A Nighttime Discussion in the Fang Family

At that moment, a shrewd, capable woman pushed the door open and entered. Her eyes were sharp as an eagle's, and her practical attire gave her an air that could not be underestimated. She strode purposefully toward Fang Hongye. This was Fang Zhongyi's younger sister, Fang Mingyue.

"Father, the investigation is complete. This attack was launched by Shen Haoyue of the Shen Family. She has acquired all 136 downstream suppliers and is negotiating with the others. That number will rise before long. She has also acquired more than fifteen percent of our Fang Family's shares on the financial market."

Fang Hongye's face grew darker and darker. He sprang to his feet and fixed his gaze on Fang Mingyue like a man-eating tiger.

"That's impossible! How could a mere second-rate family like the Shen Family have that kind of money? Speak! What on earth happened?"

Fang Mingyue gave Fang Zhongyi a sympathetic glance. With the old man in such a rage, she didn't dare hide anything.

"Father, at the charity dinner the Qin Family held yesterday, Zhiping had a fierce confrontation with a young man named Ye Feng. Ye Feng is also close to the Shen Family, so it's all but certain that he instructed Shen Haoyue to target our family. I also discovered that Ye Feng was in a car accident that night. Zhiping probably arranged it. Through some contacts, I also found that an enormous sum had entered Shen Haoyue's account, probably one trillion Huaxia Currency."

Old Master Fang slumped into his chair as though all the strength had been drained from his body. One trillion Huaxia Currency was five times the Fang Family's total assets, enough to destroy the entire family with ease. His voice trembled as he asked Fang Mingyue, "Is there any other way to save the Fang Family?"

Fang Mingyue shook her head. Faced with such a situation, she truly had no solution. Their only choice was to sever an arm to survive.

"Father, I suggest we sell all our assets, dump all our shares, and have the whole family emigrate. If we wait, the Fang Family will be left with nothing."

Fang Zhongyi, who stood to one side, immediately objected. "I disagree! The Fang Family is one of Demon City's four great families. How can we retreat without a fight?"

Old Master Fang angrily rebuked him. "Shut your mouth! Our family only fell into this state because of that good-for-nothing son of yours!" Then he turned to Fang Mingyue and asked cautiously, "Mingyue, if I personally take Zhiping to apologize to Ye Feng, might there be a chance to turn this around?"

Fang Mingyue didn't answer immediately. After thinking carefully for a moment, she said, "Father, I don't think it's impossible, but you must be prepared to give up Zhiping. And we'll have to pay an unimaginable price."

"All right, Mingyue, contact him. Tell him I'll come to his door and apologize in person tomorrow." After speaking, Old Master Fang waved for the two of them to leave. At that moment, he felt as though he had suddenly aged a great deal. He had never imagined that, with one foot already in the grave, he would have to go to a young man's door and apologize for a chance to save his family.

Outside the door, Fang Zhongyi looked at his sister with displeasure. He couldn't understand why they had to bow and scrape in apology when the Fang Family had so many friendly families and could seek official help as well. It wasn't as though they were incapable of putting up a fight.

Fang Mingyue saw his displeasure and said, "Big brother, I told you Ye Feng was in a car accident last night. From the photos, I saw that the car was badly damaged, yet the person inside was completely unharmed. Don't you understand?"

Fang Zhongyi now understood what his sister meant. "Could he be a martial artist?" he asked, trembling.

Fang Mingyue nodded. "I suspect he's a martial artist from a reclusive family, and his cultivation should be at the Grandmaster Realm. Big brother, we should be grateful he's only using conventional means against the Fang Family rather than acting directly. If Father can't obtain his forgiveness tomorrow, the Fang Family is doomed."

Fang Zhongyi stood there in a daze for a long time. By the time he came to his senses, Fang Mingyue had already left. He hurriedly contacted his eldest son, Fang Zhiwei, and told him to keep an eye on Fang Zhiping and not let him go anywhere.

At the Cloud Villa, Ye Feng returned to his room after seeing the three of them off to rest. He took a bottle of Realm-Breaking Pills from the system space. Tonight, he planned to break through to the Foundation Establishment Stage.

Ye Feng opened the bottle of Realm-Breaking Pills. Five crystal-clear pills radiated potent spiritual power. He hurriedly poured one out and swallowed it. As time passed, he gradually felt a powerful force gathering inside him. His meridians began to warm, as though a scorching current were coursing through them. His breathing grew rapid and his heart raced, as if it were about to leap from his chest.

Suddenly, a violent tremor came from within Ye Feng's body, as though something were breaking apart. He felt a powerful force surge from his dantian, shattering its restraints and instantly raising his cultivation.

Ye Feng took a deep breath, feeling the spiritual power surging within him, his heart brimming with excitement. He knew he had reached the Foundation Establishment Stage. This also marked an important step from being a mortal toward becoming a true cultivator. His physical abilities, mental strength, and perception of the spiritual power of heaven and earth had all been greatly enhanced.

He could now extend his divine sense a hundred meters to perceive everything around him. It was like a high-definition camera, allowing him to clearly see everything within a hundred-meter radius.

Ye Feng swept his divine sense toward Li Xiaona's room. Her exquisite curves made his heart skip a beat. They're so big. How did I never notice before? He fought back the nosebleed welling up and continued to look. When he saw the black birthmark on Li Xiaona's lower left leg, an inexplicable sense of familiarity came over him. Ye Feng tried his hardest to remember, but nothing came to mind. Yet that feeling of familiarity could not deceive him, as though it were a promise spanning a long time.

A wave of dizziness came over him, and his divine sense abruptly cut off. Ye Feng rested for a while before the dizziness gradually faded. It seemed his strength couldn't support prolonged use of his divine sense.

After he felt a little better, Ye Feng slowly said, "System, use the Chaos Sword Art!"

This time, thanks to his increased strength, Ye Feng felt only a slight stinging sensation before the memory inheritance was complete.

The Chaos Sword Art was a mysterious sword art originating in ancient times. It was immensely powerful; cultivated to perfection, it allowed its user to control the power of chaos. With one sword, all things were born; with one sword, all things were destroyed.

Though the Chaos Sword Art was immensely powerful, its cultivation requirements were extremely demanding and required vast resources. Fortunately, the most demanding requirement, a wisp of chaos energy, was perfectly compatible with his cultivation technique. It seemed the system was quite thoughtful too.

Next, Ye Feng took a bottle of Spirit Gathering Pills from the system space and examined it carefully. Each bottle contained thirty pills, which could provide cultivators with a large amount of spiritual power. They could be used not only for daily cultivation but also to replenish spiritual energy in battle, making them essential pills in the early stages of cultivation.

Ye Feng swallowed three pills. Feeling the surging spiritual energy, he hurriedly circulated his cultivation technique to absorb it.