A Chaotic World

Chapter 372: Lieutenant Qingquan

Grandmaster Tiequan silently looked at the sword in his hands, focusing on the numerous tiny cracks that had formed along the edge of the blade.

His face remained stoic, not revealing any of his thoughts. After a while, he quietly stowed the sword away.

He glanced over at Fairy Pingxi who was seated not far away from him, and he could see that her brows were knitted.

That's right.

Just like him, she had to be trying to resolve her inner dilemma right now.

Yet even though he said that, neither of them had left when they were given the chance to.

Perhaps subconsciously, they had already made the same decision.

Grandmaster Tiequan finally shifted his gaze away from Fairy Pingxi, turning his attention to the young man seated across the room the owner of Sky Snow Manor.

From the very moment he entered, this young man had maintained the same confident look on his face.

Earlier, Grandmaster Tiequan had treated this as dumb arrogance.

But now, he was no longer certain.

At this point, a certain thought flashed across his mind.

After staying at the peak for decades, he had already gotten used to the compliments and bootlicking of others.

Could it be that because of all that, he had inevitably become blind to the strengths of the young generation?

***

"Lieutenant Qingquan is here!" Ningxi announced at the top of her voice before pushing the door open.

The next moment, a man who looked to be in fifties stepped through the door and entered the front hall.

"Where is Lu Tianzi?!" the man bellowed the moment he entered, not even bothering to take a look around him first.

He was dressed in a luxurious looking long robe and had his hands clasped behind his back. Without warning, a domineering pressure exploded from him as he sought to exert his dominance the moment he entered.

As a Ninth Cycle Origin Core realm martial artist, Lieutenant Qingquan's Origin Force pressure was no trifling matter.

The moment he released his Origin Force pressure, everyone in the front hall felt as though they were being hammered to the ground, and even their best efforts to alleviate this pressure was of little use.

Thankfully, that only lasted a single moment.

"Lieutenant Qingquan, aren't you worried that you will scare the kids this way?" a calm voice floated over from the side.

Along with these words, everyone present instantly felt the pressure being lifted off of them, as though it had been nothing but an illusion.

"Hmm?" Lieutenant Qingquan looked over in surprise. He never thought that there would be someone in Sky Snow Manor capable of neutralising his efforts.

But when he saw who it was, his heart almost skipped a beat in shock.

"Grandmaster Tiequan? You are here as well?" Lieutenant Qingquan hurriedly clasped his fists in greeting. "My apologies, I didn't know that you are a guest here. Am I interrupting something?"

How unlucky!

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For whatever reason, there was actually an Overlord realm powerhouse present, and one who was a Grandmaster Artificer at that!

As he greeted Grandmaster Tiequan, Lieutenant Qingquan took a quick scan of the others in the front hall.

He was worried that apart from Grandmaster Tiequan, there could be other big shots present as well.

Thankfully, he found no one familiar.

Not just that, but if he excluded Grandmaster Tiequan, there was only one person at the Seventh Cycle Origin Core realm. As for the others, the strongests were only at the Third Cycle Origin Core realm.

In other words, they were all insignificant characters.

Even for the one at the Seventh Cycle Origin Core realm, it would only take him a single pinch of his fingers if he wanted to get rid of the other party.

After all, at the Origin Core realm, even the difference of a single boundary was not that easy to breach, not to mention two full boundaries!

This meant that as long as he took care not to offend Grandmaster Tiequan, he could basically do whatever he wanted here.

His top priority confirm Grandmaster Tiequan's stand.

Was he here to support Sky Snow Manor, or was he here for another matter altogether?

Before he was able to determine that, he would have to refrain from doing anything reckless!

In light of that, Lieutenant Qingquan immediately stopped retracted his Origin Force pressure. Though with Grandmaster Tiequan around, his efforts had been rendered completely useless anyway.

"Don't worry, Senior. You aren't interrupting anything important," Lu Tianzi said while gesturing to another seat in the front hall. "Please take a seat. Would you like to have some tea?"

Lieutenant Qingquan involuntarily frowned.

Judging from the way they were seated, it was obvious that Lu Tianzi and Nanlan Qianxue were the hosts, while the rest of them were guests.

Because of that, he was able to instantly determine the identity of Lu Tianzi.

The owner of Sky Lord Manor, and also the one responsible for throwing out the three members of the Sacred Cliff City Guards.

Looking at Lu Tianzi, what came to his mind first was not the countless matters that Squad Leader Lingmu had complained to him about.

