"And you?"

Xiao Luobing looked displeased. After all, she too was a gifted woman of the heavens, yet now she was being treated as a burden. The worst part was that she couldn't argue otherwise.

Zi Yan had been arranged to leave, and now she also had to go to Baihua Pavilion. It meant they all had to leave, clearly staying behind was the most dangerous option.

"I have my own arrangements."

Li Feng didn't reveal anything. Xiao Luobing understood that she wouldn't get any answers: "And Ran Yue, have you thought it through?"

"Ran Yue."

"I'll take care of the arrangements. You don't need to worry about it. Alright, you should hurry on your way now. If we get targeted here, it'll be much harder for you to leave. Also, make sure to hide well when you get to the Flowers Pavilion."

"I know what to do. I'm not a child."

"I'm leaving now. Take care of yourself, and don't get yourself killed." With that, Xiao Luobing stomped her foot and turned to leave the study. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Li Feng watched Xiao Luobing leave, exhaled, and considered that the people around him were few; Zi Yan and Xiao Luobing were among them, and arrangements had to be made properly. As for Ran Yue...

Despite Li Feng obtaining intelligence about Ran Yue from the Fengyun Pavilion, confirming some of her previous statements, and leaving her behind was more of fate than any deliberate placement, Li Feng still harbored a sense of unease about her.

Li Feng contemplated Ran Yue's arrangement, deciding to make a decision when the time came.

As time flew by.

The battle at the Underground Palace City beneath the Ninth Ring Duel Arena had also fermented and spread rapidly, becoming widely known among those with keen senses.

The Zeng Family, who had just moved into the Fang Family manor, were also shocked by the news.

"Family Head, is it true that the fourth brother is dead?"

Zeng Xingtian strode rapidly into the family meeting hall, asking outright as soon as he entered.

"Yes."

Zeng Chengtian, the Family Head, nodded with an expressionless face, yet the aura of hostility emanating from him clearly indicated he was anything but calm.

In just over half a month, the Zeng Family had experienced both extremes of fortune.

First, his son and the second brother's son were killed, the seventh brother was expelled from the family, and the Zeng Family's Eight Tigers suddenly lost three. That was still bearable, but now with the fourth brother, the family's strategist, dead, the previously formidable Zeng Family suddenly lost half its strength.

Moreover, unlike with the seventh brother's departure, even though Zeng Batian was removed from the family genealogy, he was still alive, and eradicating that Li Feng, the possibility of the seventh brother's return was there. Even if the seventh brother couldn't return to the Zeng Family, establishing his own house outside, he would still carry the Zeng name.

However, the fourth brother's death was a massive loss for the Zeng Family. Known for his literary fame in the three major academies, Zeng Jingtian had even cultivated the Confucian Heart, and given time, would surely be able to study at Ru Mountain.

Zeng Jingtian was the most crucial element in the Zeng Family's century-long plan. Once he established a foothold in Ru Mountain, the Zeng Family might further prosper.

It's said that over a third of the Zeng Family's resources over the years had been invested in Zeng Jingtian. Now, with his death, decades of investment had all gone to waste.

"Explain, what on earth happened? Fourth brother wasn't commanding eight families' Golden Cores for nothing, a force of almost thirty-plus Golden Cores, merely to encircle and kill Li Feng and that woman from the Fang Family. How did he end up getting himself killed?"

Zeng Xingtian looked at the person who brought back the message, who was a servant near Zeng Jingtian.

The servant, terrified by Zeng Xingtian's glare, began to speak, his voice trembling, "Second Master, the original plan was for Fourth Master to control from behind the scenes, while the matter of encircling and killing Li Feng was carried out by people from the Qi Family and seven other families."

"These eight families gathered their Golden Cores in an inn in Underground Palace City and sent a challenge to Li Feng, using the lives of those from the Fang Family as leverage."

"Originally, there was no flaw in the opening move. That Li Feng, unless he wanted to fall out completely with the Fang Family, would definitely have to save them."

"With the number of Golden Cores from the eight families, even using human waves could have buried Li Feng. But who would have thought that Li Feng would completely defy convention?"

"Stop beating around the bush, get to it!"

Zeng Xingtian frowned, looking at the servant.

"Yes, yes." The servant, with legs weakening from fear, quickly swallowed, continuing nervously, "Who would have thought that although Li Feng accepted the challenge, he wouldn't follow the eight families' plan and instead directly attacked the inn."

"Eight families' Golden Cores were caught off guard, and suffered heavy losses."

"Well, even if they were caught off guard, the eight families had over thirty Golden Cores. No matter how sudden Li Feng's attack was, how many could he kill?"

Zeng Xingtian glared at the servant.

"It wasn't just Li Feng. Li Feng seemed to have bought three War Gods from the duel arena in the Underground Palace City. Along with that Lady from the Fang Family, five joined the battle."

"And at the time, the heads of the eight families were in a meeting on another floor and weren't present. The Golden Cores of the eight families weren't organized, and after being caught off guard, chaos ensued. There was no effective command, and they were thoroughly slaughtered by Li Feng."

Zeng Xingtian was speechless, inwardly cursing the eight families for being incompetent. "So what about my fourth brother?"

"Second Master, although Li Feng initially wreaked havoc, once the heads of the eight families reacted, the situation was quickly turned around. The Family Head of the Feng Family, using the Geng Metal Technique, caused Li Feng considerable trouble. Their fight nearly destroyed the inn."

"It seemed that victory was assured, as the heads of the eight families mostly had strength at the Golden Core Middle Stage. As for Li Feng, he hadn't reached that level yet. Challenging one would have been possible, but eight was a pipe dream."

"But who would have imagined that at the critical moment, Li Feng awakened his Bloodline Talent again, his whole body transforming into the Undying Body. His five vital organs and six viscera all became elemental, rendering any attack from the Feng Family Head futile. Li Feng turned the tables."

"And the eight families were not united from the start. After Li Feng's sneak attack, some families suffered heavy losses, but two families remained largely unharmed, clearly shocked by Li Feng's resilience. This internal discord led to immediate infighting among the eight families."

"Seeing the situation unravel, Fourth Master had no choice but to step out personally, striking down the retreating family heads and intimidating the others present. Then, Fourth Master used his word-following command to suppress Li Feng, ordering the family heads to attack Li Feng with all their strength."

Zeng Xingtian listened to this, finding no faults, just that Li Feng seemed like the undying cockroach.

"And then?"

"Originally, Li Feng was done for, but just as he was about to die, he broke through once more, and this time, directly summoned the Vermilion Bird True Body. Fourth Master's word-following command was instantly broken, and when Li Feng struck, the family heads didn't even have time to blink before they were annihilated."

"Following that, Li Feng charged directly in front of Fourth Master, grabbed Fourth Master by the head, and crushed it to pieces."

The servant's voice grew softer and softer as he spoke.

"Is that how it was?"

Zeng Xingtian stepped forward, grabbed the servant's head, using sheer force to crush it.

Zeng Chengtian watched quietly without a word. Zeng Xingtian, still furious, turned to the Family Head, "Family Head, we cannot let Li Feng live. Fourth brother died, killed by Li Feng. Our Zeng Family now has the reason to directly target Li Feng. We don't need to adhere to any ridiculous rules."

"Let me handle it."

"I will definitely bring back Li Feng's head, to honor and mourn for fourth brother's spirit in heaven."