Thirty elite Luo Family martial artists stormed into the Li family mansion, beginning the annihilation of the remnants of the Li Family’s influence.
The elite martial artists of the Li Family had all followed Li Yantian and left their stronghold.
Now, only the old and weak remained in the mansion, utterly unable to resist the wolf-like Luo Family elites.
In a moment, all remaining members of the Li Family were cleanly slaughtered. The maids and servants, pale with fear, huddled together in the Li Family’s main hall, their legs trembling uncontrollably.
"This is a grievance between our Luo Family and the Li Family. It has nothing to do with others. As long as you tell me where the Li Family’s treasures are hidden, I can spare your lives," Luo Feng announced, standing in the main hall and scanning the crowd of maids and servants.
At his words, expressions of relief washed over their faces, and they began to spill everything they knew.
"Young City Lord, the treasury is in the warehouse to the left of the rear courtyard. All of the Li Family’s money and provisions are stored there."
"The Li Family’s weapons are all stored in the west wing’s storeroom..."
One by one, everyone started to disclose the locations where the Li Family stored their assets.
Soon, boxes of treasure had been hauled out. They contained pills, silver taels, and various demon beast materials, all valuable items.
Luotian, sitting in the main hall and watching the boxes of valuables, had a gleam of joy in his eyes.
The Li Family, as one of the four great families in Panlong City, had amassed a fortune counted in the millions!
These treasures, now in the possession of the Luo Family, could greatly enhance their family’s strength.
"Family Head, we’ve found a secret chamber in the Li Family’s study," a Luo Family martial artist suddenly rushed in to report.
Luo Feng’s eyes flashed, and he gestured, "Let’s go check it out."
Following him through several corridors, Luo Feng and Luotian reached a luxuriously furnished study.
"Family Head, Young Master, over here."
The few Luo Family martial artists guarding the room saw them and immediately lifted a landscape painting from the adjacent wall, revealing a stone chamber.
Luo Feng nodded and walked in.
The stone chamber was small, filled with wooden crates. Inside were high-quality demon beast materials and weapons, all top-tier.
"Ah, Tiger Refining Pills. I hadn’t expected Li Yantian to have such treasures."
Luotian reached out, grabbing a jade box. As he opened it, a faint tiger’s roar seemed to echo within the stone chamber, and a subtle fragrance filled the air.
Inside the box were ten thumb-sized pills, as red as fresh blood. A faint, fierce aura emanated from them.
Luotian’s face lit up with joy upon seeing the pills.
"Feng Er, these Tiger Refining Pills can help a martial artist at the Sixth Layer of the God Bravery Realm strengthen their Meridian Wheel and body! This will make it easier to break into the Seventh Layer of the Essence Storage Realm. They are perfect for you; take them."
Luo Feng nodded, storing the pills in his storage ring. His gaze then fell upon a secret manual resting on a bookshelf in the deepest part of the stone chamber.
Luo Feng picked up the secret manual, his pupils lighting up slightly. "A Yellow Grade High-Rank martial art, the Mountain Breaking Saber Technique!"
"Huh, this is the ’Beheading Blade’ Lu Hai Shan’s famous martial art. It’s surprising to find the original manual here in the Li Family."
Nearby, Luotian also looked slightly surprised, then said to Luo Feng, "Feng Er, this Mountain Breaking Saber Technique has similarities with the Sky Slayer Saber Technique you cultivate. You can study it."
Luo Feng nodded, recalling Li Tianyang’s final words before his death. He furrowed his eyebrows.
"Father, if Lu Hai Shan placed the original manual for the Mountain Breaking Saber Technique with Li Yantian, it means he must have held Li Yantian in high regard. If he hears that the Li Family has been annihilated, will he seek revenge?"
"Lu Hai Shan is a ruthless individual. Upon learning of this, he definitely won’t let it go," Luotian said confidently, his eyes flashing.
"Wouldn’t that mean great trouble for our family? I heard Lu Hai Shan reached the Ninth Layer of the Heavenly Court Realm several years ago..." Luo Feng said, his expression solemn as he pondered.
Luotian shook his head.
"Lu Hai Shan is a drifter; his whereabouts are erratic. He shouldn’t find out what happened in Panlong City anytime soon. Once I stabilize my cultivation at the Ninth Layer of the Heavenly Court Realm, I won’t fear him either. The problem is you..."
His gaze shifted to Luo Feng as he continued with concern, "You’ll be alone at Purple Sun School; he might try to make a move on you then. You must be cautious when you return this time."
Luo Feng understood the gravity of the situation and nodded.
After ransacking the Li Family’s estate, Luo Feng returned to the Luo Mansion.
In the bloody conflict between the Luo and Li Families, the Luo Family had emerged completely victorious.
After ransacking the three families, the Luo Family obtained enormous wealth exceeding twenty million silver taels. Adding the elite martial artists they absorbed from these families, their strength skyrocketed!
Now, no family in the entirety of Panlong City could compare to the Luo Family.
That night, to celebrate this victory, the Luo Mansion hosted a grand feast, rewarding the family martial artists who had contributed to the bloody battle.
At the evening banquet, the entire Luo Family was immersed in the joy of victory, a scene of warmth and harmony.
However, as Luo Feng looked at the two figures across the dining table, his expression was somewhat bitter.
Yang Qing sat next to Bing Ruolan, placing food on Bing Ruolan’s plate while asking with a playful smile, "Ruolan, you’re Feng Er’s class monitor, has he caused you any trouble?"
Blushing, Bing Ruolan bit her chopsticks and glanced at Luo Feng, shaking her head gently. "No, Luo Feng has helped me a lot at the academy."
"Then, does he like any girls at the academy?" Yang Qing suddenly asked with a smile.
