Bloodstained Wutan City! (Please Keep Reading)

The Three-Year Agreement was like a whip, lashing fiercely across Xiao Yan's heart.

He turned all his humiliation and resentment into motivation for cultivation, immersing himself in improving his Dou Qi and refining medicine almost without sleep or rest.

However, though the tree wished for peace, the wind would not cease.

After years of suspicion and friction caused by repeated robberies of medicinal herbs, the other two great families of Wutan City, the Jia Lie Family and the Ao Ba Family, had somehow formed a secret alliance.

Noticing that the Xiao Family had become internally unstable in recent years because of Xiao Yan, and having gained the tacit approval of certain unknown forces, they began ruthlessly suppressing the Xiao Family's businesses.

First, several Xiao Family marketplaces were successively smashed, looted, and burned by unidentified people. Guards were injured, and goods were stolen.

Then, the Xiao Family's caravans transporting medicinal herbs and minerals were repeatedly ambushed outside the city, suffering devastating losses.

More seriously, the Jia Lie and Ao Ba Families joined forces to force down prices and engage in malicious competition, nearly cutting off most of the Xiao Family's sources of income.

Inside the Xiao Family's council hall, the atmosphere was so heavy it seemed ready to drip with water.

"Clan Leader! The western marketplace was smashed again yesterday. Three guards were seriously injured!"

"The medicinal herb convoy heading to Qingshan Town... was completely wiped out. Every last bit of cargo was looted!"

"Our customers have nearly all been snatched away by the Jia Lie and Ao Ba Families with low prices. If this continues, we won't even be able to pay the clan members their monthly allowances!"

Bad news came one after another. Xiao Zhan's face was livid as he sat in the seat of honor, his fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

The Elders were equally troubled, sighing one after another.

The Xiao Family had reached a critical moment of life or death.

Xiao Yan stood in the corner, listening to the reports, his heart twisting like a knife.

Though he had not been well received within the clan due to his cultivation and personality, this was still his root, his family!

How could he cultivate in peace when he watched his family teeter on the brink of collapse under the oppression of outside enemies?

"Father, is there really no way?" Xiao Yan could not help asking, his voice hoarse.

Xiao Zhan wearily rubbed his brow and said in distress:

"The two families have joined forces, and they were stronger than us to begin with. Moreover, their actions this time have been ruthless and decisive. Someone is likely advising them from behind the scenes and giving them confidence."

He suspected that the Misty Cloud Sect was secretly exerting pressure over the broken engagement, but he had no evidence.

After several hours of discussion, the meeting ended in oppressive silence and without any result.

Xiao Yan returned to his modest room, where the anxiety and helplessness in his heart nearly consumed him.

His family was in mortal danger, making his Three-Year Agreement seem utterly laughable.

If his family was gone, what meaning would there be in going alone to the Misty Cloud Sect to wash away his humiliation?

"Teacher!" Xiao Yan called anxiously in his heart. "You saw it all! The Jia Lie and Ao Ba Families have gone too far! The Xiao Family is about to collapse! Please help the Xiao Family!"

Inside the ring, Han Feng's soul fell silent for a moment before his cold voice slowly sounded.

"Two ant-like families, with no one stronger than Da Dou Shi, dare act so arrogantly?"

"Yes! Teacher, if you act, you can easily destroy them!" Xiao Yan said hurriedly, as if he had grasped a lifeline.

He knew that Han Feng's Soul Power was formidable. Although Han Feng could not leave the ring for long, dealing with Da Dou Shi for a brief moment would be more than easy.

"Hmph. What benefit is there for me in helping you?" Han Feng sneered.

"Destroying two families would consume no small amount of Soul Power. My recovery is at a critical stage now. How could I waste soul power on such trivial matters for you?"

Xiao Yan's heart sank, but he soon gritted his teeth. "Teacher! If you are willing to act, I am willing to give another tenth... no, two-tenths of the Dou Qi I gain from cultivation in the future to help you recover! I only ask that you save the Xiao Family!"

He was drinking poison to quench his thirst, but he had no other choice now.

Upon hearing the increased offering, Han Feng's tone seemed to soften somewhat.

Two-tenths? Fine. For the sake of your filial devotion, this old man will make an exception and act once.

But only this once! If you cause trouble again in the future, don't expect this old man to help you!

"Yes! Thank you, Teacher!" Xiao Yan said joyfully, quickly expressing his thanks.

That night, the moon hid and the stars were sparse. Wutan City was shrouded in an eerie silence.

The Jia Lie Family residence.

Clan Leader Jia Lie Bi was discussing matters in secret with several confidants in his study, a satisfied smile on his face.

The plan to suppress the Xiao Family was progressing smoothly. Before long, Wutan City would be ruled by the Jia Lie and Ao Ba Families.

