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

The next day, a terrible piece of news spread like wildfire throughout Yan.

The Song family, the Liu family, the Bai family, and the Liang family—four families—appeared to vanish overnight, as if they had evaporated from the face of the earth.

Except for a very few marginal figures, all the members of several families died, and their deaths were so gruesome that they resembled dried-up corpses.

If we had to say what these families had in common, it would be that they all participated in the mission to besiege the Jiangnan Martial Arts Association.

In addition, many people in Jiangnan City heard yesterday that Chen Fan was planning to visit three families. Therefore, almost everyone regarded Chen Fan as the culprit.

People were talking about it everywhere—in bars, teahouses, and private venues.

"This is outrageous! The Liu family was merely following orders, and they've already been killed. Why go so far as to exterminate them all?"

"That's right. I went to the Bai family's house and saw the scene. It was so tragic that it wouldn't be an exaggeration to describe it as a living hell."

"What are the elders doing? Why aren't they eliminating this vicious and wicked person? Are they going to keep him around to continue harming people?"

"You shouldn't have mentioned this, because it reminded me of something. Apparently, several smaller families also fell victim to this yesterday, but they weren't as well-known as the Song family, so not many people know about it."

"What? Is that true?"

Upon hearing this, some people panicked.

"Doesn't he only target those who have offended him?"

"I don't know what happened either."

The man shook his head. "When I first heard this news, I didn't believe it either. But later I found out it was true. If you don't believe it, you can check it out. You'll find out soon."

The field fell silent.

An uneasy feeling spread among the crowd.

"That madman, is he going to attack us?"

Finally, someone couldn't contain their worry and asked, "Their family's power isn't considered strong, but having a Celestial Realm ancestor is already quite good."

But that person could kill a mid-stage Celestial Realm martial artist with ease, so a mere early-stage Celestial Realm martial artist was nothing to him.

If the other party really has designs on them.

The Song and Liu families serve as a cautionary tale for them.

"No, really? We have no grudge against him."

"Those small families had no grudge against him, yet they still got into trouble, didn't they?"

"If you ask me, instead of speculating here, we should urge the elders to kill that guy as soon as possible. We won't be able to sleep or eat in peace until he's dead."

"That's right, let's go find the council of elders together."

By noon, the elders' hall was already packed with people.

In the conference room on the top floor, four elders sat around a table.

They all looked terrible.

Overnight, most of the members of the Song family, Liu family, and two other families died!

This kind of thing has almost never happened in the past decade.

This impact is terrible!

The key point is, they're not stupid.

Those outside all assumed that Chen Fan was responsible for all of this.

However, they knew very well that the killer was someone else.

Take the Liu family, for example.

I spoke with them on the phone yesterday and told them that Chen Fan had left. How could someone who has already left possibly come back and wipe out the entire Liu family of several hundred people?

The Bai family is the same.

They all called and asked.

But the result was the same.

Just then, a figure appeared in the projection on the wall.

"What's wrong?"

The figure spoke up and asked.

He was none other than Su Ming.

"Brother Su, something's happened."

Xu Hu quickly said, "Last night, several members of the Song family were killed."

"What?! Is that really true?"

Su Ming was taken aback, then snorted coldly and said, "That brat Chen Fan is incredibly audacious! Stealing these cultivation techniques is one thing, but he even wants to kill us all? He deserves to die!"

"Brother Su, there's probably more to this than meets the eye," Zhao Chunyuan said gravely. "When we first contacted those families, they hadn't run into trouble yet. Take the Song family, for example. After Chen Fan visited, the Song family members were still able to come here to deliver a message to us. And the person who sent them was none other than Chen Fan. If he wanted to silence the Song family, why would he go to all this trouble?"

"Yes, Brother Su, I also think that this matter is not as simple as we imagined. According to the news, those who were killed had their life force drained, leaving them like dried corpses. In my opinion, this is very much the work of that cannibal," the old man from the Yan family said.

