"Shen Ming, tell me, how is the Sacred Family able to climb to the upper echelon of nobility and become one of the major families?" Xue Hui ignored the loud commotion around him as he continued digging into the Sacred Family's secrets.
"With the support of the Dark Guild," Shen Ming replied flatly.
"Since the beginning, the guild spent enormous amounts of resources to ensure that our Sacred Family's strength rose above the other two major families."
"That, and by ruining other families. Our Sacred Family would often sabotage other families in order to steal their businesses, territories, wealth, anything. If our Sacred Family wanted it, we would take it by any means necessary."
Shen Ming's revelation was like thunder, echoing through everyone's minds.
The Sacred Family was not merely betraying Glory City; they had never truly been one of them to begin with. That explained why the Sacred Family had been so ruthless in their methods of subduing everyone, even to the extent of committing crimes.
They are enemies trying to destroy Glory City from within.
The expressions on the people's faces shifted from bewilderment to outrage. Their blood boiled as they remembered all the hardships they had suffered at the hands of the Sacred Family.
Fury burst forth. People began to hurl curses, causing the members of the Sacred Family to tremble in fear. They tried to struggle against their restraints.
But they found themselves completely helpless under Xiao Ning'er's spiritual pressure.
Forget about channeling any strength through their bodies, they couldn't even utter a single curse.
Seeing that the commotion was beginning to get out of control, Xue Hui raised his hand, letting his spiritual energy envelop the enraged crowd and stopping them from taking any rash actions. There were still things Xue Hui wanted to uncover, so he needed everyone to restrain themselves until then.
As the banquet hall quieted down, Xue Hui took a deep breath. His expression sharpened, making the air around him tense.
If there was one thing Xue Hui was dying to know, it was the identity of the person behind Chen Linlin's poisoning.
Xue Hui had spent tens of thousands of years inside the [CREATION ORIGIN ANCESTRAL MANUAL], harboring bone-deep hatred toward the people behind her suffering. This had caused him to develop a heart demon, making his cultivation progress extremely difficult.
"Shen Ming, answer me truthfully: who is behind Chen Linlin's poisoning?"
Shen Ming's entire body shook. Despite his mind being clouded by the Truth Detection Soul Technique, his entire being could sense the immense danger standing before him.
His mouth opened and closed. His glassy eyes trembled as sweat drenched his clothes.
But under the effects of the Truth Detection Soul Technique, he was unable to hold his tongue and could only answer Xue Hui's question truthfully.
"Shen Hong wanted Chen Zhenlong's daughter dead, so he spent an enormous amount of resources to obtain two kinds of poison from the Demon Lord."
Xue Hui remained quiet as he listened, but anyone who looked into his eyes could see the dangerous glint shining within them.
"One of the poisons was brought to the Divine Family by Shen Hong himself to secretly poison Chen Zhenlong's daughter."
Chen Linlin's entire body trembled. It felt as though she had been submerged in freezing water.
Her delicate face cycled through a myriad of emotions as she remembered all the pain and suffering she had endured.
And the fact that all of it had been caused by Shen Hong made her furious.
Similarly, Chen Zhenlong's breathing became ragged, killing intent pouring from his body. Remembering his daughter's miserable condition and the pain it had brought upon his family made him want to tear Shen Hong's body to pieces.
How rotten could someone's heart be to have the resolve to poison another man's daughter? Chen Zhenlong didn't know, but he was certain that Shen Hong was a dead man.
"And the other one? Who did Shen Hong use the other poison on?"
This time, it was Ye Zong who raised his voice to question Shen Ming, his body shaking from trepidation.
All those years, he had suspected that his wife's condition back then was not simple. He had always felt there was more to it, something he didn't know.
"Answer his question," Xue Hui ordered coldly, seeing that Shen Ming had been made to answer only him.
"The other poison was used on the City Lord's wife, Ye Yurou," Shen Ming responded truthfully. Causing the gathering crowd to gasp in shock.
"Ziyun!"
Nie Li was quick to catch Ye Ziyun when she momentarily lost the strength in her body. He stared at her worriedly. She was shaking as all the color drained from her face. She looked extremely shaken by what she had heard.
"BASTARD! You dare harm my wife and child? If I let you live after today, then my name is not Ye Zong!"
Ye Zong's face flushed red with rage. He gritted his teeth as he strode forward, making the ground beneath his feet crack.
WOOSH!
Shen Hong's expression turned fearful. Color drained from his face as Ye Zong's spiritual energy burst forth, filling the entire banquet hall with his Legend Rank Demon Spiritualist aura.
"Heavens! T-The City Lord... h-he's broken through to the Legend Rank!" the people exclaimed in shock, their hearts pounding wildly at the sight of Ye Zong brimming with power.
This banquet had been nothing but surprise after surprise, to the point that people were beginning to wonder whether they were asleep and merely dreaming.
At least, if you weren't Shen Hong.
To him, it felt as though an enormous blade had been pressed against his throat, leaving his life hanging by a thread. The experience was simply dreadful.
