A Fine Show!

"Unfilial son! What are you trying to do? Are you planning to lay hands on me too?"

Gao Zhanhu trembled all over, not from fear, but from rage.

He had never imagined that his own son would dare draw a blade on him.

"Lay hands on you?"

"Old man, I know you're powerful. Your cultivation reached the peak of Organ Refining long ago. I'm no match for you."

"Are you still standing there watching the show? If the old man doesn't die, I'll never be able to take control of Gao Family Fortress. Then naturally, I won't be able to fulfill the promises I made to you."

Gao Yucheng's voice echoed through the vast Underground Hall.

As soon as he finished speaking, laughter rang out from the underground passage. "Hahaha, Second Young Master truly keeps his word. You really did find Gao Family Fortress's secret chamber."

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.

Soon, five shadowy figures appeared in the hall.

Gao Zhanhu pointed at Gao Yucheng and said grimly, "Unfilial son, you actually colluded with outsiders? You're seeking a tiger's skin from the tiger! Can the matters of my Gao Family be known to outsiders?"

Gao Yucheng did not care in the least, replying calmly, "Old man, that's none of your concern. I know what I'm doing."

"Enough. Aren't you five going to send the old man on his way?"

Gao Yucheng did not move, but the five figures behind him sprang into action in an instant.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Blood and qi erupted from the five figures. Every one of them possessed incomparably vigorous blood and qi, not the least bit inferior to Gao Zhanhu's.

In barely the time of a breath, the five of them had surrounded Gao Zhanhu.

Gao Yucheng, carrying his blade, walked step by step toward Gao Yuzhi.

Gao Yuzhi was still unconscious, lying on the stone bed.

Gao Yucheng slowly raised his blade and murmured in a low voice, "Big Brother, I never wanted to kill you."

"But if you don't die, the old man will never give up, and I'll never be able to take control of Gao Family Fortress."

"If you must blame someone, blame yourself for being just like the old man, both of you dreaming of rebellion and wanting to bury all of Gao Family Fortress with you..."

Seeing Gao Yucheng's blade pointed at Gao Yuzhi, Gao Zhanhu's rage reached its peak. Even his expression twisted hideously.

"Beast! You beast!"

"Unfilial son, stop at once! That's your elder brother!"

"You want the Blood Exchange Bead? I'll give it to you, I'll give you everything. Don't hurt your elder brother..."

In a moment of carelessness, Gao Zhanhu was struck squarely in the chest by one of the black-clad men.

Pfft...

Gao Zhanhu's body crashed heavily to the ground. He spat out a mouthful of blood, his face white as paper. He had clearly suffered severe injuries.

Yet he seemed not to care at all, his gaze still fixed firmly on Gao Yucheng.

"Yucheng, don't..."

But Gao Yucheng gritted his teeth and suddenly drove the blade downward.

Squelch.

The blade instantly pierced Gao Yuzhi's body.

Even in his unconscious state, Gao Yuzhi seemed to feel the pain. His brow furrowed tightly.

Blood rapidly streamed from the wound, staining his clothes red.

Gao Yuzhi's breathing gradually weakened, until it finally stopped altogether.

Dead!

Gao Yuzhi was completely dead!

Gao Zhanhu's eyes widened, veins bulging across his face.

But no matter how furious he was, Gao Yuzhi was dead in the end.

The son he had always regarded as the hope of the Gao Family was dead.

And he had been killed by his unfilial son, right before his eyes!

Gao Yucheng pulled out the blade and walked step by step toward Gao Zhanhu. Blood was still dripping from its edge.

"Father, Big Brother is already dead. Now, are you prepared to kill me at all costs, or will you let me take control of Gao Family Fortress?"

"You choose."

Gao Yucheng directly tossed the blade before Gao Zhanhu.

Gao Zhanhu was slightly stunned.

He looked at the blade on the ground, then at Gao Yucheng.

In the end, he did not reach for the blade.

Even a vicious tiger would not eat its cubs, much less when Gao Yucheng was now his only son.

If he killed Gao Yucheng, what would become of Gao Family Fortress?

From beginning to end, what mattered most to Gao Zhanhu was still Gao Family Fortress!

"What a fine son I have! I truly never saw it before—you are so ruthless and vicious, so skilled in schemes and calculations."

"But perhaps that's for the best. In the hands of someone like you, at least Gao Family Fortress will not decline."

