Chapter 52

Li Wenhai's face turned ashen, and he flew into a rage: "Tang Mingjing, your Tang family has gone too far!!"

"Tang Wenhai, don't get so worked up. This child has indeed gone too far. I'll deal with him right away!!" Tang Mingjing also felt that Tang Yan had gone too far and quickly signaled the guards behind him to drag Tang Yan out.

Li Wenhai glared fiercely at the second floor, his fists clenching and unclenching. If Tang Yan dared to come out, he would dare to cripple him!!

Tang Mingjing gave an awkward smile: "Brother Wenhai, the incident has already happened. We need to find a way to resolve it. Involving adults in children's matters is not quite right. How about... I come to your place to apologize another day?"

"Today!! I need an explanation today!!"

At this moment, a female servant rushed in from the back courtyard and whispered something to Aunt Mei. Aunt Mei's face immediately turned very grim.

"What's wrong?" Li Wenhai asked sternly.

Aunt Mei looked at Tang Mingjing, then at Li Wenhai, appearing somewhat hesitant.

"Speak!!"

"The eldest son has four broken ribs, severe damage to his legs, and serious internal injuries. He will likely be bedridden for several months. The second son... the second son... that part... is gone..."

"Gone? What's gone? Which part?"

"That part... it's... burned... gone..."

Sigh!! The room was suddenly filled with gasps. Burned? Gone? Castrated!! What a ruthless move by Tang Yan!!

Tang Mingjing finally realized the severity of the situation and hurriedly stepped in front of Li Wenhai: "Brother Wenhai, I will definitely give you a satisfactory answer! Trust me!!"

The Tang family guards wasted no time, bursting through the wooden door of the Drunken Residence, lifting the wobbly bed, breaking through the window, and rushing down from the second floor, sprinting towards the Tang residence.

Not long after, a terrifying spiritual energy fluctuation erupted from the back of the Drunken Residence, accompanied by a hysterical roar: "Tang Mingjing, I will never forgive you!!"

...

"Rebellion!! Rebellion!! Do you want to kill me? Ah!!"

"You could have just beaten him, why did you castrate him? Aren't you just provoking the Li family?"

"Li Shouze is now the Li family's treasure!!"

"You're so relaxed, torturing someone and then playing with their women upstairs!!"

"You really make me proud, Tang Mingjing!! The Tang family is now famous in the Northern Wasteland, famous to the point of being notorious!"

"Thanks to you, my second son!!"

"I told you to be low-key, be low-key!! Is this your idea of being low-key? You're too low-key!!"

The next morning, in the inner courtyard study of the Tang residence, Tang Mingjing was fuming, pointing at Tang Yan and angrily scolding him. The entire Giant Elephant City was in an uproar, and the news of Second Young Master Tang Yan's heroic deeds last night had spread throughout the city. People were amazed by Tang Yan's displayed strength, but they talked most about his calm and relaxed demeanor after the torture.

The Li family, as the backers of the Drunken Residence, considered Xue Rou and Huo Wu, the two top courtesans, to be half-lovers of the Li family's young masters. Tang Yan first crippled Li Shouze, then tortured Li Shoujian, and then... while they were being treated downstairs, Tang Yan was playing with their lovers upstairs, slapping the Li family's face with a series of resounding slaps.

Li Wenhai had a direct confrontation with Tang Mingjing last night, and their guards fought all night, causing heavy casualties. The bloodbath at the Drunken Residence almost turned into a bloodbath in Giant Elephant City. If it weren't for the Yang family's timely intervention and the involvement of the Giant Elephant Academy, the Li family might have declared war on the Tang family.

Last night, Tang Yan became an overnight sensation, his fame spreading throughout the streets and alleys of Giant Elephant City, something even the former Second Young Master had never achieved.

Tang Yan smiled sheepishly: "Giant Elephant City was too peaceful. I just wanted to give them some entertainment."

"You!! You're still smiling? You still have the nerve to smile?"

"Father, don't worry. I know my limits. I only crippled Li Shouze and didn't do much to Li Shoujian. If I hadn't stopped, Giant Elephant City would be even more chaotic now."

"You still have a reason? If you dared to cripple them all, I would cripple you too!!"

Tang Yan scratched his head awkwardly: "I know I was wrong. Next time, I'll be more discreet and won't cause a stir."

"Next time? Rebellion!! I can't control you anymore!!" Tang Mingjing trembled with anger, rummaging through the room and pulling out an iron whip covered in iron thorns.

"Calm down!! Calm down!! Father, please calm down!!" Tang Yan stood up quickly, waving his hands in assurance: "I know I was wrong, really wrong. I'll go to the confinement room and won't come out without your permission!! Also, I promise to be well-behaved from today on and won't cause you any more trouble, I promise!!"

Tang Mingjing's raised iron whip paused in mid-air, glaring angrily at Tang Yan but ultimately not striking him.

"I'll go to the confinement room." Tang Yan pointed to the door, then to himself, and rushed out.

