Chapter 155: The Background of Qian Santong

Qian Santong felt a trace of killing intent from Tian Heng, but he did not care in the least. Instead, he said, "If everyone were like this young friend Lu Hui here, the Golden Sun Sect would probably not be far from destruction."

"What! You are courting death!" Tian Heng flew into a rage.

In the Heavenly Dome Continent, sects were countless, and the greatest taboo was speaking of destroying someone's sect, for that represented their inherited Dao lineage. Unless there was a feud of life and death, people would not casually utter the words "destroy the sect." Qian Santong's remark was undoubtedly a provocation against the entire Golden Sun Sect.

Tian Heng was consumed by fury, thinking that a mere Profound Monarch realm martial artist whom he did not even know would dare to speak of destroying their Golden Sun Sect so brazenly. If the speaker had been a powerful Earth King realm expert, he might have endured it; after all, Earth Kings stood at the very pinnacle of the Great Xia Empire. Yet the Profound Monarch before him seemed to be three realms lower than himself.

The moment Qian Santong had flicked his abacus bead earlier, though it vanished in a flash, Tian Heng had still perceived his cultivation level: the third heaven of the Profound Monarch realm.

After all, Tian Heng was a sect elder who had weathered storms for decades; he was no longer the naive, hot-blooded youth who had first ascended the Golden Sun Mountain decades ago. He did not believe that Qian Santong could fail to see his own cultivation realm. To speak thus while knowing his exact realm meant the man surely had powerful backing. Calmly and quietly, Tian Heng swept his senses across the entire city lord's estate, yet he detected nothing unusual.

"Just him alone, and yet he dares to be so arrogant? Does he really take me, an elder of the Golden Sun Sect, for a mere decoration?" Tian Heng thought to himself.

"What? Want to make a move? I advise you best not to," Qian Santong said with absolute ease and utter indifference to Tian Heng's towering killing intent.

"Hmph, anyone who provokes the Golden Sun Sect must die!"

With that, golden Profound Qi surged wildly from around Tian Heng, and he instantly charged directly at Qian Santong with intent to kill.

Watching Tian Heng charge toward him, Qian Santong showed not the slightest intention of defending himself.

"Nephew, run quickly!" Elder Lu cried out in alarm.

Though somewhat startled as to why Qian Santong was at the third heaven of the Profound Monarch realm, now was not the time to dwell on that. The gap in their cultivation realms destined Qian Santong to be no match.

Qian Santong had always maintained a good relationship with Lu Tianhong, so Elder Lu addressing him as "nephew" was entirely fitting.

"Nephew? What kind of big shot could possibly have ties to the Lu family? Go to hell!"

Tian Heng held nothing back; this single strike was meant to take Qian Santong's life.

"Hehe, look at what this is?" A storage ring flashed on Qian Santong's hand, and a palm-sized token made of purple gold suddenly appeared in his grip. Inscribed upon it was a radiant, golden character for "Xia," dazzling to the beholders.

Seeing Tian Heng lunge forward with a palm strike that was now merely a meter away from Qian Santong, he abruptly forced the attack to a halt the moment he clearly recognized the token. This was a strike he simply dared not unleash!

"This is..." Tian Heng's gaze narrowed, a heavy expression settling onto his face.

"The token of the Murong Imperial Family! How do you possess this?" Tian Heng asked in disbelief.

As a sixth-heaven Profound Monarch, he was already among the upper echelons of martial artists in the Great Xia Empire. Things unknown to ordinary people were no secrets to someone of his standing.

Aside from those held by a few crown princes and princesses, tokens of the Murong Imperial Family were exceedingly rare. They served as the ultimate symbol of the Murong Imperial Family, representing its supreme will.

Although the Great Xia Empire harbored numerous sects, at least on the surface, all bowed to the Murong Imperial Family as supreme. Even the three major sects were overshadowed by them. To say nothing of the Golden Sun Sect, the Murong Imperial Family was an existence they could never afford to offend.

Tian Heng carefully scrutinized Qian Santong once more, and suddenly his expression shifted drastically as if recalling something.

