Killing

"This strike has some force behind it."

Zhou Yun's expression darkened. The moment he heard the sound of the air being torn, he had channeled his blood and qi to his Heaven Gate Point, shielding the back of his head.

Had he not practiced the Black Ape Movement Technique and improved his reflexes, he might truly have capsized in the gutter.

Even so, the back of his head still throbbed with a dull ache. It seemed that from now on, no matter the situation—especially when engaging in a fight—he had to maintain twelve points of focus.

"You, you are at the Seven Apertures!"

A-Shui was so terrified that his staff dropped to the ground. He frantically searched his memory for any martial artist at the Seven Apertures realm within the Sea Whale Gang, but not a single one matched.

The only one not in the Sea Whale Gang was the one who had spent years training at the Black Stone Martial Hall, the younger brother of the Sea Whale Gang leader...

"Lu Meng!"

Before A-Shui could finish his sentence, he felt a dark shadow sweep before his eyes, and his head snapped sharply to the side.

He was dead.

Before he died, he hadn't even seen clearly who his killer was.

"Quick! Run!"

Wang Ershu ignored the corpses lying on the ground and scrambled to flee, but suddenly, everything went black before his eyes, and he collapsed to the ground, losing his breath.

The other Tiger-Wolf Gang members were so frightened that they dropped their pitchforks and wooden clubs, rushing to escape this place of trouble, only to leave their backs completely exposed to Zhou Yun.

Zhou Yun struck with extreme ruthlessness; he had no intention of leaving any survivors. Utilizing the Black Ape Movement Technique, he moved among them. Before the few remaining Tiger-Wolf Gang members could even see who their assailant was, their cervical vertebrae snapped, and they fell to the ground with their heads lolling to the side.

"You, the gang leader will not let you off!"

Of the dozen or so men who had arrived, only one remained—a thin, weak youth whose legs were trembling and whose face was drenched in cold sweat.

Zhou Yun was just about to strike, but he lowered his raised fist.

"Scram."

The thin youth was stunned. Without time to ponder what was happening, he scrambled away from the scene.

Seeing the man retreat into the distance, Zhou Yun began to loot the corpses. He gathered three taels of broken silver and several dozen copper coins—enough to afford meat for a month.

"Time to clean up the stall and go home."

Zhou Yun left a dozen copper coins behind. As someone who had killed for the first time, he felt no psychological burden.

Since some people wanted to eat others, they shouldn't blame themselves for being eaten in turn.

As for the man he let go, it was merely a seed to divert the blame; otherwise, if they really investigated, they would always leave behind some traces.

But one seed was enough; the rest naturally had to be uprooted.

"Ah, thank you, thank you!"

Grandpa Zhou took the copper coins, his hands cupped in gratitude, tears welling in his eyes.

Watching Zhou Yun's back disappear completely, the man over fifty years of age straightened his back and couldn't help but sigh:

"Young Yun, he really has become capable..."

Although the man in black had deliberately tried to frame the Sea Whale Gang, he had given him a dozen copper coins separately. Combined with the timing and that familiar silhouette, the identity of the expert who had killed over a dozen Tiger-Wolf Gang members and opened the Seven Apertures of the Martial Pass was already obvious.

"Life at home has been difficult lately; could it also be related to this Tiger-Wolf Gang?"

Zhou Yun walked along the small path toward home, his pace quickening.

The streets where his family lived were near the coast and had always been under the jurisdiction of the Sea Whale Gang. The Tiger-Wolf Gang usually operated in the mountain-leaning regions, and their leader was said to be a Bright Force expert.

But looking at this situation, the Tiger-Wolf Gang seemed to have long coveted the Sea Whale Gang's territory, having already begun collecting land fees and incense money in these areas.

Before long, Zhou Yun arrived at a dirt courtyard enclosed by a fence. He composed himself and pushed the door open.

He looked around; nothing had changed.

The old wooden table and chairs, the mottled dirt walls, and a broom in the corner.

Zhou Yun was just about to call for his mother when he suddenly heard an aged voice coming from the inner room.

"Zhou Yun's mother, Zhou Yun has been practicing martial arts for nearly three months now, yet he still hasn't broken through to the Bright Force. We cannot pin all our hopes on him alone."

Grandpa Zhou's face was etched with deep wrinkles, filled with immense distress.

