Chapter 816: Qin Qin Lian

Inside the hall, as Qin Yi spoke, Chu Qing, whose frame was tall and straight, smiled at her and asked in a gentle voice, "Junior sister, did you enjoy yourself?"

Qin Yi smiled charmingly and said, "Senior brother Chu is the one who should have gone; there were quite a few people there who admire you."

Chu Qing shook his head and said, "I'm ultimately a bit older than you lot. Nowadays, the peers among the Celestial Dragon Guards of Li Li Tianwang's branch are all out on missions. What would I go to that banquet for?"

He himself had already entered the Da Tian Xiang Jing, and in terms of age and such, he belonged to the generation above Qin Yi, Li Li Qingfeng and the others. So, conscious of his standing, he didn't want to go to such an occasion looking for any sense of presence.

He had already made quite a name for himself among the younger generation in Outer Shenzhou, and had even made it onto the Fenghua Record through his own ability. Compared to him, people like Li Li Qingfeng still needed several more years of tempering before they could reach his level. So if he went to that banquet, it would just be bullying the small fry, and he disdained to do such a thing.

At this moment, Qin Qin Lian, seated in the main seat, fixed her gaze on Qin Yi and asked, "You've met all the prodigies of Li Li Tianwang's branch this generation? What did you think?"

Qin Yi pondered briefly and said, "That Li Li Qingfeng is indeed quite capable. If we go by normal reasoning, he should be the leading figure among Li Li Tianwang's branch's prodigies of this generation."

"Compared to you?" Qin Qin Lian nodded and said.

Qin Yi gave a faint smile and said, "Well, I should still have a slight edge, I suppose."

Qin Qin Lian's gaze lowered slightly, fixing on the wine cup before her, and said, "You've met that person, haven't you?"

As she spoke, a hint of coldness crept into Qin Qin Lian's eyes.

Both Qin Yi and Chu Qing could sense the subtle shift in her mood, so neither dared to be careless and immediately straightened their backs.

Qin Yi nodded gently and said in a soft voice, "I did. His name is Li Luo. He's currently at the Great Evil Palace realm, and he carries three phases within him. In terms of innate talent, he's actually quite extraordinary. From what I've seen, if he hadn't been born in the Outer Shenzhou and had stayed in the Dragon Fang Branch all along, he might have already surpassed Li Li Qingfeng by now."

Qin Qin Lian's face turned somewhat icy, and she let out a cold laugh. "After all, he's the seed of Li Taixuan and that wretched woman — how could he possibly be ordinary?"

"Hmph, that wretched woman back then killed my kin, destroyed my marriage, and made me lose face completely. It's a mercy she's no longer in Outer Shenzhou, otherwise I would have made her pay with blood for blood!" Qin Qin Lian slammed her palm onto the table, and the table instantly exploded into a cloud of powder. The space around her kept twisting, and a terrifying wave of searing heat radiated out from within her body.

Qin Yi and Chu Qing exchanged a furtive glance, neither daring to speak.

Over the years, they had come to know that whenever those two people came to mind, Qin Qin Lian would lose her composure in a way that was rare for her.

After venting for a while, Qin Qin Lian took a deep breath. A cold glint flickered in her eyes as she said, "That Li Luo must be extremely irritating to look at as well."

Li Luo's face flashed through Qin Yi's mind, and she actually wanted to say that although the kid was indeed quite annoying, he wasn't bad-looking.

Of course, with Qin Qin Lian in such a foul mood right now, she naturally didn't dare to say anything like that.

"Are you confident you can deal with that Li Luo?" Qin Qin Lian suddenly asked.

Qin Yi hesitated for a moment and said, "He's only at the Great Evil Palace realm, so he really poses no threat. But if we actually make a move against him, the Dragon Fang Branch over there will probably be furious."

Qin Qin Lian said expressionlessly, "That old thing Li Jingzhuo only said the matter ends with the previous generation. But if it's competition among the same generation, what could he possibly say?"

Qin Yi fell silent.

"There's no rush about this matter now. After all, this is still Li Li Tianwang's branch's territory. If there's an opportunity in the future, I hope you'll make that boy pay some price first. I want everyone in Outer Shenzhou to know that my daughter Qin Qin Lian is a hundred times stronger than the son Li Taixuan had with that wretched woman." A murderous glint surfaced in Qin Qin Lian's eyes.

