A dense layer hung in the sky, blanketing the entire Heavenly Steps Academy as if celestial soldiers had descended.
The academy's bell chimed, and the barrier rose in tandem.
Mo Qi emerged from the alchemy chamber and stepped onto the plaza. Only a few daredevils remained, watching the spectacle, while everyone else had retreated into the safety houses.
Mo Qi gazed up at the sky and couldn't help but sigh, "What a grand display. It seems Nangong Qin and Nangong Chuchu have truly thrown you into a panic."
Yuwen Yan also seemed a little flustered. "Nangong Zhennan is the sect leader of Hongdu Sect, and Nangong Zhenbei is the sect leader of Xindu Sect. Judging by this formation, all the disciples of Hongdu Sect must be here."
"And all the Nangong family members as well?" Mo Qi said dismissively.
"No, the most formidable figure has yet to appear: Nangong Zhendong, the Hall Master of the Seventh Tier Divine Wood Hall."
"Can you defeat him?"
Yuwen Yan's heart skipped a beat. "What are you saying? Even if I could, I wouldn't help you. Why would I get involved in this mess?"
"Alright, I'm speechless at your ingratitude. But actually, I was just saying. I don't need your help at all. No matter how many of them come, it's useless. I hold their vital weakness," Mo Qi said nonchalantly.
Nangong Zhennan scanned every corner of the academy and spotted a solitary figure standing in the plaza, gazing up at the sky with a defiant glare, exuding an aura as if ready to soar into the heavens.
"Are you Mo Xin?" Nangong Zhennan fixed his gaze on Mo Qi, his resonant voice echoing across the academy.
"Mo Xin again!" Xing Mian roared in fury from within the safety house.
Mo Qi asked, "Are you Nangong Yun?"
Yuwen Yan interjected, "It's Nangong Zhennan!"
Mo Qi said to Yuwen Yan, "I did that intentionally. Don't interrupt. When adults are speaking, children should just listen."
Yuwen Yan: "..."
Nangong Zhennan's face twitched. "I am Nangong Zhennan. Nangong Yun is my son..."
Mo Qi immediately interrupted, "Call your son out to speak."
Nangong Zhennan was so enraged he was hopping. How arrogant, how infuriating.
Nangong Yun stepped out from the crowd. "I am here."
"Are you the son?"
Nangong Yun was so angry he felt like spitting blood, but he had to suppress his rage. "I am Nangong Yun."
"Have you brought Tang Qianyu?" Mo Qi scanned the crowd, his gaze sweeping over a large area. Not seeing her, he felt a pang of nervousness.
Nangong Yun took out a bottle from his storage bag, made a hand seal, and a figure fell before him.
Dressed in red, she was bound tightly, blood seeping from her body. She seemed to be trembling, almost imperceptible unless one looked closely. Her head was turned, her face obscured.
"Tang Qianyu, is that you?" Mo Qi's heart tightened as he asked.
Seeing her trembling state, it seemed she had endured much torment, but he wasn't sure if it was Tang Qianyu.
What if Nangong Yun and the others had found someone to deceive him?
"It is me," Tang Qianyu's voice rang out, but she kept her face turned, never looking directly at Mo Qi.
Mo Qi was still worried. That voice could easily be imitated.
"I asked you for a favor that day, do you remember?" Mo Qi asked cautiously.
"You asked me to be your backing, but an ice mountain is hard to rely on. I can barely protect myself now, how can I be anyone's backing?" Tang Qianyu began to sob softly.
Mo Qi was almost certain it was Tang Qianyu.
"It's alright. From now on, let me be your backing!" Mo Qi's calm voice resonated throughout the sky.
Unexpectedly, Tang Qianyu cried even harder. "You can't even protect yourself, how can you be my backing?"
"You shouldn't have come looking for me. You can't defeat them. Your appearance has made all the suffering I endured in vain."
Nangong Yun, however, seemed to have caught a crucial piece of information. He looked at Mo Qi, his eyes filled with killing intent. "So, Wan Beifeng was killed by the two of you in collusion?"
Mo Qi shook his head. "Not collusion. I killed him alone."
Nangong Yun looked at Tang Qianyu with a meaningful gaze. "You are both willing to bear the burden, but neither of you can escape responsibility."
Mo Qi retorted angrily, "Don't you understand? They are both from the Seventh Tier of the Southern Heaven Gate. They had no prior enmity, so how could she have killed him?"
Nangong Yun asked, "Then why did you kill him?"
Yuwen Yan immediately said, "You can't say!"
Mo Qi replied, "We were walking on the road that day, and he looked at me. I said, 'What are you looking at?' He said, 'What about it?' Then we started fighting, and I beat him to death."
Nangong Yun's eyes widened in fury. "I don't care about the reason, you must die."
Tang Qianyu suddenly turned her face towards him, startling Mo Qi.
Her once beautiful and fair face now bore a prominent scar running from her forehead to her chin.
Mo Qi's heart twisted like a knife. He pointed at Nangong Yun, "You want me to die, but I will make you suffer a hundred times more pain than she has."
Seeing Mo Qi's imposing aura, despite his own much higher cultivation and surrounded by his own people, Nangong Yun couldn't help but tremble.
