"Splutter~" Tianling couldn't hold it in and burst into laughter at Zhongshan's words. And though Zhao Suoxiang didn't laugh, the twitching muscles on his face revealed his struggle to contain it.
The elderly ancestors of the four major families below, despite their anger, were cunning and held it in, looking at the two figures beside Zhongshan.
The woman in red, although unknown to most, had been the subject of recent gossip. It was said that Zhongshan had brought back a woman from outside—was she Zhongshan's concubine? As for the other figure, the four elderly ancestors focused their attention on him.
During the day, when news of a visitor arrived, they had thought it was someone Zhongshan had called for help. But they hadn't expected it to be Zhao Suoxiang?
Zhao Suoxiang of the Great Song Dynasty might not be recognized by the heads of the four major families, but the elderly ancestors vaguely remembered him. Even the Zhao family's ancestor recognized Zhao Suoxiang. They were all surnamed Zhao.
"Zhao Danchen, long time no see," Zhao Suoxiang aimed his spear at Zhao Danchen, a cold smirk on his face.
"Iron Spear Gate, Zhao Suoxiang?" the Zhao family ancestor narrowed his eyes, a hint of surprise flashing in them. Indeed, Zhongshan was not simple. Being at the Innate Realm was one thing, but making such acquaintances in just over a year was remarkable.
"You still remember me? Good, for the sake of my late uncle killed on the battlefield, I'm here to avenge my family," Zhao Suoxiang's eyes turned cold.
"Zhao Suoxiang, today's matter concerns only Zhongshan. You have nothing to do with it. Leave now, and we won't trouble you," Zhao Danchen said coldly.
"Trouble? Hahaha, what a joke. You barge in without invitation, and I'm supposed to let you leave?" Zhongshan suddenly laughed.
"Old Zhao, no need to waste words with him. After killing Zhongshan, we'll leave too," the Qian family ancestor said.
"Alright," Zhao Danchen replied.
At this moment, Zhongshan simply smiled faintly, a hint of brightness flashing in his eyes. He was waiting, waiting for the other side to make the first move because Zhongshan had already made arrangements earlier.
Seeing Zhongshan's expression, Zhao Danchen frowned slightly, feeling something was amiss. However, on the tower, there were only three people, and all was quiet around them. It was impossible for anyone to be lurking here. With so many strong individuals on their side, as long as one person held off Zhao Suoxiang, killing Zhongshan wouldn't be difficult.
"Attack!" Zhao Danchen shouted, leading the group as they leaped towards the tower.
Each of the eight individuals held a long sword, leaping into the air. With just two leaps, they could reach Zhongshan.
But, at that moment, a strange smile crept onto Zhongshan's lips.
"Release—" From afar, through several courtyards, a crisp voice suddenly rang out.
From afar? Hearing the distant voice, the airborne group knew something was wrong.
Sure enough, as the clear sound faded.
"Whoosh—"
A series of air-splitting sounds—arrows? Was there an ambush?
However, even if they were arrows, they were too far away. Shooting through several courtyards to reach this place would greatly diminish their power. Moreover, while arrows posed a threat to the heads of the four major families at close range, they were utterly ineffective against the four elderly ancestors.
But when the airborne individuals saw what was coming clearly, panic spread across their faces. Something big was happening.
It was indeed arrows, but not just any arrows—they were crossbow bolts, siege weapons, a bed-mounted Octo-Bull Crossbow.
The so-called Octo-Bull Crossbow required the strength of eight oxen to draw its string. It wasn't an exaggeration; it took at least thirty people to operate it. As a siege weapon, it could easily pierce and topple ordinary city walls with a single shot, showcasing its immense power.
Although separated by several courtyards, its force remained undiminished.
Forty large arrows, each resembling a spear, struck the airborne individuals with unparalleled accuracy.
On the ground, innate experts might have been able to dodge, but in mid-air, there was no way to leverage or evade effectively—it was only possible to slightly sidestep.
"Boom, boom..."
A series of impacts, blood spraying into the air, the scene too gruesome to behold. Even the head of the Li family was struck in mid-air, his head exploding as a large arrow pierced it, splattering brain matter everywhere.
Three of the heads of the four major families died instantly, leaving only the head of the Sun family miraculously unscathed. The heads of the Zhao and Qian families were shot through the chest, the arrows passing through their bodies. They never expected to be dispatched by Zhongshan in such a pitiful manner.
The four elderly ancestors moved swiftly, but only three managed to narrowly escape. The head of the Sun family was extremely unfortunate; he managed to deflect two large arrows with his longsword, but three more pierced his body with incredible force, hurling him onto a thick wall in the distance, dead on impact.
Zhao Danchen and the other two elderly ancestors were relatively quick to evade. Though they couldn't resist, they used their true energy to deflect the arrows, and only the head of the Qian family was unfortunate enough to be grazed by a large arrow, his left arm spurting blood.
With a "boom," the terrified strongmen descended to the ground, their faces filled with horror.
Zhongshan, Zhao Suoxiang, and Tian Ling'er quickly jumped down from the pavilion, blocking the path of the others.
