An Unexpected Turn

At these words, disbelief washed over Ye Qingma's face. The faint laughter from under Li Yi's hood sent chills through him. "Rest assured, Young Master Ye, I'm pressed for time tonight and don't have the luxury to play torturous games with you. Compared to Li Qiao, you're indeed much luckier, so just make peace with your fate!"

With that, Li Yi casually slapped Ye Qingma's chest. A fresh gush of blood spewed out as the fatal blow caused Ye Qingma's pupils to dilate, his face turning iron blue. His bulging eyes seemed to convey his unwillingness to die. After confirming that Ye Qingma had breathed his last, Li Yi nonchalantly removed the storage ring from his hand and tossed it into his own. Standing up, he shook his head slightly; the life and death of Ye Qingma brought no extra emotion to him. It only further emphasized to Li Yi the paramount importance of power. Had it not been for the Serpent Venerable's intervention tonight, even his Phantom Killing Technique combined with the Qingyun Hand might not have been enough against Ye Qingma and his group.

"Kid, now that it's done, shouldn't we be going?" Li Yi shook his head, "Not yet. Now that Ye Qingma is dead, I must give Long Aotian a huge trouble... If I don't make him regret this, my efforts tonight would be in vain."

"What do you plan to do?" "Since I've killed, why not set a fire too?" Li Yi said with a light smile, grabbing Ye Qingma's corpse and bursting out the door. The guards outside, previously unaware under the Serpent Venerable's Dou Qi barrier, were instantly alerted by Li Yi's emergence.

Li Yi lightly tapped the ground with his toes, shooting forward. After crossing several meters, he landed in front of the Long family's main hall. "Smack—" Ye Qingma's body was flung into the hall, his head twisting unnaturally to one side. After glancing at the corpse, Li Yi kicked over the hall's candle and shouted, "Murder! Young Master Ye has been killed!"

Before his voice faded, he vanished into thin air. The attention of most Long family members was drawn to the fire in the hall, especially with the uncertain fate of Ye Qingma. The guards following Li Yi hesitated, then stopped to help extinguish the fire, realizing that rushing in to face certain death was less prudent than staying to fight the fire, potentially earning them merit.

Standing atop a building opposite Long Mansion, Li Yi watched the commotion with a hint of satisfaction in his eyes. Although assisted by the Serpent Venerable, causing such upheaval in Long Mansion and eliminating three Warrior level experts was indeed gratifying. The only regret was not having time to absorb their Dou Qi seeds, and the Serpent Venerable didn't bring it up either, perhaps not seeing the need at the moment.

"Well, kid, now that this is over, we should head back. Although you're happy, my Dou Qi isn't limitless..." the Serpent Venerable said somewhat helplessly. Li Yi chuckled, "Old Coot, what's the rush... we still have unfinished business! Ye Qingma is dealt with, but Long Aotian and Yin Tianjie are still very much alive."

The Serpent Venerable inhaled sharply, "Kid, you're not thinking of dealing with those two as well, are you?" "Of course not..." Li Yi smiled faintly. "Ye Qingma's death differs from theirs. If Long Aotian and Yin Tianjie die, their backers pose a significant threat to the Li family. How can I justify my efforts tonight without making them inflict mutual damage?"

"So, what do you mean?" "What else could I mean? We need to give Yin Tianjie a great 'gift'... What do you think about sending him a high-level technique that could trap him?" Li Yi said, chuckling as he flipped a green-glowing scroll in his hand.

"Ten Thousand Wood Jue, a high-order Phoenix technique for wood attributes! The technique symbolizes the flourishing of myriad trees. Once mastered, Dou Qi becomes dense like blooming trees, ensnaring opponents in a relentless struggle," Li Yi read the description of the scroll. Sighing, he added, "Such a high-order Phoenix technique is priceless, a coveted treasure that would stir turmoil anywhere. Giving it to Yin Tianjie feels like a waste... Unfortunately, it's a hot potato we can't keep in the Li family... It's a pity I killed Ye Qingma too quickly. With such treasures in his possession, he might have had more high-level techniques to uncover!"

Hearing Li Yi's slightly indignant words, the Serpent Venerable responded with resignation, "Kid, don't be ungrateful. Ye Qingma's storage ring is in your hands now, isn't it? Everything inside is yours!" Li Yi grinned, "Of course, I know that... But now isn't the time to check. Old Coot... I'll need your help with what comes next!"

