High-level martial arts: Invincibility starts with basic archery.

Thinking of this, a communication jade talisman appeared in the tall, thin old man's hand.

With a thought, water-like ripples appeared on the communication jade talisman.

Ten seconds passed, and there was no response from the other end.

Thirty seconds, one minute...

The tall, thin old man's face turned completely dark.

Something's definitely up if things aren't going well. Seventh Brother is probably in real trouble!

The short, stout old man suddenly looked at Song Yuan, who was kneeling on the ground, his eyes filled with murderous intent.

He clearly remembered that it was this guy who brought Song Tian and his group in yesterday, and Lao Qi went out with them.

As a result, he went missing!

If Lao Qi is still alive, but has only temporarily lost contact, then that's alright.

If Lao Qi were to die, he would not only want to kill this guy in front of him, but he would also want to slap Song Tian and the others to death!

"Grandmaster, spare me! Grandmaster, spare me!"

Song Yuan was terrified, kowtowing repeatedly. "This junior truly doesn't know what happened, nor does he understand what's going on. He only heard rumors from the outside world and rushed in to report. Ancestor, spare me! Ancestor, spare me!"

He knew it would turn out this way.

If this patriarch were to actually kill him here, no one in the Song family would dare to voice any objections.

But since his duty was to liaise with those inside and outside the secret territory, if he concealed the truth, the consequences would only be more serious.

"Sixth Brother, what does this have to do with him?"

The tall, thin old man's voice rang out, "Even if you tear him to pieces, it won't help."

"Thank you, Ancestor, thank you, Ancestor." Song Yuan quickly bowed in gratitude. In those few seconds, he felt as if he had just walked through the gates of hell and almost lost his life.

"Second brother, I understand what you mean, but this matter is inextricably linked to him and that kid Song Tian."

The short, stout old man glanced at Song Lianfeng as he finished speaking, "Regardless of whether the rumors are true or false, something has definitely happened to Seventh Brother. Otherwise, he would have responded to our message. If nothing happens to Seventh Brother, all will be well. But if something does happen, I will not let anyone involved in this matter go!"

"Sixth Uncle, please calm down."

Song Lianfeng knelt down with a thud.

"It's all Xiao Tian's fault for not being thorough enough in his work. He went there rashly without investigating the other party's strength and fell into the villain's trap. However, Lian Feng believes that Seventh Uncle is a lucky man and will be fine. The reason he hasn't responded is probably because he lost the jade talisman. I believe he will be back soon."

"So you mean we should wait here?" the short, stout old man sneered.

"I……"

For a moment, Song Lianfeng didn't know what to say.

"What a piece of trash."

The short, stout old man stomped his foot in anger and pointed at Song Yuan beside him, saying, "Didn't you hear what he said earlier? That Jiangnan Martial Arts Association has put your son and the others under house arrest and made your seventh great-uncle's whereabouts unknown. You want us to just wait here?"

"Do you even have a shred of the spirit of a Song family man? Huh? We've been bullied to this extent! Countless families outside are laughing at us! I truly don't know how long my Song family will survive if it falls into your hands!"

"Sixth Uncle is right."

Song Lianfeng quickly kowtowed and admitted his mistake, "It's just that Lianfeng felt that if we rushed over at this time, it might play right into their hands."

After he finished speaking, both of the old ancestors were stunned.

"What do you mean by that?" the short, stout old man asked, squinting his eyes.

Lian Feng felt that there were suspicious points about this matter.

Song Lianfeng hurriedly said, "You two elders also know the strength of the Jiangnan Martial Arts Association. Before their president, Shi Tao, broke through to the Celestial Realm, the only one in the entire association, Elder Wang, was a Celestial Realm martial artist. Their power was no match for my Song family."

Even now, though Shi Tao has broken through to the Celestial Realm, he's still just a martial artist who's barely entered that realm. Where do they get the audacity to oppose my Song family? First, they killed my Song family's juniors, then they captured and imprisoned Song Tian and the others, causing my Seventh Uncle to go missing as well.

According to Song Yuan, Shi Tao and his group disbanded the Jiangnan Martial Arts Association, but they didn't leave themselves. They waited for us in Jiangnan City. Think about it, is this the kind of behavior a normal person would do?

