One more catty, one more attribute point
Chapter 77: Chapter 74: The Irresistible Trend (6th Update, Seeking Monthly Votes)_2

It was like a kind of ventriloquism, yet there were differences.

"The important thing is, you've chosen the wrong path," the faceless man said icily.

"The wrong path?" Su Heng cocked his head, "You mean..."

"It's laughable that Li Daoxuan would pin his hopes on a junior like you," the faceless man spoke bluntly, "Whatever Li Daoxuan can give you, we can too. Give up running for the Demon Suppression Tower, otherwise, you will bear the consequences."

"The seven major families, ah no, sorry, I mean six now," Su Heng said mildly, "Which one are you from?"

"Answer my question," the faceless man said coldly.

Su Heng fell silent and looked up at the sky, where lead-gray clouds churned, and small droplets of rain rapidly expanded in his view.

"Why..."

He sighed, a note of incomprehension in his voice.

"Why what?" The faceless man was bewildered by this sudden remark.

The gentle expression on Su Heng's face gradually faded, and his gaze turned icy, emitting a faint blood light in the pitch-black rainy night.

His huge frame seemed to swell accordingly.

An invisible aura, like smoke, spread outward and enveloped the surroundings.

"Life is such a miracle, why don't you cherish it, instead preferring to throw yourselves at me one by one to meet your deaths?" Su Heng sighed, "Why must you force me to kill all of you."

"Kill all!?"

The faceless man let out a cold laugh, "Arrogant, do you know who you are dealing with?"

"I don't need to know the origins of a corpse," Su Heng's patience was running thin, "I only need to know, those who obstruct me, shall be killed without mercy!"

Hiss—

Before his words fell, he suddenly struck forward.

The faceless man's face twitched and contorted, as if in shock.

His entire body rapidly dematerialized, merging into the shadows, but was ultimately a step too slow, caught by Su Heng's large hand gripping his head.

Bang!

Heavily slammed downward.

Brain matter and blood mixed with large spots of mud splattered all around.

Su Heng's face and body were smeared with blood spots; he stuck out his tongue and licked a little brain matter from the corner of his lips, smacking his lips twice.

"Truly disgusting."

Su Heng turned and left, returning inside the house.

Behind him in the courtyard, a large pit suddenly filled with a white mist.

The body of the faceless man rapidly decomposed and gradually disappeared, leaving only a white gelatinous piece of flesh and a hooded long robe stained with dark red blood in the pit.

...

...

...

Boom rumble!

Thunder rolled from the distant mountains, echoing incessantly.

Inside a tower lit with fiery red candles in the Hong Family's earthen fort.

A middle-aged man in a pure white robe, robust like a scholar, spat out a mouthful of blood froth.

Streams of black qi crept from his neck up to his face.

Pain flashed across the man's face.

He quickly pressed his fingers on several major acupuncture points around his neck, then pulled several dark pills from his bosom.

He swallowed them in one gulp.

Closing his eyes, he sat cross-legged.

His hands continually formed seals, and after a short while, the black qi on his face slowly faded.

"Phew..."

The middle-aged scholar opened his eyes and let out a long breath.

"How are things?" In the candlelight, across the wooden table, a bald man with a long scar on his face looked at him with some concern.

"I couldn't persuade that fellow, and one of my Shadow Puppets was even destroyed," the middle-aged scholar said coldly.

"That's not surprising."

The bald, strong man on the side poured a cup of tea and said gently, "Li Daoxuan is very discerning; anyone he takes notice of certainly has remarkable qualities."

"What of it?" the middle-aged scholar snorted coldly, "Can the vast Demon Suppression Bureau really rely on him alone to uphold it? Besides, Li Daoxuan is already in his twilight years, unwilling to merge with the demon corpse, and doesn't have many days left to live."

"His recent arrangement for someone to take over the Demon Suppression Tower is merely a dying struggle, trying to take the opportunity to turn against us."

The middle-aged scholar, named Song Ting,

was a powerful elder within the Demon Suppression Song Family.

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He had a sibling brother named Song Yingchun; together, their strength could rival a Family Head.

This was also why, among the six major families of Baihua County, aside from the Hong Family whose strength was far ahead, the Song Family was unequivocally the strongest of the remaining five.

The mild-mannered bald man in front of Song Ting was Hong Wendao.

Hong Wendao was a chess piece placed within the Demon Suppression Bureau by the Hong Family, and he was also a strong contender for the original position of Deputy Governor.

But now, rumors were spreading within the Demon Suppression Bureau.

This position was suddenly given to an outsider.

Hong Wendao had been scheming for decades for this and naturally was not willing to give up easily.

Hence, this secret plot. Both men made a move to test the waters, but the result was not optimistic. The Shadow Puppet that Song Ting had spent many resources to cultivate was directly squashed.

Caught off guard, even Song Ting suffered backlash and was seriously injured.

"Are you really confident you can defeat that person?" Song Ting still felt insecure, "That person doesn't reside in the Demon Suppression Bureau, but in the Jiangyue Pavilion. We could replace an opportunity to directly get rid of him."

Song Ting made a cutting motion across his own neck, his face sinister.

After all, such acts were not new to them.

The previous Tower Master of the Demon Suppression Tower, Xu Tong, had been crippled by their scheme, leaving no evidence behind.

Even if Li Daoxuan had suspicions,

without solid clues, he couldn't do much to them.

"No," Hong Wendao shook his head and decisively denied Song Ting's suggestion, "Doing such a thing once is alright, but doing it a second time is too risky."

"Moreover, since he doesn't reside in the Demon Suppression Bureau, there's no guarantee it isn't a trap set by Li Daoxuan to lure us in."

"If we anger Li Daoxuan, it could lead to our mutual destruction... we won't get anything good out of it."

"That's true," Song Ting furrowed his brows.

Li Daoxuan was already close to burning out; they just needed to wait for him to fade away.

If they overturned the table now, this old foe in a rage could easily take a few Family Heads with him.

This was why, even though the combined strength of the six major families already surpassed the Demon Suppression Bureau, they had yet to sever ties completely, and the entire Baihua County still maintained a facade of harmony.

Of course...

This harmony wouldn't last much longer.

Once Li Daoxuan died, or even if he just became too weak to suppress everything,

the entire Baihua County would inevitably become a chaotic battleground.

"Moreover, Li Daoxuan would never expect that I have perfected the Hong Family's Iron Chain River Blocking technique, combined with the enhancement effect of the Furnace Pills. With full force, I could even withstand more than ten moves from Li Daoxuan in his normal state,"

Bang!

Hong Wendao gently put down his teacup.

Looking out at the pitch-black rain outside the window, his face filled with confidence.

Being able to withstand more than ten moves from Li Daoxuan in his normal state was already a great honor for him.

"If he wants to struggle, then let him try. Since he doesn't want to save face, I'll help him lose it!" Hong Wendao reached forward, his fingers fiercely clenched.

In the firelight, his usually mild demeanor vanished.

A scar made his face look even colder and ruthless, "I will tell him, even the legendary Golden Eyed Ape King who suppressed all, will have a day when he is old and weak. Baihua County will ultimately belong to our great families. This is the trend of times; no one can stop it!"