Chapter 41

Hugao, after hearing the endless roar, finally saw himself faint again, feeling his soul dazed. Slowly, he returned to his sea of consciousness. This time, he was surprised to see two figures overlapping in his sea of consciousness, and in the next moment, he completely lost consciousness.

Just as Hugao fainted, the entire Ningcheng fell into chaos.

Under the leadership of the Great Elder Qingzhi, the Liqing branch of the Hu family went to the ancestral hall to argue with the Dark Knights of the High Priest. Words failed to reconcile the two sides, and they eventually came to blows. The battle spread to the entire council of elders, and even the High Priest, who was in seclusion, was alarmed and came out to carry out a bloody suppression. The entire Liqing branch was thus completely annihilated.

The other branches of the Hu family all participated in the suppression. The battle lasted the entire night. Other families in Ningcheng, apart from sending a large number of scouts to gather intelligence, did not directly send their main forces to participate in this internal strife.

When the last flames finally died out, the ancestral hall of the Hu family was almost turned into ruins. The heads of the four major families finally saw the true strength of the Hu family, which had dominated Ningcheng for a thousand years. The sheer number of hidden Burst Essence Realm experts could easily crush any one of their families.

For over a hundred years, the battles among the five major families seemed like a cruel joke on this night, leaving many people speechless. Even many long-term adventurers and troops in Ningcheng left quietly after this night.

However, the Hu family, which had revealed its full strength, was truly left in a state of great damage! Except for the elite forces stationed in the Qingyuan mine, almost all the remaining experts were injured. The powerful strength displayed by the Liqing branch in the dire situation was unbelievable even to the Zebai branch, which had always been eyeing them. The worst was the three heads of the lower branches, Chiluo, Jiyoucheng, and Luo Han, who all fell in the final battle against Qingzhi.

From then on, the upper-level combat strength of the Hu family left in Ningcheng was reduced to only the High Priest, the Punishment Elder, the Internal Affairs Elder, the Transmission Elder, and the acting Second Elder of the Zebai branch and the Ninth Elder of the Liqing branch.

Among them, the Ninth Elder, Hu Yuanjin, was the most tragic. On one side was the entire family's interests, and on the other side was the Liqing branch that had given birth to him. Both sides were his own people, leaving him no choice but to stay in the council hall, feeling deeply saddened.

Thus, the series of events triggered by the assassination of the Fifth Elder finally came to an end, becoming a topic of conversation for countless martial artists in Ningcheng.

It was only two days later that Hugao personally heard Hu Feng recount this tragic event.

Hu Feng's words were filled with grief and anger. Since Bai Xiao's comeback, the entire Hu family seemed to be under a curse, gradually falling into the abyss of destruction. He let out a long howl to the sky, asking if heaven truly intended to destroy the Hu family.

Hugao fell into silence. When he was in his soul state, he had heard the determination in Qingzhi's words. However, an important detail he could not ignore was that he had once said to trust the family, while the Shadow had said they would surely meet smoothly!

These words all had deep meanings. Although Hugao did not yet understand the secrets hidden within, he knew that there must be someone in Ningcheng who could unravel his confusion.

After leaving Hugao a copy of the "Shadow Condensation Technique," Hu Feng left again. Due to the destruction of the ancestral hall, the remaining elders all moved into the main residence, making it more convenient for Hugao to seek guidance from the Transmission Elder in the future.

As soon as Hu Feng left, Hu Yinxue came in.

Hugao had a few questions about this shadow guard who was always by his side. Last night, when he was dining at the First-Class Building and was taken away by the fat boss, where was this woman? According to Jile, that was exactly the time when the Fifth Elder was assassinated. As a member of the Dark Knights, did she also have some hidden secrets?

"Today, I went to the family alchemist and gave him the black leaf grass to help refine the Green Body Pill. He has some other pills to refine today, so he will probably have time to refine it for you tomorrow."

"Tomorrow is fine, I'm not in a hurry."

"The battle at the Qingyuan mine is getting more intense, and the demand for pills is quite high. So the family alchemist cannot afford to relax for a moment and is constantly refining pills. The Liqing rebellion has only made things worse."

Hugao felt that Hu Yinxue's behavior today was a bit like that of a woman who had lost her zest for life, narrating everything as if she were reciting a sutra, even speaking about the unbelievable rebellion in a very light manner, which was very unusual.

"Qingyuan mine?" Hugao's brows furrowed slightly. This was a name he had heard countless times. What kind of battle was taking place at this place that was so important to the Hu family?

"Forget it, it's meaningless to tell you these things. You haven't been to the War Academy for a few days. You should focus on improving your cultivation and raising your realm."