Song Lianfeng swallowed hard and continued, "If I were them, knowing that I was not strong enough, would I still obediently wait? I probably would have run away long ago."

The two Song family elders felt a chill run down their spines.

"You mean they have someone backing them up, and they're doing this deliberately to target us?"

"The tall, thin old man asked."

"good."

Song Lianfeng nodded hurriedly, "There's only one explanation: someone wants to deal with our Song family, but it's difficult to take action openly. So they deliberately used the Jiangnan Martial Arts Association as a cover to lure us there. That's why Seventh Uncle fell into the trap and is temporarily missing. If the two elders rush there now, they might be playing right into the other side's hands. Of course, these are just my guesses, and perhaps I'm overthinking it."

"No."

The tall, thin old man waved his hand, a serious look in his eyes. "What you said makes a lot of sense."

Despite the various aristocratic families in Yan Kingdom being polite to each other,

In reality, they all harbored ulterior motives and wished they could get rid of each other as soon as possible.

Just like their Song family, over the past few hundred years, they have cooperated with many other families to share in the spoils of a weakened powerful family.

It is precisely because of this that the Song family has been able to stand out among the nearly one hundred families that remain today and have the qualifications to compete for the position of elder of the Elder Council.

Just at this critical juncture, the seventh brother got into trouble. The reason for the trouble was simply that a junior member of the family was killed. The murderer came from an insignificant force.

This scene was so familiar to him, so familiar that it couldn't be more so.

The short, stout old man's expression changed, and he looked at him nervously. "Second Brother, could it be that someone is really after our Song family?"

"Don't panic."

Seeing that everyone's gazes were on him, the tall, thin old man understood that everyone in the Song family could panic, but he couldn't, because he was the backbone of the Song family. If he was not careful, the entire Song family's giant ship would sink.

The other families, lurking in the shadows, swarmed in like sharks smelling blood, tearing the Song family to shreds.

"This is just the worst-case scenario. Even if things are like this, there's no need to panic. My Song family is not comparable to those families before. If they want to devour us, they'll have to see if their teeth are strong enough."

"Second brother is right!"

The short, stout old man regained his previous rage, shouting, "They dare to plot against my Song family! I'll risk my life to drag one of them down with me!"

Song Yuan, who was standing to the side, was so frightened that he almost lost his mind.

No way, things have gotten this bad?

Unseen by any means, a large net began to envelop the Song family.

"The two patriarchs are right. If it really comes to that, Lian Feng will not hesitate to risk his life and will fight the mastermind behind the scenes to the bitter end!" Song Lian Feng said through gritted teeth.

In his heart, he had long put the safety of his family above his own, after all, he was the one who had enjoyed great benefits from his family.

Just like Song Tian before, who was willing to give up his life for his family.

However, if it were someone in the Song family with an average or even no status, the outcome would be quite different.

"Yes, it's enough that you have this intention. It's worth all the effort we've put into nurturing you," said the tall, thin old man, his brows furrowed with worry.

They are now in the open, while the enemy is in the shadows.

If the two of them were to immediately head to the Jiangnan Martial Arts Association, it would most likely be exactly what Lian Feng said, playing right into the other side's hands.

But doing nothing here isn't a good idea either, is it?

First of all, Lao Qi is missing. If they don't hurry up and search for him, and drag it out, he might already be a corpse when they finally find him.

Secondly, this matter has caused a great uproar, and all the powerful families in Yan Kingdom are watching them. If they do nothing, they will become a laughing stock in the world.

Seeing the tall, thin old man's worry, Song Lianfeng took the initiative to say, "Second Grand Uncle, Sixth Grand Uncle, if things are really as Lianfeng guessed, then I'm afraid your actions are being monitored by the other side. Why don't I go and find out the situation first and see what's going on?"

"this……"

The two exchanged a glance and realized that what he said made sense.

After all, wasn't it because Lao Qi didn't understand the situation and was careless that he fell into the other party's trap?

"Lian Feng, be careful."

