Chapter 10

"It's just me." "You three who call yourselves grandmasters, come at all once." The three grandmasters were taken aback. Ouyang Xing sneered, rolling up one sleeve to reveal his congested forearm, and said: "Still putting on an act?" "I've long since tracked down the little tail of that grandmaster behind you!" "The golden needle inside my body right now was shot at me by the grandmaster behind you when you killed Ouyang Muyi just now!" "I've already sealed it!" "You were busy dealing with Ouyang Muyi back then, so you couldn't possibly have split your focus to use just a single golden needle to back me into such a corner!" "So..." "Hurry up and call out the grandmaster behind you!" "Otherwise, don't blame the old man for bullying the young and executing you, this thief, with my own hands!" Only then did the surrounding martial artists understand why Ouyang Xing had stood by and watched Ouyang Muyi get his head blown off by Yun Feng with a single punch. "So it was that secretly hidden grandmaster who ambushed Ouyang Xing!"

Hearing Ouyang Xing's interrogation, Yun Feng couldn't help laughing out loud: "My golden needle—you think you can seal it just by saying so?" "It's simply that I couldn't be bothered to make things difficult for you earlier!" "Since you're asking for death, then die!" As Yun Feng finished speaking, a faint, obscure flash of spiritual light flickered in the depths of his eyes and vanished. Ouyang Xing's expression changed drastically in an instant! He felt that the golden needle he had sealed within the flesh of his forearm had suddenly come back to life! In an instant, it broke through Ouyang Xing's internal energy blockade, rampaging through his body like a knife cutting through bamboo! Following the flow of his blood vessels, it stabbed straight toward Ouyang Xing's heart! Ouyang Xing's internal energy surged violently throughout his body, fully unleashing his grandmaster-level realm. Yet it couldn't delay this golden needle by even a fraction of a percent! "No! Don't!!" A cry of despair wailed from Ouyang Xing's mouth! The next moment. All luster vanished from Ouyang Xing's eyes. A dead, grayish hue gradually crept over those old eyes that should have been dim and clouded. Thud! Ouyang Xing collapsed headfirst to the ground, completely dead, his breath cut off! The Wang Family grandmaster and the other grandmaster turned their heads to look at the fallen Ouyang Xing. Cold sweat on their foreheads seemed to converge into streams, pouring down swish, swish, swish, soaking their collars, shirts, and hems... No matter how worldly-wise and experienced the two grandmasters were, they never could have imagined. That Ouyang Xing would die in such a bizarre manner! They hadn't even seen Yun Feng make a move—he had simply said he wanted him to die, and he dropped dead? "How... how did he do that?" The Wang Family grandmaster muttered in a low voice: "You... you... do you know sorcery?" The other grandmaster, who had remained silent all along, reacted much faster this time, cursing inwardly: The damn situation is already obvious as day! When on earth was Yun Feng some Nine-Stage expert? And what grandmaster hiding behind the scenes? Isn't this Yun Feng himself clearly a monstrously talented teenage grandmaster?! And to think that idiot Ouyang Xing was still shouting tough words at thin air. He got dropped by a single sentence from Yun Feng... This kid is way too bizarre, he's no match for us! "Farewell!" This low-profile grandmaster cupped his fists and turned tail to run! With a flash of his figure, he had already vanished around the street corner. The few people who had accompanied this grandmaster exchanged glances and took off running together in unison! Once a grandmaster fled, the martial arts retainers gathered from the various wealthy families all realized something was terribly wrong. The elite families of Haicheng had all gathered here, only to kick an iron plate? Though they found it hard to believe in their hearts, their feet ran faster than one another. The Wang Family grandmaster quickly recovered his wits as well, forced a laugh, and turned to run too! Yet he heard Yun Feng's cold, detached voice chasing after him from behind: "Since the Wang Family and the Ouyang Family have already picked a fight today, you might as well stay." Hearing these words from Yun Feng, the two families felt their scalps go numb and their legs turn to jelly. The other wealthy families who hadn't been called out increased their fleeing speed by another two notches! Right now, they couldn't help feeling secretly grateful that they hadn't rushed out to try and show off earlier. Otherwise, Yun Feng wouldn't be letting them walk away now either... The crowd scattered like birds and beasts, fleeing the area around Zhou Ling's Villa at incredible speed. It was as if this place were a death zone! The five or six remaining members of the Wang and Ouyang families, including the Wang Family grandmaster, stood rooted to the spot as if their feet had grown roots, unable to move a muscle. It wasn't that they didn't want to move; they couldn't! An unprovoked pressure materialized out of thin air, descending from the heavens like an invisible prison, pinning both families firmly to the ground. Everyone was dripping with cold sweat, cursing inwardly that this kid Yun Feng was far too monstrous. Sauntering leisurely, Yun Feng walked up behind them one by one and slapped the back of each person's head. Those whom Yun Feng slapped all collapsed limply to the ground, eyes wide open, all aura of life extinguished. They were already dead! "Grandpa! Grandpa, save me!!" a young Wang Family martial artist shrieked in terror, yellow liquid rapidly spreading across the crotch of his pants! The Wang Family grandmaster's entire body erupted with frantic momentum, internal energy surging as he used every ounce of strength to struggle against this pressure falling from the heavens. Yet no matter what, he simply couldn't regain the ability to move under Yun Feng's suppression! Slap! Yun Feng delivered a single slap to the back of the young Wang Family martial artist's head. His continuous pleas for help were abruptly cut short right there! The young martial artist's body went limp, rolling his eyes as he died on the ground. At this point, aside from Yun Feng, the only person still standing was the Wang Family grandmaster! With a faint smile, Yun Feng turned to stand right in front of the Wang Family grandmaster and asked: "Still want to kill me?" By now, the Wang Family grandmaster was so frightened that his legs were trembling, and he asked in a hoarse voice: "Are you... a Great Grandmaster?" To be able to produce such terrifying pressure against his own dignified grandmaster self with mere aura alone— Aside from a Great Grandmaster, he couldn't think of any other possible answer! Yun Feng shrugged: "I have no idea." "If you say I am, then I suppose I am." The Wang Family grandmaster was on the verge of fainting dead away on the spot! "You're only eighteen?" the Wang Family grandmaster asked in sheer disbelief. He himself was already over eighty years old! And only managed to barely stumble across the threshold into the grandmaster realm just before his vital Qi and blood withered away. Yet the young man before him was only eighteen years old! And he was already a Great Grandmaster? Utterly terrifying! A bitter taste filled the Wang Family grandmaster's heart. If he had known this beforehand— Even if someone gave him ten thousand codes of courage, he would never have dared to provoke this Yun Feng today!

