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Ping An City, A Cauldron of Wrath
"Little beast, you dare?" Cao Han roared, his face dark with fury, heart ablaze. Cao Jin, his only son, was the Cao Clan's sole heir. Losing him would end their lineage.
At his age, with waning vitality and Nascent Soul Perfection cultivation, siring another child was like finding a needle in the ocean.
"Who're you calling a little beast?" Lan An asked, brow raised, tone calm.
"What do you want? Spirit stones? Release my son, leave the Liu Clan, and I'll give you 1,000 Upper-Grade Spirit Stones," Cao Han growled, teeth gritted.
"Aaah!" Cao Jin screamed like a slaughtered pig.
Lan An twisted his arm 360 degrees, snapping bones like a spinning toy, making Liu Clan members shudder.
"I'll ask again: who's the beast?" Lan An said, staring at Cao Han.
Cao Han's fists bled, rage nearly tangible. He hadn't expected such ruthlessness over a mere insult.
"Not you," Cao Han rasped, swallowing his fury for his son's sake.
"Then who? We're all curious," Lan An grinned, seizing Cao Jin's other arm.
Cao Han's lungs burned, humiliated like never before, powerless against this youth.
"Him!" Cao Han pointed at Yue Qun.
"Damn you!" Yue Qun cursed inwardly, but forced a smile. "He meant me, friend. Let's negotiate. Leave the Liu Clan affair, and you'll be an honored guest in Ping An City."
"No, he didn't mean you," Lan An shook his head, eyeing Cao Han. "Who's the beast?"
"Aaah, Father, save me!" Cao Jin wailed as Lan An crushed his hand, bones splintering.
"Young brother, show mercy. We'll meet again," Yue Hai said, stroking his beard, noting Cao Han's trembling rage.
"Are we close, old man?" Lan An snapped.
Yue Hai's face stiffened.
"Cao Jin, who did your father call a beast?" Lan An asked, smiling "kindly" at his captive.
Sweating, pale, Cao Jin mumbled, "He meant me. I'm the beast."
Lan An frowned, transmitting, "No, your father's mad. He called himself the beast."
He squeezed harder.
"Yes, Father's insane! He called himself the beast!" Cao Jin sobbed, his earlier arrogance gone.
The crowd gaped, watching Cao Han's face purple.
"See, Patriarch Cao? Even your son knows you're unhinged. Who let you out?" Lan An clucked, pitying.
"Go die!" Cao Han erupted, spiritual energy exploding. "Frost Palm!"
Icy spiritual energy coated his palm, a massive imprint hurtling toward Lan An.
Lan An smiled, transmitting to stop Liu Shi Qin's intervention. He hoisted Cao Jin as a shield.
"No!" the crowd gasped.
Cao Jin froze into an ice block.
Lan An tossed him down, kicking.
Crack!
The block shattered, Cao Jin's body in pieces.
"Soul Seize!" Lan An absorbed Cao Jin's frail soul, bolstering his soul power. Mosquito meat was still meat.
"Little beast, no one can save you today!" Cao Han's roar echoed across Ping An City, his heart bleeding.
"Hmph, hypocrite. Pretending to care for your son while prizing your pride," Lan An sneered, likening Cao Han to Luo Po Lei.
"Slaughter them all! Leave none alive!" Cao Han ordered Yue Qun and the elders.
"Can you handle that Yue Qun?" Lan An transmitted to Liu Shi Qin.
"No problem," she nodded. Ice Flash Shadow activated, her graceful form vanishing, reappearing above Yue Qun. Her lips parted, unleashing a whirlwind. "Tempest Roar!"
"Dream on!" Yue Qun sneered, soaring upward, Thunderbolt Palm striking the whirlwind.
Boom!
The explosion lit the sky, Ping An City's residents gawking at the Nascent Soul clash.
"Die!" Yue Hai moved, his Nascent Soul Late-Stage aura blazing, fiery arms aiming for Lan An's neck.
"Your opponent's me!" Bai Su Mei shouted, her Star-Silver Twin Swords gleaming. Heart Unity Sword Art: Dual Swords Converge slashed at Yue Hai.
"Danger!" Yue Hai's scalp prickled, dodging with his movement technique, soaring upward.
