Waves of spiritual Qi fell, parting the clouds.
The twenty-odd First-rate martial artists standing at the center of the half-finger quickly reacted, intending to flee to both sides.
Yet in the space directly beneath the half-finger, an invisible restriction seemed to exist, firmly trapping them in place.
The group could only gaze at the sky in despair.
In the pupils of one long-faced First-rate martial artist, this half-finger rapidly expanded.
Descending along with it was that suffocating pressure.
The high-ranking members of the Ao Cheng Family all reacted immediately, each raising the long swords in their hands above their heads, channeling their Qi to resist.
The long-faced man roared:
"Stop him with everything we have!"
The remaining disciples also roared, pushing the Qi within their bodies to the absolute limit.
Yet even though their faces turned red as they strained every ounce of strength, the finger in the sky met not the slightest obstruction, falling effortlessly.
Boom! ! !
The illusory finger pressed down, shattering the earth and stirring up thousands of dust clouds!
It was as though a hundred flames had simultaneously exploded in the midst of the First-rate disciples.
A plume of smoke and dust rose, accompanied by a series of miserable screams as more than a dozen black shadows flew outward in all directions.
The crowd watched the spots where those black shadows landed, gasping in unison and retreating backward.
Among the crowd, some of the more timid individuals cried out on the spot.
Right within their line of sight.
Every single one of the First-rate martial artists who had once stood proudly in Dongli City had now been reduced to charred, coal-like lumps, even emitting a thick stench of burning.
When the billowing smoke finally dissipated completely, the crowd finally saw the appearance of the courtyard before them clearly.
After seeing the state of that giant crater, some disciples with weaker psychological endurance immediately vomited.
Some wailed in heart-rending grief, while others simply burst into tears!
What courtyard was left here?
All that remained was a crater a full five meters in radius and three to four meters deep!
Inside that pit, soft lumps of flesh mixed with dirt were vaguely visible.
Those were the few First-rate martial artists who had stood at the center; by now, they were dead beyond any doubt.
They all looked at Xiao Huohuo's young figure, filled with shock, terror, rage, and hatred.
They could not imagine that this was actually the waste Xiao Huohuo whom everyone had mocked and sneered at, that this was actually the very same Xiao Huohuo who had suffered the humiliation of having his engagement broken and making a Three-Year Pact, and that this was something a youth merely a little over sixteen years old could possibly accomplish.
Ao Cheng Nan and the other three Houtian realm martial artists had not been crushed to death by the giant finger.
Yet all three of them were left in tattered garments, their Qi chaotic and having suffered heavy injuries, resembling dying men.
The Ao Cheng Family Head spat out a mouthful of dark blood, his turbid old eyes looking at Xiao Huohuo with a complex intertwining of resentment, grief, and panic, and let out a complicated sigh:
"Our Aocheng Family admits defeat."
"I beg you, spare the lives of the remaining clan members of the Ao Cheng Family."
As he spoke, he seemed to age dozens of years in an instant; the hair all over his head turned completely white, and he prostrated himself on the ground, kowtowing to beg for mercy.
Since Aocheng Nan had spoken thus, the remaining two immediately responded with panic:
"We have offended Your Excellency, please forgive us."
The chests of Liu Cheng and Liu Qing were filled with terror, to the point that they could not even breathe properly for a moment.
The few of them no longer retained a shred of rebellious intent.
Under this terrifying power, only a single thought remained in their minds.
Find every possible way to survive under Xiao Huohuo's hands!
Xiao Huohuo glanced at them with somewhat weak Qi.
He had executed the Great Desolation Prison Heaven Finger, a technique that had completely drained the spiritual Qi within his body, leaving not a single shred behind.
If this group of people were to attack him right now, then probably even a formidable Third-rate martial artist could easily take his life.
Alas, these people had been frightened out of their wits by him!
Or rather, they had been frightened out of their wits by his master!
At this thought, Xiao Huohuo naturally gave a cold snort:
"You swallowed up the Xiao Family market and suppressed the Xiao Family's influence with all your might—is a simple plea for forgiveness enough to settle it?"
"If not for the immortal magic taught by my master, I'm afraid I would have lost my life right here today."
He chuckled with a cold laugh:
"How about I stab each of you once right now, and then each of you receives an apology from me? How does that sound?"
As his voice fell, the prostrate members of the Ao Nan Family below shivered.
Ao Cheng Nan explained in panic:
"We wouldn't dare, we wouldn't dare; this humble one wouldn't dare in the slightest."
"My Ao Cheng Family is willing to pay the price of seven city markets, and I will personally visit your doorstep with a rod strapped to my back to plead guilty, earnestly begging for Your Excellency's forgiveness."
Liu Qing also spoke up immediately with equal terror:
"My Liu Family is also willing to offer seven-tenths of our markets, and begs Young Master Xiao for forgiveness!"
Prostrate on the ground, everyone recalled the scene from moments ago, their entire bodies trembling in terror.
Ao Cheng Nan knelt on the ground, filled with endless regret.
Had he known that Xiao Huohuo had a master-disciple relationship with the mighty figure who had wielded the Azure Heaven Giant Finger that day, even if he were given ten thousand codes of courage, he would never have dared to move against the Xiao Family!
After a moment of hesitation, Liu Cheng also gritted his teeth and said:
"I, Liu Cheng the Longsword Swordsman, am willing to become a servant of the Xiao Family and toil as a beast of burden for them."
"I only ask Young Master to spare this humble one's life!"
He did not possess the familial foundation of the Ao Cheng Family or the Liu Family.
After much thought, toiling as a beast of burden for the Xiao Family was the only path left for him to walk.
Meanwhile, Chu Feng, who had been leisurely watching this scene from the roof, let out a soft sigh of relief.
He patted his palms and muttered to himself:
"This silly disciple of mine is a bit silly."
"Yet that bit of spirit in his bones is not half bad."
"He really does carry a bit of the flavor of that Flame Emperor from the original text..."
Early the next morning, before the gates of the Xiao Family.
The two doormen were dumbfounded the moment they opened the doors, and immediately ran in terror toward the interior of the estate:
"Clan Leader, something major has happened!"
Xiao Zhan and the others, hurrying over at the sound, strode forward.
Yet these two gatekeeper servants choked until their faces turned red and purple, utterly unable to speak; after stammering for a long time, they finally spat out the name of Aocheng Nan from their mouths.
Xiao Zhan, several First Elders, and the members of the Xiao Family all brandished their weapons aggressively as they rushed out of the estate.
When they clearly saw the scene before them, everyone froze in place.
Only then did the two doormen finally speak fluently:
"Household Head, the Ao Cheng Family Head and the Liu Family Head have brought people here to surrender!"
At a single glance.
They saw Ao Cheng Nan and Liu Qing, who on ordinary days were recognized alongside him as the three major experts of Dongli City, kneeling on the ground with thorny branches strapped to their backs.
Behind the two of them were a throng of disciples from the Ao Cheng Family and the Liu Family, every single one of them doing the same.
Aocheng Nan sighed with a complex expression:
"Xiao Zhan, your Xiao Family has truly been blessed with great fortune."
Seeing this, while the members of the Xiao Family stood in a daze, they heard the young man beside them chuckle lightly:
"Dad, they came here to apologize because they listen to me!"
Hearing Xiao Huohuo's words, the crowd could not help but swallow hard.
Before you continue