High up on a distant rooftop, the City Lord of Haicheng held his binoculars, utterly dumbfounded! "What happened?" "Why... did Grandmaster Ouyang just drop dead?" "Why are they all starting to run?" "Wait! The Wang Family grandmaster is confronting Yun Feng!" The City Lord of Haicheng's spirits instantly perked up! The Wang Family grandmaster had established his reputation much earlier, and his combat prowess was a couple of notches stronger than Grandmaster Ouyang's! Yet what happened the very next moment caused the City Lord of Haicheng to choke in horror on the spot! He saw Yun Feng with a completely detached expression, his hand probing forward like a blade as he stabbed straight into the Wang Family grandmaster's chest! When he withdrew his hand, his palm was clutching a bloody, beating heart! Even when this heart—belonging to a grandmaster—was tossed onto the ground by Yun Feng, it was still beating on its own. Thud! The Wang Family grandmaster's eyes bulged, his mutilated corpse trembling as he collapsed directly to his knees. The vitality on his face slowly faded away bit by bit. Until death claimed him at last! Crack! The binoculars in the City Lord of Haicheng's hands dropped to the ground, shattering into pieces! "Dead?" The City Lord of Haicheng muttered in a low voice: "Both the Wang Family grandmaster and the Ouyang Family grandmaster... are dead?" "And the Wang Family grandmaster was killed head-on by Yun Feng, having his heart ripped out in a single move?" "Could it be?" Things having reached this point, the City Lord of Haicheng finally thought of that terrifying possibility he had been so unwilling to face! Yun Feng... Was actually genuinely a teenage grandmaster! Master Qing's judgment had been wrong—there was no medical grandmaster hiding behind Yun Feng at all! That grandmaster was Yun Feng himself! "But... how is that even possible?" The City Lord of Haicheng muttered with a trembling voice: "Seven years ago, he was still just a child with no power to truss a chicken..." "In the span of seven years, he actually managed to reach the realm of a Martial Grandmaster directly at the age of eighteen?" "That is simply too terrifying..." Taking two deep breaths, the City Lord of Haicheng forced himself to calm down and roared: "Call the head of the Li Family!" "Right now!!!"