"Your surname is Qian?" Though a tentative answer had already formed in his mind, Tian Heng could not help asking.

"Master, he actually dares to disdain our Golden Sun Sect! Teach him a lesson, he's just the pavilion master of the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion's Maple Leaf City branch," Lu Hui said upon seeing Tian Heng suddenly halt his attack.

Back when Lu Hui was still at the Lu family, Lu Tianlin had once taken him to an auction at the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion, which was how he recognized Qian Santong.

A flash of resentment crossed Lu Hui's eyes as he looked at Qian Santong. That abacus bead from earlier had made his hand burn with pain, nearly crippling it entirely.

"Shut up!" Tian Heng barked angrily.

Lu Hui stared with wide eyes, completely incredulous. Tian Heng had personally brought him up the Golden Sun Mountain, bestowed upon him the finest weapons and cultivation techniques, and had never once raised his voice at him, always offering earnest guidance. He never expected such a harsh rebuke.

"Hehe, I sit and stand by my true name: Qian Santong," Qian Santong said with a smile.

"Indeed! Only the Qian family would choose a golden abacus as their weapon. I should have guessed it sooner." A tremor ran through Tian Heng's heart.

"So it is the Young Master of the Qian family! Please forgive this old man's discourtesy!" Tian Heng suddenly cupped his fists in salute.

"Hehe, well spoken, well spoken!"

"The Young Master of the Qian family?"

"What kind of family is the Qian family?"

Some people asked in bewilderment.

Even Elder Lu nearby was utterly clueless. In all his long years of life, he had never heard of any Qian family hailing from the Great Xia Empire.

Lu Hui stepped forward and whispered softly, "Master, aren't you overthinking this? Look at his age—he's not much younger than my father. How could he possibly still be the young master?"

Tian Heng glared at Lu Hui and said nothing.

"For these past eighteen years, countless major factions have sought the Young Master of the Qian family, yet he has been hiding all along in this remote little city," Tian Heng murmured.

"This Qian family is a truly mysterious clan," Tian Heng said suddenly, clasping his hands behind his back.

Tian Heng understood that now that Qian Santong had intervened in this matter, today's affair could only be left unsettled.

Right then, Tian Heng recounted the background of the Qian family before the entire martial training ground. The gazes that everyone cast toward Qian Santong instantly changed.

As it turned out, deep within the imperial capital lay a hidden, great aristocratic family—the Qian family.

Though most people had never heard of it, those in the higher echelons were well aware of this Qian family.

It was said that the strength of the Qian family was in no way inferior to any of the five great aristocratic families of the imperial capital. Moreover, the Qian family was exceptionally unique: every single Heavenly Treasure Pavilion across the entire Great Xia Empire belonged to them. The Qian family worked directly for the Murong Imperial Family. Over so many years, no one knew how much wealth the Qian family had amassed for the Great Xia Empire. They could rightfully be called the wealthiest family in the imperial capital.

The expenditures of the imperial family were unimaginably vast; relying solely on the tax revenues of various cities was far from sufficient. The revenues generated by the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion constituted a massive share of the Murong Imperial Family's resources.

The Qian family alone would already be a handful for the Golden Sun Sect, let alone the Murong Imperial Family standing behind them—the true overlords of the Great Xia Empire.

The Golden Sun Sect could never afford to provoke such an existence. Therefore, Tian Heng could only swallow his bitterness and nurse his grievances today. Since the opponent was the Young Master of the Qian family, Tian Heng had every reason to believe that if he had harmed Qian Santong today, he would not have lived to see the next day, and even the sect master of the Golden Sun Sect might not have been able to protect him.

Centuries ago, a certain sect had coveted the wealth of the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion and completely sacked a branch in a major city. In the end, it provoked the furious wrath of both the Qian family and the Murong Imperial Family, resulting in that entire sect being washed in blood. Ever since then, down through the long years, neither the three major sects nor the five great aristocratic families had ever dared to cause trouble within the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion.