Huh?
Zhao Xu stood frozen, his face stiffening as he watched the giant hand descend from the sky.
The giant hand seemed to be targeting him.
Zhao Xu was stunned!
The members of the Xiao Family were just as flabbergasted!
Wasn’t the person on the Cyan Cloud Sparrow here to wipe out their Xiao Family? Why were they attacking Zhao Xu?
Zhao Xu was a Guest Elder of the Heaven-Suppressing Royal Mansion, after all.
Could the person on the Cyan Cloud Sparrow have mistaken him for someone else?
Zhao Xu roared, his voice trembling, "My lord, stop! I’m Zhao Xu, a Guest Elder from the Heaven-Suppressing Royal Mansion! We’re on the same side!"
Su Mo said coolly, "The same side? Heh, you’re exactly the one I came to kill."
BAM!
The giant hand slammed down on Zhao Xu, instantly crushing him into a bloody pulp before he could even scream.
Everyone present felt their eyes twitch violently.
Such terrifying power!
A master at the Mid Stage Grand Martial Artist realm, killed with a single, casual slap. It was simply horrifying!
However, the members of the Xiao Family weren’t exactly celebrating.
The man had clearly mistaken his target and killed Zhao Xu by accident. Their turn would be next.
Xiao Zhan’s voice was grave. "Grand Elder, tell all our family members to prepare for a fight to the death!"
"ROAR—"
Everyone in the Xiao Family let out a furious roar, channeling their energy with all their might.
The Valley Master of Medicine King Valley and Huang Xu also began forming hand seals.
"CHIRP!"
The Cyan Cloud Sparrow landed!
Su Mo leaped down from the Cyan Cloud Sparrow. Seeing the members of the Xiao Family seething with killing intent, he asked in confusion, "What’s gotten into you all?"
"The Young Master is back!"
Someone in the crowd shouted, and only then did everyone recognize Su Mo.
Xiao Zhan’s face lit up with surprise and delight. "Xiaomo, what are you doing back?"
Su Mo scratched his head and explained, "I went to the Beast Taming Sect to find an Extreme Yang Spirit Stone, but their great tomb won’t open for another half a month. Since I had nothing else to do, I came back."
"Good, good! It’s good that you’re back!"
Xiao Zhan patted Su Mo’s shoulder repeatedly, then turned to the rest of the Xiao Family. "Everyone, stand down! Xiaomo is back!"
Phew...
Everyone let out a collective sigh of relief, their tense bodies finally relaxing.
It had all been a false alarm!
Su Mo walked up to Xiao Qingxue and said, "Wife, I missed you!"
Xiao Qingxue’s cheeks flushed red as she stammered, "Husband, I... I missed you too!"
Su Mo gave a faint smile as he looked at Xiao Qingxue’s bashful expression.
’The women in this world are so conservative,’ Su Mo mused. ’Not like couples back in the modern world of my past life. People there would kiss right on the street, or even park on the side of the road to get busy. Some would even find a secluded spot for a quickie outdoors.’
Xiao Zhan said, "Everyone, let’s go inside and talk."
The Xiao Family Main Hall.
Su Mo took the head seat, with Xiao Zhan seated next to him. The others sat on benches lining both sides of the hall, arranged according to their strength and status.
In the middle of the hall lay four corpses.
Su Mo pointed to Zhao Xu’s body and asked, "Father-in-law, did our family have a feud with this Zhao Xu?"
Xiao Zhan shook his head. "None at all."
Su Mo was puzzled. "Then why did he want to exterminate our Xiao Family?"
"Sigh..."
Xiao Zhan sighed. "He was a Guest Elder of the Heaven-Suppressing Royal Mansion. The Heaven-Suppressing King sent him to wipe out our entire family."
’The Heaven-Suppressing Royal Mansion?’
Su Mo’s brow furrowed.
He had indeed heard Zhao Xu claim to be from the Heaven-Suppressing Royal Mansion right before he killed him, but he had never done anything to offend them.
Why would the Heaven-Suppressing Royal Mansion want to destroy the Xiao Family?
Xiao Zhan explained gravely, "It wasn’t just the Heaven-Suppressing Royal Mansion. The Zhou Family and Famous Sword Manor were also here to destroy us. The Zhou Family even hired assassins from Celestial Slaughter Hall!"
"The Zhou Family and Famous Sword Manor..."
