Simply put, their plan was to retreat! They would temporarily abandon dealing with Wang Zhan. What they needed to do was to hide themselves again, ensuring no one could find them! Otherwise, after sensing Wang Zhan's provocation, they wouldn't have chosen to suppress their anger and withdraw in shame without immediate retaliation. A conflict with him would be extremely troublesome, even for them.

However, despite this, they were not to be trifled with, even knowing the Ming State Underground City would soon become a place of turmoil.

Then, one of them suddenly suggested, "Lord, why don't we exterminate the Lu Family first? At least it would count as a small gain…"

It sounded as simple as wiping out a nest of ants. But this was the true, uninhibited style of these powerful assassins from a mysterious faction. The Lu Family had only themselves to blame for their lack of self-awareness. Or perhaps, when the Lu Family Ninth Master decisively cut his losses to survive, he didn't take his clan members with him!

「Far away,」

Wang Zhan, who had witnessed the entire scene, allowed the corner of his mouth to lift slightly. Then, carrying the monster's head, he ascended to the highest peak of the Ming State Underground City, waiting... waiting for the sunrise.

「Meanwhile,」

The monster was, in fact, still alive. No one knew what kind of bloodline talent allowed him to maintain complete consciousness with only a head remaining. Therefore, even with Wang Zhan suppressing him, he roared furiously under Wang Zhan's seal, "I will definitely kill you…"

So, even though Wang Zhan blocked his voice, the monster occasionally broke through the restrictions, his roars hoarse with desperation, his words hiding an extremely venomous intent.

But who was Wang Zhan? If he hadn't intended to use the monster to deter certain entities, he would have sent it to the Western Heavens by now. Moreover, under Wang Zhan's mental energy seal, it had no chance to resist, let alone kill anyone!

All of this was merely because it thought it had fathomed Wang Zhan's upper limits. So, despite their caution, they never realized that Wang Zhan actually possessed a trump card capable of exponentially increasing his power in an instant! It was this very trump card that, despite their seemingly equal battle strength, caused the monster to be utterly defeated, becoming Wang Zhan's captive.

Furthermore, even if the battle had been infinitely prolonged, in the monster's eyes, it was but a mere blink. One can imagine the shock it felt when Wang Zhan efficiently shattered all its bearings, plunging it into disarray.

Therefore, Wang Zhan scoffed and effortlessly added another layer of mental energy, saying, "If you could have killed me, you wouldn't have ended up like this. So, behave yourself…"

Hearing this, the monster seethed with intense hatred! It had already taken Wang Zhan seriously enough, but it could never understand who on earth this Wang Zhan fellow was! Why did the limitations of martial arts seemingly never apply to him? Whenever Wang Zhan acted, his power was unbelievably, illogically immense.

One should know, the monster itself was a high-level Martial King, yet it was helpless against Wang Zhan. And Wang Zhan could even surpass his own power level, doubling his strength—how was this possible? These questions, like insects, gnawed relentlessly at its mind, driving it further into madness.

Because for the monster, I should have been impossible to defeat!!...

But if its downfall was due to its own negligence and Wang Zhan's unfathomable strength, then it was clear: aside from the two main figures of the Lu Family who had already fled, the others were directly implicated. Their fate was no different from the monster's.

Under normal circumstances, they had no grievances with Wang Zhan and should not have become involved. But in reality, their misfortune stemmed ultimately from Wang Zhan's silence after hearing the assassins' conversation. This silence turned these former elites of noble families into lambs for the slaughter.

Therefore, Wang Zhan unquestionably became the only one aware of the full situation, the only one who could have potentially changed their fate. But clearly, Wang Zhan chose to let them die, even knowing a single word from him could have saved them.

Thus, if one were to truly trace it back, Wang Zhan was the true root of it all, practically the main culprit.

So, when Wang Zhan arrived at the highest peak of the Ming State Underground City, carrying the monster's head—

「In an instant,」

It was as if he had suddenly discovered something. He turned his gaze eastward, his eyes deeper than ever before.

He murmured to himself with mixed emotions, "Another drama is about to unfold…"

Now, he felt as if he could understand the feelings Li Chengyuan had when facing him back then. Although some changes were not what he desired, once they occurred, he would feel that everything was merely within reason yet beyond expectations. This is the butterfly effect; a mere flutter of wings can stir up a tempest elsewhere.

