Chapter 91: Breaking the Tranquility

"So you are Lu Fan; Nalan indeed was not mistaken. The Bright Moon Empire has been peaceful for years, and now you will break it!"

Ke Da Shi stared for a long while, finally nodded as if confirming Lu Fan's identity. Then he shook his head, a bitter smile on his face.

"Nalan?" Lu Fan's expression froze, then he gave a strange glance at the two beside him, Zu Qing Tan, and asked in doubt, "Is she the girl who practices incantation magic?"

At the palace banquet that day, the royal Alchemy Master Corps leader Huang Haiming was accompanied by a masked woman, who was then called Miss Nalan.

"That's right, it's her!" Zhao Zu and his companion both nodded, then gave Ke Da Shi a strange look, about to speak but stopped.

Lu Fan frowned at their behavior, his instincts sensing something, and immediately stared at Ke Da Shi, pressing, "You just said the Bright Moon Empire's peace is broken because of me? Where does that come from?"

He is indeed a clever man; Ke Da Shi's complex gaze clearly recalled events from long ago that also involve him.

Ke Da Shi's eyes grew clouded, as if sunk back into the past, offering no answer to Lu Fan. Qin Zhen, standing aside, was stunned, unable to grasp the scene, shook his head with effort and exclaimed at Lu Fan.

"So you're Lu Guhong's worthless son. The Bright Moon Empire has been a laughingstock for years, and you dare to learn to spread doctrine and solve doubts. You truly don't know your place; after today, the Lu family may become a complete joke."

He wore a disdainful sneer, yet his brows were heavy with seriousness, not a hint of ease. To earn Zhao Zu's attention, and even Ke Da Shi's treatment, he could not be regarded as an ordinary youth.

But he still has an ace up his sleeve; today's events, with Ke Da Shi they are a flourish, without him it's fine. He is absolutely confident, not only to ruin the Rune Cultivation Guild, but also to doom the Lu family to endless calamity.

"Hmph! You even dare utter my father's name; do you truly think Lu Fan wouldn't kill you?" Lu Fan snorted coldly, his face icy.

Lu Guhong is the biological father of this body; though Lu Fan has never met him, the deceased Lu Fan never harbored resentment toward him, and having accepted and acknowledged his identity, he cannot tolerate such insult.

He narrowed his eyes, his aura reaching its peak. Though his cultivation is only that of a martial master, his aura blazed brilliantly, and a faint, barely perceptible energy lingered in the air, enveloping him.

It was that faint energy that made Qin Zhen tremble all over, as if a peerless beast were staring at him. As the Martial King, he showed a cowardly sentiment toward a mere martial master.

"You… you have such nerve. Lu Guhong is before me, yet you dare speak like that!"

He forced a breath, gritted his teeth, and said. Lu Guhong and he are of the same generation; though the two families are at odds, they are both upper families of the Bright Moon Empire, and verbal sparring is common, but never this openly hostile.

"Heh, he wouldn't speak that way. It's not that he dares not; it's that you are unworthy!" Lu Fan sneered, a flash of ferocity in his eyes, and said to Zhao Zu and his companion, "Both of you strike together, take him down. At today's Doctrine Transmission Conference, let this man become a martyr."

His cold words were like nine‑sky chill. Everyone around shivered, but the more terrified were the two lofty presidents of the Rune Cultivation Guild, who, upon hearing Lu Fan's command, acted without hesitation, striking in horror.

Condensed spiritual power instantly turned into a vortex, surging outward, enveloping Qin Zhen.

"You dare—do you truly intend to tear the Qin family's face off?" Qin Zhen's face turned pale, his whole body trembling wildly. Yet Zhao Zu and his companion ignored him, and in the blink of an eye the spiritual vortex already swirled toward them.

"Brother Sun, Brother Wang, if the three of us act together, we must not tarnish the prestige of our three great families!"

He turned to the two beside him, saying, "If we don't speak, it's fine," but the three stood side by side, a stance of confronting a strong enemy. Upon hearing this, Sun and Wang instantly recovered, retreating together.

The situation had already spiraled out of control. Clearly the Rune Cultivation Guild held the advantage; perhaps earlier scheming had lost hope, and no one would share life and death with Qin Zhen.

"Brother Qin, we are merely here to watch the spectacle; do as you wish, any matter is none of our concern!"

Everyone around wore contemptuous looks; the heads of the Sun and Wang families were shameless, fleeing at the last moment, truly disgraceful.

Yet more were truly spectators; Qin Zhen clearly had long‑planned, unlikely to be as simple as this mishap.

Qin Zhen hadn't expected this scene, but he had another trump, glowering at Sun and Wang before sweeping his large sleeve forward, striking ahead.

"Bang!"

Another resonant blast rang out, yet Qin Zhen was prepared; instead of resisting forcefully, he used the massive thrust from the spiritual vortex to glide backward.

Lu Fan snorted coldly, swung his large hand, a ray of sunrise light striking, "Alchemical Refinement Crystal Furnace, suppress it for me!"

He didn't wait for Zhao Zu and his companion to act again; he intervened personally.

In an instant, the Alchemical Refinement Crystal Furnace swelled dozens of times, unleashing an endless wave of energy. Shadows around retreated in unison, and some weaker ones were swept by the wave, stumbling to the ground.

Qin Zhen's face turned terrified, not because of the fourth‑tier mysterious artifact—the Alchemical Refinement Crystal Furnace—that barreled forward, but due to the barely perceptible energy in the void. In an instant it amplified countlessfold, instantly suppressing him, rendering him immobile.

"Damn it! I am the head of the Qin family; how could I be taken down by a junior like you!"

He bit his tongue hard, blood spattering his mouth, and a surge of malice erupted, instantly breaking free from the surrounding pressure and returning to normal.

