"Ningning can only hear Daddy's voice, but I can't see what Daddy looks like!"
"Mom... am I dreaming? I, I... I want so badly to see Daddy, I want to see what Daddy looks like!"
"Even just for a second..."
As she spoke, little Ningning's eyes began to stream with tears.
Nearby, Hua Yuntian clenched his fists so tightly that the veins on his forehead bulged from anger!
Even as the Valley Master of the Medicine God Valley and a revered Sage of Medicine... having witnessed countless scenes of life and death, hearing little Ningning's words still brought tears to his eyes.
*Those animals of the Gu Family, my Master will surely grind their bones to dust and scatter their ashes!* Hua Yuntian gritted his teeth, thinking furiously.
"Ningning, don't cry. You—"
Xia Qingyue hesitated. She wanted nothing more than to say, *'You will definitely see Daddy!'* But would Ye Chen even come back?
That was the Jinling Gu Family and the Lin Family they were talking about!
The two top-tier families of Jinling City, immensely powerful and connected to both the underworld and the upper echelons.
How could Ye Chen possibly hope to fight the Gu and Lin families on his own?
In Xia Qingyue's heart, Ye Chen was facing a nine-out-of-ten chance of death this time—no, it was ten out of ten, with no hope of survival at all!
"Mom, why aren't you saying anything... Am I dreaming?"
"Does Ningning not have a daddy at all?"
"Sob, sob, sob!"
By the end, little Ningning was sobbing uncontrollably.
Looking at her daughter's aggrieved and helpless expression, those bright, watery eyes filled entirely with disappointment and despair.
Instantly, Xia Qingyue's heart clenched. She pulled her daughter into a tight embrace, repeating over and over again, "Ningning, don't cry. You have a daddy, you have a daddy... Your daddy's name is Ye Chen, and he's busy fighting the bad guys right now."
After a long while, little Ningning finally stopped crying and asked between sniffles, "Then, when is Daddy coming back?"
"Daddy will be back very soon, so Ningning, don't cry!"
Xia Qingyue gently stroked little Ningning's face, saying each word with deliberate care, "Mom can promise you that Daddy—he will definitely come back!"
"Really?" little Ningning asked through her tears.
"Really... absolutely!" Xia Qingyue answered, her heart trembling with uncertainty.
Nearby, Hua Yuntian couldn't help but chime in, "Mistress, little Junior Sister, you can rest easy. Teacher will definitely return safely."
Xia Qingyue looked at Hua Yuntian, recalled the situation back then, and said in despair, "I know you people are very powerful, but there are only a few dozen of you. You're no match for the Gu and Lin families!"
Hua Yuntian wanted to explain, but suddenly remembering the sect rules, he had to shut his mouth.
On the very first day of apprenticeship, Ye Chen had instructed every single disciple never to reveal his name to outsiders.
Even the Grand Marshal of the Great Xia Country's War Department respectfully addressed Ye Chen as "that person in Kunlun..."!
Therefore, without Ye Chen's permission, Hua Yuntian dared not reveal anything about the peak of Mount Kunlun. Even if the woman before him was his teacher's beloved wife.
"Mistress, you just need to believe that Teacher will come back. That is enough!" In the end, Hua Yuntian could only say this.
But to Xia Qingyue's ears, those words sounded entirely lacking in conviction. Because Hua Yuntian couldn't give any concrete reason, merely telling her to believe that Ye Chen would return safely... It sounded like sheer fantasy.
Rumble!
At that very moment, in the sky outside the hotel, countless fighter jets tore through the clouds, surging toward the same destination!
Below, countless tanks, armored vehicles, and fully armed soldiers marched forward in unison, creating a heaven-shaking momentum!
"This is already the third wave of troops. I wonder what kind of earth-shattering event has happened in Jinling City...?" Xia Qingyue muttered to herself.
Suddenly, she thought of what Hua Yuntian had just said... Though she felt it was impossible, she couldn't help asking, "Are these people showing up because of Ye Chen...?"
Hua Yuntian glanced outside and hesitated. "This... doesn't seem like it!"
"Not them?"
Xia Qingyue smiled bitterly. As expected, she was just overthinking things!
This batch of troops was indeed not Ye Chen's disciples.
They were sent by the Great Xia Country's War Department to support Ye Chen, led by General Lei Chong of the Northern Territory!
Though Lei Chong was not a God of War, this time he brought the Old Marshal's military tally!
With the support of the War Department, no one in the entire Jinling City would dare to make an enemy of Ye Chen anymore!
***
Meanwhile, outside the mountainside villa, Ye Chen was staring coldly at Gu Tianhao and Lin Yuanhong.
