Opportunities, in the end, are missed.

"He truly is persistent!"

Wang Zhengyuan hurriedly bowed to Wang Yunshan, not even bothering to ask about the Old Ancestor's Soul-shaken expression.

He irritably gathered a group of experts from among his subordinates and was about to charge out aggressively.

"Stop!"

Wang Yunshan was jolted awake by the commotion. His eyes widened as he shouted for Wang Zhengyuan to stop.

"What's going on?"

Wang Yunshan, the Wang Family Old Ancestor, rubbed the space between his eyebrows.

At this moment, he actually intended to call Wang Qianliu over to ask for more details about Ye Qing.

But when he swept his Divine Sense just now, he found no trace of Wang Qianliu.

So, after stopping Wang Zhengyuan, the Old Ancestor asked casually:

"Where is that girl Qianliu?"

"And by the way, why has that boy Zhao Di disappeared as well?"

"Furthermore..."

He looked at Wang Zhengyuan's murderous appearance and frowned slightly:

"What are you doing, acting so rushed and causing such a chaotic ruckus?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Zhengyuan immediately reported with a face full of indignation:

"Reporting to Old Ancestor!"

"Qianliu and Zhao Di are out shopping in the city."

"However, Zhao Di just sent a message saying that the fraud Ye Qing... has actually returned!"

"And he's even pestering Qianliu!"

Wang Zhengyuan reached this point and...

Gnashed his teeth:

"This brat is simply audacious! He's gone too far!"

"I plan to take men there right now and give that fraud a severe lesson!"

"I'll let him know that my Wang Family is not to be trifled with!"

..."What?!"

"Ye... Ye Qing?!"

Hearing that name...

Wang Yunshan's whole body shook as if struck by lightning!

He nearly jumped out of his chair!

"Who... Who did you say?"

"Ye Qing is here?!"

The Wang Family Old Ancestor was now terrified, his face turning pale instantly.

The ruthless man who, not long ago, had wiped out the top-tier Primeval Qin Clan with a single sword and even slain the Qin Family Supreme Ancestor... had actually returned to Qianshan City?!

And... what did this brat Wang Zhengyuan just say?

This fool who didn't know the meaning of death actually said he wanted to take people to teach him a lesson?!

"Crazy! This is madness!"

Wang Yunshan's heart was trembling.

One must know, Ye Qing once lived in the Wang Residence!

This meant that an incredibly precious Opportunity—one that could have allowed the Wang Family to soar to the heavens—had once been placed right before him!

But not only did he fail to grasp it, he had essentially driven the man away with his own hands!

Failing to seize the Opportunity was one thing; that was fate.

But now... if he let this fool Wang Zhengyuan rush over and offend the man to death... wouldn't the Wang Family... follow in the footsteps of the Qin Family?!

Would the Wang Residence also become a giant crater in the future?

Hiss!

Thinking of this...

Wang Yunshan was so scared his Soul was Flying Away and Spirit Scattering.

Looking at Wang Zhengyuan, who was still chattering away and planning how to teach Ye Qing an unforgettable lesson...

The Wang Old Ancestor was now shaking with rage, his finger pointing at him tremulously.

Using every ounce of his strength, he let out a roar:

"You... You, you, you..."

"You beast!!!"

"Shut your mouth this instant!!!"

Suddenly rebuked by the Old Ancestor, Wang Zhengyuan was completely stunned.

He stared blankly at the usually calm and composed Old Ancestor, who was now flushed as if his backside were on fire.

His face was filled with a kind of terror and urgency that Wang Zhengyuan had never seen before.

"Old Ancestor, you, what is this..."

Before he could finish his sentence...

Wang Yunshan, the Wang Family Old Ancestor, no longer had time to explain anything.

He gave Wang Zhengyuan a fierce glare.

Then...

Boom!

A powerful Aura belonging to the Ninth Layer of Soul Transformation Stage Peak soared into the sky!

Wang Yunshan's figure flickered, transforming into a streak of light.

At his fastest speed ever, he rushed out of the Wang Residence and sped through the air above Qianshan City!

At the same time...

His massive Divine Sense spread out like a tide, scanning the entire Qianshan City, frantically searching for the locations of Zhao Di and Wang Qianliu.

"Faster! Faster!"

Wang Yunshan screamed inwardly, cold sweat already soaking his back.

He was afraid!

He was truly terrified at this moment!

He feared that if he was even a step too late, that Zhao Di would provoke Ye Qing and bring an unbearable, heavenly disaster upon the Wang Family!

The cautionary tale of the Qin Family was still fresh in his mind!

...Meanwhile.

On the streets of Qianshan City.

The atmosphere was frozen, swords drawn and bows bent.

Zhao Di looked at the Storage Pouch lying in his hand and then at Ye Qing, who remained consistently calm and indifferent.

Furthermore, he always felt as if Ye Qing were looking at him like he was an idiot.

The fury in his heart was instantly ignited!

"What?"

"Not talking?"

"Think it's too little? Or do you look down on me?"

