A Fine Head

Once he caught that clown, he would surely put him through every torture in the world, make this ant regret crawling out of his mother's womb.

The more he thought about it, the more excited Young Master Zhou became. His face flushed red, and he could not help throwing back his head and letting out a long howl at the sky.

Before the howl had faded, the clatter of hooves suddenly reached his ears. Young Master Zhou turned and looked into the distance, nearly falling from his saddle in fright.

He had never imagined that, despite riding for his life, Xu Yi had unknowingly closed to within two li of him.

In an instant, all the wild arrogance and viciousness in his heart vanished, leaving only utter terror. His whole body began to tremble uncontrollably. "Even Elder Feng couldn't hold this bastard back!"

At that thought, Young Master Zhou grew even more terrified. Now he not only whipped the horse with all his might, but also kicked viciously at its belly. The white horse cried out in pain, and its speed indeed rose another notch.

The white horse had not run far when, with a thunderous crash, the sturdy horse beneath Xu Yi toppled to the ground. Young Master Zhou glanced back, threw his head up, and laughed wildly, pointing at Xu Yi as he enunciated each word: "Just wait until I skin you, pull out your tendons, and tear your bones apart!"

Before his words had faded, Xu Yi's feet flashed like lightning, tapping rapidly against the ground. With several rises and falls, he had already dashed thirty zhang away.

Young Master Zhou's lower body clenched in terror, and a few drops of urine shook free. He kicked hard at the horse's belly and lashed down desperately with his whip. The fine horse galloped wildly.

Xu Yi's killing intent surged to the heavens. Until the Zhou Clan was destroyed, his soul would know no peace.

Man and horse, one pursuing and one fleeing, raced another dozen li in the blink of an eye. Young Master Zhou's heart thrashed in his chest like a catfish suddenly hauled onto shore, flapping desperately without stop.

Even if beaten to death, he would never have imagined that Xu Yi's Martial Arts had reached such unfathomable heights. Running on two legs, he could actually outrun a galloping horse—something even Elder Feng could not do.

Young Master Zhou naturally did not know that ever since Xu Yi had begun cultivating Martial Arts, he had trained his body beneath tremendous weight, walking a path ordinary people could scarcely imitate.

Now that the immense weight had been removed, he was as light as a swallow. After more than ten li, the distance between man and horse had not widened but narrowed, leaving only the span of an arrow shot.

Young Master Zhou was so frightened his voice had gone hoarse. He simply kept kicking the white horse for all he was worth, utterly ignoring the fact that the sturdy beast beneath him had begun foaming at the mouth.

Just as Xu Yi was about to catch up, they rounded a peach grove and ran headlong into a group of people. More than ten burly men dressed as household guards escorted seven or eight prisoners in ragged clothes and heavy shackles, winding along the road.

At the sight of them, Young Master Zhou was so overjoyed that tears nearly fell. These household guards were from his own estate, while those seven or eight prisoners were laborers being escorted to his family's mines.

When the guards recognized the lofty Young Master Zhou galloping toward them, they were about to kneel in salute when they heard him howl himself hoarse, "Don't just stand there like corpses! Stop that bastard behind me for me! A hundred taels of silver as reward!"

Before his words had even ended, he whipped his horse madly and shot past the guards in a gust.

The guards came to their senses and cheered as they charged straight at Xu Yi!

A hundred taels of silver—even divided among them, each would receive over ten taels, more than they earned through a year of hard labor.

Once they saw Xu Yi clearly, some even recognized him as the frail young storyteller from Xu Family Village and shouted it out. Instantly, the cheers grew fiercer and they charged even faster, utterly forgetting why their young master had fled in such panic.

Xu Yi's killing intent burst forth. He hated the entire Zhou Family to the marrow of his bones. Seeing the guards rushing toward him, he did not slow in the slightest and unleashed Wrathful Impact Heaven's Gate, like a qilin crashing into the mortal world.

The seven or eight charging guards were immediately smashed to pieces. The two at the front were hurled into the air, their sinews and bones utterly shattered, with no hope of survival.

