Erase Jin Xiuming

The four lackeys behind Jin Xiuming immediately charged at Zhou Heng and his group, each one looking utterly unafraid of death.

It wasn't that they weren't afraid to die—it was that within Fengyu City, no one dared to oppose them. Even a martial artist at the Twelfth Layer of Body Refining would have to behave like a docile dog before Young Master Jin, let alone a few mere Ninth Layer of Body Refining cultivators.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Yu Zhenye kicked out four times, sending the four lackeys flying one by one, then brushed off his leg and said, "Wanting us to leave horizontally—even Jin Tengyi wouldn't dare say something like that!"

Jin Xiuming was stunned. Jin Tengyi was his father, the master of White Jade Valley, a peerless expert at the Third Heaven of Spirit Gathering!

This man dared to speak his father's name directly, and even added insolence on top of it!

"For that remark alone, all five of you will be torn to pieces today!" Jin Xiuming said with a dark expression.

"Zhou Heng, since you have a personal grudge with this guy, he's yours to handle!" Zhu Zhihe patted Zhou Heng on the shoulder, putting on a very deferential air.

If it had been someone else, this might have been a deliberate attempt to shift the trouble onto Zhou Heng, but Zhu Zhihe and the other three were clearly from extraordinary backgrounds and not that kind of person. Letting Zhou Heng deal with Jin Xiuming seemed more like Zhu Zhihe and his group doing Zhou Heng a favor.

Zhou Heng turned to look at Zhu Zhihe and smiled. "It's fine even if I kill him?"

Zhu Zhihe was momentarily taken aback, not expecting Zhou Heng to exude such killing intent even while laughing, but he was no ordinary man either. He immediately flashed a grin and said, "No problem. Even if the sky falls, I'll hold it up for you!"

"Such arrogance!" Jin Xiuming, hearing the two of them bantering back and forth as if he didn't exist, flew into a rage.

Zhou Heng nodded, then with a flick of his foot, he closed in on Jin Xiuming.

"You're asking for death!" Jin Xiuming roared in fury. This brat, who hadn't even reached the Bone Refining Realm, dared to attack him—he must have eaten a bear's heart and a leopard's gall!

Boom!

Zhou Heng ignored Jin Xiuming's defense entirely and drove a fist straight into his chest. The force shook through him, and Jin Xiuming's face twisted in shock as he spat out a mouthful of blood, his eyes filled with disbelief.

Ninth Layer of Body Refining!

Zhou Heng grabbed Jin Xiuming by the throat and said, "I ask, you answer!"

"Bullshit! Let me go right now, or I'll have your entire family slaughtered!" Jin Xiuming, lacking any awareness of his position as a captive, struggled while threatening Zhou Heng in return.

"Urgh—" Zhou Heng tightened the fingers of his right hand, and Jin Xiuming immediately flailed his limbs wildly, his face quickly turning bright red and grotesque.

"I ask, you answer. Don't say anything irrelevant, or I'll twist your head off!" Zhou Heng said in a very calm tone, but his peaceful words were filled with a chilling menace. "Understand?"

"Y-yes, I understand!" Jin Xiuming felt a surge of fear rise from the depths of his heart, and his courage drained away in an instant.

"How many people in White Jade Valley know the Crimson Flame Heart-Burning Palm?" Zhou Heng looked at Jin Xiuming with a smile, but to Jin Xiuming, that smile was more terrifying than any expression.

"J-just two, my father and my eldest brother!" Jin Xiuming stammered.

Only two! Zhou Heng had thought there would be more, but on reflection, it made sense. This was a high-grade martial skill like the Flying Waterfall Sword Technique, only taught to a few key figures.

So, was it Jin Xiuming's father or brother who had injured Zhou Dinghai?

It was unlikely to be the old man, since as the valley master, he wouldn't easily leave his post. But the younger one was different—he had fewer restrictions.

"What's your brother's name?" Zhou Heng's eyes flickered with barely concealed fury. He thought of Zhou Dinghai wasting away on his sickbed, and a killing intent that could burn the heavens surged within him.

"J-Jin Xiulong!" Jin Xiuming suddenly found his courage again. "My eldest brother is at the peak of the First Heaven of Spirit Gathering and could break into the Second Heaven at any moment. If you dare to disrespect me, when my brother arrives, none of you will escape death!"

His arrogance wasn't something he could just shake off. The presence of a Spirit Gathering Realm expert was enough to bolster his confidence.

"Did you forget what I said before? Don't say anything irrelevant, or—" Zhou Heng's voice drifted out like it came from ice.

"N-no, no—" Jin Xiuming trembled all over.

Crack!

Zhou Heng twisted his right hand, and Jin Xiuming's head snapped to the side, hanging limply from his shoulder, his face still frozen in a look of utter terror.

"Whoa, brother, you're truly decisive in killing—say the word and it's done. Watching that was a real thrill!" Zhu Zhihe said excitedly.

Yu Zhenye and the other two had similar expressions, clapping the table in praise.

Were these five people insane?

The accompanying girls were terrified to the core. This was the young master of White Jade Valley they had killed! It was over—everyone would die. The wrath of White Jade Valley would burn everything to ashes!

"Come on, let's switch rooms and keep drinking!" Zhu Zhihe laughed loudly.

This time, the five of them didn't call for women to accompany them. After moving to another private room, they resumed their revelry.

By then, the other patrons in the tavern had long since fled upon hearing the news, and even the staff had mostly scattered. Only the tavern owner couldn't escape, staring at the room where Zhou Heng and his group were with a bitter, resentful gaze.

