The weakest martial artist? One punch and he's leveled up a whole realm!

"Uncle Hei, this Jiang Henian and this Jiang family mansion seem to be quite extraordinary."

"Of course!" the old man laughed. "If I had to describe it in one word, it would be extravagant luxury!"

"Don't be fooled by the fact that the Jiang family mansion is small in size, even the smallest among the twelve great families. In terms of wealth, the Jiang family alone probably has the combined wealth of all twelve great families!"

Ye Xiao looked surprised: "That's so exaggerated?"

"It's that exaggerated!"

"Then why isn't the Jiang family one of the twelve aristocratic families?"

"Because it's not necessary."

The old man continued, "Jiang Henian is a very shrewd old man. He's only thinking about how to climb the ladder of power and make money, so he never intended to become one of the aristocratic families in the first place."

"In this way, the conflicts between aristocratic families and the turmoil in the martial arts world will have nothing to do with him, and he can remain untainted."

"Although he gave up fame, he gained power and wealth."

"Do you think Jiang Henian is a smart man?"

Ye Xiao nodded: "Judging from this, he is indeed a smart person, a very low-key smart person."

The old man suddenly changed the subject.

"However, this person only cares about the goal and not the means. In order to achieve his goal, he is willing to use any means necessary."

Ye Xiao asked, "Won't doing this make him a lot of enemies?"

The old man laughed.

"Yes, doing this will definitely attract a lot of enemies."

"But if we eliminate all our enemies, won't we have no enemies left?"

Upon hearing this, Ye Xiao was startled.

This gave me a clearer understanding of the extent of Jiang Henian's ruthlessness.

"But if we do this, we'll inevitably run into enemies we can't eliminate."

"right."

Grandpa Hei nodded again: "However, as long as the person behind Jiang Henian doesn't fall, no one will dare to touch Jiang Henian."

"To put it bluntly, Jiang Henian himself has no martial arts skills, but he relies on a powerful backer."

"His backer also needs someone who poses no threat and is easy to use."

Ye Xiao smiled.

"This is a mutually beneficial and complementary relationship."

"That's one way to put it."

"However, why did Jiang Henian initially invite me to meet tonight, but then suddenly disappear?"

"Indeed, a very important person has arrived."

"Butler Wang also said that a very important person has arrived. Who is this important person?"

"Adam".

Grandpa Hei didn't hesitate for a moment before speaking out.

When I heard this name.

Ye Xiao was startled.

"Adam? Han Fei told me that name. He was one of the three founders of the Human Alliance. I heard he lived for over 500 years!"

"Yes, that's him."

"Why did he suddenly come here?"

"I'm not too sure about that, but Adam usually lives abroad and only shows up once in a long while."

"Old man Black".

"Um?"

"If Adam is still alive, is Xuanyuan Cang still alive?"

"Well... I'm not too sure either, because there has been no news of Xuanyuan Cang for almost three hundred years. The general consensus now is that he was in seclusion trying to break through, then realized that there was no hope of breaking through, and finally died in his seclusion."

"I see..."

"but."

Ye Xiao looked at the old man in black.

Old Man Hei said, "The sudden appearance of this old monster Adam in the Nine Heavens Palace is indeed something worth pondering."

"A few years ago, I also heard some rumors that Adam's lifespan was also coming to an end, but he kept seeking a breakthrough, but he always failed."

Seeing that there was no hope of breaking through, he began to look for other ways to prolong his life.

Ye Xiao said, "You've lived for over five hundred years, aren't you satisfied yet?"

"Does he want to live forever?"

The old man nodded: "This is the ultimate goal of the people in Immortal City—immortality!"

"This nine-tiered palace was built by Xuanyuan Cang in his pursuit of immortality!"

"I have reason to suspect that Adam is here precisely because of this."

Ye Xiao asked curiously.

"What is Adam's strength?"

The old man replied, "The fourteenth realm is the limit; I'm just one step away from the legendary fifteenth realm."

Upon hearing this, Ye Xiao was slightly startled.

The Fourteenth Realm—that was the strength of the Nameless Ancestor.

Is Adam the strongest human being at present?

"Yes. But even the strongest humans are subject to the limitations of lifespan."

The old man said, "To live a long life, Adam did a lot of things, like blood transfusions, organ transplants, and heart transplants. He had to do these almost every now and then. And he always needed the freshest, most vigorous organs, so you can see what Adam did."

Upon hearing this, Ye Xiao fell silent.

"Did Adam trade the lives of others for his own immortality?"

"almost."

"He's a real beast."

"All superhumans are pretty much the same: extreme selfishness. In pursuit of immortality, they are willing to give up or destroy everything."

"Alright, Ye Xiao, don't think too much, get some rest."

Ye Xiao nodded: "Uncle Hei, after I see Jiang Henian tomorrow, I want to go home."

"Going home?"

"Yes, I want to go back to practicing boxing."

"it is good."

After a day's journey through the Immortal City.

Ye Xiao had an unprecedentedly strong craving for power.

Only by possessing great power can he have the right to change everything that he finds displeasing!

......

late at night.

After an unknown amount of time, Ye Xiao suddenly woke up.

He was awakened by a very subtle vibration.

It looked like someone had lightly scratched the wall with their fingernail.

He opened his eyes; the room was silent.

Moonlight streamed in through the window paper, casting a pale silver glow on the tabletop; nothing seemed amiss.

"What's that noise?"

Ye Xiao prayed to the gods, walked to the bedside, and opened the window to look outside.

Everything seemed normal on the outside.

The courtyard was quiet, and the lanterns under the eaves swayed slightly in the night breeze.

But the clouds seemed thicker than before.

The moonlight grew hazy, and the artificial hill in the garden looked like a crouching beast in the shadows.

The lights of the main building of Hemingxuan in the distance have been turned off, and the entire mansion is immersed in the deep night.

The more normal it seemed, the more it highlighted the unusual nature of the noise Ye Xiao heard!

"I wonder if Grandpa Hei heard that commotion?"

Ye Xiao waited a while longer, but did not hear the sound again.

Then I closed the window and sat back down on the edge of the bed.

The moment he sat down, something unexpected happened.

Suddenly, a ring of dark red patterns lit up on the jade floor beneath his feet, spreading outwards like blood vessels.

The pattern covered the entire room!

Intricate runes lit up simultaneously on the walls, ceiling, and under the bed!

The runes emitted a dark, rusty red color.

It makes a slight hissing sound when it touches the air, like a red-hot wire being immersed in water.

"This is a formation?!"

Ye Xiao's eyes widened suddenly; he realized what was happening immediately.

The noise he just heard was the sound of the formation being activated!