"What?" Su Ming asked in surprise, "You think they did it? That's unlikely, isn't it? Do they have that kind of audacity?"

"Brother Su, I also think that this was very likely their doing, and they deliberately framed that kid Chen Fan," the Qin family elder said at this moment.

"Yeah?"

Xu Ming's expression turned serious. "Okay, I'll go ask them later to see if it was them. If it was, they're really bold to do something like this behind my back."

The people inside the room looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Brother Xu, I have something to say, but I'm not sure if I should," Zhao Chunyuan said hesitantly.

"Hehe," Xu Ming chuckled slightly and said, "Brother Zhao, why are we being so polite? Just say what you want to say."

"it is good."

Zhao Chunyuan took a deep breath and said, "I think sending those two people to hunt down Chen Fan is like driving a tiger to devour a wolf. If we're not careful, we'll release the tiger back into the mountains."

Admittedly, Chen Fan challenged the authority of our Elders' Council and deserved to die, but he still had some humanity; he only took the cultivation technique and didn't kill anyone. But those two guys were inhuman. They wiped out three or four thousand people from the Song, Liu, Bai, and Liang families. Besides them, several other families also suffered. If this was Chen Fan's doing, it clearly doesn't make sense. Brother Xu, those two have reached the extreme of madness and depravity.”

"Brother Zhao is right."

The old man surnamed Yan chimed in, "These two are not strong enough yet, so they only dare to target some small families. I believe that if they were strong enough, they would target us, the five major families, not the Liu family or the Song family."

Xu Hu and the elderly man surnamed Qin, who were standing to the side, also remained silent upon hearing this.

Yes, that's what they thought too.

After all, any normal person would know that these two people are no good just by hearing their names, and this time, they even brazenly committed such an act.

If they do nothing and let things continue, the other party will only become more aggressive. It is best to eliminate such a threat as soon as possible.

For example, after they fought a fierce battle with Chen Fan and killed the latter, they stepped forward and killed the two men on the spot.

This is also beneficial to their families, because it maintains the balance among the five major families.

"Gentlemen, is this just your guess?"

Su Ming, however, remained calm and composed. "Those two may have had a bad reputation, but under the tutelage of my Su family, they have long since reformed and started anew. On the other hand, as for Chen Fan, I think you've all heard about his evil skill, the Star Absorbing Technique, right? In that case, it wouldn't be difficult for him to learn another evil skill that drains a person's life force, would it?"

The four of them exchanged a glance.

Everyone could tell that Su Ming was intentionally showing favoritism towards those two people.

After all, there's nothing wrong with what he said.

Su Ming pressed on, "Gentlemen, don't worry. No matter how capable those two are, they'll have to kneel down obediently before my Su family. Otherwise, my ancestor could annihilate them with a single thought. So, even if they're resentful, they definitely won't be able to cause any trouble."

"That's true, but Brother Su, it's better to be safe than sorry."

Zhao Chunyuan sighed, "If it really was them, that would be terrible. After all, the reason they dared to do this is because they were certain that we needed their help and wouldn't dare to do anything to them. They might do something even more outrageous next."

In fact, he didn't dare to voice his deeper concerns.

That is, as their strength increases, will the Su family patriarch still be able to kill them easily?

After all, those who can reach the level of a near-S-class Awakener are absolutely one in a million in terms of both mindset and strength.

Such a person will never be controlled by others and will try every means to find a way to break free from constraints. Once he finds one, the Su family will be the first to suffer.

The Su family will certainly not escape unscathed, and their families will likely be implicated as well.

That's right. If it really came down to a head-on confrontation, those two wouldn't be a match for the five major families. But they're not stupid either. Why would they be so foolish as to engage in a direct confrontation? They could launch a sneak attack today and another tomorrow. So what if the five major families were outmaneuvered? They would still be completely at their mercy. In fact, they might not even dare to go out easily, lest they be assassinated.

