Chapter 32: Dongfang Qing

"You... You dare damage the Master's Bloodline Analyzer and think to walk away?" Liu Tong sprang up, blocking Qin Chen's path with spittle flying. "Such audacity!"

Qin Chen sidestepped the spray, eyes glacial. "First, I merely used the analyzer. Second, if damage exists, it reflects your Sanctuary's negligence. Will you shift blame onto me now?"

A predatory aura flared from Qin Chen—an ancient, pitiless gaze that pierced Liu Tong's soul. The manager staggered back, collar damp with cold sweat. "Y-You... This is the Bloodline Sanctuary!"

Regaining composure, Liu Tong flushed crimson. Humiliating—a Sanctuary manager cowed by a boy!

Li Wenyu observed keenly. This youth's presence unsettled even him—a tempest veiled in adolescent flesh.

"Li Wenyu! What crisis demands my attention?"

A resonant voice cut through the tension. The crowd parted like wheat before a scythe as a white-robed elder entered. A single silver-edged crimson纹 adorned his chest—badge of a Fourth-stage Bloodline Mystic. Gasps rippled through the onlookers.

"Master Dongfang Qing! The Sanctuary Master himself!"

Whispers crescendoed. The man who could topple kingdoms with a word now stood among them.

Li Wenyu bowed deeply. "Honored Master, Manager Liu failed to secure your private chamber. Intruders activated the new analyzer—"

"Which chamber?" Dongfang Qing's composure cracked.

"The one housing... the latest instrument from the Central Sanctuary."

Silence.

Then—

"Fools!" The roar shook dust from rafters. Cultivators trembled like autumn leaves. "I entrusted you with sacred duty! Should that analyzer sustain damage..."

He vanished in a blur of white, reappearing before the glowing Bloodline Analyzer.

The entourage froze at the chamber's threshold. Their master stood motionless—a statue carved from dread.

Li Wenyu's throat tightened. We're doomed.

Liu Tong crumpled, robes pooling around him like a discarded puppet.

Inside, Dongfang Qing's trembling hands hovered over the device. Crystalline runes pulsed across its surface—a constellation of awakened power. His weathered face flushed crimson, veins throbbing at his temples.

This...

Behind him, subordinates braced for apocalypse.