"Xu Nanqiang, isn't the current stalemate in my Xu family caused by your good great-granddaughter?" Xu Dongqiang slammed his hand on the table when he saw Xu Nanqiang yelling at him, and the wooden table shattered. "You still have the nerve to say these things? I'm already being lenient by not holding you responsible."
"Wrong?" Xu Nanqiang looked at Xu Dongqiang, already furious. "If you hadn't always insisted on hiding, not exposing ourselves, and not allowing us to infiltrate, how could we have ended up in such a passive situation? If we had contacted the country earlier and obtained command of Mocheng, how could we have been completely unprepared when they arrived?"
"Heh..." Xu Dongqiang sneered, "Second brother, third brother, it seems you're thinking of sending the Xu family to their deaths?"
“We didn’t say that,” Xu Xiqiang immediately said upon hearing Xu Dongqiang’s words.
"Then give me a solution. What should we do now?" Xu Dongqiang asked.
“I don’t know what to do, but I strongly oppose your suggestion to join them,” Xu Xiqiang said.
“I am also firmly against it,” Xu Nanqiang added.
“Hehe…” Xu Dongqiang sneered again, “I object. I am the head of the family and I have the right to make decisions for the Xu family. Tomorrow, everyone will join the Ma family with me, and I hereby announce that Xu Ling’er will be married to Ma Li.”
"What did you say?" Upon hearing Xu Dongqiang's words, Xu Nanqiang immediately stood up, and bursts of energy emanated from his body. He was about to make a move, but the next second he felt his body go limp and he collapsed to the ground.
"Second Brother?" Xu Xiqiang stood up immediately upon seeing this scene, but as soon as he stood up, he also felt his body go limp.
"Huh?" Xu Beiqiang, who had been silent all along, was taken aback. He was about to get up when he also found himself weak all over. "Xu Dongqiang, did you poison me?"
"That's right, you all forced me to do this." Xu Dongqiang looked at the three slumped figures, stood up, and exuded a powerful aura. "One day you will understand that I did all this for the Xu family. Marrying Xu Ling'er to Ma Li was also for the Xu family. He is the only son of the Ma family patriarch, the King of the Northeast. You all know what the King Realm represents. If my Xu family wants to establish itself in the apocalypse, we need powerful people to protect us. I have already met Ma Li. He is a young hero, a dragon among men, and he is worthy of Xu Ling'er."
"You..." Xu Nanqiang was gritting his teeth, but he couldn't muster any strength at all.
"You're willing to sacrifice the happiness of a younger generation to satisfy your selfish desires; you're not fit to be the head of the Xu family," Xu Xiqiang roared. "Your behavior is utterly shameful."
"Hmph!" Xu Dongqiang suddenly slammed his palm into Xu Xiqiang's chest, sending Xu Xiqiang flying backward and spitting out blood.
"The third brother?"
"Third Brother!" Xu Nanqiang and Xu Beiqiang called out at the same time.
“Xu Xiqiang, you’ve been opposing me at every turn. If it weren’t for our brotherhood, I would have killed you long ago. And the two of you, you’ve been gradually wearing down our bond over the years.” Xu Dongqiang’s eyes flashed with cold light. “Today, I will cripple you.”
"Xu Dongqiang, you are destroying the family." Upon hearing Xu Dongqiang's words, Xu Beiqiang struggled to get up and tried to resist. The next second, Xu Dongqiang slammed a palm into his chest, sending him flying backward, spitting out blood, and becoming completely weak.
"Haha..." Xu Nanqiang looked at Xu Dongqiang and laughed. The Xu family was in danger, and Xu Dongqiang, as the head of the family, actually poisoned them and ruined their cultivation. This was simply courting death! He never thought that the Xu family, which had been passed down for countless years, would perish in their generation.
boom…………
Xu Dongqiang struck Xu Nanqiang with a palm, and the three of them were now ordinary people, their cultivation completely destroyed. The lifespan boost they had gained from the Vertebra Realm was instantly wiped out, and the three old men aged rapidly, on the verge of death, already in their twilight years, with only a few days left to live.
"Master." At this moment, a middle-aged man walked in and looked somewhat frightened upon seeing the scene inside the room.
