By the time the Guard Army from the City Lord's Residence rushed to the scene, nothing remained but devastation. Even the ground had been turned over, leaving the Sima Family's estate a ruin among ruins!
The commander of the Guard Army's mouth twitched involuntarily.
"Cordon it off at once. Don't let anyone approach..."
Back at the residence, Zhao Jun, Qian Da, and the others were reporting their gains to Ying Ming Hao in the main hall.
His face brimming with excitement, Zhao Jun said:
"Young master, under your wise and mighty guidance, we wiped out the traitorous Sima Family in a single battle!
"From their patriarch down to their children and infants, not a single member of the Sima Family survived. We exterminated them all!
"Even the elders who came from the Song Family to support them failed to escape our grasp!"
Zhao Jun grew more excited as he spoke, his voice trembling slightly. Still, he restrained his joy and continued:
"Moreover, we have already assigned men to deal with all the other Sima Family members scattered elsewhere.
"This operation was an overwhelming success!"
"And with ample preparations, superior numbers, and every advantage on our side, our casualties were minimal. Most suffered only minor injuries!"
After speaking, Zhao Jun composed himself a little, then stepped aside to await Ying Ming Hao's instructions.
Seeing his chance, Qian Da hurried forward to report:
"Young master, while our haul this time cannot be considered enormous, it was still quite substantial.
"We acquired over three billion lower-grade spirit stones, more than five million middle-grade spirit stones, and several hundred thousand high-grade spirit stones, along with vast quantities of cheap spirit stones, spirit stone fragments, gold, silver, and other treasures-simply too many to count!"
As he spoke, Qian Da handed Ying Ming Hao the inventory, then added:
"We also seized one fifth-grade Spirit Artifact, several bottles of third-grade pills, and hundreds of fourth-grade Spirit Artifacts and pills.
"There were thousands of fifth-grade Spirit Artifacts and pills, and nearly a million eighth-, ninth-, and tenth-grade ones, including countless damaged Spirit Artifacts."
"As for cultivation methods..."
Qian Da's voice trembled slightly. The delight on his face seemed ready to spill over, impossible to conceal.
Just then, Qing Yun gave a cold snort, its icy sound making everyone stiffen. Her gaze fell on Qian Da like a blade as she demanded:
"Have you secured all the Sima Family's land deeds, property deeds, spirit mines, and other holdings?!"
Intimidated by Qing Yun's imposing presence, Qian Da straightened his expression and quickly answered:
"We have secured all the land and property deeds. I have already sent men to take control of everything.
"The land deeds for the Sima Family's old estate have been delivered to the City Lord's Residence."
He paused briefly before continuing:
"However, we ran into some trouble with the Spirit Stones Mines outside the city.
"Several factions barged in to claim a share, and a few clashes have already broken out,
"but we successfully secured four small low-tier Spirit Stones Mines.
"As for the other mine, a medium-sized lower-grade spirit stone mine, we have only secured half of it so far. Several other major factions joined forces to seize the remaining half, and both sides are still locked in a standoff."
Qing Yun's expression grew colder, her brows drawing tightly together. She seemed dissatisfied with this outcome.
"Young master, should we have..."
Before Qing Yun could finish, Ying Ming Hao waved a hand, cutting her off.
"It would be unwise for us to reveal ourselves too soon."
Ying Ming Hao spoke in a low voice.
"Zhao Jun."
"At your command!"
Zhao Jun hurried forward and responded with a cupped-fist salute.
"Go to the City Lord's Residence yourself shortly,"
Ying Ming Hao instructed.
"Tell them we wish to split the revenue from that lower-grade spirit mine sixty-forty with City Lord Lu Jianming. Remember, the split is with Lu Jianming, not the City Lord's Residence!
"Do you understand?!"
Those words struck Zhao Jun's heart like a heavy hammer, briefly stunning him.
But Zhao Jun reacted swiftly. He soon recovered and hastily replied:
"I understand!"
Ming Hao then continued:
"After this, the four of you must carry on as usual in public, with the occasional minor clash. You must never carelessly expose your ties to one another."
Zhao Jun and the others nodded in understanding.
Ming Hao added:
"Nor do you need to report every little matter to me, unless something extremely important arises.
"Beyond that, you must never reveal our relationship to outsiders."
"Also, everyone who earned merit this time will be rewarded according to their contributions. The death benefits for those unfortunate enough to fall in battle will be doubled.
