Fierce Beating

Such hot weather, I don't even have the strength to act cute, I can only lie under the electric fan begging for some attention~

Zhou Heng casually flicked his hand, and Zhao Si's corpse immediately fell to the ground, his face utterly expressionless.

Zhao Si was merely a servant acting on orders; killing him didn't satisfy the hatred. The real culprit behind the scenes was the one to blame!

Bang!

Just then, noise came from the courtyard entrance again, but this time it wasn't pushed open—it was kicked heavily inward. Four youths strode in: Zhou Kan and his three lackeys.

"Zhou Heng, get the hell out here!" Zhou Kan shouted. "This Young Master knows you just got back. Don't think you can hide in your room playing dead. Now, even your useless father can't protect you!"

Coming right to his doorstep to die!

Zhou Heng closed his eyes, then opened them again, having made his decision.

He would raise hell!

The Grand Elder might hold absolute sway over the Zhou Family, but there were four other elders who had long resented Zhou Xianming's monopoly on power. Give them an opening, a glimpse of hope to overthrow Zhou Xianming, and they wouldn't let it slip!

Patting the Frost Cold Sword at his waist, Zhou Heng strode out of the house.

"Hahaha, you coward! You hid from me for three months, but can you hide forever?" Zhou Kan laughed. "Come here, kneel before this Young Master, and lick the soles of my shoes!"

The three lackeys grinned smugly. Normally, they wouldn't dare act so arrogantly, but since Zhou Dinghai was already a cripple, and Zhou Heng himself was a useless waste who couldn't cultivate—set to be expunged from the family register after the New Year—what was there to fear?

"Zhou Kan, I'll give you one chance: cut off your own right hand, slice out that tongue of yours that only spews filth, and I'll spare your life," Zhou Heng said flatly, all his fury crystallizing into bone-chilling killing intent.

"Hahaha!" Zhou Kan froze for a moment, then burst into loud laughter. "A waste who can't cultivate, and all you can do is run your mouth! Oh, right, I forgot to tell you—I broke through to the seventh layer of Body Refining a month ago. Now, I'm in the Bone Refining Realm!"

"Waste, kneel and grovel before this Young Master's dazzling brilliance, and I'll let you be my dog!"

Zhou Heng shook his head. "Since you're asking for death, don't blame anyone else!"

"You three, didn't you hear this Young Master say I want this waste to lick my shoes?" Zhou Kan swept a glance at his three lackeys, snorting coldly.

The three stepped forward, closing in on Zhou Heng without even drawing weapons—why would they need arms against a waste who couldn't cultivate?

They all roared and lunged, like starving dogs pouncing on food.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Three heavy impacts. The three flew backward like kites with snapped strings, each slamming into the courtyard wall with a loud thud. Two passed out on the spot; only one managed to struggle up, a trickle of blood at the corner of his mouth.

"Oh?" Zhou Kan's face showed disbelief. He had never expected such an outcome.

How was this waste so strong?

With a jolt, he looked at Zhou Heng anew, sensing the aura radiating from him—deep, vast, no weaker than his own!

Bone Refining Realm!

Impossible!

Wasn't this guy a waste who couldn't cultivate? Three months ago, he was as useless as they came. How did he suddenly gain power to match him?

"Zhou Heng, so what if you can cultivate now? Your father's already crippled. Can you really turn things upside down?" Zhou Kan blustered again. An eighteen-year-old in the Bone Refining Realm was indeed remarkable, but the Zhou Family wasn't short of Bone Refining cultivators!

Geniuses need time and space to grow. If nipped in the bud, what difference is there between a genius and a waste?

"I'll say it again: kneel and lick this Young Master's shoes, and I might consider letting you live!"

Zhou Heng's expression was icy. The Zhou Kan family had come to kill him openly—they would pay with blood!

"Die!" He leveled his sword. The humiliation his father had suffered weighed on his heart, turning into boundless rage. He blamed himself—if not for him, his father would never have fallen this far!

This fierce self-blame became endless killing intent. He thirsted to see the blood of his enemies.

He pressed forward step by step toward Zhou Kan, his killing intent almost tangible, swirling around him and forming blades of energy. Looking closely, they were identical to the Black Broken Sword, but in its complete form.

The killing intent resonated with the Heaven-Soaring Nine Styles. Though no sword technique had been unleashed, it still generated immense pressure, enough to make a weaker cultivator's heart burst!

Zhou Kan couldn't help stepping back. Though he was also in the Bone Refining Realm, under Zhou Heng's crushing pressure, he couldn't muster any will to resist. It felt like facing a mountain, an ocean—how could he fight back?

Bang! He felt something solid behind him and could retreat no further. Unknowingly, he had backed into the courtyard wall. Cold sweat poured down his forehead, but he didn't even dare wipe it, as if any slight movement would invite Zhou Heng's thunderous strike!

The humiliation was unbearable!

No, he absolutely could not lose to a waste!

Zhou Kan finally let out a roar, summoning a shred of fighting spirit. Clang! His long sword left its sheath. He sprang forward and swung a heavy blow at Zhou Heng.

