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In the barbecue shop, the calligraphy and paintings on the wall are not really genuine antiques, especially the one that Qin Fang and Song Qingshan saw, which resembles a child's graffiti.

But upon seeing the painting, both Qin Fang and Song Qingshan were momentarily stunned, although their reactions soon differed.

The painting itself is nothing special; the real focus is the inscription on the painting... Ling Xuzi!

In the martial world, especially within some major sects, there is practically no one who doesn't know what the name Ling Xuzi represents, because he is clearly the current Kunlun Sect Leader, standing at the peak of the martial world, without a rival!

In Dragon Country, there aren't many sects that can be called time-honored, and the most powerful with the deepest foundations are Shaolin and Kunlun.

Next are sects like the Snow Mountain Sect, Qingcheng, Tang Sect, and the Esoteric Sect, though they are obviously weaker compared to the former two.

Further behind are sects like Wudang, Emei, Kongtong, and others like Tianchi and Jian Nan. These sects have weaker foundations but still boast hundreds of years of accumulated heritage and have many strong experts within them...

These sects are the real backbone of Dragon Country's martial world and the strongest forces within the martial world, once forming the forces of the Righteous Alliance...

As for other sects like the Xingyi Twelve Branches, their foundations are much weaker, and their power is highly dispersed. While there may be a few decent experts, compared to these sects, they are on a completely different level... at most they are considered unremarkable.

In other words, the strongest sects in the Dragon Country martial world are Shaolin and Kunlun, and the person whose name is on this painting that Qin Fang and the others saw is called Ling Xuzi, who is clearly the current Kunlun Sect Leader and the top martial artist of the past thirty years...

Perhaps Shaolin also has experts at a similar level to Ling Xuzi, but Shaolin, as a Buddhist sect, is relatively low-key, and those enlightened monks do not vie for such vain titles, naturally making Ling Xuzi's renown even more prominent...

The reason Qin Fang and the others know that the endorsed "Ling Xuzi" is the Kunlun Sect Leader Ling Xuzi is due to the presence of a seal beside it. Although the ink mark is faint, it can still be discerned that it is clearly the Sect Leader's seal of the Kunlun Sect stamped on it.

Just this alone is sufficient proof that this Ling Xuzi is definitely the Kunlun Sect Leader.

And it was precisely because of this discovery that Qin Fang decided to use the Scouting Skill on the father-daughter pair who owned the barbecue shop. However, the girl Bingbing turned out to be quite ordinary, with no traces of martial training, but this barbecue shop owner was not an ordinary person...

"Level 8 Great Grandmaster..."

This barbecue shop owner is not very old, seemingly in his forties, at most in his fifties, about the same age as Qin Fang's father, Qin Tiannan. But his prowess made Qin Fang awestruck, reaching the level of a Level 8 Great Grandmaster.

Such an expert, concealed as the owner of a seemingly inconspicuous barbecue shop, dealing with barbecue every day, is truly puzzling.

Even if Qin Fang and Song Qingshan combined their strength, they fear they wouldn't match a single hand of his, yet here he was standing right in front of them.

Even when his daughter was being harassed by hooligans, Qin Fang and his companions felt compelled to help resolve the situation unnecessarily... Even if they hadn't intervened, those hooligans probably wouldn't have come to any good end.

At least Qin Fang noticed afterward that several skewers used for grilling meat had appeared beside the barbecue shop owner, and each was heated to a glowing red at the tip...

If such skewers were to pierce the hooligans, even imagining the consequences made Qin Fang and Song Qingshan's scalps tingle.

The information relayed by the Scouting Skill not only informed Qin Fang that the barbecue shop owner was a Level 8 Great Grandmaster but also confirmed his identity.

Kunlun Elder!

This seemingly ordinary, common middle-aged man was surprisingly an elder of Kunlun, one of the two sects with the strongest foundations in the martial world!

Discovering such a revered figure, how could Qin Fang and Song Qingshan remain seated, and so they politely approached to greet him.

No matter what, an encounter is a kind of fate, especially since their earlier intervention also formed a good bond with this top figure. Perhaps they might even establish a connection with such a remarkable character.

Song Qingshan was in a slightly better position as a member of the Tianying Sect, which could barely be considered a formal sect within the martial world. Compared to the Kunlun Sect, it is unremarkable.

If Song Qingshan could attach himself to the Kunlun Sect, it would also benefit Tianying Sect, potentially enhancing its position within the martial world.

