It had to be admitted that the Third Elder's arrangement was quite reasonable; this was precisely why he had sent Mu Xuetong to the Jun family instead of Xiao Han. Otherwise, if Xiao Han had gone, he likely would have wrongly accused the Jun family even if they weren't responsible.

This time when the Third Elder descended the mountain, he had received an entreaty from the City Lord and a desperate plea from the Eldest Miss: Absolutely, absolutely! Do not cause any more trouble for the Jun family!

The Third Elder had not been involved in the events of that year; in fact, those events had been conducted with extreme secrecy. Only those from the Xiao family lineage of Wind and Snow Silver City had acted. Others only learned of it afterward. Although the matter had eventually been forcibly suppressed, it had already caused quite severe repercussions, leading to a split within Silver City itself into two factions, a debate that continued unresolved to this day.

The Third Elder himself held no particular animosity toward the Jun family, but he felt no particular fondness either; however, he held considerable sympathy for the Eldest Miss. And precisely because of this, the stubborn old man did not take kindly to Xiao Han.

In his view, what was the meaning of forcing matters of the heart? Even if an engagement was set, if the woman didn't like you, what was the point of persistent pestering? Even if married, it would only result in a lifetime of disharmonious resentment.

However, he also directed some misplaced anger toward Jun Wuyi. How could the First Princess of Wind and Snow Silver City be matched with the Third Young Master of a secular noble family? Now that things had devolved this way, the two factions in Silver City were locked in a standoff. The Eldest Miss spent her days either practicing martial arts desperately or staring into space, her temperament growing colder; Xiao Han, because of this, had become increasingly tyrannical and twisted, and the division between the Xiao family and the City Lord’s family grew increasingly... while the Jun family was nearly wiped out because of this entire affair.

What a pointless tragedy!

The Third Elder's speed was astonishing; even while carrying the Little Princess, Han Yanmeng, he reached the spot where Jun Moxie had just violently beaten Xiao Fengwu in the span of a mere breath. Gazing at the empty patch of land before him, the Third Elder was momentarily stunned speechless.

"Girl, are you absolutely certain this is the place? Did you perhaps misread the direction?" the Third Elder asked in disbelief.

It was not surprising that he doubted it, as the area was impossibly clean, without even a single weed. It was perfectly flat, covering dozens of acres, let alone Red Maple trees—not a single branch or leaf was in sight.

Could this spot really have held a dense forest just moments before? Was this some kind of joke? Even if it had all been burned down, there should have been some ash left behind. This place looked more like some specially leveled grounds; it was just too pristine!

"It really is here! The little girl nodded vigorously with certainty: "Third Protector, come and look. There are still traces of blood shed by Brother Xiaosao here. I wouldn't forget that!"

After inspecting the surroundings, the Third Elder still couldn't believe it, so he found several local residents to inquire. When these people saw the bare ground, they looked as if they had seen a ghost; several households quickly produced incense candles and burners, lighting incense and beginning to worship.

This was nothing short of a miracle! Even a whole forest had been moved...

After questioning dozens of people consecutively, the Third Elder was finally shocked into absolute certainty: This place, just moments before, had indeed contained a forest of Red Maples covering dozens of acres! But for some unknown reason, it had abruptly vanished just a moment ago.

The Third Elder suddenly recalled something else: "Girl, you said just now that when you saw that person, he was naked?"

"Third Protector, why do you ask about this?" The little girl's cheeks flushed scarlet, and she demurred shyly.

"Just tell me, was he naked? Nothing on him whatsoever? And it seemed he himself hadn't noticed? Is that right?" The Third Elder's voice was grave as he pressed again.

"Yes!" The young girl thought carefully about the situation at the time and answered affirmatively.

The Third Elder's face instantly turned ashen!

If that was the case, this person must have been cultivating some unique and marvelous profound technique here. While achieving success in his cultivation, he had inadvertently incinerated everything external around him. Naturally, this included his own clothes. But being caught up in the process, he hadn't realized it immediately and simply walked out, only to run into Xiao Fengwu and the Little Princess. And Xiao Fengwu had dared to speak disrespectfully...

With such cultivation, how could he tolerate being addressed disrespectfully by someone like Xiao Fengwu? The fact that Xiao Fengwu kept his life was already an act of immense mercy from that person!

But...

What kind of technique could possess such power, capable of nearly incinerating heaven and earth?

No wonder he didn't take Wind and Snow Silver City to heart at all. If this incineration of the maple forest was truly a display of his real strength, perhaps even the combined forces of Wind and Snow Silver City and Blood Soul Villa would not be enough to concern him!

Could even the combined efforts of the Eight Supreme Beings create such a phenomenon?

The Eight Supremes could perhaps destroy the maple forest easily, but they certainly wouldn't leave behind such an untraceable result, nor would they leave behind any sound whatsoever!

Who exactly was this terrifying individual?

And this terrifying individual was positioned squarely against Wind and Snow Silver City!

Now, the Third Elder had no thought of seeking revenge or venting anger for Xiao Fengwu; instead, he was consumed by anxiety—what if this person became angry at the entirety of Wind and Snow Silver City because of Xiao Fengwu?

If they had truly provoked such an unparalleled, world-altering existence on this trip...

