116: The Qin family is just a mere family, are you qualified to restrain me?

"...My destiny, my glory, my everything... belongs only to my master."

Qin Yubing's cold yet decisive words, like the sharpest blade tempered with ten thousand years of profound ice, word by word, cruelly flayed Ye Fan's Dao Heart, which had just become indestructible due to his "Sword Emperor Rebirth."

All his hopes, all his pride, all the infinite aspirations for the future that he had gained through countless near-death experiences and breaking through to establish himself anew in Burial Sword Valley—at this moment, all of it turned into a complete and utter, the world's biggest joke, under the cruel "backstab" from the "light" he had risked his life to protect.

He stared blankly at the woman who had lowered her noble head to him yet spoken the cruelest words, watching her finally turn and stand silently behind the god-like man in a humble, servant-like posture.

That scene, like the most malicious curse, was deeply branded upon his Soul.

"Pfft—!"

Ye Fan could no longer withstand this devastating blow, originating from the Soul level, powerful enough to utterly destroy everything. A mouthful of hot, rebellious blood mixed with fragments of his Dao Heart spurted out!

His vision went black, and his eyes, once as brilliant as stars and as sharp as a sword's edge, at this moment, completely lost all their luster. His entire being, as if all his bones had been drawn out, fell straight backward. In the second before he lost consciousness, he seemed to hear the sound of his Dao Heart completely shattering.

The ultimate reckoning on the spiritual level was, by this point, complete.

Lin Tian didn't even spare another glance for the "loser" who had collapsed like a defeated dog.

To him, this "leek," which had once grown well and even surprised him a little, had completely lost all meaning after being harvested this last and most crucial time. Perhaps in the future, in some unknown corner, he might encounter another fortuitous event and rise again, but by then, he would have long lost the qualification to chase after Lin Tian's shadow.

Just then, a terrifying pressure, far grander and more unfathomable than any S-rank Peak powerhouse present before, slowly swept out from within the magnificent Taihe Hall, like an invisible tide, warm yet as heavy as a star.

That pressure was neither overbearing nor sharp, yet it carried an absolute suppression belonging to a higher life form, vast as the deep sea and boundless as the starry sky! It seemed to be integrated with the entire Luck of the Huaxia Dragon Veins, and each pulsation carried an supreme imperial prestige, as if ruling the world and controlling the cosmos!

All the Prodigies present, including Marquis Champion Huo Qubing, who had just been so arrogant and was now trampled under Lin Tian's foot, felt a tremor originating from the depths of their Souls under this pressure, as if they were no longer independent life forms, but merely insignificant and powerless subjects beneath this vast imperial might.

SSS-rank, Demigod powerhouse!

Under the awestruck gaze of the crowd, a distinguished middle-aged man, appearing to be around forty to fifty years old, wearing a black Dragon robe embroidered with nine-clawed golden Dragons, with a dignified and naturally imposing face, slowly walked out of the Taihe Hall, step by step.

He was the current highest authority of the Qin Family, Qin Yubing's father, the Head of the Qin Family—Qin Zheng—who only existed in legends, was said to have already touched the threshold of a True God, and was hailed as the "Contemporary Human Emperor"!

He did not look at the defeated, disheveled individuals below the stage, nor did he look at his pale-faced, trembling daughter. His gaze, from the moment he appeared, was like two invisible imperial swords, containing endless majesty and scrutiny, firmly locked onto the young man in the center of the arena, the only one who remained composed and unperturbed under his Demigod Divine Might.

After a long while, he slowly spoke, his voice resonating with the Laws of heaven and earth, like an imperial decree, echoing in everyone's ears.

"The final victor of this 'Martial Arts Tournament of Prodigies' is—the Dragon Family's, Lin Tian."

He paused, then continued in an undeniable tone, as if announcing a predetermined fact: "My Qin Family will fulfill its promise."

"From today onwards, you, Lin Tian, will be my Qin Zheng's son-in-Law, and the future... half-master of the Qin Family."

Boom!

The entire venue erupted in an uproar!

