Slaughter, Great Merit Explosion, Secret Chamber

People had been vanishing one after another at the northern docks, yet the Li Family had gone out of its way to obstruct the county Patrol Guards who came to investigate.

If there was no shady business behind this...

Not even ghosts would believe it.

There was no need to waste words on trash like this.

"Merit Points +80!"

At that moment, a system notification sounded in his mind.

"Hm? A bandit who committed every evil only gave 100 Merit Points, yet a mere gatekeeper gave 80!"

The thieves and bandits they had wiped out before had each yielded only 100 Merit Points. Now, killing just one gatekeeper had earned him 80. The Li Family truly deserved to die!

"Junior Brother, you..." Li Minghuai finally came to his senses, staring at the scene before him in shock.

Zhang Chu had moved so quickly just now that before he could even see what had happened, the gatekeeper was already dead.

Such skill was far beyond what the Third-rate Realm could possess. He asked excitedly, "Junior Brother, did you break through?"

"I gained a little from my martial practice this morning." Zhang Chu did not hide it. They were fellow disciples, and he trusted his senior brother.

"Good, good! Ever since Master passed on, no one from True Martial Temple has broken through in a long time. If Master knew of this, he would surely be greatly comforted!"

Li Minghuai's face was filled with delight.

But the next moment, he furrowed his brow again.

His junior brother had just broken through, only to kill a Li Family gatekeeper. How could the Li Family possibly let this rest? What were they to do?

Just as Li Minghuai was thinking of a countermeasure...

A sudden shout rang out from inside Li Mansion.

"Someone come quick! Villains have broken into Li Mansion!" A passing maidservant saw the corpse and screamed in panic.

Her cries quickly drew a group of brawny men. Nearly twenty men wielding steel blades rushed out of the mansion.

"How dare you! Who dares cause trouble at Li Mansion!"

Surrounded by a group of burly household servants, a potbellied middle-aged man stepped forward.

"Were you the ones who killed my Li Mansion guard?" The middle-aged man was extremely obese, and his eyes carried a gloomy look.

"We are county Patrol Guards. We came here to—"

"I asked whether you killed him!"

Before Li Minghuai could finish, the fat middle-aged man interrupted him. The atmosphere instantly plummeted.

Then, without waiting for Li Minghuai to speak again, the middle-aged man waved a hand, a glint of greed flashing in his eyes.

"Seize them and send them to the secret chamber."

Hearing this, delight appeared on Zhang Chu's face. Why would a normal man look greedily at young, able-bodied men?

"I thought I would have to go through some trouble to find them. Who knew one look from you would expose everything!"

The recent Missing Persons Case at the docks was apparently not caused by some evil spirit. The Li Family had been pulling the strings from behind the scenes!

"You must be Li Yuanhe, head of the Li Family."

"Your eyes truly can't keep secrets!"

No sooner said than done, Zhang Chu gave a low laugh and shot forward, charging straight at Li Yuanhe.

"Impudent! Take him down."

Those who could serve as household servants in Li Mansion were naturally no useless rabble. Every one of them was skilled with a blade.

The instant Zhang Chu rushed forward, more than a dozen household servants struck at once, blade light flashing across the entire entrance.

But whatever their strength, before Zhang Chu they were no different from straw men standing in a field.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

A string of dull impacts rang out. In the blink of an eye, more than ten men had their breastbones shattered and collapsed dead onto the ground.

"Merit Points +50!"

"Merit Points +50!"

"Merit Points +50!"...

Their powerful bodies could only suffer shattered bones when they met Zhang Chu's palm strikes, infused with inner force.

"Junior Brother, you..."

At that moment, Li Minghuai was utterly dumbfounded.

Just moments ago, he had been thinking that he would face life and death alongside Zhang Chu. They were martial brothers; even dying together today would have been worth it.

But what had he just seen?

More than twenty swordsmen and axemen had all been left with shattered bones and corpses strewn across the ground in the blink of an eye.

My junior brother, you call this a little breakthrough?!

Li Yuanhe was also shocked by the sight.

These twenty-odd men were no Jianghu masters, but working together, they would have had no problem dealing with a Third-rate Realm martial artist. Yet this seemingly ordinary youth possessed such power?

Li Yuanhe instinctively tried to retreat.

But before he could even move a leg...

A hand had already clamped around his throat.

"Don't move. Move again, and I'll crush your neck. Tell me, where is my Junior Brother?"

"Impudent! Release Master at once!"

Household servants who had newly arrived from the inner courtyard glared furiously at Zhang Chu, but the corpses littering the ground kept them from daring to approach.

Though Li Yuanhe had been seized, he was not panicked. Instead, he looked coldly at Zhang Chu, his eyes full of threat.

"Boy, I don't know where you crawled out from, but there are some matters you would be wise not to meddle in."

"Take these twenty-odd dog servants as my apology. I won't pursue the matter. How about you and I call it quits?"

"Are you threatening me?" Zhang Chu asked.

He then released the man's throat, grabbed his arm, and violently bent it backward.

"Crack!" A piercing sound of breaking bone rang out as Li Yuanhe's arm was forcibly snapped in two.

Amid the other man's miserable screams, Zhang Chu said coldly, "I'll ask one last time. Where is my Junior Brother?"

"Ah!" Li Yuanhe cried out in agony, but rather than becoming afraid, his gaze turned even more vicious.

As an old fox who had spent years in the game, he knew well that as long as he did not speak, the other side would not dare truly kill him.

Besides, after dominating the northern part of the city for so many years, when had he ever suffered such abuse? Even the authorities had to watch his expression.

"You mud-legged bastard, you dare injure me? Do you know who you've provoked?! What are you all standing around for? Hack him to death! Whoever kills him will be rewarded one thousand taels of silver!"

Upon hearing their master's words...

Quite a few household servants began swallowing hard.

One thousand taels! They could not earn that in a hundred years.

Many were already eager to try.

Yet this was exactly what Zhang Chu wanted!

[Merit Points: 1200]

Yes, after slaughtering more than twenty axemen just now, he had unexpectedly gained 1,200 Merit Points at once. It was clear just how many evil deeds the people of Li Mansion had committed in their daily lives!

And now another batch of Merit Points had come knocking.

How could he let them go?

"Buzz!" Zhang Chu moved like a ghost. Before the Li Mansion household servants could rush him, he charged at them first.

"Merit Points +50!"

"Merit Points +50!"

"Merit Points +50!"

As dense system notifications rang out, Li Mansion's courtyard was already filled with corpses, blood flowing into a river.

When dealing with household servants like those of the Li Family, one could not show the slightest mercy. Otherwise, they would climb right onto your face.

They specialized in bullying poor, honest folk.

Only after seeing the household servants he had raised for years all dead did Li Yuanhe realize what kind of baleful star he had provoked.

This young man was exceptionally ruthless!

"Patriarch Li, can you speak now?" Zhang Chu flicked the blood from his hands, making one's scalp go numb at the sight.

"Fine, I admit defeat today."

"But let me remind you: once you learn of this matter, you will not have a single good day for the rest of your life!"

Before Zhang Chu could say anything, Li Minghuai suddenly walked over and punched him directly.

"Cut the nonsense. Where is my Junior Brother!"

Li Minghuai had been holding in a bellyful of anger. Through two battles, he had not even managed to step onto the battlefield.

He found Zhang Chu's strength increasingly impossible to understand.

"Heh heh, if you want to know the truth, then follow me. I only fear that once you learn everything, you'll regret it!"