"How did it go?" Xu Dongqiang's eyes showed no emotion whatsoever; instead, he seemed quite pleased. From now on, he would be the sole decision-maker in the Xu family.
"Master, it's all taken care of. All the disobedient people have been brought under control and are at your disposal," the middle-aged man reported.
"That's good. Tell them that if they don't comply, just cripple their cultivation and make them useless." Xu Dongqiang said coldly.
He took out a cell phone and dialed a number.
"Young Master Ma, the matter has been settled. My Xu family is willing to submit," Xu Dongqiang said respectfully to the person on the other end of the phone.
"Very good," came the voice on the other end of the phone, unaware that Ma Li was currently embracing Lu Yao, the two of them intimately acquainted.
"It's so annoying to have someone call at this time," Lu Yao said, somewhat displeased.
“No rush, we have plenty of time. Once we take back the Xu family, you will be the Empress of Mo City,” Ma Li said, pinching Lu Yao’s cheek.
The two then began to speak frankly with each other again.
Inside the research institute, on an experimental bed, a monster—a fusion of a mecha, a human, and various mutated creatures—slowly opened its eyes, looking around blankly.
"Fang Jingru?" an old man asked, looking at the monster that had opened its eyes.
"Fang Jingru?" The monster seemed confused. "Who is Fang Jingru? Who am I?"
"Very good." Seeing the monster's performance, the old man nodded, very satisfied with his masterpiece.
"Who are you?" the monster asked the old man.
“I am the God who created you, your Father, and your deity. You must obey my commands, understand?” the old man said.
"You're my father?" The monster looked puzzled.
“That’s right, if it weren’t for me, you would have died long ago.” The old man suddenly took out a computer, and he was a little excited. Then he typed in a line of code.
The monster's eyes widened in surprise. The next second, he stood up and knelt before the old man, saying, "God, Father."
"Hahaha..." The old man suddenly threw his head back and laughed loudly, "I, Lu Laoliu, am God! I will usher in a new world, and I will be the God of this new world! What Zhao Kang? What financial magnates? What powerful families? They will all bow down to me! Hahahaha..."
"Teacher, should we mass-produce it?" a young man asked, looking at the ruthless Lu Laoliu.
"Start production immediately," Lu Laoliu said, already impatient, unaware that his actions would plunge the entire Mo City into a killing field.
Gu Yu and Xu Ling'er returned to Xu Family Fortress, but the atmosphere there made them feel something was off. At this time of day, although everyone in Xu Family Fortress was busy, there would usually be someone in each household. But at this moment, there was no one in sight, and the silence was unusual.
"Has something happened?" Gu Yu asked, frowning.
The two then arrived at Xu Xiqiang's house. As soon as they entered the courtyard, Gu Yu frowned. The array he had set up was gone. He sensed something was wrong and panicked, rushing into the house.
"Dad, Mom?" Stepping into the house, he saw a scene that instantly enraged him: his mother was lying on the ground, and his father, without the nourishment of source energy, was on the verge of respiratory failure.
He took out two orbs of life essence and injected them into the bodies of Gu Zhongyi and Zhang Cuiping, which improved their breathing somewhat.
"What happened?" Gu Yu was very puzzled. It was too dangerous. If he had arrived a few minutes later, his father would probably have passed away and could never recover.
Without a second thought, Gu Yu took out the Fruit of Life, and a rich aura immediately filled the air, making the source energy of the entire Xu Family Fortress countless times more concentrated.
This startled Xu Dongqiang, who was making his plans. "A rare treasure! This is a rare treasure! If I can obtain this, my cultivation will definitely be able to break through."
The next second he rushed towards Xu Xiqiang's courtyard, "Could that kid have really obtained the Fruit of Life? How is that possible? That thing actually exists, apart from ancient books!"
"Great-great-grandfather." Upon seeing Xu Dongqiang's arrival, Xu Ling'er immediately stopped him, looking at him with icy eyes.
"Ling'er! Your great-grandfather has been looking for you these past few days! Where did you go?" Xu Dongqiang was stunned when he saw Xu Ling'er. According to his plan, he was going to marry Xu Ling'er to Ma Li, but he couldn't find her. Although Xu Xiqiang didn't say where Xu Ling'er was, he knew that she must have gone with that kid Gu Yu.
