Chapter 973: Chapter 973

The person addressed as 'young master' by the attendant was a man around twenty-five or twenty-six years old.

The man's expression was full of arrogance, the quintessential appearance of a spoiled rich heir.

"Young master, these are the few people causing trouble here," the attendant said to the arrogant young man.

The arrogant young man sized up Ding Fan, whose plain attire made him appear to be of no importance.

Ultimately, the young man fixed his gaze on Zhao Yan.

Zhao Yan had an exceptionally beautiful appearance and a graceful figure. The young man's eyes locked on her and couldn't move away.

"Capture these people for me," the young man said, flashing a sinister smile at Zhao Yan. "Daring to make trouble on the Wang Family's territory in Ming City, I'll make sure they realize how little their lives are worth."

"How dare you?!" Ling Zhu stepped forward in front of Zhao Yan, her face filled with fury.

No words were needed from the young man this time, as the attendant stepped forward and said, "On Ming City's territory, there's nothing we won't dare to do."

The attendant then sneered and barked out orders to several henchmen, "Capture these people!"

Two followers behind the young man stepped forward without a word.

Ding Fan felt that the Wang Family had truly been deceitful and tyrannical.

The so-called Hidden Sects were supposed to cultivate quietly, isolated from the world in their chosen lands.

But this Wang Family had become nothing short of a tyrant, blinded by power and wealth. Such a clan could hardly be called a Hidden Sect anymore.

A crowd had gathered in the pharmacy to watch the commotion.

"Offending the Wang Family in Ming City? They'll suffer for it later."

"Fools rush in. How could the Wang Family possibly be a force they can provoke?"

"Didn't that woman say earlier that she wanted to meet the Head of the Wang Family? There's no way he would grant her an audience."

At this moment, many onlookers believed Ding Fan and his group were doomed. Offending the Wang Family could only result in ruin.

The two men had already approached Ding Fan's group and immediately reached out to seize Zhao Yan.

Like master, like servant—these two clearly understood that their master's thoughts were fixated on Zhao Yan.

Thus, their first move was to capture her directly.

However, before anyone else needed to intervene, Ding Fan acted decisively, delivering two swift kicks. In just moments, the two men were thrown to the ground by Ding Fan.

Those two were mere ants to him. Overpowering them was something Ding Fan could accomplish in a matter of minutes.

Nonetheless, the surrounding onlookers were stunned—forget everything else, the mere act of striking members of the Wang Family left them in disbelief.

After all, the Wang Family's influence in Ming City was overwhelmingly dominant.

The arrogant young man was visibly stunned as well. The two men he'd brought along were not ordinary individuals—they were Human Level martial artists. With these two, the young man had always felt invincible in Ming City and had never encountered such humiliation before.

"Boy, it seems you've chosen death!" The young man sneered coldly at Ding Fan.

To strike Wang Family members in front of so many people was tantamount to trampling their prestige.

Zhao Yan furrowed her brow tightly as she watched the scene unfold.

She didn't blame Ding Fan for intervening—their opponents were being unreasonable, and there was no trace of a Hidden World Family's conduct here.

"Step aside..." Suddenly, a commotion erupted from the rear of the crowd.

The young man glanced toward the source of the noise. When he saw the incoming figure, his expression shifted, as if he'd found his savior.

"Second Uncle, you're finally here!" The young man rushed forward eagerly.

An elderly man of about sixty, flanked by several attendants, approached steadily.

"Wang Enming, what's the matter here?" The elder cast a glance at Wang Enming and asked.

Wang Enming hurried to respond, "Second Uncle, these people came here to stir up trouble. They went so far as to assault members of our Wang Family."

The elder, referred to by Wang Enming as Second Uncle, scanned Ding Fan's group. When he used Divine Sense to gauge Zhao Yan and Ling Zhu's cultivation levels, his expression subtly shifted.

Zhao Yan and Ling Zhu's cultivations weren't weak—both exceeded Heavenly Level.

In the Secular World, even Earth Level martial artists were considered outstanding—let alone Heavenly Level ones.

Without hesitation, the elder stepped forward. "May I ask what business brings the three of you to the Wang Family?"

The crowd watching on was visibly aghast, questioning whether their ears had deceived them.

This elder was Wang Jianchuan, a high-ranking member of the Wang Family. In Ming City, many of the Wang Family's enterprises were managed by him. He was regarded as a formidable figure in the city.

Yet to everyone's surprise, when members of his clan were assaulted, he addressed the visitors with such deference.

Zhao Yan, seeing the elder's courteous demeanor, replied calmly, "We've come from the Lushan Zhao Family to meet the Head of the Wang Family."

With the chatter of the crowd thick in the air, she withheld further explanation, trusting the elder would recognize their identity from that alone.

Indeed, Wang Jianchuan's demeanor shifted to one of respect upon hearing the words "Lushan Zhao Family." "Ah, honored guests..."

Turning to Wang Enming, he asked crisply, "What's this about? Who dared to act disrespectfully toward our eminent guests?"

Wang Enming, normally fearful of his Second Uncle, gulped nervously upon seeing Wang Jianchuan's solemn expression.