"Aaah!" A scream pierced the air. The one-armed Cao Clan elder behind Yue Hai couldn't dodge, the X-shaped sword qi tearing him apart, innards spilling.
"Hmph, where're you going?" Bai Su Mei pursued, her dainty feet stepping through the void.
The battlefield left Lan An facing Cao Han, Cao Pi, and one Nascent Soul Early-Stage elder.
"Little beast, let's see who saves you! Kill him!" Cao Han roared, vowing to sire another heir at any cost.
Without further words, Cao Han's hands shook, forming two icy chains, smashing toward Lan An.
Boom! The ground where Lan An stood crumbled, but he'd vanished.
"Danger!" Cao Han shouted.
Whoosh!
Lan An appeared beside the Nascent Soul Early-Stage elder, patting his shoulder.
Sizzle!
Before anyone reacted, the elder disintegrated, no trace of the flames that consumed him.
"What sorcery is this?" Cao Pi screamed, horrified.
"Kill him! He can't use that trick endlessly!" Cao Han said coldly, regaining composure.
Lan An chuckled inwardly. Speed Shift drained thirty percent of his spiritual energy per use, limiting most cultivators to three uses. But with his Four Cauldrons—Heavenly Wood Cauldron and others—replenishing energy, that limit didn't apply. It just took time.
Still, he chose restraint. Speed Shift was too shocking to overuse.
"Frost Palm!" Cao Han and Cao Pi struck together, two imprints tearing through the air.
The Liu Clan's courtyard lay in ruins. Lan An soared upward, dodging.
At Four Cauldrons, he could fly like a Nascent Soul cultivator.
"Where're you going?" Cao Han and Cao Pi pursued, roaring.
The battle shifted to the skies, drawing Ping An City's crowds.
"By the heavens, isn't that Patriarch Cao and Elder Cao Pi?"
"Who's the guy they're chasing?"
"No idea, but he's dead meat."
"Ha, the Cao Clan rules Ping An City. Resistance is futile."
Spectators munched snacks, gossiping like perfect bystanders.
"Sister, is big brother okay?" Liu Meng Meng tugged Li Zhu Li's robe, worried.
"Don't worry, my husband's unstoppable," Li Zhu Li boasted.
Liu Clan maidens gazed enviously. Lan An's handsome, powerful aura made him a dream husband.
Above, Cao Han drew a deep-blue axe from his storage ring, radiating chilling energy. "Polar Ice Axe. You're honored to die by it."
Lan An scoffed. A Lower Earth-Grade weapon, treated as a treasure? The Han Clan once gifted such to disciples like Han Qing.
"Die!" Cao Han roared, swinging the axe at Lan An's head.
Cao Pi followed, conjuring two icy chains, whipping toward Lan An.
The dual Nascent Soul attacks shook the air, spiritual waves rippling.
"I trust you," Liu Shi Qin, battling Yue Qun, whispered, worried.
Bai Su Mei, unfazed, knew Lan An's strength. Her Star-Silver Twin Swords danced, holding Yue Hai at bay despite his higher realm. If it were night, starlight would let her slay him.
"Eight Trigrams Reversal Palm!" Lan An roared, planting his right foot, spinning rapidly. His palms wove countless imprints, forming a 360-degree vortex shield.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
To the crowd's disbelief, the attacks ricocheted off, not scratching Lan An.
"What a defensive technique!" Liu Shi Qin's eyes sparkled.
"Hooray!" Liu Meng Meng clapped, bouncing.
Liu Clan members stared in awe.
"What technique is this? Flawless defense?"
"Who's this kid? So young, blocking two Nascent Souls?"
"Even Ping An City's top genius couldn't do that."
Cao Han and Cao Pi gaped, helpless against the vortex.
"He can't sustain it forever," Cao Han snorted.
The crowd nodded.
Sure enough, Lan An stopped the Eight Trigrams Reversal Palm. Hearing the city's chatter, he smirked, muttering, "More Prestige Points in the bag."
"Little beast, what tricks do you have left?" Cao Han growled.
"Less talk, more action," Lan An waved lazily.
"Attack!" Cao Han and Cao Pi exchanged glances, charging with weapons.
