A cold breeze swept through the night as moonlight shone through the window of the Patriarch's office in the City Lord's Mansion.
Sitting in the middle of the room was the imposing figure of Ye Zong. He carried a serious air around him as he flipped through the documents with a contemplative look.
Sitting in front of his table, silently watching as Ye Zong read all the reports they had gathered, were the third and fourth strongest experts of the Snow Wind Family, Ye Xiu and Ye Shuo.
The two of them had grim expressions on their faces as they patiently waited for him to finish.
"Those goddamned bastards really schemed for years. This is not just a mere change of sides for the sake of their clan's survival. The rise of the Sacred Family was a carefully devised plan by the Dark Guild over the past decade. They carefully schemed for years to gain a strong foothold in our Glory City. No wonder the Sacred Family's rise to power was so unnatural to begin with. They were planted by the Dark Guild." Ye Zong dropped the stack of documents onto his table. He leaned back in his chair, looking furious.
"That is indeed true. Even I couldn't believe it at first when I pieced all this evidence together. The Sacred Family is nothing but a Dark Guild branch hidden in plain sight. They pretended to be one of us while harming our people behind our backs. A bunch of wolves in sheep's clothing. I swear, if I don't cut down at least ten of them with my sword, then my name wouldn't be Ye." Ye Shuo added through gritted teeth, his anger evident.
After the younger generation tournament and the exposure of Shen Fei's crime,
He and another expert from the Divine Family worked together to gather evidence of the Sacred Family's secret collusion with the Dark Guild.
Never did they expect that what the two of them would uncover was worse than they had ever imagined.
"We really need to remove the Sacred Family from Glory City as soon as possible. Only then can we properly defend ourselves against outside threats like the Dark Guild." Ye Xiu chimed in. He himself felt a bone-deep anger seeping through every fiber of his being. Both his eldest son and first wife were murdered by the Dark Guild. His hatred for them ran deep.
"That's the plan. Once the preparations on both sides are complete, both our Snow Wind Family and Brother Chen's Divine Family will work together to eradicate every member of the Sacred Family and their allies." Ye Zong agreed. He stood up and walked over to the window, watching as the sun gradually set in the distance.
"Xue Hui did a great job exposing the Sacred Family's connection with the Dark Guild. By now, almost every citizen is actively distancing themselves from the Sacred Family. It's just a matter of time before we fully expose their true nature to everyone, and when that happens, the Sacred Family will cease to exist in Glory City."
Ye Shuo and Ye Xiu both nodded at Ye Zong's words. If there was ever a perfect opportunity to eradicate the entire Sacred Family, now was the time. Every family was suspicious of the Sacred Family. Their possible collusion with the Dark Guild was not something the citizens of Glory City were taking lightly. Not only that, everyone hated the Sacred Family because of Shen Fei's heinous crime. What Shen Fei committed would forever remain a stain on the Sacred Family's reputation.
"Speaking of that boy, is there any news of their whereabouts from Brother Chen? They've been gone from the outside world for weeks now. I'm worried for everyone's safety, especially Niece Ziyun. This is her first time being away from home for this long. I can only imagine that she's having a hard time adjusting." Ye Shuo questioned. He was afraid that the Dark Guild would see the kids' departure from the city as an opportunity to harm them.
"No. Brother Chen himself has no idea where those kids are right now. He only said that Xue Hui is very familiar with the outside world and that we don't have to worry about them." Ye Zong returned to his chair, his gaze landing on the picture of his family placed on his table.
"And as for Yun'er, we can only put our trust in her. This is something every Demon Spiritualist has to go through in their pursuit of greater strength. If she fails, then she is not cut out to become one and can only blame herself for her shortcomings."
Ye Shuo and Ye Xiu both nodded as they agreed to his statement. Albeit heartless, it carried a greater truth when it came to becoming a Demon Spiritualist.
They themselves had gone through the same tempering when they were still students. Danger and opportunity came hand in hand. While others perished in pursuit of strength, some thrived and became powerful pillars supporting Glory City.
As they sat in silence, a realization struck Ye Xiu, and an approving smile appeared on his old face.
"It seems that our Glory City will have a very bright future. The youth of today far surpasses our older generation. In terms of strength and knowledge, the kids today are far superior to us when we were their age."
Ye Zong and Ye Shuo both agreed with him.
"The Young Miss and her friends are progressing rapidly in their cultivation. Even Nie Li and his group are all outstanding youths with great talent. It may just be me, but I can clearly imagine that we're going to have more than one Legend Rank expert in the future."
Ye Shuo grinned as he himself shared the same sentiment, his mind replaying the time when he first met Xue Hui and how the kid had used a godlike medical skill to save Ye Yurou and her child's lives.
Ye Zong, on the other hand, let out a grumbling noise after hearing Ye Xiu mention Nie Li's name.
While he did agree that Nie Li had excellent talent in both cultivation and inscription arrays, the damned brat was far too difficult to work with.
In order to help them construct the Ten Thousand Demonic Array that his father had found in some dangerous cave, Ye Xiu decided to ask Nie Li for help, knowing that the boy possessed incredible insight into inscription patterns.
The problem was that as soon as Ye Xiu asked him, Nie Li laid down several unreasonable demands in exchange for his services. One of them was allowing him to stay in his daughter's courtyard.
