!" Qin Tong said in a low voice, "You are the Young Master, no one can just replace you."
"They claimed you might have already been killed, that's why we were discussing the choice of a new Young Master. Now that you have come back, you are naturally still the Young Master of the Qin Residence!"
Others echoed Qin Tong, believing there was no need to decide the new Young Master through combat.
Over the years, the Qin Residence had always been divided into two factions.
One was led by Qin Qing's father, Qin Yi, but in these past few years, with the disappearance of Qin Yi, this faction gradually lost its initiative and say within the Qin Residence.
The other faction was that of Qin Lie's father, Qin Zhen.
It was Qin Yi who had pressed down on Qin Zhen to take the position of the head of the Qin Family years ago.
All these years, Qin Zhen had harbored resentment in his heart.
However, Qin Yi was powerful and cunning, so Qin Zhen could only swallow his pride for many years.
But now, with Qin Yi missing for three years, the inner dynamics of the Qin Residence began to change, and many knew that a big shift was coming, starting to lean towards Qin Zhen.
Qin Zhen's control within the Qin Residence grew stronger with each passing day, and now he thought the conditions were ripe, so he seized the opportunity of Qin Qing's misfortune to try to snatch away the positions of both family head and Young Master all at once.
However, even though Qin Yi had vanished for three years, his influence lingered on, so part of the family still dared not make rash moves.
Moreover, Qin Yi was generous, righteous as the clouds in the sky. There were also many loyal to him within the Qin Residence, so even though Qin Yi had disappeared for three years, they still stood by Qin Qing's side.
Qin Qing looked at his seventh uncle, Qin Tong, and nodded slightly, signaling them to be at ease.
Qin Qing was clear in his heart that the reason why his seventh uncle and others did not want him to accept the challenge was simply because they thought Qin Lie, who had awakened his Martial Soul, was stronger.
But in fact, after awakening the Dragon Soul, even ten Qin Lies might not be a match for Qin Qing.
The most important reason was that Qin Lie had tortured Little Shuang, and Qin Qing was determined to make him pay a dire price!
"Fine! I accept this fight!" declared Qin Qing.
Hearing Qin Qing accept the challenge, a trace of cold smirk flashed in Qin Zhen's eyes; Qin Qing was still too young after all.
"Good!" Qin Zhen quickly responded, "After one stick of incense, at the Martial Arts Ground of the Qin Residence, all members of the Qin Family will come forth to witness this bout!"