"Originally, only the Sea Whale Gang collected the River God's tribute, but now the Tiger-Wolf Gang has come to collect land incense money too. Our Zhou family truly has no money left to support his training!"

"That debt of three taels of silver has now rolled up to five. Our family really cannot afford to pay it back!"

The middle-aged woman in hemp clothing looked haggard, her hands still busy with needlework. She gritted her teeth:

"Old man, didn't my dowry go to you all? At the very least, paying off the debt shouldn't have been a problem. Why hasn't the debt to the Sea Whale Gang been cleared yet?"

Grandpa Zhou paused, his expression softening as he said calmly, "That was the dowry you brought into our Zhou family; naturally, it is for us to manage."

"You manage it? Isn't it all being used to send Zhou Chuan to apprentice at the Escort Agency?"

Lady Liu's face turned pale with anger: "I know you dote on Chuan'er, but my Yun'er is no slouch either. He also possesses a First Form Bone, so why bet everything on the eldest brother's son?"

"Is it just because his family is the eldest branch, while my husband, who was brought back from the battlefield wrapped in a shroud, was only the second son?"

Grandpa Zhou slammed his hand on the table, his face full of fury: "Nonsense! Can your Zhou Yun compare to Chuan'er? He has a bone structure approaching the Second Form, while Zhou Yun is merely an ordinary First Form Bone; they simply cannot be mentioned in the same breath!"

"Besides, do you think I don't want both grandsons to attend the martial arts school? But given the debts the Zhou family currently owes, only one person can continue their training, and that person must be Chuan'er!"

Having said this, Grandpa Zhou ignored Lady Liu's face, which had turned so pale it was almost bloodless, and left behind only one sentence.

"From now on, whether it's the Tiger-Wolf Gang or the Sea Whale Gang coming to collect protection money, we can no longer manage it. Tell Zhou Yun to come back and shoulder it himself."

The old man pushed the door open, bumping right into Zhou Yun, who was standing at the entrance.

"Grandpa Zhou, are you still in good health?"

Zhou Yun's tone was calm, without a ripple of emotion.

"You, you've returned?"

Grandpa Zhou looked somewhat incredulous, but still snorted coldly: "I've already said what needed to be said to your mother. You two should look after yourselves."

"His grandfather, his grandfather!"

Lady Liu wanted to chase after him, but Zhou Yun reached out and grabbed her hand.

The woman, whose face was lined with wrinkles and whose temples were turning gray, hugged Zhou Yun, and her tears finally welled up and spilled over.

"Yun'er, Mother is useless, Mother is so useless!"

Zhou Yun held the old woman, taking in the sight of her hands—thick with calluses from years of heavy labor—and her eyes, which had grown dim from sewing by the roof light she had pried open to see at night.

"Mother, I'm back. I'm back."

Lady Liu choked on her sobs, unable to speak for a long time, and could only stroke Zhou Yun's face while nodding: "It's good that you're back. Don't worry, Yun'er, Mother can still find a way to pay the tuition fees, Mother..."

"No need, Mother. Your son has already touched the threshold of Bright Force."

Zhou Yun shook his head. He had thought that no matter how hard the family's circumstances were, his mother shouldn't have been living quite so miserably, but he had underestimated this world.

It wasn't just the world that devoured people; people devoured each other as well.

"Touched the threshold of Bright Force? Good, good!"

Lady Liu was stunned for a moment, then immediately overjoyed.

"Bright Force is good, Bright Force is wonderful! From now on, you won't have to look at your grandfather's face anymore, and you'll be able to support yourself!"

As she spoke, the woman seemed to regain all her energy; she took the last of the coarse flour from the rice jar and hurried to the woodshed.

"Mother will cook you a bowl of noodles! You loved eating noodles when you were little!"

Zhou Yun watched this scene, seeing the wisps of cooking smoke rising, and felt a long-lost sense of stability in his heart.

However, before he could enjoy it for long, a familiar voice drifted in from outside.

"Mother Liu! The Tiger-Wolf Gang and the Sea Whale Gang have declared war! From now on, we only have to pay one gang!"

Zhou Ningyue pushed the door open, brimming with excitement. Even though she was usually gentle by nature, she couldn't contain her happiness.

She had just entered the room when she saw Zhou Yun sitting on the chair.

"Zhou Yun? You're back from the martial arts school?"