Then Cut Them All Down

The valley fell silent once more.

Wu Jiuyan, one of the Wu Clan's three prodigies, had been cut down first.

Then the Wu Clan's patriarch had been cut down as well.

This was far too explosive—whether for the Five Great Families or for the scattered cultivators who had come to watch the spectacle.

By now, aside from those idle onlookers, only the Lin Clan and the Wu Clan among the Five Great Families still did not know Shen Zhou's identity.

So after a moment of stillness in the gathering, among the many fallen Wu Clan members, an elder struggled to rise, wounded, and looked at Shen Zhou with grief and fury, demanding, "Who exactly are you?"

After one sword stroke had killed the Wu Clan patriarch, his opponent was gone, and the power of the Entry rapidly receded and vanished. This left Shen Zhou, who was only at the fourth level of Coagulated Blood yet had endured a string of battles, somewhat weary.

Hearing the Wu elder's words, Shen Zhou merely replied flatly, "Shen Zhou."

The Wu elder's expression froze.

The surrounding crowd instantly erupted.

"What? He's Shen Zhou? The Qin Family Sword Drawer?"

"So it's him. Earlier, there were rumors that the Qin Family Divine Weapon could instantly boost the wielder's strength—now it seems that was true!"

"Unbelievable!"

The gathering boiled over.

Lin Yuling, the little girl of the Lin Clan, gaped in shock. "So he's the Qin Family Sword Drawer."

Beside her, Lin Fang was dumbfounded.

What the hell?

He's Shen Zhou?

The Qin Family Sword Drawer?

I even beat him up back at the inn.

"Damn, is he going to come after me for revenge later?" Lin Fang felt a twinge of panic.

Just then, the Qin Family stepped forward.

Seeing the fatigue on Shen Zhou's face and fearing an accident, Qin Fenglan led all the Qin Family members up to him, then, in front of everyone present, bowed and called out, "Patriarch!"

The Qin Family followed suit, paying their respects in unison.

In that moment, the scene was intensely striking and shocking.

The onlookers were stunned.

This guy wasn't just the Qin Family Sword Drawer—he was also the Qin Family patriarch?

The Wu elder stared at Qin Fenglan in disbelief, grinding his teeth. "Has the Qin Family thought this through? He killed our patriarch—this is an irreconcilable blood feud. If you jump out now to acknowledge him as your patriarch, is the Qin Family declaring war on the Wu Clan?"

The other families held their breath, waiting to see the Qin Family's stance.

Originally, if Shen Zhou had merely displayed the strength of a family prodigy while wielding the sword, the Five Great Families would have unanimously begun to suppress the Qin Family, ensuring it could never rise again.

But no one expected that Shen Zhou's full burst of power with the sword far exceeded their predictions.

Heavenly Firmament!

That was a force no family could afford to underestimate.

Even if they had their own Heavenly Firmament experts, they had to take it seriously.

Yet Qin Fenglan stood unwavering, resolute. "The patriarch's will is the Qin Family's will. Your Wu Clan first bullied our patriarch for his youth, then used your seniority to oppress him and attacked him publicly. Even if your Wu Clan wanted to let this go, the Qin Family would not!"

"You..."

The Wu elder's body trembled violently.

He hadn't expected the Qin Family to be so unyielding.

Even less did he expect them to twist the truth and throw a basin of dirty water back at the Wu Clan.

Overwhelmed by fury, the Wu elder spat out a mouthful of blood.

By then, Shen Zhou had already swallowed some medicinal herbs, refined their power, and recovered his state. He stared at the Wu elder for a moment, then said, "Since the Wu Clan still wants to cause me trouble, let's just cut them all down."

With that, Shen Zhou moved to act, and the light of the Taixuan Sword flared again.

Those nearby shuddered at his words.

Still killing? Are you leaving no room at all, trying to wipe out the entire Wu Clan?

Even the Qin Family was startled. Qin Yuanshan quickly urged, "Patriarch, you can't. If you act now, things will truly be beyond repair."

Shen Zhou looked at Qin Yuanshan with confusion.

Since the two families were already locked in a death feud, why not take the chance to kill a few more and weaken the enemy's strength? What else was there to wait for?

Besides, if they didn't act now, could things really be salvaged?

Perhaps sensing Shen Zhou's confusion, Qin Yuanshan explained, "Patriarch, feuds between families aren't settled so simply, even in revenge. For now, please hold back. I'll explain the details once we return."

Shen Zhou shrugged and said, "I don't care. The Wu Clan's retaliation will hit your Qin Clan first anyway. If you're not worried, why should I be?"

Qin Yuanshan said helplessly, "Family Head, it's our Qin Clan."

Shen Zhou acted as if he hadn't heard.

The Wu Clan members then struggled to their feet, the lightly injured supporting the heavily injured, and they all left together.

Before leaving, the Wu Clan elder declared, "This matter, our Wu Clan will not let it rest."

Shen Zhou glanced at Qin Fenglan and said again, "Sure you don't want to cut them all down?"

The latter smiled faintly and shook her head.

But the Wu Clan elder was genuinely afraid Shen Zhou might act without restraint, so he hurriedly led his people away in fear.

With that, the matter between Shen Zhou and the Wu Clan was finally over.

Only then did the Three Little Ones and Dongfang Hongyu dare to emerge from the crowd. Earlier, they had feared the Wu Clan would use them to threaten Shen Zhou, so they hadn't shown themselves at the venue.

