Instant Kill

Eldest Cousin...

Luo Zheng had not heard that form of address in a very long time.

He remembered that when they were young, Luo Chengyun had often run after Luo Zheng, endlessly calling him Eldest Cousin, Eldest Cousin.

Whenever someone bullied Luo Chengyun, he would also come crying to Luo Zheng.

That cry stirred up Luo Zheng's childhood memories. How wonderful those days had been.

Who would have thought that after they grew up, the Lineage's internal strife would drive brothers farther and farther apart in pursuit of their own interests? It was one of life's great tragedies.

Luo Zheng nodded and changed his form of address back. "Cousin Chengyun, then let's begin!"

"Ah, Luo Zheng, everyone said you hadn't recognized your place. It seems they were right. I call you Eldest Cousin once, and you really think I'm your cousin? Hahaha! It won't be unjust if you die by my hand," Luo Chengyun said. The cold smile on his face suddenly gave way to a powerful aura.

Luo Chengyun's verbal taunting stirred anger in Luo Zheng's heart, and his face turned icy. The last lingering thread of familial affection within him vanished completely!

The moment Luo Chengyun finished speaking, streams of Purple Light surged from his body. With a sliding step, he charged at Luo Zheng with astonishingly strange speed.

Bang!

Luo Zheng took a punch head-on and staggered back several steps before steadying himself. The force of that blow had actually surpassed One Cauldron Force. It seemed Luo Chengyun had also entered the Bone Refining Realm through the Heaven and Earth Creation Pill.

One Cauldron Force truly was fierce and tyrannical. Luo Zheng's body had already been tough enough that beatings from Skin Refining Realm and Flesh Refining Realm cultivators produced little Warm Current.

Yet after taking Luo Chengyun's attack head-on, the Warm Current within his body began circulating madly again, surging into every bone in his body and continuously cleansing them.

This feeling was far too satisfying!

While Luo Zheng was secretly reveling in it, Luo Chengyun seemed to have gone mad. He had no intention of giving Luo Zheng a chance to catch his breath and pounced at him again.

Charging punches, straight punches, smashing punches.

Elbow strikes, side kicks, sweeping kicks...

All kinds of fierce attacks rained down desperately upon Luo Zheng.

Streams of Warm Current flowed through Luo Zheng's bones like floodwaters released from a dam. He could even clearly feel the impurities in his bones being washed out, grain by grain, particle by particle.

"Good! Young Master Chengyun, beat him to death alive just like that!" Huang Ge shouted and hollered from the High Platform, his expression extraordinarily excited, as though watching Luo Zheng get beaten was even more satisfying than doing it himself.

Quite a few Luo Family Disciples cheered for Luo Chengyun as well, but most of them remained silent.

Deep down, most of the lower-ranking Luo Family Disciples still missed the Luo Family of old. Back then, the Luo Family was fair and compassionate, treating every Luo Family Disciple justly. So long as one possessed enough talent, regardless of which branch one came from, everyone had a chance to rise.

But after the Second Branch and Third Branch took power, apart from their own people, the other collateral disciples could see no hope at all.

Luo Zheng, the former young family head, was also the last person left behind from that old Luo Family. If he died, it would mean that the Luo Family of old would never return.

On the arena, Luo Zheng was continuously pummeled by Luo Chengyun.

Luo Junyi, who sat nearby watching the battle, frowned. As Luo Chengyun's father, he knew his son's strength better than anyone. After taking the Heaven and Earth Creation Pill and entering the Bone Refining Realm, Luo Chengyun's strength had surpassed One Cauldron Force.

Other than Luo Peiran, there was no one among the Luo Family's younger generation who could rival Luo Chengyun.

He had counted clearly just now. Luo Chengyun had thrown dozens of punches in one breath. Every strike was powerful, stirring up gusts of wind, beating Luo Zheng back step by step without any chance to fight back.

But why had Luo Zheng not fallen yet?

There was a saying in the martial path: offense was the best defense.

