The moment those dozens of ninjas appeared, Saito Mikado’s hand shot up, pointing at Zhou Feng in the distance.

“The Divine Artifact is in his hand! Take him down first!”

“Yes!”

A perfectly synchronized reply, cold and devoid of human emotion.

Before the words even finished, a dozen figures had already burst out from the fifty-man formation.

Their movements were incredibly strange; with a light tap of their toes on the ground, their bodies transformed into wisps of indistinct black smoke, leaving blurry afterimages in the air as they silently enveloped Zhou Feng.

Zhou Feng’s expression was extremely grim.

Without turning his head, he quickly issued an order to the black-clad man kneeling on one knee behind him.

“I’ll handle these people. You take your men and protect all the Family members!”

“Yes, President!”

The black-clad man took the order, quickly rose, and led Zhou Feng’s trusted aides, like a black dam, blocking the path of all the Zhou Family members.

They drew their weapons and instantly clashed with the remaining Sakura Country ninjas!

On the other side, the dozen ninjas had already surrounded Zhou Feng from all directions.

They spoke no unnecessary words; their icy killing intent was almost palpable, nearly freezing the air.

Zhou Feng slowly raised his right hand, and the black Zhen Tian Seal in his palm once again glowed with a deep, dark light.

He looked at the ghostly figures, parted his thin lips, and calmly uttered that single word.

“Suppress.”

Buzz—!

Golden light burst forth!

A more terrifying and immense imperial Aura, even greater than before, erupted from Zhou Feng like a tsunami!

The Hannya masks on the faces of the dozen ninjas were instantly shattered by this power, revealing faces filled with utter horror beneath!

Their bodies flew backward uncontrollably, as if struck head-on by a high-speed train!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A series of loud crashes!

Their bodies slammed heavily into the surrounding courtyard walls and rockeries; the hard rocks instantly shattered, and dust billowed!

Even the three-story luxurious villa not far away had its walls crack and mostly collapse under the impact of this terrifying energy!

“Pfft...”

The ninjas struggled to get up from the rubble, spitting out large mouthfuls of blood.

They were horrified to find that their equipment had all fallen to the ground from that single strike.

What terrified them even more was that the power within their bodies was rapidly draining at an unimaginable speed!

Their Rank was plummeting!

Rank 50... Rank 45... In just a few short seconds, their Rank was forcibly suppressed to below Rank 30!

Saito Mikado, in the distance, witnessed all of this firsthand.

His hawk-like eyes were now replaced by intense greed and fanaticism.

Is this the Zhen Tian Seal?

With just one strike, it severely weakened a dozen Rank 50 experts!

And this was still far from the true power of the Zhen Tian Seal!

Although the ninjas were severely wounded, their killing intent did not decrease; it intensified.

They were elite death squads, trained under the most rigorous conditions; the word “retreat” simply didn't exist in their vocabulary.

They struggled to their feet, still preparing to attack Zhou Feng.

Seeing this, Zhou Feng let out a cold snort.

“Since you’re not afraid to die, then all of you, die!”

Just then, Saito Mikado shouted, “All of you, retreat! I’ll handle this!”

Hearing this, the fearless ninjas finally stopped their actions.

They used a strange movement technique, turning into shadows, and disappeared in a few blinks.

Saito Mikado slowly stepped forward.

From his spatial ring, he pulled out an ancient scroll painting.

As he slowly unrolled the scroll, he muttered to himself in a voice only he could hear.

“Good thing I brought Mr. Sohma’s painting when I came.”

“Otherwise, today would have been truly difficult to handle!”

The scroll was fully unrolled.

The painting depicted a Great Tengu perched atop a mountain peak.

It had a red face, a long nose, wings on its back, held a large feather fan, and its eyes were closed, its demeanor majestic, as if in a deep slumber.

However, the moment the scroll was unrolled, the entire painting spontaneously combusted without any warning!

Blazing flames instantly devoured the ancient scroll!

The next second!

A sharp shriek erupted from within the flames!

The Great Tengu, which had been still in the painting, suddenly opened its eyes!

Its golden pupils seemed to contain endless majesty and brutality!

It spread its massive wings and flapped them violently!

Whoosh—!

A strong gust of wind appeared out of nowhere, flying directly out of the burning scroll!

Its enormous body blotted out the sky, and an astonishing Aura erupted!

Under this terrifying pressure, everyone present turned pale.

The ordinary people among the Zhou Family members couldn't withstand this pressure; their eyes rolled back, blood flowed from their seven orifices, and they fainted on the spot!

Zhou Feng looked up at the Great Tengu hovering high in the sky, his expression becoming more serious than ever before.

Although he couldn't see its health or Rank, the Aura it emitted was no less powerful than the Hell-Rank red Dragon he had encountered earlier!

“Go, tear him to shreds for me!”

