"Rest assured, she's still alive, but how long she lives depends on you."
"Who are you people? Why did you capture Teacher Yang Xi?"
"Zhou Hong, don't play dumb. I'm ordering you right now to come to the dilapidated building next to Emperor View Tower. We'll be waiting for you here. If we don't see you within half an hour, your Teacher Yang Xi will be first tortured and then killed here."
The voice on the other end hung up immediately.
Zhou Hong's face contorted with rage. He didn't know who Teacher Yang Xi had offended, but it seemed the target wasn't her, but him.
At that moment, Zhou Hong remembered something. He had previously killed a young man named Huo Haoran. This Huo Haoran was from the capital, a scion of a ninth-rate family, who had pursued Teacher Yang Xi. When his advances were rejected, he attempted to force himself upon her.
"Could it be that someone from this Huo family has investigated and found something?" Zhou Hong wondered to himself.
Without further thought, he knew he had to reach the dilapidated building next to Emperor View Tower within half an hour.
Soon, twenty-five minutes passed.
Zhou Hong finally arrived at the dilapidated building.
As soon as he entered, Zhou Hong saw four or five people standing on the first floor. They were all dressed in black, wearing sunglasses, and exuded an aura of extraordinary skill, clearly not ordinary individuals.
Tied to a pillar nearby was a woman, Teacher Yang Xi.
"Teacher Yang Xi!" Zhou Hong lunged forward.
"Zhou Hong, what are you doing here? Didn't I tell you to run, as far as you can?" Teacher Yang Xi started crying when she saw Zhou Hong.
"How could I run? Didn't you hear them say they'd torture and kill you if I didn't show up in half an hour?" Zhou Hong said coldly, but he also felt a sense of relief. Now, no one would be able to harm Teacher Yang Xi again.
"You fool, are you going to risk your own life?" Teacher Yang Xi yelled tearfully, a surge of emotion threatening to spill out.
"You are Zhou Hong?" At this moment, a middle-aged man, clearly the leader, walked towards Zhou Hong. The remaining men immediately surrounded Zhou Hong, as if to prevent him from escaping.
"Yes, who are you?"
"We are from the Huo family in the capital," the leader said.
"Heh, impressive. You found me already." Zhou Hong chuckled. He had been wondering if the Huo family would find him, and if so, he wouldn't hold back.
He hadn't expected them to actually find him. It seemed they didn't believe that Huo Haoran was killed by the 'Night Phantom'.
"It seems, our young master Huo Haoran was indeed killed by you," the leader said, his face flushed with anger.
"That's right, I killed him. This is how I struck him with my palm." Zhou Hong demonstrated on the spot, as if to make them understand more clearly.
"You!" The black-clad men from the Huo family seemed incredulous. Zhou Hong dared to describe how he killed Huo Haoran right in front of them. It was too arrogant.
"You have immense audacity. Our Huo family is a ninth-rate family, and you, a piece of trash from a third-tier city, dare to provoke our family's dignity. Today, both of you will die," the leader said through gritted teeth.
"Hahaha, with just you lot?" Zhou Hong attacked instantly, grabbing the leader's head.
"Ah, you." The leader was shocked. He hadn't even reacted before Zhou Hong had him by the head.
The remaining black-clad men's expressions changed; things were not going as they expected.
They knew their leader was a steward of the family, with a strength reaching the eighty-plus level of a martial artist. The others were all around the fifty to sixty level.
"Steward Wang, how could this be?" one of the men asked in panic.
"I don't know." The leader, held captive by Zhou Hong, was also flustered and desperately tried to break free, but to no avail.
Teacher Yang Xi was also stunned. She had thought the people sent by the ninth-rate family would be exceptionally powerful, and that she and Zhou Hong were doomed. But to her surprise, Zhou Hong had instantly captured their leader. She didn't know if Zhou Hong was stronger, or if the Huo family's men were too weak.
"How dare you touch my teacher. You're asking for death. I said it before, anyone in this world who dares to harm a single hair of my teacher, I will hunt them to the ends of the earth and kill them." Zhou Hong said coldly.
"Who exactly are you?" The leader, held by Zhou Hong, was in complete panic, his body trembling.
Hearing Zhou Hong's words, a warmth flowed through Teacher Yang Xi's heart. Her eyes slowly welled up with tears.
"Die," Zhou Hong said without mercy, tightening his grip. With a *bang*, the leader's head was crushed, and white matter splattered.
"Ah!" Teacher Yang Xi screamed in fright.
"Steward Wang!" The remaining black-clad men shouted, looking at their dead leader in disbelief. They had thought that in this third-tier city, they would be like wolves among sheep. But to their shock, this young-looking person had instantly killed their steward.
"Now it's your turn."
The remaining black-clad men immediately tried to escape. However, Zhou Hong casually picked up bricks from the ground and threw them at the fleeing figures.
*Bang!* Each throw was accurate. The bricks struck their heads, causing them to burst.
Thus, before the black-clad men could run more than a few meters, they were all headshot by the bricks Zhou Hong threw.
Teacher Yang Xi was now terrified. As a twenty-two-year-old, well-behaved girl, she had never witnessed such a scene. Unlike Zhou Hong, who had seen countless bloody battles on the Purple Firmament Continent.
"Teacher Yang Xi, don't be afraid," Zhou Hong said, walking up to her and taking her trembling hand.
"Zhou Hong, I... I'm scared."
"Don't be afraid. I'm here. If anyone dares to hurt you, I'll kill them like this," Zhou Hong said with a smile.
"Thank you," Teacher Yang Xi slowly calmed down, not daring to look at the corpses.
"I'll untie you, and then we'll leave here."
"Mhm, mhm."
After untying Teacher Yang Xi, Zhou Hong quickly left the dilapidated building.
Zhou Hong drove Teacher Yang Xi to Tianhe Community.
He had initially intended to take her home, but then he considered that in her current state, her family would surely worry if they saw her. It was better to take her to Tianhe Community first to help her calm down.