Returning Home

Seeing that even Shi Gang had been wounded by Zhou Heng's sword, the other two stared in shock, forgetting to attack.

"What are you standing there for? Keep him occupied!" Shi Gang shouted furiously. He had always prided himself on being a genius, yet he'd been defeated in a single move by a brat who had only just entered the Bone Refining Realm. How could he not be burning with shame and rage?

Only then did the two Shi Family members snap out of it. They swung their blades and swords at Zhou Heng.

In Zhou Heng's eyes, only Shi Gang could be called an opponent. As for the other two... even before breaking through to the Bone Refining Realm, he'd been strong enough to kill them with a single sword strike!

With a sharp whoosh, he swept his sword sideways toward one man's neck.

"Don't even think about it!" Shi Gang snorted, slashing out with his blade. A fierce blade aura immediately swept toward Zhou Heng.

"If I want to kill someone, how could you stop me?" Zhou Heng snorted in turn. He activated the Flying Cloud Steps and slipped past Shi Gang's slash with incredible speed. Then, with another stride, he lunged onward without the slightest pause.

Pfft!

A streak of blood flew through the air. A vivid red flower blossomed at the man's throat. Zhou Heng didn't slow down as he passed him, nimbly evading Shi Gang's returning slash.

"Damn it!" Shi Gang roared furiously. Zhou Heng had killed two people right in front of him, driving him mad with rage!

The last man from the Shi Family was trembling all over. In his eyes, Zhou Heng was like the god of death. What did it matter if Shi Gang was there? He couldn't save his life! The man suddenly let out a shriek and turned to flee.

"Come back!" Shi Gang shouted furiously. It wasn't that he needed the man's help. But if one of his clansmen fled, wouldn't that mean he thought Shi Gang was inferior to Zhou Heng?

That was what infuriated him the most!

But with his enemy right before him, he couldn't very well chase after the man to punish him. He could only force down his anger for now. A monk may run away, but the temple couldn't run with him. Once he returned to the Shi Family, he'd make that man regret it!

Seeing the vicious look on Shi Gang's face, Zhou Heng smiled faintly. "Don't bother thinking that far ahead. You won't get the chance."

He, too, gave up the chase and simply fixed his gaze on Shi Gang.

"Hahaha! You think you can kill me?" Shi Gang sneered. "Never mind whether you're even a match for me. With my speed, do you think you can catch me?"

That was the truth. The Flying Cloud Steps did provide a certain boost to speed, but their greatest strength lay in their unfathomably subtle changes! Of course, that was because Zhou Heng hadn't obtained the formula for circulating this movement art. He had only learned its footwork, so it couldn't truly be called a movement art.

Killing intent flickered in Zhou Heng's eyes. He gave the long sword in his hand a light shake. "You won't get the chance to run."

Shi Gang couldn't help throwing back his head and laughing. What a ridiculous joke! He wouldn't even get the chance to run? Did this brat think he could kill him in a single move?

"Then I'll show you what I'm really capable of!" Shi Gang spread his arms. The muscles all over his body swelled, and a powerful aura burst from him, carrying the might of a fierce tiger.

"You should feel honored. You're the first person to see the fourth form of my Wind-Cloud Saber Technique!"

He raised his saber high. Veins bulged across his body, and every muscle trembled as though it could barely bear the strain.

The Wind-Cloud Saber Technique actually had four secret forms. Its most powerful, the fourth, had long since been lost, but Shi Gang had found it among the vast collection of books in his family's library. Unfortunately, because so much time had passed, several lines of the formula had become illegible. Though he had done his best to fill them in, it still wasn't quite right.

Even so, the fourth form's power was terrifying. Every time he used it, not only did it drain all his strength, it even injured him!

That was why the fourth form was his secret weapon. He'd originally planned to save it for the crucial moment when he fought Shi Qingfeng for the position of family head. But now, aside from this ultimate move, he couldn't think of anything that might threaten Zhou Heng!

"Wind-Cloud Dragon-Tiger Transformation!" he roared. He stamped down, and boom—the earth itself seemed to rumble. He sprang forward, leaving a footprint three inches deep in the hard, pebbled ground!

He swept his saber through the air. Blades of light burst from him in wave after wave, like ten thousand arrows loosed at once, making it seem impossible to dodge or evade them.

Zhou Heng's heart stirred. This saber technique also exerted pressure on the mind! But compared to the Heaven-Soaring Nine Styles, it wasn't even fit to carry its shoes!

He had to kill Shi Gang with a single strike, or at least wound him badly enough that he couldn't escape.

Since that was the case—

First Form of Heaven-Soaring!

Saber against sword, point against point!

At this critical instant, Shi Gang suddenly froze!

It was as if heaven and earth were rejecting him, pressing in on him until even moving a finger became almost impossible! But he was, after all, a man of unshakable will. The effect lasted only a split second, and he quickly recovered.

But when experts fought, even the smallest lapse could have fatal consequences! Zhou Heng was no longer in the Flesh Refining Realm. He was a true Bone Refining Realm martial artist!

A sword flashed past, and the blade lights vanished. Only a sky full of sword light remained, streaking across the firmament like meteors, dazzlingly bright!