Saito Mikado let out a sinister laugh.

The Great Tengu high in the sky let out a shriek and violently flapped its feather fan!

Dozens of azure wind blades, condensed ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) from the fierce wind, swept towards Zhou Feng like a dense rain of arrows, covering the sky and earth!

Zhou Feng’s expression darkened, and he once again raised the Zhen Tian Seal in his hand.

“Suppress!”

Golden light flared again!

The invisible imperial might instantly crushed all the wind blades!

However, the Great Tengu’s attack did not stop there.

Its figure flickered, and it instantly teleported in front of Zhou Feng, its massive sharp claws, accompanied by a sharp whistle that tore through the air, fiercely swiping at Zhou Feng’s head!

Zhou Feng’s pupils contracted; without thinking, he directly blocked with the Zhen Tian Seal in front of him!

Clang—!

A deafening clang of metal!

The Great Tengu’s sharp claws were firmly blocked by the small seal, unable to advance an inch!

Zhou Feng seized the opportunity and violently pushed the Zhen Tian Seal upwards!

“Be... suppressed!”

Buzz—!

The Zhen Tian Seal glowed brightly, and a gigantic golden seal phantom appeared out of thin air, slamming heavily onto the Great Tengu’s body!

Boom!

The Great Tengu let out a piercing shriek, its massive body, like a meteor, was forcibly smashed from the sky, creating a huge deep pit in the ground!

It struggled to get up, but the golden seal phantom clung to its body like a maggot, firmly pinning it down, making it unable to move!

However, Zhou Feng’s face also turned extremely pale, and two lines of crimson nosebleed slowly flowed from his nostrils.

It wouldn't stop.

Seeing this, Saito Mikado couldn't help but feel a little flustered.

The Zhen Tian Seal was indeed terrifying!

This painting was the work of Sohma Kōsuke!

That was Sakura Country’s strongest S-Class Profession, the 【Spirit Painter】!

Although this Great Tengu was only an early work of Sohma Kōsuke, he had treasured it for many years, regarding it as a trump card.

He hadn't expected that it still couldn't contend with the Zhen Tian Seal!

The fanaticism in his heart reached its peak at this moment.

He absolutely had to get this Zhen Tian Seal!

The next second, Saito Mikado moved!

However, his target was not Zhou Feng!

But the group of Zhou Family members being protected by Zhou Feng’s subordinates!

His figure transformed into an afterimage, and the katana in his hand drew a cold arc through the air!

Pfft! Pfft!

Two black-clad men guarding the outermost perimeter didn't even have time to react before they were fatally cut in the throat and died on the spot!

Saito Mikado’s figure didn’t pause at all; he instantly rushed into the crowd, grabbed Zhou Ming, the second son of the Zhou Family, and pressed the sharp blade firmly against his neck!

Zhou Ting, who was nearby, saw this and his face changed drastically.

“Mr. Saito! What is the meaning of this?!”

“You only needed to deal with Zhou Feng alone; why are you holding my second son hostage?!”

Saito Mikado ignored him, merely looking at the pale-faced Zhou Feng in the distance with a mocking gaze.

“Hand over the Zhen Tian Seal!”

“Otherwise, I will kill all your Family members today!”

At these words, the entire scene was shocked.

Even Zhou Ting, who was nearby, turned deathly pale.

He said with a trembling voice, “Your Excellency Saito! This is not what we agreed upon!”

“How can you use the lives of my Zhou Family members as a threat?!”

“You!”

“Shut up!”

Saito Mikado impatiently interrupted him.

“It’s your Zhou Family who didn’t cooperate first!”

After speaking, he grabbed Zhou Ming by the neck and lifted him up.

Zhou Ming struggled painfully in his hand.

Saito Mikado leaned into his ear and chuckled softly, “You spoke very bravely just now; I wonder if you’re truly as brave as you say.”

“Tell your brother to hand over the Zhen Tian Seal, otherwise, I’ll kill you right now!”

Zhou Ming, who had been struggling in pain, miraculously stopped resisting when he heard this.

He slowly closed his eyes.

That silent gesture seemed to say: You’re dreaming!

A cold glint of killing intent flashed in Saito Mikado’s eyes.

“In that case, then die!”

“No—!”

Zhou Ting let out a desperate roar, his body staggering as he tried to rush forward to stop Saito.

But Saito’s movements were much faster than his.

Pfft!

The narrow katana pierced through Zhou Ming’s chest without the slightest hesitation!

Blood slowly flowed down the cold blade.

Zhou Ming’s gaze gradually lost its focus.

He took one last look at his father.

In his eyes, there was no hatred, only endless sorrow.

“Thud!”

Zhou Ting’s legs gave out, and he collapsed to his knees in despair.

At this moment, the Zhou Family head, who had been scheming his entire life, truly realized.

He had indeed made a mistake.

A terrible mistake.