After reading, Gu Minghui's face turned terribly grim: "I've already investigated the six buildings where the blood-red phenomenon occurred. All of them were constructed by Chaoren Real Estate Group. What a treacherous Zhuang Family, they're a bunch of backstabbing scoundrels."

Enveloped in the blood-red phenomenon over the entire Xiangjiang, the six buildings occupied six corners, each connected in pairs, outlining a massive Hexagram Array.

These six buildings were undoubtedly the source of the sinister occurrences.

"Should we destroy the Zhuang Family?"

Ye Qingzhou was quite willing to take up the task, as raiding someone else's establishment was an exhilarating endeavor, especially when the target was the richest person in Xiangjiang.

"The Zhuang Family isn't the real threat. Such a grand scheme isn't something they could devise on their own. We need to figure out how to catch the mastermind behind the scenes."

Gu Minghui evidently wanted to solve the problem once and for all, instead of playing whack-a-mole where they would only react passively, getting exhausted under the opponent's endless conspiracies.

"By the way, I have news to tell you."

"What is it?"

Ye Qingzhou was very curious upon hearing this.

"The intelligence agencies in Europe and the Western Pole Kingdom have both upgraded your threat level. In the underground world, your head is now worth at least ten billion."

"Is my life really worth that much?"

Ye Qingzhou was stunned: "In that case, won't I have to face all sorts of assassination attempts every day?"

"Haha, if it were thirty years ago, maybe some people would be willing to risk their lives for yours. But not now, especially with the bounty offered by the Western Pole Kingdom. It hasn't been fulfilled even once in the past twenty years; only fools would take on that task."

"..."

Ye Qingzhou was speechless at this. He was ultimately too rational to understand the thought process behind the Western Pole Kingdom's actions.

After the phone call, Ye Qingzhou felt that Xiangjiang was no longer safe, so he sought out Xu Yuebing and Huang Liwen, urging them to leave as soon as possible.

"Why?"

Xu Yuebing was very puzzled about this.

"It's classified, I can't explain too much. Do you trust me?"

"I trust you."

Xu Yuebing nodded, not pressing for further explanations.

Huang Liwen was also someone who listened. He wouldn't take Ye Qingzhou's warning lightly and had already taken out his phone to book plane tickets overnight.

"I'm not leaving."

Xu Yunxi, who was already a Martial Arts Master, believed she had enough self-protection capability.

Moreover, as a member of the Martial Arts Association enjoying state benefits, she naturally had corresponding obligations and couldn't just pack up and leave when danger arose.

Ye Qingzhou acknowledged her abilities but still reminded her: "The situation will become very dangerous. Just do your best and don't overexert yourself."

Xu Yuebing then asked another question: "Ye Qingzhou, can I bring my cousin along?"

Ye Qingzhou nodded: "You can, but don't say too much."

"Okay."

Xu Yuebing nodded solemnly and quickly called her cousin, Xu Pingfang.

The next day, at Xiangjiang International Airport.

Ye Qingzhou and Xu Yunxi personally escorted Xu Yuebing and Huang Liwen to their flight, accompanied by Lin Guodong and Xu Pingfang, the couple.

Originally, Lin Guodong didn't want to leave, but Xu Pingfang insisted on taking him back to the mainland to visit relatives. Her ear was soft, so she agreed, treating it as a vacation.

When Xu Yuebing boarded the plane, she looked back step by step, her gaze filled with reluctance.

After the farewells, Ye Qingzhou and Xu Yunxi left the airport, coincidentally meeting Wu Funing, who had come to pick someone up.

"Ye Sheng!"

Wu Funing excitedly waved at them. Seeing Ye Qingzhou about to hail a taxi, he quickly volunteered to be their driver.

In the car, a young, attractive woman sat in the passenger seat. Ye Qingzhou could sense the vigorous Qi and blood in her body, indicating strength not inferior to that of Xu Lan's past, approximately at the Professional Third Rank level.

