"Why?"

Qi Yanxiong’s voice was somewhat hoarse, his gaze fixed intently on Jin Yuansheng’s two enshrined protectors.

His body trembled slightly, unable to maintain his usual composure; at this moment, he was like a lion at the end of its road, fierce yet desperate.

When Chen Ming and the others barged into the study, his heart sank, realizing the game was over.

This was the core area of the Qi Family, yet his enemies had walked in grandly, with no one raising an alarm.

What did this mean?

Either everyone at the Qi Mansion had been killed.

Or, someone from within had let them in.

The reactions of the two enshrined protectors when Chen Ming and the others entered had already explained everything.

No matter how hard he thought about it, Qi Yanxiong couldn’t understand why these two, who had always been loyal to Jin Yuansheng and had never been treated poorly by him, would betray him.

Enshrinement Protector Pang looked at him coldly, took out a golden token, and said word by word, "Lord Fang has ordered that from today, Qi Yanxiong is dismissed from his position as the chief shopkeeper of Jin Yuansheng. He is to be dealt with by the second young master of the Chen Family."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone from the Qi Family present was struck as though by lightning, their faces ashen.

Lord Fang was the real power behind Jin Yuansheng, the true master of Jin Yuansheng.

However, over the years, Lord Fang had trusted the Qi Family immensely, never interfering with Jin Yuansheng’s business. He only sent someone each year to collect Jin Yuansheng’s profits regularly.

Over time, the Qi Family had unconsciously ignored Lord Fang, developing the illusion that they were Jin Yuansheng.

Now, with the sudden betrayal of the two enshrined protectors and the presentation of Lord Fang’s order, their illusion was shattered, and they realized that Jin Yuansheng had never belonged to them.

Qi Yanxiong stared at the golden token in Enshrinement Protector Pang’s hand, the color draining from his face, and he said bitterly, "Chen Erlang, quite the strategy!"

He knew he had lost completely.

Chen Ming had managed to persuade Lord Fang to abandon him.

And the two enshrined protectors he had been trying to win over for years had unhesitatingly taken Lord Fang’s side; it could be said that both he and the Qi Family had suffered a resounding defeat.

He let out a bitter laugh, "I underestimated you! You’ve won. How do you plan to deal with our Qi Family?"

Chen Ming smiled, his gaze sweeping across the faces of those in the study, and said, "An eye for an eye, a debt has its debtor. As I said, I only want the heads of Qi Xingdong, Lu Zhihao, and the maid who framed me back then. Once their heads are brought to me, all past grudges will be written off."

Saying this, he pulled out a dagger from his bosom and threw it out; with a thud, the dagger embedded itself in the center of the desk.

Qi Xingdong’s face went deathly pale, instantly sensing that the way several uncles in the study were looking at him had changed. He suddenly realized Chen Ming’s malicious intent, and cursed, "You little beast, I should have killed you back then... Do you think the one who framed you was just a maid? If it weren’t for..."

"Shut up!"

A middle-aged man in the study’s face changed dramatically; in a flash, he lunged forward and struck Qi Xingdong on the forehead with a palm.

With a crack, Qi Xingdong fell dead on the spot without a sound.

Chen Ming watched this enemy die before him, his expression unchanged.

The middle-aged man said in a deep voice, "Xingdong is dead, as for Lu Zhihao and the maid, I will send someone to capture them. I hope the second young master can keep his word and not trouble the Qi Family anymore."

Chen Ming shook his head and said, "Just killing these few is not enough."

The middle-aged man was visibly outraged, feeling tricked, "Are you going back on your word, sir?"

Chen Ming said coldly, "Last night, four pirates snuck into my residence to kill me; was this not instigated by your Qi Family?"

The middle-aged man hurriedly dissociated himself, "That was Qi Yanxiong’s doing alone. It has nothing to do with us. We didn’t know he was involved with pirates."

"Very well." Chen Ming suddenly smiled, "You kill Qi Yanxiong as well, and I won’t pursue the matter further."

The middle-aged man hesitated.

Qi Yanxiong held significant prestige; the middle-aged man couldn’t muster the courage to act for a moment, his expression changing several times before his gaze gradually became fierce.

He said in a deep voice, "Seventh Uncle, Third Brother, Fifth Brother, the life and death of the Qi Family are at stake; we cannot hesitate any longer. Let’s all act together."

He wanted to drag the other few into this—the villainy shouldn’t be his alone to bear.

...

The other four present watched, their eyelids twitching, thinking that this Chen Ming, despite his young age, was so cunning and malicious; his words clearly intended to sow discord within the Qi Family.

Not only did he want people dead, but he also aimed to pierce their hearts.

That the Qi Family had come so far was all due to Qi Yanxiong’s efforts. Now, at this critical moment, these clansmen had betrayed him without hesitation and were even ready to kill him with their own hands.

One can imagine the fury in Qi Yanxiong’s heart.

They felt some sympathy for Qi Yanxiong; after all, he was a prominent figure in Qingfeng City, yet ended up like this.

Finally, the oldest among them spoke, "Dalang, you’ve heard, we are all doing this for the Qi Family. Don’t blame us."

Qi Yanxiong’s face was ashen, he seemed to have aged ten years in an instant. When his son was killed, he had no reaction. It was only upon hearing the old man’s words that he lifted his head, glaring coldly at the few with contempt, "A bunch of fools!"