But he dared not say it aloud, for Su Ming would certainly not be happy if he did.

"Brother Zhao, don't you believe me?"

Su Ming said somewhat displeased, "I've already said that the killing of these families could absolutely not have been their doing. It was definitely that brat surnamed Chen. Taking the cultivation technique wasn't enough for him; he had to kill people to vent his anger. Alright, let's not talk about this anymore."

As for those people outside, you go and comfort them, tell them that by tomorrow at the latest, our elders' council will have caught that kid and given everyone a satisfactory explanation. As for those two, I'll go and urge them to act quickly.

"Yes."

Upon hearing this, the group nodded.

Even if someone wanted to say something, they wisely chose to shut up after seeing Su Ming's expression.

Communication was cut off, and silence fell over the conference room.

"Alright, everyone, stop overthinking it," Xu Hu said with a smile. "Since Brother Su said that what they did wasn't their doing."

"Actually, that's not what we're worried about," Zhao Chunyuan shook his head. "What we're worried about is whether those two people will become the second or third Chen Fan one day."

"Yes," the old man surnamed Yan sighed, "If this worry comes true, they will be even more difficult to deal with than Chen Fan is now, because they will stop at nothing to stop them."

Upon hearing this, Xu Hu's eyelids twitched twice, and he laughed, "No, no, Brother Su said that everything is under his control. If those two really want to cause trouble, I believe that Brother Su can deal with them with ease."

"I hope so."

Zhao Chunyuan said no more.

After cutting off communication with this side, Su Ming's face immediately darkened, and he then dialed Gong Bo's number.

At that very moment, Gong Bo and Yu Jianqiao, having just wiped out a small family, were taking stock of their spoils.

After all, what could be faster than seizing resources?

Gong Bo took out his phone when it vibrated, and after seeing the caller ID, he sneered.

"That old geezer called?"

Yu Jianqiao, standing to the side, asked without even looking at him.

"Who else could it be but him? He probably knows that we've eliminated those families, and he's come here specifically to question us."

"Then let him question us," Yu Jianqiao said nonchalantly.

Since he did that, he was already mentally prepared.

Moreover, the other party also needed their help, so they couldn't possibly do anything to them.

"Um."

Gong Bo smiled and then answered the phone.

Immediately, an angry voice rang out.

"How dare you! Without my orders, you dared to take action against several families of the Song family! Do you have a death wish?!"

Su Ming was indeed very annoyed.

His words to Zhao Chunyuan and the others were deliberate; in reality, he knew better than anyone that Gong Bo and his group were behind it all.

But he couldn't say it.

Firstly, these two people were trained by the Su family, and if word gets out, the Su family's reputation will be greatly affected.

Secondly, he intentionally brought these two people to the forefront to succeed the Thunder Emperor and the War Emperor.

"Mr. Su, what are you saying? I don't understand." Gong Bo said calmly.

"At this point, what are you pretending for? Are you going to swear to God that what happened to these families has nothing to do with you? I advise you to think carefully before you answer."

Su Ming's tone carried a hint of threat.

Although he was the patriarch of the Su family and could control the lives of the two, it was impossible to alert him every time something happened. Therefore, he was given an item that, while not enough to kill them, could still control them.

Gong Bo's expression changed slightly.

"Mr. Su, please don't get so agitated."

Yu Jianqiao's voice rang out, carrying a cynical tone, "We're doing this for the sake of the Elders' Council."

"What?"

Su Ming almost laughed in anger when he heard this.

"You're saying you killed so many people for my sake?"

Gong Bo was also startled by his words and stared at him with wide eyes.

This guy was clearly trying to absorb the life force of those people to increase his own strength, but in his mouth, it turned into him working for the Elders' Council.

This kind of nonsense is something that even Su Ming wouldn't believe, let alone him.

"Yes, Elder Su, you heard me right. We are doing this for your sake and for the sake of the Elders Council behind you."

(End of this chapter)