The middle-aged man's appearance was incredibly abrupt. It seemed as if he had just arrived, yet the information conveyed in his words clearly indicated that he had been paying attention to the situation here all along. When Jingfeng made a move against Qin Heng, he did not intervene. But when Qin Heng was about to end Jingfeng's life, the man stepped in to block him and even threatened him. Obviously, the middle-aged man was on Jingfeng's side.

"HEH." Qin Heng gave him a cold glance and said in a deep voice, "Scram!"

"Young man, confidence is good, but overconfidence is arrogance," the middle-aged man retorted with a cold laugh, seemingly unconcerned with Qin Heng's strength. "Such arrogance can easily provoke beings you cannot afford to offend."

"Uncle Master! Are you Uncle Bai?" Jingfeng suddenly straightened up, looking at the middle-aged man before him with immense surprise. "Uncle Bai, I've heard my master talk about you; I've seen your photograph! Save me! Uncle Bai, save me!"

"HAHA, dear nephew, rest assured, you won't come to any harm with me here," the middle-aged man said with a hearty laugh, appearing very relaxed. He then turned to Qin Heng with a light chuckle. "Boy, do you know who I am?"

"No matter who you are, if you don't get out of the way, you will soon become a corpse." Qin Heng's eyes narrowed slightly, and he chuckled. "A creature as insignificant as an ant dares to make noise in front of me; you're quite brave."

Qin Heng could see clearly the Cultivation Realm of the middle-aged man—a mere beginner of the Innate Realm, roughly equivalent to the seventh or eighth level of Qi Refinement. In Qin Heng's eyes, this was weaker than an ant.

A casual breath from Qin Heng could reduce the middle-aged man's flesh to ash and his bones to powder, obliterating him body and soul, ensuring a death beyond death!

Too weak! To think he still dares to speak so arrogantly. He's truly courting death.

"HAHAHA! Qin Heng, you really are too arrogant, too conceited!" Jingfeng actually covered his arm and stood up; his shoulder was no longer bleeding.

A Grandmaster of Transcendence can control the blood circulation within his own body; once consciousness is restored, stopping the bleeding is quite simple.

"Qin Heng, Uncle Bai's strength is far beyond your imagination. He is a true Innate Grandmaster, and has been for decades!" Jingfeng said, looking at Qin Heng. "You will definitely not be his match, even if you are also Innate!"

"No, he is not Innate," the middle-aged man gently shook his head, looking at Qin Heng. "I do not feel the power of the internal and external converging, nor the channeling of Heavenly Essence in you. You remain merely in the Transcendence Realm. Am I right, young man?"

From beginning to end, he maintained an air of ease, clearly positioning himself above Qin Heng, with absolute confidence that Qin Heng could never be his match. He did not consider Qin Heng a threat at all. Thus, he spoke recklessly, even taking a lecturing tone to admonish Qin Heng.

"So, you are not an Innate Grandmaster."

Jingfeng looked at Qin Heng with an enlightened expression, his gaze lacking the previous wariness and fear. "Between the Innate Realm and the Transcendence Realm lies a heavenly gate—an insurmountable chasm, Qin Heng. You should know that."

"Someone not in the Innate Realm could definitely not be a match for a Great Grandmaster." The corners of the middle-aged man's mouth lifted slightly, and with a faint smile, he said to Qin Heng, "Yet you were able to easily defeat a Grandmaster of the same Realm. It must be because the martial arts you practice are quite miraculous."

At this time, the people from Jiuchong Pavilion also stepped out. With looks of extreme surprise, they watched the middle-aged man who had blocked Qin Heng, and Jingfeng, who still lacked an arm, feeling very puzzled.

What's going on here? Who is the middle-aged man now standing in Qin Heng's way? What exactly is an Innate Grandmaster?

To ordinary people, they might at most know that martial artists are differentiated by Open Force, Hidden Force, and the Transcendence Realm, with the peak fighters being called Grandmasters of Transcendence. But Innate? Almost no one had heard of it. Even though the people here were basically the elites from various industries in Beijing, high society figures, they were also not clear about such high-level Martial Dao information.

However, Li Qiuting obviously knew what it meant to be an Innate Grandmaster. Upon hearing that this middle-aged man was actually an Innate Grandmaster, her expression turned deathly pale. She hurriedly came to Qin Heng's side, bowing respectfully to the middle-aged man.

"Sir, I am Li Qiuting from the Li family in the east of Beijing," she said to the middle-aged man with utmost respect. "Mr. Qin is also no ordinary person; please show mercy and let him go."

Li Qiuting was a person with a very strong sense of justice. In her eyes, Qin Heng was her classmate and hadn't done anything wrong, so he shouldn't be punished. Even if she faced an Innate Grandmaster, she had to try. Besides, while the Li family of Beijing might not be on par with top-tier families like the He Family, they still held some weight and could perhaps be of use.

"The Li family, Li Qiuting?" The middle-aged man sized her up slightly and smiled. "Looking at your features, you seem familiar. Isn't your grandfather called Li Dongshan?"

"Yes! That's my grandfather! Are you friends with my grandfather?" Li Qiuting asked with some surprise. This would make things easier; if there was an old friendship, pleading for Qin Heng's sake should not be very difficult.

"No." The middle-aged man shook his head and smiled. "I held Li Dongshan when he was small, around one year old. Decades have passed, and his granddaughter has grown so much."

"..." Li Qiuting was instantly stunned, her expression frozen, and she was somewhat bewildered.

What did that mean!? She had thought this middle-aged man was a friend of her grandfather's, and maybe she could plead for leniency, but he claimed to have held him when her grandfather was around one year old!? The relation was too complicated! This man appeared to be in his forties, but when her grandfather was around one year old—that was over eighty years ago! Eighty years had passed, yet he still looked to be in his forties. This was simply incredible!

"Are you done talking?" Qin Heng spoke up, pulling Li Qiuting gently behind him as he faced the middle-aged man. "If you want to live, then step aside. Don't stop me from killing Jingfeng. If you want to die, stand right there."

His tone was very calm, as though he were discussing something trivial, not taking the middle-aged man into consideration at all.

This attitude caused the middle-aged man's expression to darken, and he sneered, "Young man! Do you still not understand the situation? You are merely in the Transcendence Realm, while I am an Innate Grandmaster, and between us there is..."

"What a nuisance!"

Qin Heng let out a cold snort, clearly impatient, and then, with a straightforward flip of his hand, he slapped the middle-aged man squarely on the chest!

WHOMP!

The middle-aged man's speech was cut short. The man, who had just been acting superior, was sent flying on the spot, utterly powerless to resist!