Chapter 43: The Day of the Contest

  At the gate of the Qin family, Qin Hao stood with his hands behind his back, standing upright at the threshold, his head slightly raised, and a stream of piety flowed in his eyes.

  At this moment, it was already early morning. The golden sunlight shone down on the red wooden signboard with the words "Qin Fu" written in a majestic and powerful font. As Qin Hao gazed at the characters that seemed to dance like dragons and snakes, he took a deep breath and suddenly felt a surge of hot blood rising from the depths of his heart, rushing straight up to his forehead. Even though he had long been cultivating his mental state, a slight ripple appeared in his calm demeanor.

  Behind him, Qin Shan, Qin Yuxian, Qin Ze and Qin Xing all wore moon-white martial attire, with the hem of their clothes tucked into brown leather boots. On their robes, a beautiful plum blossom was embroidered, and at the center of the flower, a "Qin" character made of golden thread stood out prominently.

  Everyone stood quietly, and when they saw the "Qin Fu" plaque that Qin Hao was staring at, their hearts were also suddenly stirred up, with tightly clenched fists, even veins appeared on their forearms.

  "Are you ready?" Qin Hao asked extremely casually, which was completely different from his solemn expression earlier.

  Nine people nodded in unison, Qin Yuxian's beautiful eyes swept over Qin Hao, and she gently nodded her head.

  "It's been about three years, I suppose." Qin Hao said with a soft laugh.

  Three words came out, and Qin Shan's expression changed again, seemingly excited, with a hint of shame amidst the excitement.

  "The family competition has been going on for years, but the Qin family has almost completely fallen since three years ago. First, they were defeated by Lin Bei and Lan Yitian in a one-on-one battle, and then they were eliminated by the two families in a team battle with an average strength higher than theirs."

  "My grandfather Qin Yi, my father, and several elders of the Qin family have made a name for themselves in this city of Tiantang. It's about to become a thing of the past. This is what I've heard others say the most during these days."

  "Do you know why I'm telling you all this?" Qin Hao turned his head, gazing at the crowd with a faint smile on his face.

  Qin Shan nodded slightly with a hint of embarrassment, while the other eight people looked at Qin Hao with the same expression, waiting for his answer. Meanwhile, Qin Yuxian's beautiful eyes gazed at Qin Hao, as if also pondering his meaning.

  "What I want to tell you is to forget about these things. The three years of failure, the tarnished reputation, throw them all away, they're all nonsense."

  Everyone was shocked and even Qin Yuxian's cherry lips were slightly open, extremely puzzled.

  From now on, they will inevitably be shrouded in the shadow of the Qin family. If that's the case, then what's wrong with giving them three more years? These three years can be considered as our compensation for their future decline.

  "Grandfather Qin Yi can completely overwhelm Lin Luan, and my father can thoroughly suppress Lin Zhanbei. Now it's our turn to do something."

  "Let them have a good look today. Depart!"

  With a loud roar, Qin Hao took the lead and rushed towards the square, followed closely by the crowd behind him, their fighting spirit ignited.

  Ten people marched along the main street of the city, proceeding steadily. People on the road who saw this formation all dodged to one side. Today was a competition among various families, and there were people wearing such clothes heading towards the central square everywhere in the city.

  In addition, the crowd who planned to watch the game was also densely packed. The prosperity of Tianlang City was thoroughly detonated on this day.

  Qin Hao led the group walking at a leisurely pace, occasionally someone on the road would cast them a curious glance, Qin Hao also ignored them. The eleven people walked extremely slowly, their momentum rising step by step in their slow progress, as if brewing something.

  When he was still a few hundred meters away from the central square, a sudden and sharp voice suddenly emerged, drawing Qin Hao's attention.

  "Is Qin's family only paying one for five? Isn't that too little?" A man with a somewhat lewd expression between his eyebrows, held a paper with a seal in his hand.

  Qin Hao's eyes scanned the area, and suddenly he discovered that this was a medium-sized market in Tianlang City called Ruyi Pavilion. Ruyi Pavilion was an enterprise under the name of Mo family. The owner, Mo Youfeng, and Lin Zhanbei were very close, and strictly speaking, the Mo family was affiliated with the Lin family. Being affiliated with the Lin family, their relationship with the Qin family would not be good.

