"What do you mean, you’re asking me how to investigate? If you don’t have any leads, then go find some! Bottom line—I want to know who the killer is within three days. Otherwise, your head will roll. You piece of trash, hurry up and get it done!"
Sun Zhenwu was so furious that he shattered the tea table into pieces.
This time, the Sun family had lost two Earth Spirit Realm experts. As if that wasn’t bad enough, his own grandson, as well as Sun Hang, had died in there too. Sun Hang’s death, in particular, was going to be incredibly difficult to explain.
When Sun Juguang found out about this, he would undoubtedly fly into a rage! It wasn’t even out of the question for them to have a complete falling out over this.
If he had known this would happen, he never would have allowed Sun Hang to linger in the Secret Realm. But at the time, Sun Hang had confidently sworn that the woman from the Gongsun family was severely injured and on her last legs. Because of that, he hadn’t forced Sun Hang to leave.
Now, however, it seemed the Gongsun family’s woman hadn’t shown the slightest sign of injury. That woman was simply too cunning. She had intentionally feigned injury and spared Sun Hang just to make the Sun family lower their guard.
But no matter what, he had to find the killer—if only to give Sun Juguang an explanation!
Time passed.
Inside the Beast Vehicle, Ye Xuan opened his eyes. Three days had gone by, and his cultivation base was fully consolidated. He took out a seventh-tier Beast Pill and swallowed it in one gulp.
The energy within a seventh-tier Beast Pill was frenzied indeed. As soon as it entered his body, it erupted like a violent storm or a towering, turbulent wave. Just as Ye Xuan had expected, absorbing one hundred percent of a seventh-tier Beast Pill’s energy was perfectly sufficient to push the Spiritual Qi in his body to its absolute peak.
Without hesitation, he began to break through the fourth Mountain Range.
By the time the Beast Vehicle returned to the Ye family’s Three-Star Main Town, the fourth Mountain Range had been successfully cleared. Ye Xuan’s cultivation advanced to the 4th Layer of the Demon Spirit Realm. His speed of progression was skyrocketing at an unbelievable pace.
As of now, Ye Xuan had five fifth-tier Beast Pills, two seventh-tier Beast Pills, six eighth-tier Beast Pills, and one ninth-tier Beast Pill left. These Beast Pills would be more than enough to raise his cultivation to the 6th Layer. However, pushing through to the 7th Layer would likely be difficult. After all, he only had a single ninth-tier Beast Pill.
Regardless, Ye Xuan was already quite satisfied. He would just have to take things one step at a time. Upon returning to the Ye family, he immediately began consolidating his new cultivation level. No matter the circumstances, improving his strength was always his highest priority.
At the same time, in Hero City, at the Sun family estate.
"You still haven’t found him?! You bunch of useless trash! If the family didn’t need manpower right now, you’d already be a corpse. Get out of my sight!"
Sun Zhenwu furiously dismissed a Golden Armor Guard. He then glared at another guard and demanded, "The wanted poster has been issued for so long. Hasn’t a single person from any Three-Star Main Town provided a clue? Has no one recognized this bearded man?"
"Reporting to the City Lord, no."
"Trash! You’re all trash! Get out! Get the hell out!"
Seething with rage, Sun Zhenwu kicked the Golden Armor Guard to the ground. He then glared at the portrait of Ye Xuan on the table, snatched it up, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it onto the floor.
"Sun Zhenwu, judging by your expression, you still haven’t caught the person who murdered my grandson?"
At that moment, an elderly man walked into the room. It was Sun Hang’s grandfather, Sun Juguang.
"Juguang, you’re back. Do you already know what happened to Sun Hang?"
"How could I not know about something this massive!"
Sun Juguang was so enraged that his face and neck were flushed beet red. Perhaps due to his intense fury, he began to cough violently. Startled, Sun Zhenwu rushed over and hurriedly patted Sun Juguang’s back to soothe him.
Sun Juguang could absolutely not die right now. If he died, the Celestial Secret Pavilion would no longer have any ties to the Sun family.
"Juguang, please don’t be angry. Your frail body can’t handle this kind of strain."
