At that moment, everyone turned their gaze towards the direction of the voice and saw a man with his arm in a sling walking towards them.

"Just finished dealing with one girl, and here comes another who doesn't know when to quit," Uncle Ding said with a smile.

"There are many who wish to die, but I am not one of them," Xia Yunfan replied.

Uncle Ding was a half-step grandmaster, his strength slightly surpassing Ruan Lingxue's. However, due to his advanced age, he was unable to advance to the level of a grandmaster. Ruan Lingxue, being an assassin by trade, often determined the outcome of a fight with the first move. If the first move failed, it was easy to be defeated later.

"Young man, you should keep your life. I'm afraid I might accidentally crush you if my hands itch," Uncle Ding said calmly.

With a wave of his hand, Uncle Ding punched a hole through a nearby marble pillar, leaving a clear fist imprint on it.

"My God, is this guy even human? He can punch a hole through stone!"

"I must not have woken up properly today; my brain must be malfunctioning."

"This must be a monster, a thousand-year-old demon."

The security guards on the ground were utterly shocked by what they had witnessed.

"You see, young man, this is the power of a martial artist. If you don't want to die, kowtow to me a few times, and I'll let you go," Uncle Ding said with a smirk.

"Is this your power? It doesn't seem all that impressive," Xia Yunfan replied with a smile.

"What?" This statement completely enraged Uncle Ding. No one had ever dared to disrespect him like this.

Before he could react, Xia Yunfan appeared before him like a flash of light, his right hand gripping Uncle Ding's neck.

A powerful internal force surged into Uncle Ding's body, dissipating all his strength and rendering him powerless.

"You... you are a..."

Before Uncle Ding could finish his sentence, Xia Yunfan slammed him hard onto the ground, creating a deep crater in the marble floor.

"Gulp."

Many present couldn't help but swallow hard. Even if someone fell from dozens of stories high, they wouldn't create such a deep crater. Yet, Xia Yunfan had done it just by throwing someone.

"Pfft."

Uncle Ding, lying in the crater, spat out blood. He couldn't muster any strength in his body, and it seemed he would be a cripple from now on.

It was only then that Uncle Ding realized the vast gap between him and Xia Yunfan.

"Who... who are you?" Uncle Ding asked with difficulty.

"You are not worthy of knowing my name," Xia Yunfan replied.

Although there was only a slight difference in title between a half-step grandmaster and a grandmaster, the difference in strength was immense. Now, Uncle Ding was like a lamb to Xia Yunfan, completely at his mercy.

"Damn it, who dares to attack someone from the Gu family? Do you have a death wish? I'm telling you, you're dead today," Gu Qianyang pointed at Xia Yunfan and shouted.

Hearing this, Uncle Ding's face turned pale. Despite his injuries, he struggled out of the crater and stood shakily before Gu Qianyang, slapping him across the face.

"Slap."

Gu Qianyang, holding his face, was utterly confused.

"Uncle Ding, why did you hit me?" Gu Qianyang asked in confusion.

"Apologize to this gentleman, quickly," Uncle Ding urged anxiously.

"Me... to him?" Gu Qianyang couldn't understand why Uncle Ding had suddenly become so weak. Even if they lost the fight, the dignity of the Gu family couldn't be compromised. They should never apologize to anyone.

"For your sake, for the Gu family, apologize now, or I will have to enforce the family rules on behalf of the family head," Uncle Ding said urgently.

Hearing the words "family rules," Gu Qianyang's face turned pale. Uncle Ding was his father's trusted aide and held considerable authority in the Gu family. If he said he would enforce the family rules, he would do so without hesitation.

"I... I'm sorry," Gu Qianyang said reluctantly.

Xia Yunfan replied, "Not sincere enough."

"I'm sorry," Gu Qianyang bowed deeply to Xia Yunfan, though no one saw the twisted, grim expression on his face as he did so.

"Although you apologized, the disrespect towards my woman cannot be overlooked," Xia Yunfan said.

"Clang."

A dagger was thrown in front of Gu Qianyang.

"Here's the deal: cut off one arm, and I'll let it go," Xia Yunfan said.

Seeing a chance to resolve the situation, Uncle Ding quickly picked up the dagger and said to Gu Qianyang, "Young master, do it quickly."

"Uncle Ding, can you tell me why you're so afraid of him?" Gu Qianyang asked.

"Don't ask. Just know that he's someone we cannot afford to offend," Uncle Ding explained.

Uncle Ding had never steered him wrong before. If he said they couldn't afford to offend someone, then they truly couldn't. Without hesitation, Gu Qianyang took the dagger and severed his own arm.

Blood splattered everywhere.

"Crack, crack, crack." Gu Qianyang clenched his teeth, refusing to scream. It was the pride of the Gu family. Cold sweat drenched his body.

"Sir, here is your dagger," Uncle Ding said, cleaning the dagger and presenting it with both hands.

"You have some guts. Consider this matter settled," Xia Yunfan said. Then he added, "Tell the head of the Gu family that I will visit them sometime."

Uncle Ding, who had just relaxed upon hearing the first part, was horrified by the latter part.

"Sir, didn't you just say the matter was settled? Why are you still planning to visit the Gu family?" Uncle Ding asked in confusion.

"Our personal grievances are settled, but the matter of your family's alliance with the Lin family remains unresolved. I will come to discuss it with you. You'd better leave now, or I might change my mind," Xia Yunfan said.

Hearing this, the Gu family members quickly helped each other out.

"Wait," Xia Yunfan called.

Uncle Ding's expression froze, and he forced a smile, asking, "What else do you need, sir?"

"You injured my employees and damaged the floor and walls. You need to compensate for that," Xia Yunfan said.

"Yes, of course. We will send people to clean up immediately and compensate with ten million. Is that acceptable?" Uncle Ding said cautiously.

"Fine. Now get out," Xia Yunfan said.

Except for those who stayed to clean up, the rest of the Gu family members quickly fled the Xingyue Group.

"Take all the injured security guards to the hospital. Each of them will receive compensation, double their salary, and an additional one hundred thousand yuan subsidy," Xia Yunfan ordered.

"One hundred thousand yuan?"

Hearing this, the security guards immediately felt their pain lessen.

"Long live Consultant Xia!" The security guards cheered.