  "Huh, isn't that someone from the Lin family? Dressed up so nicely, are they going on stage to perform?"

  "Dressing nicely but lacking substance, after all, it's just a decorative pillow."

  "Embroidering a pillowcase is beyond me, although I've been beaten by the Lin and Lan families every year until my head is wrapped in bandages, but compared to other families, we're still slightly stronger."

  "This year may not come? Didn't Qin Haoqiang say that he was much stronger than before, and just the other day, Lin Zhanbei suffered a big loss?"

  "What's the use of being strong alone? Can he hold up the entire situation by himself?"

  "Damn it! I wasted my money on them last year and lost so much."

  Upon seeing Qin Hao's figure, the crowd in the arena immediately erupted into a flurry of discussions. Several people from families who were on good terms with the Lin family even began to mock him directly.

  Qin Shan's fists clenched a few more degrees, his face turned red, and his chest heaved violently. Qin Ze, Qin Xing, and several others even had the urge to roll up their sleeves and charge forward directly.

  Qin Hao smiled and waved his hand to calm down the commotion. With a smile in his eyes, he walked forward with a warm expression.

  The few people who were just speaking loudly suddenly took a step back, looking at Qin Hao with cautious faces. Although they had said some excessive words earlier, this was still Mo Youfeng's territory, and in theory, they had the upper hand. However, thinking about how Qin Hao had dared to directly challenge dozens of people from the Lin and Lan families alone, they couldn't help but feel a little weak in the knees.

  Qin Hao ignored them and walked straight past them, without even giving them a glance.

  He walked straight to a wall with many complex numbers written on it, and the numbers were preceded by the names of various families. Apparently, this was the ratio between the various families. Every year when the various families competed, not a few streets would have such an item, letting people bet on the outcome. This was not a rare thing in Tianlang City.

  Qin Hao searched on the wall for a moment, and finally found a column of the Qin family. The numbers written above suddenly made Qin Hao somewhat interested: Qin's family versus Lin's family, Qin's family won one and lost five, Lin's family won one and lost two. And Qin's family versus Lan's family were respectively one to two and one to four.

  "What's this, Young Master Qin Hao? You're so interested in coming here today."

  Some sharp and fine voices came over, Qin Hao followed the source and found that it was a white and quiet, somewhat rich middle-aged man.

  The man is Mo Youfeng, the owner of Ruyi Pavilion. Originally, Mo Youfeng was just the owner of a small shop, occasionally selling some decent things. Later, he somehow managed to get close to the Lin family and used various overt and covert means to force many opponents into desperation, swallowing up their property, and only then did he have this Ruyi Pavilion.

  This guy is quite resourceful when it comes to talking his way out of things.

  At this time, Mo Youfeng walked to the front of Qin Hao, with a kind face, looking at Qin Hao like an old man: "Does the young master of the Qin family also want to play?"

  Qin Hao looked at him with interest. At this moment, Mo Youfeng seemed to be extremely gentle and honest. However, Qin Hao was very clear that many people who had cooperated with him with such thoughts ultimately ended up being forced to bankruptcy.

  "Is it one for five? This ratio is a bit low." Qin Hao shook his head and said seriously, "Compared to the strength of the two families, this number can't be explained clearly."

  "Haha! Young Master Qin is joking. The strength of the Qin family is well-known to all, it's just that the Lin family is slightly stronger by a little bit. So, this odds isn't considered low. Does Young Master Qin want to bet on it too?"

  "Hmm." Qin Hao rubbed his chin, seemingly interested. He smiled and asked: "Can I also place a bet? Which house wins doesn't matter?"

  Judging from Qin Hao's tone, it seems like he plans on buying out the other families' victory.

  "Qin Hao, how can you?" Qin Shan exclaimed in dismay, he hadn't expected Qin Hao to suddenly say such things.

  Almost everyone looked at Qin Hao in confusion, only Qin Yuxian, and a smile seemed to float across her clear eyes. She suddenly remembered the scene of Qin Hao's first meeting with Lin Bi.

