Chapter 397: Chapter 397: The Crisis of the Sun Family! (Fifth update)
You have to say that Sun Wei, a rich girl, knows how to enjoy life.

She, well-versed in knowing all the best places, led Huang Xiaolong to this high-end French restaurant, to the priciest private room.

Just the room fee itself cost 8888 yuan, which made Huang Xiaolong gasp in astonishment.

The two were eating under the candlelight, sipping red wine. There were musicians in the room playing the violin, the soothing and elegant music was truly intoxicating.

Sun Wei, while eating her steak, would occasionally glance at Huang Xiaolong, her mind filled with images of his unbeatable strength.

“Little Long, you’re truly amazing~~like an angel descended from the heavens!” Sun Wei exclaimed with an infatuated expression. “That night at the charity auction dinner of the four major families, you were utterly smashing! All those spoilt young masters of Binhai, compared to you, they were nothing!”

“Hehe, Sister Bai Hu, I told you, I’m the best. That night, do you remember what you said in front of everyone?” Huang Xiaolong said with a smirk.

Sun Wei chuckled and then picked up her fork and personally fed a piece of steak to Huang Xiaolong. “I said… I want to be your woman!”

Huang Xiaolong chewed on the piece of steak. “Right, Sister Bai Hu, what are you going to Jiangnan City for?”

“To fight,” Sun Wei laughed.

“Fight? Are you going to fight someone?” Huang Xiaolong was slightly taken aback.

Sun Wei had been practicing martial arts since she was a child. Her talent wasn’t too bad, and she had gotten a complete version of the Sun Bin Fist from him, fixing all the flaws in her fist technique.

But, although she would have no problems fighting the average martial artist, to spar with a real expert, she was bound to suffer!

Huang Xiaolong didn’t want to see his wife get beaten.

“Pfft~~Little Long, are you worried about me?” Sun Wei looked at Huang Xiaolong with tender affection. “You being worried about me, makes me so happy and sweet inside.”

“Be serious Sister Bai Hu, what are you really going to Jiangnan City for?” Huang Xiaolong insisted.

“It is really to fight. But, I probably won’t actually fight.” Sun Wei let the cat out of the bag.

It turns out that the Sun Family, as an ancient martial arts family, goes to Jiangnan City every year to fight a few rounds with other ancient martial arts families from all over the country.

In Huaxia, the world of martial arts has always existed.

It existed in the past, and it exists now.

Since ancient times, disputes in the martial arts world, regardless of right or wrong, have always been resolved through a contest on the ring stage.

Nowadays, the martial arts competition held in Jiangnan City every year not only serves as a competition for the major ancient martial arts families across the country to resolve disputes, but it also determines the market share of each family’s martial arts gyms countrywide.

For example, the Sun Family currently runs over a hundred martial arts clubs all over the country.

These martial arts clubs bring in a hefty economic income for the Sun Family every year.

However, running these clubs was not always a guarantee of steady profits due to intense competition!

There are numerous ancient martial arts families like the Sun Family in Huaxia hidden amongst the populace who have passed down ancient martial arts techniques within their family.

Everyone wants to open martial arts gyms, recruit a large number of disciples, gain fame, and make a fortune. Naturally, competition arises.

To regulate the industry competition, each year, these ancient martial arts families gather in Jiangnan City to compete on the ring stage, determining market share.

For instance, a match could determine which family has the right to open a martial arts gym in a certain city or district.

“Oh, so that’s it.” Huang Xiaolong finally understood. “Sister Bai Hu, how is your Sun Family fairing?”

“Not particularly good or bad.” Sun Wei laughed. “Anyway, we have been able to maintain around 100 branches across the country for the past few years. This year might be the same, my grandfather wants me to go to Jiangnan City to gain experience. In reality, I really want to get up on that stage and fight!”

Sun Wei liked to spar since she was a child. Although she was a girl, she always loved a good fight. Moreover, ever since she completed Sun Bin Fist, she felt her martial arts ability improved significantly, so she was eager for a good challenge.

“Little Long! Grandfather said that since you’ve filled the gaps in our Sun Family’s Sun Bin Fist, if our family members train hard for a year, we will definitely shine in next year’s ring stage competition, and maybe even get more market share! By then, our Sun Family will have martial arts clubs all over the country!” Sun Wei said excitedly. “Little Long, grandfather is very grateful to you…pfft~~~He still doesn’t know that the real expert is you! Grandfather thought all along that you had a mysterious grandmaster behind you!”

Under Sun Wei’s misdirection, the entire Sun Family believed Huang Xiaolong was just a “true disciple” of “that respected elder”.

“Wait, Sister Bai Hu, I think it’s better if you don’t get on the stage to fight.” Huang Xiaolong said, furrowing his brow. “Can these ring stage fights lead to death?”

“It’s quite normal for it to happen.” Sun Wei said. “People die every year…Those who get up on the stage to fight sign a life and death contract beforehand. Fists and feet have neither eyes nor brains, especially when the people fighting are evenly matched, whoever is lenient, is the one who will die.”

Huang Xiaolong thought, isn’t this pretty much the same as underground fighting?