A trace of malice flashed in Zhao Di's eyes.

He was born into a quasi-first-rate Family; in his view, he was someone of status and position.

He had spoken so politely...

Yet this Ye Qing was actually so "ungrateful." The impatience and annoyance in his heart immediately surged up.

"Good brat!"

"Since you refuse the easy way and insist on the hard way!"

"Then today, I'll let you know the height of the heavens and the depth of the earth!"

Before his voice had even faded...

Zhao Di's Aura erupted. The pressure of a Spirit Transformation First Layer Cultivator instantly swept out, scaring the surrounding pedestrians into a terrified retreat.

"Get down on the ground!"

He roared and raised his right hand.

He condensed a giant hand of spiritual power, accompanied by a whistling gale...

And prepared to strike down fiercely toward Ye Qing!

At this moment, Zhao Di was full of confidence.

After all, in his eyes, he was a Soul Transformation Stage expert, while the fraud across from him only had a Nascent Soul cultivation.

This one palm strike would be enough to suppress him!

However...

Facing this heavy and powerful blow...

Ye Qing didn't even lift an eyelid.

He also couldn't be bothered to waste time here.

Therefore...

*Swish.*

Ye Qing merely used his gaze to casually sweep over Zhao Di.

Just a single glance.

There were no spiritual power fluctuations, nor any Divine Ability or techniques.

But the sliver of terrifying Divine Soul pressure belonging to a powerhouse contained within it was like an invisible sledgehammer...

Slamming into Zhao Di's Divine Soul!

"Boom!!!"

Zhao Di only felt a violent explosion in his mind, as if someone had struck him fiercely with a massive hammer!

His original movement instantly froze mid-air.

Immediately following...

*Pfft!*

Two lines of blood flowed down from his nostrils, followed by his eyes, ears, and the corners of his mouth... bleeding from all seven orifices!

"Ah..."

Zhao Di let out a short, agonized scream.

Then his eyes glazed over, and his whole body went limp as if his bones had been removed.

With a thud, he slumped onto the ground.

His gaze was now scattered, his face deathly pale, and his body was trembling violently beyond control.

It was as if his body...

Had keenly sensed something extremely terrifying... while Ye Qing simply shook his head.

He turned directly and walked away.

It wasn't until Ye Qing's figure completely disappeared at the end of the street...

That Wang Qianliu finally snapped back to her senses.

She looked at Zhao Di, who was sitting on the ground with a dull gaze, looking as if his Soul had been lost, and let out a helpless sigh.

"Sigh..."

"Young Master Zhao, I told you long ago."

"Senior Ye is very powerful. I personally saw him stare a frenzied Soul Transformation Yao Beast to death with a single glance..."

"But no matter what I said, why did none of you believe me?"

"Now... do you believe it?"

However...

At this moment, Zhao Di couldn't hear what Wang Qianliu was saying at all.

His ears were buzzing, his mind was a mess of Chaos, and only that terrifying gaze remained, replaying constantly.

In that moment just now...

He had truly felt the scent of death!

That shuddering fear from the depths of his Soul...

Was a feeling he had never experienced before.

Today, he experienced for the first time what true terror was!

"It seems... this Ye Qing really isn't a fraud..."

"I... I seem to have kicked a steel plate..."

The thought surfaced in Zhao Di's mind.

And just then...

*Swish!*

A powerful Aura descended from the sky, landing in the area and kicking up a cloud of dust.

It was the Wang Family Old Ancestor, Wang Yunshan, who had rushed over in a panic!

He didn't care about his image. His Divine Sense instantly swept the area, and seeing Zhao Di slumped on the ground, his heart skipped a beat.

"This!"

Could he have arrived too late?

He didn't see Ye Qing and didn't understand what had happened, which made him even more frantic.

He immediately asked urgently:

"Qianliu! Where is that Ye Qing... Senior Ye?!"

While speaking, Wang Yunshan also grabbed Wang Qianliu's shoulder.

His eyes were fixed on Wang Qianliu.

Wang Qianliu was startled by her grandfather's appearance and hesitated.

She thought her grandfather had come to find trouble with Ye Qing, so she hemmed and hawed, not daring to speak.

And before she could open her mouth...

*Swish!*

Another sound of breaking wind.

Wang Zhengyuan arrived with a large group of Wang Family experts.

Seeing this, Wang Qianliu was even more convinced they were there to find trouble with Ye Qing.

But before she could explain...

Immediately after...

*Hum!*

Space suddenly rippled violently.

A blinding white light flashed.

Then, a middle-aged man wearing brocade robes and possessing an extraordinary majesty appeared out of thin air before everyone!

This person was Zhao Di's father, the head of the quasi-first-rate Zhao Family, a First Layer Void Returning Great Cultivator—Zhao Tianba!

To save time, he had actually used an incredibly precious 'Positioning Shift Talisman'!

"This..."

Wang Qianliu was completely bewildered by the sight.

"Why has Patriarch Zhao come as well?"

