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Of course, Qin Fang looking around everywhere was not just to check out the layout or feng shui of this residence, as he wouldn't understand it even if he did look.

The real purpose had other reasons, which could be vaguely noticed if one carefully observed the frequency and stride of his footsteps.

Just by simply walking through an area, Qin Fang already had a clear understanding of the span of the front courtyard, although not down to decimal places, but the error wouldn't exceed half a meter.

Unlike Qin Fang, who looked around everywhere, Cai Qing was completely different. Her stride was initially a bit slow, but gradually it firmed up. Though her steps were still deliberate, by the time she and Qin Fang entered the inner hall, she had relaxed considerably more than before.

In the inner hall, there were indeed some people waiting, including those who were somewhat older and also younger ones. Qin Fang even spotted a little lolita who seemed no more than fifteen or sixteen with traces of childishness still on her face…

Sitting in the main seat right in the center was naturally the person they were there to see, the old master of the Lei Family!

"Junior Cai Qing greets Elder Lei…"

Cai Qing recognized Elder Lei and immediately gave a fist and palm salute, bending her waist slightly, proactively offering a junior's greeting to Elder Lei as it was customary for those from martial arts clans to follow the rules of the martial world.

At this point, Cai Qing's expression had gradually calmed down. Although she hadn't reached a state of complete composure yet, it was obvious she wasn't as frightened anymore.

"Junior Qin Fang greets Elder Lei…"

Qin Fang hesitated only briefly before promptly reacting and also gave a junior's greeting to Elder Lei.

Although it was Qin Fang's first time meeting Old Master Lei, his master Cai Pingyuan had described the old master's appearance to Qin Fang in advance, but hearing about him and meeting him were two completely different things.

At least in Qin Fang's view, he couldn't associate the dry-looking old man before him with an 8th-level expert comparable to the Eight Extremes Grandmaster Elder Niu.

It was precisely for this reason that Qin Fang had that moment of hesitation, as Older Master Lei's appearance really didn't match up with what Qin Fang had imagined.

The strength of the old man before him was beyond doubt. Advanced Detective Skill enabled the detection of martial artists' information not more than three levels above oneself, and since Qin Fang was now at Level 4, he could detect experts up to Level 7; however, Elder Lei before him was a big question mark.

This situation, Qin Fang had only experienced with the Eight Extremes Grandmaster, Elder Niu, and never expected to come across another one now…

The reason Qin Fang did not believe that Elder Lei and Elder Niu were Level 8 instead of Level 9 was mainly because the two men's strengths were comparable, and Elder Niu was just a step closer to the 7th-level Peak of the Wu Family's Old Master Wu.

There was no doubt about the strength, but the image was so far beyond Qin Fang's expectations... The Lei Family practiced their family's Bear Fist, a fist technique that evolved by imitating the posture of bears.

Therefore, most of the Lei Family's experts are brawny men with the build of tigers and bears. Just by sweeping his gaze across the room, Qin Fang noticed that among the more than twenty people present, half of them were very robust and strong men, with formidable strength and almost all above Level 5, including five or six who were Level 6 Grandmasters.

Besides Elder Lei, Qin Fang also saw another Level 7 Grandmaster-level expert. Such a lineup was truly shocking to Qin Fang, who, aside from experiencing the martial arts conference, had never imagined a mere martial arts clan could have such a powerful assembly.

However, this wasn't surprising. If not for such strength, the Lei Family wouldn't have been able to stand for a hundred years in the imperial capital, Capital City. Practically no other martial arts clans have taken root in the Capital, probably unable to withstand the oppression of the Lei Family's formidable strength.

While the Lei Family had many robust men, the strongest among them, Elder Lei, who had cultivated their Bear Fist to a very high level, was such a lean and withered old man, which was really discordant.

If not for the undeniable strength, Qin Fang really couldn't believe this was true...

"Are you Master Cai's closed-door disciple?"

Elder Lei extended his hand to indicate Qin Fang and Cai Qing, but before Elder Lei could speak, someone suddenly spoke out from the side.

Only to see a young man of about twenty-six or twenty-seven, with a tiger's back and a bear's waist, and a somewhat sinister face, step out of the crowd. It was he who had just made the derogatory remark, and now he was looking at Qin Fang with an extremely disdainful gaze, concluding, "I don't see what's so special about him!"

Speaking so insolently the moment he opened his mouth, this man was clearly malintentioned. Qin Fang immediately cast a Scouting Skill in his direction, and the results quickly came back.