Instead, Lieutenant Qingquan's interest was drawn by Lu Tianzi's absolute composure.

He was completely fine?

Even though it had only been for a moment, a Third Cycle Origin Core realm martial artist should have been absolutely suffocated by the pressure he exuded earlier.

As proof of that, the other lady who was similarly at the Third Cycle origin Core realm had an ugly expression on her face, obviously having strained herself to withstand the earlier pressure.

But how could Lu Tianzi look this relaxed?

A defensive treasure?

No, that's not it either.

Lieutenant Qingquan had felt no energy fluctuation that even remotely resembled the activation of a defensive treasure.

But if that's the case, then how?

Lieutenant Qingquan was confused, but he did not want to make it too obvious.

"I'm fine, there's no need for tea. I'm just paying a random visit anyway. If you guys are in the midst of something important, I can just come again next time," Lieutenant Qingquan politely declined.

Despite Lu Tianzi having invited him to take a seat, he chose to remain standing instead.

It was his subtle way of letting Grandmaster Tiequan know that he was not on good terms with Sky Snow Manor, wanting to test Grandmaster Tiequan's reaction.

"Let me know if you feel thirsty later then. I will get Housekeeper Changyu to fetch you some tea," Lu Tianzi said before turning towards Grandmaster Tiequan and Fairy Pingxi with a smile. "Seniors, shall we continue our conversation then?"

"Y-You guys can continue!" Fairy Pingxi snapped breathlessly.

She was still recovering from the sudden assault of Lieutenant Qingquan's Origin Force pressure earlier, and was not really in the mood to talk.

Lu Tianzi turned towards Grandmaster Tiequan, but said nothing.

Grandmaster Tiequan let out a helpless sigh before speaking. "Since the Sacred Lotus Treasury has already contracted Sky Snow Manor as an affiliated inscription service provider, I no longer have doubts about your ability. In the future, I might need Sky Snow Manor to help with some inscriptions for the equipment forged by either myself or my disciples as well. I hope that Sky Snow Manor will not turn us down when that happens."

"Sky Snow Manor will always welcome Senior," Lu Tianzi clasped his fists towards Grandmaster Tiequan with a smile.

He could tell that Grandmaster Tiequan had deliberately phrased it in such a manner for Lieutenant Qingquan's ears.

With this, Grandmaster Tiequan had expressed his support for Sky Snow Manor, but also pushed the responsibility to Sacred Lotus Treasury, explicitly stating that they were the first one to have supported Sky Snow Manor.

As expected, Lieutenant Qingquan's ears perked up immediately.

Despite the current situation, the Sacred Lotus Treasury had still chosen to back Sky Snow Manor?

Not just them, but now Grandmaster Tiequan decided to do so as well?

The front hall fell into silence for a moment, but it was quickly broken by Young Master Xuan Hao.

"Now that I, Xuan Hao, have seen your capabilities, the Timeless Flame Sect will also be looking forward to working with Sky Snow Manor in the future."

Lieutenant Qingquan took in a deep breath as he secretly observed the look on Grandmaster Tiequan's face.

Grandmaster Tiequan did not seem surprised.

So this guy is really from the Timeless Flame Sect?

That is one of the four ancient sects!

To be able to speak for the Timeless Flame Sect, could this Seventh Cycle Origin Core realm martial artist unexpectedly be a core member of the Timeless Flame Sect?

Although it was said that Sacred Cliff City was under the charge of the Burning Titan Overlord and did not fear any of the four ancient sects, the four ancient sects were still behemoths that nobody would want to offend as far as possible!

This time, even Lu Tianzi was surprised.

He knew that Young Master Xuan Hao had been trying to keep his true identity under wraps. For Young Master Xuan Hao to suddenly reveal his background, he must be really worried about Lu Tianzi.

"Thank you, Brother Xuan Hao!" Lu Tianzi clasped his fists towards Young Master Xuan Hao in genuine gratitude.

"Count my Fairy Talisman House in as well!" Fairy Pingxi added irritably, still yet to have fully recovered.

Fairy Talisman House?

Lieutenant Qingquan pondered.

He might not recognise Fairy Pingxi, but he had heard of the Fairy Talisman House.

It was a shop specialised in making talismans, and had strong links to many top influences within the city.

In other words, it was not something that he could simply ignore as well!

The insignificant-looking Sky Snow Manor actually had this many connections?

