It turned out that while Chu Feng and the others had been away, a major event had occurred in the Chu Family. In the mining district near Kaoshan Town, a rare deposit of Dark Iron Ore had been unearthed, and surveys revealed that the vein was enormous.
Dark Iron Ore was the finest material for forging weapons and blades, its value surpassing even gold mines. It was essentially a treasure trove that could multiply the Chu Family's profits several hundredfold over.
So once the Dark Iron Ore was discovered, the Chu Family, while overjoyed, began secretly mining it and implemented strict confidentiality measures.
But there was no such thing as a perfectly airtight secret. Somehow, word of the Dark Iron Ore leaked out, and when the news spread, it quickly drew the jealousy of various powers from neighboring towns.
Led by their old rivals, the Xu Family, the Xu Family allied with the two strongest families in the Kaoshan region—the Ma Family and the Wang Family—to attack the Chu Family, intending to seize the Dark Iron Ore for themselves.
Chu Renyi had been handling business outside of town. As soon as he received the news, he rushed back immediately, only to walk right into an ambush laid by the Ma Family. Had Chu Feng not arrived in time, he would surely have been killed.
"The Xu Family—they've got a death wish."
After hearing the full account, Chu Feng gnashed his teeth in fury, killing intent filling his eyes. Without even mounting his horse, he launched himself forward and sprinted toward the Chu Family at full speed.
"Feng'er, don't go—it's too dangerous!" Chu Renyi hurriedly called out to stop him.
But Chu Feng's speed was simply too great. All Chu Renyi saw was a gust of wind sweep past, and Chu Feng had already vanished. At that moment, even the words Chu Renyi had been about to say died in his throat.
It took him a long while to recover, and then he said in utter astonishment, "Feng'er's speed... could it be that his strength has already surpassed the Spirit Martial realm?"
When the others heard Chu Renyi's words, the wounded members of the Chu Family all gasped with their mouths agape. To surpass the Spirit Martial realm at such a young age—what did that even mean? It was nearly beyond the limits of what they could comprehend.
Kaoshan Town was the foundation of the Chu Family. The town's order was maintained by the Chu Family, and its citizens were protected by the Chu Family. It was no exaggeration to call this small town a miniature kingdom.
Because of the recent Dark Iron Ore affair, the Chu Family had long since set up layers of defenses throughout Kaoshan Town to guard against anyone wishing them harm.
But now, under the combined assault of the Xu, Ma, and Wang families, every layer of Kaoshan Town's defenses had been breached. Nearly all of the townspeople had been massacred, and only within the walls of the Chu Family compound were the last defenders still fighting.
Yet against the combined might of three factions, no matter how strong the Chu Family was, they could not prevail. Every member of the Chu Family who was not elderly, young, or infirm had either been killed or gravely wounded—the losses were catastrophic.
At this point, the only ones still capable of fighting were the Chu Family head, Chu Yuanba, and the experts of the family such as Chu Yuan. They were defending the Chu Family's final line of protection, shielding the elderly and the weak, safeguarding the family's very foundation.
But no matter how formidable Chu Yuanba might be, he was no match for the combined assault of the three family heads from the Xu, Ma, and Wang families. At this moment, his face was pale as paper, his entire body soaked in blood, and he was half-kneeling on the ground, coughing violently.
"Father." Seeing that Chu Yuanba could no longer fight, Chu Yuan hurried to his side, casting a wary gaze around them for fear that someone would strike a killing blow against his father.
And after Chu Yuanba had been defeated, the four factions ceased their battle. This bloody conflict had finally found a brief moment of peace.
"Chu Yuanba, I see you as a man of substance, so I'll grant you a dignified death. Take your own life." One of the three elders was a short, stocky man with a black beard—this was the head of the Xu Family.
Looking at the three elders before him, and scanning the carnage among the Chu Family members around him, Chu Yuanba's face was filled with grief as he spoke: "I, Chu Yuanba, will take my own life, but please spare my family."
"I swear that from this day forward, the Chu Family will leave Kaoshan and never return."
"Ha ha ha—so are you the fool, or do you take us for fools? Spare your family? You want us to let the tiger back into the mountains and leave ourselves a future threat?"
"Chu Yuanba, if you have anyone to blame, blame yourself for not reading the times. If you had agreed to share the Dark Iron Ore with our three families, none of this would have happened. You can only blame yourself for the Chu Family's current state—it was all your doing."