Thus, the spirits of the departed increasingly weighed down Wang Zhan's heart. It wasn't just the Lu Family, but all those who had, intentionally or unintentionally, died because of Wang Zhan's actions. All this was because he was on a path of relentless strengthening. Naturally, he would also be subjected to various unprecedented interferences and influences.

Although the killings were not carried out with Wang Zhan's conscious intent, these acts of slaughter would nevertheless eventually entangle him in their karmic consequences. After all, who was he to see death and not offer aid? And who was he, the one who had stirred up all of this, the hidden hand behind the scenes?

Of course, Wang Zhan felt no remorse; he only understood more clearly.

This, then, is what they call 'being in the mortal world, where one cannot always act as one pleases.'

Even if you know full well that taking a single step will lead to many uncontrollable events. Just as Wang Zhan knew clearly: if he didn't stop those people or warn them in time, that pitiful group of Lu Family clan members would not survive.

Pity, but Wang Zhan wouldn't do it, nor did he want to. Simply because, before this turn of events, Wang Zhan had more important matters to attend to, rather than focusing on irrelevant, cowardly acts of kindness.

「So then, far away, the wind began to blow!」

The death of the Lu Family marked the true beginning.

"KILL!!!..."

"Don't run!! Anyone who dares offend my Lu Family will face our retribution! Die!..."

"Charge! Charge! Charge! Today, we live as Lu Family, and in death, we are Lu Family souls! No matter who you are, the Lu Family will never be enslaved!..."

Roars echoed from all directions, reverberating eastward across the Ming State Underground City. Misfortune had befallen the Lu Family, and these wretched souls became sacrifices on the eve of this disaster.

However, no matter how powerful these mysterious experts in their vicious masks were, or how ruthlessly these unknown figures slaughtered their clan members, the Lu Family was always the Lu Family. In life, they were Lu Family; in death, they were Lu Family souls! And the Lu Family, as everyone knew, was invincible in close combat! Especially on the battlefield they had personally chosen, it mattered little how formidable those wearing strange masks were, for aside from a direct confrontation, their opponents had no other recourse.

So, the leader of the mysterious figures, his gaze growing increasingly icy and his tone sharper, declared, "Since you wish to die, I shall grant your wish! KILL!!..."

Of course, they had always intended to completely wipe out this Lu Family team, sending them to Hell to meet their ancestors.

Therefore, an elder of the Lu Family laughed heartily, utterly unconcerned by the blood gushing from his chest, roaring with heroic valor, "If you want to kill the Lu Family, let's see how many lives you're willing to pay! Lu Family, invincible!..."

"Lu Family, INVINCIBLE!!..."

"Lu Family, INVINCIBLE!!..."

「For a moment,」

The booming sounds of collisions and roars echoed continuously.

From afar, the wise had already departed, but not everyone was wise. Thus, those still observing Wang Zhan, hoping to uncover the truth, immediately sensed fluctuations of Spiritual Energy in the air and quickly understood. Undoubtedly, following the battle between Wang Zhan and the monster, a new battlefield had been established.

However, some exclaimed in confusion, "What on earth is happening here? Why do I have no clue?!"

"What are they fighting about? Didn't we come here to make money? Why does it feel like things have changed without us knowing?"

Some roared in frustration; though they appeared orderly, they were, in fact, in utter disarray, "News! News! News! Quickly, all of you, get away from me! Go and bring back the latest news from over there! I need to find out what in the world has happened in the Ming State Underground City!!..."

However, they would never know the truth.

Only the boy standing on the highest peak of the Ming State Underground City saw everything from beginning to end. He alone witnessed the storm's arrival. Yet, Wang Zhan chose to remain, watching them.

And so, these people, whether fortunate or unfortunate, were destined, sooner or later, willingly or unwillingly, to become the true sacrifices accompanying Wang Zhan through this storm.

The first sacrifice took merely a few minutes.

So, the mysterious man leading them, his mask completely fused to his body, seized the heart of the Lu Family's acting leader and crushed it. Locking eyes with the dying man, he cursed coldly, "Losers!..."

Then, he kicked the body, sending the corpse flying.

Blood flew.

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