The long-awaited night, filled with anticipation and curiosity, was finally over. As dawn broke in the East, casting its golden hues over Baiyun city, the city stirred to life.


    Pedestrians trooped into the city, their steps quickened by the energy of a new day. Store owners flung open their shutters, the creaking of metal against wood echoing through the streets.


    Restaurants exuded the inviting aroma of morning meals, and thin trails of smoke curled from chimneys, blending with the crisp morning air.


    Merchants, with their long carriagesden with goods, rumbled into the streets, ready to engage in the day''s bustlingmerce.


    Yet, this was not just any usual day.


    Every citizen in the outer region and inner region was expecting the demise of the Cao n, fueled by rumors of their extravagant spending leading to their destruction.


    The air was thick with suspense, and the city''s pulse seemed to quicken in collective anticipation.


    But as the sun climbed higher, dispelling the shadows, there was an eerie silence.


    The expected downfall of the Cao n did not materialize, leaving the popce in a state of puzzled uncertainty.


    The rumors had not yed out as predicted. Everyone was perplexed. Was the previous undercurrent not against them?


    It was at that moment that shocking news spread throughout the outer region—the White Wolf gang had been destroyed.


    At once, no one believed such absurd news. However, as more and more people began to testify to the gang''s destruction, the news spread like wildfire.


    In every tavern and restaurant, the story was spoken by everyone; even those who were not citizens of Baiyun city heard about the White Wolf gang''s demise.


    In the inner region, the situation was more controlled than in the outer region. In a particr mansion, five middle-aged men sat around a long wooden table, with an old man sitting at the center—the Fu n elders and patriarch.


    "Someone should tell me what is going on?" the Fu n patriarch asked with a deep frown etched on his face.


    Fu Manchu looked at their patriarch and took a deep breath before speaking. "We don''t know how it happened, but our men noticed them rushing toward the Cao residence yesterday night."


    "So you''re saying the declining Cao n killed all the White Wolf gang in just a single night?" the patriarch questioned with annoyance. "Do you know what you''re saying?!"


    Fu Manchu sighed with beads of sweat dripping from his forehead. This wasn''t supposed to happen, but it did. Now he was going to bear the brunt.


    "Maybe those visitors have a powerful cultivator among them?" he said with a low voice.


    "Idiot! If they have powerful cultivators, do you think we won''t know by now?" the patriarch berated. The patriarch turned his gaze from Fu Manchu and looked at the other elders.


    "I want all of you to work together to find out what the Cao n is up to and who the hell killed our dogs," he shouted.


    In the western part of the inner region, inside the Yuan n mansion, the same meeting was being held.


    Everyone was filled with confusion as they tried to find out what happened the night before.


    In the northwestern part, the Cao n had repaired their gate and resumed work as if they were not the talk of the city.


    Su Hua and three elite soldiers, along with some Cao n members, went to the outer region to begin the next phase of the n.


    In the outer region, the Cao n had bought fifteen stores in the most important part of the city.


    No one knew why they spent such a huge sum of money and where they got it. The question still lingered in the minds of everyone.


    When the Cao n and some strange young men appeared in the outer region, the news spread like wildfire.


    Even though some people still found the destruction of the White Wolf gang unbelievable, most people believed it must be rted to the secret of the Cao n.


    Therefore, the greedy and unruly ones kept an eye on the Cao n. Perhaps, if they were lucky, they could find out the secret of the sudden wealth of the Cao n.


    Su Hua didn''t care about the various curious gazes directed at them. She sprang to action as a business mogul and began to issue outmands.


    Even though the fifteen stores were far apart from each other, with Spirit Comms, she only stood in one ce and gave out orders.


    Meanwhile, in the inner region, the Cao n began another round of massive purchases of stores. No matter how insane the price was, they would buy it.


    Now, this was getting outrageous. Many ns focused on the Cao n with various spections flying back and forth.


    Among the most notable ones was the death of the n that went to the southern sea, rted to the Cao n since they were the only ones that came back alive.


    Moreover, they didn''t juste back alone; they brought back some people.


    Inside the Crimson Jade Pavilion, in a massive room, the associate elders of the pavilion sat and discussed the Cao n''s sudden massive spending and the rumors that followed.


    Sitting at the main seat was an old woman with a head full of gray hair.


    "Send our men to keep eyes on the Cao n, and if they want to buy any building from us, it is not for sale." Though old, her voice was dripping with authority.


    "We can''t be distracted now when the tournament is around the corner. How is the race about the prospective heir or heiress?" she asked, not entirely focused on the issue of the Cao n.


    As the Cao n continued withvish spending, many powerful ns began to order their subordinate ns not to sell their stores to the Cao ns unless they knew what was going on.


    Immediately, all the ns ordered their men to cease their properties to the Cao n.


    When Huang Guo heard about this, he smiled and looked at the tens of house deals in his hand. They thought they were wise, but unfortunately, they were toote to be wise.


    In the inner region, Huang Guo was not the only one who went for the purchase of the buildings this time around. There were five of them that went on a buying spree.


    Therefore, before they realized what was going on, they hadpleted their mission.


    As for the core region, they had no n for that for now.


    Meanwhile, in the core region, inside the Wang n mansion, Wang Duyi''s wife was listening to the rumors about the Cao n, her rage boiling.


    She let her servantplete her statement when she shouted,


    "Gather the men, we''re going to the Cao n."


    *****************