"Once you have finished these matters, remember to deliver the detailed records to Qing Yun..."
"Did you all hear me clearly?!"
He stressed this once more at the end.
"We understand and will obey your orders, young master!"
Zhao Jun and the others answered in unison.
Meanwhile, one chamber in the Misty Sect's Physicians' Hall was in utter chaos.
A group of physicians and pill refiners crowded around Song Bojian and the others, all talking over one another.
"Hurry! Give them Sixth-Grade Soul-Returning Pills and Life-Returning Pills!"
Someone shouted anxiously.
"What nonsense are you spouting?! These are only minor injuries. Why would they need such precious pills?
"Give them the specially prepared Meridian-Protecting Elixir and Flesh-Regenerating Medicinal Broth at once. Their wounds will vanish as soon as the medicine takes effect!"
Someone else retorted...
"These are quacks! Don't listen to them. Use my pills..."
"No! My pills are the best. Use mine!"
"Stop arguing, all of you! My medicinal broth is the most suitable for him!"
The gray-haired old men and women argued fiercely, none willing to yield. Every one of them firmly believed their own miraculous medicines were the most effective.
Lying on the sickbed, Song Bojian was as pale as paper. His body was so weak that he seemed liable to fall asleep at any moment and never wake again.
He struggled to raise his trembling hands and mustered every last ounce of strength to say:
"I feel like I can still be saved. If you keep delaying, I'll..."
But before he could finish, the old men turned back to their argument as though they had never heard him.
Outside the chamber, Song Bojian's master shook with rage, his expression so dark it seemed water might drip from it.
His eyes bulged as he roared:
"The culprits must belong to one of the major factions. Otherwise, they could never have left so little trace!"
The other senior figures looked equally grim, their fury mounting.
At this crucial juncture in the disciple recruitment ceremony, someone had dared ambush over a hundred Heavenly Prodigy disciples right on their doorstep. It was nothing less than an open provocation and insult to the Misty Sect!
"The culprits must be one of the major factions visiting this time. I say it was the Demon Race..."
Song Bojian's master suddenly seemed to go mad, abandoning his usual composure and reason as he spouted accusations without restraint!
"Junior brother, watch your words! You mustn't speak such nonsense!" A fellow disciple, his senior, hurriedly warned him.
The instant Song Bojian and the others returned using the Ten-Thousand-Mile Teleportation Talisman, the elders had shot toward the scene like arrows loosed from bowstrings, traveling at their utmost speed.
Yet when they finally arrived, the sight left them all dumbfounded-where there should have been a dense forest,
there were now only three enormous craters, filled with billowing dust and smoke, with countless shattered remains scattered across the ground.
They exchanged looks, an ominous foreboding rising in their hearts.
They immediately began an exhaustive search, combing every inch of the surrounding thousand-li area. In the end, however, they found nothing-not a single valuable clue.
After careful investigation and analysis, all they could establish was that the perpetrator was an exceptionally formidable Formation Grandmaster.
Beyond that, they knew absolutely nothing of the person's identity, motives, or any other relevant details!
With no leads to follow, their suspicions naturally turned toward the factions that had besieged the Sima Family.
They hurried to Ascension City without pause, hoping to uncover some telltale traces among those factions.
But after observing them closely in Ascension City, they discovered that every one of those factions had a solid alibi.
At the time, they had been busy fighting one another and seizing territory, with no time to spare for anything else.
Besides, given their strength, they could never have accomplished anything so utterly undetected.
Taking everything into account, they unanimously concluded that the perpetrator must have been one of the visiting factions or individuals, and that the two incidents had merely coincided.
Even if those people were highly suspicious, without conclusive evidence, they could not rashly resort to torture to extract confessions.
The situation was delicate, and countless eyes were already watching their every word and action.
The slightest misstep could stir up towering waves and make them the focus of discussion throughout the world.
For now, their only option was to investigate in secret-leaving behind a dozen or so capable stewards to covertly monitor the factions.
At the same time, they had to suppress the news as quickly as possible. They could not allow a whisper of it to leak.
Otherwise, once people with ulterior motives began spreading embellished accounts,
it could turn into a colossal scandal beyond all control. Salvaging the situation then would be as difficult as ascending to heaven.
At the ruins of the Sima Family's estate, Ying Ming Hao and his companions silently slipped through the Guard Army's cordon and appeared on the scene!
Before you continue