Hu Yinxue seemed very tired. After saying this, she silently turned and left.

Hugao watched Hu Yinxue's back, feeling for the first time that although the Hu family only saw him as a tool to be used, everyone here was genuine and sincere, with no pretense. He, on the other hand, seemed to be a burden.

Hugao, feeling annoyed, summoned Xiaowu to chat and vent his frustration. However, after a few days, this guy was unusually quiet for a long time.

"Xiaowu, what's wrong? Why couldn't I communicate with you when I was at the Yuming Elder's place?"

"Master, I don't know either. At that time, I felt like my soul was hit, and I was completely numb." Xiaowu looked aggrieved. Always proud of himself, he had truly suffered a blow this time, being ambushed on his own turf, which left him somewhat depressed.

Hugao patted Xiaowu's head, seeing his depressed expression, and did not press further. The soul that spoke for him at that time must have been incredibly powerful, and with Xiaowu's current strength, he could not resist it. "Unfortunately, the mid-stage first-rank beasts in the outskirts of Tushan have been almost completely killed, and the late-stage beasts take too long to kill. We can't use this method for cultivation for now."

Hearing this, Xiaowu suddenly became excited and shouted, "Boss, I still have dozens of beast cores from the last time I absorbed them, which should help you break through again."

"So many?" Hugao was taken aback. If not for Xiaowu's reminder, he would have almost forgotten about this.

Xiaowu suddenly vomited out a large number of mid-stage beast cores, "Wow, boss, I'm awesome, right?"

Hugao's lips twitched, looking at these "vomit," his stomach churned. "Xiaowu, this is how you store beast cores?"

Xiaowu didn't understand why Hugao was angry, blinking his eyes, "Master, I store the beast cores in my stomach..."

Hugao raised his hand, then gritted his teeth, resisting the urge to slap Xiaowu away.

"Boss, why aren't you cultivating?" Xiaowu, seeing his master's expression, quickly changed the subject.

"I was just injured, though it's not serious, it's not suitable to break through immediately. I'll wait until my injuries are fully recovered tomorrow to break through."

Although his injuries were already about 80% healed, if he cultivated now, the surging yuan force in his body would likely worsen his injuries, which could have negative long-term effects.

"Wow, so when do you plan to break through?" Xiaowu finally understood that Hugao was injured. Human bodies were not as resilient as divine beasts, and such injuries could be ignored.

"After the Green Body Pill is refined tomorrow, I'll break through to the Seventh Stage of the Shadow Condensation Realm in one go." Hugao had already made up his mind.

That night, Hugao did not cultivate but continued to deduce the Yuan Techniques in his mind.

He found that he was now more proficient in deducing the Yuan Techniques and could immediately apply what he learned. A Yuan Technique move that was previously full of flaws instantly became flawless in his mind.

The next day, Hugao went to the ordinary hall of the War Academy.

As soon as he arrived, he noticed that many of his fellow students were looking at him with strange expressions. He ignored them, knowing that the dramatic changes in the Hu family in Ningcheng would naturally increase his attention.

However, just as Hugao turned to go to the hall for class, a group of people walked towards him. The leader was a young man about his age, but his aura was strong and solid, not inferior to Wu Yun. In his hand, he held a long sword that did not seem to be an ordinary weapon.

In this world, treasures were divided into three ranks: Heaven, Earth, and Human, each with four sub-ranks: Inferior, Middle, Superior, and Supreme. However, at the Shadow Condensation Realm, martial artists were in the process of refining their bodies, and even if they used weapons, they would use ordinary iron weapons, not treasures, to avoid becoming dependent on weapons. It was unexpected that this young man carried a treasure.

Around them, many people had gathered to watch, looking at Hugao with a hint of pity.

"Guo Desheng, what do you want? Are you looking for trouble with Hugao? I advise you to stay away from him, or you'll bring trouble upon yourself."

Jile, who looked like a ruffian, also came. He walked a few steps to Hugao's side and coldly stared at the young man, saying, "Don't think you're great just because your big brother backs you up. You're nothing in front of us."

"Jile, get lost. Do you think I'm afraid to fight you? Hmph, you're here causing trouble at the War Academy instead of mourning your father. What a disloyal and unfilial scoundrel!"

"You..."

Jile was about to shout back but was stopped by Hugao. Hugao did not want Jile to get into trouble because of him, as it would create a debt of gratitude. At least the current small trouble did not require Jile's intervention. He then said to Guo Desheng, "I don't care about your identity. Just say what you want to say, so we don't waste each other's time."