The Jing Family

Jing Family Villa.

Since no one had notified the board of directors of the meeting, Jing Gufeng only learned that he had been kicked off the board at three in the afternoon.

Chairman Zhang Minglong's backstabbing move enraged Jing Gufeng to the extreme.

The Jing Family was, after all, a prominent figure in Canglong City.

Although they hadn't truly entered high society, with the hundreds of millions in assets accumulated over generations, they held considerable influence in their respective industries of education, publishing, and printing.

Now that he was unceremoniously dismissed by Hanyang University, he immediately dialed Zhang Minglong's number.

Considering that the Zhang Family's influence was even greater than the Jing Family's, and they were on good terms with many high-ranking officials in the local government, he suppressed his anger and said, "Chairman Zhang, may I ask what I did wrong to warrant such a grand mobilization from you?"

"Old Jing, if I were you, I wouldn't have made this call," Zhang Minglong's voice came from the other end, betraying no hint of emotion. "You should know that while I am the chairman, my power isn't so great that I can arbitrarily deal with a director. But why did the entire board unanimously pass this decision this time? Why don't you think about it yourself and see who you might have offended."

"Me? Offended someone?" Jing Gufeng frowned.

The industries the Jing Family was involved in naturally had competitors, but none of them possessed the power to influence the entire Hanyang University board. After all, who could become a Hanyang University director if they weren't worth over a hundred million and a prominent figure locally?

"Chairman, just tell me directly. Which big shot dislikes me? That way, I'll know who to pray to." Jing Gufeng said.

There was a moment of silence on the other end. Considering their years of cooperation, he spoke indirectly for a bit before finally saying, "Mayor Tian called me last night. We are currently competing to be recognized as Jiangzhou's advanced education city."

"Mayor Tian!?" Jing Gufeng was stunned.

His heart sank, and he felt a wave of dizziness. How could he have offended such a powerful figure!?

"This... I've never interacted with Mayor Tian..."

"Mayor Tian has been keeping a close eye on people in the education sector who abuse their power and arbitrarily dismiss individuals. We're under a lot of pressure, so I hope you can understand. That's all. Please come to hand over your responsibilities, and let's part on good terms." Zhang Minglong didn't say anything further and hung up the phone.

Jing Gufeng's expression grew even uglier as he heard the dial tone.

"Abuse of power? Dismissal?" His mind couldn't help but recall Li Pin, who had repeatedly disrespected him. He had originally planned to have Jing Yunshan use compensation as a pretext to provoke Li Pin into making an outrageous demand, so he could later accuse him of extortion. However, Li Pin never came to Hanyang University and ignored Jing Yunshan's repeated invitations to make amends. In desperation, he had spread the word of Li Pin's dismissal, hoping to lure Li Pin to the school to argue his case. But even then... Li Pin remained completely unresponsive. Even now that he had genuinely fired Li Pin, there was still no reaction from him, as if he didn't care about anything at Hanyang University at all. He was powerless against such an unyielding Martial Artist. Now, with the board's sudden decision, and mentioning his dismissal of a student... Had Li Pin retaliated? As for the news of Li Pin killing a Cat Demon, defeating Wang Daoyi, and reaching Embrace Dan, his circle had no way of accessing such information.

"This is bad, Dad, something's happened!" A shout came from outside. Jing Zhengqi rushed in, "Several suppliers for our printing factory have all announced the termination of our cooperation. People are causing trouble at our three training centers, and some have been injured. Even our publishing industry has encountered problems all at once..." He said, a hint of anger in his eyes, "Someone is targeting us!"

Jing Gufeng's face changed. They're moving this fast!? He immediately took out his phone and made a call. When the call connected, a hurried voice came from the other end before he could even ask anything, "Old Jing, how did you offend the Five Elements Sect!? You know how influential the Five Elements Sect is! This martial arts sect's actual influence is several times greater than its size. Hurry and figure out where you offended their higher-ups, then prepare a generous gift and apologize in person. Otherwise, your Jing Family will never be able to establish yourselves in Canglong City again."

"The Five Elements Sect!?" Jing Gufeng's pupils constricted. "The number one power in our Canglong City's martial arts world, the Five Elements Sect!?"

"Who else could it be?" the voice said again. "The Five Elements Sect, who dares not give them face in either the underworld or the legitimate world? We truly cannot afford to offend such a behemoth! If you don't resolve this properly, it might be more than just financial loss; you could be in danger of losing your life! I can only say so much, you'll have to handle it yourself." With that, he quickly hung up.

"Five Elements Sect! Five Elements Sect!"

Jing Gufeng's mood was no longer heavy at this moment; fear had already entered his eyes.

The Five Elements Sect was a martial arts power.

Why did the country grant Martial Artists various privileges!?

It was because the strength of Martial Artists far surpassed ordinary people.

"A sharp weapon in hand, murderous intent arises; when a common man is angered, blood splatters five steps."

These were never empty words.

Ordinary Level 1 or Level 2 Martial Artists, even Hua Jin experts, were still manageable.

The people from the Security Department of the Garrison Hall could handle them.

But once they reached Embrace Dan, the strength of Martial Artists became "inhuman," and the difficulty of dealing with them increased exponentially.

Trapped in a house?

They could smash through the walls.

Submerged underwater? They could hold their breath for half an hour.

Such individuals could go days without eating, drinking, or sleeping.

Wasn't the difficulty of dealing with them more than just a little!?

It could be said that if an Embrace Dan Martial Master disregarded the law and targeted a force like the Jing Family with a "scorched earth" mentality, everyone in the Jing Family could be killed.

And the Five Elements Sect, Canglong City's foremost martial arts power, had more than one of these "inhuman" monsters.

"If the Five Elements Sect was behind this, pressuring Mayor Tian to force Zhang Minglong to kick me off the board, it would be perfectly normal. But we've never had any dealings with the Five Elements Sect. Why would such a colossal entity target my small Jing Family!?"

Jing Gufeng's heart was filled with unease.

He kept making calls on his phone.

Some well-informed individuals simply didn't answer, or even turned off their phones.

Those who weren't well-informed had no idea what was happening.

After nearly an hour of calls, Jing Gufeng obtained crucial intelligence from a department manager working at the Xingyao International Center. Combined with his own deductions, he finally arrived at a terrifying conclusion.

"Li Pin was already a Level 2 Martial Artist at twenty-two. His martial arts talent must be extraordinary. He could very well have been taken in as a disciple by the Five Elements Sect Master, Old Master Cao Tianyou! So, the Five Elements Sect is stepping up for him!?"

Once he understood this, all the fog cleared.

His heart suddenly became enlightened.

"Our Jing Family is being cornered by the Five Elements Sect because of Li Pin, whom I fired not long ago!?"