Hearing this, Ye Zong had the urge to kick Nie Li out of the City Lord's Mansion if it weren't for ancestral founder, Ye Yan, backing the boy. While Ye Zong was aware that Nie Li and his daughter had a friendly relationship, he wasn't sure if Nie Li was a trustworthy person.
Naturally, Ye Zong said no to his absurd demand. He wasn't so desperate for Nie Li's help that he would jeopardize his daughter's safety in exchange for it.
After all, the only reason they had asked for Nie Li's assistance in laying out the Ten Thousand Demonic Array was because Xue Hui was not around at the moment.
In the end, the brat had a change of heart and decided to cooperate, albeit sulkily. In this matter, Ye Zong's impression of Nie Li improved quite a bit.
At least deep down, Nie Li was someone who cared about everyone's interests.
If only Ye Zong could stop Nie Li from calling him father-in-law, then he wouldn't have such a headache dealing with that damned brat.
As the three continued their meeting deep into the night, several cloaked figures stealthily entered the City Lord's Mansion. Their faces were hidden beneath their hoods as they ran in different directions with measured steps.
"Who ar—" One of the patrolling guards was caught off guard as a person approached him from behind, covered his mouth, and slit his throat. The guard dropped to the ground with a frozen, puzzled expression.
"Everyone is in position," one of the cloaked figures reported to the leader of the group as they waited for the command to begin their summoning.
"Good. I'm sure the ones who entered the Divine Family Mansion have also finished setting up. Go and open the portal. Make sure you don't make any mistakes. We only have one Stone of Kongming to use as the key." Several people nodded as they began laying out the inscription pattern on the ground.
"Let's show the City Lord's Mansion that the Dark Guild is not something they can provoke and get away with. Go raise havoc. I want to see death and destruction befall the people of the City Lord's Mansion." The leader said as several cloaked figures nodded before disappearing in different directions.
As they did, the entire City Lord's Mansion erupted into chaos. The ground shook violently as a beam of light shot into the sky from the inscription pattern drawn on the ground. A deafening roar broke the silence of the night as a gigantic creature emerged from the beam of light.
Ye Zong, Ye Xiu, and Ye Shuo all shot up from their chairs and hastily rushed outside. Their eyes widened in horror as they saw a gigantic Abyss Demon, its towering figure standing several dozen meters tall as it swung down its flaming sword, destroying several residences.
"Go! Fight and protect everyone!" Ye Zong hurriedly ordered.
Ye Xiu and Ye Shuo gave firm nods before shooting through the air like arrows released from a bow, heading toward the Abyss Demon.
At the same time, a blue luminous light burst out behind Ye Zong before the figure of a woman walked beside him.
"You called me, Master!"
"Fu Po, please go and protect my wife and youngest child. Kill anyone who tries to harm them," Ye Zong ordered with finality.
"Be assured, Master. As long as Fu Po is here, I won't let anyone hurt Madam and the young master."
In response to his words, Fu Po lowered her head before leaping away at breakneck speed. Her figure disappeared into the darkness.
Ye Zong breathed out a sigh of relief. A bit of the tension on his shoulders eased, knowing that his automaton partner was powerful enough to protect his family.
His gaze shifted back to the rampaging Abyss Demon as he contemplated whether he should use the Myriad Soul Puppet Army to deal with it.
The Myriad Soul Puppet Army was something he, his father, Chen Zhenlong, and Xue Hui had all decided to keep hidden until a demon beast horde attacked.
The reason was that they had no idea how strong the Dark Guild truly was.
I'll summon it if it's really necessary. I don't want the Dark Guild to get wind of our final trump card, Ye Zong muttered under his breath. He could clearly sense a powerful opponent observing his every movement.
At the same time,
Chen Zhenlong flew above the Divine Family Mansion. He watched with a grim expression as three Abyss Demons rampaged through his territory.
With the help of a Mask Realm Bracelet to hide his true identity, Chen Zhenlong shot toward the nearest Abyss Demon at blinding speed, leaving a streak of light behind him.
Chen Zhenlong landed a powerful punch on the Abyss Demon's chest.
The blow caused it to let out an earth-shaking howl as its entire body toppled backward from the impact.
Not far from him, another Abyss Demon let out an ear-piercing cry as blood sprayed from a thirty-foot-long slash across its chest.
Hovering above it was a person wearing a hooded robe that failed to conceal the bulky figure beneath it.
It brandished two cleavers, one in each hand, as it flew toward the Abyss Demon to deliver another slashing attack.
Chen Zhenlong gave an approving nod. His automaton partner, Da Chu, could hold his own against one of the Abyss Demons thanks to his strength, which was nearly equal to Chen Zhenlong's.
The two of them were handling their opponents quite effectively.
The problem was the third one, which continued its rampage.
Chen Fei, Chen Shenxin, and the other Black Gold Rank experts had to work together to slow its movements while he and Da Chu dealt with their opponents.
Whoever orchestrated this attack planned it thoroughly. They sent three Abyss Demons, knowing that a single Legend Rank Demon Spiritualist wouldn't be able to deal with them all alone.
Chen Zhenlong gritted his teeth as he thought about it. People would die if they failed to stop the enemies.
If things came to shove, he would use the Myriad Soul Puppet Army to deal with all three Abyss Demons.
But for now, he would see what he and his partner, Da Chu, could do against the invading enemies.
End of Chapter 95
.
.
.
.
If you like my story, and want to support me, you can read advance chapter to my patreon.com/AxelDeAxist