Erasing Jin Xiuming

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

It wasn't that they weren't afraid to die. It was just that nobody in Fengyu City dared to stand against them. Even warriors at the Twelfth Layer of Body Refining had to act as meek as dogs when they saw Young Master Jin, let alone a few nobodies at the Ninth Layer of Body Refining.

Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!

Yu Zhenye sprang into the air and kicked all four lackeys flying one by one. Then he dusted off his legs and said, "If you want us carried out horizontally, not even Jin Tengyi would dare say that!"

Jin Xiuming froze. Jin Tengyi was his father, the Valley Master of White Jade Valley and an unparalleled expert at the Third Heaven of Spirit Gathering!

They actually dared to call his father by name—and speak so rudely!

"For those words alone, none of you five will escape being hacked into a thousand pieces today!" Jin Xiuming said with a dark expression.

"Zhou Heng, since you have a bit of a personal grudge with this fellow, I'll leave him to you!" Zhu Zhihe patted Zhou Heng on the shoulder, looking very magnanimous.

If it had been someone else, he might have been deliberately trying to direct the trouble at Zhou Heng. But Zhu Zhihe and the other three were clearly people of great influence, not the sort to do such a thing. By leaving Jin Xiuming for Zhou Heng to deal with, it seemed the four of them were doing Zhou Heng a favor.

Zhou Heng turned to Zhu Zhihe and smiled. "It won't matter if I kill him?"

Zhu Zhihe paused, not expecting Zhou Heng to radiate such murderous intent even while speaking casually. But he was no ordinary man either. He immediately grinned and said, "It won't matter. Even if the sky falls, I'll hold it up for you!"

"What a boast!" Hearing the two of them sing back and forth, treating him as if he weren't there, Jin Xiuming flew into a rage.

Zhou Heng nodded, pushed off with his foot, and darted straight toward Jin Xiuming.

"Courting death!" Jin Xiuming was furious. This brat hadn't even reached the Bone Refining Realm, yet he dared attack him. He must have eaten the heart of a bear and the guts of a leopard!

Bam!

Zhou Heng treated Jin Xiuming's defense as if it were nothing and punched him directly in the chest. The force shook through him, and Jin Xiuming's face changed at once. He spat out a mouthful of blood, his eyes filled with disbelief.

The Ninth Layer of Body Refining!

Zhou Heng clamped a hand around Jin Xiuming's neck and said, "I ask, you answer!"

"Bullshit! Let go of Young Master at once, or I'll kill your entire family!" Jin Xiuming showed no awareness that he was a captive. He struggled as he threatened Zhou Heng in return.

"Ugh—" Zhou Heng tightened the five fingers of his right hand. Jin Xiuming's limbs immediately flailed, and his face quickly turned beet red, horribly contorted.

"I ask, you answer. Don't say anything irrelevant, or I'll twist your head off!" Zhou Heng spoke in an utterly calm voice, yet his words were filled with chilling menace. "Understood?"

"I-I understand!" Jin Xiuming felt fear rise from the depths of his heart, and his courage vanished in an instant.

"How many people in White Jade Valley know the Crimson Flame Heart-Burning Palm?" Zhou Heng asked with a smile. To Jin Xiuming, however, that smile looked more sinister than any other expression.

"J-Just two. My father and my eldest brother!" Jin Xiuming stammered.

Only two people! Zhou Heng had thought there would be many, but on second thought it made sense. Like the Flying Waterfall Sword Technique, it was a superior martial skill that only a handful of important figures could practice.

So had it been Jin Xiuming's father or his elder brother who injured Zhou Dinghai?

It was unlikely to have been the elder one. As Valley Master, he probably wouldn't leave easily. The younger one, however, wouldn't have so many restrictions.

"Your elder brother. What's his name?" A flicker of rage glimmered in Zhou Heng's eyes. He thought of Zhou Dinghai languishing in bed, and a killing intent that seemed ready to burn the heavens rose within him.

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

His arrogance couldn't be changed just like that. A Spirit Gathering expert was more than enough to bolster his confidence.

"Have you forgotten what I said? Don't say anything irrelevant, or—" Zhou Heng's voice seemed to drift out of an ice cavern.

"N-No—" Jin Xiuming trembled all over.

Crack!

Zhou Heng twisted his right hand. Jin Xiuming's neck snapped, his head lolling sideways against his shoulder, his face still frozen in an expression of utter terror.

"Brother, you're really decisive when it comes to killing! You said you'd kill him, and you did. Watching that was downright satisfying!" Zhu Zhihe said excitedly.

Yu Zhenye and the other two were much the same, clapping and praising him.

Were these five people insane?

The serving girls were terrified to the extreme. The one they had just killed was the young master of White Jade Valley! They were doomed. Everyone would die. White Jade Valley's fury would burn everything to ashes!

"Come, come, let's find another room and keep drinking!" Zhu Zhihe laughed.

This time, the five didn't ask for women to accompany them. They went to another private room and began drinking merrily again.

By then, all the other guests in the tavern had long since fled after hearing what had happened. Even the staff had mostly run off. Only the tavern's owner couldn't escape, and he kept glaring at the room where Zhou Heng and the others were with a bitter, resentful look.

