Chapter 75: Conflict

Lin Ge had already run far away, leaving only Li Tan and Lin Sui Feng in the room.

Lin Sui Feng nervously rubbed his hands together while his gaze darted toward the window.

At this moment, there was no one outside the room; all the guards had been sent away by himself to maintain secrecy, which truly embodied the ancient saying: “Misery comes from one’s own doing.”

Li Tan took a step forward mockingly and said, “Lin Elder, at this point, what do you still want to say?”

Sweat beaded on Lin Sui Feng’s forehead as he took half a step back. He forced himself to stay calm, puffing out his chest defiantly. “Li Tan, you’re too reckless! This is not a place for you to come!”

“Do you think stalling will help? That fool Lin Ge probably won’t understand your intentions even when grass grows a foot high on your grave.”

Li Tan spoke unhurriedly, making Lin Sui Feng’s heart tighten again. However, after glancing twice toward the door, Lin Sui Feng’s expression turned puzzled as he asked, “Where’s the woman who was with you?”

“She went back to rest.”

Li Tan answered naturally, and Lin Sui Feng suddenly burst into laughter.

“Hahaha! I was foolish to fear you just now. Indeed, even if a useless person gets an extraordinary chance, they’re still useless.”

A sense of confusion arose in Li Tan’s mind, but he quickly understood the reason for Lin Sui Feng’s laughter.

He looked at Lin Sui Feng as if he were an idiot and retorted, “I previously thought it troublesome to deal with you, which was truly ridiculous. Indeed, even if a fool’s cultivation improves, they’re still a fool.”

“Hmph! If that woman were here, I might indeed be helpless against you. But now that she’s gone, with only you, someone barely at the late earthly realm, daring to provoke me, an elder at the early heavenly realm, how dare you be so bold!”

“It’s foolish for someone at the earthly realm to confront one at the heavenly realm. This principle is so simple even you should understand it. Do you think I wouldn’t have thought of that?”

With this light and casual remark from Li Tan, Lin Sui Feng’s laughter abruptly ceased.

Lin Sui Feng’s expression darkened, and finally he said fiercely, “No matter what scheme you’re plotting, your life is mine!”

It was unheard of for a heavenly realm cultivator to fear someone at the earthly realm. Given Lin Sui Feng’s experience, he should have no understanding of the concept of challenging someone beyond one’s realm. However, his long-standing cautious habits still made him fully alert, showing no sign of underestimating Li Tan. At this moment, his gaze was sharp, and a mighty qi overflowed, creating a slight breeze.

“Are you going to start with the Coiling Dragon Fist? Using this martial technique against a junior, Lin Elder, your audacity truly knows no bounds.”

Li Tan mocked easily.

“Hmph! Don’t think I don’t know you intend to use the same strange method you used against Yuan’er and Ge. That thing is too bizarre. For safety’s sake, it’s better you go to hell quickly!”

“Hehehe.”

Li Tan’s lips curled slightly as he leaned forward, stepping with Maya Steps and swiftly moving like a ghost to the side of Lin Sui Feng.

Lin Sui Feng was greatly alarmed, not even thinking of speaking as he quickly turned his punch toward the new direction. However, something strange happened. As soon as he turned around, Li Tan, who had been there a moment ago, had somehow disappeared. Lin Sui Feng tried to find him, but it was already too late.

Peng! A muffled sound echoed as a tearing pain erupted in his abdomen.

“Impossible! The Coiling Dragon Fist, it can’t be!” Lin Sui Feng spat out a mouthful of blood and lost consciousness, never knowing what had happened to him before his death.

Using the Maya Steps to instantly close the distance, then using the Mind Storm to paralyze him for a few seconds, and finally delivering the Coiling Dragon Fist, renowned for its power.

Li Tan executed this complex combination of martial techniques seamlessly, far beyond Lin Sui Feng’s comprehension.

Li Tan casually sat on a nearby chair, gently massaging his head, which ached slightly from overusing his mental energy. Moments later, he turned his head and muttered while looking at Lin Sui Feng’s corpse, “Next are the other three families. The Zhang family and my own will be difficult to eliminate directly as I did just now, so I need to break through from Mingde’s side and ally with the City Lord’s mansion to deal with them. After everything is settled, I need to find a way to quickly restore Jiang Xin’s consciousness.” As Li Tan was planning his next moves, suddenly footsteps were heard outside the room.

Li Tan stopped thinking, raised his head, and scoffed disdainfully. “The old one is dead; I almost forgot there’s still a bunch of young ones left.”

“Li Tan, come out and die!”

Bang! The door was kicked off its hinges, and Lin Ge led a group of guards rushing in.

“Dad, I’m here—oh no, Dad!”

Lin Ge, full of fury, suddenly froze, then rushed madly to Lin Sui Feng’s corpse, hugging it and crying bitterly. The guards behind him cried out for the Second Elder with deep sorrow.

Li Tan calmly watched and waited.

Moments later, Lin Ge angrily stood up and questioned him. “Did you kill my father?”

Li Tan replied indifferently. “Yes. What are you going to do about it?”

“A father’s murder cannot be tolerated! You must die!”

As Lin Ge, glaring with rage, was about to attack, Li Tan suddenly asked, “Oh? Lin Sui Feng is already dead. With just you few useless fellows, you still want to kill me?”

This sentence was like a bucket of cold water poured over Lin Ge’s head, instantly extinguishing his rage.

If Lin Sui Feng, at the early heavenly realm, couldn’t defeat Li Tan, how could he, at the earthly realm, kill Li Tan?

Are there many people?

Anyone with a shred of common sense understands that a mob strategy is utterly useless.

Powerful cultivators can easily kill hundreds or even thousands of lower-level cultivators with a single wave of their hand.

“You—you just wait!” Lin Ge felt a chill all over, and as he looked at Li Tan, he finally understood the meaning behind Lin Sui Feng’s previous words.

He pretended to be calm as he stepped back, but unexpectedly, Li Tan coldly said, “Others can leave, but Lin Ge must stay.”

“What do you want to do? Do you know who I am? I’m the eldest son of the Lin family!”

Lin Ge looked at Li Tan in fear, having completely forgotten about his father’s death.

Li Tan stood up from the chair slowly and said, “Lin Sui Feng and you have repeatedly troubled me. He’s already dead, and according to reason, I should eradicate the roots. But there’s someone who dislikes seeing blood, so I’m giving you a chance to live. However, though your life may be spared, punishment is unavoidable.”

Ignoring everyone else’s reaction, Li Tan approached Lin Ge step by step.

“What are you all standing around for? Attack him now! Kill him immediately!”

Lin Ge was extremely frightened by Li Tan’s emotionless gaze and frantically ordered his subordinates to attack Li Tan.

The guards looked at each other hesitantly, rooted to the spot and too afraid to move.

Are you kidding?

Lin Sui Feng was already killed by Li Tan. Wouldn’t they be going to their deaths if they attacked?

So not only did they dare not attack, they actually cleared a path for Li Tan.

“You bunch of useless cowards, attack him! Li Tan is just a useless good-for-nothing who can’t cultivate. What are you afraid of?”

Lin Ge was terrified as he backed away, trying to flee but tripping over his own feet and falling to the ground.

Li Tan approached slowly, his eyes fixed on Lin Ge, but his thoughts drifted back to many years ago.

At the same time of year, in the same Lin family mansion, he had just had the poison in his body suppressed by the Lin family’s combined efforts, leaving him paralyzed in bed. He could hear the guards whispering outside the door.