The Martial King's bearing recovered in an instant; moments before he had been outmatched by the joint effort of two Grand Rune Masters. Lu Fan, a third‑tier martial master, was nothing in his eyes. Even with a fourth‑tier mysterious artifact, the proud Qin family head would not lack it.

"Hmph! Little brat, you've bounced enough; today I'll send you to the Western Heaven!"

He neither dodged nor evaded, charging straight at him. Without that restraining aura, Lu Fan was just a kid in his eyes, easy to take down in a heartbeat.

"Snap!"

He struck the Alchemical Refinement Crystal Furnace with a palm, clearly using deft force; a twist sent the furnace moving, charging toward a crowd.

"Hmph! Kid, you wreak havoc in broad daylight; your Lu family is beyond the rule of law, truly a scum among our clans."

Qin Zhen gave Lu Fan a sly grin and a glance. The furnace's might was considerable; being pulled toward that crowd would surely cause casualties, and the blame would naturally fall on Lu Fan.

Zhao Zu and his companion's faces changed dramatically; today was the Doctrine Transmission Conference, and if a death occurred, Lu Fan, as a transmitter, would tarnish his reputation. Moreover, being so young, even with extraordinary methods, others might not accept him, bringing only disaster.

The onlookers there began to understand, their gazes at Qin Zhen tinged with awe and fear. Truly the head of a great family; moments ago he was a mess, now he turned the tide instantly, leaving everyone amazed.

"Oh? Is that so? Anyway, the dead are inconsequential; I'll take this disaster upon myself!"

Lu Fan gave a faint smile, waved his large hand lightly, and the furnace showed no sign of stopping; instead its speed increased several folds, about to crash into the crowd.

At that moment, a mysterious light rose, and a hazy dozen silhouettes materialized. Each looked listless, and among them a young man, mustering spirit, shouted:

"Father, save me!"

Qin Zhen didn't have time to discern their shapes, but the cry was unmistakable—it was his son Qin Feng. The other had gone to a treasure site to open a vault; how did he suddenly appear here?

He had no time to think; even his striking hand hadn't retracted when his body leaned forward, lunging toward the furnace.

Everyone's faces turned pale; how could such multiple silhouettes appear in the empty void? Clearly it was a hidden‑space technique—how could a third‑tier martial master learn that?

Putting that aside, those silhouettes were odd; sharp‑eyed warriors discerned their origins—they were the Qin family's guard masters. And the leading youth was none other than Qin Zhen's only son, Qin Feng.

"How is he here? Now we have a good show; Qin Zhen, that troublemaker, has brought the disaster onto himself, truly getting his just deserts."

"Hmph! These great families use their power to bully, trying to make us take the blame; now they have brought this upon themselves!"

The crowd wore mocking expressions, a disdainful air. Though the furnace's blast hadn't targeted them, they still disapproved of Qin Zhen's conduct. His clash with Lu Fan and the Rune Cultivation Guild was like fire and water, but it concerned no one else.

"Stop it!"

Amid the murmurs, Qin Zhen vaulted upward, swung another palm from above, instantly suppressing the Alchemical Refinement Crystal Furnace.

"Boom!"

A thunderous blast rang out, the momentum rolling outward, the surrounding void trembling, air currents churning.

The refining crystal furnace suddenly halted, as if about to be cut off. Yet at that moment, Lu Fan let out a cold laugh and casually scattered a seal formula.

In the next instant, the furnace's momentum surged again, shooting upward. In front, Qin Feng and the others fell soft and limp onto the ground, unable even to shift their bodies.

Qin Zhen's face turned pale with shock; he clearly felt that the supreme momentum of his strike was absorbed by the furnace before him, its power swelling, and it broke through the air once more.

"Ah!"

He roared loudly; as the Martial King, his true strength suddenly surged to its peak, his form flickering as if teleporting, he pursued upward and immediately swung his fists fiercely.

"Dong dong dong!"

Deep, muffled booms erupted like massive drums; people around turned pale with shock, covering their ears, their faces contorted in pain. Some weaker ones even felt blood seep from their seven orifices.

Qin Zhen's expression grew even more feral; he had already unleashed his utmost strength, even covertly activating his family's secret technique. Yet the crystal furnace before him kept turning without pause; with each of his strikes, after a brief pause it instantly regained power and pressed down on Qin Feng and the others.

Zhao Zu and his companion, as well as Ke Da Shi, were stunned. They had not expected a fourth‑tier mysterious artifact in Lu Fan's hands to wield such might, even forcing the Kaiyuan realm Martial King into such a sorry state—it was truly shocking.

Especially Ke Da Shi was left speechless with horror. Though the opponent practiced both talisman and martial cultivation, he was only at the third tier; how could he leap across two major realms and force the Kaiyuan realm Martial King into this condition?

A chilling might rode an endless surge of Qi, descending to suppress; the martial masters' faces turned fearful, their bodies trembling, a few even cried out for their parents. As for Qin Feng, he could not bear it, his face turned deathly pale, lips trembling, and with great effort he managed to roar out a line.

"Father, avenge me!"

Qin Zhen was stunned by the words; his own palm strike had inadvertently caused his only son to harbor a death wish—it was unbearably ironic.

"No! Absolutely not! Feng, you are the pride of the Qin family, a core disciple of the Yinsha Sect, you must not die here!"

He shook his head hard, the crushing swing in his hand halted abruptly, then he leapt with lightning speed, actually soaring over the crystal furnace. He steadied his form, fists pounding like a mountain, anchoring himself on the spot.

"Bang!"

The crystal furnace struck Qin Zhen's back, unleashing an endless wave of Qi; wind blades sliced, and the entire void instantly became chaotic.