When they met up, A Dai asked Shen Zhou if he was injured.

Shen Zhou grinned. "With that old dog of the Wu Clan's strength, he couldn't hurt me."

The Three Little Ones finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The nearby Qin Clan members exchanged glances upon hearing this.

Though what the Family Head said was true, it somehow sounded a bit smug.

Qin Fenglan then said to Shen Zhou, "Family Head, since you're unharmed, let's rest over at the Qin Clan area first. Next up is the matter between our Qin Clan and the Xu Clan."

Shen Zhou nodded without objection, but then he thought of something and said, "Oh, right, speaking of the Xu Clan, someone over there still owes me something. I'll go collect it first."

With that, Shen Zhou picked up the Taixuan Sword and walked toward the Xu Clan's awning.

The Qin Clan members were stunned.

The Xu Clan owed him something?

The Xu Clan.

Under the awning.

"Do you think that was all of that kid Shen Zhou's strength just now?"

The Xu Family Head, recalling the Wu Clan's humiliating retreat, narrowed his eyes slightly and asked the crowd.

Hearing this, the Xu Clan members were taken aback.

What did the Family Head mean? Was that sword strike just now not even Shen Zhou's full power?

Xu Baxia furrowed his brow and asked, "Father means that the Qin Family Divine Weapon might allow Shen Zhou's strength to rise even further?"

The Xu Family Head said nothing, his expression shifting unpredictably, hard to read.

From the way Shen Zhou had struck down the Wu Family Head earlier, it was clearly not the kind of power an ordinary Celestial Firmament Realm expert could unleash.

Celestial Firmament First Realm was Celestial Firmament.

But Celestial Firmament Ninth Realm was also Celestial Firmament.

With the Qin Family Divine Weapon in hand, it was difficult to gauge just how far Shen Zhou's strength could reach.

What if he was even stronger than their Xu Clan's Celestial Firmament Realm expert?

That was a question worth pondering, and a thorny one at that.

Just as the Xu Clan was mulling over this, someone suddenly spotted Shen Zhou walking over with his sword and exclaimed in alarm, "Look! That kid's coming with his sword! What's he going to do?"

The Xu Clan members jerked their heads up, and many even panicked.

The Xu Family Head shot a cold glare and barked in a low voice, "What's all this panic for? What kind of spectacle is this? Let outsiders see, and they'll think our Xu Clan is afraid of some brat."

The Xu Clan members quickly forced themselves to calm down, pretending nothing was happening.

The Xu Family Head sat upright in the main seat, and as Shen Zhou approached, he said calmly, "The tournament is about to begin. Does the young Qin Family Head have some instruction for coming over?"

Shen Zhou swept his gaze across the Xu Clan crowd. When he spotted Xu Liansheng, he pointed and said, "No instruction. That guy owes me something. I'm here to collect."

Xu Liansheng was suddenly exposed in front of the Xu Clan. He looked flustered and stammered, "I... what do I owe you?"

Shen Zhou sneered, twirling the Taixuan Sword in his hand as he said, "Looks like your memory's not so good. Want me to help you recall what you promised when you begged me to spare you on Martial Hall Street?"

The dead memories came back to attack Xu Liansheng.

Back then on Martial Hall Street, when he begged for mercy, he had promised to bring out the second half of the 'Wild Desart Art.' Shen Zhou said he'd collect it next time they met, and if he was deceived, he'd come personally to demand it.

Xu Liansheng hadn't expected this guy to actually dare come and demand it!

Glancing at the Taixuan Sword in Shen Zhou's hand, and recalling the Wu Family Head who had just been cut down, he immediately dared not speak.

Seeing this, the Xu Family Head also remembered that this had indeed happened.

If the Wu Clan incident hadn't just occurred, the Xu Family Head might have dismissed Shen Zhou as a joke. But now...

The Xu Family Head was silent for a moment, then casually waved his hand, producing a book. He tossed it to Shen Zhou with a smile and said, "Our clan's junior was rude earlier. Consider this manual an apology to the young Family Head."

Shen Zhou caught the manual and saw it was the complete 'Wild Desart Art.' He waved the book at the Xu Family Head and praised, "Now that's magnanimous, Family Head Xu. You're way better than that Wu guy. When I fight your Xu Clan people later, I'll go easy on them."

Watching Shen Zhou's retreating figure, the Xu Family Head's gaze darkened.

Many of the Xu family were furious.

"Bastard, this kid is far too arrogant—daring to come to our door and extort the Qin Family Technique from us, it's utterly detestable!"

"He's only throwing his weight around because of the Qin Family Divine Weapon; otherwise, I could crush him with one hand!"

Xu Baxia also stood up, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes. "Father, let me fight him. The Qin Family Divine Weapon is formidable, but he can't use it endlessly, can he? Perhaps I can defeat him!"

The Xu Family Head was already in a foul mood, but upon hearing a certain remark from his clansmen, his eyes lit up. "It's just a technique—giving it to them is no big deal, and even this negotiation isn't important. What matters is that one of you just said something right: that kid only acts so arrogantly because of the Qin Family Divine Weapon. But what if... he no longer had it?

Or what if the Qin Family Divine Weapon became our Xu Family Divine Weapon? What do you all think of that?"

Hearing this, Xu Baxia and the rest of the Xu family were stunned.

Was the Family Head implying...