"Lei Peng, Level 5, Martial Arts Expert of the Neutral Camp, specialties: Bear Fist Level 5, Changbai Ice Palm Level 5, Xingyi Fist Level 4, Tianchi Sect Secret Techniques…"

Qin Fang had expected such results and didn't find them particularly surprising. In fact, the moment this young man had appeared, Qin Fang had already guessed his identity. It was certainly Lei Peng without a doubt.

Out of the Seven Tigers of the Lei Family, only Lei Peng was the most arrogant and domineering, causing the others to be quite wary of him. Today's meeting, with Lei Laohu absent, seemed to be arranged intentionally as none of Lei Peng's other six cousins were present—whether it was a deliberate arrangement or for some other reason, it was unclear.

Seeing such feedback, despite it being within Qin Fang's expectations, still made him take a second look.

Lei Peng indeed proved to be a genius martial artist with both Lei Family and Tianchi Sect's unique techniques, having mastered Bear Fist to Level 5, which was expected. However, he had also reached Level 5 in the Changbai Ice Palm, which was quite impressive.

In Qin Fang's experience with many Level 5 Experts, typically, they would only excel in one martial art, with the others being more average. The only exception would be Qin Shou, who had both the Great Strength Eagle Claw Technique and the Thirteen Taibao Horizontal Training Golden Bell Shield at Level 5 Peak…

And now there was Lei Peng... One could imagine his strength—possibly another expert comparable to Qin Shou. Qin Fang mentally increased the threat level of Lei Peng slightly.

Just a slight threat though, as Qin Fang had never considered Lei Peng a true adversary from the start. For Qin Fang, nearly invincible below the Grandmaster Level, defeating Lei Peng was only a matter of spending a bit more time, not a significant issue. The real threat lay elsewhere.

"Oh, is that so? It seems Elder Brother Lei's eyesight is quite good indeed…" Qin Fang's face showed a faint smile, but it wasn't directed at Lei Peng. His gaze went over Lei Peng's shoulder, resting on the middle-aged man standing behind Lei Peng.

If Qin Fang wasn't mistaken, this middle-aged, handsome man with a small beard should be Lei Peng's uncle, Shangguan Tianling, a Level 6 Grandmaster-level Expert from the Heavenly Pool Sect.

Qin Fang had met Shangguan Hao; the father and son did indeed look alike. Despite an age difference of over twenty years, the resemblance was striking, with Shangguan Hao almost a younger clone of Shangguan Tianling. The only difference was probably in their strength—Shangguan Tianling was formidable, while Shangguan Hao was useless.

Lei Peng had come for Qin Fang, and likewise, Qin Fang had come for Lei Peng. The sparks of battle between the two had been ignited from the start, and it seemed to be shaping up into a direct confrontation.

"What do you mean?"

Hearing Qin Fang speak in such a tone, and noticing his unfocused gaze, Lei Peng, who was used to being treated as superior, couldn't stand it and immediately became furious, shouting loudly.

"What do I mean? Could it be that Elder Brother Lei cannot understand human speech? I was complimenting you…" Qin Fang shook his head indifferently, seemingly puzzled…but his words were filled with scorn toward Lei Peng.

Of course, in doing so, he had also disparaged the entire Lei Family, causing many present to feel inner anger surfacing, although they did not act and instead glanced at Old Master Lei.

Despite Lei Peng's current arrogance, resembling someone who thought too highly of themselves, it was because he had Old Master's permission. Otherwise, no amount of backers or courage would be of any use to Lei Peng—it would only take one word from the Old Master to bring about his downfall. Essentially, the Lei Family was still under Old Master's control.

Unfortunately for them, they were soon disappointed. Despite Qin Fang's disparaging words towards the Lei Family, the Old Master seemed unbothered, half-closing his eyes as if he were asleep, allowing Qin Fang and Lei Peng to continue their exchange.

Before, Qin Fang had wondered if Old Master Lei refrained from intervening for a reason, but having met the man, he started to feel that he might have been mistaken. It seemed that the Old Master was letting Qin Fang and Lei Peng fight it out as if he would support the winner…

Although Qin Fang felt this unlikely, the situation seemed to suggest exactly that!

Of course, it might also be due to the presence and backing of a certain influential individual—naturally, this would refer to Shangguan Tianling, who Qin Fang was currently sizing up.

As Qin Fang observed Shangguan Tianling, the latter was also scrutinizing Qin Fang. Within a few exchanges, he could tell that Qin Fang came with ill intentions or, more appropriately, well-prepared.

Initially, Shangguan Tianling thought that, with his strength, aside from Cai Pingyuan, no one else in the Cai Family deserved mention, and even finding a sect disciple to match Lei Peng proved challenging. However, Qin Fang's appearance had drawn his attention and made him feel an unlikely and absolutely impossible threat from within...(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it at Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation.)

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