Kill!

"Zhou Heng, what are you doing? Let go of my son!"

A trace of panic crept into Zhou Jianming's voice.

If Zhou Heng were still the same Zhou Heng as before, then even with his sword at Zhou Kan's throat, Zhou Jianming would have been able to save him the instant Zhou Heng made a move.

But the power of that earlier strike had made it clear that Zhou Heng was incredibly strong—so strong that even Zhou Jianming, a Ninth Layer of Body Refining expert, had no confidence he could beat him, let alone rescue anyone from him.

Seeing his son dangling in someone's grip like a dead dog, Zhou Jianming naturally lost his composure with worry.

"The time's about right, isn't it?" Zhou Heng suddenly said, seemingly out of nowhere.

"What?" Zhou Jianming froze, completely at a loss as to what Zhou Heng meant. But when he listened closely, he soon sensed a crowd hurrying toward them. Before long, more than a dozen people poured through the gate.

The commotion earlier had been considerable, and this courtyard wasn't especially remote. It was only natural that people would come to investigate.

At first glance, everyone froze. They couldn't recognize Zhou Kan's face, and had no idea what had happened. They assumed some foolish thief had come to cause trouble in the family.

"One person's still missing!" Zhou Heng's gaze wandered as he waited for Zhou Xianming to arrive.

"Zhou Heng, what exactly are you trying to do?" With his hands tied, Zhou Jianming could only suppress his rage and speak in a low voice.

"How did you treat my father?" Zhou Heng said, anger barely contained. "My father is an elder of the Lineage. How much has he done for the family? But after he was gravely injured, the family not only made no effort to treat him, it stripped him of his position as an elder. Even a servant could bully him at will!"

"Is this how the family treats its own? Or is it that some people have taken everything into their own hands, disregarding the family's interests just to settle personal scores?"

"Brat, stop slandering people and spouting nonsense!" Zhou Jianming snapped. If his son weren't still in Zhou Heng's hands, he would have leaped forward and seized him. Some things might be known to you, to me, and to everyone else—but they still couldn't be said aloud.

"Zhou Heng, you've already been expelled from the family. Put him down and get out. Now!"

"Hmph, the Zhou Family isn't yours and your father's to rule with an iron fist!" Zhou Heng said with a faint smile. He tightened his grip around Zhou Kan's neck, and the sound of bones grinding together came at once. Choking, Zhou Kan's limbs jerked, and he came to.

"Father! Father!" Zhou Kan saw his own father right in front of him and forced a hoarse cry from his throat. His limbs twitched as if he were begging Zhou Jianming for help.

"Kan'er!" Zhou Jianming had only one son and had doted on him beyond measure. Seeing his beloved child with a head swollen like a pig's, and the pitiful look in his eyes as he gazed at him, made Zhou Jianming's heart feel as if it were being cut by a knife.

What? That pig-headed man was Zhou Kan?

The Zhou Family members gathered around were startled. Only then did they realize that something terrible had happened!

Zhou Heng actually dared to use Zhou Jianming's son to threaten him. He certainly had some nerve!

Wait, that didn't make sense!

Hadn't Zhou Kan broken through to the Bone Refining Realm just a month ago? The family had celebrated it in grand style. How could Zhou Heng be holding him like a dead dog? Had Zhou Heng ambushed him?

That made even less sense. If a Body Refining First Layer could ambush a Bone Refining Realm martial artist, they might as well smash their own heads against a block of tofu.

Only then did they think to sense Zhou Heng's aura.

"Bone Refining Realm!"

There were several Bone Refining Realm experts present. Though they might not have been able to gauge Zhou Heng's exact level, they could tell that his aura was definitely of the same rank. Their expressions changed at once, and they let out startled exclamations.

The others heard them and were instantly dumbfounded!

The family had confirmed again and again that Zhou Heng couldn't cultivate. How had he suddenly become a Bone Refining Realm expert?

"Hmph! What kind of behavior is this, making such a racket? Do you want our honored guest to laugh at us?" A voice full of authority rang out. Everyone immediately fell silent, their faces filled with absolute respect.

Zhou Xianming had arrived!

He was one of the family's six Blood Refining Realm experts, and the only one to have reached the Twelfth Layer of Body Refining. That unmatched strength had kept him firmly seated as Great Elder, and made the Zhou Family almost entirely subject to his word.

Under the weight of his authority, who would dare disrespect or defy him?

The crowd automatically parted to make a path. Two elderly men walked over side by side. One had white brows and a white beard, and a burly build. He carried the imposing air of someone long accustomed to high office. The other looked a little younger, perhaps in his early fifties. Clad in a green robe, he had an air of worldly detachment.

The white-browed elder was Zhou Xianming, the Zhou Family's de facto ruler. But who was the other man?

If Zhou Xianming called him an honored guest and walked alongside him, then the man's status must be no lower than his own!

Zhou Heng sensed the Green-Robed Elder's aura, and his expression tightened. Though he couldn't directly see through the man's cultivation, he could compare it with Zhou Xianming's. The result was that they were evenly matched.

Another expert at the Twelfth Layer of Body Refining!

Zhou Heng had originally been somewhat confident that he could persuade the family's other four elders to turn against Zhou Xianming. But if another expert at the Twelfth Layer of Body Refining had joined him, then the two of them together would be an impregnable fortress, impossible for anyone to break!

Who exactly was this Green-Robed Elder?

But the arrow was already on the string; he had no choice but to let it fly! Was he supposed to sit by and watch his father be humiliated, slowly dying amid injury and illness?