"Is this necessary? Even if Zhao Di suffered a loss, surely there's no need to use such a trump card to rush here?"

"Is he going to personally take action to avenge Zhao Di?"

Isn't this a bit too much doting?

Meanwhile, the moment Zhao Di saw his father appear, a spark of life finally returned to his scattered gaze.

"Father!"

It was as if he had seen a savior.

He struggled to crawl up, his face full of grievance.

Crying out, he tried to dive into Zhao Tianba's embrace:

"Father! You're finally here!"

"Your son was bullied! That bastard, he..."

*Slap!!!*

But!

What greeted Zhao Di was not a warm embrace...

But a crisp sound of a slap!

This slap instantly cut off Zhao Di's tearful complaint.

Zhao Di clutched his rapidly swelling face, blinked his eyes, and stood there, completely stunned by the blow.

He stared blankly at his father, who was glaring at him.

His head was buzzing.

"Father...?"

"Are... are you really my father?"

"Your son was bullied, and instead of helping me get revenge, why did you hit me?"

"Hit you?"

Zhao Tianba was shaking with rage as he pointed at Zhao Di and roared:

"I wish I could beat you to death, you rebellious son!"

"If Brother Wang hadn't messaged me in time, I wouldn't have known what kind of catastrophic disaster you were trying to cause for me out here!"

"Do you know who that was?!"

"How dare you! How could you dare to offend Senior Ye Qing?!"

"Do you want our entire Zhao Clan to be exterminated?!"

Zhao Tianba grew angrier as he spoke and backhanded him with another fierce slap!

*Slap!*

Zhao Di was slapped so hard he spun twice on the spot, his face swelling up like a pig's head.

But the shock in his heart was ten thousand times stronger than the pain on his face.

"Se... Senior Ye Qing?"

"Extermination?"

He looked at his father in disbelief.

He trembled as he said:

"Father... have you been possessed?"

"That Ye Qing might have some strength, but... there's no way he can compare to our quasi-first-rate Family, right?"

"Our Family has a Void Returning powerhouse!"

"Quasi-first-rate Family?"

Zhao Tianba let out a cold sneer.

His eyes were full of terror, his tone reverent:

"You idiot!"

"Do you know that not long ago, a top-tier Family of the Central Region—the Primeval Qin Clan..."

"Was completely wiped out by that Senior Ye Qing, alone with a single sword!"

"Even their Supreme Ancestor was slain!"

"The Primeval Qin Clan couldn't even block one of his sword strikes. Our Zhao Family, this tiny quasi-first-rate Family, in front of Senior Ye Qing..."

"Doesn't even count as a fart!"

..."Boom!"

As soon as these words were spoken...

Zhao Di felt as if he had been struck by five bolts of lightning; he was completely catatonic.

The Primeval Qin Clan... wiped out?

By Ye Qing... alone?

Beside them, Wang Zhengyuan, who hadn't understood the situation but had been listening intently, also shuddered as realization dawned on him.

He thought to himself:

"No wonder..."

"No wonder our Old Ancestor has looked so Soul-shaken since returning from Qin City."

"No wonder the Old Ancestor was so anxious before and even lost his temper with me."

"So... that Ye Qing not only isn't a fraud, but he's actually such a terrifying, peerless expert?!"

"Heavens! What have I been doing?!"

Wang Zhengyuan broke into a cold sweat, feeling a wave of lingering fear.

He had almost, just almost, buried the entire Wang Family!

Beside him, Wang Qianliu's heart was swaying, her beautiful eyes filled with shock and complexity.

Although she had always believed Ye Qing was strong, she hadn't expected... he was strong to this extent!

Wiping out a top-tier Family alone!

What kind of elegance was that?

What kind of domineering majesty?

Within the crowd...

Wang Yunshan, the Wang Family Old Ancestor, let out a soft sigh in his heart after hearing Zhao Tianba's words.

After arriving, he had immediately scanned the surroundings.

But he did not find any trace of Ye Qing.

At that moment...

He felt both a sense of relief that Ye Qing wasn't present and hadn't started a massacre...

And a deep sense of loss and regret.

"Ultimately... it was missed."

He thought that if he had befriended Ye Qing properly while he lived in the Wang Residence...

Or if Ye Qing were present now...

And he had tried to build a rapport and close the distance between them...

Perhaps... from then on, the fate of the Wang Family would have been rewritten.

Maybe they would have been promoted to a first-rate Family, or even... higher?

Unfortunately...

In this world, there is ultimately no medicine for regret... Meanwhile.

After leaving Qianshan City, Ye Qing did not go far.

He casually found an inn to stay in and waited quietly.

However...

He waited for a full seven days.

He still did not perceive Lin Xueer's Aura within Qianshan City.

"Strange."

Ye Qing frowned slightly.

"Could something have happened on the road?"

Then, with a thought, Ye Qing opened the System panel and checked his disciple's status.

He saw that behind Lin Xueer's name, there was no indication of any danger; instead, there were three shimmering golden characters—

[Within Opportunity]