Chapter Ninety-Seven: Taking Action

In the end, Qin Jing acquired Old Song’s blue-and-white porcelain plate for six million. Old Song’s face bloomed with joy as he handed the plate to Qin Jing, repeatedly saying, “Brother Qin, this plate is yours now. Take good care of it.”

Qin Jing smiled and replied, “Will you still come over to help me, Old Song? If you do, I’d like you to look after these items for me.”

With that, Old Song had no further doubts and agreed in delighted surprise. These were small matters; what truly drew attention was whether Qin Jing could produce the six million in cash.

After the auction ended, Ma Tong lingered nearby, making snide remarks, “So you neighbors are in cahoots, huh? The money hasn’t even changed hands, and the goods are already given away?”

His words were rather sinister, inevitably drawing a few curious glances from others.

Old Song was about to say, “I trust Qin Jing,” but Qin Jing waved him off and said, “Brother, let’s head to the bank. I’ll transfer the money directly.”

He turned to greet Elder Wang, then led Old Song outside. To Qin Jing’s surprise, Gu Ruoyi came after them as well. She glanced at Ma Tong, who stood not far away, and whispered to Qin Jing, “Junior Brother, you’ve certainly made quite the splash this time. But have you considered, after offending him so fiercely, what you’ll do if he seeks revenge?”

“Revenge? This is a law-governed society—what can he do to me? Senior Sister, you’re in the entertainment industry, so be careful. When you encounter this kind of thing, don’t be afraid—just confront them head-on!”

Qin Jing deliberately misconstrued Gu Ruoyi’s meaning, responding with a rough, hearty remark.

Gu Ruoyi almost lost her composure and burst into laughter, but still replied with annoyance, “Oh, please. With your way of doing things, you’ll end up offending everyone.”

“Hmph, I’m not some beauty—no one cares to pay me any mind, let alone be offended.”

Hearing this, Gu Ruoyi was dumbfounded. Though blunt, the logic was oddly convincing.

“Senior Sister, it’s fine. I know you care. It’s broad daylight, what could happen? At most Ma Tong might try to pick a fight. I’ve got things to do, so I’ll be off.”

Seeing Qin Jing’s casual attitude, Gu Ruoyi refrained from saying more. Watching his departing figure, she stomped her foot and thought: Forget it, I’ve barely exchanged a word with him before. I’ve done what I could—no need to worry further. Let’s hope Ma Tong abides by the official rules and doesn’t recklessly target ordinary people.

…

Once they left, the real show began.

Qin Jing breathed a sigh of relief and pulled Old Song toward the bank at the mouth of the alley. Ma Tong followed at a measured distance behind, while Qin Jing pretended not to notice.

Transferring six million required some procedures, but since Qin Jing and Old Song were the parties in the transaction, the process was swift, taking about half an hour.

Old Song stared at the numbers in his passbook, nearly moved to tears, and sighed to Qin Jing, “After a lifetime of toil, now I can finally relax.”

Knowing Old Song was ready to retire, Qin Jing smiled and said, “Don’t say that, Old Song—you promised me you’d help keep up appearances.”

Old Song was jolted, his spirit revived, and he laughed, “I know, I know.”

Outside the bank, Qin Jing bid Old Song farewell, then headed alone to the nearby Erdaozi Alley parking lot. It was midday now and the lot was deserted. Qin Jing anticipated that Ma Tong would make his move here.

“That pretty boy really doesn’t know his place. He never wonders why people fear me, Uncle Ma. Let’s see if that damned woman can still protect you now!”

As Ma Tong’s chilling voice echoed, Qin Jing turned a corner and suddenly saw his figure looming ahead.

It was as if Ma Tong had shifted his position in an instant—from behind Qin Jing to in front, like a shadow. An ordinary person might think they’d run into a ghost.

Ma Tong saw Qin Jing remain silent and assumed he was paralyzed with fear. Since becoming a transcendent, Ma Tong enjoyed intimidating ordinary people—especially teasing beauties like Yuan Shenshen. If not for her connection with Lian Weili, Ma Tong would have used more drastic methods.

Seeing Qin Jing’s reaction, Ma Tong planted his hands on his hips and boasted, “Hey, kid, now you know who you’ve messed with?”

Is this the typical behavior of someone newly elevated to the transcendent realm? At least Ma Tong wasn’t as inflated as Hu Chaoyang.

But Qin Jing had no intention of playing games with him. He looked at Ma Tong and said calmly, “Ma Junshan wouldn’t dare speak to me like you do.”

That single sentence stunned Ma Tong.

Ma Junshan wasn’t just his benefactor, but the most powerful figure he knew—a transcendent of the fourth level, a grand cultivator. To Ma Tong, he was practically a celestial.

“You… you say that again? You’re calling my uncle’s name directly?”

Though his words faltered, Ma Tong’s mind hadn’t caught up.

Seeing this, Qin Jing was about to say more but simply reached out his hand.

In the next moment, milky-white spiritual energy gathered in his palm, rising and swirling until it formed a dragon-shaped mist. Suddenly, the mist shot forth, transforming into a mighty dragon that opened its fierce maw toward Ma Tong.

“Mother of god!”

Ma Tong was instantly terrified—not from ignorance, but because he'd seen this kind of power before. He’d heard Ma Junshan’s lieutenants say that the third and fourth transcendent levels were fundamentally different, with the latter possessing abundant spiritual energy that could be projected outward to directly harm others. Below the third level, spiritual energy could only be infused into the body or objects, and was considered inferior.

Now, however, it was too late for regrets. Qin Jing’s “Dragon Capture Hand” was a universal skill from “Dragon Strategy”, usable from initial cultivation up to the ninth transcendent level. It was easy to learn but hard to master; Qin Jing had only glanced at it once, and now could crudely execute it. Yet after using it, his control over the dragon-shaped energy was greatly diminished.

Swish.

The dragon-shaped aura condensed before Ma Tong, transforming into white ropes that bound him tightly.

Fortunately, it was merely a binding skill.

Qin Jing secretly breathed a sigh of relief; he hadn’t expected his casual move to be so conspicuous.

But outwardly, he continued the act.

“What did you say just now? Repeat it for me.”

Ma Tong’s lips trembled, stammering, “Sir… so you know my uncle… Please, for my uncle’s sake, treat me as nothing and let me go.”

By the end, Ma Tong simply dropped to his knees with a thud.