In the grand meeting room of the Huangluo Clan.

The Taishanghuang, Dragon Saint, and Li Jiang sat in the seats of honor, with the leaders of the various forces headed by Jiang Chen and Zai Lun to their left.

Jiang Chen sat at the foremost position on the left, a placement that no one contested!

To the right were the six Supreme members of the Flame Dragon Group and the twelve zodiac guardians.

After Jiang Chen awoke, he informed the leaders of the various forces, and everyone gathered here, while others were invited by the Huangluo Clan to other palaces for treatment and recovery!

The atmosphere in the meeting room was extremely solemn; everyone was waiting for one piece of news—waiting for Yan Hu to tally the casualties. During the wait, the looks everyone gave towards Supreme Long Huang and the others were far from friendly!

The expression on Supreme Long Huang's face was somewhat somber, occasionally glancing at Jiang Chen as if he had something to say but hesitated.

"Supreme Long Huang, I know what you want to ask. Wait a bit longer. Once my people have confirmed it, I will tell you why I did what I did," Jiang Chen said quietly, his complexion slightly pale.

Supreme Long Huang gave Jiang Chen a deep look, nodded slightly, but his eyes revealed a hint of contemplation. He glanced at Si She and Shen Hou, and a complex emotion flashed deep in his eyes.

Bang bang bang!

A knock sounded, and Jiang Chen softly called out, "Come in!"

Click!

The door to the meeting room opened, and Yan Hu strode in.

"Young Master, the casualty count is in!" Yan Hu said with a somber face as he entered and looked around at everyone.

"Speak!" Jiang Chen said softly.

All the leaders of the various forces turned their attention towards Jiang Chen.

"Chixiao Sect, thirty-seven dead, fifteen seriously injured, countless minor injuries."

"The Tang Family, forty-two dead, seriously injured..."

"The Mo Family..."

...

"The Huangluo Clan, three hundred and twenty-six dead, two hundred and seventy-one seriously injured, countless minor injuries!"

"We..." Yan Hu's eyes suddenly reddened, and his voice turned hoarse, "Our brothers, one hundred seventy-six dead, thirty-nine seriously injured, countless minor injuries!"

The meeting room fell into a silent stillness as everyone bowed their heads, their eyes filled with sorrow.

"Hu Zi, compensate our brothers according to the rules."

Jiang Chen spoke softly, "For the other forces, aside from the brothers of the Huangluo Clan, compensate the Family Heads of each force according to our rules!"

"Yes!" Yan Hu nodded gently.

"No, Mr. Jiang, we cannot accept your compensation!"

"Yes, Mr. Jiang, what do you take us for?"

"Exactly, Mr. Jiang, we cannot accept it!"

The people from the various forces spoke out one after another.

"Right!" The Taishanghuang nodded, "Mr. Jiang, this compensation should not come from you."

Scanning everyone, the Taishanghuang spoke with a pained expression, "Thank you all for coming to our aid. The Huangluo Clan will surely provide satisfactory compensation; please do not refuse. I know you all came out of respect for Mr. Jiang, but while Mr. Jiang's respect is one thing, this compensation is something the Huangluo Clan must provide. I hope everyone will not refuse!"

Everyone was taken aback, then fell silent; they looked at the Taishanghuang, and without further insistence from Jiang Chen.

"Mr. Jiang, there is something I do not understand and I would like Mr. Jiang to clarify," said Zai Lun, frowning at Jiang Chen.

Jiang Chen looked up at Zai Lun and said softly, "Please speak, Senior Zai Lun."

Zai Lun glanced at Supreme Long Huang and the others, then looked back at Jiang Chen with a puzzled expression in his eyes.

Everyone's expressions changed in unison, and they all turned to look at Jiang Chen.

In fact, everyone had this question in their hearts, but since they all trusted Jiang Chen, they had not voiced it. Now that someone had asked, everyone wanted to know why!

The people who came from the Flame Dragon Group this time were all strong characters at the Venerable Realm or above. If they had arrived earlier, there wouldn't have been so many casualties among the various forces!

The members of the Flame Dragon Group were also puzzled as they looked at Jiang Chen, as they themselves did not know why!

Ding-ling-ling!

The ringing of a phone call sounded, and Jiang Chen took out his phone to have a look, then spoke in a soft voice, "After I finish this call, I can tell everyone why!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Chen answered the call and switched to speakerphone.

"Mr. Jiang!" an aged voice came through the receiver.

"Is this… Wu Qianxun?" Lin Jiuxiao said softly.

Jiang Chen glanced at Lin Jiuxiao and asked softly toward the phone, "Elder Wu, how is it going?"

Everyone looked at Jiang Chen with puzzled expressions, listening carefully.

Old Master Tang asked Lin Jiuxiao in a low voice, "Who is Wu Qianxun?"

"He's from Unchanging Valley," Lin Jiuxiao replied softly.

Old Master Tang was taken aback, and surprise was evident on everyone's faces.

"We've finished checking the eighteen strongholds managed by the Flame Dragon Group's six Venerables and twelve Zodiacs, and found that the battle marks at two of the strongholds were fabricated. Moreover, the deceased were only a few members of the Flame Dragon Group; not a single one was from the Soul Devouring Group or Gene Organization!" Wu Qianxun's icy voice came through the receiver.

"What?!"

"How is this possible?!"

"This..."

The faces of the Flame Dragon Group members changed, and Dragon Saint's eyes suddenly burst forth with a cold light.

He suddenly understood why Jiang Chen had done this.

Supreme Long Huang abruptly turned to look at Si She and Shen Hou, his eyes revealing a hint of surprise, as did the rest of the Flame Dragon Group members!

"Which two strongholds?" Jiang Chen asked indifferently.

"It's the one on the west coast of Jinhai and the one on the eastern outskirts of Xi Bo!"

"Good, I got it. Notify our brothers in Jinhai and Xi Bo to find those who escaped from the two strongholds and take them out!" Jiang Chen nodded, a cold light flickering in his eyes.

"Yes!"

After hanging up the phone, Jiang Chen turned his head and looked at Si She and the other: "Do you have anything to say?"

"What do you mean by this?"

Si She's expression tightened as he shouted, "When we got to the stronghold, they were already prepared. We fought them, but they escaped, and we failed to catch up. What's so strange about that?"

"Exactly, what do you mean the battle marks were all fabricated? If you say they're fabricated, they're fabricated?" Shen Hou, with a pale face, looked at Jiang Chen and said, "I think you're just looking for trouble on purpose!"

Jiang Chen gave a cold laugh and turned to look at Dragon Saint, "Dragon Saint Senior, I'd like to ask, from ancient times till now, which force do you think is the most formidable at tracking and assassination?"

"Tracking and assassination force?"

Dragon Saint was startled, looking at Jiang Chen with a puzzled expression. After thinking for a moment, he said softly, "The strongest force in tracking and assassination would be from the long-disappeared Shadow Clan!"

"If they were to inspect the battleground, they could tell whether the battle was real or not, right?" Jiang Chen asked again.

"Of course! Whether the battle marks are genuine, they can certainly tell. They are the experts in this field..."

Dragon Saint spoke without hesitation and then suddenly froze there, looking at Jiang Chen with a shocked face.

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