Before long, a clamor of noise arose, and heavy footsteps thundered up the stairs. It was clearly the people from White Jade Valley arriving.

"Young Master Jin! Young Master Jin!" Soon, cries of terror rang out—they must have discovered Jin Xiuming's corpse. Then, with a series of bangs, not only was the door to Zhou Heng's room kicked in, but the surrounding walls were smashed into holes, and at least several dozen people poured in.

"Was it you who killed Young Master Jin?" an old man in gray asked with a chilling tone, making no effort to hide his Twelfth Layer of Body Refining aura. His oppressive blood energy was almost tangible, enough to knock a Skin Refining Realm martial artist unconscious.

"Old man, watch your tone!" Wan Liang jumped up first, pointing at the old man's nose and cursing.

The gray-robed old man nearly fainted from rage. He had never seen such arrogance—killing the young master of White Jade Valley and still acting so insolent! He snorted coldly and said, "Seize them and hand them over to the valley master for judgment!"

These five were definitely going to die, but it wasn't for them to carry out the execution!

Clang!

Yu Zhenye tossed out a white jade token and said lazily, "Go ahead, try it!"

"Stop!" The gray-robed old man's voice trembled as he quickly raised his hand to halt the others. Shaking, he picked up the token, examined it thoroughly, then a look of reverence appeared on his face. He held the token with both hands as he walked toward Yu Zhenye and said, "Please forgive us for our blindness, not recognizing that you young masters had arrived!"

Zhu Zhihe waved his hand and said, "All of you, get lost. Don't ruin the mood for us brothers to drink!"

"Yes! Yes!" The gray-robed old man hurriedly agreed, leading the crowd and Jin Xiuming's corpse away swiftly, his earlier arrogance replaced by servility as he thus backed down.

"We're from the Black Water Hall!" Zhu Zhihe no longer hid it from Zhou Heng.

Black Water Hall!

Zhou Heng had heard Shen Xinqi mention it—it seemed to be an existence on a higher level than White Jade Valley or the Nine Spirits Sect, but he knew nothing specific about it.

Seeing the slightly bewildered look on Zhou Heng's face, Zhu Zhihe and the other three exchanged glances. "Zhou Heng, you can't possibly not know about the Black Water Hall, can you!"

"I've heard of it!" Zhou Heng defended himself.

"Hahaha, you really are an odd one. You've only heard of the Black Water Hall? I have to wonder if you crawled out of a rock!"

Liu Yan was more fair-minded and explained the situation of the Black Water Hall to Zhou Heng.

Just as Raw Stone Town was subordinate to Fengyu City, the level above Fengyu City was the eight great cities of the Hancang Kingdom, and the Black Water Hall was a major power in one of those eight cities, Tianhang City, which happened to govern Fengyu City.

To the Black Water Hall, even White Jade Valley, the Nine Spirits Sect, and the Azure Cloud Sect combined could be wiped away with a wave of the hand—they were on completely different scales, just as the Nine Spirits Sect could casually erase Raw Stone Town.

Thus, even though White Jade Valley had lost a young master, they could only swallow their teeth and bear it!

So that was it. No wonder these four were so emboldened.

Zhou Heng possessed an invincible heart, so he naturally wouldn't feel any reverence toward Zhu Zhihe and the others because of this. His manner of speaking remained exactly the same as before, earning him silent praise from the four, who now regarded him even more highly.

"Let's find another place, or people will keep coming to visit—how annoying!"

The five of them found an inn to stay at, talking freely and finding their temperaments compatible, each feeling they had met the other too late.

The next day, Zhu Zhihe and the others dragged Zhou Heng off to see the number one beauty of the Hancang Kingdom.

"Zhou Heng, weren't you going to buy body-tempering medicines?"

"Forgot to tell you, Miss Zixing is the person in charge of the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion!"

"In the Hancang Kingdom, what pharmacy can compare to the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion?"

"Let's go!"

Without allowing any argument, the four pulled Zhou Heng along and soon arrived at the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion.

No wonder the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion raked in money like a golden river, yet the three major powers like the Nine Spirits Sect had no intention of interfering. It wasn't that they didn't want to, but that they didn't dare. The Heavenly Treasure Pavilion's background was astonishingly vast, with branches in every city of the Hancang Kingdom!

Not to mention the Nine Spirits Sect—even powers at the level of the Black Water Hall could only keep their distance!

Zhu Zhihe and the others hadn't lied to Zhou Heng. After entering, they first swept up all the medicines he needed to cultivate the Bright Jade Art, a large pile of packages. But after paying, they didn't carry them away directly; instead, they had the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion send someone to deliver them to their current lodgings.

"Might I ask, where is Miss Zixing now?" Zhu Zhihe suddenly asked the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion clerk in a refined tone.

"My lady is at the Hexin Courtyard. Are you gentlemen also here to attend the Tea Ceremony Assembly?" the clerk asked in return.

"Indeed!"

"Then please, gentlemen!"

Zhou Heng followed Zhu Zhihe and the others in a daze, feeling quite puzzled. Miss Zixing should be of very high status, so how could just anyone ask and be allowed to see her?

After a few turns, Zhou Heng and the five arrived at a large courtyard. Inside, there were already many people, mostly young men around twenty, but also some middle-aged men in their thirties or forties—at least four or five hundred in total.

They sat or stood, gathered like stars around the moon, encircling a purple-clad young woman in the center.

Unparalleled in beauty!