Boom!
A deep, heart-shaking sound reverberated.
A colossal turtle, larger than mountains, materialized. Its dark-green shell, etched with ancient patterns, exuded mystic aura.
Lan An ducked beneath it as the attacks struck.
Thud! Thud!
The axe and chains hit the shell, vanishing like iron on cotton.
"Shameless!" Cao Han and Cao Pi cursed, glaring at Lan An's "cowardly" hiding.
"Bite me!" Lan An taunted, grinning.
The crowd was speechless. All defense, no offense?
Yet, his defenses were uncanny, untouchable.
Lan An sighed inwardly. Daytime restricted Fire Phoenix, Big Dipper Bow, Earth Bear, Soul-Settling Coffin, or Great Flood Kick. With Blood Spirit Sect nearby, he played safe.
Still, he had options. Under the turtle, he wove seals, shouting, "Ten Thousand Forest Canopy!"
Endless Wood spiritual energy formed a vast forest, engulfing Cao Han and Cao Pi.
Panicked, they tried to dodge, but the forest spanned the sky, trapping them like fish in a net.
"Upper Earth-Grade technique!" they gasped, exchanging fearful looks.
"Grandfather, help!" they shouted.
Ping An City trembled.
A sky-shattering aura pulsed, gripping every heart.
Whoosh!
A long-haired elder appeared, back straight, clad in noble robes, hands clasped behind him.
Lan An scoffed. Just Spirit Transformation, yet so dramatic?
Cao Tai Shan approached the forest, pointing lightly. Ice swords materialized, slashing at the trees.
Lan An sneered, "Explode!"
Boom!
The forest detonated, spiritual energy erupting, shattering the ice swords.
As the dust settled, Cao Han and Cao Pi emerged, battered—hair singed, robes torn, bloodied, pale, and gravely injured.
At Four Cauldrons, Lan An was invincible against Nascent Souls, even without full power.
"You've angered me, brat," Cao Tai Shan said, relieved his kin lived, glaring at Lan An.
"Peak Spirit Transformation, unscathed by that blast," Lan An noted. Unlike past Spirit Transformation kills aided by Strange Flames, this Ice cultivator posed a challenge.
But only a slight one.
"Who're you, old man?" Lan An feigned ignorance.
"Cao Tai Shan. End yourself," Cao Tai Shan declared, brimming with confidence from his breakthrough.
"Never heard of you," Lan An waved dismissively.
"Ignorant child. Think your turtle shell saves you? Spirit Transformation's might is beyond you," Cao Tai Shan sneered, posing grandly.
Lan An's eye twitched at the posturing. Wanting to end this, he dispelled the turtle.
"Wise choice. Die," Cao Tai Shan said loftily.
The crowd admired his "expert" aura.
Lan An's face twisted with madness, declaring, "Old fool, you haven't seen my strongest technique. Dare to take it?"
"Ha, reckless colt. Show me," Cao Tai Shan scoffed, dismissing Lan An's Nascent Soul aura.
"Poor kid. Talented but naive. He'll die horribly," spectators sighed.
Lan An inhaled deeply, as if summoning courage, then bellowed, "Heaven-shaking, ghost-weeping, god-slaying technique: Summon Wife Technique!"
"Summon Wife Technique?"
"What's that?"
"Sounds badass!"
Li Zhu Li and Bai Su Mei giggled.
Before the crowd's curiosity peaked, a ghostly figure appeared beside Lan An.
A woman in elegant Wood-Brocade robes hugged her mature curves, her veiled face revealing only captivating eyes—a peerless beauty.
Ignoring the crowd's lustful stares, Mu Zi Yin turned to Lan An, smiling softly. "Husband, why summon me?"
Crack!
Hearts across Ping An City shattered. Men glared at Lan An, enraged that this fairy was his wife.
"Darling, he's bullying me. Beat him," Lan An said, wrapping an arm around her waist, pointing at Cao Tai Shan.
Over time, Mu Zi Yin had fully recovered, her strength restored.
"Alright," she nodded, her aura exploding unrestrained.
Sensing her true cultivation, Cao Tai Shan and Ping An City's cultivators went mad, roaring at Lan An, "Damn you, who can compete with this?"