"Your Excellency, you've been hiding for so long. Are you still unwilling to show yourself?"
As soon as Li Xinge finished speaking, a figure shot out of the crowd like lightning and sprinted toward the valley's exit.
That figure was none other than Su Yun, the Su Family's Great Elder, who had been lying in wait for the right moment.
As a Half-Step Qi and Blood Realm Cultivator, infinitely close to the Qi and Blood Realm, Su Yun's senses naturally far surpassed those of the Zou Family Patriarch and the others.
The Zou Family Patriarch had only guessed that Li Xinge was in the Qi and Blood Realm. He wasn't certain.
But Su Yun knew full well that Li Xinge was already a genuine Qi and Blood Realm Cultivator.
Perhaps because he had only just broken through to the Qi and Blood Realm, Li Xinge still couldn't perfectly conceal his aura, allowing Su Yun to sense it.
Born into the Mangshan Su Clan, a Qi and Blood Realm family, he understood better than anyone how terrifying Qi and Blood Realm Cultivators were.
Below the Qi and Blood Realm, all were ants.
That was no joke.
The two were no longer on the same level of existence.
The instant he realized Li Xinge was a Qi and Blood Realm Cultivator, Su Yun had prepared to flee the Li Family without a moment's hesitation.
As for the Zou Family Patriarch and the others, they could only fend for themselves.
At the same time, he was utterly shaken.
As the Li Family's longtime rival, the Su Family knew its circumstances better than anyone.
The Li Family having another Qi and Blood Realm Cultivator wasn't what frightened him.
What was frightening was that this Qi and Blood Realm Cultivator was only seventeen.
With talent like that, he might even have a real chance of reaching the Innate Realm.
In the hundreds of years of Baihe County's history, there had never been such a monstrous talent.
Why hadn't someone like this been born into his Su Family?
At the thought, Su Yun's scalp prickled, and he grew anxious for the Su Family's future.
Given the century-old enmity between his Su Family and the Li Family, if Li Xinge truly broke through to the Innate Realm, the Su Family would likely be the first he wiped out.
"No. I absolutely can't sit around waiting to die. Once I return to the clan, I'll convince the ancestor to kill Li Xinge at any cost and eliminate this future threat!"
Su Yun gritted his teeth inwardly.
Watching that disheveled figure flee at top speed,
a trace of coldness crossed Li Xinge's face. He let out a sneer and said, "What do you take my Li Family for? You think you can come and go as you please?"
The icy voice behind him made Su Yun shudder.
He didn't look back. Instead, he sped up even more. As long as he could make it back to the Su Family and gain the ancestor's protection, he would be safe.
No matter how strong Li Xinge was, he wouldn't dare come to the Su Family looking for trouble.
"Do you really think you can escape right under my nose?"
Li Xinge seemed to be talking to himself.
But his hands were already moving, forming an ancient, obscure hand seal.
Around him, surging Qi and Blood power billowed into the air.
Li Xinge reached toward the void, and his vast Qi and Blood power transformed into an enormous bow.
He seized the bow, drew it, and nocked an arrow, its tip aimed straight at Su Yun.
When the power gathered to its limit,
the arrow shot forth with a whoosh, as if it would tear through the void itself, streaking away like a meteor.
In almost the same instant, suffocating killing intent engulfed Su Yun.
Sensing the danger behind him, Su Yun's heart lurched. He hurriedly turned around, only to see the fatal attack already right behind him. His face twisted in horror.
"No!"
His miserable scream rang throughout Green Maple Valley.
The arrow pierced straight through Su Yun's body, its momentum undiminished as it slammed him into the ground.
The marble-paved ground exploded into a crater several meters across, sending dust billowing in every direction.
When the dust slowly settled, the feathered arrow formed from Qi and Blood power had turned into specks of starlight and vanished.
All that remained on Su Yun's chest was a ghastly hole, blood gushing out of it.
His life force drained away at a frantic pace. His pupils began to glaze over; he was clearly beyond saving.
Looking at the figure growing ever blurrier in his vision,
Su Yun's eyes were filled with terror.
It wasn't death he feared.
He feared that he had seen the Mangshan Su Clan destroyed by Li Xinge.
"How... could this be?"
The Zou Family Patriarch and the others, who had witnessed it all, could hardly believe their eyes.
By now, terror had gripped them to the core.
Others might not know who Su Yun was, but they knew his identity inside out.
