The entire venue fell into a profound silence, so deep one could almost hear the beating of hearts. Every eye was fixed intently on the girl who had materialized suddenly. Her black hair cascaded over her shoulders, her face set with a chilling, murderous intent. Clad in simple purple cloth, she radiated an immensely powerful, oppressive aura that blanketed the room. No one dared to believe it; they tried to convince themselves they were dreaming that a mere girl could utter words that sent tremors through them.

More significantly, everyone realized their bodies were paralyzed by the sheer pressure. Perhaps it wasn't just the aura pressing down, but the dangerous scent emanating from the girl that pierced the soul, making them feel utterly bound and chilled by her icy presence.

“Fatty, all of you, get back here—Six Paths Reincarnation too!” Yang Yi was the first to react, shouting the command, yet his gaze remained locked on the girl, showing no inclination to move. Internally, however, he was overwhelmed with shock and emotion, even a deep sense of nostalgia for the little girl who used to rest on his shoulder, who now seemed so grown up.

“Brother Yi!” The girl—yes, it was Murong Lianxue, missing for several years—spoke. No one saw how she moved; it seemed to happen in the blink of an eye. She was suddenly right in front of Yang Yi, throwing herself into his embrace. “Brother Yi, Lianxue is back.”

“It’s good that you’re back, it’s good that you’re back!” Yang Yi’s eyes grew slightly red, but he managed to suppress the urge to let the tears fall.

Those few simple words, It’s good that you’re back, conveyed all the longing Yang Yi held for this girl. She was the only sister he had ever acknowledged, the relative he felt he could never afford to lose, the most vital person to him.

“Lianxue, it doesn’t seem like the right time to reunite with your Brother Yi just yet, does it? Shouldn’t we clear out this trash first? Or... should I lend a hand?” A figure appeared behind Yang Yi, accompanied by a voice asking the question.

“Hmph, you go stand aside.” Murong Lianxue’s expression shifted instantly, replaced by a somewhat cute smile. “Brother Yi, wait until Lianxue deals with this trash, and then we can have our reunion, okay?”

“Lianxue!” Yang Yi called out, hesitation coloring his tone.

“Don't worry, Brother Yi, Lianxue is fine.” Murong Lianxue nodded with a smile. But as she turned around, her face underwent a 180-degree transformation. She looked like a demon rising from the depths of hell, radiating an extremely dangerous aura, her eyes sharper than ever.

“This kid is strange—her strength is immense!” Xuanyuan Hao reacted, or rather, he only snapped out of his stupor after Murong Lianxue’s killing intent locked onto the dozen or so men in black. He muttered the observation while staring fixedly at her.

“Let everyone know the consequences for those who dare seek my Brother Yi’s life.”

Her voice was saturated with such potent killing intent that it made CA’s ears buzz painfully. “You... you!” CA’s face was a mask of utter shock. In fact, his expression was mirrored by everyone present—it was a spectacle of disbelief. If their auras hadn't been fixed on other targets, they surely would have discovered, just like the ten black-clad men, that their faces were freezing stiffly, threatening to detach from their skulls.

Furthermore, after Murong Lianxue finished speaking, her overwhelming presence intensified. The ten black-clad men nearly fainted, as they could distinctly feel their breathing growing increasingly labored.

“Swish!” Her figure flashed chaotically. In all martial arts, speed is absolute; this principle remains timeless. No one could track the lightning-fast movement of Murong Lianxue. Even the nine black-clad masters couldn't react in time. They only felt a specific part of their bodies snap, and they could distinctly sense their internal organs being eroded and fractured by some unseen force. Blood began to pour from their seven orifices—ears, eyes, nose, and mouth.

Given the technique Murong Lianxue currently displayed, if she weren't worried about causing too much of a sensation, she might have gone as far as inflicting Lingchi—the ancient, gruesome death penalty where the condemned is slowly carved away, piece by piece, until only the bones and inner organs remain. Her technique was precise, avoiding overt gore or deliberately staging a scene like a collapsing pyramid. The moment her figure stilled, the nine figures dropped to the ground like crumpled sheets of paper that had been crushed.

The method resulting in bleeding from all seven orifices was incomprehensible to most, even Yang Yi watched with a grim expression. Murong Lianxue’s eyes suddenly focused on the back of the remaining black-clad man. She looked at him with the gaze reserved for the already dead. Though physically unharmed, the man’s ears were working fine, and he could clearly count how many men had fallen behind him. Despite this, as a martial artist, he knew he couldn't turn his back on an enemy. He slowly pivoted, and upon seeing Murong Lianxue’s eyes brimming with the scent of death, his mind went instantly blank, and primal fear began to consume him.