  "It's alright. Whatever Young Master Qin Hao decides is fine." Mo Youfeng's smile looked even more pleasant now.

  If Qin Hao goes to Lin's or Lan's house, it would be equivalent to a blow to the morale of the Qin family's younger generation. Just look at the puzzled expressions of the few people behind him and you'll know what would happen if Qin Hao really did that. If Qin Hao wins by going to the Qin house, then Mo Youfeng is guaranteed to profit. Why wouldn't he do this kind of business?

  "I'm afraid I've gone too far, and you can't take it." Qin Hao suddenly let out a cold laugh. His expression had changed in an instant from warm and gentle to icy and biting.

  This change suddenly stunned everyone. Almost everyone was shocked by Qin Hao's sudden change of face.

  Only Qin Yuxian had a faint, captivating arc at the corner of her mouth. Apparently, she had guessed it.

  "What does this mean, Master Qin?" Mo Youfeng's anger was burning in his heart, but the smile on his face didn't decrease by a single degree.

  "Don't understand? I'll make it clear then, I'm afraid you can't afford to lose."

  Barely slapping him in the face, at this time, among those who were betting in the Ruyi Pavilion, except for some family members of the Lin and Lan families who had a good relationship with them, many ordinary people from other families, as well as wealthy and noble families, basically all had someone present. In this situation, Qin Hao didn't leave him any face at all, no matter how strong Mo Youfeng's air cultivation skills were, he couldn't help but change color.

  "If you, Ruyi Pavilion, dare to initiate this project, I'll naturally dare to accept." Mo Youfeng said coldly.

  "Very well." Qin Hao reached into his bosom and pulled out a small animal skin pouch, placing it on the table. As soon as he opened it, more than a dozen crystal-clear Xuanjing rolled out from inside. On the surface of some of the Xuanjing, strange array diagrams were carved.

  At the time of the formation of the Xuan array, there is also a technique that uses meteorite needles to engrave the array diagram on the surface of the Xuan crystal. Therefore, not every Xuan array looks consistent with the ordinary Xuan crystal exterior.

  Just like Qin Hao's current hand-held Xuanxuan formation, there are traces of array patterns engraved on its surface.

  "First-class peak formation, fifty pieces. All suppress Qin's family."

  Qin Hao's first half sentence made Mo Youfeng's heart tighten, fifty pieces of one-stage peak sealed mysterious array, the value has indeed exceeded his bearable bottom line.

  But the second half of Qin Hao's sentence completely turned his mind upside down. If Qin Hao had suppressed the Lin family, he would have really succeeded, but unfortunately, Qin Hao suppressed the Qin family instead.

  He had also heard about Qin Hao's rapid rise in strength, and the incident at the square was making waves everywhere. How could he not be aware of it? But even if he was, what difference would it make? In a one-on-one match or two team matches, no matter how strong Qin Hao was, he could only change the result from 3-0 to 2-1 at most.

  The winner is still him.

  "Alright, I've accepted." Mo Youfeng sneered coldly and personally picked up the pen to write down the amount and project that Qin Hao had pressed for. Finally, he stamped the seal of Ruyi Pavilion on the paper.

  "I'll come too." Qin Shan saw this situation and took out a small bag. The bag was full of gold coins.

  "Count me in." Qin Shan, Qin Ze, Qin Xing and a group of people all stepped forward.

  Qin Hao looked at Qin Yuxian with a hint of a smile in his eyes. Qin Yuxian saw Qin Hao's expression and let out a helpless sigh, but then revealed a rare smile. She smiled faintly and said, "Count me in too, I also have some gold coins, just not too many."

  "Hum! Having a lot of money doesn't mean you have to be so extravagant."

  "It turns out that besides losing face, you can also lose money, I've gained some experience."

  "Who said our predecessors were capable? You can't be envious if you're not worthy."

  Those few people who were directly ignored by Qin Hao before started shouting again in a mysterious and eerie tone. Qin Hao just shook his head and smiled calmly after hearing them.

  His eyes met Mo You's for a moment, and then the two of them exchanged a smile, but there was no hint of amusement in their eyes.