That was because attacking was far easier than defending. No matter how strong one's body was, it could not withstand relentless sharp attacks.

Not to mention anything else—even Luo Junyi himself would be unable to endure such a beating from Luo Chengyun. This was why Body Protection Skills that tempered the body horizontally, such as the "Vajra Shield" and the "Nine-Yang Sacred Body," were so precious.

Yet Luo Zheng could still stand after taking such a beating from Luo Chengyun...

Could Luo Zheng have acquired some special Body Protection Skill? Or had Eldest Brother held something back and passed this skill on to Luo Zheng before his death?

Thinking of how Luo Zheng had endured beatings for two years yet remained lively as ever, a gleam appeared in Luo Junyi's eyes!

Under the unceasing barrage, Luo Chengyun also began to grow impatient. His attacks became heavier and heavier, and all kinds of vicious moves were used against Luo Zheng.

Rosewood Inch Strength!

Bang bang bang bang bang bang!

He had thought the destructive force of Rosewood Inch Strength would bring Luo Zheng down. Yet after six layers of force erupted inside Luo Zheng's body, Luo Zheng still stood firm as a mountain. His eyes only grew brighter as they stared straight at Luo Chengyun, making Luo Chengyun's scalp tingle.

Is this guy a monster? How is he still not dead after all this?

Seeing Luo Zheng's gaze, panic appeared in Luo Chengyun's eyes. He was already a Bone Refining Realm expert with strength exceeding One Cauldron Force. Logically, he should have been able to smash someone like Luo Zheng apart with a single punch. Why was this happening?

What did that look mean? Was he mocking his incompetence?

Luo Zheng's gaze not only threw Luo Chengyun into panic, but also filled him with boundless rage.

Looks like I'll have to use that move on you! Luo Chengyun quietly took a small box from his clothes. It was palm-sized, yet covered in talismans that shimmered with flowing light. There was a trigger on the back. He aimed the front of the box at Luo Zheng, then savagely pulled the trigger and roared with a vicious expression, "Go die!"

The moment Luo Chengyun took out the little box, Luo Zheng became alert. As the former young family head, he naturally recognized it as one of the Lineage's defensive treasures—the Thousand Machine Tribulation Lightning Halberd!

This Thousand Machine Tribulation Lightning Halberd was a secret weapon made by talisman masters. A Thousand Machine Lightning Halberd was sealed inside with talismans, and it possessed immense power. If used by surprise, it could kill an enemy in a single blow!

However, the Thousand Machine Tribulation Lightning Halberd was a one-use consumable and extremely expensive. Once used, it was useless. It was generally bestowed upon younger Lineage members for self-defense.

Luo Chengyun was actually this vicious. When his attacks had failed, he intended to use such a sinister thing against him. Though Luo Zheng's body was powerful, if he were struck by that lightning halberd, he would have little chance of surviving. Luo Zheng was thoroughly enraged.

A lightning halberd formed from electricity burst from the Thousand Machine Tribulation Lightning Halberd and shot straight toward Luo Zheng.

At the critical moment, he flashed aside and rolled across the ground. The lightning halberd, crackling with electricity, swept over Luo Zheng's head and scorched several strands of his hair black.

Then a Meat Target below the arena let out a scream. The lightning halberd struck him head-on, and roaring flames burst over his entire body. The fierce blaze instantly burned the Meat Target into charcoal!

Seeing the Meat Target's miserable state, everyone's expressions turned ugly. Luo Chengyun had gone too far. That lightning halberd could have struck anyone in the training grounds. What if it had hit a Luo Family Disciple instead of the Meat Target? Luo Chengyun simply did not regard the lives of anyone else in the Luo Family as worth anything.

Luo Zheng climbed to his feet, his icy expression seeming frozen onto his face. Clenching his fists, he said, "You've been hitting me for so long. Had your fill? Now it's my turn, isn't it?"