"Great-grandfather, what happened? Why is Xu Family Fort so deserted? Where is everyone else?" Xu Ling'er asked Xu Dongqiang.
"Ling'er! Listen to what your great-grandfather has to say." Xu Dongqiang walked towards Xu Ling'er. Xu Ling'er was not on guard against Xu Dongqiang, but the next second, Xu Ling'er suddenly felt her body stiffen and she could not move.
"Great-great-grandfather?" Xu Ling'er stared at Xu Dongqiang, somewhat puzzled. Clearly, Xu Dongqiang had imprisoned her when she was off guard.
“Ling’er, for your future, for the future of the Xu family, Grandpa Zeng is going to find you a good marriage. You will definitely thank Grandpa Zeng in the future,” Xu Dongqiang said.
"What?" Xu Ling'er's pupils widened immediately; they had found her a marriage partner.
Inside the room, Gu Yu was refining the Fruit of Life. The egg-sized Fruit of Life, under the burning of the primordial spirit fire, gradually turned into drops of liquid that flowed toward Gu Zhongyi.
"Ling'er, Grandpa has something to do, so I won't stay with you any longer." After Xu Dongqiang finished speaking, he patted Xu Ling'er's neck, and Xu Ling'er immediately fainted.
Xu Dongqiang walked into the house, where the life force contained within had become extremely concentrated.
boom………
Gu Yu, who was concentrating on refining the Fruit of Life, suddenly felt himself being attacked. The next second, his body flew out, smashed a hole in the wall, and fell outside.
Xu Dongqiang looked at the floating fruit of life in front of him, and he was so excited that his old face beamed with joy.
However, only half of the fruit of life remained at this time; the rest had been merged into Gu Zhongyi's body by Gu Yu.
"With this thing, I have hope of advancing to the next realm! Hahaha..." Xu Dongqiang grabbed the Fruit of Life and laughed loudly.
At this moment, Gu Yu coughed up blood and collapsed to the ground. A single blow from a fourth-tier expert, delivered when he was completely focused and unprepared, was enough to kill him. Fortunately, his divine and demonic bloodline had awakened once, making his physical body incredibly powerful, far surpassing that of ordinary people. However, although he survived, he lost consciousness and collapsed to the ground.
"It's a pity that you used more than half of this good stuff. It's such a waste." Xu Dongqiang said indignantly as he watched Gu Zhongyi's life gradually recover.
In his eyes, the preciousness of the fruit of life was incomparable to the lives of millions, let alone the half-dead Gu Zhongyi.
“Your body is full of life force. I’ll keep you here and slowly absorb your power.” Xu Dongqiang said, looking at Gu Zhongyi. The next second, he put the life fruit into his mouth, swallowed it in one gulp, and then sat down cross-legged to cultivate.
"Zui San, what are you doing? Look at what Mocheng has become!" Shi Shuai said angrily, looking at Zui San, who was lying on a chair, surrounded by empty bottles, fast asleep.
This person is completely useless. If things continue like this, Mo City will be destroyed by the tycoons and powerful families.
Research institutes were everywhere, and every household had its doors and windows tightly shut. The entire desert city was eerily quiet, as if the apocalypse had arrived prematurely.
"You're back?" Zui San opened his sleepy eyes and lazily stretched.
"I really don't understand why Grandpa sent you here?" Shi Shuai was truly impressed by the lazy Zui San.
"What's wrong?" Zui San asked, looking at Shi Shuai, who had a furious expression on his face.
"Go out and see what's going on outside," Shi Shuai said.
"What's going on outside?" Zui San frowned. "You mean those research institutes? Don't worry! I've already warned them."
"You warned them?" Shi Shuai frowned. "Did you follow up on that?"
“This…” Zui San hesitated for a moment. To be honest, he hadn’t followed up.
"Do you know what? Everyone in Mocheng is living in fear right now. Those research institutes are arresting people, and the law enforcement bureau is doing nothing. Most of the city's residents have fled," Shi Shuai said.
"What?" Zui San frowned. "This is outrageous! Do you really think you can disregard me like this?"
