"You little bastard, even now you're still protecting that slut!"
"Yeah, you sure have guts, but you're basically asking to get killed. Fighting Void Realm experts? You're way out of your league..."
The two Void Realm experts hadn't even finished talking when one of them suddenly let out an agonized scream—Ryan Ling ripped his entire arm clean off.
The other Void Realm expert was about to attack, but it was like he'd been hit by a jolt of electricity—he staggered back several steps. Even Martin Ma, standing behind him, turned pale. Clearly, none of them had expected Ryan Ling to actually be this strong.
"You guys? Fight me? The thing I hate most is traitors!" Ryan Ling didn't hesitate for a second, striding straight toward the Void Realm expert with the severed arm.
"Ethan, help me!" The wounded Void Realm expert crawled desperately backwards, trying to attack or escape, but Ryan Ling's surging Foundation-Building aura had him completely pinned. Forget unleashing Void Realm power to run away—even just dragging himself back was as painful as being sliced by knives with every inch.
Right now, Ethan Yan was totally stunned. His own aura couldn't even get close to Ryan Ling. It was like Ryan was the real mountain here, and Ethan—a so-called 'mountain'—was just a dirt mound. There was no comparison at all.
"Die!" Ryan Ling sneered. These yellow-rank, rookie Void Realm scrubs were nothing but ants to him now.
As soon as Ryan Ling finished speaking, Eric Yan's body exploded with a bang.
Blood and chunks of flesh splattered all over the crowd. One Void Realm expert—one of the Yan Family's pillar guardians—was dead, just like that. This was Jinling, this was the Yan Family, but witnessing this scene sent chills down everyone's spines.
Martin Ma's face turned ghostly pale.
Serena Yan shouted at the top of her lungs, "Martin Ma, you traitor! You've rallied a mob to rebel against the Yan Family. Most of you have served me for years—if you turn back now, I might still forgive you. But if you keep following him, you'll end up dead just like Eric Yan!"
"Uh..." The crowd looked on, faces waxy pale. Many had clearly acted on impulse, and now, seeing such a powerhouse at Serena's side, their resolve started to waver.
"Don't listen to her! Serena Yan is ruthless. You've already rebelled—if she spares you today, she'll settle the score later. Since we're already in, let's go all the way. If we win, we'll be rich for life. Otherwise, you'll spend your days as her slaves, taking orders from a woman. You really want to be a woman's slave?" Martin Ma, seeing things going south, started raving.
He was pretty good at stirring people up. As soon as he finished, some faces hardened again. Ethan Yan even slipped out a dagger—clearly a born rebel, never one to surrender.
"No remorse, huh? I gave you a shot to live, but you just can't help yourself!" Ryan Ling had already spotted Ethan Yan pulling the blade, and in a flash, he grabbed Ethan by the throat.
"Mark! Steve! Jason! What are you waiting for? Get in here!" Ethan Yan roared. Clearly, this rebellion wasn't just two Void Realms—three more burst out from the crowd.
In an instant, four Void Realm experts attacked together, and for a moment, Ryan's momentum seemed to be suppressed.
Serena Yan clenched her teeth so hard they almost cracked. She never expected the Yan Family’s guardians—the five loyal Void Realm household guards she’d personally trained—to all turn against her. She’d raised these guys from nothing, and now they were stabbing her in the back.
Serena felt a chill to her bones. She suddenly screamed, "You shameless traitors! What did I ever do to wrong you? How could you side with scum like Martin Ma against me?"
"Heh, just like Martin Ma said—why should we work under a woman? We've reached the Void Realm now. Why not team up and do something big?"
"Yeah, we've been thinking about this for ages. The Yan Family is getting weaker by the day. People call us one of Jinling's Four Great Clans, but honestly, we're just another rich family now—and it looks like we're about to get swallowed up!"
"Exactly! And you never strive for more. Ever since Victor Yan fell ill, you haven't cared about the family at all. What's the point of us staying here? We're Void Realm experts—aren't we just wasting our lives?"
"That's your excuse for rebellion?" Serena Yan gritted her teeth, furious. "If it weren't for me, you'd all still be street orphans. Would you have reached the Void Realm? Would you have this status? You're basically half-masters of the Yan Family now—how is that not enough?"
"Not enough. Not even close! We want to swallow the Yan Family whole and become the rulers of North Jinling!" Jason Yan, clearly the ringleader, shouted, ignoring Serena and glaring straight at Ryan Ling. "Let's kill this bastard first. I don't believe we can't take him down with our numbers!"
All at once, the Void Realm experts charged Ryan together—four against one. Martin Ma steadied himself. Sure, Eric Yan had died at the start, but now it was four-on-one. Even if they couldn't kill Ryan, they'd definitely injure him.
Martin Ma swallowed nervously and slowly pulled out a round, gleaming bowl from his coat—clearly a flashy artifact, and also a deadly secret weapon.
Just as Martin Ma, ever the schemer, thought the timing was perfect—everything lining up in his favor—a sudden, unbelievable scene unfolded before his eyes.
Four Void Realm experts, ganging up on one guy, hadn't even landed a single blow when suddenly they were all frozen in place. Ryan Ling was just standing there, suppressing them with nothing but his aura. The look of utter contempt in his eyes made everyone's skin crawl.
"Who the hell is this guy?" Martin Ma's mind buzzed, his whole world spinning. He'd been plotting to swallow up the Yan Family for half a year—ever since Victor Yan got sick. Just when he was about to win, Ryan Ling showed up out of nowhere as the ultimate roadblock.
"You guys? Even if there were four more of you, you'd still die!" Ryan Ling clenched his jaw, his Foundation-Building aura surging. The four Void Realm experts were instantly hoisted into the air.
Seeing this, Martin Ma felt a wave of despair. Deep down, he realized that fighting this kid was like fighting the heavens themselves.
"Madam, we were wrong! Please give us another chance!"
"We really get it now—we'll never rebel again, we swear!"
"Spare us! We'll be loyal, we promise!"
"Madam, we've grown up with you since we were kids—please, just give us one more chance!"
Watching these guys beg for mercy in agony, Serena Yan's soft-hearted side almost bubbled up again.
But right then, Ryan Ling suddenly spoke up: "Serena, you can't keep traitors around. Let me make the call for you!"
Ryan didn't wait for Serena to reply. A flash of killing intent shot from his eyes—and in an instant, all four Void Realm experts were decapitated, their bodies tossed straight into the Hell Furnace!
Serena burst into tears at the sight, but right then she understood: the Yan Family desperately needed a man in charge. Her own hesitation was what led to today's disaster.
Meanwhile, Martin Ma was stunned. He clutched the golden bowl tightly, knowing this was his last chance. Up against such an invincible force, there was no way out.
With all five Void Realm guards dead, Martin's followers had already dropped to their knees before Serena.
"Madam, spare me! I swear I'll never dare again!" Martin Ma deliberately stumbled back, face twisted in terror. Serena stepped forward—others Ryan could handle, but this bastard, she had to take out herself!
"You shameless scum, you actually dare to beg for mercy? I wish I could slice you into a thousand pieces!" Serena snarled, swinging a killing strike at Martin's head.
But just then, Martin Ma activated the golden bowl. A dizzying, clear chime rang out—Serena's legs buckled and she collapsed instantly.
Ryan Ling saw trouble and rushed over, but in that moment, the golden bowl grew larger with a boom, trapping both of them inside...