Gu Tianhao and Lin Yuanhong's legs had already turned to jelly. These usual high-and-mighty figures were now shaking as violently as plucked pipa strings!
Looking at the army covering the mountains and plains, and the dense, orderly sea of people waiting for orders, the two of them were already frightened as pale as paper!
They couldn't even speak properly, gazing at Ye Chen in absolute terror as they stammered, "You... who, who, who on earth are you?"
"Who on earth am I?"
Ye Chen calmly repeated the question... By the time he read it a second time, his eyes were full of murderous intent!
"Who am I?!"
"I am Xia Qingyue's husband, and Ye Yuning's biological father!"
"How audacious of the Gu and Lin families to drain blood and carve out the heart of my daughter!"
"Not to mention... humiliating my wife?!"
With every word Ye Chen spoke, another layer of despair sank into the hearts of Gu Tianhao and Lin Yuanhong!
With such a deep blood feud, today's events could only be resolved with blood and lives...
Gu Nanfei, who was hanging upside down, felt utterly despairing in his heart as well. No matter how powerful his Gu Family was, they had no ability to fight hundreds of thousands of heavily armed soldiers!
Gu Nanfei's face grew paler and paler—half from his severe injuries and excessive blood loss, and half from sheer terror!
"Dad, save me! Find a way to save me! I, I don't want to die, I don't want to die!" Gu Nanfei screamed in despair.
Yet how could Gu Tianhao dare to answer?!
Not only was Gu Tianhao scared out of his wits, but even Lin Yuanhong had fallen into despair. Never had they imagined that Xia Qingyue's backer would be so terrifyingly powerful!
Yet things had reached this point, and Gu Tianhao couldn't bear to watch his son get killed like this.
After all, Gu Nanfei was his only son!
Gu Tianhao was getting old, and his grandson Gu Tian'er was already dead. If Gu Nanfei were killed too... wouldn't his Gu Family line be cut off entirely?!
At this thought, Gu Tianhao dropped straight to his knees with a thud. He was terrified—truly terrified—and no longer dared to gamble!
No matter how powerful the Gu Family was, they couldn't summon hundreds of thousands of heavily armed soldiers, could they?
Besides, the fighter jets in the sky, and the armored cars and tanks behind them, could blast him into ashes in a matter of seconds!
Gu Tianhao began kowtowing frantically, pleading in utter despair, "We, we truly didn't know you were Ms. Xia's husband, nor did we know that little girl was your daughter! Otherwise, even if you gave me a hundred guts, I wouldn't dare touch your wife and daughter!"
"Please give us a chance. Whatever amount of money you want... I, I'll give half of the Gu Family's assets to you, okay?!"
"No, not half—all of it! All my assets!"
"As long as you spare our father and son, I can hand over all the Gu Family's foundation and property on a silver platter!"
At this moment, facing hundreds of thousands of dark gun barrels, along with fighter jets, tanks, and artillery... Gu Tianhao was completely broken. He only wanted to use the Gu Family's entire empire to buy the lives of himself and Gu Nanfei.
"Money?"
Before Ye Chen could speak, Ma Huayun, the chairman of the Tengli Group, burst into laughter. "Heh, with just that pitiful wealth of your Gu Family, you dare attempt to bribe my Teacher?!"
"You... it's you... Pre-President Ma!"
Gu Tianhao looked up and saw the face he knew better than anyone.
This Ma Huayun was the richest man in the Great Xia Country, having topped the Forbes rich list for several consecutive years and repeatedly ranked as the richest man in the world!
Eight or nine out of ten young people in Great Xia called him Daddy Ma!
That showed just how seductive his wealth was.
The moment he saw that face, Gu Tianhao fell into total despair. The Gu Family was wealthy indeed, but compared to Ma Huayun, their wealth was merely a drop in the ocean!
And Ma Huayun actually called this young man his Teacher?!
Good heavens, just what kind of background did this young man have?!
Not only Gu Tianhao, but even Lin Yuanhong was frightened out of his wits. Neither of them had paid attention to Ma Huayun earlier, but seeing him step forward now, they couldn't help but inspect Ye Chen's other disciples.
It was fine not looking, but upon closer inspection, Gu Tianhao and Lin Yuanhong nearly scared their souls right out of their bodies.
Though they didn't recognize the God of War from the Yama Hall, nor the Medicine King and Poison King from the Medicine God Valley...
A good portion of the other disciples standing behind Ye Chen had appeared on international media channels!
Several of their disciples were names everyone knew by heart!
