Without a doubt, the relationships between these eight great families were extraordinarily complex.
When they saw that the Kuang, Xuan, and Xue families had fallen on hard times, some of the other families were secretly delighted. Why would they join these three in giving the Huichun Island Domain a hard time?
Besides, the original itinerary had been set — once the trials on Winterend Island were complete, they would leave and begin their journey home.
How could they possibly delay their schedules for the sake of these three families?
Kuang Han of the Kuang family heard this and flew into a rage: "Is it easy for you to say that, standing there with no consequences?"
"Heh heh, Kuang Han, do you really think we families want to waste our time here over your Kuang family's affairs? Your Kuang family's reputation isn't that impressive, is it?"
"Tell you what — those who want to stay can stay. The rest of us will leave first. How about that?"
Jiang Chen sat off to the side. When he heard this, he nearly gave these families a thumbs-up. Of course he wanted to leave now, the sooner the better.
The longer they delayed, the greater the risk.
Kuang Han glanced at the Xue and Xuan family representatives: "What do you two families have to say?"
A senior member of the Xue family said: "The disappearances are completely unexplained. Until this matter is cleared up, the Xue family absolutely will not leave."
"The Xuan family is the same." A senior Xuan family member spoke with equal firmness.
Jiang Chen was exasperated. If he could, he would have gladly made the decision for the Xuan family and left immediately. But he knew that even Xuan Rui was merely a young disciple of the Xuan family. At a time like this, he didn't have much say. In that moment, Jiang Chen felt a twinge of regret.
Why had he destroyed the bodies after killing those people?
If he had left the corpses, it might have been better. Once these families saw the bodies, they would have accepted the deaths and moved on.
The other families didn't bother being polite. One after another, they addressed Prince Huo: "Prince Huo, our families have been very satisfied with the Huichun Island Domain's hospitality. Now that this matter is settled, we plan to leave first. As for those three families — you can cater to them however you like."
Prince Huo was in an impossible position. He would have been perfectly happy to see the five great families off. But how could he dare abandon the other three?
Any one of the eight great families from the Duowen Divine Kingdom was someone he absolutely could not afford to offend.
Prince Huo put on an apologetic smile: "Your satisfaction is the Huichun Island Domain's honor. However, three of our honored guests have encountered some difficulties, and I must remain here with them. How about this — I'll send a group of my trusted aides to escort your five families out first?"
While they were talking, dark specks suddenly appeared in the distant sky. One after another, three flying ships spiraled down from the heavens, descending toward this area.
Jiang Chen had been sitting cross-legged on the ground. When he saw the ships circling overhead, his heart lurched. He silently cursed, and while no one was looking his way, he flickered and vanished from the spot.
In a few leaps, he had disappeared entirely from the scene.
He had nowhere to go. People from Winterend Island and the Huichun Island Domain surrounded him on all sides. Fleeing toward the perimeter was completely impossible.
So Jiang Chen had no choice but to grit his teeth and head deeper into the Black Nightmare Mountain Range.
Jiang Chen's heart was heavy with frustration. He had finally thought of a way out, but it looked like it was about to fall apart. These flying ships arriving at this particular moment could only mean trouble.
Jiang Chen had a powerful intuition telling him so, which was why he decided that running was the best strategy. Otherwise, once he was surrounded, even with extraordinary abilities, escape would be impossible.
The flying ships had barely touched down when the doors burst open and a group of people rushed out.
"Grand Commander He?"
Prince Huo caught sight of the leading figure — it was actually the Grand Commander of the Huichun Island Domain's royal palace guard, and the people he had brought were all elite palace fighters.
"Prince Huo — has something happened on Winterend Island?" Grand Commander He hurried over, his face filled with urgency.
Seeing Prince Huo's bitter expression, Grand Commander He already guessed the answer.
"Has His Majesty learned of it too?" Prince Huo asked, somewhat surprised.
Grand Commander He grimaced: "Three great families from the Duowen Divine Kingdom have been using the Grand Communication Formation to berate our Huichun Island Domain. His Majesty was deeply alarmed and has dispatched me to assist in the investigation. His Majesty's orders are clear — no matter who the killer is, they must be apprehended first. The killer absolutely must not be allowed to escape!"
"Killer?" Prince Huo's expression changed dramatically. This was still in the "missing persons" stage — they hadn't even confirmed that those geniuses were dead!
Had His Majesty already received definitive news that the geniuses had perished?
Kuang Han strode forward and glared at Grand Commander He: "What did you just say? Apprehend the killer? Someone from my Kuang family contacted your emperor through the Grand Communication Formation?"
Grand Commander He knew this couldn't be concealed, so he nodded without denial: "Yes."
"What did they say?" Kuang Han pressed urgently, his manner thoroughly rude.
Grand Commander He was in no position to take offense at the moment, so he answered honestly: "His Majesty received messages from all three great families confirming that five geniuses have perished. Their Life-bound Soul Lamps in their respective family halls have shattered."
"What?!" Upon hearing this, Kuang Han finally had it confirmed. A thunderous roar tore from his throat.
All three of the Kuang family's great geniuses had perished! Until now, he had still harbored the hope that they might have simply wandered into a forbidden zone by accident.