Excessive ferocity due to caution

The capital city, the Lü family.

The old-fashioned house exudes a sense of oppressive seriousness.

In the pine forest, the thin man sitting on a stone bench in an open space, drinking tea, had a somber expression.

The edges of the glasses burned with the surrounding light.

All around stood many elderly men, their expressions equally stern.

"He kidnapped my brother, and now he wants me to exchange the lives of the entire Li family for him?"

The old man kneeling before me spoke with anger:

"Yes, patriarch."

"That damned brat even cut off Lord Lü Hong's... manhood."

"Now that Lady Lü Hong is in their hands, and with Feng Nan, that troublesome rock, protecting her, if we want to rescue Lady Lü Hong, I'm afraid we'll have to have a serious discussion with the Li family..."

Lu Mingbing remained silent for a while, then slowly lifted the lid of the teacup in his hand and took a sip of tea at a leisurely pace.

"Does the Li family know about this?"

The old man said:

"have no idea."

"Should we inform them, patriarch?"

Lü Mingbing said calmly:

"If they don't know, then they don't need to know."

"Let's leave this matter here for now."

The old man was stunned, and so were the others around him.

"Master... what's wrong?"

Should we stop here for now?

Are you kidding me?

Zhao Yi kidnapped your brother and even chopped up your brother's younger brother. Is that all?

Everyone was completely baffled by Lü Mingbing's nonchalant attitude.

Based on their understanding of Lü Mingbing, it was not impossible that at best they would purge Zhao Yi and his forces, and at worst they would massacre the entire ruined city.

How could he just let it go like that?

Lu Mingbing slowly took a sip of tea, closed his eyes, and savored the delicate fragrance on his lips and teeth.

Why don't you all consider what Zhao Yi's purpose was in doing this?

Everyone looked at each other.

"Purpose?"

"Isn't he just trying to incite us and the Li family to fight each other?"

A woman from the Lü family looked disdainful.

"He threatened you with your brother's life, clearly intending to incite the Lü family to attack the Li family and stir up internal conflict among us."

"This kind of petty trick is disgusting!"

"No wonder a stray dog ​​like him has such a mind full of these vile and wicked schemes!"

Lu Mingbing said coldly:

"If he were that stupid, he wouldn't have survived until now."

The woman frowned.

Lü Mingbing's words clearly included her as well.

But she dared not show the slightest displeasure, and could only say:

"Please enlighten me, Master."

Lü Mingbing poured himself some tea, and a wisp of white steam rose gently.

"Zhao Yi is indeed a daring madman who dares to do things that many other people wouldn't even think of."

"But he's definitely not stupid."

"Lu Hong's humiliating defeat was due to his arrogance and stupidity, which caused him to lose a hand that he could not possibly lose... I knew his personality was like this, so I deliberately took some risks and borrowed two more experts at the Sovereign Realm from him, and had Elders Dan and Xia accompany him, just in case."

"If Lü Hong wants to retreat during this time, three experts at the Sovereign Realm will be enough to ensure his safety."

"Or, if he hadn't risked entering Zhao Yi's territory and had waited in a safe area outside... he wouldn't be in such a sorry state now."

"But he chose the most dangerous and foolish path."

"The reason Zhao Yi offered such conditions to the Lü family was not because he really wanted the Lü family and the Li family to fight each other, but because he was showing off to the Lü family. This guy... has great ambitions and will most likely move into the capital in the future."

The woman frowned and said:

"Since that's the case, if we don't 'retaliate' in some way, wouldn't that mean our Lü family is afraid of him?"

"Feng Nan of the entertainment company is indeed powerful after his breakthrough, but he can only hold off three Sovereigns. If we lose another Sovereign, Zhao Yi will surely die!"

Lü Mingbing shook his head:

"The old master won't agree."

"Being able to move three Sovereigns to follow Lü Hong is already my limit."

After speaking, a cold glint appeared in Lü Mingbing's eyes, hidden behind his glasses.

"But this grudge cannot go unavenged."

"That guy from Fengnan deserves to die too."

Upon hearing this, Madam Lü's expression brightened with joy:

"What does the head of the family plan to do?"

Lu Mingbing said in a sinister tone:

"Since Zhao Yi wants to use my brother to intimidate me, why not use Lü Hong as a pawn? I'll play a game with him..."

The members of the Lü family standing nearby couldn't help but shudder after hearing Lü Mingbing's words, and their gazes towards him became much more cautious.

That guy is ruthless!

He didn't even spare his own younger brother!

"Go get paper and pen. I want to... write a letter to Zhao Yi myself."

A cruel smile slowly crept onto Lü Mingbing's lips.

...

Abandoned city.

Hongmu Temple.

Zhao Yi sat outside the temple gate, listening to the chanting of sutras by Nan Jia inside the temple, and admiring the vast and beautiful scenery of the suburban mountains.

This place was originally lush and eerie, but after Nanjia was saved in the [Long Night's Lingering Bell] instance, Nanjia chanted scriptures every day to purify the place. The evil spirits were exorcised, and the flowers, grass, streams and pools in the suburban mountains became much more beautiful, unlike the terrifying place before.

This place has become a beautiful scenic spot near the ruined city, and people often come to burn incense here.

The chanting at Namgyal Monastery possesses a special, warm, and steadfast power that can purify negative states within a person.

Zhao Yi was quite interested in this, anticipating that more and more people from the Jie Sect would embark on the path of evil cultivation in the future, and if some of them encountered problems during their cultivation, they could be sent here for treatment.

Not long after, Wu Liang also appeared at this place.

"Master, as you instructed, Yunfang has already set up the great formation."

Zhao opened his eyes, looked at Wu Liang in front of him, and nodded slightly.

"understood."

Wu Liang hesitated for a moment, then asked:

"Master, with our strength and Boss Feng's help, can we really withstand the Lu family's retaliation?"

Zhao Yidao:

"Jin Shiyue told me that Lü Mingbing can only use three Sovereign Realm experts from his family."

"If he still wants to remove experts at the Sovereign Realm, some of the old folks in the family will be unhappy. Those old folks are the true power holders of the Lü family. If we anger them, Lü Mingbing's position will be in jeopardy. Do you think he would give up his power for Lü Hong?"

Wu Liang suddenly realized.

"I'm having you do these things just in case."

"But logically speaking, the possibility of the Lü family directly causing us trouble is zero."

After Zhao finished speaking, Wu Liang scratched his head, his tone somewhat incredulous:

"So... he just let it go like that?"

"Aren't you going to save the younger brother either?"

Zhao Yi put a cigarette in his mouth and took out a lighter.

"His brother definitely won't want it."

"But the Lü family won't let this go. It's only a matter of time before they retaliate against us."

"However, we will meet force with force and water with earth. If we want to enter the capital, we will inevitably run into them sooner or later. The Jie Sect will have many powerful enemies in the future, and the Lü family is just a small episode in it..."

Just then, Xu Shengzhi called.

Zhao Yi answered the phone, and after listening to Xu Shengzhi finish speaking, he laughed:

"The third guest has arrived."

Martial strength:

"Who?"

Zhao Yi:

"An unexpected person."

PS: Second update.

I'm so sleepy today, so sleepy, so sleepy, but it's only 9 o'clock now, so going to sleep isn't really realistic. I'll try writing another chapter.