The Peerless Emperor (TPE)

"Senior brother, you…" Qin Wushuang looked ahead, his usual composed demeanor as the sect master shattered by the shock in his voice.

Today, he had come to visit his senior brother Wei Wushuang, but as soon as he entered the courtyard, he was stunned to see his once frail senior brother—now with a full head of black hair—holding back his strength as he sparred energetically with Lin Qian.

The sudden recovery of his senior brother left Qin Wushuang in disbelief. Just yesterday, his senior brother had been preparing for his final days, yet today, he was full of vitality, his condition completely transformed.

When Qin Wushuang asked what had happened, Wei Wushuang had stammered in response, while Lin Qian had provided a detailed explanation.

"Uncle, this is what happened," Lin Qian began, his face innocent and smiling. "Last night, I had a dream where I met an old man."

"This old man said he was the God of Medicine, a very powerful figure. He felt that the bond between master and disciple was strong, and that I was both handsome and kind-hearted. So, out of great compassion, he used a divine soul technique to control my body."

"In the dream, the Medicine God controlled my body and concocted a potion to cure my master. After Master drank it, he was cured."

Qin Wushuang looked at Lin Qian's innocent smile and took a deep breath. "Lin Qian, when you gave Senior Brother that healing potion before, you said it was given to you in a dream by an old Medicine Empress. Now, it's an old Medicine God?"

"Oh, Uncle, you don't understand. The Medicine God is actually the Medicine Empress's husband. The old lady thought I was clever and handsome, so she liked me a lot."

"As I mentioned before, the Medicine Empress is very kind and gentle. I suspect that she told the Medicine God to help me in my dreams."

"…"

Qin Wushuang couldn't help but shake his head, half-laughing. He didn't ask any more questions. His senior brother's disciple, Lin Qian, was shrouded in mystery and had a knack for telling tall tales with a straight face.

But Qin Wushuang couldn't deny that he admired this nephew of his senior brother, especially for his uncanny ideas.

For instance, Lin Qian once claimed that a semi-divine, semi-demonic being named "Ban Zhuren" visited him in a dream.

This being supposedly suggested that dividing the sect's disciples into classes would greatly improve their training efficiency.

Lin Qian even explained the concept of "classes" in detail.

He also mentioned dreams of two brothers, one named Midterm and the other named Final, who taught him about organizing more comprehensive and detailed examinations during the middle and end of the year.

Although Qin Wushuang found the names of these dream figures odd, he couldn't deny that the ideas themselves were highly practical.

Under Lin Qian's suggestions, the efficiency of disciple training at the Wanxiang Sect had noticeably improved.

"Now that Senior Brother is fine, I can rest easy," Qin Wushuang said, visibly relieved as he looked at Wei Wushuang. "But let's keep Senior Brother's recovery a secret for now."

Wei Wushuang nodded, understanding his junior brother's intent.

Linhai Prefecture was divided among the three sects and five clans, each ruling over countless cities. The balance of power among the eight major forces was delicate, with smaller sects clinging to these larger powers for survival.

Among the three sects, Shengtian Sect was the strongest, with Wanxiang Sect and Divine Sword Sect closely matched.

The five clans were the Tyrant Blade Clan, Rejuvenation Clan, Beast Mastery Clan, Coastal Clan, and Fire Refinement Clan.

Rejuvenation Clan and Fire Refinement Clan focused on alchemy and crafting respectively and were generally unconcerned with worldly affairs. Moreover, since all soul warriors required elixirs and weapons, conflicts with these two clans were rare.

The Coastal Clan bordered the sea and was on friendly terms with Wanxiang Sect.

The Tyrant Blade Clan, however, was ambitious and sought to surpass the Divine Sword Sect. Alongside the Beast Mastery Clan, they maintained close ties with Shengtian Sect.

As Wanxiang Sect grew in power, friction with Shengtian Sect increased, with tensions escalating further after Wei Wushuang's return to Linhai Prefecture. His unparalleled strength deterred any overt actions from Shengtian Sect.

But as Wei Wushuang's condition deteriorated and rumors spread that he was nearing death, Shengtian Sect began to stir once more.

"Actually, I came here today for another matter," Qin Wushuang said, turning his gaze to Lin Qian with a sigh. "Regarding your duel with Elder Lei Tai's grandson, you could end this peacefully by simply apologizing."

Upon hearing this, Lin Qian's expression darkened. "Uncle, do you really think I would apologize?"

Qin Wushuang had anticipated Lin Qian's response and turned to Wei Wushuang. "Senior Brother, what should we do?"

"I've only just begun recovering, and my strength is still returning. If I were at my peak, I'd simply slap that old fool to death," Wei Wushuang said, patting Lin Qian on the shoulder. "But right now, a true man knows when to bend. Don't risk your life over pride."

Lin Qian sighed, understanding the difficult position his master and uncle were in.

A month ago, Lei Heng, the Supreme Elder of Wanxiang Sect, had two grandsons: Lei Qian and Lei Kun.

Lei Kun, relying on his grandfather's status, was arrogant and overbearing. When he saw a beautiful female disciple, he forcibly assaulted her.

The female disciple, devastated, attempted suicide by hanging but was saved by her companions, though she was left mentally incapacitated.

Upon learning of this, Lin Qian confronted Lei Kun, who was also at the Soul Shaping Stage, and broke his limbs, crippling his dantian and turning him into a complete invalid.

It wasn't out of mercy that Lin Qian spared him, but rather because he believed that death would be too easy for someone like Lei Kun. Reducing him to a powerless state, where life would be worse than death, was a more fitting punishment.

Lei Heng, upon learning of this, was enraged, but with Qin Wushuang and Wei Wushuang protecting Lin Qian, he couldn't take action himself.

While Qin Wushuang was the sect master, Lei Heng's position as Supreme Elder was nearly equal, making it impossible for him to protect Lin Qian single-handedly.

As a result, Lei Kun's older brother, Lei Qian, issued a life-and-death challenge to Lin Qian.

A life-and-death duel could only end when one party was dead.

Qin Wushuang had been trying to find a way to have the duel called off.

Lei Qian was a prodigy who had completed eight rounds of Nirvana and was already at the ninth stage of the Nirvana Realm at the age of twenty-four.

Although Lin Qian's physical strength was formidable, comparable to that of the Nirvana Realm, it was only on par with those who had undergone three rounds of Nirvana, and even then, only against those below the fourth stage of Nirvana.

Lin Qian was called the Young Emperor merely because of Wei Wushuang.

Moreover, news that Lin Qian couldn't perform Yuan-Weapon Armament had spread, leading many other talented young soul warriors to view him with disdain.

Yuan-Weapon Armament required a martial soul, and a complete one at that, to use.

It involved merging the core of a weapon-shaped Yuan-weapon and a soul-mineral refined sphere into an armament.

There were two reasons why someone might be unable to perform Yuan-Weapon Armament.

The first was damage to the martial soul, which prevented the necessary connection between the martial soul, the weapon core, and the weapon components.

The second was an innate lack of talent, resulting in an extremely low-level martial soul.

In either case, the person would be unable to break through to the Nirvana Realm, rendering them a talentless failure.

Lin Qian's physical strength might have been impressive, but to outsiders, he was just a talentless failure.

Ultimately, he was only invincible at the Soul Shaping Stage and could contend with some ordinary Nirvana Realm warriors.

In other words, almost everyone in the Wanxiang Sect believed that Lin Qian was walking into a deathtrap with this life-and-death duel.

Even his master Wei Wushuang and his uncle Qin Wushuang didn't have high hopes for him.

"But… is Lin Qian really walking into his own death?"