"The most crucial thing is that it's too late for us to intervene now," Shi Shuai said, looking at Zui San. Who would take Zui San seriously? He was indeed the deputy minister of the Dragon Department, but as everyone knew, he was good for nothing but drinking.
"Too late?" Zui San frowned again.
"It's all because of you," Shi Shuai said accusingly to Zui San.
"My fault?" Zui San suddenly looked at Shi Shuai. "Kid, you'd better think this through. You just left without taking care of anything, leaving me with such a huge mess. If I'm responsible, don't you bear any responsibility too?"
“You…” Upon hearing Zui San’s words, Shi Shuai’s hands trembled. He had entrusted Zui San with these instructions before he left.
"What do you mean, 'you'? If you have time for this, why don't you go and do something about it?" Zui San looked at Shi Shuai. He knew he bore some responsibility, but did Shi Shuai bear no responsibility at all? Besides, the law enforcement bureau and the military were all involved; how could they possibly manage it? Were they supposed to just start a massacre?
Once a massacre begins, there will be endless troubles. How should we deal with the aftermath?
“You’re not very old, but you have quite the temper. Some things aren’t so simple; they can’t be done just like that. Otherwise, the country would have wiped them out long ago. Why would they still be alive now?” Zui San said, taking another sip of wine. “If we really deal with them with swift and decisive measures, what if they rebel? Don’t you think about it? Now that the Southwest Origin Gate has been opened, we simply don’t have the manpower. Besides, if they really rebel and become unscrupulous, they’ll be even more terrifying than this. Who can guarantee that we can wipe them all out in one fell swoop? At least for now, they’re still somewhat wary.”
Shi Shuai was speechless. Zui San's words were unpleasant to hear, but they made a lot of sense.
"Then what should we do? Are we just going to stand by and watch?" Shi Shuai asked. If they really just stood by and watched, wouldn't that be a disaster for ordinary people? Yes, no matter what, those people would be fine; it would only be the general public who would be harmed.
"Then let them make mistakes. That way, we'll have enough reason to deal with them, and their allies won't be able to say anything." Zui San's hazy eyes suddenly became much clearer, but only for a moment before they became hazy again.
"Let them make mistakes?" Shi Shuai murmured. It was indeed a solution, but how many people would have to be sacrificed!
He even thought that if Gu Yu were here, he would only say one thing: "As long as you are strong enough, you can intimidate everyone and make them dare not." Unfortunately, he, Shi Shuai, was not strong enough.
With great power comes great responsibility, but those who are capable but do nothing and even add fuel to the fire are creating chaos. If humanity were to perish one day, those who add fuel to the fire would bear the greatest responsibility.
"Their power is deeply entrenched. If we were to truly uproot them, it would probably be even more difficult than dealing with the Southwest Source Sect. Beset by both external and internal troubles, there's nothing we can do!" Zui San said, drinking as if he were talking in a drunken stupor. "You can manage what you can see, but what about what you can't see? The world is too big for you to be in two places at once."
"If I were to encounter this, I would never stand idly by." After saying this, Shi Shuai walked out.
Watching Shi Shuai leave, Zui San shook his head. "Young man, you're full of enthusiasm, but you'll slowly learn that some things can't be accomplished with enthusiasm alone; you have to rely on..."
Zui San looked at himself. "Sigh! I told you I wouldn't get involved anymore, but now that things are at hand, I can't help but ignore it. Ma family, I've warned you, but you still insist on going your own way. Don't blame me then. Do you really think that helping the Sirius Clan open the Source Gate will make them coexist with you? Dream on!"
As Zui San muttered to himself, his figure disappeared from the room in the next second. The night in Mo City was even more silent, but in the research institute, one horrific scene after another was unfolding.
Machinery, various drugs, and organs from mutated species were haphazardly pieced together on living people; it was truly a hell on earth.
Xu Dongqiang, who was cultivating in the room, suddenly opened his eyes. He first looked at his own body, then laughed loudly.
"Hahaha... Fifth Cone! I, Xu Dongqiang, have actually broken through to the fifth cone in my lifetime. It's a pity that I only have a small part of the Life Fruit, otherwise I would be able to reach the General Realm in no time."
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