6: The whole city is in turmoil, the Li family's frying pan is in turmoil.

The Li Family, Discussion Hall.

The atmosphere was so suffocating it made one gasp for breath.

Li Zhentian, the head of the Li Family, a middle-aged man nearly fifty who was usually incomparably majestic, sat in the main seat with an ashen face, his fists clenched until they cracked.

In the center of the hall, Li Wei lay on a stretcher like a pile of mud, his limbs fixed with splints by the best physicians, but the bizarrely twisted angles made it clear to any discerning eye that he was completely ruined for life.

Beside him lay several corpses, one of which was a Guest Elder the Li Family had hired at a great cost, a black-robed enshrinee at the fifth level of the Qi Gathering Realm, Mr. Wu.

His death was the most miserable; his entire body seemed to have been crushed by some immense force, no longer resembling a human form, and his identity could only be barely recognized from his shredded clothing.

A dozen or so Family Elders sat on both sides, each with a solemn face, not daring to make a sound.

“Speak!”

Li Zhentian slammed the table suddenly; the table, crafted from century-old ironwood, was instantly covered in cracks.

“Tell me everything you saw at the Chu Family, word for word, once more!”

His voice suppressed a towering rage, like a volcano about to erupt.

The head servant who had been questioned by Chu He, named Li Si, was currently kneeling in the center of the hall, trembling all over in fear.

Stuttering, he recounted everything that had happened in the Chu Family courtyard from the beginning: from Chu He's appearance, to subduing the pockmarked man in one move, to crushing Attendant Wu with a single palm, and finally crippling Li Wei, as well as the words he had passed on, repeating it all exactly as it happened.

He didn't dare hide anything or add any embellishments.

Because he knew the Clan Chief was in a fit of rage, and one wrong word could cost him his life.

After he finished speaking, the entire hall fell into a deathly silence.

One could hear a pin drop.

The faces of all the Elders were filled with shock and disbelief.

“Impossible!”

A hot-tempered Elder stood up abruptly; he was Li Zhentian's younger brother, Li Zhenwu.

“Absolutely impossible! What kind of thing is that Chu He? Do we not know? A waste who stayed at the first level of Body Tempering for three years! A childless wretch whose Bloodline has withered! How could he possibly crush Attendant Wu of the fifth level of Qi Gathering with one palm? And... and Foundation Establishment Stage? Li Si, have you been scared stupid, talking nonsense here!”

Li Si shuddered and kowtowed repeatedly: “Second Master, have mercy! I wouldn't dare lie! Every word is true! There were a dozen pairs of eyes watching in the courtyard! Chu He was glowing with golden light, his eyes turned gold, and that Aura... was a hundred times more terrifying than you, Clan Chief... no, even more than the City Lord! Attendant Wu couldn't even take one move before... before he became like that!”

He pointed at the puddle of mangled flesh on the ground, his face filled with terror.

Now, no one doubted it anymore.

Attendant Wu's corpse was right there; facts speak louder than words.

“Foundation Establishment Stage... it's actually the Foundation Establishment Stage...” an elderly Elder murmured to himself, his voice trembling, “How many years has it been since Azure Sun City saw a Foundation Establishment Stage? The Chu Family... how could the Chu Family suddenly produce a Foundation Establishment Stage?”

This news was like a bolt from the blue to them.

In a small place like Azure Sun City, someone at the Late Stage of the Qi Gathering Realm could already walk with their head held high.

The City Lord himself was only at the ninth level of the Qi Gathering Realm.

What did a Foundation Establishment Stage represent?

That was a figure like an immortal!

An existence that could easily wipe out any Family in Azure Sun City!

“Brother! There's something fishy about this!” Li Zhenwu's expression shifted, “That Chu He was a waste just two days ago, how could he become a Foundation Establishment Master overnight? This defies common sense! I suspect... I suspect there's some expert hidden behind the Chu Family? Or perhaps that dead father of the Chu Family, Chu Tianxiong, left behind some shocking trump card back then?”

This speculation made everyone present feel a chill in their hearts.

Right!

That was the most reasonable explanation!

A waste couldn't become an expert out of thin air; he must have received external help!

“Investigate!” A flash of ruthlessness appeared in Li Zhentian's eyes, “Use all our power to investigate! What exactly happened to the Chu Family during these ten months! Who has that Chu He been in contact with! Also, did Chu Tianxiong leave behind any Legacy when he was traveling abroad back then!”

“But... Brother,” Li Zhenwu hesitated and pointed at Li Wei on the stretcher, “that kid called you out by name, demanding that within three days, you perform three kowtows and nine prostrations, and hand over all the Family assets... This... what do we do?”

At the mention of this, Li Zhentian's face instantly turned the color of pig liver.

“Too much! This is too much!!!”

He stood up abruptly and kicked over the chair in front of him.

“I, Li Zhentian, have been in charge of the Li Family for thirty years! I am a man of my word in Azure Sun City! He dares to make me, for the sake of a yellow-mouthed brat, perform three kowtows and nine prostrations? And he wants me to hand over all the Family assets?”

“He wants to take the face of my Li Family and trample it into the ground!”

“How can the century-old foundation of my Li Family be destroyed by my hands! I would rather die than suffer such a humiliating disgrace!”

