Chapter 80 Turmoil in Jiangcheng
Just as Chu Han was engrossed in his cultivation,
The upper circles of Jiang City were thrown into an uproar by the same piece of news.
At one o'clock in the morning, the communicator of Zhao Tianlong, the President of the Martial Arts Association, rang urgently.
He sat up from his bed and answered.
"President Zhao, something has happened! The Lan Family has been wiped out!"
Zhao Tianlong's sleepiness vanished instantly, his brows furrowing deeply.
He immediately dialed Vice President Zhou's communicator: "Old Zhou, notify the association's armed members immediately. Gather at the Lan Family villa in ten minutes!"
The Zhao family was also in the Starry Sky Bay residential area, so Zhao Tianlong was the first to rush to the scene.
When he arrived at the Lan Family villa, he found nothing but ruins and a raging fire.
Before long, Vice President Zhou also arrived with his subordinates one after another.
The flames at the scene had been extinguished, and the air was filled with ash.
"The fire was too intense."
Vice President Zhou crouched down, picking up a bit of ash with his fingertips, his brow furrowed: "Judging by the degree of burning, the culprit must be a powerful fire-attribute Martial Artist. His flames could even ignite and vaporize reinforced concrete; not a single trace was left behind."
Zhao Tianlong scanned the ruins with a solemn expression: "Lan Kui, Lan Biao, Lan Yu—all of them are missing, dead or alive."
"With Lan Kui's Rank 6 strength, even if he were ambushed, it's impossible for there to be no signs of resistance. The person who did this is definitely stronger than him, and their actions were clean and decisive—clearly well-prepared."
Zhao Tianlong rubbed his temples, feeling a massive headache: "The Lan Family has operated in Jiang City for many years and has great influence. Now that they've been suddenly wiped out, the higher-ups will definitely demand answers. If there are no clues at all, it will be hard to explain."
Just then, his communicator rang again.
After Zhao Tianlong answered, his face instantly turned even grimmer.
"What's wrong?" Vice President Zhou asked quickly.
"Bai Xiao is also missing. He might have been killed along with them."
Zhao Tianlong said in a heavy voice, "The Bai Family even sent two Rank 6 experts to pick up Bai Xiao, but those two have also vanished into thin air. The time they went missing almost perfectly overlaps with the time the Lan Family was wiped out!"
Vice President Zhou analyzed, "The people from the Bai Family must have stumbled upon the culprit in the middle of the act and were killed along with the others."
"That must be it! The brutality of this killer is far beyond imagination. If he is still hiding in Jiang City, he will be a significant hidden danger." Zhao Tianlong's gaze was full of solemnity.
Jiang City was destined to be restless tonight.
Chu Han cultivated at home all night and finally mastered the Spiral Seal completely.
This secret technique could condense Mental Energy into a spiral-shaped shockwave to directly attack the enemy's mind.
The Spiral Wave was several times more powerful than the mental attack Bai Xiao had used before, making it Chu Han's strongest trump card for now.
After finishing his cultivation, it was already early morning.
Chu Han immediately performed a lottery draw.
[Congratulations to the host for obtaining the D-rank Martial Skill "Thunder Toughness Fist".]
Yet another Thunder Attribute Martial Skill.
Chu Han now had more Thunder Attribute Martial Skills than anything else, enough to form a complete thunder-based combat system.
With only two days left until the Martial Arts Grand Examination, he planned to specialize in cultivating the Thunder Attribute at home.
Chu Han got up, washed, and went to have breakfast.
The morning news was playing on the television.
The female anchor's voice was solemn: "Late last night, the Lan Family, owners of the well-known Blue Eagle Martial Arts Hall in Jiang City, suffered a massacre. Their villa in Starry Sky Bay was destroyed by fire, and core members of the Lan Family, including Lan Kui, Lan Yu, and Lan Biao, are currently missing..."
"What?!"
The chopsticks in Chu Zhan's hand fell onto the table with a "clack," his face filled with shock.