However, when he saw the nine corpses on the floor, he sucked in a sharp breath. This feeling—which he had only ever experienced when facing someone vastly superior in strength—was like the irreversible loss of virginity; once gone, the original state could never be regained.

“Bang!” In a blink, CA felt a searing pain in his abdomen, as if his very viscera were being torn apart. His eyeballs bulged, and a mouthful of blood spilled past his lips as he was sent flying backward, propelled by the little girl’s fist striking his gut. He slammed against the far wall. “Ugh... cough, cough!” CA opened his mouth wide and vomited a torrent of blood, staring blankly at Murong Lianxue.

The onlookers were too stunned to process what was happening; they didn't even have the chance to gasp. They simply stared dumbly as Murong Lianxue withdrew her fist from CA. Without uttering any shocking pronouncements or deliberately crafting formidable words, she spoke with a quiet finality: “I only used less than fifty percent of my power just now. You have your life to take a message back to your Young Master: tell him to prepare. I warned him once already—if he dares touch a single hair on my Brother Yi, I will annihilate his entire lineage!”

“Cough, cough, cough!” CA sputtered blood, struggling to prop up his battered body. He knew the little girl had held back, but he also knew his own life was hanging by a thread.

Dragging his ruined body, he staggered out of the grand hall. Even the most intense banquets must eventually conclude. After tonight, the doors would open tomorrow for business as usual; some affairs, some people, wouldn't halt the inevitable changes in the established order.

“……” Yang Yi let out a heavy breath, utterly astonished by Murong Lianxue. He knew that if she hadn't been here tonight, the consequences would have been dire—no one knew how dire, but at least Yang Yi knew they would have been brutal.

Murong Lianxue took a breath and then flashed an innocent, guileless smile, instantly causing everyone to freeze in bewilderment. Even those among Yang Yi’s group who didn't know Murong Lianxue felt a profound sense of surprise. She walked over to Yang Yi, called out "Brother Yi," and then her pair of somewhat eerie black eyes swept over Qin Feng, who immediately felt a chilling sensation wash over his entire body.

“You remember to do your job well, or I won’t mind making you a historical footnote as a corrupted figure!” After speaking, Murong Lianxue ignored Yang Yi’s look of stunned confusion and chirped, “Brother Yi, Lianxue is hungry. Shall we go somewhere else to eat?”

“You, you!” Yang Yi affectionately patted Murong Lianxue’s head. Years apart, she had certainly grown, or more accurately, she had grown noticeably taller.

Meanwhile, the middle-aged man standing behind Yang Yi—who needed no introduction as Tian Er, Murong Liantian—smiled towards Qin Feng. “You had better not doubt what that girl said, or you won't fare well. Though I don't understand the underworld, I understand human courtesy.”

“Nonsense, what do you know of courtesy? Why are you interrupting what I say?” Murong Lianxue didn’t spare Murong Liantian a pleasant glance.

“Uh! Haha, hehe!” Murong Liantian seemed entirely unbothered by his daughter’s retort, merely chuckling foolishly beside them.

“Let’s go!” Yang Yi took Murong Lianxue’s hand and walked toward the entrance. As they passed the main stage, he subconsciously glanced at the three Crown Princes of the Crown Prince faction, a faint, careless smile touching his lips.

The three were momentarily stunned, then seemed to grasp something, a sense of deep gloom settling over them. The protagonist wasn't them; they lacked the power to turn the tide—that was the final outcome. Perhaps what needed to be done must be done, and what needed to be fulfilled must be honored.

“Boss!” Fang Kai and Mo Leng looked at each other before calling out to Ling Feng.

Ling Feng chuckled lightly. “It isn't time yet. But I do wonder, what level do you think he and Ye Han will reach?”

“I don’t know. If we don’t do something, I’m afraid...!”

“Today’s events serve as a serious lesson. I finally understand why the Black God Gang has developed so rapidly. Let’s go; what needs to end should end. As for the rest, we’ll see in the days to come.” Ling Feng sounded somewhat helpless. The current situation, walking a razor’s edge, meant he couldn't afford to attend to both sides—a feeling he deeply disliked.

“We should leave too,” Qin Feng said, his expression grave. To be threatened by a mere young girl over what Murong Lianxue had just said would be disingenuous if he felt no anger. As the deputy head of a nation, being coerced by a little girl certainly stung his pride.