Then Wind and Snow Silver City would truly be in grave danger!

"Go! To the Jun family!" The Third Elder decided instantly; this matter had to be suppressed comprehensively and immediately.

If by chance this mysterious expert discovered that they were investigating him, and if he unleashed a thunderous rage, everything would be utterly finished. Given that person's astonishing power, none of them would likely survive, and even fleeing back to their homeland of Silver City would yield the same result.

The Third Elder managed to keep his expression calm, but in his heart, he cursed Xiao Fengwu hundreds of times: This little brat presumptuously claimed to be the foremost of the younger generation in the Xiao lineage, yet he achieves nothing but creating trouble. Aside from his relatively fast progress in cultivation, he has done nothing of true merit, but when it comes to causing trouble, he is number one in the world! He disdains trouble among mortals and specializes in provoking trouble reserved for the divine!

It seemed necessary upon returning to mandate that Silver City disciples must maintain a low profile when moving about outside; that former arrogance and tyranny must never return.

So, it turned out that in this mortal world, such supreme masters truly existed!

As for who was the most troubled and displeased, it couldn't exactly be the Wind and Snow Silver City side, because there was one family even more vexed and unhappy than them—in fact, they were so troubled they felt close to death.

That family was the Li family. And the atmosphere in the Li residence had become exceedingly gloomy.

Four corpses lay in the morgue, yet to be buried. The six martial siblings, including Li Youran, sat together, faces etched with grief and fury! Over the past few days, they had secretly investigated most of the capital concerning that curiously shaped throwing knife they had fortunately acquired, but they still found nothing.

"Sixth Brother has regained his senses now, but," Li Youran said with a grim expression, his face filled with sorrow, "but, for the rest of his life, I'm afraid he will never stand up on his own strength again!"

"Ying Bokong! Truly a ruthless method! This enmity, this hatred, we cannot coexist under the same sky!" Lei Jianhong ground his teeth so hard his temples bulged, his eyes seeming ready to spew fire.

"This whole matter is because of this younger brother. Because of my foolish delusion, my yearning to seize that top-tier Profound Pill, it has resulted in Sixth Brother's lifelong disability and led to the untimely deaths of four senior brothers." Li Youran's expression was calm, but tears slowly streamed down his face. Suddenly, with a thud, he knelt on the ground: "Senior Brother, I... I am guilty! I have failed all my senior brothers and sisters, I have failed Master, I... I truly deserve to die!"

Lei Jianhong quickly stood up: "What are you doing? Get up quickly, what good does this posture do?"

He sighed and said: "Little Martial Brother, while the root cause of this incident lies with you, it cannot truly be blamed on you. Since learning the profound arts and stepping into the martial world, dying at the hands of an enemy has been the destined final destination for us martial artists. Being adrift in the Jianghu, how can one avoid the blade? That is roughly the meaning. It is all a matter of one's own destiny. If we had seized the Profound Pill this time, then others would be the ones dead, and others would be grieving. If we failed, it is because our skills were inferior to theirs, and we have no one to blame. Little Martial Brother, you need not blame yourself too much."

"That's right! What Senior Brother says is correct; once you enter the Jianghu, you are no longer your own master. Roaming the world of strife, making a living on the edge of a blade, how can there be no losses? While we grieve the passing of our few junior brothers, we should not dwell on it endlessly, as it serves no purpose," said the woman in red, wiping the corner of her eye, her voice choked with emotion: "What we can do is seek revenge at any cost, demand this blood debt be repaid for them!"

"Indeed! Revenge! Repay the blood debt!" the others shouted in unison.

"For Sixth Brother's great revenge, the opponent is the Prairie Eagle God, Ying Bokong. This is a matter that will likely require Master himself to intervene. With only our strength, we probably cannot exact revenge in the short term," Li Youran stood up, looking resolutely into the distance: "But I will still utilize every resource the Li family possesses to strive for this matter!"

"As for the revenge for the four senior brothers, the key lies with this strange throwing knife. During this period, I have consulted countless texts, numerous records, and even investigated the profiles of all experts currently in Tianxiang, but have found nothing. However, while reviewing records of a previous, special incident, I discovered something very particular, something that might possibly be connected to this strange throwing knife..." Li Youran's face was very grave.

"What incident?" Lei Jianhong and the others asked in unison.

"I can confirm with certainty that this throwing knife had never publicly appeared on the continent before this time!" Li Youran stated firmly. "But during the critical moment when Princess Lingmeng was assassinated previously, word has it that a Heaven Profound expert timely threw a flying knife to assist, allowing Princess Lingmeng to escape death. However, after that, Princess Lingmeng treasured the throwing knife as a priceless object, keeping it close to her person, so no one has ever seen what it looked like..."

If anyone had seen it, it would be a ghost! That throwing knife was a unique hidden weapon crafted by Jun Dasha. The vast majority of people in this world who were fortunate enough to encounter this throwing knife were already dead. It seemed only Princess Lingmeng and Ye Guhan were exceptions. And the two throwing knives in Princess Lingmeng's possession were her treasures, never leaving her side.

"Junior Brother, are you suggesting that the throwing knife possessed by Princess Lingmeng might be the same as this one?" Lei Jianhong’s eyes flashed with cold light.