The Unfilial Son Who Defies Heaven!

He pulled out the cork, tilted his head back, and poured the pill into his mouth, his Adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed it.

The next moment.

"Crack—"

A sound erupted from within Zhao Ming's body.

The whites of his eyes were quickly consumed by ink, turning pitch black, devoid of any human semblance.

When he opened his mouth, the sound that emerged was not human.

"Hrr... hrra..."

A layer of black scales sprouted from his neck, rapidly covering his entire body, with countless insects crawling beneath his skin.

A stench of rotting demonic aura radiated outward with him at the center!

The disciples below the stage had never seen such a sight; terrified, they scrambled backward, and the stands fell into chaos.

"Mon... monster!"

"Zhao Ming has turned into a monster!"

"Help... help me!"

Li Pingsheng's pupils constricted.

Through Synesthesia, he "saw" that it wasn't just the medicine acting up inside Zhao Ming's body.

A phantom of a black Gu Insect was in his dantian, currently devouring his blood, qi, and brain, transforming him into a puppet that knew only slaughter and hatred.

That medicinal pill was merely a catalyst.

Zhao Ming had long been treated as "kindling" that could be ignited at any moment.

Li Pingsheng pulled the stunned Yunmei behind him and shouted to Lu Qingshan, "Trouble you, Senior Brother Lu, take Yunmei and retreat! Quickly!"

The transformed Zhao Ming's strength had far surpassed the Bone Refining Realm; this was no longer a fight between disciples.

Yet, it did not look at Li Pingsheng.

It stared fixedly at the stands where the Zhao Family sat.

There, there were people it hated even more than Li Pingsheng.

"Roar!!"

Zhao Ming lunged forward violently.

Charging straight at Zhao Zhentian!

"Someone, stop this beast for me!"

"How dare he commit such an act of insubordination?!"

The guards in front of the Zhao Family stands were both terrified and furious, forced to draw their blades and step forward.

But their usual swordsmanship was no different from paper in the face of absolute power.

With a single charge from the transformed Zhao Ming, two guards were sent flying, their chests caved in, dying on the spot.

The members of the Zhao Family were terrified, scrambling backward in a panic.

Zhao Zhentian stood there, his body trembling uncontrollably.

Only now did he finally understand.

That Black-Robed Gu Master had never had good intentions from the start!

The help, the precious gifts—it was all a lie!

It was a noose that had been placed around the Zhao Family's neck long ago!

The Black Water Gang was kindling, the Zhao Family was kindling, and the son he treated as a treasure was also kindling!

It was all to light a great fire, a sacrifice to some unknown entity.

But he realized it too late.

"You beast! You beast! I am your father, how dare you be so bold!"

Zhao Zhentian forcibly suppressed the fear in his heart, trying to use his status as a father to intimidate the monster before him.

But Zhao Ming answered him with a roar.

"Hmph, bullshit, didn't you just tell me... that the Zhao Family has no place for a piece of trash like me as a son?"

"Then I... have no place for a piece of trash like you as a father!!"

"You forced me into this!"

"From the time I was small until now, you never once asked how I felt!!"

"I only ever wanted to visit brothels and be a low-key rich second generation!"

"But you insisted I practice those cultivation techniques!"

"I hate you!!"

Before he could finish, his arm swung down, trailing a foul, fishy wind.

Zhao Zhentian looked toward the Hall Master on the high platform, seeking help.

He wanted to cry out for rescue, to expose the wicked intentions of that Black-Robed Gu Master.

But he could no longer utter a single word.

Claws raked across his throat.

Blood sprayed without end...

The head of the Zhao Family had his throat slit by his own son, right in front of everyone!

Retribution had come so swiftly.

The Martial Practice Field descended into total chaos.

Disciples screamed and ran in every direction; the scene was a complete mess.

Li Pingsheng shielded Yunmei and Lu Qingshan, retreating to the edge of the Martial Practice Field.

The disciples' blood and qi were in turmoil, and their fear had mounted, disrupting the rhythm of the formation that had been steadily draining the qi and blood of all the martial artists present.

