Letting them live was already an enormous mercy, yet they still dared to bargain.
Lin Ye had killed Murong Ao without hesitation—did they really think he would care about the lives of a few minor clan leaders?
Even if he slaughtered them all along with their families, what could they do? They still could not touch him.
Since they had been given a chance to survive, they had no choice but to cling to it.
Besides, everyone understood one thing clearly:
The Murong family was finished.
That enormous piece of meat was now up for grabs, and it was big enough for the remaining clans to profit immensely.
And Lin Ye… he was clearly a ruthless man. If they failed to deliver on time, no one knew what terrifying consequences would follow.
So they began calculating how to scrape together the required spirit stones as fast as possible.
Fortunately, only a few of them had come.
If thirty people had shown up, their clans might have collapsed on the spot.
After the three clans fled, Lin Ye's gaze shifted toward Wang Shu.
All the Iron-Tailed Golden Eagles had already scattered in panic.
They were merely trained beasts. With their commanders dead, they naturally fled in all directions.
"You… what do you want?"
Wang Shu was trembling inside. He felt as if his head was already in Lin Ye's hand.
If he had his Golden Eagle Guards nearby, he would not be so shaken—but this mission had been a battle between top experts, so no soldiers had been brought along.
Three Tianxiang experts were dead.
The patriarch was dead.
The three clans had fled.
Now only Wang Shu remained, facing Lin Ye alone.
He was over sixty, and his cultivation was only at Earth-Shift Seventh Realm—completely insignificant before Lin Ye.
"You command the Golden Eagle Guards?"
Lin Ye looked at him calmly.
"Yes… yes."
"How many Golden Eagle Guards are there?"
Wang Shu did not understand Lin Ye's intent, but the answer was simple.
"The Golden Eagle Guards are a thousand-man force. Every one of them is a handpicked elite forged through countless battles!"
He answered instinctively, even reciting the standard prideful line—though in front of Lin Ye, the so-called elite sounded almost laughable.
Lin Ye spoke flatly.
"I give you three days. Take control of all Murong family properties and assets. Any problem?"
Wang Shu's heart jolted.
Lin Ye was placing a massive chessboard on the table—using the Golden Eagle Guards to crush what remained of the Murong family.
Win or lose, Lin Ye would benefit.
But Wang Shu would be forced to gamble his life.
If he won, he lived.
If he lost, the Murong remnants would destroy him.
If he ran, Lin Ye would kill him.
But if he succeeded—and if Lin Ye truly honored his word—then this could become the most glorious moment of his entire life.
Wang Shu's eyes lit up.
The Murong family had no one left capable of standing against him. They were leaderless chaos.
And he possessed the thousand-man Golden Eagle Guards.
His chances of victory were clearly greater.
He had simply never dared to imagine this before.
The Murong family had ridden him for too long. He had nearly forgotten what it felt like to stand upright.
One sentence from Lin Ye awakened him completely.
"Taking down the Murong family is no problem. Three days is enough to cripple them. But… the three clans may be harder to deal with…"
The Murong family was nearly finished, but the three clans still had strong foundations.
Lin Ye replied without emotion.
"The same group from earlier? Tell them I ordered you. Whoever dares interfere is my enemy."
With those words, a grand plan exploded inside Wang Shu's mind.
A once-in-a-lifetime chance.
He had served the Murong family for decades and was never valued—always treated like a dog.
Now, with Lin Ye's support and a thousand Golden Eagle Guards at his command, what was there to fear?
"Rest assured, Young Master! Within three days, I will seize the Murong family completely!"
Wang Shu reacted quickly and immediately pledged loyalty.
Lin Ye casually tossed something toward him.
"This Heaven-Seizing Forbidden Art. Study it. Do well, and you will be rewarded."
Wang Shu caught it—
And his mind instantly went blank.
Heaven-Seizing Forbidden Art!
This… was the secret technique the three Tianxiang experts had been willing to risk everything for.
Zhong Bai had only been able to compete with them because of this very art.
And now it was in Wang Shu's hands.
"Thank you, Young Master… for granting me a second life!"
Lin Ye had not killed him.
Instead, he had given him the opportunity to become the new master of the Murong empire.
On top of that, he had rewarded him with an unrivaled secret art.
How could Wang Shu not be overwhelmed?
He had followed Murong Ao for years—what had Murong Ao ever truly given him?
He had nearly even lost his position as commander.
"Go."
Lin Ye waved him away.
If this man succeeded, it would eliminate future troubles and also provide Lin Ye with a usable force.
Not because the force was overwhelmingly powerful, but because it would handle matters Lin Ye did not want to personally waste time on.
Otherwise, if Lin Ye had to rush to Jinlong City himself, settle everything, and return… how much cultivation time would that waste?
Wang Shu bowed deeply, summoned an Iron-Tailed Golden Eagle, and departed the drill grounds immediately.
Xia Wei and the Xia family patriarch quickly descended and approached Lin Ye.
At this moment, Lin Ye was the most influential figure in Leihe City.
"Congratulations, Master Lin Ye, for eliminating such a great threat!"
Xia Wei smiled brightly, then hurriedly explained when she saw Lin Ye's questioning look.
"This is the head of the Xia family—Xia Zhantian. He is my father."
Xia Wei rarely introduced her father's full name to outsiders. In her mind, the name sounded oddly theatrical.
But in Leihe City, very few people did not know Xia Zhantian.
Lin Ye was clearly one of them.
"Patriarch Xia."
Lin Ye nodded as greeting.
Then he spoke plainly.
"I accepted your gift. The position of Xia family guest elder—I accept it. However, I require the Xia family to help me collect all cultivation resources. Naturally, I will not let the Xia family suffer losses."
For a ninth-grade alchemist, there was no reason to charge forward alone without support.
Attaching himself to a powerful family made everything easier.
In his previous life, Lin Ye had risen rapidly precisely because he was close with Lu Jue, allowing him to mobilize imperial resources.
Later, after surpassing Lu Jue, that same relationship turned into jealousy and hatred.
"Excellent!"
Xia Zhantian laughed with sincere delight.
"On behalf of the entire Xia family, I welcome Master Lin Ye's joining!"
How could it not be excellent?
Lin Ye had destroyed the Murong family as easily as crushing weeds.
And his follow-up arrangement was even more brilliant—turning the Golden Eagle Guard commander against the Murong family itself.
Jinlong City's power structure was about to change completely.
Without the Murong family's protection, every faction would rush in to seize territory.
If Lin Ye wished, the Xia family would gladly cooperate in taking a share as well.
But it was too early to speak of that now.
"If Master Lin Ye needs anything, just send word through the auction house. I will handle it personally."
Xia Wei's smile was radiant.
To successfully recruit Lin Ye was pure luck.
If they had been even a bit later, the Xia family's help would no longer be needed.
"Good."
Lin Ye nodded.
This battle shook both Leihe City and Jinlong City, but to Lin Ye, it was nothing more than a brief stretch of his limbs—
And a free harvest of resources.
In the Wind-Thunder Sect, the seven-day deadline given to Lin Ye had already reached day five.
In two more days, if Lin Ye still did not return, he would be placed onto the Black List.
Meanwhile, news of Lin Ye's battle with the Murong family rapidly spread into the Wind-Thunder Sect.
Different factions reacted in different ways.
Inside a secret chamber, Geng Shiqiu slowly opened his eyes.
A dignified aura seemed to radiate from his pupils, stirring a faint wave of pressure inside the chamber itself.
"The Luo Tian Golden Pill truly lives up to its name."
"It has directly pushed my cultivation into Tianxiang Third Realm!"