"Not good!" Seeing the sudden change on the arena, Luo Junyi slammed the table and sprang to his feet, about to leap down from the High Platform and rush onto the arena. He had long noticed the abnormality of Luo Zheng's body. This vicious brat had endured humiliation and lived on only because he had been plotting for a long time!

Unfortunately, no matter how fast Luo Junyi was, there was still some distance between the High Platform and the arena. That brief time was enough for Luo Zheng to strike.

Rosewood Inch Strength.

Before Luo Chengyun could react, Luo Zheng's fist slammed into him. The spot Luo Zheng struck was exquisitely chosen. The inch force blasted into Luo Chengyun's body and erupted seven times in an instant.

Puff puff puff puff puff puff puff.

After seven muffled explosions, seven bloody holes burst open across Luo Chengyun's body—at the roots of both arms and both legs, as well as his Dantian, qi acupoints, and other locations.

These wounds would not take Luo Chengyun's life, but he would never be able to cultivate again for the rest of his days.

One move!

The Luo Family's arrogant Second Young Master had been crippled by Luo Zheng.

The Luo Family training grounds fell into dead silence.

Who could have imagined that the Meat Target everyone usually beat at will possessed such strength?

A chill immediately ran down the spines of those Luo Family Disciples who had offended Luo Zheng before. They had thought Luo Zheng was easy to bully, never expecting him to have concealed such terrifying strength.

He had defeated Luo Chengyun with only one move. What about dealing with them?

Luo Chengyun's face was filled with disbelief. He had thought that with his Bone Refining Realm strength, dealing with Luo Zheng would be as easy as dealing with a three-year-old child. But why had Luo Zheng suddenly become so strong? He had taken the Heaven and Earth Creation Pill—his cultivation speed had been countless times faster than Luo Zheng's...

Filled with deep unwillingness, Luo Chengyun toppled backward. Luo Junyi lunged over in time and caught him. "Chengyun, my son! Are you all right?"

"I did not injure any vital areas. He won't die," Luo Zheng said.

Luo Junyi raised his head. His refined and elegant face had twisted into a grimace as he pointed at Luo Zheng's nose and cursed, "You vicious little bastard, why did you hurt my son?"

"Fists and feet have no eyes; life and death rest with fate. Besides, this is a Death Duel. There have been many Luo Family Disciples injured by Meat Targets on this arena before. Third Uncle, you should know that better than I do!" Luo Zheng said sternly. "Now that I have defeated Luo Chengyun, according to the Rules, I am no longer a Meat Target and may freely leave the Luo Family!"

"Hahahaha! Sparing your life was an act of mercy on my part. I never imagined you could grow to this point," Luo Junyi said, placing Luo Chengyun to one side before throwing back his head in laughter. "Do you think I'll let you leave? Stop dreaming!"

Luo Zheng's expression darkened. "Third Uncle, according to the clan rules, if I win the Death Duel, I can leave the Luo Family..."

"Rules?" Luo Junyi cut him off, mockery appearing on his twisted face. "Only your useless father would follow clan rules. Let me tell you what the Rules are. In the Luo Family, I am the Rules!"

Hearing Third Uncle's words, Luo Zheng's face twitched twice.

At every moment, he wanted nothing more than to devour the man before him alive. Yet he had always reminded himself to restrain his emotions, to endure.

Because he knew his strength was still insufficient. If he wanted revenge, he needed to leave the Luo Family and be given time to grow!

He had thought that winning the Death Duel would allow him to leave openly and honorably. He had not expected Luo Junyi to have never intended to reason with him at all.

After enduring for so long, only to have his hope shattered by a single sentence, Luo Zheng finally could not bear it any longer. His rage reached its limit, and he laughed instead. "Blame me for being too naive and childish—for believing that despicable people like you would uphold the family rules, that you would show mercy, that you would spare even a thread of kinship. You murdered your elder brother, usurped the family's position, embezzled Sacred Medicine, and committed every evil imaginable. You can no longer even be called human! You are all beasts! One day, I will personally cut off your heads and offer them in sacrifice to my father!"