Sudden Upheaval

At these words, several gazes around him focused on him once more, all carrying hidden scrutiny. The atmosphere at the banquet table tightened slightly; clearly, everyone wanted to gauge the true depth of this low-profile second young master of the Xie Household.

Xie Jinghan's smile did not change as he replied mildly, "My aptitude is dull; I would not dare compare myself to my eldest brother. In daily life, I only practice basic breathing exercises, and when idle, I practice a few rudimentary sword forms. At present, I have merely managed to strengthen my foundation and nourish my vital essence, with only a slight grasp of the martial path."

He deliberately concealed every edge of his brilliance. His words were humble and restrained, revealing not the slightest trace of his true strength.

Upon hearing this, a flicker of understanding passed through Liu Chengyu's eyes, and the contempt in his heart deepened. Yet he maintained his courteous smile, exchanged a few polite words along the thread of the conversation, and did not probe further.

The surrounding guests thought much the same. They assumed that his aptitude was mediocre, that despite being born into the Xie Household, he possessed no talent for martial arts and could never shoulder great responsibility. One after another, they withdrew their gazes and turned to chat and laugh with the promising young men beside them, no longer paying him much attention.

Xie Jinghan sat quietly at his seat, listening with calm indifference and speaking no further. He watched these young talents, high-spirited and vigorous, contend over superiority and flaunt their confidence and sharpness.

His eyes held only serenity.

In that brief span of time, he had already grasped the depth of everyone's martial cultivation at the banquet.

In this world's martial path, the Postnatal Realm was the first realm a martial artist entered and the starting point of all martial cultivation. Following the Nine-Rank System, the Great Yan Court divided the Postnatal Realm into nine grades, with Grade Nine being the lowest and Grade One the highest.

Most of the young talents at the banquet hovered between the Lower Third Grade and Middle Third Grade. As for his eldest brother, Xie Jinlin, his talent was exceptional, and he had already reached Postnatal Realm Grade Three, firmly entering the ranks of the Upper Third Grade.

His gaze narrowed slightly as he discreetly swept it over the veteran martial artists present. Most of those seniors were between Postnatal Realm Grade Five and Grade Three.

Only one person in the entire hall had reached Acquired Grade One: Wang Zhongze, head of the Wang Household in Heaven-Bearing Prefecture. He sat upright at the banquet, while guests constantly stepped forward to exchange greetings and flatter him. His status was exalted, and all eyes were upon him. Even the household head, Xie Huaijin, repeatedly raised his cup in greeting, deliberately seeking his favor and treating him with utmost respect.

Other than Wang Zhongze, there were no more Acquired Grade One experts.

Xie Jinghan's expression grew even more certain, his heart cold and indifferent.

Looking across the entire hall, there were very few who could contend with me.

The birthday banquet was at its height. Guests throughout the hall raised cups and traded drinks, their laughter and chatter filling the air as an atmosphere of lavish extravagance enveloped the entire main hall.

The sun rose to its zenith, blazing fiercely and casting the red silk draped throughout Xie Residence into a vivid, fiery glow, filling the sky with festivity.

Just as everyone in the hall lost themselves in hollow splendor and drunken revelry, Xie Jinghan, seated quietly among them, suddenly sharpened his gaze.

Several unfamiliar, savage auras charged straight in from outside the residence. Bone-piercing killing intent swept across the entire courtyard in an instant!

A group of black-clad, masked assassins burst in without warning. Their inner force surged like thunder, and their icy murderous aura crushed the laughter from the hall.

The burly man at their head was broad and powerful, his shoulders and back like a mountain. A long saber hung at his waist, its cold gleam chilling, its blade engraved with savage, terrifying patterns. His eyes were bloodshot, and the murderous ferocity of one long steeped in life-and-death struggle surged toward them, sending chills down their spines.

The black-clad assassins behind him stepped forward in perfect unison.

The smiles vanished from every guest's face. One after another, they fell silent. The birthday banquet, so boisterous moments before, became deathly still in an instant.

"These men in black are all Upper Third Grade experts! The leader is even at the peak of Acquired Grade One!"

