Expelled from the Martial Academy!

"This is... Dark Strength..."

Jiang Ye carefully savored the utterly different sensation of power inside him.

It was no longer the bold, fierce force of the Bright Strength stage, when qi and blood surged and power surged through the muscles and skin.

Instead, it was like mercury spilling across the ground, like heavy iron sinking into a pool. All his strength lay deeply concealed, settled in the deepest recesses of his bones.

At a thought, that power responded like an extension of his own limbs, quietly welling up from his marrow. It made no sound, yet held a penetrative force that made the heart quail.

Next, he raised his right hand and spread his five fingers. With the slightest shift of intent, there was no chorus of bones and tendons, no surge of qi and blood, not even any visible bulging beneath his skin.

Only the center of his palm sank inward ever so slightly, sending the faintest ripples through the air.

His palm descended gently, seemingly at random, onto the surface of an old wooden table beside him, its finish yellowed and darkened with age.

Thump.

The sound was soft, even a little muffled.

The small patch of tabletop covered by his palm showed no distortion or break in its wood grain, as if it had merely been stroked.

And yet—

Jiang Ye lifted his hand and looked down.

Within a radius of about three feet from where his palm had landed, the tabletop appeared intact, but its internal structure had been shattered in an instant by the Dark Strength that had sunk into his marrow and burst forth through his body.

It had not cracked or collapsed. It had turned into fine, evenly ground wood dust.

"Not bad!"

Jiang Ye nodded faintly, a satisfied look on his aged face.

Compared with Bright Strength, which was fierce and overt and excelled at overcoming finesse with raw power, Dark Strength's greatest virtue was its ability to penetrate.

Its force was as concentrated as a needle and as heavy as a hammer. It could easily pierce clothing, leather, and even ordinary metal armor, striking the internal organs and dealing damage from within, like hitting a bull through a mountain.

"If I'd broken through to Dark Strength earlier, that protective inner armor Zhang Xu wore would've been little more than a decoration."

A cold glint flashed in Jiang Ye's eyes. He understood now.

With his Dark Strength, which could pierce armor and injure the marrow, he wouldn't have needed to smash through the wall with that earlier punch and send Zhang Xu flying.

His fist could have passed straight through the inner armor and struck Zhang Xu's heart and lungs.

His exterior might have been unharmed, but inside he would have been nothing but a lump of mush.

Zhang Xu had only one life. Even if he'd had two more, he would still have died on the spot, with not the slightest chance of survival.

"I wonder if that brat... really is dead..."

At the thought of Zhang Xu, another trace of icy intent passed through Jiang Ye's eyes.

That wretch was vicious and underhanded. He'd dared to scheme against Liu Yiyi in such a despicable way, crossing Jiang Ye's bottom line.

"If that punch didn't take his life, and he's still clinging to it..."

Jiang Ye absently rolled the cuff of his sleeve between his bony fingers. His gaze grew darker and colder.

"Then I'll have to make another trip and personally send him on his way, to make sure he stays dead!"

When it came to enemies, especially scum as sinister and despicable as Zhang Xu, Jiang Ye had always believed in rooting out evil down to the last trace and leaving no loose ends.

At the same time.

Anxi County, eastern district, the Zhang Family estate.

The hall was brightly lit, yet the cold, oppressive atmosphere was almost palpable.

On the left stood Liu Qingshi, the master of Bluestone Martial Academy, his hands behind his back and his face as impassive as water.

Beside him stood Su Chen, head of the Su Family. His eyes and brows were likewise shadowed by murderous intent, his usual affability nowhere to be seen.

Behind the two men stood Liu Yiyi and Su Yan, shoulder to shoulder. The girls' faces were pale, but icy flames of anger burned in their eyes as they stared straight ahead.

On the right, Zhang He, head of the Zhang Family, stood alone before the seat of honor, his face so dark it looked ready to drip.

Between them lay a man, gravely injured and on the brink of death. It was none other than Zhang Xu.

Earlier, Su Yan and Liu Yiyi had discussed what to do. Swallowing their humiliation and pain, they had told their fathers a carefully chosen version of what happened.

They had concealed the white-haired old man and the sordid chaos that followed, focusing instead on how Zhang Xu had set a trap and drugged them, and how they had seen through it and fought back.

Even so, Liu Qingshi and Su Chen had been furious beyond measure.

If Zhang Xu hadn't been gravely wounded and rendered incapable of being a man, Liu Qingshi would have punched him into wood dust then and there.

So they had immediately brought Zhang Xu, the evidence of his crime, to demand an explanation.

Across from them, Zhang He's brows were drawn together in a deep frown, and his expression had turned utterly grim.

To be honest, the moment he saw them carry the gravely wounded Zhang Xu inside, Zhang He realized his son had botched things again.

