Chapter 1016: The Li Family's Fury! The Tianming Sect's Overtures!

While Xu Jingming was in the top-floor office of Lei Ting Martial Hall, letting his true nature loose and enjoying the bliss of not having to take the initiative,

his interview clip was already being broadcast hot across the web.

The moment it aired, it caused an uproar across the entire internet!

No one expected Xu Jingming to be this hard-edged!

What surprised them even more was that the Li family actually had ties with the notorious Tianming Sect!

In an instant, the internet was flooded with demands to thoroughly investigate the Li family, even to strip the father and son of their seats in the National Assembly.

"Bastards! How dare they fabricate that we have ties with the Tianming Sect?

This is absolutely outrageous! My Li family is big and powerful—why would we ever need to be dogs for the Tianming Sect?"

In the capital, at the Li family villa, Li Chen, upon receiving the news, was nearly driven mad with rage.

He never imagined Xu Jingming would be this audacious!

Worse still, with the Speaker's ban in place, there was truly nothing they could do to Xu Jingming!

"I never thought Hao'er would actually be killed by Xu Jingming too."

Family Head Li Changfeng's gaze was icy cold.

His younger brother Li Yang had only one son and one daughter, and the son was Li Hao.

Precisely because of that, he doted on Li Hao to an extreme degree, which was why the boy grew up into a wastrel's personality.

Now that Li Hao was dead, Li Yang's branch line was completely cut off.

"But I never expected Hao'er to actually get tangled up with the Tianming Sect."

Li Changfeng shook his head. "Father, let's prepare to accept the investigation. A straight body fears no crooked shadow—if they find no evidence, the public outcry will collapse on its own."

"It can only be done this way." Li Chen nodded, his face still burning with thick fury.

Suffocating!

Truly suffocating!

Ever since he broke through to the ninth rank and founded the Li family, when had he ever been this wronged?

"Family Head, Master Zhou wishes to see you."

A message suddenly popped up on Li Changfeng's smart armguard.

"Master Zhou? What does he want with us?" Li Chen found it strange.

The vast Li family was not made up solely of Li clan members; they also invited some high-rank ability users to hold fort.

This Master Zhou was one such invitee—an eighth-rank Grand Master who possessed healing-type abilities.

Previously, he had also been the one in charge of treating Li Hao's injuries.

"Not sure." Li Changfeng shook his head and instructed, "Let him in."

After a short while, Master Zhou, clad in a long robe, walked in.

"My lords, how have you both been lately?"

After offering a respectful bow, Master Zhou opened his mouth with a smile.

The moment those words left his mouth, Li Chen and Li Changfeng's faces instantly darkened.

Li Yang was dead, and the Li family was deeply mired in a public-opinion storm.

Nine out of ten people knew all this—why would Master Zhou poke at the sore spot?

"It seems things really aren't going well for you."

Master Zhou shook his head, looking at them: "I can help you resolve every trouble you're facing right now."

"You?"

Li Chen, barely holding back his fury, gave a cold snort:

"Master Zhou, the Li family's household affairs don't need you meddling in them, do they? Besides, you couldn't resolve them either."

If the man weren't a rare healing-type ability user, just for that opening greeting alone, Li Chen would have slapped him flying out the door.

Li Changfeng beside him, however, narrowed his eyes and said, "You're a man of the Tianming Sect?"

"Worthy of the Family Head—sharp instincts."

Master Zhou grinned, dropping all pretense; his once-gentle aura turned chaotic and bloodthirsty:

"Let me reintroduce myself. I am Tianhong, the Sect Master of the Tianming Sect's Great Xia Branch—of course, this is not my true body."

"The Tianming Sect?!"

Li Chen's pupils contracted, and with his explosive temper he was about to strike on the spot, but Li Changfeng held him back.

"Hao'er was led astray by you, wasn't he? And made into some kind of Holy Son." Li Changfeng stared at him.

"Correct. With his talent, becoming our Sect's Holy Son was more than enough!"

Master Zhou's expression turned fervent, then immediately blazed with fury: "But I never expected that monster Xu Jingming to strike and kill him!"

If Xu Jingming hadn't released the video, he truly wouldn't have known Li Hao was already dead.

"Just as I thought."

When he saw the news, Li Changfeng had already had his suspicions—after all, back then Master Zhou was the one closest to Li Hao.

"But what do you mean by helping us resolve our troubles?" Li Changfeng looked at Master Zhou.

"Simple. All these troubles were caused by him! Get rid of him, won't that do it?"

Master Zhou pointed at Xu Jingming on the holographic projection, his voice chilling.

Li Changfeng raised an eyebrow, looking at Master Zhou with disdain: "Given Xu Jingming's current strength, does your Tianming Sect have the ability to take him out?"

Having cut down two mid ninth-ranks in a row—though he hated to admit it—Xu Jingming was indeed formidable.

"Of course."

Master Zhou was very confident. "Rest assured, when the Tianming Sect makes a move, there will be no mistakes."

"Is that so?"

Li Changfeng did not dwell on this question, cutting straight to the core:

"You claim to solve our troubles, but Xu Jingming was also your thorn in the side—why approach us specifically?"

"Of course, we want to cooperate with you! Killing Xu Jingming is our sincerity!"

Master Zhou spread his arms, his expression turning feverish once more: "Blessed by Heaven's Mandate, the Heavenly God endures! Only with your joining can the Tianming Sect grow even stronger!"

"Join you?"

Li Chen snorted from beside him, "You're nothing but rats in the sewers—why should we join?"

"Precisely because of this!"

Master Zhou waved his hand, and a clot of crimson blood surged forth!

Splash—!!

As the blood appeared, the temperature of the entire room skyrocketed, instantly reaching tens of thousands of degrees!!

"What is this...?!"

Li Changfeng and Li Chen stared at the blood with shock and uncertainty.

They had seen beast blood capable of raising environmental temperatures before.

But never had any risen tens of thousands of degrees in an instant!

More crucially, they could faintly sense from this blood an aura stronger than that of the most powerful beings!

"This is the Holy Lord's blood."

Master Zhou smiled. "The Tianming Sect is now rats in the sewers—but what of after the Holy Lord descends? Then, the Tianming Sect shall rule the human world!"

Li Chen and Li Changfeng, one at the Mid-9th Rank, the other at the Peak-9th Rank, had naturally accessed many secret records.

They knew the Holy Lord Master Zhou spoke of was the Molten Colossus that had destroyed the First and Second Civilizations.

"The Molten Colossus's descent is still at least two hundred years away—why are you trying to recruit us now? Isn't that too early?"

Li Changfeng snorted.

"Two hundred years? You're too naive."

Master Zhou offered a mysterious smile: "I don't expect you to join us now—but... wait. You'll change your minds soon..."

With that, his entire body melted into a pool of foul-smelling blood and vanished.

"Feng'er, according to him, is the Molten Colossus going to descend earlier than planned?" Li Chen's expression was Solemn.

"It seems so."

Li Changfeng gave a slight nod, his eyes gleaming:

"But we can't rule out he's bluffing us. Let's wait and see—for now, he's promised to kill Xu Jingming, so we're not losing anything."

The Molten Colossus!

A being more terrifying than any beast!

A sword of Damocles hanging over every adept aware of the apocalypse threat.

According to prior estimates, this sword was not meant to fall for another two hundred years.

If Master Zhou spoke true, they might well need to reconsider their escape routes.

After all, they had labored to reach this point—not to throw their lives away against a foe they knew they could never defeat...