Outside the villa's front doors, looking at the corpses strewn all over the ground, Yun Feng lightly flicked the remaining blood clean from his hands. He had Zhou Ling call and dispatch a large cargo truck from Tianxiang Group. All the corpses were wrapped up in sacks and tossed directly into the truck bed. Yun Feng said indifferently: "Dump all these corpses right in front of the gates of the City Lord's Mansion." "Pin all these lives squarely on his head." "Once I finish kicking down the gates of the Li Family, I'll be coming straight for this City Lord." "And settle our accounts properly!" Hearing Yun Feng give an order that completely disregarded the City Lord of Haicheng, the truck driver was scared half to death and looked at Zhou Ling for help. Zhou Ling nodded, her ruby lips parting slightly as she spoke: "Do as Xiaofeng says." "Xiaofeng's orders are my orders." Looking at Yun Feng's tall, robust back, Zhou Ling felt a momentary sense of trance. Unconsciously, had her Xiaofeng already grown to such a stage?

...

Carrying two ancestral memorial tablets in his arms, Zhou Ling holding a blood-stained cloth bundle, Yun Feng departed from Zhou Ling's Villa, heading straight in the direction of the Chen Family Estate—no, the Li Family Estate! Up on the rooftop, the City Lord of Haicheng wore a heavy expression as he spoke to the head of the Li Family on the other end of the phone: "That's right, Yun Feng is a grandmaster." "I saw it with my own eyes." "He just left Zhou Ling's place and is heading your way." "Please be sure to inform the Prince! The Yun Family remnant Yun Feng is still alive, has achieved the realm of a Martial Grandmaster, and has appeared in Haicheng!" On the other end of the line came the furious, shocked roar of the head of the Li Family: "So what if he's a grandmaster?" "Does a mere grandmaster deserve to alarm the Prince?" "Are all those grandmaster retainers you keep in your mansion just made of paper? Send them out to execute this brat!" Beside the City Lord of Haicheng, his entourage of bodyguards remained silent like cicadas in winter, not daring to draw a single heavy breath. To think this Li Family head dared to speak to the City Lord like that? Once word of this got out, it would probably shatter the worldview of quite a few people! With a trace of anger, the City Lord of Haicheng retorted: "It was your Li Family and Chen Family who hunted down Yun Feng back then! Now that Yun Feng is still alive, what the hell does it have to do with me?" "Last night, Master Qing from my mansion already died at Yun Feng's hands!" "Solve the mess you left behind seven years ago yourself!" The head of the Li Family said with a dark expression: "City Lord, seven years ago the Prince explicitly notified you to assist us in executing the rebels of the Yun Family!" "You didn't send anyone to make a move back then; if the Prince really investigates this, your problem is going to be even bigger than my Li Family's!" "It's still not too late to mend the fold after the sheep are lost! As long as Yun Feng dies today, you and I will pretend he died seven years ago!" "But if the Prince finds out about this, neither of our heads will stay on our shoulders!" The City Lord of Haicheng fell silent for a moment, then said with bitter hatred: "He was only eleven years old seven years ago!" "Who could have known your Li Family and the Zhao Family were such a bunch of good-for-nothings, unable to even deal with an eleven-year-old child!" Taking a deep breath, the City Lord of Haicheng switched his stance and nodded: "Fine. I will dispatch three grandmasters from my mansion to jointly execute Yun Feng." "But on one condition—you must invite Old Master Li out of seclusion!" "Don't blame me for not reminding you, Yun Feng killed the Wang Family grandmaster in a single move!" "Without Old Master Li there to bolster you, the three grandmasters from my mansion might not be a match for the young and vigorous Yun Feng!" The head of the Li Family snorted coldly, gritting his teeth as he said: "Very well..." "Our Old Master is currently at the crucial juncture of breaking through to the Great Grandmaster realm." "Were it not for the fact that the Yun Family rebel's affairs carry such massive implications, I would never disturb the old man!" Hanging up the phone, the corners of the City Lord of Haicheng's mouth twitched slightly. "Judging by the methods Yun Feng used to cut down Ouyang Xing and