Until today, Leonard Zhuo had never imagined there would come a day when the White Tower of the Zhuo Family might collapse. The Zhuo Family was a martial aristocratic clan, structured around bloodline and tradition—passing inheritance quietly from generation to generation.
As for the Zhuo Family itself,
They were only slightly weaker than a small martial sect, and were considered quite powerful.
"It's meaningless."
"Before absolute power, everything our Zhuo Family relies on is meaningless." Leonard Zhuo closed his eyes in pain—not out of sadness, but out of pure regret.
Had I known it would come to this, why did I ever provoke Andrew Han?
It was just the seventh son—if he died, he died. But if the Zhuo Family is destroyed because of this, that is true despair and sorrow. Besides, he had far more than seven sons; some of his talented illegitimate children had even joined martial sects.
At this moment,
Leonard Zhuo's eldest son stood nervously to one side, glancing at his father, who was embedded in the outer wall at the base of the White Tower: "Father, should we seek revenge?"
"Revenge?"
Leonard Zhuo's eyes snapped open, thunderous rage flickering within: "Victor Zhuo was blind to strength and weakness, provoked the Green Mountain Sect Disciple, and his death was deserved. You, as my son, still think of revenge—do you want to bring ruin upon our entire Zhuo Family?"
With that said,
A look of disappointment flashed in Leonard Zhuo's eyes; he no longer saw his eldest son as his successor.
As the head of the Zhuo Family, one must tread carefully and wisely. Though he was a high-tier Martial Lord, Leonard Zhuo had let anger cloud his judgment today, nearly causing the Zhuo Family's destruction.
With Victor Zhuo dead, Leonard Zhuo's heart was heavy with pain.
But above all, what lingered was fear—a cold, lingering dread in his heart.
This time, offending Andrew Han, the Peerless Legend, had nearly wiped out the Zhuo Family completely. Leonard Zhuo could hardly imagine such a disastrous outcome; as a pragmatic patriarch, he had always put benefit first, never risking the clan's fate for a single son.
After thinking for a moment, Leonard Zhuo struggled to stand.
The outer wall of the White Tower was about four or five meters thick; it was not in danger of collapsing. Leonard Zhuo leaned heavily against the milky-white wall, his breathing labored, and said in a low voice, "Go immediately to the Martial Arts Alliance and have the Martial Arts World of Sinovera demand the return of our sect relic from the Sakura Island Nation."
Beside him,
The middle-aged clansman was stunned by what he heard, and couldn't help but ask, "The Martial Arts Alliance is getting involved? But this disaster was caused by our Zhuo Family—would the Alliance really be willing to help us?"
"Silence!" Leonard Zhuo roared in anger. "You fool! It's clear that Victor Zhuo kept the entire Zhuo Family in the dark, colluding privately with the Sakura Island Nation and trafficking sect relics."
"Remember, this incident has nothing to do with our Zhuo Family."
Upon hearing this,
the middle-aged clansman's expression shifted several times before he replied obediently, "Yes, Father. I understand."
He finally understood the truth... Perhaps, from the very beginning, Victor Zhuo had already been made the scapegoat, and all blame would fall on him, leaving the Zhuo Family untouched.
Furthermore,
Even the loss of the sect relic to the Sakura Island Nation is not a major concern.
Sinovera's Martial Arts World is among the strongest in the world, rivaling the mysterious powers of other nations. Would the Sakura Island Nation dare defy the Martial Arts Alliance's wrath? The relic may have left Sinovera, but sooner or later, it will be returned.
Because Sinovera is no longer the declining nation it once was.
Having sorted out everything, just as he was about to leave, Leonard Zhuo coughed up two mouthfuls of blood and continued his instructions: "Select two maidens immediately. When the Green Mountain Eastern-Sea Chart is returned, have them go and kneel before Andrew Han to apologize. I see that Han is in the prime of youth—perhaps beauty will help quell his anger."
"Sigh."
"As long as the Green Mountain Sect endures, it can never be humiliated again." Leonard Zhuo sighed softly, his gaze complex as he looked toward the half-shattered White Tower, its ruined form standing tall—a testament to Han's strength.
Immediately after,
"Chh."
He suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, and his vision went black.
"Impossible!"
"There's still shock-force and Inspiration raging inside me? I can't suppress it at all." Leonard Zhuo's eyes widened in disbelief as he collapsed to the ground, gravely injured—this was not something he could recover from in a day or two.
He had truly underestimated Andrew Han.
He had underestimated both martial strength and, even more so, character.
Unbelievable.
"Han, Han—"
"He did it with just one punch!" The beautiful woman tried to whisper, but couldn't even utter the simple words 'Andrew Han.' The sight of the shattered White Tower only magnified the legend of Han's name.
Beside her,
"Sigh."
The middle-aged woman exhaled, "We're only a hundred meters from the White Tower, and felt the ground shake as if the earth itself was trembling. I suspect that for several kilometers around, people felt varying degrees of shock."
"What do you mean?"
The beautiful woman still looked confused, and so did other members of the Martial Arts Alliance.
"You still don't get it?" The middle-aged woman shook her head and sighed, "Good thing this happened on the outskirts of the Imperial Capital. If an earthquake like this struck within the Fifth Ring, it would have alarmed the entire country."
Earthquake?
Earthquake!
The beautiful woman's face froze in shock.
The White Tower, at least fifty or sixty meters tall, was built entirely of reinforced concrete—no shortcuts or shoddy work. The upper half, easily thirty meters high, crashed to the ground, causing a tremor like a real earthquake.
...
The Zhuo Family estate sits on the edge of the Imperial Capital.
The area is sparsely populated, but a few residents live nearby.
"Earthquake!"
"It's an earthquake, hurry and get out of the house!"
The panicked residents scrambled to gather in the open space.
At that moment,