Shi Gang staggered. He clutched his chest with his left hand, crimson blood seeping between his fingers. His face was deathly pale, and he swayed as if he could barely remain standing.

The sword had pierced his heart. The Sword Qi had nearly shattered it. If he let go now, blood would spurt three or four feet into the air. He was lucky to be a Bone Refining Realm martial artist. An ordinary person would have died from such a wound!

He used his True Essence Power to forcibly suppress his injuries. As long as he received treatment in time, he could still recover.

"I'll repay you for this sword strike!" Shi Gang turned and ran, not daring to fight Zhou Heng again.

"I already told you. You won't get the chance!" Zhou Heng snorted and unleashed the First Form of Heaven-Soaring again!

Shi Gang froze once more. Though he'd already suffered from this once, he still couldn't completely resist its effects.

That brief pause cost him his life!

Zhou Heng's sword flashed past. With a clang, the Frost Cold Sword slid into its scabbard, and he continued walking without looking back.

Thud!

Shi Gang's legs gave way, and he fell to his knees. His upper body pitched forward, and he crashed to the ground, eyes wide with unwillingness as blood pooled beneath him.

In the end, one of them still got away!

Zhou Heng furrowed his brow slightly. But he had never revealed his identity, so even if that man returned to the Shi Family and spread the news, he could do no more than describe Zhou Heng's appearance. There was no way he could trace him back to the Zhou Family!

He had caused the trouble, so he would take responsibility for it himself. Zhou Heng didn't feel all that deeply attached to the Zhou Family, but he still didn't want to bring trouble upon it because of this.

"Home!"

As he spoke those two words, a powerful longing for his family welled up inside him. He could hardly wait to see Zhou Dinghai and share his success and joy with the only family member he cared about, the only one who mattered to him.

Father should be back at the Zhou Family by now, right?

Zhou Heng sprang forward and raced toward Raw Stone Town.

A day passed. That night, he found a clean cave to sleep in. At midnight, as usual, he refined the free-floating energy released by the Black Broken Sword. But this time, he discovered that the amount of energy hadn't increased!

"My deduction was right. This power was originally cultivated by me over ten years. It was never truly inexhaustible!"

"Good. The path of martial arts is one I must walk by myself!"

Four more days passed before Zhou Heng finally returned to Raw Stone Town.

The festive mood of the New Year was already strong. Every household was decorated with lanterns and streamers, and children in new clothes could be seen running through the streets, their happy cries ringing out now and then.

A smile rose to Zhou Heng's face. For him, the year-end strength assessment had always been the thing he dreaded most. Ever since he was eight, he and his father had spent every New Year alone in their own courtyard.

This time, he could finally stand before everyone with his head held high and make his father proud!

When he reached the entrance to the Zhou Family estate, the vermilion gates were still there, and the eight guards still stood at their posts, backs ramrod straight. The only difference was that several large lanterns now hung by the entrance, lending it a festive air.

Zhou Heng took a deep breath and strode forward.

"Stop—huh, Young Master Heng!" The eight guards were startled when they saw Zhou Heng, but after their initial surprise, strange expressions appeared on their faces.

Zhou Heng looked over them and couldn't help feeling a little puzzled. The people of the Zhou Family might consider him a good-for-nothing, but he still held the title of young master. Besides, his father was an elder of the family. Surely any servant who saw him should show him the utmost respect?

So why did these eight men look like that? Their faces even held a trace of schadenfreude!

What was going on?

He had no time to squabble with a few servants. He simply asked, "Has my father returned?"

"Young Master Heng, the Sixth Elder returned three days ago," one guard replied. He looked at Zhou Heng with some confusion. When had this good-for-nothing young master developed such a terrifying aura? He was like an unmatched sword drawn from its scabbard, its sharpness fully revealed.

Zhou Heng was overjoyed. He paid no mind to the guards' strange expressions, sprang forward, and shot away with a series of whooshes. As he used the Flying Cloud Steps, his movements were so strange that the people along the way didn't even see what he looked like before he'd already vanished into the distance.

Before long, he reached his own courtyard. He shoved the gate open and couldn't help shouting, "Dad! Dad—"

But Zhou Dinghai didn't answer. Zhou Heng called out loudly several more times before a feeble voice finally replied, "Heng'er!" His expression changed at once. He hurried into the bedroom and made his way to Zhou Dinghai's room.

A middle-aged man lay on the bed, his face deathly pale, radiating profound weakness. It was his father, Zhou Dinghai!

"Dad, what happened to you?" Zhou Heng was shocked, furious, and terrified all at once. He and his father had depended on each other since he was little. In Zhou Heng's eyes, his father was his only family in the Zhou Family, the only person he could rely on.

"I-I'm fine. Just a minor injury!" Zhou Dinghai waved a hand and tried to sit up. His face flushed red, but as soon as he raised his head, it drooped again, and he began coughing repeatedly.

"Dad, don't move!" Zhou Heng hurried over and tucked a pillow beneath Zhou Dinghai's neck, letting him rest against it at an angle.

"Heng'er, where have you been these past few days?" Zhou Dinghai merely looked Zhou Heng up and down. "You weren't mistreated, were you?"

Zhou Heng's nose stung. His father had suffered such serious injuries, yet all he cared about was Zhou Heng. How could that not tear his heart apart?