Qin Fang, on the other hand, had a deadly feud with Tang Sect and a similarly irreconcilable relationship with the Tianchi Sect, and his connection with Shaolin was neither good nor bad. If he could associate with the Kunlun Sect in some way, he might not have anything tangible to gain, but he could use their influence to gently suppress Tang Sect and Tianchi Sect...

He only needed these two sects to calm down temporarily so that when Qin Fang returned from his journey to Japan or completed his task on Devil's Island, he wouldn't fear these two sects, as by then Qin Fang's power should have securely reached the Grandmaster-level tier...

"Thank you both for helping just now, it's because of you that my daughter didn't get into trouble!"

Understanding how Qin Fang and his companion figured out his identity, the barbecue shop owner returned to his previous calm demeanor, gently clasping his fists in response, seemingly not very enthusiastic about Qin Fang and his companion's friendliness.

"You're too kind, elder, even if we juniors didn't step in, you could have easily handled those hooligans yourself..."

Qin Fang and Song Qingshan both chuckled bitterly, feeling a bit embarrassed. They could handle it easily, so how could this Level 8 Great Grandmaster not handle it?

"You all go inside first. I still have business to attend to. Let Bingbing offer you a few cups of wine on my behalf as a token of my gratitude..."

The expert seemed not to want to get too close to Qin Fang and his group and, knowing their identities, somewhat impatiently ushered them inside.

Faced with such treatment, Qin Fang and Song Qingshan could only smile wryly, clasp their fists, and obediently return inside the barbecue shop.

The skillful uncle continued with his work, leisurely grilling food, as if the previous event had no impact on him.

"Thank you, big brothers, for your help. Otherwise, I would have..."

However, the girl Bingbing, just as her father mentioned, poured them a cup of wine to express her gratitude to Qin Fang and the others.

Even though only Wu Jian and Song Qingshan actually stepped in, clearly, the other three helped as well, even if they didn't all need to act.

"Miss Bingbing, you're too kind. If you really want to thank someone, thank Wu Jian. This guy went all out for a beauty, and since we're his brothers, we can't let him suffer alone..."

Qin Fang chuckled, downed his drink, and good-naturedly pushed Wu Jian forward, making a lighthearted joke about the pair.

Before the confrontation, Wu Jian and Bingbing only had a hint of romantic tension, but hadn't broken the ice.

Yet, Wu Jian's fierce protection of Bingbing punctured that thin barrier, and Qin Fang simply seized the opportunity to push things along.

"..."

The girl Bingbing, still young and bashful, became even more embarrassed when teased by Qin Fang, casting a coquettish glare at Wu Jian, while her face turned a deep shade of red.

"Hehe..."

Wu Jian, usually sharp-witted, seemed at a loss under her gaze, almost losing his soul, only able to stand there grinning foolishly, unable to utter a word.

"By the way, Miss Bingbing, what is your family name?"

Brushing off the jokes, Qin Fang naturally did not forget about serious matters. With a few words, he managed to get closer to Bingbing, and now he politely inquired.

Though the girl was not a martial artist, her father was highly skilled, prompting Qin Fang to tread carefully.

"I bear my mother's surname, Bai... but my father's surname is Chu!"

Bingbing smiled, understanding Qin Fang's underlying inquiry and courteously replied.

"Surname Chu?"

Qin Fang and Song Qingshan paused, exchanging glances, seemingly recalling someone quite renowned in the martial world.

"Is your father by any chance Chu Tianji, the Qianyu Divine Sword?"

This question almost slipped from Qin Fang's lips involuntarily, and Song Qingshan, intending to ask the same, refrained after hearing Qin Fang voice it.

The Kunlun Sect is unusual, with elders primarily being Taoist priests, each with a Taoist name, except for one, the one Qin Fang mentioned, Qianyu Divine Sword Chu Tianji.

"Huh, how do you know my father's name?"

Bai Bingbing was taken aback, surprised, for she hadn't mentioned her father by name, yet Qin Fang seemed to guess it right away.

"Why call my dad the Qianyu Divine Sword? Is he really a master?"

Evidently, this innocent and charming girl knew little about her father's exploits. It's likely that Chu Tianji wished to keep his daughter out of martial disputes, hence concealing these matters, and hadn't even taught Bai Bingbing any martial arts... (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, we welcome you to Qidian (qidian.com) to recommend votes, monthly votes, your support is my greatest motivation.)

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