Bang!

The moment the sword swung, Zhou Heng's body flickered, and he appeared directly in front of Zhou Kan. A fist rapidly enlarged before his face, slamming heavily into it.

A sharp pain exploded. Zhou Kan's head jerked to the side involuntarily, spitting out a mouthful of blood mixed with a few teeth. He staggered back three steps, hitting the courtyard wall again before stopping.

Trembling, he wiped his mouth and looked at Zhou Heng's murderous expression. Suddenly, he realized Zhou Heng wasn't threatening him—he would actually kill him!

Why!

Why had this waste suddenly gained such terrifying power?

He was Zhou Kan! The Grand Elder's only grandson! He had broken into the Bone Refining Realm before eighteen, the Zhou Family's new pride! How could he lose to a waste?

"You wouldn't dare kill me! This is the Zhou Family! My father is the clan head, my grandfather is the Grand Elder! Kill me, and you'll be an enemy of the entire Zhou Family!" Zhou Kan shouted, clutching at his last straw.

"So what if I make an enemy of the Zhou Family?" Zhou Heng said coolly. "Besides, can you three generations of father and son truly represent the Zhou Family?"

Whoosh—he thrust his sword out.

"Bastard!" Zhou Kan roared, hurriedly raising his own sword to block. With a clang, the blade in his hand was left with only half its length. Frost Cold Sword did not pause, stabbing straight into his left shoulder.

"Ahhh—" A miserable scream tore from his throat. As Zhou Heng withdrew the sword, pfft, blood gushed violently from the wound.

Zhou Heng had no intention of letting him die so cheaply!

These three generations had treated his father so cruelly, seeking to humiliate a man who had been a hero his entire life—how could Zhou Heng not be furious?

"Zhou Heng, you dare! You dare!" Zhou Kan was truly terrified now. With several teeth knocked out, his voice came out distorted, and there was a bloody hole in his shoulder. Though he had temporarily suppressed the gushing blood with his true essence, if he took a few more stabs...

"So you know what it means to fear death. Good." A cold smile curled at the corner of Zhou Heng's mouth. He flicked his right wrist, and Frost Cold Sword thrust out again.

Pfft!

Zhou Kan's counterattack was like child's play in his eyes. Frost Cold Sword pierced through without any resistance, this time stabbing into his left leg.

"Ahhh—" Zhou Kan screamed again, his voice so loud it seemed it might tear the roof off.

"Shouting so loudly—aren't you afraid of disturbing people? What kind of upbringing is that?" Zhou Heng snorted coldly and smashed his fist into Zhou Kan's face.

Zhou Kan's scream hitched for a moment, then he began spewing blood wildly. A few more broken teeth came out with the blood, and his screams only grew louder instead of stopping.

"I told you, don't disturb others!" Zhou Heng threw several more punches. Zhou Kan's face swelled up instantly. Even Zhou Jianming might not recognize this pig-headed mess as his own son.

Slap!

A brick fell to the ground. Zhou Heng turned his head and saw that among Zhou Kan's three lackeys, the one still conscious was trembling uncontrollably, having knocked over a stacked brick.

Meeting Zhou Heng's gaze, the man shuddered all over. He felt his crotch grow warm—he had been scared into losing control of his bladder.

—This madman dared to torture even Zhou Kan like this. Against him, he'd just kill with one sword!

Zhou Heng turned back. Thump, thump, thump—several more punches landed. Zhou Kan was now barely breathing, finally obediently shutting his mouth and making no more sound.

Bang! Another noise rang out. Zhou Heng looked back again and saw Zhou Kan's lackey fleeing in panic out of the courtyard, the large door behind him slamming hard against the wall. But before he could turn away, the figure came back.

Not one figure—two!

There was an extra man in his forties, of medium build, with a deeply gloomy expression. One look and you could tell he was a man of deep schemes.

Zhou Jianming, Zhou Kan's father!

He had come so quickly because, after waiting a long time without Zhao Si returning to report, a sudden impulse had struck him to come over and see. He wanted to thoroughly mock his old rival Zhou Dinghai, who had suppressed him for decades, right in front of him.

Who would have thought that before he even reached the door, he would run into that panicked, fleeing man—and then this scene unfolded.

"Kan... Kan'er!" Zhou Jianming's gaze swept over Zhou Kan. Though he could no longer recognize the face at all, a father's heart knew his son, and combined with Zhou Kan's clothes, he still identified him.

He had just lunged forward when a flash of sword light cut across, fierce and sharp, forcibly blocking him.

Zhou Jianming's icy gaze fixed on Zhou Heng, who stood holding his sword. His fists clenched, producing a series of cracking sounds. At this moment, he instead grew calm. "Zhou Heng, you plotted to harm a clansman. The evidence is solid. As family head, I hereby announce your expulsion from the clan!"

"Is that so?" Zhou Heng smiled faintly, bent down, and lifted Zhou Kan up. The killing intent on his face was undisguised.