"Who dares to cause trouble in Tianxiang Tower!" A light shout came from the side, and soon, seven or eight personal guards of the Long family emerged from a side door. These guards exuded strong auras, each displaying a face filled with anger. Given the Long family's status, there were few forces in Wanchao City that could provoke them, especially today with the presence of the Li family and the Imperial Capital's Ye family. Thus, these guards were quite confident in their tempers. Long Aotian, seeing his family's guards, sneered and said, "Don't waste words with him, kill! I will take responsibility for any issues!" The burly man sneered in response but remained silent, merely stepping back slightly to the side. At this moment, another person entered from the door. This man was quite tall, wearing a blood-red robe, with messy black hair. However, the smile on his face was extraordinarily calm. His face was square and rugged, and although it bore many scars, these did not detract from his appearance but instead added a unique masculine charm. This man stood there indifferently, yet his presence seemed to fill the room with an endless murderous aura, putting pressure on everyone present. Li Yi was very familiar with such a temperament, common only to madmen who had fought their way through battlefields. This man's indifferent gaze swept across the room, and he sneered, "Kill us? With just these two juniors from the Li and Long families?" Long Aotian's expression changed slightly, and after examining the newcomer, he said through clenched teeth, "Yin Tianjie! It's you!" The man, addressed as Yin Tianjie, burst into laughter. His chilling gaze fell on Long Aotian as he menacingly said, "I originally came here just to have some fun with Ruoyun, but now I've encountered you, the young master of the Long family. Excellent! If I don't take your head today, then the name Yin Tianjie will be read backwards!" Yin Tianjie! Li Yi's mind stirred, recognizing him as the leader of the Blood Wolf Mercenary Group and the father of Yin Xu, who died at his hands. It seemed his plan of framing and blaming had been very successful. He wondered if Long Aotian had guessed he was the mysterious figure from that day, and whether he suspected his involvement in framing the Long family. Given his intelligence, it shouldn't be hard to guess. Thus, Yin Tianjie's appearance here was probably no coincidence. Li Yi coldly smiled inwardly, finding the situation of mutual deception quite interesting. On the other side, Long Aotian, with a face full of anger, shouted and slammed the table, "What are you waiting for? Attack! Kill them all!" The guards, hesitant upon hearing Yin Tianjie's reputation, sprung into action upon Long Aotian's command. They unsheathed their swords, their auras of Fighter-level strength swirling around them. But Li Yi sneered slightly; these guards were no match for Yin Tianjie, a peak Warrior-level fighter on the verge of reaching the King level. As expected, before the guards could even reach Yin Tianjie, the burly man took a half step forward. With a swing of his right hand, a burst of aura landed on the three leading guards. Before they could strike, they were hit in the chest by his punch. Being mere Fighters, they couldn't form a protective aura shield. Two were sent flying, coughing up blood, while the third, slightly stronger, tried to resist but was struck again and sent crashing into a wall. The remaining guards hesitated, realizing their similar strength meant certain defeat. The burly man sneered and didn't wait, striking out with punches and palms, leaving the remaining guards vomiting blood on the ground. The last one was caught by the neck and thrown down in front of Li Yi and his companions.
The personal guard's neck was twisted unnaturally backwards, blood gushing from all his orifices. Though not immediately fatal, his injuries were undoubtedly beyond saving. The display of force by the burly man was clearly a show of intimidation. The women present screamed in terror at the bloody scene, nearly fainting. Lan You Rong, leaning against the wall, turned pale. Although she was worldly, she hadn't expected such immediate and uncompromising violence. Realizing the danger of staying, she quickly retreated, not caring for her "daughters."
Ruoyun, unknowingly, had grabbed the corner of Li Yi's clothes. Despite being a peerless beauty and strong in character, she was, after all, a woman, and she closed her eyes, unable to bear the sight. On the other hand, Ye Qingma continued to drink casually, his gaze falling on the bodies on the floor. He chuckled lightly, saying, "Aotian, it seems your family's guards are not so capable. Need to borrow a few of mine?" Long Aotian's face turned even uglier. He stood up slowly, walked over to the injured guard, and ended his life with a stomp on his chest. Then he turned to the burly man and said, "You're quite murderous, aren't you? Do you really think the Long family is defenseless?"
The burly man grinned and retorted, "In recent times, I've raided your Long family's shipments at least eight out of ten times. Each time, I left no survivors. With such 'excellent' guards, how could the Long family be defenseless? Oh, I remember now, I kindly left someone alive to deliver a message to your family. Did you get it?" Long Aotian grunted, "Don't be arrogant. Do you really think I, Long Aotian, wouldn't dare to kill you?" He slowly reached for the sword at his waist, hesitating whether to draw it.
"What's this? Is the young master of the Long family about to make a move? If Long Fei himself came, he might stand a chance against me, but you, Aotian... you're not even worthy to carry my shoes," Yin Tianjie said with a light smile, clearly seeing through Long Aotian's fear.
"But it's strange. You're such a waste, Aotian, even with Fan Nan. How did you manage to kill Xu'er that day?" Yin Tianjie frowned slightly, "With your strength as a Yuanqi Fighter, you could barely delay Xu'er. But the wounds on his body were clean and professional, clearly not something you could do. It seems there's more to that day's events..."
He laughed coldly, his gaze shifting to Ye Qingma, "You, however, have the strength... It seems you also played a part in that day's events." Ye Qingma, not knowing the specifics of that day, guessed the situation from the conversation. He smiled lightly, "Who knows whether your Xu'er was just another cat or dog. I've killed enough in my lifetime. If I did kill this Xu'er, it wouldn't be surprising. What now... Mr. What's-Your-Name Group Leader? Planning revenge?"
"Bold!" Yin Tianjie's gaze hardened on Ye Qingma. He was no simple character and could see that Ye Qingma's background was not ordinary. People who lived by the sword knew whom to provoke and whom not to. Moreover, Ye Qingma's dismissive attitude significantly reduced Yin Tianjie's suspicion. He turned his gaze to Li Yi, who was just watching with a light smile, and frowned slightly. Yin Tianjie, arrogant as he was, wouldn't foolishly provoke both the Long and Li families, especially since Li Yi had recently gained a notable reputation in Wanchao City.
Seeing Yin Tianjie's gaze on Li Yi, Long Aotian bit his teeth and said, "Yin Tianjie! If I tell you who really attacked Yin Xu that day, will you stop harassing my Long family?" Yin Tianjie sneered, "Fine! I agree! If you can prove it, not only will I leave your Long family alone, but I will also return everything I've stolen these days."
Long Aotian nodded, "Alright! Mr. Yin, you are a man of your word... Then I won't hide it from you. I was indeed chasing Yin Xu that day to take his martial technique scroll, but at the critical moment, a man in black appeared. He killed Yin Xu and took the martial technique. I've been investigating him these days and only a few days ago got a clue... That person is..."
As he spoke, Long Aotian's gaze swiftly shifted to Li Yi, his last words left unsaid. Yin Tianjie's gaze followed Long Aotian's movement to Li Yi and suddenly laughed coldly, "Really?"