The corpse was instantly reduced to a pulp by a third person, whose eyes were filled with murderous intent. The next second, Ye Bufan appeared behind the opponent. Feeling Ye Bufan's threat, the opponent also disappeared from the spot.
"Too slow."
When the third person reappeared, Ye Bufan was almost simultaneously beside him. As he was about to escape again, Ye Bufan used the "Chong Xu Lei Jue" (冲虚雷诀) and swung a punch at his stomach.
The fist contained a powerful lightning force. As the opponent felt pain, his body felt as if a hundred thousand volts of high voltage had exploded within him.
With just one punch, the opponent fell to the floor, incapacitated, with only a breath left.
Ye Bufan controlled the "Can Jian" (残剑) and slashed across the opponent's neck, sending him to the netherworld.
The remaining person jolted awake from the "Huan Yin Mo Tong" (幻音魔瞳), cold sweat still beading on his forehead, gasping for air.
When he saw the two corpses in front of him, he instantly sobered up. But he found that he couldn't move at all. Ye Bufan took a step towards him, instantly appearing before him.
The aura emanating from Ye Bufan caused the man in black to fall victim to Ye Bufan's "Huan Yin Mo Tong" again the moment he saw him.
The opponent's gaze became vacant, unsure of what to do, and he appeared somewhat flustered.
"Who sent you?" Ye Bufan asked.
The opponent's lips parted slightly, and after a few seconds, he closed his mouth again, his consciousness still resisting Ye Bufan.
"Hmph!" Ye Bufan snorted coldly. The opponent, unable to withstand Ye Bufan's mental power, completely surrendered.
"It was the three young masters of the Jin family," the opponent replied after a moment of thought.
"Do they have any plans?" Ye Bufan continued to ask.
The opponent pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said, "We just follow their orders."
Ye Bufan nodded, not expecting to glean any valuable information from him.
"How many of you came this time?" Ye Bufan asked after a moment of thought.
"We came with a total of seven Great Martial Venerables," the opponent told Ye Bufan without hesitation. "Additionally, the Patriarch will invite a capable individual from Miao territory."
Upon hearing this, Ye Bufan's eyes finally showed a reaction, and he murmured, "A capable individual? A Gu master?"
"I don't know." Ye Bufan looked at the opponent and waved his hand. The opponent's face contorted in pain as the "Can Jian" was thrust directly into his throat, and he breathed his last.
The "Zi You Leng Huo" (紫幽冷火) shot out from Ye Bufan's hand, incinerating the bodies of the three men.
"I wonder what the three Jin brothers want with this capable individual," Ye Bufan mused, looking up. Since they had already made a move against him, Ye Bufan estimated that the Jin family would soon move against the Chu family as well.
The next morning, Ye Bufan received a message from Jin Yuchen.
"Is Mr. Ye well?" Jin Yuchen's first message was to inquire about Ye Bufan's condition.
"I have dealt with the three Great Martial Venerables. What is the situation on your end?" Ye Bufan replied.
Jin Yuchen explained the situation over the past few days. In Huzhou, they were gradually encroaching on the Yue family's influence. As for Jin Shuhuan, all discussions in the past few days had excluded the Jin family members from Jinhe, who were plotting something unknown.
Ye Bufan put away his phone, and Chu Mengyao called again.
"Just as you predicted, the Jin family has indeed made a move against the Chu family," Chu Mengyao said.
"What is the current situation?" Ye Bufan asked.
"The Jin family has taken control of several of our Chu family's channel providers. This morning, several channel providers called me saying they wanted to stop cooperating with our Chu family," Chu Mengyao explained. "However, for the time being, the money from Jin Fang can still support us for a while, so there's no major issue."
"Have the Jin family contacted you?" Ye Bufan asked again.
Chu Mengyao nodded and said, "Today, Jin Dalang called me and said that if I wanted the Chu family to remain safe, I should go see him tonight."
Listening to Chu Mengyao, Ye Bufan couldn't help but let out a cold laugh. "It's the same old trick again. It was the Yang family before, and it's the Jin family now."
"What are your plans?" Chu Mengyao asked.
Ye Bufan pondered for a moment and said, "As long as they don't go too far, I can spare their lives. But if they cross my bottom line, I don't mind the Jin family disappearing from existence."
Chu Mengyao was silent for a few seconds after hearing this, then said to Ye Bufan, "By the way, thank you for arranging for someone to protect me."
Ye Bufan smiled faintly and said, "No matter what, I will never let you get hurt."
They both chuckled. Chu Mengyao's face instantly turned red. They chatted for a while longer before hanging up.
Not long after hanging up, Chu Mengyao was sitting in the CEO's office with Huangfu Yujia standing beside her.
"Bang!" At that moment, the office door was kicked open, and Jin Zaixing entered with a middle-aged man.
Chu Mengyao frowned, looking at Jin Zaixing in confusion, not understanding why he was here. Huangfu Yujia, on the other hand, reached into her sleeve, ready to retrieve her weapon. Seeing this, Chu Mengyao gave Huangfu Yujia a look, and she relaxed.
"Mr. Jin, why didn't you inform the front desk of your arrival so I could welcome you?" Chu Mengyao forced a smile, stood up, and extended her hand to shake his.
Jin Zaixing glanced at her dismissively and then plopped himself onto the sofa, crossing his legs.
"I'm here today to tell you that it's useless even if the Chu family severs ties with Ye Bufan. Who told you to have a connection with him in the first place?" Jin Zaixing looked at Chu Mengyao. "It's very simple for us to let you go. You have two options: first, do as my brother said and go see him tonight. As for the second option, have Zhu Zizhen, who you are cooperating with, hand over the Marrow Cleansing Pill."
"Marrow Cleansing Pill? We don't have that thing," Chu Mengyao said with a calm expression.
"Hmph! You don't? Then tell me, why were you in a private room that only first-class families have? Don't tell me your Chu family is a first-class family," Jin Zaixing said. "If not, where did you get the confidence to bid against our Jin family?"
Jin Zaixing's eyes were fierce, as if he wanted to devour her.
"Don't tell me you were just bidding for fun," Jin Zaixing added.
Chu Mengyao was startled at first but quickly realized that Jin Zaixing was here to interrogate her.
"Mr. Jin, you've misunderstood us. Who says small families can't bid for the Marrow Cleansing Pill?" Chu Mengyao said. "My grandfather just recovered from a serious illness not long ago, and I wanted to use the Marrow Cleansing Pill to help him break through his cultivation, so he can spend more time with us."
Jin Zaixing was stunned by Chu Mengyao's words and then became furious.
"Chu Mengyao, do you think I would believe what you're saying?" Jin Zaixing said.
"Mr. Jin, you've misunderstood me. What I said is true. Whether you believe it or not is up to you." Chu Mengyao's expression also turned grim.
"Good, very good. I originally wanted to give you a chance, but you didn't cherish it yourself," Jin Zaixing said with a sinister grin.
"If Mr. Jin has nothing else, please leave. I still have matters to attend to. I won't see you out," Chu Mengyao said, issuing a polite eviction.
Jin Zaixing's expression turned as if he had been amused, then angered. "Well said, Chu Mengyao. I, Jin Zaixing, have never been told to leave by anyone outside. You are the first."