Suddenly, the candles in the study flickered violently without warning, then went out.

"What is going on?" Jia Lie Bi shouted with a frown.

No one answered.

A pressure that made souls tremble instantly flooded the entire room, and even the entire Jia Lie Family residence, like a rising tide!

Jia Lie Bi's expression changed drastically. As a Da Dou Shi, he could not even move a finger beneath that pressure!

His eyes filled with endless terror. His mouth hung open, yet he could not make a sound.

The next moment, he felt as if an invisible giant hand had seized his soul tightly, then torn it apart!

"Pfft—"

Jia Lie Bi, several of his confidants in the study, and every core family member in the residence who had reached the Dou Shi level bled from all seven orifices at the same time. Their eyes instantly dimmed, and their bodies collapsed limply, devoid of life!

Their souls had been completely crushed in an instant by overwhelming Soul Power!

Almost simultaneously, the same scene played out within the Ao Ba Family residence.

Clan Leader Ao Ba Pa and the elite forces of his family had their lives harvested by an invisible soul attack, without any ability to resist.

The residences of the two great families fell into deathly silence.

Only some low-level servants and clan members trembled in inexplicable terror, completely unaware of what had happened.

The next morning, as the sun rose, news that the clan leaders and core members of the Jia Lie and Ao Ba Families had mysteriously died overnight spread through all of Wutan City like a plague!

The entire city was shaken!

Everyone felt a chill rise up their spines.

The two clan leaders had both been Da Dou Shi experts, yet they had been silently killed on the same night?

What kind of terrifying method was this?

Naturally, the Xiao Family also received the news. Xiao Zhan and the Elders were first shocked, then overjoyed, but this was immediately followed by deep fear and confusion.

Who had done this? Why had they helped the Xiao Family?

Only Xiao Yan, upon hearing the news, returned to his room alone and tightly shut the door, his body trembling slightly from lingering fear and excitement.

"Teacher, you..." he murmured in his heart.

"Hmph. They were merely two ants. Consider them lucky that they died quickly."

Han Feng's cold voice carried a trace of exhaustion from overexertion, but even more of the cruel indifference of someone who regarded life as nothing.

"Remember your promise. Two-tenths of your Dou Qi as an offering!"

"Yes! This disciple would never dare forget!"

Xiao Yan hastily agreed. His heart was filled with awe for Han Feng's power, while he also breathed a sigh of relief.

The crisis facing his family had finally been resolved.

However, he did not know that although Han Feng's action had caused little disturbance, the soul pressure belonging to a Peak Dou Emperor had still been noticed by certain beings.

Within the Xiao Family's small courtyard.

Gu Long was teaching Xun Er a technique for controlling Dou Qi when Ling Ying appeared behind him like a ghost and said in a low voice:

"Young Master Gu Long, Jia Lie Bi, Ao Ba Pa, and the core members of their families all died last night after their souls were shattered."

Gu Long paused, a flash of understanding passing through his eyes.

He nodded. "I know."

Ling Ying hesitated, then added, "The method was very strange. It was pure soul annihilation.

"The attacker possessed extremely powerful Soul Power, at least at the Dou Emperor level, and their use of soul power was exceptionally ruthless and experienced."

"Mm." Gu Long remained calm, as though he had expected this long ago.

Naturally, he knew Han Feng had acted. Xiao Yan had been forced to the end of the road, and seeking help from his "teacher" had been the inevitable choice.

But Han Feng's action, while resolving the Xiao Family's troubles, had also exposed a trace of himself.

No one in Wutan City could see through it, but if those fellows from the Soul Hall, who were exceptionally sensitive to souls, happened to notice that powerful soul fluctuations had appeared in this remote place, it might bring unnecessary trouble.

However, that might not be a bad thing for him.

The murkier the waters, the easier it would be for him, a hidden true dragon, to act.

"Wutan City is about to change."

Gu Long said it lightly, then stopped paying attention to the matter and continued guiding Xun Er's cultivation.

Just as he had expected, with the Jia Lie and Ao Ba Families leaderless, they instantly fell into internal strife and external troubles.

The Xiao Family, which had originally been suppressed to the point of barely being able to breathe, seized the opportunity to swiftly annex most of the two families' businesses, becoming Wutan City's sole overlord in one leap.

With the Xiao Family's crisis resolved, Xiao Yan once again threw himself into frenzied cultivation, both for the Three-Year Agreement and for the strength to control his own fate without relying on others.

Yet he failed to realize that the price he was paying was pushing him toward an even more dangerous abyss.

The news that two Da Dou Shi had fallen in Wutan City overnight was also slowly spreading farther and farther.

The seeds of the storm had already been planted.

Did the two great families have the support of the Misty Cloud Sect behind them?