Chapter 184 – The Variable That Quietly Arrived

Seeing Xu Wen targeting Li Jing and the Li Family elder targeting Su Ming, how could the crowd not understand?

This was clearly these two big shots secretly clashing with each other.

Moreover, both were clearly taking sides in their interventions.

For example, Xu Wen appeared to be scolding everyone present, but from start to finish, he never mentioned Su Ming. He only directed a sarcastic remark at Li Jing, infuriating Li Jing to no end. Yet Li Jing dared not speak up or question it, forced to swallow his frustration.

Seeing this situation, the Li Family elder was clearly displeased, hence he also targeted Su Ming.

It seemed the Xu Family and Li Family were truly developing some friction.

Of course, as the instigators, Xu Yanyan and Gao Xu on the side maintained a posture of observing their noses and hearts, appearing as innocent bystanders completely detached from the matter.

Xu Qianqian, however, glanced at Su Ming with some concern, seemingly worried that being targeted by the Li Family elder might leave him in an awkward position.

But surprisingly, Su Ming remained quite calm.

He knew this Li Family elder was one of Longyao City’s top figures, standing on equal footing with Xu Wen.

Being singled out and challenged by such a prominent figure made finding a perfect way out quite difficult.

Even if he wanted to refuse with bold confidence, Su Ming didn’t believe he could succeed.

With his current strength, he could still contend against a Four-Star Hunter by leveraging his advantages as a Dual Professional with mutation abilities. But attempting to challenge a Six-Star Hunter would be truly overestimating himself.

After all, Six-Star Professionals were reputedly capable of confronting Nightmare Species.

Even Hazardous Species among upper-tier Phantom Demons likely wouldn’t pose much trouble for them.

And Hazardous Species were beings that even Four-Star Professionals could only resist—only those at Five-Star or above could truly defeat them.

With Su Ming’s current capabilities, handling a Hazardous Species was already precarious, let alone a Nightmare Species.

Therefore, facing a Six-Star Professional who could rival Nightmare Species, Su Ming currently had no grounds for bold defiance.

Unless he had backing.

“My elder said I’m rather unsightly and unsuitable for showing my face to scare people,” Su Ming continued in a humorous, relaxed tone under the gaze of everyone present.

This statement smoothly captured the crowd’s attention.

“Your elder?” The Li Family elder narrowed his eyes, smiling as he asked, “Then, might I know if I’m acquainted with this elder of yours?”

The implication was clear: Su Ming had better produce someone formidable enough to give him pause, or else he wouldn’t escape this situation unscathed.

Su Ming wasn’t the least bit intimidated.

“I call him Uncle Wu,” Su Ming uttered these words.

“Uncle Wu?”

Hearing Su Ming’s words, many present showed puzzled expressions.

Who was that?

In contrast, the Li Family elder’s expression shifted slightly.

“Uncle Wu?” Even Xu Wen turned his head, somewhat surprised and contemplative as he said, “The one always accompanying the young ladies of the Yun Family Estate?”

The “young ladies” Xu Wen referred to were naturally Yun Langyue and her mother.

In the eyes of an elder like Xu Wen, they could indeed only be considered young ladies.

But Uncle Wu was clearly different.

“Exactly,” Su Ming invoked the name without any hesitation.

After all, that Uncle Wu was always helping his Young Miss to corner him.Recalling the previous encounters where Uncle Wu had blocked his retreat, Su Ming didn’t hesitate in the slightest and immediately invoked his name.

At this, the elder from the Li Family fell silent.

Clearly, even if Uncle Wu’s name didn’t instill fear in him, it carried enough weight to prevent him from continuing to target Su Ming.

Seeing this, Xu Wen grinned but said nothing more.

He had no intention of tearing up relations with the Li Family just yet.

And so…

“You two, come with me.”

Xu Wen addressed Su Ming and Li Jing with these words.

“The rest of you, continue the gathering here.”

As he spoke, Xu Wen raised his hand, and numerous servants of the Xu Family swarmed in, swiftly tidying up the venue.

The others, though curious about what the higher-ups intended for Su Ming and Li Jing, could only suppress their curiosity and remain where they were.

Li Jing was quite unwilling to obey Xu Wen’s summons.

“Follow.”

Unfortunately, the Li Family elder interjected with these words, forcing Li Jing to reluctantly step forward.

“I’ll pass.”

Su Ming naturally refused without any courtesy.

He wasn’t affiliated with any of the Family factions present; strictly speaking, he was only here to lend a hand and had no obligation to heed Xu Wen’s orders.

But at this point, it was Xu Wen who brought up the Yun Family Estate.

“The matter I’m about to discuss will likely interest your Yun Family Estate as well.”

Xu Wen glanced at Su Ming, dropped this line, and then fell silent.

Su Ming raised an eyebrow.

Judging by the old man’s attitude, it seemed he had something important to say by calling him over?