Sensing the impending danger looming over him, Shen Hong used every ounce of his strength to call for Shen Han. His face was the very picture of panic-stricken desperation.
"Shen Han! Do something, or all of us are gonna die here!"
His desperate shout confused the people around him.
In terms of strength, Shen Hong was undoubtedly the strongest among his family, so it was eyebrow-raising to hear him yell for help from someone like Shen Han, whose strength was only at the Gold Rank.
It even made Ye Zong halt his steps as he shifted his gaze between Shen Hong and Shen Han, looking puzzled.
Xue Hui, on the other hand, felt that something was amiss. His brows furrowed as he cast an inquisitive glance at Shen Han, who was also trapped beneath the immense spiritual pressure.
For some reason, unlike Shen Hong and the rest of his family, he could sense that Shen Han was remarkably unruffled despite his life being in grave danger.
'Why did he make it sound as though Shen Han had a way to break free from their entrapment? Now that I think about it, Shen Hong and the rest of his family were acting far too brazen not long ago despite being surrounded.'
A pondering expression washed over Xue Hui's face as his gaze shifted back to Shen Ming.
"Shen Ming, tell me how Shen Hong and the rest of your family plan to leave this place."
Panic rose in Shen Hong's heart. Pushing himself, he was able to lift himself from the ground. He was in severe physical pain as he turned his head toward Shen Ming.
With bloodshot eyes, Shen Hong raised his arm before a single stone flew in his hand from his interspatial before crashing it.
Shen Ming's body shook as pain coursed through him. He let out a miserable shriek as blood began to gush from his orifices.
Xue Hui saw this and quickly took action, realizing that Shen Hong was using a technique called Soul Shackle to permanently silence Shen Ming.
A Soul Shackle was a ruthless enslavement technique. It was a way to control people, stripping them of the power to resist their master.
Once branded onto a person, it would create a chained stone. Whoever possessed that stone could instantly kill the shackled individual simply by crushing it.
It was a merciless yet highly effective way of ensuring someone's loyalty. And if the Demon Lord was using such a technique, it would explain why Glory City had never managed to capture any members of the Dark Guild. The members either killed themselves or were silenced through the use of Soul Shackles if captured.
"Killing him without my permission? You're dreaming, Shen Hong."
Xue Hui let out a disdainful snort.
He then flicked his sleeve, calling upon the Origin of Piercing. With its ability to pierce through anything, Xue Hui broke the Soul Shackle placed on Shen Ming.
Shen Ming collapsed onto the floor, coughing blood. He looked rough, but he was still alive.
Shen Hong, on the other hand, clutched his chest as a mouthful of blood sprayed from his mouth. His face turned ashen.
What Xue Hui did caused a severe soul backlash, rupturing his body and damaging his Soul Realm. The pain it caused was enough to make a veteran warrior like Shen Hong howl in agony.
"H-how? That's a Soul Shackle! No one should be able to stop it, not even Ye Mo! How could it be stopped by you?!" Shen Hong exclaimed in abject horror.
He was in disbelief. He couldn't comprehend how easily Xue Hui had broken the Soul Shackle.
Before Shen Hong could say more, he felt a presence standing beside him.
With a terrified expression, he turned his head to see who it was.
Only to find Chen Yinying towering before him, her face shrouded in shadow as a wave of killing intent exploded from her body.
Without saying a word, she reached out and grabbed Shen Hong by the face, yanking him off the floor.
"For three years, my baby suffered because of you. For three goddamned years!"
"Urgh!"
Her grip tightened, and Shen Hong's muffled cries of agony echoed throughout the banquet hall.
Chen Yinying lifted him into the air. The muscles in her other arm bulged as she drew back her fist.
Using what little strength he could still harness, Shen Hong tried to claw himself free.
But he found himself unable to escape.
Despair washed over him as he saw Chen Yinying's arm shoot forward.
"You destroyed my baby's physique. Now let me, her mother, repay you for what you did to her."
As she spoke, her spiritual pressure burst forth, making Shen Hong struggle to breathe beneath its overwhelming might.
Her fist blurred forward.
Boom!
With a ruthless strike, Chen Yinying's fist slammed into Shen Hong. Explosive energy crashed into him, causing his chest to cave in upon impact.
A massive shockwave surged through his entire body, shattering every bone into countless fragments and reducing his Soul Realm to a mangled mess, crippling both his body and cultivation.
'Widower' Mei Lin murmured under her breath. As she recognized the punch.
"Urk!"
Chen Yinying released Shen Hong, causing his body to collapse onto the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.
His face cycled through several different expressions before finally settling into one of utter despair.
He had never imagined that all his hard work would vanish in the blink of an eye.
'How... How did things end up like this? Why is my Sacred Family facing this calamity? Did I choose the wrong side? No! that can't be, Why hasn't the Demon Lord taken any action?'
Shen Hong despaired.
His listless eyes darted toward Shen Han, only to catch a glimpse of Shen Han's lips stretched into a manic grin.
End of Chapter 111.
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