Luo Feng promptly placed his chopsticks on the table, stood up, and looked at Bing Ruolan. "I’m full. Ruolan, could you step outside with me? I have a few things to ask you."
"Uncle, Aunt, I’m full too."
Bing Ruolan, not knowing how to respond, hastily put down her chopsticks, lowered her head, and quickly followed Luo Feng out.
"Tian-ge, what do you think of those two?" Yang Qing asked with a smile, looking at the retreating figures of Luo Feng and Bing Ruolan walking side by side.
Luo Tian laughed helplessly. "There you go again. That girl is just Luo Feng’s classmate; don’t go trying to play matchmaker."
Yang Qing put down her chopsticks, her eyes showing a hint of displeasure.
"I’m not just randomly playing matchmaker. Think about it: Purple Sun School is tens of thousands of miles from our Panlong City. I asked Ruolan, and her home is near the South Sea, completely in the opposite direction. For her to come here, isn’t it for Feng Er?"
"This... perhaps there’s another reason," Luo Tian mused, somewhat unsure himself.
"Ruolan, my mother speaks rather freely, please don’t take it to heart. However, it seems she really likes you," Luo Feng said with a smile, having led Bing Ruolan to a small courtyard.
Bing Ruolan, her small hands clasped behind her back, her delicate feet treading lightly on the moonlit ground, shook her head with a smile. Her sea-blue short hair, like waves in the moonlight, shimmered with a captivating luster.
"I was very young when my mother left; I’ve even forgotten what she looked like. Auntie is very good to me; it feels like having my own mother."
Luo Feng hadn’t expected that the outwardly strong Bing Ruolan had experienced such a past. He was startled for a moment before asking, "Why did you suddenly appear in Panlong City? Your arrival really gave me quite a shock."
A ripple flashed in Bing Ruolan’s deep blue eyes as she chuckled, "I accepted a two-star mission, and the mission location happened to be near Panlong City."
Understanding dawned on Luo Feng.
Bing Ruolan was now an inner courtyard student and could accept academy missions to go out and gain experience.
This way, they could earn academic credits to exchange for various pills and martial arts, aiding their cultivation.
"Panlong City is tens of thousands of miles from Purple Sun School. It’s truly strange that you’d choose a mission so far away," Luo Feng said, shaking his head with a laugh.
"What’s so strange about that?" Bing Ruolan’s face turned slightly red, and she quickly averted her gaze.
"Thank you for today. If you hadn’t appeared when you did, I’m afraid I wouldn’t have been able to hold out until Father came out of his seclusion," Luo Feng said, his heart still thumping at the memory of the perilous battle against the two formidable experts, Li Yantian and Qiu Bichi, that afternoon.
Bing Ruolan pursed her red lips, her beautiful eyes looking at her toes as she said softly, "If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have been able to pass the inner courtyard assessment, let alone become an inner courtyard student. You don’t need to thank me."
Lifting her head to look at Luo Feng, ripples stirred in Bing Ruolan’s eyes.
"However, you were the one who shocked me, actually cultivating the Sky Slayer Saber Technique to the fourth level. I’ve heard this saber technique is extremely demonic. Those with insufficient willpower, even if they cultivate it to the fourth level, can have their minds disturbed by the killing intent, turning into a Saber Demon that only knows slaughter. Thankfully, you’re alright."
"Heh, I even succeeded in cultivating the Teng Dragon’s Step. How could the mere Sky Slayer Saber Technique trouble me?" Luo Feng smiled, then looked at Bing Ruolan and said, "By the way, what mission did you accept? For it to be two-star difficulty, I hear that for two-star missions, the enemies are at least at the late stage of the Sixth Layer."
Bing Ruolan took out a jade tablet and handed it to Luo Feng. "This is it."
Luo Feng took the jade tablet and looked at it; lines of small characters were engraved on it.
Mission: Eradicate Sky Wolf Camp.
Mission Content: Slay Sky Wolf Camp Chieftain ’One-eyed Wolf’ Qin Tai and ’Flower Faced Civet’ Xu Huan!
Mission Analysis: One-eyed Wolf Qin Tai is a martial artist at the peak Sixth Layer of the God Bravery Realm. Flower Faced Civet Xu Huan is a martial artist at the late-stage Sixth Layer of the God Bravery Realm. Sky Wolf Camp has over a hundred fiends, all with strength above the Third Layer of the Cultivation Power Realm. Recommended for a team of six students at the peak Sixth Layer of the God Bravery Realm.
Difficulty: Two Stars.
Reward: Five thousand taels of silver, three academic credits.
After Luo Feng finished reading the mission details, he sucked in a sharp breath. He stared at Bing Ruolan, stunned, and exhaled, "Ruolan, you didn’t accept this mission without even looking at the details, did you?"
Luo Feng had heard about Sky Wolf Camp before.
Sky Wolf Camp was situated on Wolf Tooth Mountain, a few hundred miles west of Panlong City. The terrain was treacherous, easy to defend but hard to attack. Moreover, the two chieftains possessed considerable cultivation and had committed countless atrocities, plundering and pillaging within a radius of several hundred miles.
Once, a martial artist at the peak Sixth Layer of the God Bravery Realm went to challenge them, only to never return. Since then, no one else had dared to try.
Bing Ruolan’s cultivation was only at the mid-Sixth Layer; it was impossible for her to complete this mission.
Bing Ruolan started, as if remembering something, and quickly took back the jade tablet.
After glancing at the contents of the jade tablet, she bit her red lip lightly, a trace of shame flashing in her eyes.
After completing her inner courtyard assessment, she learned that Luo Feng had hastily left the academy without even leaving a message. Worried that something had happened to him, she had randomly picked a mission and rushed all the way here. As for what the mission entailed, she had no idea. Only now did she realize that this mission was far beyond her capabilities...