"Take this Blood Exchange Bead!"

Gao Zhanhu took the Blood Exchange Bead from his robes, preparing to throw it to Gao Yucheng.

But one of the shadowy figures was faster.

Whoosh.

In the blink of an eye, the figure slashed down with a blade.

Squelch.

Gao Zhanhu's arm was severed in an instant.

At the same time, the Blood Exchange Bead in Gao Zhanhu's hand fell into the shadowy figure's grasp.

"Argh..."

Gao Zhanhu cried out miserably, his entire body convulsing.

Yet Gao Yucheng ignored Gao Zhanhu's injuries. He raised his head and looked at the five figures ahead.

These were the "helpers" he had invited.

He had never expected them to suddenly attack and seize the Blood Exchange Bead.

"According to our previous agreement, the Blood Exchange Bead should be given to me. After I inherit Gao Family Fortress, I will fulfill the promises I made to you."

Gao Yucheng spoke one word at a time.

"Heh heh, this is the Blood Exchange Bead!"

"Of course we want those promises you made. But we need this Blood Exchange Bead too. What a difficult choice."

"However, I have a solution now. As long as we slaughter you and Gao Zhanhu, who else in Gao Family Fortress can stop us? Then everything in Gao Family Fortress will be ours, so why would we need your promises?"

The five shadowy figures looked at Gao Yucheng with mockery and disdain in their eyes.

Clearly, they had been stringing Gao Yucheng along from the start.

They had never intended to spare Gao Yucheng. They only wanted to find the Blood Exchange Bead.

Once they found the Blood Exchange Bead, they would directly slaughter Gao Yucheng, then swallow up all of Gao Family Fortress.

"Unfilial son, seeking a tiger's skin from the tiger—you're going to bury the entire foundation of Gao Family Fortress..."

Gao Zhanhu's voice was hoarse with pain, yet he still could not suppress the fury in his heart.

But from beginning to end, Gao Yucheng's expression remained calm.

"Yes, in your eyes, I'm nothing but a foolish wastrel who worked with you to sell out Gao Family Fortress."

"Father, is that how you see me too? Ambitious but without the means, a complete fool?"

Gao Yucheng's words instantly changed the expressions of the five figures.

They sensed that something was wrong.

Even Gao Zhanhu looked at Gao Yucheng with uncertainty.

If Gao Yucheng had not lost his mind, but had made preparations, then perhaps there was still a chance to turn things around...

"Attack!"

The five figures delayed no longer and prepared to kill Gao Yucheng.

But the moment the five of them circulated their blood and qi, their bodies immediately went limp, and they collapsed to the ground.

"What's going on? You poisoned us?"

"When were we poisoned?"

"You were actually able to poison us?"

The five martial artists seemed unable to believe it.

Clearly, none of them had noticed being poisoned.

Gao Yucheng shook his head slightly and said one word at a time, "Didn't you test every meal I sent you for poison? Besides, you are experts at using poison yourselves. Who could poison you?"

"This isn't poison. It's merely a special chronic medicine. As long as you vigorously circulate your blood and qi, it will make your entire bodies go weak without you realizing it. You'll recover after a few hours."

Hearing Gao Yucheng's emotionless words, all five of them could not help but feel fear.

Who could have imagined that they would fall into Gao Yucheng's hands?

Gao Yucheng picked up the blade from the ground.

Looking at Gao Zhanhu, he let out a long sigh. "Father, you are still too softhearted. I gave you such a good chance just now, yet you did not kill me."

"But I will not be softhearted. If I want to take control of Gao Family Fortress, I'll need to borrow your head. These five fools can take the blame."

"Father, have a safe journey!"

Gao Yucheng drew a deep breath and raised the great blade high in his hand.

Gao Zhanhu said nothing more. He simply closed his eyes, looking as though he had resigned himself to fate.

Whoosh...

Suddenly, Gao Yucheng vaguely felt a faint breeze brush past behind him.

But this was an underground secret chamber, sealed on all sides. Where could a breeze have come from?

Swish.

A flash of white light vanished in an instant.

The next moment, Gao Yucheng felt a chill around his neck.

He clutched his neck, feeling all the strength drain rapidly from his body.

"You..."

Gao Yucheng's eyes widened. He saw it.

Before him, a mysterious black-clad figure had appeared at some unknown moment. Scarlet blood dripped bit by bit from the dagger in its hand.