Deep underground, something that had been suppressed seemed to have gained a moment to breathe because of this.

This was the true goal of the mastermind!

Zhao Ming was merely a pawn used to disrupt the grand examination and sacrifice to the formation!

Just then, a figure leaped down from the high platform.

He landed silently before the transformed Zhao Ming.

The Azure Cloud Martial Hall Hall Master, Gu Zhenyue.

He wore a Bronze Mask.

Facing the roaring, demon-qi-surging Zhao Ming, he simply raised his hand.

"From this day forward, you are expelled!"

"Furthermore..."

"Azure Cloud Martial Hall is no place for you to run wild."

A punch.

A simple, straightforward punch.

All the roars from the transformed Zhao Ming ceased instantly.

"Boom..."

Zhao Ming, who had been so formidable just moments ago, having killed several people, suddenly stopped.

His entire body cracked from the inside out, finally dissolving into a mist of black blood that scattered into the air.

Remnants fell everywhere...

In front of the Hall Master, he didn't even have the qualifications to force a second punch.

Everyone was stunned by this display of power.

The Hall Master retracted his fist, seemingly searching for something.

The chaos in the Martial Practice Field paused temporarily, but Li Pingsheng's heart suddenly leaped into his throat.

His [Synesthesia] caught it—in the corner of the crowd.

The cold, foul stench emanating from under Instructor Wu's sleeve did not vanish the moment Zhao Ming was killed; instead, it intensified!

Instructor Wu was keeping his head down, trying to slip away quietly while everyone's attention was fixed on the Hall Master.

Chen Tieshan, Zhao Ming, poison, hostages...

Everything connected in Li Pingsheng's mind in an instant.

This Instructor Wu!

A flash of killing intent crossed Li Pingsheng's eyes, and he was just about to give chase.

"Hum—"

The Well-Guarding Bronze Talisman given to him by Old Qi, which he kept in his robes, suddenly grew violently hot—the temperature was high enough to burn through his clothes!

His feet faltered.

The Dragon Locking Well!

Compared to an Instructor Wu, the safety of the Dragon Locking Well was far more important!

At almost the same moment, a muffled, thunderous sound erupted from the direction of the martial hall's back mountain.

The entire Martial Practice Field trembled slightly.

Then, a visible pillar of black energy shot straight into the sky!

The Hall Master turned his head sharply to look toward the back mountain, his gaze heavy.

Old Qi wasn't here, which meant he was already clashing with the enemy at the back mountain!

Li Pingsheng hurriedly pulled the bronze talisman from his robes.

The scorching Well-Guarding Bronze Talisman had somehow developed three small cracks.

One of those cracks was pointing directly toward the Wealthy District in the Outer City!

Old Qi had said that once the earth vein's turbid energy spiraled out of control, the Wealthy District, serving as a formation point, would be the first to suffer.

That was his home!

"Pei Guang!"

The Hall Master issued his orders: "Take all disciples and retreat to the east wall! Form a defensive formation! Anyone who dares to run will have their legs broken!"

"If anyone gets black energy inside their body, break their legs just the same, pin them to the ground, and don't let them move!"

Pei Guang shouted his acknowledgment and began to manage the panicked disciples.

After giving the orders, the Hall Master's gaze fell upon Li Pingsheng.

"Is that the Well-Guarding Bronze Talisman in your hand?"

Li Pingsheng didn't answer, only gripping the scalding talisman tighter.

"Since that old thing chose you, then go."

Li Pingsheng stared straight at that Bronze Mask and asked the question buried in his heart.

"Did you know all along that the Grand Examination was just using the disciples' lifeblood to feed the formation?"

The Hall Master replied.

"I knew."

Li Pingsheng suppressed his rage: "Then what about them? Do they know?"

"They do not."

"Then how is that any different from burning people like firewood?!"

The Hall Master paused for a moment, his Bronze Mask turning toward the black energy surging into the sky.

"The difference is that if we don't burn this firewood, half of Qingyun County will die."