Sun Juguang had a cultivation base, but it wasn’t strong. After all, he had never been particularly interested in martial arts.
"How can I not be angry? Sun Hang was my most beloved grandson. He was the hope of our Sun family! But what about you? Were you secretly wishing for his death? Now that he’s dead, your grandson can step up and rightfully become the Young City Lord."
"Juguang, you’re completely wronging me. Sun Cong died in the Secret Realm, too! Please, just sit down first. Look at yourself—you clearly haven’t slept well these past few days. You haven’t even shaved your beard."
"Shave? How could I possibly be in the mood for that?"
"If you don’t shave, you’ll end up with a full beard like... Hmm?"
As if struck by a sudden realization, a sharp glint flashed through Sun Zhenwu’s eyes. He picked up the crumpled ball of paper from the floor and smoothed it out. The portrait of Ye Xuan appeared before him once more.
Using his hand, Sun Zhenwu covered the hair and the thick, full beard on the drawing. The face underneath—those facial features—were incredibly familiar. He had a strong sense of déjà vu. He had absolutely seen this person before, but for a moment, he couldn’t quite place the memory.
A long while later, his eyes lit up.
The Gongsun family! Ye Xuan!
If this bearded man’s facial hair were removed, his face looked exactly like Ye Xuan’s.
"So that’s how it is! It all makes sense now!"
Jing Zhiyuan had once mentioned that the Gongsun family had secretly dispatched an expert to protect Ye Xuan’s safety. That expert was a woman with long, blood-red hair. Sun Zhenwu had initially been confused as to why an expert from the Gongsun family would bother rescuing someone from a lowly Three-Star Main Town.
Now, he finally understood. That man in the Secret Realm was Ye Xuan, and he was the one the blood-haired woman was protecting! Which meant that Sun Cong and the others had also died by Ye Xuan’s hands!
Dammit! This boy had to die.
"Sun Zhenwu, what makes sense now?" Sun Juguang’s bewildered voice broke him out of his thoughts.
"Juguang, I know who the killer is."
"Really? Who?"
Sun Zhenwu’s eyes turned dark and sinister. "The Ye family. Ye Xuan."
With that, he let out a low roar. "Guards!"
"City Lord, what are your orders?"
"Send word to the Official Posthouses of every Three-Star Main Town. Check if any of them use a Golden Dragon Totem. If you find one, report it to me immediately."
If Sun Zhenwu remembered correctly, when he had met Ye Xuan, the boy had a golden dragon embroidered on his chest. He had been quite surprised at the time. How could a family from a weak, insignificant town dare to use a Divine Dragon as their totem? Wasn’t that far too arrogant? Too presumptuous? After all, a Divine Dragon was a creature of myth and legend.
"This subordinate will get it done at once."
"Hurry! I want answers as soon as possible!"
Soon after, a flock of Lightning Doves flew out from the Sun family estate. The speed of these doves was remarkably fast. A round trip would take less than two days.
Two days later, a Golden Armor Guard came in to report.
"Reporting to the Lord City Lord, we have news. About five thousand miles to the west, there is a Three-Star Main Town that uses a golden dragon on their Clan Banner."
Sun Zhenwu’s eyes glinted sharply. "Is the Town Mayor’s surname Ye?" he asked in a low voice.
"The City Lord is wise. That town is called Ye Family Town."
"Just as I suspected!"
Sun Zhenwu’s expression instantly turned ice-cold. Without a doubt, this Ye family was Ye Xuan’s family. Rumor had it that Gongsun Yanran had birthed a child with a countryside peasant. From the looks of it, those rumors were entirely true. Even though it was a Three-Star Main Town, in the eyes of city-dwellers, it was nothing more than a rural backwater.
"I don’t know if the members of the Gongsun family are there, but I certainly hope they are."
During the battle for the city that day, some members of the Gongsun family had managed to escape. Sun Zhenwu sincerely hoped that those remnants were currently hiding with the Ye family. If that were the case, he could wipe them all out in one fell swoop!
"Issue an order immediately. Command all the Main Towns near Ye Family Town to mobilize their full forces and completely blockade and surround it. Both in the sky and on the ground! I don’t want a single fly escaping Ye Family Town."
"Understood."