the Wang Family grandmaster, his combat strength is also of an elite caliber within the grandmaster realm." "If I send these three grandmasters out, there's a good chance they'll all perish at Yun Feng's hands." Pondering this, the City Lord of Haicheng felt a stabbing pain in his heart. Even with his lofty status as City Lord, gathering three grandmasters under his banner was an extremely difficult task! "However..." The City Lord of Haicheng said darkly: "Old Master Li has already half-stepped across the threshold of the Great Grandmaster realm." "Even if he is old, frail, and his Qi and blood are withered, he is still far more powerful than an ordinary grandmaster." "Yun Feng's advantage is his youth and abundant Qi and blood, but his realm and experience certainly cannot compare to Old Master Li's." "With Old Master Li making a move this time, combined with the strength of the three grandmasters from my mansion, I expect this Yun Feng won't be able to stir up any more waves!"

Inside the Li Family Estate, the head of the Li Family hung up the phone, walked respectfully to the backyard, and knocked on the door of a quiet cultivation chamber. Inside the chamber, an octogenarian elder sat cross-legged, his eyes half-closed, his surrounding aura serene yet concealing two parts of profundity. Yet this mysterious, ethereal feeling was disrupted by Li Fengtian walking in. The old man opened his eyes, his aged voice echoing through the quiet room: "What business disturbs my peace?" The head of the Li Family bowed in salute: "Old Master, out of the Yun Family that was eradicated seven years ago, there is still one person who did not die." "Today he has reappeared in Haicheng." "And he is kicking up monstrous storms." "With my back against the wall, I had no choice but to ask the Old Master to come out of seclusion." A sharp gleam suddenly flashed in the depths of Old Master Li's eyes! "Oh? Who is still alive?" Li Fengtian said: "The youngest son of the Yun Family, Yun Feng." "It's actually him?" Old Master Li narrowed his eyes and nodded: "This matter carries massive implications. With a single slip-up, my entire Li Family will be wiped out under the Prince's furious wrath!" "You did the right thing by coming to find me." "Once I come out of seclusion, I will execute this bane with my own hands!" Li Fengtian was overjoyed, saying with excitement: "With the Old Master willing to make a move, this Yun Feng will surely be executed on the spot!" Old Master Li nodded: "You go on outside. Give me a moment to come out of seclusion and execute this brat!" Li Fengtian bowed respectfully and backed out of the quiet room. Walking to the front hall of the Li Family Estate, the old steward hurried forward, his face full of worry: "Family head, the heads of various wealthy families all called earlier, complaining to us about the Yun Family affair from seven years ago." "This entire city of Haicheng has been turned upside down by Yun Feng alone!" Li Fengtian snorted coldly: "Pay them no mind." "After today, there will no longer be any such person as Yun Feng in this world!" "Right..." Li Fengtian suddenly remembered something else and asked: "Has Xiaotian still not returned?" Hearing this, the old steward's expression suddenly changed, and he shook his head: "Since yesterday, we haven't been able to get in touch with Young Master Xiaotian..." As the young head of the Li Family, Li Xiaotian lived a wild lifestyle, and it was a common occurrence for him not to come home for several days. Yet given the special circumstances right now, Li Fengtian was exceptionally worried about his son's safety. The old steward thought for a moment and said in a low voice: "Judging by the young master's usual patterns of movement..." "I suspect... could Young Master Xiaotian have been at the Chen Family Estate yesterday?" Hearing the old steward's words, Li Fengtian froze instantly. Although the Chen Family Estate was still under lockdown, the well-informed wealthy families all knew the news that the Chen Family Estate had been slaughtered. If Li Xiaotian happened to be at the Chen Family yesterday... He most likely didn't survive either! Just as Li Fengtian's heart was plummeting into an abyss, a Li Family bodyguard suddenly burst through the doors, shouting with a voice lost of composure: "Bad news, family head!" "At our front gates..." "Someone is burning incense and kowtowing, sacrificing to the ancestral tablets!"