"It's impossible! Octo-Bull Crossbow bed-mounts? There's no way your Zhong family could have them! How could there be forty of them? If there were so many, I would have known!" Sun Family Master, who had narrowly avoided death, shouted in disbelief. His heart was filled with incredulity—how could this have happened? It was impossible!
"The person who delivered the message to you said we didn't have them. That's because he didn't know. Hmph, I told you, I would make sure none of you returned." Zhongshan's voice was cold.
"You killed our ancestors! My Sun Family's Golden Core stage ancestor will surely avenge them and cleanse your Zhong family with blood!" Sun Family Master threatened fiercely.
Zhongshan looked at Sun Family Master and chuckled lightly, "Since you entered the Zhong mansion, I, Zhongshan, have vowed to never let up on the four major families. Golden Core stage? So what? As long as he dares to come, I will ensure he never leaves."
For Zhongshan, as he was about to found his own kingdom, enemies would only increase in number. Any conflict of interest, even with Nascent Soul stage experts in the future, would have to be faced. What's more, this was just the Golden Core stage?
"The arrows are poisoned." Qian Family's Elder exclaimed in horror, clutching his arm and hurriedly taking out a pill to swallow.
"Qian Elder, are you okay?" Sun Family Master asked anxiously.
"I'm fine. Let me catch my breath, and I'll be able to force the poison out. Such potent poison! Even my antidote couldn't completely remove it in one go." Qian Family's Elder, known as Elder Qian, said in shock.
Watching Elder Qian's face turn slightly purple, Sun Family Master looked at Zhongshan in disbelief. "Zhongshan, you're so ruthless."
"Ruthless? You came to kill me. Is that called kindness?" Zhongshan snorted coldly, scoffing at Sun Family Master's words. Facing life and death, what talk of kindness was there?
"Let's go." Zhao Danchen immediately called out.
"Where do you think you're going?" Zhao Suoxiang pointed his long spear at Zhao Danchen and attacked.
Tian Ling'er also immediately danced with her red silk, still not fully recovered, blocking in front of the Li Family's Elder.
As for Zhongshan, he pointed his sword directly at Qian Family's Elder.
At this moment, although Sun Family Master felt resentment, he also felt the terror of Zhongshan. Glancing at the Elder pinned to the wall, he hesitated no more and turned to flee. Zhongshan was still as terrifying as ever, no, even more so.
"Kill!"
his nightmare blade swung towards the Qian Family's Elder. Suddenly, his body swelled with power from the Demonic Body Tempering Technique! First Layer! He cleaved with the force to split a mountain!
Boom!
A loud crash echoed as Zhongshan's great blade clashed against the Qian Family's Elder's longsword. Beneath the feet of Elder Qian, ripples of true qi spread out like waves, shattering the ground beneath him. Despite being heavily poisoned and weakened, he was no match for Zhongshan at the Fourth Layer of the Acquired Realm. Even with his doubled strength, Zhongshan held the upper hand. Blocked by a single sword stroke, Elder Qian was forced to retreat.
However, Zhongshan wouldn't let him escape so easily. His nightmare blade relentlessly pursued.
Elsewhere, Zhao Suoxiang's spear thrust directly at Zhao Danchen. The attack carried a substantial amount of true qi, and a stream of energy shot out from the spear, aimed at Zhao Danchen. Reacting swiftly, Zhao Danchen met the attack with his sword. Seeing the incoming energy, he was taken aback. With a swift motion, he countered with a blast of sword energy, narrowly avoiding Zhao Suoxiang's spear thrust and retaliating with a close-range strike.
Although Tian Ling'er's red silk hadn't fully recovered, she was still capable of ordinary attacks. Moreover, when Tian Xingzi had brought her out, he had given her life-saving treasures, such as the jade token phoenix, which had immeasurable power. Additionally, Tian Ling'er had reached the Tenth Layer of the Acquired Realm, reaching the pinnacle of the Acquired Realm. Zhongshan naturally trusted her safety.
Meanwhile, Sun Family Master had already fled, filled with fear. Eight opponents, eight great Acquired Realm experts. In the past, such a situation would have been a sure victory, even if it meant going to the palace to claim the emperor's head. But what was happening now? Sun Family Master had always thought Zhongshan was terrifying, but now he realized he had underestimated him.
There was an ambush in the Zhong mansion, and Zhongshan was well-prepared. Naturally, Sun Family Master tried to escape. However, as he jumped out of the mansion, he was puzzled to find that no one was chasing him. Could it be that Zhongshan had been bluffing all along?
In the midst of Sun Family Master's confusion, a slender purple sword suddenly emerged from his chest.
Sun Family Master's eyes widened in disbelief, a sense of extreme incredulity washing over him. He had been ambushed? And he hadn't even realized it before being pierced through the heart.
Zhongshan wasn't unprepared; he had been ready all along. Zhongshan was truly terrifying!
Before breathing his last, as he stared at the purple sword in his chest, Sun Family Master left behind his last difficult words: "Dark Night Hall, Dark Emperor?"