He couldn't do that!

Zhou Heng flashed a murderous smile. "Anyone who harms my father will pay in blood!"

He swung his sword without mercy, stabbing up through Zhou Kan's jaw. With the Frost Cold Sword's sharpness and the strength of the Bone Refining Realm, the blade pierced straight through the top of Zhou Kan's head! Blood sprayed out. Zhou Heng raised his right arm, lifting Zhou Kan's entire body like a flag hanging from a pole.

"Kan'er!" Zhou Jianming let out a shrill cry and lunged forward, rushing at Zhou Heng without a thought for himself.

He was going to kill that brat!

First Form of Heaven-Soaring!

Zhou Heng pulled back his sword, and at once entered a state of perfect stillness. His mind merged with heaven and earth, as though he could see through every mystery in existence.

Heaven and earth bore down on Zhou Jianming, rejecting him. His body suddenly faltered, his mind constrained, and he made a hesitation he should never have made!

The sword flashed toward him, like a streak of light tearing across the sky!

Whoosh! A head flew upward, traced an arc through the air, and fell to the ground. Its remaining momentum sent it rolling in a circle, right to Zhou Xianming's feet.

Only then did Zhou Xianming realize that the man Zhou Heng had been holding like a dead dog was his grandson! And in just a few short seconds, Zhou Heng had cleanly dispatched both his only son and his grandson with a single sword!

Watching his son's severed head, Zhou Xianming trembled all over. Pain seized his chest, and he spat out a mouthful of blood, staining the front of his robe.

"You little beast! I'll tear you limb from limb!" Zhou Xianming clutched his chest, his eyes blazing with fury!

How powerful was a Blood Refining Realm expert? Their surging blood energy alone could shake a person unconscious. Zhou Xianming's rage unleashed a terrifying might. Invisible forces burst from him like crashing waves, driving everyone around him backward, step after step!

Zhou Heng, however, wasn't moved. He was a Bone Refining Realm martial artist himself. How could the aura of a Blood Refining Realm expert frighten him? Besides, the Cloud-Soaring Nine Styles he cultivated were so profound that they were meant to overwhelm opponents through sheer force of presence. He was even less likely to be cowed by Zhou Xianming.

"Old man, you have a heart too. Can you feel pain?" Zhou Heng called out. "Your son and grandson are your family, but my father isn't? When you let your son and grandson run wild, did you ever remember that we're all members of the Zhou Family?"

"Someone who cares only for his own interests has no right to sit as an elder!"

"I propose that Zhou Xianming be stripped of his position as Great Elder!"

His words hit like a boulder dropped into a calm lake, sending waves rippling in every direction!

Only then did the Zhou Family members, stunned into silence, come back to their senses.

Zhou Heng had killed Zhou Kan! Zhou Heng had killed Zhou Jianming!

Hiss!

How had he dared? How had he been able to do it?

Zhou Kan's death might have been put down to an ambush. After all, no one could have expected a cripple who couldn't cultivate to suddenly possess Bone Refining Realm strength! But Zhou Jianming had attacked in a rage and given it everything he had. And Zhou Jianming was at the Ninth Layer of Body Refining!

He'd been killed in one strike!

What terrifying power!

Was the Zhou Family... about to see the heavens change?

"Brat, you think you're fit to judge my merits and failings?" Zhou Xianming sneered. "You've defied your elders and murdered your own kin. Your crimes are unforgivable!"

The old man leaped forward like a hawk, swooping straight at Zhou Heng.

Flying Cloud Steps!

Boom! Zhou Xianming's sure-to-land strike hit empty air. His claw tore straight through the bluestone paving, sending broken bricks and clumps of dirt flying.

Everyone was stunned once again!

Zhou Heng had actually dodged that strike!

Damn, the kid had even launched a counterattack!

Zhou Heng didn't use the Cloud-Soaring Nine Styles. Even the First Form of Cloud-Soaring would take a tremendous toll on him, and he wasn't at all confident he could kill a seasoned expert at the peak of the Twelfth Layer of Body Refining in ten moves.

Flying Waterfall Sword Technique!

Zhou Heng set the Flying Cloud Steps in motion, his body circling Zhou Xianming in a blur. One moment he was in front, the next behind. Anyone who stared straight at him would feel dizzy and nauseated within seconds.

The battle had actually reached a stalemate!

How was that possible?

A Bone Refining Realm youngster, one who had only just entered the realm, was actually trading blows with a Blood Refining Realm expert at the peak of the Twelfth Layer of Body Refining? No—this wasn't an even fight. Zhou Heng was pressing the attack!

Zhou Heng was actually pressing Zhou Xianming!

That was right. With the Flying Cloud Steps' uncanny movement, Zhou Heng had no need to worry about being attacked from behind. He only had to focus on unleashing a relentless assault on Zhou Xianming!

And though the Flying Waterfall Sword Technique couldn't match the Cloud-Soaring Nine Styles, how could a secret technique of the Nine Spirits Sect be anything ordinary? Zhou Heng swept his sword in great arcs, each stroke like a waterfall cascading from the sky—a magnificent sight.

Zhou Xianming roared again and again. In terms of true cultivation, Zhou Heng was nowhere near his equal, but the brat had an incredibly strange footwork technique that made him impossible to hit! And the Frost Cold Sword was so sharp it could cut through a Bone Refining Realm martial artist's bones. Even Zhou Xianming didn't dare take it head-on!

He absolutely couldn't let this brat lead him around by the nose!

Zhou Xianming shifted his gaze toward the inner courtyard.