Tang Mingjing let out a heavy sigh, sitting down on the rattan chair, both laughing and shaking his head. This guy was indeed a troublemaker. Now he even missed the old days, when Tang Yan was just a bit of a troublemaker, causing only minor incidents. Now, he had directly clashed with the Li family!!

How could he clean up this mess?

...

"Master, the investigation of last night's incident is complete. It was the second young master who provoked and attacked first, defeating the two Li family brothers in a direct confrontation." In the martial hall of the Tang residence, the steward Aide respectfully reported to Tang Qian, who was practicing sword techniques.

Tang Qian slowly stopped and said calmly: "He practiced the Blazing Flame Technique? How many levels?"

"It wasn't the Blazing Flame Technique. It's said to be a martial technique that emits a golden light. Li Shoujian mainly suffered in this aspect. Also, the spiritual energy emitted by the second young master during the attack was green flames."

"Continue."

"The second young master's victory had another key factor—his fighting style was very peculiar. Most of the time, he didn't use martial techniques, just a chaotic and messy fight, sticking close to Li Shoujian and not giving him a chance to use his techniques. According to those present, he fought like a wild beast."

Tang Qian fell silent for a moment, his face expressionless: "Li Shoujian is a third-rank martial spirit. Even I would find it difficult to subdue him. For Tang Yan to easily cripple him, no matter how much luck was involved, it shows that he..."

Aide whispered: "The second young master is a threat! I heard from the inner courtyard guards that... after the second young master met the old master yesterday, he went to the treasure vault, personally escorted by Tang Jun!"

"Which floor?" Tang Qian's face changed slightly.

"I don't know."

Tang Qian fell silent for a moment and said: "Where is he now?"

"He is under house arrest by the family head. Master, should we... do something about his food?"

"No need, just keep a close watch."

"Master, rest assured, I will keep a close eye on him!!"

...

In the inner courtyard confinement room, Tang Yan took out three martial techniques—Shadow Wing Spread, Magma Technique, and Fierce Blast Technique. These three martial techniques were considered the pinnacle of the spirit-level category, on par with the Blazing Flame Technique, the Tang family's signature martial arts. It was said that the four martial techniques could unleash a combined attack, with power not inferior to earth-level martial techniques, which was the foundation of the Tang family's presence in the Northern Wasteland.

Tang Yan didn't need any rare materials; spirit source liquid was the most suitable supplement at this stage. Three spirit source liquids were placed in front of him, and three red, crystalline wooden plaques floated in front of him.

Tang Yan had two important tasks during this seclusion: to comprehend the three major martial techniques and master at least one of them, and to try to communicate with the ghostly green fire, exploring the mysteries of the various martial techniques to better unleash the essence of the ghostly green fire.

At the very least, he needed to control the power of the green fire so that each punch wouldn't feel like he was trying to smelt someone.

Shadow Wing Spread: By channeling spiritual energy to ignite flames, forming the shape of an eagle and releasing it in an instant, it generates a powerful impact. Its advantage lies in its rapid and fierce attack. When fully mastered, it can transform into fiery wings, enhancing speed and agility.

Magma Technique: By channeling spiritual energy to communicate with underground magma, drawing it out and transforming it into a weapon, it can also create a spiritual energy shockwave, melting underground rocks and turning them into magma for attacks.

Fierce Blast Technique: By compressing spiritual energy and flames, forming a pure fireball, and controlling it to rotate around the body, it can be used for surprise attacks during battles. The more concentrated the spiritual energy, the more terrifying the explosive power. When fully mastered, it can even form a rain of fireballs, creating a devastating explosion, making it a powerful weapon on the battlefield.

Tang Yan perceived the three major martial techniques and ultimately chose to comprehend the Fierce Blast Technique. The Shadow Wing Spread and Magma Technique required too much spiritual energy, and with his second-rank martial spirit strength, he might be drained after just one use. In comparison, the Fierce Blast Technique was more suitable.

Days passed, and under the Yang family's strong protection, the tension between the Tang and Li families eased, and the atmosphere in Giant Elephant City calmed down. With Tang Yan under house arrest and the two families deliberately maintaining the peace, people naturally stopped mentioning the events of that night.

Everything seemed to return to its original course.

After a month and a half, a sudden storm swept through the three southern empires, eventually converging in the Northern Wasteland of the Great Zhou Empire!

The famous auction organization 'Earth Radiance' issued a bounty to the three southern empires, seeking to capture a band of raiders called 'Crimson Gods.' The reward was a set of earth-level martial techniques, five sets of spirit-level martial techniques, and 100,000 gold coins!

The news caused a storm, and the rewards, whether in terms of martial techniques or gold, were unprecedentedly generous, enough to drive any force into a frenzy!

An unprecedented manhunt quickly swept through the three southern empires, even affecting the surrounding empires, with hundreds of mercenary groups hunting the 'Crimson Gods.'

The three empires also dispatched elite teams to hunt them, but their actual target was the items in the 'Crimson Gods' possession. Anyone could imagine that the items in the hands of this group were far more valuable than the rewards offered by 'Earth Radiance.'

After a month-long, extensive manhunt, someone finally locked onto the group and pursued them into the Great Zhou Empire, eventually entering the Northern Wasteland.