Although this was an anticipated outcome, when these words were personally spoken by the Head of the Qin Family, a Demigod powerhouse, the weight they carried still caused everyone present to feel a shocking scalp-tingling sensation and... jealousy!

A single step to ascend to heaven!

This was truly a single step to ascend to heaven!

From today onwards, Lin Tian would no longer be merely the Dragon Family's "Alpha"; behind him would also stand the entire ancient and unfathomable Qin Family! The alliance of two top aristocratic families would generate enough power to overturn the entire world's pattern!

Countless gazes of envy, jealousy, and awe, like a tide, converged upon Lin Tian.

On the high platform, Qin Yubing's delicate body trembled slightly. She subconsciously raised her head and looked at the man who would decide her future destiny. A complex emotion, which even she could not articulate, flashed in her clear, cold beautiful eyes.

In the Dragon Family's seating area, Elizabeth's hand, which was linked with Lin Tian's arm, subconsciously tightened a bit more. A hint of vigilance and... Battle Intent flashed in her sapphire-like eyes.

However, just when everyone thought this thrilling drama was about to conclude with the Perfection of "new king ascending the throne and marrying the princess"...

The man who was the protagonist spoke a sentence that stunned and overturned the entire world.

"Son-in-Law?"

Lin Tian looked at the extremely majestic Head of the Qin Family on the high platform. Not only was there no trace of ecstatic joy on his face, but instead, a faint, undisguised look of... disdain, as if he had heard a huge joke.

"I have no interest in this identity."

What?!

The entire venue erupted in an uproar again! Everyone stood frozen, as if petrified, wondering if their ears were playing tricks on them!

He... what was he saying?

He actually... refused?!

Refused the identity of becoming the Qin Family's son-in-Law? Refused this supreme honor, a single step to ascend to heaven, that would drive anyone mad?! Was he crazy?!

Qin Zheng, the Head of the Qin Family, whose majestic face had been as unruffled as a ten-thousand-year-old iceberg, instantly turned somewhat unsightly at this moment. For the first time, a trace of genuine astonishment and... displeasure flashed in his unfathomable eyes, deep as the abyss.

As the contemporary "Human Emperor," his golden words were Law. When had he ever been so decisively rejected in public?

Lin Tian, however, seemed completely unaware of the change in the other party's emotions. He looked at Qin Zheng and, with a tone of complete equality, even carrying a subtle hint of condescension, calmly spoke the words that would drive everyone mad, words of extreme arrogance.

"I came here not for your daughter, and certainly not for the support of your Qin Family."

He paused, and in his deep eyes, a trace of absolute disdain, like a god looking down on Mortal authority, flashed.

"A mere Qin Family..."

"...is it worthy of trying to bind me with a marriage alliance?"

Arrogant!

Extremely arrogant! Lawless in his arrogance! So arrogant that it overturned the worldview of everyone present!

"Presumptuous!"

Qin Zheng finally became enraged! A Demigod Divine Might, even more terrifying and solidified than before, wildly brewed within him, like a super volcano about to erupt! As the Head of the Qin Family, as one of the few Demigod Rank existences in the world, when had he ever suffered such a great humiliation?!

However, just as he was about to make a move...

Lin Tian, instead, took the initiative and put forward his true and only... demand.

He no longer looked at Qin Zheng, but slowly raised his head, casting his gaze towards the Forbidden Ground, which stood in the deepest part of the Forbidden City, shrouded year-round by endless Formations and mist, a place even the direct descendants of the Qin Family were not allowed to approach easily.

He pointed in that direction and slowly said, in an undeniable tone, as if giving an order:

"I have no interest in your daughter."

"But I am very interested in the Forbidden Ground that your Qin Family has guarded for generations—"

His voice echoed clearly in everyone's ears, and also in Qin Zheng's pupils, which had slightly contracted in astonishment.

"—the 'Pangu Tomb.'"

"Open it and let me in."

He withdrew his hand and once again fixed his gaze on the Head of the Qin Family, who had already been rendered speechless by his astonishing remarks. A playful, controlling smile curved at the corner of his lips.

"This is the reward I deserve as the 'victor.'"