It filled him with both anger and fury.

He was angry because his good-for-nothing son had messed things up again, and furious that Zhang Xu had been injured so badly!

No matter what, Zhang Xu was his son!

"Master Liu, Head of the Su Family! Don't you dare make false accusations! My son Zhang Xu has always conducted himself honorably. How could he have ever plotted to take advantage of your daughters?"

Zhang He bellowed furiously, his expression dark.

"You took it upon yourselves to punish him, and injured my son like this. You clearly have no regard for the Zhang Family!"

"I strongly suspect the truth is that your daughters tried to seduce my son..."

"And when they feared the truth would come out, they inflicted this vicious beating on him!"

He knew that now, he absolutely couldn't admit to anything.

What's more, he had to turn the accusation back on them at once.

Things had reached this point, and the two sides were bound to become enemies.

When Zhang He shamelessly turned the accusation back on them, murderous intent flared in Liu Yiyi and the others' eyes.

They had learned firsthand that the apple didn't fall far from the tree.

Only Liu Qingshi remained unmoved. He looked at Zhang He with icy eyes and said gravely, "It seems you won't give up until you hear your son admit it himself."

As he spoke, Liu Qingshi stepped forward to lift Zhang Xu from the floor.

"What are you doing...?"

Zhang He's expression changed abruptly, and he tried to stop him.

Liu Qingshi's gaze shifted, his icy stare settling on Zhang He like a mountain.

"You..."

Zhang He froze.

The Zhang Family did have a Transformation Strength expert in their employ, but that expert had never been one to submit to anyone's orders, and he wasn't at the estate right now.

If Liu Qingshi really wanted to make a move, Zhang He had no way to stop him.

During the brief moment he hesitated, Liu Qingshi had already picked Zhang Xu up.

Liu Qingshi extended a finger as fast as lightning and pressed it into a certain acupoint on Zhang Xu's back.

The next moment, Zhang Xu, limp as a dead dog, shuddered all over. Like a man seeing his final burst of life, he shook his head and regained a little awareness.

Without giving him a moment to react, Liu Qingshi asked in a stern voice, "Zhang Xu, did you set a trap and drug Liu Yiyi and Su Yan tonight, intending to take advantage of them?"

Zhang Xu's insides were burning, his life hanging by a thread, and his mind had long since grown hazy. He felt only boundless pain and terror, along with an irresistible pressure of will.

His lips trembled as he mumbled incoherently, as if in a dream. "Yes... it was... me... I wanted to... but I didn't... Please... spare me..."

After he finished speaking through his trembling, his voice faded again. It seemed he had used up all his strength and could die at any moment.

Zhang He stared fixedly at Zhang Xu, his expression grim. For a moment, he said nothing, and no one could tell what was going through his mind.

"Zhang He!" Su Chen roared, his hair and beard bristling. "Your own son has admitted it! What do you have to say for yourself?"

After a moment of silence, Zhang He gave Liu Qingshi a thin, humorless smile. "Master Liu, you have quite a way with things!"

Then he turned his icy gaze on Zhang Xu, who was barely alive, and said coldly:

"When you do wrong, you must own up to it. When you take a beating, stand up straight."

"Since my son was at fault first, he deserves whatever punishment he receives. I have no objections."

"Fortunately..." He changed tack, sweeping his gaze over Liu Yiyi and Su Yan, his tone softening. "Your daughters were alert and didn't let this miscreant succeed. They remain unviolated, which is a blessing amid misfortune. The Zhang Family is willing to compensate you for this and appease your anger."

"How about twenty thousand taels of silver for each of your daughters, as compensation and an apology?"

"If you still don't think that compensation is enough to satisfy you..."

Zhang He paused slightly. His gaze on Zhang Xu grew even colder as he said blandly:

"Then take my son with you. Kill him or cut him up as you please."

At his words, a strange look flashed through everyone present.

Zhang He truly was worthy of being the head of the Zhang Family. He was ruthless.

Liu Qingshi exchanged a glance with Su Chen. Seeing the other man agree, he let go of Zhang Xu and dropped him to the ground like a piece of trash. "Then that settles it."

They could agree mainly because they believed their daughters' virtue remained intact, while Zhang Xu had already been ruined and could no longer be a man. He was as good as dead.

There was no point in killing him, too.

Zhang He acted swiftly. He immediately had someone bring the banknotes, then saw them out.

As he watched them cross the threshold of the Zhang Family estate, Zhang He's eyes narrowed to slits, as cold as a venomous snake.

Suddenly—

"Oh, right. Effective immediately, Zhang Xu is expelled from Bluestone Martial Academy and cast out of the school. From now on, he has no ties to the academy and may never set foot inside it again!"

Liu Qingshi's icy voice exploded beside Zhang He's ear like a thunderclap.