The Peerless Emperor (TPE)

"The Huaxia Empire is that powerful? Impossible!" The elder with the bulbous nose, after hearing the Eighth Elder's words, was momentarily stunned. Then, his eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at the other man.

It wasn't just the elder of the Carefree Sect who was shocked; within the council hall, the elders of both the Double Extremes Hall and the Blood Spirit Valley were equally surprised by this revelation.

In their minds, the Huaxia Empire shouldn't have had such strength.

Even though the combined forces of the five prefectures weren't enough to pose a threat to the Carefree Sect, they had assumed that the Huaxia Empire wouldn't be able to handle them either.

"What is the actual strength of the Huaxia Empire? How many troops do they have, and how strong is their top combatant?" The elder stared at the Eighth Elder, bombarding him with questions.

The Eighth Elder could only offer a bitter smile and shake his head helplessly. "I don't know."

"You don't know?" The elder's voice rose in disbelief. "Didn't you go there to see what was happening? How could you not know?"

Hearing this, the Eighth Elder's expression grew even more bitter. "Do you think I didn't want to find out? I also wanted to enter the Huaxia Empire and see what was going on, but they wouldn't let us in."

"They wouldn't let you in?" Zhou Yian, sitting in the main seat, frowned deeply. "What do you mean?"

"I originally intended to enter Linhai Prefecture to investigate, but before I could even approach the border, I was intercepted by men clad in azure soft armor who ordered us to leave immediately and retreat to the territory of the five prefectures."

"I tried to explain that I was there to assist them, but the situation was strange. I thought at least they'd let us in to see what was happening. But just as I was preparing to argue, they attacked us."

"When I was about to fight back, a soldier in black dragon silver armor appeared. Although his aura was only at the Heart of Life and Death Realm, his strength was overwhelming. He suppressed me from start to finish. In the end, his power suddenly surged, severely injuring me, and he even seemed ready to kill us all."

"If we hadn't escaped quickly, we wouldn't have made it out alive..."

The Eighth Elder's account left everyone around him stunned and horrified.

That a soldier from the Huaxia Empire could overpower a Carefree Sect elder at the Awakened Realm level was nothing short of terrifying.

"What is going on with the Huaxia Empire? This is simply too unreasonable!" Another elder from the Carefree Sect frowned and voiced his frustration.

Several others nodded in agreement, believing that the Huaxia Empire had gone too far.

After all, the Eighth Elder had gone there out of goodwill, only to be met with hostility?

"Pay the price for your actions? It's already merciful that you weren't killed. And now you dare blame us for being heavy-handed?"

At that moment, Lin Qian suddenly appeared at the entrance of the council hall. He strode inside, his voice cold and unyielding.

Lin Qian's arrival took everyone by surprise, except for the three founders, Fang Shuiwen, Zhou Yian, and Yang Guixiang, who seemed to have anticipated his arrival.

In fact, three days earlier, Lin Qian had already contacted them, and it was they who had invited him to come and discuss the Qin Dynasty situation.

"You..." The Eighth Elder pointed at Lin Qian, ready to speak, but Lin Qian cut him off brusquely.

"You, what? The Huaxia Empire appreciates your attempt to assist, and we have offered ten million medium-grade soul crystals as thanks. Just for running back and forth, you received one hundred thousand high-grade soul crystals—I'd say that's quite a profit, isn't it?"

"But this Eighth Elder demanded one million high-grade soul crystals and even tried to force his way into Linhai Prefecture. When we refused, he attacked us."

"My men refused to comply, and yet he attacked. And now he dares to accuse us? How audacious!"

As Lin Qian spoke, his body erupted with terrifying crimson-gold thunderous soul energy. Without warning, he lifted his leg and kicked at the standing Eighth Elder.

To the others, his kick appeared as a thunderous whip, lashing into the Eighth Elder's abdomen.

Already injured by Zhao Long, the Eighth Elder was far from his peak strength. Moreover, he never expected Lin Qian to strike him here and now. Caught off guard, he was sent flying out of the council hall.

Lin Qian stood tall, his soul energy dispersing as he scanned the room. "Is it wrong to teach a lesson to someone who is greedy, overreaching, and distorts the truth?"

Outside the hall, the Eighth Elder, who had been kicked out, spat blood as he struggled to his feet. Glaring at Lin Qian with resentment, he turned and stormed away.

Unbeknownst to him, as he left, Lin Qian's eyes glinted with satisfaction.

Lin Qian's intention was to make the Eighth Elder despise him, pushing him to plot against him. This would work in Lin Qian's favor.

If the Eighth Elder had been just another sect elder, Lin Qian might have let Zhou Yian handle the matter. But he wanted to gauge Fang Shuiwen, Zhou Yian, and Yang Guixiang's attitudes toward him.

"This matter was indeed the fault of the Eighth Elder," Zhou Yian said after considering the situation. He nodded slowly.

Fang Shuiwen and Yang Guixiang, sitting beside him, also nodded in agreement, indicating that Lin Qian was not at fault.

The council hall fell silent. After hearing Lin Qian's explanation, the others agreed that the Eighth Elder had overstepped.

Lin Qian had already resolved the situation. The Eighth Elder had merely made a pointless trip, contributing nothing of value. Even if Lin Qian had only offered a verbal thanks, it would have been understandable.

Since Lin Qian had gone so far as to offer one hundred thousand high-grade soul crystals as a travel expense, it was more than generous.

But for the Eighth Elder to be so greedy as to demand one million high-grade soul crystals, and then resort to violence when denied—wasn't that outrageous?

Hearing Lin Qian's explanation, the elders of the Carefree Sect turned red with shame. It was embarrassing to have such a colleague.

The fact that the Eighth Elder had not denied Lin Qian's claims and left in silence only confirmed that Lin Qian had been telling the truth.

However, the way the three elders supported Lin Qian still surprised many.

Even though the Eighth Elder had been in the wrong, Lin Qian's men had severely injured him. And now, Lin Qian had kicked the Eighth Elder out of the hall, showing no regard for the three elders' authority. Yet they seemed completely unbothered and sided with him instead.

Given how the three elders had become irritable when Lin Qian was missing and returned to normal upon his return, it was clear where their loyalties lay.

"The two Qin Emperors of the Qin Dynasty will be left to you three seniors," Lin Qian declared. "As for the Qin Dynasty's army, the Huaxia Empire will handle them. Please keep your people from causing any trouble."

Lin Qian's words left everyone in the room stunned, wondering if they had misheard.