"Ye Sheng, this is my girlfriend."

"Hello, my name is Yu Zhixuan."

Yu Zhixuan was also pleasantly surprised to see Ye Qingzhou: "Actually, we've met before."

"?"

Ye Qingzhou looked puzzled; he had no recollection of Yu Zhixuan.

After some explanation, Ye Qingzhou understood. Yu Zhixuan was a student at Zhongnan University in Xiang Province, currently in her third year, and a member of the Zhongnan University Martial Arts Club.

Two years ago, when Ye Qingzhou was at Zhongnan University, Yu Zhixuan had seen him from afar in the crowd and was astonished by his victory over Gu Mingyao.

Meeting him again now, Ye Qingzhou had already ascended to the Grandmaster Realm, and the radiance he exuded was even more dazzling.

Ye Qingzhou looked at Wu Funing with sympathy. This foolish guy didn't even have the strength of a Professional Martial Artist yet found himself a girlfriend who was. With the bold personality of Xiang Province girls, his future family status looked worrying.

Suddenly, the car was violently hit with a bang.

All four in the car jolted sharply, with Ye Qingzhou reacting the fastest, his gaze instantly darting to the right.

A parallel black car violently rammed into them again. Even more deadly, a handgun protruded from the gap of the car window, its black barrel spitting fierce flames.

Bang~

Propelled by gunpowder, the bullet shot forth, its powerful kinetic energy enough to tear through steel. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Whoosh~

The sharp whistle of Sword Qi pierced the air, echoing with thunder.

Wu Funing was frightened out of his wits, his face turning pale, almost losing his soul.

Instinctively, he turned back, just as Sword Qi grazed his earlobe, slicing off a bullet with a red-hot steel core.

"He can actually delay and then outpace, using his will to propel the Sword Qi and fend off bullets! Does he truly possess such power at only eighteen?"

Yu Zhixuan sat in the front passenger seat, her mouth agape in shock.

She hadn't even had time to react to the earlier gunfire.

Bam bam~

At that moment, the danger was not yet over. Ye Qingzhou's car swayed violently to the left as another black car rushed from behind, aiming to crash the vehicle over.

Wu Funing quickly straightened the steering wheel, attempting to control the vehicle. At that moment, he was the weakest among the four in the car, hence the most panicked.

Bam~

The black car to the left once again accelerated and slammed into them fiercely, crushing the headlight and bumper, sparks flying from the wheels.

Wu Funing sharply turned the steering wheel, trying to avoid the opponent's onslaught.

On the high bridge, the scene resembled a road chase in a cop and gangster film, unfolding at high speed and filled with thrilling excitement, pushing Wu Funing's adrenaline to its peak.

The windows of the black car slowly rolled down, and then an arm with a submachine gun emerged, shooting blindly at the passengers in the car.

Ye Qingzhou frowned slightly, squinting his eyes as various doubts surged in his heart: "No sense of crisis or hostility, and no killing intent either?"

Suddenly, with a whoosh, Yu Zhixuan pulled out a coin she carried with her, using it as a hidden weapon, flicking it towards the gunman.

The glass shattered upon impact, followed by a steel-cast one-yuan coin which, after shattering the gunman's skull, splattered a handful of blood across the broken car window.

Ratatatat~

But the number of enemies was overwhelming. Gunfire rang out from both the left and right sides simultaneously.

"Get down."

After giving this prompt, Ye Qingzhou swiftly moved his fingers, manipulating the Sword Qi like countless sharp threads enveloping all directions.

The incoming bullets seemed to plunge into the web, each deflected by the Sword Qi threads.

"Perish!"

Ye Qingzhou's hands shook, transmitting energy through the threads of concentrated Sword Qi, piercing through the three black cars his opponents were in, leaving them utterly ventilated.

Yet the opponent's attack was not over. Ye Qingzhou scanned the surroundings, realizing that not only were there black cars on the left and right, but two more approaching from the rear, attempting to encircle them.