The Soul Power in Abel's father surged rapidly, and he roared frantically, "No... damn you, impossible! You're a devil, a villain! How can you be so powerful? Who exactly are you?"
Yi Chen regarded him lazily. "Whoever I am, you're all doomed today anyway, aren't you?"
Abel's mother suddenly dropped to her knees and began to weep. "Please, I beg you, spare us... we didn't know you existed, or we would never have..."
Yi Chen suddenly turned around and casually slapped out with his hand. An inexplicable force blasted Abel's mother into the wall, knocking her unconscious on the spot.
Yi Chen looked at Abel and said indifferently, "I hate being threatened. Do you understand, Abel?"
Abel trembled. He suddenly felt a terrifying killing intent lock onto him, and breathing became painfully difficult.
He looked at Yi Chen and muttered, "Impossible, you monster. We won't submit, we won't..."
Yi Chen smiled. "Since you refuse to submit, I'll kill your relatives and destroy your family's holdings."
Abel's father suddenly sprang up, then erupted with power.
His body swelled in an instant, growing four or five meters tall like a giant. His armor shattered, exposing crimson hair and muscles brimming with strength.
His eyes turned red, and he growled like a wild beast. "You can't kill me... the Abel Family will never submit."
Abel stood dazed to one side, suddenly feeling chilled to the core.
Yi Chen's icy smile faded, replaced by a gentle expression. He asked softly, "At your age, why bother? I won't kill anyone, but that doesn't mean I have no way to deal with you... I simply don't wish to slaughter innocents. But if you force my hand, what would be wrong with killing every last one of you?"
Abel's father said with a vicious grin, "You can't kill me. I can summon a heavenly god..."
He suddenly raised both hands. "O heavenly god, grant me strength! Let me conquer him..."
Streaks of bronze light appeared out of thin air. Thick pillars of bronze light burst through Abel's father's body and merged into his head.
A pale golden radiance shone over his entire body. His once aged, dull eyes became clear and lively.
His skin gradually returned to normal as well. His whiskers fell out, then grew back much thicker and healthier.
Abel's father tossed his hair vigorously. His body grew another few inches, and his skin gleamed with an oily, metallic sheen.
Yi Chen remarked admiringly, "At most, you can only control a tenfold increase in your strength."
Abel's father let out a low roar. "Tenfold is enough... we can destroy everyone who resists! I'll capture them all. I'll make them wish they were dead... hahahahaha, I'll kill every last one of them!"
Threads of golden light descended from the void and wound around Abel's father. Then his strength soared wildly.
A golden lash shot from his body with a piercing whistle, striking viciously at Yi Chen like a red-hot iron rod!
With a sharp smack, Yi Chen easily dodged the whip, then landed a solid slap across Abel's father's face.
Abel's father staggered back seven or eight steps and nearly fell to the ground.
Yi Chen said coldly, "Still want to keep playing? If you want to try again, go right ahead... but let me tell you, I'll kill everyone in your Abel Family. I keep my word!"
Abel's father roared furiously, "You despicable, shameless creature! You actually used illusions to deceive us... you're far too sinister and cunning... but I will never submit to you... just you wait! My brothers will be here soon. Our ancestors won't let you get away with this!"
A pillar of bronze light shot into the sky. Accompanied by a shriek, a figure soared high into the air and fled swiftly into the distance.
Yi Chen snorted coldly. His figure abruptly vanished into the air as he gave chase right behind the fleeing figure.
The figure had only flown a few hundred kilometers when Yi Chen suddenly appeared in front of him, blocking his path.
Yi Chen said calmly, "How boring. You actually managed to get away even like that... but I don't intend to keep chasing you, because... I already know the Abel Family's secret."
Yi Chen held out a hand. In his palm lay a transparent crystal the size of a fist.
A pale silver veil of light enveloped the crystal. It was clear and sparkling, as beautiful as a glass marble. Faint runes also seemed to flicker across its surface, giving off a strange radiance.
The man cried out in panic, "Give it to me... I want that... it's a treasure bestowed upon the Abel Family by a god! It can help us increase our strength... you-you can't steal it!"
Yi Chen shook his head in amusement. "So the Abel Family relies on this to maintain its influence. Heh, how pitiful you are, reduced to depending on something like this to preserve your lives and power. But do you know what I need it for?"
He slowly approached the transparent crystal and gently picked it up.
The crystal trembled violently. Millions of tiny runes flashed across it like lightning, and then the entire crystal began to crumble.
Yi Chen frowned. "What are you doing? I saved you... hmm, these symbols look so familiar..."
Abel's father howled frantically, "You can't treat it like this... you can't... we can make a deal! As long as you don't kill it, I'll agree to anything, anything at all!"
Yi Chen shrugged. "What a pity. I'm not short of money... but I do lack strength. Yes, I lack a cultivation method that can take me to a higher level. Hmm, followers of crooked, sinister paths like you don't deserve to possess something this extraordinary..."
He looked at Abel and said flatly, "Is the Abel Family ready to be wiped out?"
Abel's father glared furiously at Yi Chen and said through gritted teeth, "I won't submit to you unless-unless you kill me!"
Yi Chen sighed. "Then I'll just have to send you off to your next life."
Abel's father stared at Yi Chen with bitter hatred. His lips moved, but not a single sound escaped them.
Yi Chen clenched his right hand, and the crystal in his palm shattered completely. At the same time, a bead of blood flew out and hung in the air, then slowly split apart into a hazy cloud of blood mist.
Yi Chen chanted an ancient, profound incantation in a low voice. The blood mist condensed into a thumb-sized ball of blood and fell onto his forehead like a drop of water.