*This... isn't this the financial tycoon of a certain country? He's even been on the cover of international news. Why is he here too?!*
"And this person... isn't this the man known as Great Xia Country's number one bodyguard? He was once ordered to protect countless visiting presidents, heads of state, and more!"
"And the founder of the Microsoft system! His net worth is beyond calculation, and he has also topped the Forbes rich list. His wealth was already comparable to a nation's more than a decade ago!"
"And this one—the golden-tongued lawyer of Great Xia, known as the King of Litigators who has never lost a single lawsuit!!!"
"And... and this one, the renowned Grandmaster of Great Xia, who once founded a sect and has disciples numbering in the legions... Whether domestic or foreign, his disciples are terrifyingly numerous!"
Seeing these familiar faces, Gu Tianhao and Lin Yuanhong were frightened out of their wits. They felt like dying right then and there!
What on earth was going on here?!
Wasn't it just digging out the heart of a little girl?!
How did the other side summon such an earth-shattering lineup over this?!
Gu Tianhao was completely hopeless; he didn't even have the heart to kneel and beg anymore!
He could only kneel before Ye Chen, kowtowing ceaselessly, hoping to buy even the slimmest chance of survival...
"Knowing regret now is far too late."
Ye Chen stared down at Gu Tianhao and said coldly, "Your son and grandson's lives are lives, but my daughter's life is worthless?!"
"They're lives, they're all lives! It was my heartlessness, my cruelty. Please spare us this once." Gu Tianhao kept kowtowing, his pleas for mercy continuous.
"Ha!"
Ye Chen let out a cold laugh, his smile carrying a chill straight from hell. "Sparing you is fine. Go and cut Gu Nanfei's heart out with your own hands, and I'll spare the Gu Family once!"
"I..."
Instantly, the expression on Gu Tianhao's face froze.
After a few seconds of silence, a vicious glint suddenly flashed across his eyes. He gritted his teeth and said, "Fine, I—I'll kill him! Give me... give me a knife!"
Clang!
The moment Gu Tianhao finished speaking, Nie Wuji tossed a dagger over.
*Fine, I'll kill him, I'll kill him, I'll kill him!*
With bloodshot eyes, Gu Tianhao seemed to have made up his mind as he walked step by step toward Gu Nanfei.
"No, no, Dad, don't kill me... Save me, save me! I don't want to die, I don't want to die!"
Gu Nanfei panicked, struggling frantically, but he was hanging in mid-air, and no amount of struggling was of any use.
Meanwhile, Gu Tianhao looked like a demon possessed, taking step after step closer to Gu Nanfei.
"Don't kill me, Dad, I don't want to die..."
Gu Nanfei continued to wail in absolute terror, yet the expression on Gu Tianhao's face grew increasingly sinister!
***
The moment he was about three meters away from Gu Nanfei, he suddenly raised the dagger in his hand and said through gritted teeth, "When you reach hell, don't blame me!"
With those words, Gu Tianhao's body suddenly lunged forward, charging straight at Ye Chen.
And the sharp tip of the dagger was aimed squarely at Ye Chen's heart.
"Courting death!"
Before Gu Tianhao could rush over, Nie Wuji flashed forward and grabbed Gu Tianhao by the neck in a single motion.
"Ugh... cough, cough! Sa—save me!"
Nie Wuji's grip was immensely strong, instantly cutting off Gu Tianhao's air. He coughed and gasped desperately, his aged face turning the color of pork liver in less than half a minute.
"Heh."
Ye Chen let out another cold laugh. The moment Gu Tianhao asked for a knife, he had anticipated this exact trick.
He walked forward slowly, picked up the dagger from the ground, and right in front of Gu Tianhao, he ruthlessly carved the blade into Gu Nanfei's heart!
"Ah!!!"
With a miserable scream and a gush of blood, Gu Nanfei died instantly.
"You, you... bastard, you dare kill my son! Even if I go to hell, as a ghost... as a ghost I won't let you go."
Watching his only son die a miserable death, Gu Tianhao collapsed completely!
Ye Chen gave Gu Tianhao a cold glance and issued an order: "Since you want to be a ghost, I'll grant your wish."
Hearing this, Nie Wuji applied a slight force to his right hand and twisted!
*Crack!* Gu Tianhao's neck was snapped instantly by Nie Wuji.
His body went limp and crumpled to the ground—dying without even a chance to scream!
Watching Gu Tianhao's body fall, the servants and retainers of the Gu Family were terrified out of their wits, kneeling on the ground without daring to utter a single half-word. They didn't even dare to breathe too loudly!
"Now, it's your turn."