His voice seemed to squeeze out from between his teeth, carrying a chilling sense of disdain.

He raised his hand, and over a dozen beams of light flashed.

Shhh, shhh, shhh—

Before the Qi Family members could react, a bloody hole appeared in their throats, and without knowing what had happened, they were dead on the spot.

Another dozen or so glints of cold light shot toward Chen Ming and the others.

The suddenness of this change caught everyone off guard. Jin Yuansheng’s two enshrined protectors and the two guards behind Chen Ming reacted quickly, drawing their weapons and knocking away the incoming concealed weapons.

However, they couldn’t care about anyone else.

The two guards inwardly cried out bad. In an instant, they realized Qi Yanxiong’s real target was Chen Ming, and the hidden weapons aimed at them were merely to prevent them from aiding him.

They never would have thought that Qi Yanxiong actually had Fifth Grade Cultivation!

Caught off guard, they were completely unprepared.

Chen Ming was merely Sixth Grade; how could he react in time?

The two were filled with shock and anger. If Chen Ming were to die, how would they explain it to the boss?

Clang! Clang!

Just as they were about to strike and kill Qi Yanxiong, out of the corner of their eye, they caught a glimpse of a dazzling blade light that actually deflected two hidden weapons.

This is——

They looked at the unharmed Chen Ming, somewhat in disbelief.

Fifth Grade?

He actually reached Fifth Grade?

...

"Qi Yanxiong, you’ve hidden yourself really well."

The long sword in Chen Ming’s hand was still humming. He looked at the stunned Qi Yanxiong, feeling a bit of lingering fear. Had someone not reminded him in time, he might have fallen into Qi Yanxiong’s trap.

This old trickster actually had Fifth Grade cultivation!

Just now, when several members of the Qi Family dared to make a move against Qi Yanxiong, it meant even these core figures of the Qi Family didn’t know he had such strength.

Truly insidious.

At such a close distance without any preparation, only a Fourth Grade master might have the ability to respond, because a Fourth Grade Martial Artist already possesses Protective True Qi and can react instantly to danger.

A Fifth Grade Martial Artist doesn’t have this capability.

"Fifth Grade... you’re actually Fifth Grade..."

Qi Yanxiong was even more shocked than him. For the first time, he lost his composure, appearing almost frenzied, "This is impossible... how could you be Fifth Grade?"

How long has it been since he broke through to Sixth Grade?

He spent half his life just barely breaking through to Fifth Grade, and it took him a full ten years to go from Sixth Grade to Fifth Grade.

The Heavenly Dao isn’t fair at all!

Chen Ming stopped wasting words and thrust out his sword, unleashing a deadly move, "Setting Sun Reflection."

Qi Yanxiong only managed to raise both palms before his heart was pierced by the sword.

[You have slain a Level 50 enemy, gaining 50,000 Experience Points]

"That’s it, he’s dead?"

Chen Ming, having succeeded with one strike, still couldn’t quite believe that he’d so easily killed that old trickster.

However, since the system showed a prompt, he was definitely dead beyond doubt.

Soon, he figured it out.

This old trickster, in order to hide his cultivation, probably never engaged in battle, all his skills focused on hidden weapons. He was a severely specialized practitioner.

So, Qi Yanxiong wasn’t seeking death but truly couldn’t withstand that sword.

Chen Ming lightly shook off the blood from his sword, sheathed it, and turned to the two Jin Yuansheng envoys, saying, "My feud with the Qi Family is settled. I’ll leave the aftermath to the two of you." 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

The two envoys didn’t act haughtily and quickly said, "Our master felt deeply regretful upon learning of the second young master’s predicament and especially sent us to offer apologies on his behalf."

Chen Ming said, "Your master is too kind."

...

When Chen Ming left Qi Mansion, he felt a strange feeling, as if some dust had been swept away from his heart, leaving him much more relaxed.

"Could this be the original owner’s obsession?"

He was somewhat amazed. Before this, he never felt anything was amiss, yet unexpectedly, deep in his heart, the original owner’s resentment lingered on.

According to this world’s Martial Dao ideals, there will definitely be aspects involving spirit and mind in the future. If it isn’t dealt with, it might affect cultivation.

Chen Ming stopped and said to the two people behind him, "Thank you, both seniors, for accompanying me on this journey."

These two people were experts he borrowed from Shang’an Trading Company, both with Fourth Grade Cultivation. Although Su Zhining was strong, she didn’t like to show herself, always hiding in the shadows. In a face-to-face confrontation, she might not be able to act in time if danger arose...

The two felt somewhat embarrassed, "The second young master is too harsh. We were negligent just now and almost caused you harm. Please don’t hold it against us."

Chen Ming said, "What you’re saying is too much. I’m already very thankful you accompanied me on this journey. That was just a small accident. Now that everything’s resolved, you two seniors can return."

Seeing him say this, the two experts took their leave.

After they left, Chen Ming boarded the carriage, ready to return home.

The carriage hadn’t gone far before Su Zhining slipped inside.

Chen Ming smiled and said, "Thank you, young lady, for the warning just now."

Su Zhining said softly, "It wasn’t me just now."

Chen Ming was taken aback. If it wasn’t her, then who could it have been?