Being completely at ease was impossible. Anyone would have been wary of a windfall that fell into their lap like this.
But Yun Li was a clever man. While secretly investigating its origins, he made full use of it without hesitation.
Using the pledges of allegiance from Zhou Fu and the others, he contacted them in secret and built a network behind the scenes.
After a round of probing that seemed excessively cautious to Li Ling, he finally bared his fangs, attacking Xiong Feiyu simultaneously through the Rare Treasures Tower, the Merchant Association's branch headquarters, the local market wards, and several other fronts.
Xiong Feiyu was utterly unprepared and was knocked flat by this sudden onslaught.
At the elders' council, he faced questioning from the Merchant Association's branch headquarters and was stripped of his position and authority.
Within the Hall of Affairs, nearly half his capable assistants and trusted followers betrayed him, defecting to his rival and taking shelter under his protection.
Most of his distant holdings were also taken over, changing hands one after another.
The power and wealth he had painstakingly accumulated over more than half his life vanished almost overnight.
Only his status as a true Core Formation cultivator remained unchanged. He was still the same veteran cultivator he had always been.
Yet after so many years pursuing this path, the money Dao had corroded him into a worldly merchant or powerful aristocrat rather than a pure cultivator.
Nor did he possess strength far beyond his peers that would allow him to reverse the tide single-handedly.
For a time, he sank into utter despondency.
"That Elder Yun did well. If he couldn't bring down Xiong Feiyu, the next stage of the plan would have been difficult to carry out."
"Husband, were you afraid he would beat