Sudden Change, The Mastermind

The fire burned slowly, the night was very dark, and the night sky tonight had no starlight or moonlight.

A huge bonfire, a sobbing girl kneeling, and a group of friends created a sorrowful scene.

"Who's there?" Yang Xuan roared at a nearby clump of grass.

"Heh heh heh, you really have some skill, no wonder you could subdue a hopping corpse that drank its closest kin's blood." Three figures slowly emerged from the grass.

Using the firelight, the three figures gradually became clear. The speaker was an old man dressed in gray. Although he had a dignified appearance, he couldn't hide the malevolence in his eyes. The two figures behind him had vacant expressions and yellow paper pasted on their foreheads – they were clearly two zombies.

"Who are you?" Uncle Nine asked cautiously. After all, it was a graveyard in the wilderness so late at night, and it felt like the visitors were up to no good, especially with two zombies in tow.

"Who am I? Hahahaha." The old man looked at Tingting and continued, "Twenty years ago, I was just a Feng Shui master helping the villagers. It was your father who forced me to leave my hometown because of a 'Dragon Flying Over Water' geomantic spot passed down in my family. Because your father constantly threatened and intimidated me, my wife became very scared. Less than ten days after leaving Ren Family Town, my wife died. It was your father who killed my wife, who ruined my family. Heh heh, then I'll turn your grandfather into a zombie." The old man roared, his expression gradually becoming ferocious.

"I don't know, I wasn't even born then," Ren Tingting whispered.

"What does that have to do with me? I only know that your family killed my wife. Do you know? When my wife died, she was carrying my child. One body, two lives! One body, two lives!" The old man roared, his eyes gradually turning red.

"Hey, old man, are you here to pick a fight today? Both families are about even now, and you still want revenge? There's only a weak woman left," Yang Xuan sneered.

"I came for revenge, and it's good that he died. The main culprit was killed by his own father. But you shouldn't have burned my hopping corpse that I cultivated for 20 years. Do you know how much effort I put into this hopping corpse? I just went out to handle some business, and when I came back, you burned it. Today, none of you will leave here alive." After speaking, the old man leaped nimbly backward and took out a bell from his backpack, starting to shake it.

"A-Xuan, I don't think this is simple. The two zombies this person controls are even more extraordinary," Uncle Nine said gravely.

"Master, I'll hold them off first. You guys do as you please. Senior Brother, A-Wei, you three protect Tingting," Yang Xuan said as he charged forward rapidly.

The usual tactic, go straight for a Six Elbows. Huh? It's become sentient? The other zombie actually came to help. Thinking he was about to be choked, Yang Xuan instantly flipped from his attack stance, dodging the attack. However, the zombie attacking head-on was still free, and immediately pressed his advantage. Damn it, these are controlled zombies, and they're quite methodical. Just then, five more zombies of varying levels appeared one after another from behind the old man.

Yang Xuan dodged the zombies' attacks while shouting to Uncle Nine, "Master, tell me if I can't hold them off."

"Don't worry," Uncle Nine replied calmly, clearly not wanting to show weakness in front of his disciple.

Uncle Nine wasn't afraid, but someone else was. A-Wei's legs were already weak, and Qiu Sheng and Wen Cai were only slightly better off than A-Wei.

Heh, just dodging isn't my style. Time to get serious.

At this moment, the zombies' hands lunged towards Yang Xuan. This time, Yang Xuan didn't dodge or evade, directly taking the hit. Pfft, thankfully, it didn't hurt too much. It seemed that zombies were creatures with high defense and health, but average attack power, and their claws were ordinary. Just be careful of their teeth.

You've been arrogant for too long. Yang Xuan circulated his Bloodline Power throughout his body, but used an internal energy technique for his attack.

The third form of the Tathagata Palm, Buddha Moves Mountains and Rivers. Without any special effects or methods, he followed the circulation route of the Tathagata Palm and struck directly at a zombie. Bang. Although the sound wasn't loud and the zombie only retreated about one step, its official uniform was already torn, revealing a palm print several centimeters deep. Because the impact was on its ribs, the injured zombie now walked with a slight imbalance. It went without saying that several ribs must have been broken.

Yang Xuan was also frustrated. He had learned every palm strike of the Tathagata Palm, but unfortunately, his cultivation was too low. The moves he could use were all auxiliary and couldn't directly harm enemies. The ones that could directly harm enemies, he couldn't use yet. After much deliberation, he could only use the third form, Buddha Moves Mountains and Rivers. Although it lacked overwhelming, cool special effects, its attack power was truly formidable. It felt like an ordinary palm strike, but due to the unique circulation method of the Tathagata Palm, its power had increased several times.

Now, one zombie was still intact, and the other was probably only lightly injured. He didn't know what the internal structure of a zombie was like. In some ways, they were very similar to zombies in movies, their stamina seemed endless. If one were to strictly apply the law of conservation of energy, he estimated that Thomas Yang's coffin lid wouldn't be able to hold him down.

Although he didn't dodge the zombies' attacks and had a protective aura, allowing him to withstand them directly, it still hurt a little. It seemed he needed to find an opportunity to learn a tough external martial art. Otherwise, if he endured the attacks for too long, the pain would intensify, and he would gradually become slower and less aggressive.

On the other side, Uncle Nine was directly facing two zombies, while Wen Cai and Qiu Sheng each dealt with one. A-Wei was protecting Tingting.

Uncle Nine drew his peach wood sword, slashing left and chopping right. His not-so-high-level footwork involved slight movements to the sides. Although his movements weren't elegant, they were very effective. It seemed that simple swordsmanship and clumsy footwork were precisely the tools to counter the zombies. After all, zombies moved very differently from ordinary people. If one were to rigidly apply traditional martial arts techniques, the effect might not be more effective than Uncle Nine's moves.

In contrast, Qiu Sheng and Wen Cai weren't as skilled. Qiu Sheng was okay; he had some basic martial arts skills. Wen Cai, however, was not. He basically just dodged.

Seeing everyone resisting the zombies, the old man believed he had victory in hand and cackled, "Heh heh heh, today I will let all of you die here, to avenge the ruin of my family!"

The old man's bell-shaking speed increased, and the rhythm became increasingly bizarre. As the zombies heard the changes in the bell's sound, their strength instantly increased. Yang Xuan, who could send a zombie flying 5-6 meters with one punch, could now only send it flying about 2 meters, an increase of about double.

The first to falter was Wen Cai. The zombie's speed had also increased, and Wen Cai couldn't dodge in time, getting his arm impaled by the zombie's claws. Qiu Sheng immediately went to rescue him. A thousand-mile dike could be destroyed by an ant's nest. What was originally an even match had instantly changed drastically. Because Qiu Sheng and Wen Cai were in danger, Uncle Nine couldn't abandon his two disciples and went to their aid. This resulted in five zombies surrounding three people, no, two people, with the injured Wen Cai being the third.

"A-Xuan, I can't hold on anymore, don't hide your strength!" Uncle Nine urged urgently. This was because Four Eyes had mentioned that Yang Xuan had a weapon and had described Yang Xuan after he obtained it.

"I know, Master," Yang Xuan replied without looking back.

"Old man, we've been playing for quite a while, it's time to finish. You're quite impressive, having cultivated two hopping corpses, three black zombies, and two white zombies," Yang Xuan said.