"Am I destined to be your errand boy? What a hard life for a master like me!" the Serpent Venerable muttered, but swiftly moved towards the city outskirts.

At Long Mansion's main hall, the fire had already been extinguished. Long Fei and Long Aotian stood at the entrance, their faces dark and foreboding. Particularly, the chilling aura emanating from Long Fei intimidated the surrounding Long family guards into kneeling in unison. After a cold sweep of the hall, Long Fei demanded, "Explain what exactly happened here?"

"Lord Patriarch, we truly don't know," a guard replied tremblingly. "We only saw someone carrying Young Master Ye out of the guest building, then throw him here before setting the fire. We had to prioritize Young Master Ye's safety, so we focused on extinguishing the fire first..."

"Waste! All of you are waste!" Long Fei roared furiously, kicking the guard aside. "Dozens of you, and you couldn't even protect one person! What use is there in keeping you? Are you telling me if someone were to attack our Long Mansion, you'd remain clueless until your heads were chopped off?"

The kicked guard spat out blood but dared not scream, crawling back and kneeling before Long Fei. "Why are you still kneeling?" Long Fei's rage intensified. "Can't you go out and search? What if the assailant is still in Long Mansion? I refuse to believe our mansion is such an easy target!"

The guards could only respond in unison, preparing to leave, but Long Aotian interjected, "Wait..." He glanced at Long Fei, then said, "Father, remember that Ye Qingma always had Ye family guards with him. This time, he was accompanied by two peak Warrior level experts. With such a force, he could have roamed freely in Wanchao City, let alone in his own capacity as a Warrior. The fact that someone overpowered them without our guards noticing is, in itself, not surprising... So, sending them out to search now is pointless. There are other things to be done."

Long Fei frowned, "What do you mean?" Long Aotian stepped forward, squatting beside Ye Qingma's corpse to check it, then sighed, "I'm afraid Young Master Ye is beyond saving. But since this happened in our Long Mansion, we can't suppress this news. I'll send word to our master soon and have Ye Qingma's body sent back to the Beidou Sect, to see if there's anything our master can do..."

Though he said this, Long Aotian's tone carried a hint of indifference, knowing well that unless a Martial Deity intervened, Ye Qingma was undoubtedly dead. But since the incident had occurred, he knew the importance of relaying the news promptly...

"As for now..." Long Aotian pondered for a moment, "Those two peak Warrior experts are likely dead too. Father, you should have someone conceal their bodies properly. We can't let this news leak out... If word gets out that the Ye family lost not just a young master but also two peak Warriors, we wouldn't know how to compensate..."

This casually spoken plan was understood by both Long Fei and Long Aotian. A dead Warrior's body often holds many secrets; properly handling the bodies could bring unexpected gains to the Long family in terms of techniques or Dou Skills.

"Also, Young Master Ye's storage ring was taken by the assailant. If I remember correctly, his belongings were quite valuable. The assailant will likely use them, so instead of having the guards scour the city, we should send more people to gather information... There aren't many around Wanchao City who could challenge Young Master Ye, and only a few forces are likely capable..."

Long Fei's eyes narrowed slightly, then he asked softly, "So, Aotian, do you already have an idea of who did this?"

Long Aotian gave a wry smile, "I have some suspicions, but... a peak Warrior isn't easy to deal with. Even you, Father, would struggle to cleanly handle two peak Warriors, let alone kill them in one strike. I even suspect the assailant might be a King level expert, but most Kings would struggle to do it so cleanly... That's why I don't think it's that person..."

"That person..." Long Fei was taken aback, "You don't think it's Li Yi, do you?"

"I initially thought he was the most likely..." Long Aotian sighed, "But two peak Warriors dying at the hands of a mere Fighter? I find that hard to believe. Even if Li Yi practices a Dragon level technique, killing peak Warriors as a single crystal Fighter is impossible! Father, have you ever seen an ant kill an elephant? After reaching Warrior level, the difference between each crystal is vast, and no technique or secret method can bridge that gap... Given this, I don't think it was Li Yi. If he had that kind of strength, I wouldn't be standing here now... So, my suspicions lean towards someone else, with a higher probability than Li Yi..."

"Who?" "The Blood Wolf Mercenary Group... that reckless madman... that man who stops at nothing for strength... Yin Tianjie..." As Long Aotian uttered these words, even Long Fei's face turned iron blue. Blood Wolf Mercenary Group? Yin Tianjie?