Given this, Huang Xiaolong became even more concerned about Sun Wei going up to the boxing ring to compete against others.

‘Since I’m going to Jiangnan City to extinguish the Chen family and Bai Hu’s sister is also headed to Jiangnan City, I might as well go with her.’ Huang Xiaolong thought to himself, his thoughts raced like electricity. “Also, the once-a-year national gathering of ancient martial arts clans is always held in Jiangnan City. As the top family in the city, the Chen family can’t possibly not participate… Moreover, those people from the top ten ancient martial arts clans that Yan Pianpian mentioned, like the ancient martial arts crown prince, Xuanyuan Ba, I wonder if they’ll show up… Wow! So exciting!”

…

Sun Family!

The ancestral home of the Sun family that spans thousands of acres!

In one of the ancestral halls.

At this moment, standing in the hall were dozens of people, led by Old Master Sun. These were the pillars and cornerstone figures of the contemporary Sun family!

The air was heavy and oppressive, as if it could drip water!

Old Master Sun, with a letter in hand, was reading it. His hands relentlessly trembling, his forehead covered in cold sweat.

“Father…this…what on earth is going on?” Sun Hu, the capable second-generation leader of Sun family and Sun Feng’s father, appeared visibly perturbed at this moment.

The other members of the Sun family present also expressed their indignation.

In the ancestral hall, a copper cauldron that was once on display had been destroyed.

The once whole copper cauldron was now split in two as if it had been cleaved open by some sharp weapon. The cut so smooth and neat that not a single burr remained.

“It’s…it’s here…finally…it has come…” Old Master Sun’s voice quivered, his gaze landed on the broken cauldron on the ground, a look of fear settled in his eyes.

There were only a few things in this world capable of making Old Master Sun feel fear.

“Father, what on earth is going on?” another second generation member of the Sun family hurriedly asked.

Old Master Sun took a deep breath and managed to contain the fear in his heart. He remained silent for a full minute before starting to speak. “Forty years ago, I was in the prime of my life, full of vigour and vitality, and during the annual boxing competition in Jiangnan City, I fought a very strong opponent on the stage of the competition. I…I managed to kill him after engaging in combat for over a hundred moves due to luck….. I was ashamed to admit, in such a competition, I had little control over my strength and unintentionally killed him in the boxing ring. At that time, the situation was perilous. Had I not killed him, I would have been killed….”

“Later…his family members and descendants publicly swore an oath, vowing…vowing to annihilate our entire Sun family… To this day, I simply can’t forget…his son and his venomous gaze filled with resentment…”

Old Master Sun’s face was riddled with anxiety, the corners of his eyes twitched uncontrollably. “Before the competition, we all signed a life-and-death agreement and the whole thing was being overseen by prominent figures. His family, therefore, couldn’t seek revenge publicly. Later…his family mysteriously disappeared. Some said that the whole family had moved overseas…”

“We never saw anyone from that family again… Now… forty years later… they’ve come back… This is a challenge letter…” Old Master Sun waved the letter in his hand. “At this year’s boxing competition in Jiangnan City…they want…they want to… annihilate our entire Sun family… in revenge for what happened those years ago…”

Upon hearing this, a member of the Sun family roared, “It’s a matter of life and death on the boxing ring, who’s talking about revenge? Besides, our Sun family isn’t necessarily afraid!”

“What do you know?” Old Master Sun’s voice quivered, “This letter arrived this evening…inside the ancestral hall… Remember, our Sun family’s ancestral home is heavily guarded and difficult for outsiders to break in… So, how did this letter get here?”

Upon hearing this, all the family members in the hall fell silent.

Those living in the ancestral home area were members of the Sun family and their long-serving, loyal servants. Therefore, there wouldn’t be any issues regarding their loyalty.

That means that the letter couldn’t have been planted by traitors within the ancestral hall.

It must be the enemy who secretly infiltrated, placed the letter, and then silently left.

But, under the vast heaven and earth, the ones who could bypass all guard posts, infiltrate the ancestral hall, drop off the letter, and then quietly leave were certainly master among masters!

“I… I’ve already interrogated everyone, nobody noticed anyone sneaking into the ancestral hall…” Old Master Sun’s hands shook even more severely. “Look… this copper cauldron, split down the middle… what weapon could have done this?”

The copper cauldron was almost 2 meters tall. Splitting it in half required not only immense force but also a suitable weapon.

However, neither a knife nor a sword could easily do this.

“Father, are you saying…” Sun Hu’s voice too began to shake uncontrollably.

“True Qi…” Old Master Sun’s body became limp. “The enemy…the enemy… They have…someone has condensed True Qi… which can cut through metal like mud… And kill remotely…”

A sense of extreme fear crawled its way into the hearts of everyone present…

“Father… we can’t possibly be absent from the annual Jiangnan City boxing competition… and the enemy vows to annihilate our Sun family… on the boxing stage. If…they do have a Grandmaster of the ancient martial arts… Certainly…they could wipe out our Sun family with a snap of their fingers…” Sun Hu’s lips were dry. “But…if…if we invite that senior…we might be able to turn the tide.”

“That senior?” Old Master Sun’s eyes lit up!

…