He was the Mangshan Su Clan's Great Elder, a top-tier Half-Step Qi and Blood Realm expert.
And Li Xinge had killed him with such ease.
The shock was far greater than when Wang Wu had been killed in an instant.
Li Xinge really had reached the Qi and Blood Realm.
At that moment, they felt as if the sky above them had collapsed.
"Gentlemen, will you take your own lives, or shall I send you on your way? The road to the Yellow Springs is long. If you go down too late, I'm afraid you won't catch up with your ancestor."
The voice of doom rang out once more.
The Zou Family Patriarch stared at Li Xinge in terror and pleaded, "Family Head Li, spare our lives. From now on, we're willing to follow the Li Family's lead in everything."
Li Xinge gave a derisive laugh and said disdainfully, "You're not worthy of being dogs to my Li Family."
The words instantly enraged the Zou Family Patriarch and the others.
The Zou Family Patriarch's face darkened. "Li Xinge, don't push your luck. Do you even know who you just killed?"
"Of course. Someone from the Mangshan Su Clan."
The Zou Family Patriarch's pupils contracted. He spoke with bluster, though his courage was failing him. "Since you know that, how dare you kill him? Do you want to make an enemy of the Mangshan Su Clan for life? They're a clan with Qi and Blood Realm Cultivators among their ranks."
"Make an enemy for life?"
Li Xinge seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world. He burst out laughing.
"How ridiculous. Didn't you already make yourselves enemies for life of my Li Family when you came here today?"
Everyone froze.
After a long while...
The Zou Family Patriarch licked his dry lips and said bitterly, "Family Head Li, must it really come to this?"
"If you chose the wrong path, naturally you must pay the price."
Li Xinge replied coolly.
Seeing that begging was useless,
the Zou Family Patriarch's face twisted with malice.
He looked utterly crazed. "You want to kill me? It won't be that easy. Even if I die, I'll knock three of your Li Family's teeth loose!"
With that, his Body Cultivation Grand Completion aura burst forth. He drew the precious sword at his waist and charged straight at the Li Family members.
Seeing this, the others realized that today they were almost certainly doomed.
They brandished their weapons and charged as well.
If they didn't fight back, they would die for sure.
If they fought with everything they had, there might still be a sliver of hope.
Even if they killed one, they'd break even; if they killed two, they'd come out ahead.
Li Xinge naturally wouldn't let them fight as they pleased.
Behind him, the fearsome phantom of a male lion appeared once more. The lion threw back its head and roared, its terrifying, piercing sound waves crashing into the attackers.
Everyone's minds went blank.
In that split second of disorientation,
a flash of cold light swept past.
They felt a sting in their necks and instinctively reached up to touch them.
Seeing their hands covered in blood, they seemed to understand what had happened.
"So this is what a Qi and Blood Realm Cultivator is?"
That was the last thought they had before their consciousness faded.
As Li Xinge slew the experts from the various families with a single strike,
the black-clad warriors on the rooftops began unleashing a rain of arrows.
Each volley claimed dozens of lives.
In less than fifteen minutes, every last attacker had been slaughtered.
Within the vast Li Family compound,
hundreds of corpses lay piled like mountains, and rivers of blood ran across the ground.
One Li Family member after another stood amid the blood, gazing at the slender figure in white, whose robes were whiter than snow. Their eyes brimmed with pride.
Under the adoring gaze of the crowd, Li Xinge slowly spoke. "Clansmen, while our Li Family was in mourning, several great families gathered their forces and tried to wipe out our Li Family. Now, every last attacker has been surrounded and slain by our Li Family!"
The Li Family members cheered wildly. "Long live the Family Head!"
"Long live the Family Head!"
"Long live the Family Head!"
Li Xinge raised a hand. The scene fell silent in an instant.
"Do you think this is over?"
A chilling killing intent flashed in Li Xinge's eyes.
"The Zou Family, Zhang Family, Jin Family, and Great Saber Sect must pay for what they've done!"
"Now, I issue the order as Family Head! Divide into four groups, each led by an elder. Wipe out their entire clans, leaving not even the chickens and dogs alive!"
"Use their blood to show the world what happens when anyone dares provoke my Li Family!"
Li Xinge raised a clenched fist and shouted,
"Kill!"
"Kill!"
"Kill!"
The earth-shaking cries of slaughter rang into the heavens.
Today, rivers of blood were destined to flow!
Before you continue