"Um… Second Uncle, the attendant mentioned troublemakers earlier, so I came out to investigate," Wang Enming stammered, quickly shifting the blame onto the attendant.

The attendant stood dumbfounded.

He had gotten used to wielding his authority and bullying others under the Wang Family's name.

Earlier, Ding Fan had handled him unkindly, prompting him to summon Wang Enming—and later, after Ding Fan defeated Wang Enming's subordinates, he had expected Wang Jianchuan would punish Ding Fan severely.

To his disbelief, Wang Jianchuan had not only refrained from punishing the visitors but had referred to them as honored guests.

Wang Enming went even further, throwing all the blame onto him.

"Second Master, I... I didn't know these individuals were esteemed guests... I..." The attendant, in fear, knelt to plead for mercy.

Without even sparing a glance at the attendant, Wang Jianchuan said coldly, "Take him away, discipline him thoroughly, and expel him from the pharmacy. Never hire him again."

At Wang Jianchuan's command, two guards immediately stepped forward and dragged the attendant away.

The attendant was overwhelmed with bitterness.

He hadn't expected that casually trying to act tough would end with him losing his livelihood within the Wang Family...

The attendant silently regretted his actions, lamenting why he had felt the need to stir trouble in the first place.

After all, there's an old saying: "Those who show off get struck by lightning."

The surrounding crowd, witnessing the situation, erupted in silent astonishment.

In Ming City, the Wang Family had always acted high-handedly, and such incidents were rare. Curiosity surged as spectators speculated about the identities of Ding Fan's group.

How could they strike members of the Wang Family without consequence—indeed, forcing punishments upon Wang Family insiders instead?

"Honored guests, this isn't the right place to converse. Let's move to a more suitable location to continue our discussion," Wang Jianchuan suggested to Ding Fan's group.

Ding Fan nodded—this was indeed not an appropriate setting for an extended talk.

With that, the three followed Wang Enming out of the pharmacy.

Wang Jianchuan arranged vehicles for transportation, and after a short drive, Ding Fan and his group arrived at a vineyard on the outskirts of Ming City.

Ding Fan used Divine Sense to survey the location's surroundings.

The vineyard was not intended for spiritual cultivation or self-improvement.

Its purpose was purely for leisure and entertainment.

The estate boasted sprawling vineyards, with a two-story villa at its center. Within the villa, the basement housed an expansive wine cellar.

Extravagance without bounds... Clearly, the Wang Family had long abandoned the values of a Hidden Sect.

Wang Jianchuan led the convoy directly to the villa at the vineyard's center, where the cars finally stopped.

"Honored guests, please wait in the study for a moment. I'll go and invite the Family Head over," Wang Jianchuan said to Ding Fan's group.

They followed his lead without protest.

Soon, attendants arrived to escort the three to the study.

As they waited in the study, a servant appeared to inform them that the Family Head would meet them in the living room.

The elaborate protocols seemed entirely reminiscent of the pretentious behaviors of aristocratic families in Yanjing.

It appeared even Hidden Sects were susceptible to erosion by the materialistic tides of society.

The three were led to the living room.

Seated there was an elderly man in a white Tang suit, idly playing with two jade balls in his hands, his eyes half-closed...

Standing obediently behind the elderly man was Wang Jianchuan.

"Honored guests, this is the Head of the Wang Family, Wang Chengjiang," Wang Jianchuan introduced respectfully.

Ding Fan, Zhao Yan, and Ling Zhu each briefly greeted the elder in turn.

Slowly, Wang Chengjiang opened his eyes.

"Decades ago, the Zhao Family Head of Mount Lu once saved the Wang Family's Head here in Ming City. When the old Family Head passed, he expressly instructed us to treat any Zhao Family visitors as our most honored guests..." Orıginal content can be found at 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡⁂𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢⁂𝘯𝘦𝘵

Hearing that the Wang Family's Head had not forgotten the Zhao Family's past kindness, Zhao Yan's tense heart finally eased.

She had been worried, wondering whether the Wang Family would consent to aid her own clan.

"I won't mince words—we've come to see the Family Head because we need your help," Zhao Yan said straightforwardly.

"Oh? Whatever it is, speak freely. Here in Ming City, there is little that the Wang Family cannot accomplish," Wang Chengjiang replied, a trace of pride flashing across his face.

"Family Head Wang, the Lushan Zhao Family is currently under siege by the Ghost Sect. The Zhao Family is on the brink of destruction. We hope, based on the decades-long ties between our families, that you would extend a hand to help us," Zhao Yan explained urgently.

As she spoke, she retrieved a letter from her storage ring.

It was a letter written by the Zhao Family's Patriarch to the Wang Family's Patriarch.

Wang Jianchuan took the letter from Zhao Yan's hand and passed it to his Family Head.

Wang Chengjiang slowly opened the envelope.

"What exactly would you like us to do?" The Wang Family Head asked after reading the contents of the letter calmly.

Zhao Yan answered quickly, "Family Head Wang, the Zhao Family is facing dire circumstances. We know that you have ties with the Spirit Sect. We hope you can put in a word to convince the Spirit Sect to assist our Zhao Family..."