The others were likewise flung far away, countless bones throughout their bodies broken. A rain of blood drifted through the air, yet they had not hindered Xu Yi in the least.

Xu Yi sped onward like a gale, leaving a reeking blood-soaked ground behind him. The prisoners suddenly came alive, grinning savagely as they surrounded the guards writhing on the ground. At once, even more shrill wails rang out.

Though the guards had not delayed Xu Yi in the slightest, they had ultimately forced him to change his moves while running. That single change allowed Young Master Zhou to escape several more zhang away.

As one pursued and the other fled, the Zhou Family estate came into view.

The Zhou Family was wealthy beyond compare in the region. After two generations of management and repeated expansions of their ancestral residence, it had become the grandest household within several hundred li.

Looking ahead, buildings stretched like a sea, with soaring eaves, bracketed arches, painted beams, and carved rafters—truly a thousand vast halls and beautiful residences standing like a forest.

Clack, clack. Hooves struck the bluestone paving of the training ground before the Zhou Family's main gate, dust flying alongside his soaring spirits.

"Hahahaha... Come on, you little bastard!"

Young Master Zhou seemed to have crawled back into the mortal world from the Nine Nether Abyss, throwing back his head in wild laughter.

Before his words had faded, hundreds of retainers training their bodies across the several-hundred-zhang training ground had already noticed the situation. With shouts and cries, they shot over like the wind.

Some particularly skilled at currying favor did not gather around Young Master Zhou at all, instead rushing to intercept Xu Yi.

The Zhou Family kept nearly a hundred retainers, yet only Elder Feng had reached the Body Tempering Peak.

The reason was simple. The Zhou Family was not Zhou Daogan's own household, and the Zhou Family was secluded in the wilderness, relying on mining for its livelihood. They neither needed nor could afford many great experts at the Body Tempering Peak.

Even Elder Feng had only been dispatched by Zhou Daogan at the request of Young Master Zhou's father, Master Zhou.

Over the years, the number of times Elder Feng had needed to act could be counted on one's fingers. Even when he did act, it was only to instruct the other Zhou Family retainers in Martial Skills.

It could be said that Young Master Zhou and the Zhou Family retainers had never understood just how vast and unreachable the gulf was between the Body Tempering Peak and all levels below it.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Three tower-like burly men struck at Xu Yi's vital points—one punching, one swinging a blade, one thrusting a spear. Just as they were about to land their blows, their vision blurred. Xu Yi had already vanished, kicking through the air and striking three times in succession. All three of their shoulders shattered at once, erupting in a heaven-shaking mist of blood.

When strength and speed surpassed everything across the board, there was only one outcome: utter crushing!

At the sight, Young Master Zhou's soul nearly fled his body. He turned his horse and ran.

Xu Yi hated him to the bone. He paid no attention whatsoever to the rabble filling the training ground, his feet flying over the sea of people. Twisting his waist in midair, he flicked his hand. The narrow sword at his waist streaked through the sky like a long plume of smoke, plunging precisely into Young Master Zhou's heart. The tremendous force drove Young Master Zhou straight into the copper-lacquered gates of the Zhou Family estate, smashing them open with a boom.

The narrow sword was tough enough to pierce through the gate without breaking. Young Master Zhou was left hanging upon his own front gate, soaked in blood from head to toe, eyes wide open as his breath ceased forever.

The instant the copper gates crashed open, Old Master Zhou, clad in a Daoist robe, was going over account books with the steward, a man with sparse mouse whiskers. The sudden upheaval left them utterly unable to react, and they stood frozen in the courtyard.

Covered in blood, Xu Yi brandished a Great Guan Dao seized from who knew where. He stomped on the threshold and soared into the air. The long blade flashed, and two heads flew a zhang high. With a backhand slash, he cut off Young Master Zhou's head as well, then casually caught Old Master Zhou's head in his hand and tied the long hair of the two heads into a dead knot, fastening them at his waist.