Chapter 26: A Small Conflict

“Hey, old man, give me a copy of your Cultivation Method,” Qin Li said as he walked up to the extremely slovenly Old Man Qi, holding out a hand.

“Kid, do you have a death wish…” Ahu called out from behind. Many people in the Hunter’s Guild hall were glancing in their direction.

In the distance, a few elegantly dressed young men were looking at Qin Li with suspicious eyes. One of them frowned and said, “Isn’t that the little bastard? Didn’t he latch onto the Shangguan Family? Why has he come here?”

“Who knows? Anyway, recently this little wild bastard has been stirring up trouble in our Qin Family. Although I never liked the way Qin Feng flaunts his power and acts like he’s the best in the world, he really is the future hope of our Qin Family! He was almost destroyed by this little wild bastard. In comparison, I hate this little wild bastard even more!”

“This little wild bastard isn’t likable, but his mother… hehe!”

The young men all had sleazy smiles on their faces. They were all from the Qin Family’s branch lines. The Qin Family was the top hunting family in Huangsha City, so it was perfectly normal to see them here.

“I say, should we go over and mess with that little wild bastard? It seems he’s very interested in Old Man Qi’s DiviGod-Level Combat Skill!”

“Tch, why bother with him? He’s just a nobody. No need to lower ourselves. Only those two idiots, Qin Feng and Qin Hu, would do something like that.” The speaker deliberately stressed the word “idiots,” and they all laughed again.

“Exactly, ignore him. If he dares to practice Old Man Qi’s Cultivation Method, he’ll be meeting the King of Hell soon enough! Hmph, when that time comes, we can take in his mother for him, haha!”

Their voices were not loud at all; to an outsider, it just seemed like they were whispering. Qin Li was over ten meters away, so they weren’t afraid of him hearing. Moreover, in their minds, even if Qin Li did hear, what could that little wild bastard possibly do to them?

What they didn’t expect was that the Hunter’s Guild’s famous Iron Fist Ahu suddenly had a dark expression on his face and started walking toward them. The Qin Family disciples were stunned. They usually knew each other and would nod when meeting, but Ahu’s strength was evident, and average people weren’t necessarily in his eyes. These Qin Family disciples, relying on their family’s backing, naturally looked down on lone wolves like Ahu. So they couldn’t figure out why Ahu was approaching them.

“Hey, isn’t that Brother Ahu? What brings you here today? Not taking any missions?” one Qin Family disciple, who thought he was on familiar terms with Ahu, asked with a smile.

“You lot, gossiping behind someone’s back, speaking filth, insulting someone’s mother—you’re worse than beasts!” Ahu said in a low voice, his eyes icy as he stared at the Qin Family disciples.

The branch family disciples were frozen in place. First, they didn’t expect anyone to hear them in such a noisy hall. Second, they were genuinely stunned—how could there be such a fool in this world? Was he out of his mind? The Qin Family disciple who had greeted Ahu snapped out of it and his face turned cold. He gave a proud smile. “So what if we said it? What’s it to you? Don’t think that just because you have some reputation in the Hunter’s Guild, you can look down on everyone. Let me tell you, some people… you can’t afford to mess with!”

“Oh, really?”

Ahu smiled too, as if he was very happy. Suddenly, Ahu swung his thick arm and delivered a sharp, heavy slap to the Qin Family disciple’s face, sending him flying several meters away. The disciple’s face immediately swelled up, and when he opened his mouth, he spat out blood along with a tooth.

“Smack!”

Two more slaps sent the other two Qin Family disciples flying far away.

The noisy Hunter’s Guild hall instantly fell silent. Everyone looked at the scene in shock. Most people were familiar with both the attackers and the victims. Although many disliked the Qin Family disciples’ arrogance, they had the backing, and most of those bullied had no choice but to endure it. They didn’t know why these disciples had offended Iron Fist Ahu today. Though worried for Ahu, they also felt a sense of satisfaction.

“Beasts!”

Ahu spat on the ground and walked toward the first young man he had slapped. The young man, with only a pitiful Yellow Rank Six strength, hadn’t even managed to get up before Ahu stepped on him, pinning him to the ground. Ahu sneered, “You scum, aside from using your family name to intimidate others and bully the weak, do you know anything else? Idiots! Remember, if you want revenge, come find me. I’d like to see how your Qin Family mobilizes all its resources to avenge a few shameless dogs!”

Qin Li was initially confused by the scene, not understanding why Ahu had started beating people for no reason. But after hearing Ahu’s words, his face darkened too. Those bastards must have been saying something about him behind his back. He just didn’t know why Ahu had suddenly stepped in.

Old Man Qi acted as if he hadn’t noticed the commotion. He whispered mysteriously to Qin Li, “Young man, you’ve chosen the right thing. Believe me, as long as you enter Phoenix Lake and find the formula for the Tianxuan Elixir, you will definitely become a peerless expert! This is a Paragon Combat Technique!”

Qin Li sneered inwardly: What nonsense Paragon Combat Technique? The key is all in that pill formula. Without the pill, this Cultivation Method is worthless. Phoenix Lake? Phoenix your sister! Go to hell. With my current strength, would I be going there to die?

Seeing through Old Man Qi’s intentions, Qin Li didn’t even think about thanking him. He casually tucked the God-Level Combat Skill into his clothes and walked toward Ahu. After all, hundreds of copies had already been distributed. Probably no one in the Hunter’s Guild was interested in it. No matter if it was called God-Level, Paragon-Level, or even Pangu-Level, no one would fight over it!

Old Man Qi called out loudly from behind, “Hey, kid, if you get anything from the Phoenix Lake Ruins, no matter what it is, I’ll buy it at a high price, a high price… Oh, damn, there are fewer and fewer polite kids these days…”

Qin Li walked to Ahu’s side. The Qin Family disciples were all lying on the ground, moaning in pain. It was clear Ahu had hit them hard.

Qin Li wasn’t a pushover and had no sense of belonging to the Qin Family. He felt nothing about these disciples being beaten. He coldly looked at the pitiful young men on the ground and said calmly, “No backbone! You’re the ones who bring shame to the Qin Family!”

Ahu laughed heartily, “Little brother, I like hearing that! Haha, come on, let’s go get a drink!” Then he called out to a few young people sitting over there, “He Laosan, Yunyan, Leng Yao, and Li Jian… let’s go!”

Those people stood up indifferently, showing no fear at Ahu’s recklessness. Qin Li smiled inwardly. They were truly Jianghu people. It seemed the members of Ahu’s team were also fearless types. Those Qin Family disciples were unlucky to have crossed them. The Qin Family would definitely not break ties with Ahu over such a small matter. Ahu alone wasn’t frightening, but the problem was, behind Ahu stood countless adventurers representing smaller factions!

The larger the family, the more cautiously they had to handle such matters, because one wrong move could provoke public anger!