After nightfall, Su Zhongying and three other Spirit Transformation Realm warriors gathered together. Su Zhongying was pale, while the others wore troubled expressions.
They hadn't expected the day's events to spiral into such a mess.
They didn't blame Su Zhongying for confronting Su Zhongyuan. After all, Su Zhongyuan's words had been so vicious that even they could barely stomach them.
If they blamed Su Zhongying over this, they would be utterly shameless.
Still, the situation was indeed difficult.
Just as Su Zhongying had said, forcing those sects and aristocratic families to pay tribute would be tantamount to courting death.
They had all witnessed the scene at Wutong Mountain, when the sects across Beiyuan Circuit had joined forces with the Beiyuan Dugu Clan to pressure the Su Family. Even the Su Family had been forced to back down and yield.
Last time, under Su Xin's pressure, the Su Family Ancestor had even gambled with Su Zhongyuan's life. If they were in the same position now, he probably wouldn't even bother gambling—he might simply throw them out to appease the many sects of Beiyuan Circuit. It was entirely possible.
That was why they didn't dare do it.
They weren't fools. Of course they could see the risks.
But if they refused, Su Zhongyuan would punish them under the clan rules.
Given Su Zhongyuan's standing before Su Mingli, it would be easy for him to have these collateral-line disciples punished under the clan rules.
The Su Family Clan Rules sounded simple enough, but outsiders had no idea how cruel they were.
The Su Family had once been a great clan under the First Dynasty, and its rules had been extremely strict.
Its various punishments were all brutally cruel. In the past, they had been used against the main bloodline, but after the Su