Ye Fan said, "The Divine Continent Sword has no right to judge me. Besides, they attacked me first. I can’t be expected to just stand there and not fight back!"

"Regardless, you’ve crossed the line. You’re coming with us," Sword Comes One barked.

Ye Fan found it impossible to communicate with these blockheaded fools, so he simply asked, "And what if I refuse?"

Immediately, their expressions hardened. "If you refuse, then from this day forward, you are an enemy of the Divine Continent Sword!"

"You don’t represent the Divine Continent Sword," Ye Fan shot back.

The men grew furious and looked ready to attack. Just then, however, a call came from their superior—surprisingly, it was from the Alliance Hierarch of the Divine Continent Sword himself.

The Alliance Hierarch was Zhan Xiong. He said over the phone, "You are not to interfere in this matter."

"But Alliance Hierarch, he killed several ordinary people!" Sword Comes One protested.

Zhan Xiong repeated, "Everything is under my control, and it’s not going to cause any major trouble. Do not concern yourself with this matter!" Then he hung up.

Sword Comes One glared at Ye Fan resentfully. "King of Heaven, your arrogance won’t last forever!"

"Is that so? Then I’ll be waiting for your revenge," Ye Fan said with a scoff.

Sword Comes One and his men left in a fury.

After they left, Ye Fan approached Wu Shiyin. "I’m going to deal with the Wu Family next. Not a single one of them will escape," he said. "But if you don’t want them to die, you just have to say the word." He was making it clear that she alone could decide the Wu Family’s fate.

Wu Shiyin replied, "I stopped being part of the Wu Family a long time ago. Ever since the day they treated me so ruthlessly, I’ve considered all ties with them severed. Don’t hold back, and don’t worry about my feelings. It’s simple: I’ll support whatever you decide to do." As an astute and understanding woman, she had a very clear head.

Ye Fan pulled Wu Shiyin into his embrace. It was no exaggeration to say that she was the woman who understood him best. The two of them then took Yaoyao and left the villa.

The villa was in ruins, but Ye Fan had already made arrangements for the aftermath.

However, upon reaching the foot of the hill, Ye Fan was shocked. The entire War God Team lay dead by the roadside. All ten of them had been killed; there were no survivors. They had just been with him, and now they had all been killed at the foot of the hill. Without a doubt, he was the prime suspect.

Someone is deliberately framing me.

Wu Shiyin gasped in shock, and little Yaoyao was frightened to tears. Ye Fan had no choice but to summon Black Fog again to escort them home safely.

Then, Ye Fan dialed Zhan Xiong’s number. They had always kept in contact.

"My young friend, it’s rare for you to give this old man a call. What’s the matter?" Zhan Xiong asked.

Ye Fan said grimly, "Senior, the War God Team has been killed."

"What?" Zhan Xiong was stunned. "Secure the scene. I’m taking a private jet. I’ll be there in two hours!"

"Understood," Ye Fan agreed. Someone is trying to frame me, but I have no idea who it could be. Who would be so audacious as to kill the War God Team just to pin it on me? If caught, they’d make an enemy of both the War God Alliance and me. This person must be powerful, and they must have a formidable organization behind them.

「Two hours later, Zhan Xiong arrived.」

When he saw the bodies of the War God Team, his composure was shaken. After all, these were the promising juniors he himself had trained. Now that they were all dead, he was filled with a cold fury.

"My friend, you saw them right before they were killed, didn’t you? Did you notice anything unusual?" he asked.

Ye Fan shook his head. "Less than twenty minutes passed between when I met with them and when I found their bodies. To kill all ten of them in such a short time without making a sound... the murderer must be a terrifyingly powerful individual."

Zhan Xiong nodded and ordered his two subordinates, "Examine the bodies."

The two men knelt to inspect the corpses. Before long, one reported, "Alliance Hierarch, we’ve identified their injuries."

"Their throats were all severed by an Iron Claw. What’s more, there are traces of a horrifying chemical agent. This substance is many times more toxic than the deadliest poisons. The moment it touches an open wound, it causes instantaneous death. In other words, they were dead the instant they were injured, which is why they died without making a sound."

Zhan Xiong and Ye Fan instantly understood.

"To think they would dare to commit murder right under the nose of the Divine Continent Sword! This is a direct provocation!" Zhan Xiong said grimly.

"It’s obvious they’re trying to frame me," Ye Fan analyzed. "If you and I weren’t acquainted, Senior, their plan would have succeeded today."

"The problem is, I have no idea who it could be," Ye Fan continued. "If this person remains hidden in Jiangning, they’ll be an extremely dangerous threat, precisely because we don’t know who they are."

"They’ll slip up eventually," Zhan Xiong said. "From their perspective, the goal is clearly to make the Divine Continent Sword and you fight to the death so they can reap the benefits. They could be a mutual enemy... or not."

At this, both men felt a headache coming on as they wracked their brains, trying to identify this mysterious opponent.

Ye Fan immediately knelt, examining the bodies of the War God Team himself. He moved to a corpse with a particularly strange cause of death and pulled back the clothing. He wasn’t being perverse; he was looking for any other unusual wounds.

Finally, he noticed a large bloodstain on the man’s head. Within it, he saw a claw mark. The force behind it was terrifying—a single, fatal strike that had crushed the man’s skull.

Dragon Claw Hand! That was the first Cultivation Technique that came to mind. But this is slightly different; the standard Dragon Claw Hand isn’t this lethal. To achieve this level, one would have to temper every single finger to gain such immense power.

As the shocking realization struck him, Zhan Xiong noticed his expression and asked, "My friend, what is it? Did you find a clue?"

"Watch this," Ye Fan said. He swiped his hand at a nearby stone. Instantly, five terrifyingly deep claw marks appeared on its surface.

Zhan Xiong compared the marks on the stone to the one on the dead man’s head. He seemed to realize something—they were a perfect match.

Ye Fan explained, "Many people know this unique skill, but very few can cultivate it to this level. Besides myself, there is only one other person!"

"Who?" Zhan Xiong asked.

"The Demon Emperor," Ye Fan stated.

Instantly, Zhan Xiong and his two subordinates drew a sharp breath in shock.