Family Cultivation: My entire family are Villains

Ding Dian... was actually killed...

At this moment, the most shocked person in the entire scene was none other than Fan Longhe. He glanced at Ding Dian's headless corpse and then sideways at the Hou Brothers, with a face filled with disbelief.

He had partnered with Ding Dian for over twenty years and knew Ding Dian's strength like the back of his hand. A Great Grandmaster of the Fourth Realm, ranked 196 on the Demon Head list, he had slain the former third Sword God of the Wanjian Holy Sect and had crossed swords with Peng Yuhu, the Prefectural Governor of Xingnan Prefecture, as well as Gu Nianqiu, the first Sword God of the Wanjian Holy Sect.

Even though he was at odds with Ding Dian, he had to admit that, whether in terms of cultivation, fame, experience in the martial world, or even combat experience, Ding Dian had him far outclassed.

This was why, after pulling many notable powers to his side in Tongling over the years, he had only just managed to pose a challenge to Ding Dian. The biggest reason for this was the gap in their strengths.

Ding Dian's strength should have been at the peak of the Great Grandmasters of the Fourth Realm. Even when facing average celestial Great Grandmasters, he'd likely stand on undefeated ground. Previously, the two of them had joined forces and had fought Ding Buhai for so long, which, to be blunt, was mainly due to Ding Dian.

Such a person, died at the hands of... the Hou Brothers.

The Hou Clan that had just barely risen to the third-tier ranks in March this year?

Hou Yuxiao's strength was indeed good, but when he previously showed himself, he was at most at the Second Realm of Gang Qi, Collecting Evil Phase, and his greatest feat was killing Cheng Yue, Ding Dian's disciple; as for Hou Yuduan, his name was hardly known. Fan Longhe had seen him; he was also at the Collecting Evil Phase.

Now, one Grandmaster of the Second Realm, one minor Confucian of the Second Realm...

"Have these two always hidden their cultivation, or is their talent really so monstrous?"

Fan Longhe looked at the Hou Brothers, Hou Yuxiao and Hou Yuduan, who were now standing together in midair, and couldn't shake off the shock and disbelief in his heart.

He was like this, let alone Ding Buhai, who was now face-to-face with the brothers.

Ding Buhai looked at the two, his eyes full of amazement. He considered the brothers to be the two true dragons of the Hou Clan. Although this assessment was mixed with some other factors, it was absolutely based on his personal experience and insight.

The Hou Clan's rise to prominence was an insignificant matter in his eyes, at most, it was Hou Yuxiao's performance during the Zhaoyang Disturbance that had left some impression on him. But that's all it was. When Hou Yuxiao came to Tongling County to arrange the Hou Clan's rise to prominence, even after sending a generous gift to his Great Luo Sect, he did not meet him in person, which showed how little he really cared about the Hou Clan.

But now, the strength displayed by Hou Yuxiao and Hou Yuduan truly shocked him.

If he remembered correctly, both of them were under thirty years old. Grandmasters and junior Confucians under thirty, such talent...

"Master Hou, it is said that a wise man chooses his master, and a good bird chooses its tree.

After tonight, Tongling County will inevitably change hands, and great chaos in Yongzhou is imminent. Why should you, with the Hou Clan loyalists, follow the Demon Sect to do evil? I have seen how you govern Zhaoyang and know that you are not one inclined towards the Demon Path. If you lay down your butcher's knife and join my Chan Sect, after we settle Yongzhou, I am willing to give the entirety of Tongling County to the Hou Clan. How about it?"

The moment Hou Yuxiao lashed out, he had already returned to his true self. Now, standing alongside Hou Yuduan next to Ding Dian's corpse, he showed a strange expression upon hearing Ding Buhai's intent to woo the Hou Clan.

However, observing the rebellious army, which had already begun to falter and suffer heavy casualties, Hou Yuxiao pondered for a moment before quickly realizing the situation and shook his head slightly, scoffing coldly.

"Head of Ding Sect overpraises me. The sin of defecting from the church is too great for the Hou Family to bear. As for whether Tongling will have a new master after tonight, that will depend on the situation above our heads. Don't say your words too confidently, Head of Ding Sect, lest you bite your tongue later!"

In his heart, Hou Yuxiao agreed with Ding Buhai's words.

At the very least, there was indeed a Great Confucian and Taoist Expert who had arrived from Xuzhou. Looking at the Rakshasa Holy Sect and other Holy Lands, which had no great experts coming over, if there were no subsequent changes, just looking at this point, Tongling was definitely going to change hands tonight.

But the problem was, he didn't know the situation in the sky, how the battle between that Great Confucian and Taoist Expert and Maiden Hong was going, what Master Fanyin and those five experts were planning—he was completely clueless. Under such circumstances, it was impossible for him to lead the Hou Clan to defect.

Moreover, looking at whether Leiyin Temple was reliable, one need only glance at Ding Dian's body to get a clear idea. Ding Buhai immediately gave up on Ding Dian the moment Hou Yuduan, a Second Realm practitioner of Literary Control, appeared. Saying nothing of his ability to save someone, the very fact he gave up immediately showed what he really thought of Ding Dian.

Of course, there were other pieces of information in Hou Yuxiao's possession that made it impossible for him to defect at this moment.

For various reasons, Hou Yuxiao outright refused.

Fan Longhe, who was beside him, relaxed his tense face. He had feared that Hou Yuxiao, like Ding Dian, would defect from the church. Now the three thousand rebels had been almost entirely dealt with. If the Hou Clan defected at this point, the pressure would return to the Mansion Army.

Fortunately, Hou Yuxiao was wise!

Fan Longhe felt relieved, but Ding Buhai was uncomfortable. Hearing Hou Yuxiao's refusal, his face immediately darkened, and he asked in a low voice, "In that case, does Master Hou intend to continue to harm the people with the Demon Sect?"