The tall, thin old man cautioned, "If someone is indeed plotting against my Song family behind our backs, the moment you leave the Song family, every move you make will be under their watchful eyes. If things go wrong, your life could be in danger at any moment."

"good."

The short, stout old man nodded.

"Lianfeng thanks the two elders for their concern. If that is indeed the case, Lianfeng would be more than happy to receive it."

The two were taken aback for a moment, then quickly understood what the other meant.

The latter intended to use himself as bait to lure out the mastermind behind the scenes!

"Good boy."

The tall, thin old man was moved. He flipped his right hand, and a black bead appeared in his hand.

"Second brother, could it be that you...?"

The short, stout old man standing nearby was moved by what he saw.

Song Lianfeng also realized something, and looking at the palm-sized bead, his breathing became rapid involuntarily.

Could it be that the Second Elder intends to give this extraordinary item to me?

"This object is called the Thunder Pearl. It contains powerful energy. Once it explodes, it can flatten the ground within a radius of several hundred meters. Even the so-called beast king-level ferocious beasts in the outside world, if they are at the center of the explosion, will be blown to pieces."

"!!!"

Upon hearing this, Song Lianfeng's eyes widened.

How could such a tiny bead possess such immense power? It could even easily kill a beast king-level ferocious beast?

If you threw out ten or eight of them together, wouldn't that be enough to kill or seriously injure even a beast king-level ferocious beast?

The short, stout old man seemed to have read his mind, snorted, and said, "Do you think this thing is so easy to get? Even your second great-uncle only had this one Thunder Pearl."

"What? This...this..." Song Lianfeng was startled and quickly declined, saying, "Second Grand Uncle, this item is far too precious. You should keep it for yourself."

"Just accept it when I tell you to, why are you making such a fuss?"

The tall, thin old man frowned. "You are the most talented in martial arts among the younger generation of my Song family. If my Song family can produce another Celestial Realm martial artist in the future, it will definitely be you. Now you are going to scout out the situation for us. How can I, as your elder, just stand by and watch you risk your life without doing anything? This Thunder Pearl is precious, but it is not more precious than your life."

"Second Grand Uncle..."

Song Lianfeng was moved to tears.

"Alright, at your age, it's unsightly to be crying like this. Quickly take this." The tall, thin old man reminded him, "If you encounter an enemy you can't defeat later, just inject your true energy into it, release the seal, throw it in the direction of the enemy, and then turn and run. Remember, never stop, otherwise, if it explodes, even if you are on the outer edge, you will not be in good shape."

"Yes, Lian Feng understands."

Song Lianfeng carefully took the Thunder Pearl.

"After using it, no matter what happens, don't go back to see the result," the short, stout old man warned. "The person who let you use this thing is definitely not someone you can defeat. You just need to escape back and tell us what happened, understand? Don't be reckless."

"Yes, Sixth Grand Uncle!"

Song Lianfeng nodded repeatedly.

He knew that although his sixth great-uncle had a terrible temper and liked to curse people at the drop of a hat, he still cared about him deep down.

"Yes, there's no time to lose, let's find out what happened quickly," the tall, thin old man instructed. "Remember, no matter what, be careful."

"Rest assured, both of you, Lian Feng will not let you down and will investigate the matter thoroughly."

Song Lianfeng kowtowed to the two men, then led Song Yuan toward the exit to the side.

Space distorted for a moment, and the two disappeared into the secret realm in the blink of an eye.

"Second Brother, are we really leaving this matter to Lian Feng alone?"

The short, stout old man said with concern, "If someone is really plotting against my Song family in secret, with Lian Feng's abilities, I'm afraid he won't be able to find anything."

"Of course I know."

The tall, thin old man squinted and said, "So, the two of us will also act together, but not openly, but secretly, with Lian Feng drawing their attention."

The short, stout old man's eyes lit up immediately, and he nodded repeatedly, saying, "Second Brother is right! Hmph, those people had better pray that I find out who they are, otherwise, I will definitely not let them go!"

The tall, thin old man was not so optimistic upon hearing this.

Because he knew very well that those people, once they made a move, they must have absolute certainty of success.

Perhaps our current arrangements are exactly what the other side expected.

Even so, he would not admit defeat! (End of Chapter)