Faced with her mother's resentment, Qin Yi's exquisitely beautiful face remained perfectly calm as she said softly, "Understood."

With the grudges of the previous generation carrying over, she and that Li Luo could never coexist peacefully. Between them, there would inevitably be an extremely fierce clash, one that might even be a matter of life and death.

However, judging from their current respective strengths, Qin Yi hadn't sensed any threat from Li Luo.

If they happened to meet in some setting, then perhaps Li Luo could only blame his bad luck. After all, although this was a grudge from the previous generation, her mother was hardly a broad-minded person. If she didn't crush Li Luo on her side, she would likely face no small amount of punishment.

Qin Qin Lian then said again, "I heard that tomorrow, at the birthday feast of the Dragon Blood Branch's Palm Branch Leader, the 'Mysterious Yellow Dragon Qi Pool' will be opened to assess the younger generation of the five Celestial Dragon Branches."

"According to the intelligence I've obtained, the 'Mysterious Yellow Dragon Qi Pool' was originally supposed to be delayed by another two or three years, but suddenly Li Jingzhuo of the Dragon Fang Branch changed his mind and agreed to open it now. I think he changed his tune for Li Luo."

"Heh, this Li Jingzhuo really dotes on his newly returned grandson, so much so that he's willing to swallow his pride and go back on his previous decision. But does he really think his grandson at the Great Evil Palace realm can claim a Coiling Dragon Pillar?" Qin Qin Lian's face was icy.

"What does Mother intend to do?" Qin Yi asked.

Qin Qin Lian let out a cold laugh and said, "Tomorrow I plan to arrange for you to take part in this contest for the 'Mysterious Yellow Dragon Qi Pool' as well."

Qin Yi said, somewhat surprised, "This is an opportunity belonging to Li Li Tianwang's branch; outsiders have no right to participate."

"The Palm Branch Leader of the Dragon Blood Branch has always wanted to ease the old tensions between us and Qin Li Tianwang's branch. Such a small matter, he certainly won't refuse. And if it's a contest among the younger generation, and Li Li Tianwang's branch doesn't even dare to accept, wouldn't that just make the other guests laugh?" Qin Qin Lian said calmly.

Qin Yi said thoughtfully, "No wonder Mother brought the 'Fire Lotus Battalion' along this time."

Qin Li Tianwang's branch had Ershisandian, with one battalion assigned to each hall — a system roughly equivalent to the twenty banners of the five Celestial Dragon Branches. And this 'Fire Lotus Battalion' was a guard unit under Qin Yi's command.

And the 'Fire Lotus Battalion' under Qin Yi's command was the foremost among the twenty-three halls of Qin Li Tianwang's branch this generation, its fighting strength extraordinary.

"If you get the chance to take the field tomorrow, then on behalf of Qin Li Tianwang's branch, go ahead and weigh the caliber of Li Li Tianwang's branch's young prodigies of this generation."

Qin Qin Lian said calmly, "Remember, hold nothing back. If Li Li Tianwang's branch can't hold onto their face, that's their own incompetence — they have no one to blame but themselves."

Qin Yi's gaze flickered slightly. She understood that even after all these years, Qin Qin Lian still harbored resentment toward Li Li Tianwang's branch, and now intended to use the pretext of a contest among the younger generation to vent a little of that frustration.

Qin Qin Lian stared at Qin Yi's exquisitely beautiful, jade-white cheeks and said, "Most importantly, I need you to keep an eye on that Li Luo for me. Of the six Coiling Dragon Pillars in the Mysterious Yellow Dragon Qi Pool, I want him to get not a single one."

"When he fails, I'll see just how unpleasant that old fellow Li Jingzhuo's expression gets."

Qin Yi pondered briefly and said, "The Qingming Banner led by Li Luo seems to be only mid-tier among the twenty banners. Even if your daughter doesn't make a move, he would probably still struggle to claim a single Coiling Dragon Pillar."

"Best if he can't claim any." Qin Qin Lian let out a cold laugh.

Afterward, she spoke a few more words with Qin Yi, then waved her hand, dismissing the two of them.

As Qin Yi and Chu Qing withdrew from the room, Qin Qin Lian's expression grew increasingly deep and unfathomable. She murmured softly, "Li Taixuan, Dantai Lan, back then in the Faceless Holy Sect, what exactly did you take from that sacred altar?"

"Is that thing in your hands, or on this Li Luo?"

(End of this chapter)