He had thought the old man was just throwing his weight around, intending to drag him off for a lecture.

Xu Wen’s earlier behavior had been too reminiscent of rounding up two troublemaking juniors for a scolding.

“Alright then.”

Since it wasn’t a lecture, Su Ming agreed.

“Grandfather!”

At this moment, Xu Qianqian naturally stepped forward without hesitation.

“What is it?” Xu Wen glared at Xu Qianqian and said irritably, “I haven’t even settled accounts with you yet, and you dare step forward now?”

Heaven knows, when Xu Wen learned that Xu Qianqian had set off fireworks to disrupt the ritual of 『Sin』, thwarting their plans and drawing their hostility, he had nearly been furious to death.

This troublesome granddaughter had been causing one commotion after another lately—first being ambushed and severely injured, then nearly getting killed by an ambush during a campaign, and now actively provoking an underground organization like 『Sin』, making herself their target. It was as if she had no idea what the word “death” meant.

Why hadn’t he realized before that this girl was so adept at stirring up trouble?

Unfortunately, Xu Qianqian completely misunderstood her grandfather’s thoughts and bluntly stated:

“I’m going too.”

There was no way the Young Miss Xu would allow Su Ming to be taken away by her grandfather alone.

“You…”

Xu Wen frowned, about to glare at Xu Qianqian again, when he was interrupted.

“I’m going too.”

This time, it wasn’t the Young Miss Xu who spoke.

Well, to be precise, this was also a Young Miss of the Xu Family.

Xu Yanyan chose the perfect moment to step forward, appearing before her grandfather.

Behind her, Gao Xu followed calmly, bowing slightly to Xu Wen in respect.Just kidding, Xu Wen clearly wanted to say something very important. In that case, how could we let Xu Qianqian and the others go alone?

No matter what, we couldn’t be left out!

As for Duan Xiaofei, that guy was actually sneaking behind Gao Xu, trying to lower his presence and blend in with the group.

“We…”

Watching everyone step forward one by one, Li Mei and Li Su, who were trembling on the side, seemed unwilling to be outdone and prepared to raise their hands to join.

But just as they were about to raise their hands, the old man from the Li Family shot them a cold glare.

At that, the frivolous siblings fell silent and could only continue trembling there.

From this, it was clear that in the Li Family, these two siblings were practically abandoned, with almost no say in anything.

In fact, both the old man from the Li Family and Li Jing might even secretly resent them for being more of a hindrance than a help.

After all, putting everything else aside, in this confrontation between the Xu Family and the Li Family, the Li Family had clearly lost ground.

Not even knowing how to stir up trouble properly and letting the situation escalate like this, the siblings’ standing in the eyes of the Li Family elders had naturally plummeted.

Although, to be fair, their position in the Li Family had already been precarious.

If it weren’t for the fact that these siblings still carried the direct Bloodline of the Li Family, and could at least be used for marriage alliances, political unions, or even as mere breeding tools to contribute to the Li Family’s expansion and produce a few children with good Aptitude, they might have long been discarded by the Family. How else could they attend such a gathering filled with Upper-Rank Professionals?

Such is the tragedy of being a child of a great Family—either rise to prominence or be reduced to a breeding tool.

It just goes to show that everything has its pros and cons; being born into a great Family isn’t necessarily a good thing.

But none of this had anything to do with Xu Wen, of course.

Xu Wen looked at Xu Qianqian, then at Xu Yanyan, thought for a moment, and finally nodded.

“Alright, perhaps you two can be of help too.”

With those words, Xu Wen turned and left.

Seeing this, Gao Xu and Xu Qianqian hurriedly followed.

Duan Xiaofei also leisurely tagged along, like a passerby just dropping by, completely unaware that he was an outsider.

The old man from the Li Family also left with Li Jing.

It’s worth mentioning that the other big shots who had come with Xu Wen and the Li Family elder also called one or two people each to leave the venue with them.

This phenomenon piqued the curiosity of many and made Su Ming and Xu Qianqian exchange glances.

“Did something else happen?” Su Ming was puzzled.

“Probably,” Xu Qianqian frowned deeply. “Judging by the situation, there might be some unexpected changes in our plans.”

“I think so too,” Su Ming’s brow furrowed as well.

Originally, the changes in the situation had been within his grasp.

He was the one who brought out the Mist Waves obstruction, proposed using Xu Qianqian as bait, anticipated the joint ambush by the higher-ups of Longyao City, and even mentally prepared to participate in the subsequent battle, having readied his means of survival.

But now, it seemed the situation had shifted, causing things to slip somewhat out of control.

“I hope it’s nothing bad,” Xu Qianqian felt uneasy inside, but her expression remained calm and indifferent, as if she was prepared to bear whatever came.Su Ming remained silent.

The two exchanged glances once more, then lifted their feet and stepped forward, catching up with the small group ahead as they all headed in the direction of the big shots.

No matter what, they would take one step at a time.

(End of Chapter)