His heart was struck with ten thousand blows. He thought, this child is not simple. If he is allowed to live, he will surely become a disaster in the future.
Mo Qi looked at Tang Qianyu again. "Don't worry, I will help you heal your pain. Just tell me loudly, are you willing?"
What could she do if she wasn't willing? Tang Qianyu was exhausted, disheartened, surrounded by thorns and shackles, unable to escape.
Her state of mind at this moment was desolate and cold. She even felt that the weak sunlight was piercing.
However, Mo Qi's determined gaze, his awe-inspiring presence, and his unyielding power that seemed to emanate from the depths of hell for millennia, directly shattered her fragile facade of weakness.
"I am not willing!" Tang Qianyu cried out to the sky.
Her voice pierced the heavens and penetrated hell, as if to declare all the suffering she had endured.
"Good. From now on, let us shatter the impregnable fortress of the Nangong family," Mo Qi declared.
His fearlessness, his disdain for everything, his contempt for the world, made Tang Qianyu believe that he was serious.
However, everyone around them thought he was just hyping himself up, and a chorus of jeers erupted.
"Overestimating himself."
"A fool's dream!"
"Is he perhaps mad?"
"The Nangong family, in his words, seems as easy to break as a neighbor's wall."
"He's just bragging, anyone can do that."
"I heard the Yuwen family was annihilated a few days ago. It should have been the Nangong family."
"Yes, the entire Yuwen family was wiped out by them. He, on the other hand, is as simple as swatting a fly."
Yuwen Yan also said, "You should be more low-key. I think this is a bit much."
Nangong Yun was also dismissive. Even a child could brag. If you took his words seriously, you'd die of anger three hundred times over.
"Enough talk. Let's begin the hostage exchange. You hand over my brother and daughter, and I'll release Tang Qianyu."
Mo Qi released Nangong Qin. Nangong Qin sat on the ground, unable to stand, and shouted, "Father, save me."
Mo Qi said coldly, "Here's one for now. One for one. The other will be released after you all withdraw. Otherwise, if I release them both, and so many of you press forward, even a mouthful of saliva from each of you would drown me."
Nangong Yun clearly disagreed. Why call so many people if they were just going to retreat?
Nangong Zhennan, however, was hesitating. Logically, they didn't need such a grand display to rescue two people; he alone would have been sufficient. But after careful consideration, he decided to make a show of force.
Gathering so many people served a purpose: first, to intimidate Mo Xin and, if possible, capture or kill him. After all, he had defeated Yuwen Changsha, and he was cunning and audacious enough to sneak into their home and abduct people. Such a person must be beaten to death by a mob, or the Nangong family would lose all its prestige in the future.
Second, Mo Xin had taken refuge in the Heavenly Steps Academy, using the barrier as a shield and the academy as a backing. It would be extremely difficult for one or two people to break through. Furthermore, if the academy protected their own, dealing with him would be even more impossible.
Third, the Tang Sect was lurking behind them, watching covetously. If only a few people had come, the Tang Sect might have launched a full-scale attack, resulting in not only failing to rescue the hostages but also being captured themselves. It would be a case of losing both the wife and the soldiers.
But it was clear that with so many people present, Mo Xin would not dare to release both hostages. However, if only one was released, what if Mo Xin refused to release the other after they retreated?
Nangong Zhennan pondered for a moment and then called out loudly, "Dean Xing, where are you? Dean Xing, you are truly patient. With an army at the gates, why haven't you appeared? Are you afraid to appear, or do you not care about the academy's survival?"
The people in the safety houses all turned their eyes towards Xing Mian, who was pretending to sleep in a corner.
Xing Mian wore a pained expression and cowered. "Alas, being the dean is not easy. Everyone in the academy is immensely powerful and can stir up trouble. If I don't play the turtle, how can the academy prosper?"
Manager Qin, standing beside him, said, "Dean, we all know it's not easy for you, but you must step forward now. We'll accompany you."
Dou Bai and Manager Yue also said, "It's alright, we'll all go with you."
Finally, with much sighing and pulling, Xing Mian was brought out into the plaza.
Xing Mian looked up at Nangong Zhennan in the sky, his face contorted in a grimace. "What do you want me to come out for? Isn't this your private feud? Can't you resolve it yourselves?"
"We can resolve it ourselves," Nangong Zhennan said. "If you bring Mo Xin out, I promise not to disrupt your academy's normal order. Otherwise, as it is now, you can't conduct classes normally, can you?"
"With someone like him constantly causing trouble and kidnapping for ransom, won't your academy do anything?"
Mo Qi chuckled. "Not bad. Since you can't deal with me directly, you're trying to pressure me through other means. But I'll tell you, it won't work."
Xing Mian looked at Mo Qi and said with hatred, "You're expelled. Get out quickly."
Mo Qi looked as unconcerned as a dead pig not afraid of boiling water. "Expelled today, leaving tomorrow."
Xing Mian then looked at Nangong Zhennan with a helpless expression. "See? He says he's leaving tomorrow, which is within the rules. Even if he's leaving, shouldn't he be given time to pack his things?"
Nangong Zhennan snorted coldly. "Fine, then we'll wait here until tomorrow."