The next day, Han Feng woke up from a deep sleep. In a sudden rush, his gaze immediately swept toward the bedside.
To his relief, the Ziqing Thunder Sword was still resting securely against the side of the bed. Han Feng let out a breath, almost thinking last night had been a dream.
Struggling slightly, Han Feng strapped the sword onto his back, planning to go out for a stroll. Now that his strength had recovered, he thought about buying some restorative tonics for his father, and perhaps looking around for any medicinal herbs that might benefit him himself.
As soon as he stepped outside, Han Feng glanced up, his eyes filled with astonishment.
"I wouldn't have expected my uncle to work so fast; the roof is already fixed?"
Having slept like a log, Han Feng had no idea that Han Yuan had sent people to repair the roof overnight, terrified that someone would notice during the day.
Han Feng walked all the way with the sword on his back. As time passed, he gradually began to get used to it, though the burden was still quite heavy.
When passing through the courtyard, a sturdy-looking youth with a broad back and a waist like a bear, accompanied by a group of family members, suddenly blocked Han Feng's path.
Not wanting to bother with him, Han Feng prepared to walk right past.
Just as Han Feng's figure moved around him, the man suddenly lashed out with a palm strike toward Han Feng.
This sudden attack caught Han Feng off guard. With the Ziqing Thunder Sword weighing him down, his movements were already sluggish, so naturally he could not dodge. The blow struck him, making him sway unsteadily and almost fall.
Planting his feet to steady himself, Han Feng's face was filled with anger. Looking at the person before him, his rage flared even higher.
This person was Han Bing, the Second Elder's son.
Among the younger generation of the Han Family, Han Bing could be considered the one with the highest talent second only to Han Feng. Back when Han Feng reached the Peak Foundation Establishment, this fellow had also reached the Peak Qi Condensation.
Although there was a major realm difference between them, that was only because Han Feng was extraordinary. After all, by normal cultivation standards, a fifteen-year-old reaching Peak Qi Condensation was already exceptionally gifted. Throughout Guiyuan City, apart from the young lords of the other three families, Han Bing was the strongest.
Yet an accident a year ago had caused Han Feng to lose all his cultivation, which naturally allowed Han Bing to become the number one genius of the Han Family's younger generation.
At yesterday's family assembly, the elders had forced Han Feng to hand over the position of the Han Family's young lord precisely so they could logically install Han Bing in his place.
Since Han Feng was now useless and almost no one in the family held any expectations for him anymore, for the sake of the Han Family's reputation, they had to quickly establish a powerful young lord who could command public respect.
In half a month, it would be the annual assembly of the Four Great Families of Guiyuan City. At that time, the four families would gather to negotiate business shares in Guiyuan City.
The younger generation of each family would compete to determine those shares.
In the past, because of Han Feng, none of the other families could contend with the Han Family's edge. Moreover, Han Feng was betrothed to the Qiu Family and backed by the Ziqiong Sword Sect, allowing the Han Family to claim half of the lucrative profits in Guiyuan City every year.
However, with Han Feng's bizarre loss of cultivation and Qiu Dong'er coming to call off the engagement, the Han Family's deterrent effect over the other families in Guiyuan City had vanished.
After discussions, the elders of the Han Family decided to let Han Bing take his place and become the young lord.
After all, even though Han Bing was slightly inferior to the young lords of the other three families, he could at least still secure a quarter of the Han Family's shares.
With a mocking expression and derisive eyes, Han Bing cast a lazy glance at Han Feng and said unhurriedly:
"Han Feng, starting today, I am the young lord of the Han Family. Why aren't you showing respect when you see me?"
Han Feng's eyes were filled with bitter hatred, his bloodshot gaze glaring as he shouted angrily:
"Why didn't you show respect when you saw me in the past?"
Ever since Han Feng lost his cultivation, this Han Bing had frequently bullied him, often resorting to physical violence.
"You..."
Knowing he was in the wrong, Han Bing could only resort to shameless bullying:
"Han Feng, if you won't show respect to this young master, that's fine too."
Spreading his legs apart, Han Bing pointed between them and said:
"Crawl between my legs today, and from now on, you won't have to show respect to this young master."
Han Feng's face was expressionless, his eyes staring quietly at Han Bing without uttering a single word, standing rooted to the spot without moving an inch.
Seeing this, Han Bing grew angry and roared:
"Looks like your skin is itching for another beating!"
Immediately, Han Bing exchanged a look with several clansmen behind him. Understanding his intent, they cracked their knuckles and walked threateningly toward Han Feng.
Han Feng cast a glance at the group, his eyes revealing utter disdain. He didn't take these people seriously at all.
Sensing Han Feng's contempt, the group grew even angrier and lunged at him.
Han Feng crouched down slightly, unhooked the long sword from his back, exerted his strength, and hurled the sword directly toward them.
Boom!
The heavy sword crashed down right in the middle of the group, instantly kicking up a flurry of dust.
When the dust cleared, the crowd had been knocked back by the shockwave of the sword, and one person had the long sword lying right across his body, pinning him down so he couldn't move.
At this sight, Han Bing's eyes were filled with disbelief, hardly believing what was happening before him.
Han Feng strode forward, walking up to the pinned man and glaring down at him. Already struggling to breathe with the heavy sword pressing on his chest, the man was so terrified by Han Feng's chilling gaze that he was left gasping for air, nearly suffocating.
Since they were all members of the same clan, Han Feng didn't plan to make things too difficult for them.
He reached out, lifted the long sword pressing down on the man, and casually slammed its tip into the ground, instantly gouging out a pit in the earth.
The man scrambled up in relief, looking at Han Feng with eyes full of dread, just like people used to look at the old Han Feng.
Han Feng raised his gaze, swept his eyes over Han Bing, and said coldly:
"Han Bing, let me see just how strong your skills are, since you dare to covet the position of young lord."
Provoked by Han Feng, Han Bing burned with rage, but seeing Han Feng's actions filled his heart with a trace of unease.
"Could this fellow's strength have recovered? That's impossible! I don't know how many times I beat him up before, and he never once fought back!"
Han Bing was feeling rather indecisive at the moment. After all, he had once been thoroughly suppressed by Han Feng, and his own hard work and talent had never caught the family's eye.
Han Feng's current posture left Han Bing wavering.
Seeing that Han Bing remained silent, Han Feng taunted:
"Scared?"
"Figures. You've always been a loser in my hands, every single time."
These words struck Han Bing's most painful spot. His face turned ashen with fury as he roared angrily:
"What are you acting so high and mighty for, you piece of trash? I'll beat you until your teeth are scattered all over the ground!"
Clearly, Han Bing had been thoroughly provoked and threw all caution to the wind as he threw a punch straight at Han Feng's face.
Just as it was about to connect with Han Feng's forehead, Han Bing's sandbag-sized fist suddenly stopped right in front of Han Feng's face, unmoving.
Han Feng was holding his long sword, its tip pointing straight at Han Bing's throat.
Han Bing took a deep breath and slowly swallowed his saliva. As his eyes locked onto the chilling sword gleam, cold sweat poured down him. If it had been just one centimeter closer, the sword would have pierced his throat—and then all talk of being the young lord of the Han Family, all talk of being the family's top talent, would have come to an end.
At this moment, Han Feng shed his usual demeanor, his gaze turning instantly icy—just like the Han Feng who used to strike fear into the hearts of all the younger generation in Guiyuan City.
Looking into those all-too-familiar eyes, Han Bing felt an overwhelming terror, and a few drops of yellow liquid began to trickle down his trouser leg onto the ground.