The old steward frowned, rebuking in a low voice: "Just chase them off. Panicking like this, what kind of composure is that?" The bodyguard swallowed hard: "That person... put a human head out as a sacrifice!" The head of the Li Family and the steward were both taken aback. The bodyguard said cautiously: "That human head..." "The brothers looked at it..." "It looked like..." "It looked like Young Master Xiaotian's!" Boom! It felt as though an explosion had gone off inside Li Fengtian's head! What? My son's head was placed right at my front gate as a sacrifice to the ancestral tablets?! In an instant, Li Fengtian understood exactly what was going on. Recovering his wits, he gritted his teeth and said: "Good one, Yun Feng!" "You've gone too far!" "Today, my Li Family will fight you to the bitter death!"

Outside the gates of the Li Family Estate, a crowd formed a semicircle, watching Yun Feng and Zhou Ling kneel before two memorial tablets, lighting three sticks of pure incense to memorialize the tablets of Yun Feng's parents. A few Li Family bodyguards had previously tried to step forward to stop them, only to be pierced through the glabella by a golden flash that materialized out of thin air, dropping dead on the spot. The rest didn't dare try to stop them any further, and instead dispatched one person back into the estate to report to the family head. Swish, swish, swish— Amidst a chaotic flurry of footsteps, the head of the Li Family led a throng of martial arts retainers and junior family members pouring out of the Li Family Estate. Li Fengtian instantly caught sight of Yun Feng, as well as the head Yun Feng had placed in front of his parents' memorial tablets! It was precisely the head of Li Xiaotian, lopped off yesterday at the Chen Family Estate! "My son!!" Li Fengtian cried out in grief, his legs turning to jelly as he nearly collapsed to the ground: "You died such a miserable death!" Yun Feng's cold, detached voice rang out: "He didn't actually die a miserable death." "The way you're about to die in a moment—that's what you call miserable." As soon as these words were spoken, everyone from the Li Family froze in unison. Never in their lives had they seen anyone dare speak to the head of the Li Family like this! "Brat! What are you?" a highly authoritative member of the second generation of the Li Family demanded sternly: "The person with the ability to kill our Li Family head hasn't even been born yet!" Having finished kowtowing before his parents' memorial tablets, Yun Feng slowly stood up and said in a low voice: "My name is Yun Feng..." "Today, I am here to avenge the extermination of the Yun Family from seven years ago!" Turning around to face Li Fengtian, Yun Feng slowly took off his upper garments: "Head of the Li Family." "On my body, there are twenty scars in total, courtesy of your Li Family." "Every single cut your Li Family carved into me seven years ago, I will take back a thousandfold, ten thousandfold!"