Before long, a commotion erupted. A group came thundering up the stairs; clearly, people from White Jade Valley had arrived.

"Young Master Jin! Young Master Jin!" Soon, terrified shouts rang out. They must have found Jin Xiuming's corpse. Then came a series of crashes. Not only was the door to Zhou Heng and the others' private room kicked apart, but holes were smashed through the surrounding walls as well, and at least several dozen people poured in.

"Were you the ones who killed Young Master Jin?" an old man in gray robes asked, his voice icy. He made no effort to conceal his aura at the Twelfth Layer of Body Refining. His terrifying qi and blood seemed almost tangible, enough to knock a Skin Refining Realm warrior unconscious.

"Old man, watch your tone!" Wan Liang jumped up first and pointed at the other man's nose as he cursed.

The gray-robed old man nearly choked with rage. He had never seen anyone so arrogant. They had killed White Jade Valley's young master and still dared act so insolently! He gave a cold snort and said, "Seize them and hand them over to the Valley Master!"

These five were definitely going to die, but they couldn't be the ones to kill them!

Clang!

Yu Zhenye tossed out a white jade token and said lazily, "Go on, try making a move!"

"Stop!" The gray-robed old man's voice quavered. He hurriedly raised a hand to halt the others, then tremblingly picked up the token. After examining it carefully from every side, a look of respect appeared on his face. He carried the token over to Yu Zhenye with both hands and said, "Please forgive us for being blind. We didn't know the young masters had arrived!"

Zhu Zhihe waved a hand. "Get lost, all of you. Don't ruin our drinking!"

"Yes! Yes!" The gray-robed old man answered hastily. He led everyone away quickly, carrying Jin Xiuming's corpse with them. They had been domineering at first, but now they were all obsequious—and they simply dropped the matter.

"We came from Black Water Hall," Zhu Zhihe finally told Zhou Heng.

Black Water Hall!

Zhou Heng had heard Shen Xinqi mention it. It seemed to be a power on a higher level than White Jade Valley and Nine Spirits Sect, but he didn't know anything more specific.

Seeing the slight confusion on Zhou Heng's face, Zhu Zhihe and the others exchanged looks. "Zhou Heng, don't tell us you don't even know about Black Water Hall!"

"I've heard of it," Zhou Heng protested.

"Hahaha, you're a strange one. You've only heard of Black Water Hall? I really have to wonder if you sprang out of a rock!"

Liu Yan was the fair-minded one. He explained the situation with Black Water Hall to Zhou Heng.

Just as Raw Stone Town was under Fengyu City, the next level above Fengyu City was the eight great cities of the Hancang Kingdom. Black Water Hall was a major power in Tianhang City, one of those eight great cities, and Fengyu City fell under its jurisdiction.

To Black Water Hall, White Jade Valley, Nine Spirits Sect, and Azure Cloud Sect together could be wiped out with a wave of its hand. They weren't even remotely in the same league—just as Nine Spirits Sect could casually wipe out Raw Stone Town.

So even though White Jade Valley had lost a young master, it could only swallow its anger!

So that was it. No wonder the four of them were so fearless.

Zhou Heng had an invincible heart, so he naturally felt no awe toward Zhu Zhihe and the others. He spoke with them just as he had before, making the four of them secretly admire him and think even more highly of him.

"Let's go somewhere else. Otherwise, people will definitely come visiting, and it'll be a pain!"

The five found an inn and stayed there. They talked and laughed, their temperaments a perfect match, and all felt as if they had met much too late in life.

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

"Zhou Heng, didn't you say you wanted to buy some body-tempering medicine?"

"I forgot to tell you. Miss Zixing is in charge of the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion!"

"What other pharmacy in the Hancang Kingdom can compare to the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion?"

"Let's go!"

Without giving him a chance to refuse, the four dragged Zhou Heng along. They soon arrived at the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion.

No wonder the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion made money hand over fist while the three major powers, including Nine Spirits Sect, never dared interfere. It wasn't that they didn't want to, but that they didn't dare. The Heavenly Treasure Pavilion's backing was astonishing; it had a branch in every city across the Hancang Kingdom!

Forget Nine Spirits Sect. Even an organization at Black Water Hall's level could only keep its distance!

Zhu Zhihe and the others hadn't been lying to Zhou Heng. Once inside, they swept up all the medicinal ingredients he needed to cultivate the Bright Jade Art, filling bag after bag. But after paying, they didn't carry them away themselves. Instead, they had the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion send someone to deliver them to where they were staying.

"May I ask where Miss Zixing is now?" Zhu Zhihe suddenly asked the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion's attendant in a refined manner.

"My lady is at Hexin Courtyard. Are you gentlemen here for the Tea Ceremony Assembly?" the attendant asked in return.

"Indeed!"

"Then please, this way!"

Zhou Heng followed Zhu Zhihe and the others in a daze. He was rather puzzled. Miss Zixing must have been someone of high status. How could just anyone ask to see her and be allowed in?

After turning through several corridors, the five arrived at a large courtyard. Many people were already inside, mostly young men around twenty, though there were also some men in their thirties and forties. There were at least four or five hundred people.

Some sat and some stood, gathered around a young woman in purple as if the stars surrounded the moon.

Unmatched in beauty!