"Thank you, Senior," Lu Tianzi clasped his fists towards Fairy Pingxi before turning his attention towards Lieutenant Qingquan. "And that concludes our discussion, sorry to keep you waiting, Senior. Now then, I'm guessing that the purpose of your visit is to address the rumours about Sky Snow Manor and Sacred Cliff City Guards that have been spreading outside?"

Everyone's focus immediately fell upon Lieutenant Qingquan, curious as to how he would react.

"Indeed, it is," Lieutenant Qingquan narrowed his eyes after hearing Lu Tianzi get straight to the point. "May I know what does Manor Lord Lu have to say about the rumours?"

Without knowing it, the way he addressed Lu Tianzi had changed completely after spending just a few moments in Sky Snow Manor.

Bang-!

Lu Tianzi slammed his palm onto the table in visible rage. "I say that these rumour-mongers need to be tracked down and executed! And the others as well, how can they even think of believing in such nonsense?"

Lieutenant Qingquan blinked blankly, not expecting to hear such words.

Rumour-mongers?

Nonsense?

Does that mean Manor Lord Lu is denying having chased out Squad Leader Lingmu and his men?

"Those who believed in these rumours really do not understand my character. I have always admired the selfless Sacred Cliff City Guards who defend the people of the city with their lives. How could I ever treat any of you harshly?" Lu Tianzi let out a disappointed sigh. "Come to think of it, some fools came to my Sky Snow Manor a while ago, claiming to be members of the Sacred Cliff City Guards. But the moment they acted like hooligans, I immediately understood that they are fakes and threw them out. Perhaps that was what gave birth to such nonsensical rumours. Or maybe someone was trying to set us up!"

"Fakes?" Lieutenant Qingquan felt the corner of his lips twitch.

Is Manor Lord Lu really trying to get away with such a lousy excuse?

On the other hand, Grandmaster Tiequan finally let out a smile.

As the strongest influence in Sacred Cliff City, the Sacred Cliff City Guards could not allow anyone to disrespect their name. Should any of such incidents occur, they simply had to take action in order to deter others from challenging them in the future.

However, by insisting that the previous visitors were fake, Lu Tianzi had essentially given the Sacred Cliff City Guards an easy way out if they wanted to take it.

After all, if Lu Tianzi honestly did not know that they were members of the Sacred Cliff City Guards, he could still be forgiven!

So Lu Tianzi was intending to play it this way no wonder he had never once admitted that he was in a conflict with the Sacred Cliff City Guards.

As long as he said it just once and it happened to be overheard by others, he would no longer be able to play this card of acting oblivious.

It was a simple but daring move, betting on the fact that the Sacred Cliff City Guards would likely act according to their interests rather than their pride!

Lieutenant Qingquan understood as much.

The ball was now in his court.

If he insisted on confronting Lu Tianzi, he would be going against the Sacred Lotus Treasury, Grandmaster Tiequan, the Timeless Flame Sect, and the Fairy Talisman House.

Even though the Sacred Cliff City Guards was not afraid of all these influences combined, this would be an extremely major decision that even he as a Lieutenant did not have the authority to make!

On the other hand, if he wanted to maintain cordial ties with Manor Lord Lu, he could simply go along with this outrageous excuse and equate this matter to a misunderstanding. Doing so would push the blame onto Squad Leader Lingmu and his subordinates for having acted wilfully.

Of course, even if he were to choose to do so in the end, Lieutenant Qingquan was not going to just agree with Manor Lord Lu that Squad Leader Lingmu and his subordinates were fake.

There was no such thing as an eternal secret in this world.

What would he do if it was eventually revealed that Squad Leader Lingmu and his subordinates had truly been part the Sacred Cliff City Guards?

Those in the know would surely start looking down on the Sacred Cliff City Guards... on him!

"Ahem!" Lieutenant Qingquan cleared his throat. "It is good to hear that Manor Lord Lu holds the Sacred Cliff City Guards in such high regard. Because of that, I am especially embarrassed to say that the three who visited Sky Snow Manor earlier are indeed members of the Sacred Cliff City Guards."

"Oh?" Lu Tianzi raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?"

"Regrettably, that is the truth," Lieutenant Qingquan lamented. "I heard that they took matters into their own hands and overstepped their boundaries during their visit to Sky Snow Manor. I just want to assure Manor Lord Lu that I will definitely look into the matter. If they are really responsible, I will personally make sure that they receive the punishment that they deserve!"

Lu Tianzi smiled.

"I'm counting on you then, Senior."