Ignoring the lackeys of the Gu Family entirely, Ye Chen turned his gaze to Lin Yuanhong, asking with a voice as cold as a netherworld Asura, "I heard your daughter, Lin Wanwan, is Gu Nanfei's wife!"
"Was... the idea to dig out my daughter's heart hers?"
"No, no, no!"
Lin Yuanhong kowtowed frantically, shouting as he bowed, "Those were dirty ideas hatched by those animals in the Gu Family! My daughter isn't that cold-blooded... You know yourself that when that beast Gu Nanfei harmed your daughter, my Wanwan wasn't even at the Gu Family!"
"Our Lin Family entirely disagreed with such a beastly act of heart-harvesting! That's why Gu Nanfei took advantage of the opportunity when my daughter was visiting her maternal home to harm your daughter..."
Lin Yuanhong hurriedly tried to distance the Lin Family from the crime, kowtowing non-stop. "Every word I say is the absolute truth. I beg you... I beg you to show mercy, our Lin Family is truly innocent!"
"Is that so?"
Ye Chen sneered softly and clapped his hands.
Immediately, a heavily made-up woman was dragged over by two men in black.
These two men in black were experts from the God of Killing Hall. While rushing over to rendezvous with Nie Wuji, they had received a secret mission—to kidnap Lin Wanwan, the young lady of the Lin Family!
At this moment, Lin Wanwan bore no physical injuries on her surface.
However, she was trembling uncontrollably... Because half an hour earlier, a top-tier hypnotist had forced Lin Wanwan to spill every single detail.
The conspiracy to persecute little Ningning and swap her heart was, in truth, jointly plotted by Lin Wanwan and Gu Nanfei!
Unaware of this, Lin Yuanhong stiffened upon seeing Lin Wanwan appear and hurriedly shouted out a warning, "The heart-harvesting had nothing to do with my daughter! It was all—all the Gu Family's idea!"
"Dad... I, I've already confessed!" Lin Wanwan said weakly.
"What?"
Hearing this, Lin Yuanhong's face instantly turned as pale as paper. He had already witnessed the fate of Gu Tianhao and his son.
For Lin Wanwan to choose to confess at a time like this—wasn't that driving the Lin Family onto a path of no return?!
Just as Lin Yuanhong was panicked and at a complete loss for what to do, a Dragon Cavalry soldier in camouflage uniform ran up to Chen Junlin with neat, crisp footsteps.
"General Chen, people from the Jinling Military Department, the War Department, and the Police Station have arrived! And they've all brought large numbers of subordinates."
"Oh?"
Chen Junlin's gaze darkened. Were these fellows from Jinling trying to make trouble?
However, as a Five-Star God of War of the Great Xia Country, Chen Junlin had no fear of troublemakers. He let out a cold snort, "My Teacher is handling matters and does not wish to be disturbed. Block them outside!"
"Yes!"
Receiving the order, the Dragon Cavalry soldier executed a standard military salute to Chen Junlin, then turned sharply to carry out the command.
Upon hearing this news, Lin Yuanhong was overjoyed. "Hahaha! Do you know? General Zhang of the Jinling Military Department is my brother-in-law... and I have connections in the War Department too! Furthermore, the Chief Inspector of the Police Station is my sworn brother!"
At this point, a swaggering arrogance had crept onto Lin Yuanhong's face.
"I don't care how awesome you think you are! Chairman of the Tengli Group? Founder of Microsoft? Golden-tongued lawyer!"
"In Jinling, you are nothing! I am not like Gu Tianhao. If you dare touch me, I guarantee you won't walk out of Jinling alive!"
Lin Yuanhong declared with utter arrogance.
"Is that so?"
Before Ye Chen could speak, another extremely authoritative voice rang out.
Following the sound, the crowd watched as a burly middle-aged man in military uniform, bearing three stars on his shoulders, walked step by step up to Ye Chen.
He saluted and said, "Hello, Mr. Ye. I am General Lei Chong of the Northern Territory. My coming to Jinling this time is by order of the Old Marshal of the Yandu War Department, to assist you in your operation!"
The Yandu War Department? The Old Marshal?
Hearing those seven words, Lin Yuanhong's mind went "boom"—blanking out completely!
Yandu...
That was the capital of the Great Xia Country!!
An order issued by the Yandu War Department was a military command of the highest order, which every official in Jinling had to obey!
"This... how is this possible?!"
With a face drained of all color, Lin Yuanhong hadn't even had time to process his disbelief when he saw the high-ranking generals of the Jinling Military Department, War Department, and Police Station already kneeling before Ye Chen!
They had followed Lei Chong inside.
At that moment, Lei Chong was already handing the Old Marshal's secret military directive to Chen Junlin with both hands.