"I still underestimated the Grandmaster realm martial artists!"
Looking at Li Mingyuan's corpse lying on the ground, Ye Ningze couldn't help but sigh.
Li Mingyuan's cultivation talent wasn't particularly high, only possessing intermediate cultivation talent.
However, for him to have risen from an ordinary martial artist to the level of a Grandmaster, he must have had his own methods.
Moreover, Li Mingyuan was a renowned Grandmaster of long standing, and his foundation was naturally extraordinary.
This time, Ye Ningze had been too careless and had almost fallen.
Fortunately, he possessed top-tier self-healing talent. Although he had sustained minor injuries, they were not serious.
It could be considered a lesson learned.
Ye Ningze found a gold card on Li Mingyuan. There was nothing else besides it.
"It seems Li Mingyuan's belongings are likely still at the Li family's residence," Ye Ningze thought to himself, tucking the gold card away.
However, returning to the Li family now was definitely not a wise choice.
The commotion at the Li family's place had been so significant that other families in the base would surely be alerted.
If he returned to the Li family now, his identity might also be exposed.
Considering this, Ye Ningze decided not to return to the Li family, but to go back to his own home.
His sister, Ye Yuhan, was still waiting for him at home, and he didn't want her to worry.
As for the interfering martial artists of the Li family, Ye Ningze had already dealt with most of them earlier.
As Ye Ningze headed home, other families in the Qingcheng Base were drawn by the sounds of fighting.
The martial artists from the base families first lingered outside the Li family's gate for a moment.
After confirming that the troublemakers had left, they then surged through the Li family's main entrance.
"Elder Sun family has arrived!"
Just as the martial artists were about to enter the Li family's gate, someone shouted.
Upon hearing this, the martial artists all stopped in their tracks, preparing to respectfully welcome the Elder of the Sun family.
Among the families in the Qingcheng Base, the Sun family was considered the leader, the most powerful family.
"Greetings, Elder Sun Tian. You have personally come as well." The leading martial artist cupped his hands and greeted Sun Tian.
As for the other martial artists of lower cultivation realms, they consciously made way for Sun Tian.
Sun Tian nodded and, without saying much, led the way into the Li family's gate.
Upon entering the Li family's residence, Sun Tian immediately began to examine the condition of the Li family members' bodies.
After a thorough count, the tragic state of the Li family was revealed to everyone.
Apart from the children, the elderly, and the women, all the high-ranking members and martial artists of the Li family had suffered heavy casualties.
Even the Li family patriarch and the elders were not spared.
In fact, there was no need for a special count; just seeing the corpses scattered everywhere was enough to shock everyone's eyes.
"Too tragic! The Li family has been wiped out!"
"The Li family was one of the top five families in the base, and they had a Grandmaster guarding them. Who had the ability to do something like this?"
"Alas, it must have been a Grandmaster martial artist, or perhaps even an extraordinary martial artist!"
Whispers began to spread through the crowd.
Everyone was concerned about the cultivation level of the martial artist who had annihilated the Li family.
However, after examining the corpses, Sun Tian obtained more precise information.
"Judging from the injuries on the bodies, the martial artist who wiped out the Li family should be a Grandmaster martial artist skilled in saber techniques!" Sun Tian deduced.
"A Grandmaster skilled in saber techniques?"
Everyone present was stunned. They thought carefully and realized that there was no such person in the Qingcheng Base!
The Grandmasters in the Qingcheng Base were countable, easily tallied on one hand.
The martial artists of the base were all familiar with the Grandmasters of their own base, but they had never heard of anyone who was skilled in saber techniques.
"The Li family also had a Grandmaster. Where is that Grandmaster martial artist?" someone asked.
"Let's ask the survivors of the Li family. Surely someone must have seen the specific situation!" someone suggested.
After some inquiry, everyone obtained the answer from a member of the Li family.
The one who annihilated the Li family was a martial artist wearing a ghost mask. His saber techniques were extremely exquisite, and even a Grandmaster elder was instantly killed by him.
"Lord Sun Tian, we have clarified the situation. The Li family's Grandmaster has escaped!" someone reported to Sun Tian.
"Escaped?" Sun Tian was taken aback, then asked, "In which direction?"
"That direction." The martial artist present pointed to the east and replied, "The Li family's Grandmaster was no match for the ghost-masked man, so he fled eastward, which is where the Sun family is located."
There wasn't only one route from the Li family to the Sun family.
When Li Mingyuan had departed from the Li family, he had taken the direction of the small forest. Sun Tian, on the other hand, had arrived from the street, thus missing him.
Now that Li Mingyuan's escape route was clear, a martial artist proposed, "That ghost-masked man's skills are so formidable, capable of instantly killing even a Grandmaster martial artist. We shouldn't provoke him."
"Everyone, there's no need to worry. I believe that ghost-masked man was targeting the Li family and wouldn't have targeted us," Sun Tian said calmly.
"Furthermore, as an elder of the Sun family, no matter how insane that ghost-masked man is, he wouldn't be so audacious as to make an enemy of our Sun family."
Hearing Sun Tian's words, the martial artists present finally felt reassured.
Thus, the martial artists present followed Sun Tian in pursuit.
Li Mingyuan had been injured at the time, leaving behind many bloodstains along his escape route.
Following these clues, everyone successfully found Li Mingyuan.
"Li Mingyuan is dead!"
An elite martial artist exclaimed in shock.
His face was filled with terror, and his eyes twitched uncontrollably.
This was a Grandmaster martial artist, a realm he could never reach in his lifetime.
Yet, now, the corpse of a living Grandmaster martial artist lay quietly before them. How could anyone not be shocked!
Sun Tian rushed forward immediately and began to examine Li Mingyuan's body.
As he inspected, he analyzed, "Li Mingyuan's skin is very withered, indicating he must have used some kind of secret technique."
"I once heard that Li Mingyuan, in his youth, obtained a method to burn his lifespan to temporarily increase his strength. It seems to be true now. It's just that even after using the secret technique, Li Mingyuan couldn't win, which fully demonstrates the power of the ghost-masked man."
Hearing Sun Tian's analysis, the faces of the martial artists present changed drastically.
Li Mingyuan was a renowned Grandmaster. If even he couldn't win, what kind of existence had they offended?
Sun Tian glanced back at the path he had come from and pondered, "Strange, why did the ghost-masked man only catch up to Li Mingyuan here? Could he also be injured?"
According to Sun Tian's understanding, since Ye Ningze, the ghost-masked man, could kill Li Mingyuan, his realm must be above his.
That would mean he was at the late or even peak Grandmaster stage.
Even if Li Mingyuan had used a secret technique, he shouldn't have been able to pursue such a long distance.
As Sun Tian was pondering this, a wooden box next to Li Mingyuan's corpse caught his attention.
"Is this the 'Rainstorm Pear Blossom Needle'?" Sun Tian picked up the wooden box and observed it closely before reaching this conclusion.
The Rainstorm Pear Blossom Needle was rumored to originate from a mysterious force and was a self-destructive hidden weapon with considerable power.
Even a Grandmaster martial artist, if caught off guard, could fall on the spot.
Sun Tian had only heard of such hidden weapons before. Seeing it with his own eyes now, he couldn't help but be greatly astonished.