Li Zhentian's roar echoed in the discussion hall.

But after the roar, facing reality, he felt a wave of powerlessness.

That was a Foundation Establishment Stage!

The other party had spoken with finality; if they didn't comply in three days, he would come to their door and kill one person with every step.

Even if the Li Family exhausted the strength of the entire clan, what did they have to fight a Foundation Establishment Stage?

Just to deliver their heads?

“Clan Chief, calm down!” the Grand Elder quickly advised, “Now is not the time to act on impulse. Since the opponent is at the Foundation Establishment Stage, we absolutely cannot afford to provoke him. As long as the green mountains remain, one need not worry about firewood. Face is a small matter; preserving the Family Bloodline is what's most important!”

“Bullshit!” Li Zhenwu countered, “Grand Elder, you're boosting others' morale while diminishing our own! If we really did as he said, even if the people of my Li Family remain, what's the difference between that and the clan being destroyed? How could we ever hold our heads up in Azure Sun City again? Wouldn't we just be bullied by everyone?”

“Then what do you suggest? Should we just watch him come to our door in three days and slaughter us all?”

“I...”

In the hall, the Elders were split into two factions: one for peace, believing they should endure humiliation to save their lives; and one for war, believing they would rather be broken jade than intact pottery.

The two sides argued incessantly, neither able to convince the other.

“Everyone shut up!”

Li Zhentian shouted angrily, stopping all the bickering.

His eyes were bloodshot, and after a mental struggle, he seemed to have made up his mind.

“If he wants me, Li Zhentian, to kneel, that Chu He doesn't have the qualifications yet!”

“A Foundation Establishment Stage of unknown origin—I don't believe he's truly invincible!”

Li Zhentian took a deep breath, his gaze turning cold and resolute.

“This matter cannot be carried by our Li Family alone! The Zhao Family, when they broke the engagement and humiliated Chu He, they had a part in it too! They took the most when carving up the Chu Family's assets! Now that the Chu Family is coming for revenge, the Zhao Family wants to stay out of it? It won't be that easy!”

“Zhenwu!”

“Here, Brother!”

“Prepare a generous gift immediately and go to the Zhao Family! Tell the Zhao Clan Chief, Zhao Wuji, everything that happened today exactly as it was! Say that my Li Family is willing to give up thirty percent of our assets to join forces with them to fight this devil Chu He together!”

“Yes!” Li Zhenwu's spirits lifted.

“Also!” Li Zhentian continued to command, “Grand Elder, you personally go to the City Lord's Mansion! Report everything we've found to the City Lord, including the possibility that Chu He was possessed by an evil cultivator or that his strength skyrocketed overnight due to practicing some Demonic Technique!”

“Say that such a devil staying in Azure Sun City is a major threat to everyone! Ask the City Lord to take action and subdue the demon for the safety of all the citizens! My Li Family is willing to bear all costs, and once it's done, we will offer all the Chu Family's assets to the City Lord's Mansion!”

This move was incredibly poisonous.

He directly branded Chu He as a devil threatening public safety, attempting to pull the City Lord's Mansion into the fray.

“The Clan Chief is wise!”

The eyes of all the Elders lit up; this was indeed the only way forward.

As long as they could drag the Zhao Family and the City Lord's Mansion down with them, the three parties working together might just be able to contend with a Foundation Establishment Stage!

Even if they couldn't win, they could share the pressure.

“Hmph, Chu He, don't you want to see my Li Family finished?”

Li Zhentian looked outside, his gaze venomous.

“I'll drag the entire Azure Sun City down with you! I want to see if you, a newly emerged Foundation Establishment cultivator, can take on the whole city!”

He had gone mad.

Driven to a dead end, Li Zhentian chose the most extreme path.

A conspiracy against Chu He was rapidly brewing over Azure Sun City.

Meanwhile, the events at the Chu Family spread like they had wings, quickly reaching every corner of Azure Sun City.

In tea houses, restaurants, and every street and alley, everyone was discussing this shocking news, the likes of which Azure Sun City hadn't seen in a century.

“Have you heard? That waste Chu He from the Chu Family isn't dead! And he's become a Foundation Establishment Stage Master!”

“What? For real? You're not talking nonsense because you've had too much to drink, are you? Didn't his Bloodline wither away?”

“It's absolutely true! The Li Family's Young Lord, Li Wei, took men to seize the Chu house, but Chu He broke all his limbs and threw him back like a dead dog! That Qi Gathering Realm Attendant Wu hired by the Li Family was reportedly slapped into meat paste by Chu He!”

“My God! Slapping a Qi Gathering Realm to death with one hand? That... that really is the Foundation Establishment Stage!”

“Exactly! It's said Chu He even put out the word, demanding the Li Clan Chief kneel and offer all their Family assets within three days! This is going to be a good show!”

The entire Azure Sun City was in an uproar.

Everyone was left dizzy by the news.

A recognized waste suddenly becoming a divine dragon—this kind of reversal was more exciting than any storybook tale.

Of course, most people were just spectators who enjoyed the drama, looking forward to the final showdown between the Li and Chu families in three days.

And amidst this storm, in the Zhao Family estate, a young girl in a goose-yellow dress also heard the news that struck her like a bolt of lightning.