Hearing those two names, Su Mo finally understood. A tangible killing intent erupted from his body.
He never imagined they would resort to something so extreme just because he had crippled Zhou Tianhai.
Vengeance had its limits!
But they wanted to slaughter the entire Xiao Family!
The killing intent enveloped the entire hall.
Everyone’s heart trembled, a chill running down their spines. They could hardly recognize the man Su Mo had become in that instant.
At this moment, Su Mo was like a god of slaughter incarnate.
Xiao Zhan quickly tried to placate him. "Xiaomo, calm down. Although the Zhou Family and Famous Sword Manor came with overwhelming force, the Valley Master of Medicine King Valley and Elder Huang arrived just in time to help our Xiao Family avert the crisis. When you got here, Zhao Xu was just about to flee."
Su Mo nodded slightly and retracted his killing intent, but the rage blazing in his heart could not be extinguished.
"Greetings, Master!"
Just then, Huang Xu and the Valley Master of Medicine King Valley stepped forward and bowed respectfully to Su Mo.
Su Mo waved his hand. "The two of you may rise."
Huang Xu and the Valley Master of Medicine King Valley stood up.
Xiao Zhan sighed. "If not for the Valley Master and Elder Huang’s help this time, you would have returned not to a family, but to a field of corpses and rubble."
"You’re too kind, Patriarch Xiao."
"As the Master’s servants, it is our duty to ease his worries and fend off his enemies. Please think nothing of it, Patriarch Xiao."
The Valley Master of Medicine King Valley and Huang Xu had humble expressions, not daring to take any credit for themselves.
Su Mo said calmly, "I won’t offer you empty words of thanks. From now on, if there’s anything you require, just ask. I will do everything in my power to make it happen for you."
"Thank you, Master!"
The two were overjoyed.
They knew Su Mo’s power was terrifying to the extreme; not even the Heaven-Suppressing King himself would be his match.
Within the Desolate Empire, Su Mo was invincible!
To receive Su Mo’s promise was to receive a golden ticket exempting them from death!
"Report!"
Just then, a Xiao Family disciple burst into the hall in a panic. "Reporting to the Patriarch! The Black... the Black Dragon Stronghold... they... they’ve broken into the city!"
"What?"
Xiao Zhan shot up from his seat in astonishment.
"The Black Dragon Stronghold?"
Su Mo looked at Xiao Zhan with a questioning gaze. Xiao Zhan explained, "The Black Dragon Stronghold is a group of bandits from the nearby mountains. They’re ruthless and stop at nothing. They kill the men and sell the women to brothels. They must have heard our Xiao Family was about to be wiped out and came to take advantage of the chaos."
"Just them?"
Su Mo sneered and led the group out of the hall.
He was filled with pent-up rage and had been looking for an outlet.
The Cyan Cloud Sparrow hadn’t left.
It had been ordered to stand guard outside the Xiao estate. In a few days, it would have to take Su Mo to the Beast Taming Sect for the opening of their great tomb.
"What a huge bird!"
"That’s a Cyan Cloud Sparrow! Judging by its aura, it must be Tier Four!"
"What? A Tier Four Demon King? What’s it doing at the Xiao estate? Could it be a Demon Pet raised by the Xiao Family?"
"No way. The Xiao Patriarch is only a Martial Artist, not even a Grand Martial Artist. He couldn’t possibly control such a powerful Demon Pet."
A crowd of people stood at a distance, pointing and murmuring about the Cyan Cloud Sparrow.
The Cyan Cloud Sparrow was almost rendered speechless.
In its entire life, this was the first time it had been gawked at by so many people. It felt like a monkey in a circus.
And what’s worse, it couldn’t even eat them!
Gazing at a few tender-skinned young boys in the crowd, the Cyan Cloud Sparrow nearly started drooling.
’Maybe I could sneak a few?’
The Cyan Cloud Sparrow considered the thought, but quickly shook its head, dismissing the idea.
’If Su Mo found out, he would beat me to death!’
Just then, an excited roar echoed from the distance. "Hurry up, brothers! We’re almost at the Xiao estate! Kill everyone in the Xiao Family, take all their wealth, and when we’re done, I’ll take you all to the biggest brothel in Qingyang City!"
Huh?
Hearing the distant shouts, the Cyan Cloud Sparrow instantly perked up.
’The meat delivery is here!’