"The Lan Family was wiped out? Who did this?"
This news was too shocking for Chu Zhan.
He had said that he had let go of his grievances with the Blue Eagle Martial Arts Hall.
But seeing the news of the Lan Family's demise, he still couldn't remain calm.
"The Lan Family was wiped out?"
Chu Han also widened his eyes in feigned surprise, but his heart was completely untroubled.
The Lan Family's fate was nothing more than their own doing.
He took a sip of porridge and said nonchalantly, "The Lan Family was usually overbearing and offended many people. Maybe they were wiped out by some enemy."
Chu Zhan was stunned for a moment, then nodded: "That's true, but these methods are just too ruthless."
Just then, the doorbell rang.
Chu Han got up to open the door, and when he saw the person standing there, his heart skipped a beat.
Could Zhao Tianlong be suspecting him?
On the surface, he remained as calm as a breeze, greeting him with a smile, "Uncle Zhao? What a rare guest! Please, come in!"
Zhao Tianlong walked into the living room, his gaze lingering on Chu Han's face for a few seconds before getting straight to the point: "Chu Han, do you know about the Lan Family's situation?"
"I only just found out myself."
Chu Han pointed to the news playing on the television.
Zhao Tianlong looked at his expression but couldn't find any flaws. He smiled and said, "I came here to ask if you know anything about the Lan Family's massacre?"
"I have no idea!"
Chu Han waved his hands repeatedly and laughed, "The Lan Family brought this on themselves with their many misdeeds. Maybe some good person did a kind deed and got rid of them."
Zhao Tianlong could only force a smile upon hearing this.
He then added, "There's something else I should warn you about. People from the Bai Family have also gone missing, and they are very concerned about Bai Xiao's death. The news that you heavily injured Bai Xiao has reached the Bai Family as well. I'm afraid they might come looking for trouble."
"Thank you for the warning, President Zhao. I'll be careful."
Chu Han said in a relaxed tone.
"Alright, watch your back. As for the Bai Family, I'll try my best to help you deal with them."
Zhao Tianlong gave a few more instructions and then left.
"Take care, Uncle Zhao."
Chu Han did not dare to be slack.
The existence of the Bai Family brought him some pressure.
But pressure brings motivation; his only goal now was to become stronger as quickly as possible!
Over the next two days, Chu Han cultivated the Thunder Origin Art and the Thunder Perishing Art in succession, causing the Thunder Attribute essence within his body to surge.
At the same time, he studied all the Thunder Attribute Martial Skills he had.
This included "Swift Thunder Thrust," "Raging Thunder Slash," "Thunder Movement," "Golden Thunder Palm," "Lightning Flow Shadow Fist," "Rushing Thunder Finger," and "Thunderbolt Flash," all of which he had mastered.
Every Martial Skill had reached the Realm of Perfection.
Meanwhile, he didn't neglect his Nine Heavens Body Forging Art and Mental Energy cultivation.
After the battles in the Martial Arts School Ranking Tournament, the gravity multiple Chu Han could withstand in his normal state had reached 15 times.
The gravity multiple he could withstand during cultivation had reached 30 times.
The item he drew on the second day was a C-rank Martial Skill: "Cloak Hammer Technique".
He didn't use hammers, so it was of no use to him.
Soon, the day of the Martial Arts Grand Examination arrived.
Chu Han got up early to perform a lottery draw.
[Ding! Congratulations, you have obtained a "Bloodthirsty Vine" seed.]
[Bloodthirsty Vine: A type of mutated plant. Its vines are tough and equipped with poisonous spikes. It is bloodthirsty and murderous, and it will remain forever loyal to its master.]
Some methods for cultivating the Bloodthirsty Vine seed appeared in his mind.
"It's actually a seed; I can't use it for now."
Chu Han took a cursory look at the description and left the seed in the Lottery Space.
He planned to wait until after the Martial Arts Grand Examination to research how to make it take root and sprout.