In an instant.
Bai Zihe's hands clasped the backs of their necks.
The two ancient martial artists' souls nearly fled their bodies.
"No!"
"Bai Zihe, you can't kill me."
"I am a disciple of the Zhou family, an ancient martial arts family in Jiangdong. If you kill me, you will be an enemy of the entire Zhou family."
"At that time, there will be no escape for you in the entire Jiangdong province, neither in heaven nor on earth!"
Zhou Desheng threatened with a ferocious but inwardly weak voice.
"I am a disciple of the Xu family, an ancient martial arts family in Jiangdong!"
"Bai Zihe, if you dare to lay a finger on me, you will be ground into powder by the Xu family."
"Even your Bai family in Suhang will not escape unscathed!"
Xu Qin Hu also said hastily.
Ancient martial arts families!
Ordinary people knew very little about them.
But they were certain that martial artists like Bai Zihe would surely understand the power and influence of martial arts families.
Therefore, at this critical moment, announcing their lineage was meant to awe Bai Zihe.
And thus, save their lives.
"Ancient martial arts families?"
Bai Zihe's lips curled into a sneer, his voice chilling.
The two had not yet noticed anything amiss, thinking that since Bai Zihe hadn't immediately killed them, there was still hope. One by one, they became arrogant.
"Yes, ancient martial arts families."
"Bai Zihe, you cannot possibly not know the might of ancient martial arts families."
"Our families have countless ancient martial artists. Any one of them could be a renowned figure. You cannot afford to offend us!"
"If you let us go now, all this can be discussed. We can pretend nothing happened!"
While they said this, their true intention was to seek revenge once they escaped.
However, Bai Zihe's words in the next second plunged them into despair.
"Since ancient martial arts families are so powerful..."
"Can they resurrect the dead?"
His voice was as cold as frost, devoid of any warmth of human affection.
The two were stunned. Before they could even ponder the meaning of Bai Zihe's words, they felt a tremendous force applied to their necks.
*Crack!*
Their necks were snapped, their pupils dilated, and all signs of life vanished.
*Thump, thump!*
Two corpses fell to the floor, and simultaneously, into the hearts of Jiang Biyun and Zhu Longtian.
In a mere matter of minutes.
Heilong was dead.
Xu Qin Hu and Zhou Desheng, two masters of ancient martial arts, were also dead.
And now...
Bai Zihe walked towards the two of them, step by step.
His bone-chilling killing intent was unconcealed.
He was like a god of slaughter emerging from hell, and a single glance at him made one's hair stand on end and filled them with dread.
"Bai Zihe, you, you don't mess around!"
Jiang Biyun kept retreating, but soon found himself at a dead end, pressed against the wall.
He stared at Bai Zihe with a face full of terror, his body trembling uncontrollably.
Clearly, he was petrified.
"Bai Zihe!"
"Don't kill me, please, don't kill me!"
Zhu Longtian was even more pathetic.
Between his legs, a stream of liquid was already flowing.
He had peed himself in terror!
"It seems you are very afraid of death."
Bai Zihe stared at the two of them, who shivered with fear. "Then I will give you a way out."
"What way out?"
"You say, if you spare me, I'll do anything!"
The two immediately pledged.
"Sell all the assets of your Zhu and Jiang families, convert them to cash, and donate them to the common people of Jiangdong province."
"Then, leave Jiangdong forever."
"This way, you can keep your lives."
"Otherwise..."
"The Zhu family, the Jiang family, will be wiped out!"
As Bai Zihe uttered the word "wiped out," a fierce killing intent surged like a tide, engulfing the two instantly.
Zhu Longtian and Jiang Biyun harbored no doubt.
Bai Zihe could easily take their lives with just a thought.
"Good, good, I will return and handle it immediately!"
"As long as you don't kill me, it's fine to give all this money to them!"
The two men quickly agreed.
Bai Zihe turned and left.
As he reached the door, his icy voice echoed again.
"I want to see the news tomorrow morning."
"Otherwise..."
*Rumble!*
The coffee table in the private room instantly exploded, sending shards flying in all directions.
Two of these fragments precisely grazed the faces of the two men, leaving faint bloody trails.
The two flinched, as if they had just walked through the gates of hell, collapsing to the floor and greedily gasping for air in the room.
A moment later.
The two recovered somewhat.
But their bodies were already drenched in sweat, as if they had just been pulled from water.
"Patriarch Zhu, what do you say about this?"
Jiang Biyun cautiously peeked around, and after confirming Bai Zihe had indeed left, asked Zhu Longtian with a grim face.
Their family's assets had been accumulated over generations to reach their current scale.
Bai Zihe wanted them to squander it all overnight...
How could they bear it!
Thus, Jiang Biyun posed this question.
He believed Zhu Longtian felt the same way.
Zhu Longtian's expression was grim, and he said in a low voice, "Bai Zihe is too powerful. We cannot confront him directly."
After speaking, his gaze flickered towards the window.
Jiang Biyun seemed to catch a hint of his meaning. "Then what do you mean..."
Zhu Longtian took a deep breath, a gleam in his eyes. "Brother Jiang, we are now in the same boat. I'll be frank."
Jiang Biyun was momentarily taken aback, then said, "Patriarch Zhu, please speak freely."
Zhu Longtian nodded.
"With our strength, confronting Bai Zihe is like a mantis trying to stop a chariot."
"He has given us a deadline to squander our fortunes tonight and see the news tomorrow."
"Then..."
"We can feign compliance tonight, sell some insignificant minor assets, and then take away our main assets."
"Upon returning, we will immediately lead our important family members to flee Jiangdong!"
"Go north, go west!"
"Even, we can go across the ocean..."
"Bai Zihe, he cannot possibly reach those places, can he!"
After speaking, Zhu Longtian smirked triumphantly.
Jiang Biyun immediately echoed, "Brilliant!"
"This way, we can both save our lives and keep our fortunes!"
"Moreover, we can find mercenaries and desperadoes overseas to launch continuous assassination attempts against Bai Zihe!"
"Or perhaps..."
"We can wait and see, and watch from the sidelines."
"See how Bai Zihe deals with the retaliation from the Zhou and Xu families, two ancient martial arts families!"
The two, in their back-and-forth conversation, had devised a perfect counter-plan.
The terror on their faces had vanished.
"There is no time to lose."
"Patriarch Zhu, you and I should return to our respective homes to make arrangements immediately."
"We will meet at the airport at eleven tonight!"
Jiang Biyun said.
"Good!"
The two immediately left the cruise ship.
The families' great escape was taken seriously by the core members of both houses.
In less than half an hour, they had arranged everything and set off for the airport.
An hour later, the two parties met on the highway.
Several inconspicuous private cars, carrying family members and important assets, drove into the airport road entrance one after another.
"Brother Zhu, this journey will lead us to boundless horizons!"
"That Bai Zihe actually dreamt of us squandering our fortunes, what a fool's dream!"
"Hahahaha..."
When the cars of the two patriarchs pulled up side-by-side, they rolled down their windows and spoke loudly without any restraint, laughing heartily.
But at this moment.
*Bang bang bang!*
Accompanied by urgent sounds, the cars violently shook. Their tires were all blown out, forcing them to stop.
A group of men in black blocked their path.
Before the two could speak, they pulled open the car doors, killed everyone inside, and then severed their heads.
Everything happened so suddenly!
To such an extent that the eyes of the two patriarchs remained wide open in terror.
They died with their eyes open!
The woman leading the group, with a graceful figure and a voice like a cascade of pearls, issued a chilling command.
"Take their heads to Bai Zihe!"