The faces of the older martial artists present changed drastically, and they cried out in alarm.

The burly leader slowly swept his gaze across the hall, his sharp eyes falling upon the guests as he shouted coldly, his voice rough and domineering. "Listen well, noble families and distinguished guests, fellow martial artists! I, Wu, have come today for only one purpose: to settle a sea of blood and hatred from thirty years ago! This is a private grudge between Black Tiger Stronghold and the Xie Household; it has nothing to do with anyone else! Whoever dares meddle in this matter or aid the Xie Household will become the enemy of all Black Tiger Stronghold. Do not blame my blade for showing no mercy!"

As his words fell, he violently flicked his wrist and hurled the long wooden box in his hand with all his might! The wooden box tore through the air and crashed heavily into the center of the banquet.

Crash—!

The wooden box smashed onto the bluestone floor and instantly shattered into pieces, revealing its contents before everyone's eyes.

A blood-drenched severed arm rolled out! The wound was hideously jagged, its blood still fresh and wet. The stench of blood instantly spread through the hall, pungent and horrifying.

"Xie Xuanyuan! Do you recognize whose arm this is?!"

The bloody severed arm entered his sight, and Xie Xuanyuan's face turned deathly pale in an instant. His fingers clenched tightly, and his aged body trembled despite itself. Having weathered storms for half his life and presided over the Xie Household for decades, he had long remained unruffled by honor or disgrace. Yet now, he could not conceal the grief in his eyes.

Beside him, Xie Huaijin could no longer restrain himself. His body staggered, nearly toppling over as agony tore through his chest. At last, he let out a heart-rending roar, "Jinlin... my Jinlin!"

The entire hall erupted in alarm, yet everyone was silent as cicadas in winter.

The burly leader stared fixedly at the pale-faced Xie Xuanyuan. Towering hatred surged in his eyes as he roared furiously, "You old bastard Xie! Thirty years ago, you used your power to bully others and led men to surround and destroy my Black Tiger Stronghold. Three hundred men, women, old folk, and children of the stronghold were slaughtered; blood flowed like a river! Today, I, Wu Hen, have returned! I will make the Xie Household repay its blood debt in blood and offer your lives to the wronged souls of my entire Black Tiger Stronghold!"

Xie Xuanyuan forcibly suppressed the grief in his heart and steadied his trembling body. He stared hard at Wu Hen, his aged voice quivering with endless remorse and biting coldness. "You are... the orphan of Wu Liehu, the Black Tiger Stronghold's chief from back then—Wu Ziheng? Back then, I pitied you for being young and innocent and spared the lives of you and your mother. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect that I would leave behind such a calamity for myself and for the Xie Household!"

Wu Hen's face twisted savagely, and violent malice surged from his body. "Wu Ziheng died long ago in that pool of blood thirty years ago! My name is Wu Hen! In this life, I have nothing but hatred to keep me alive! My father merely robbed escort silver from the martial world. How did that warrant the annihilation of his entire family, leaving not even corpses or bones behind? The hatred of my father's murder and the destruction of my stronghold cannot exist beneath the same sky! Today, everyone in the Xie Household will be buried with them!"

Xie Xuanyuan's chest heaved violently with rage as he rebuked him sharply, "Utter nonsense! Your father, Wu Liehu, did far more than rob escort silver! Your Black Tiger Stronghold ran rampant for years, plundering merchants and travelers. Worse, you secretly trafficked women and children, humiliated women, slaughtered innocents, and committed monstrous evil! Back then, this old man joined forces with fellow martial artists to eliminate Black Tiger Stronghold for the people and purge this scourge from the martial world!"

His tone was stern and righteous, every word ringing like iron. "Back then, this old man saw that you were young and innocent and could not bear to slaughter you all. I deliberately left a path open and spared you, an orphan, and your widowed mother. Yet I never expected that today you would be unable to distinguish good from evil, harbor private vengeance, conceal your own sins, and harm the descendants of my Xie Household. Heaven's justice will not tolerate it!"

As his words ended, the entire hall fell into dead silence. The tension within the hall stretched to its limit, and overwhelming killing intent shrouded the birthday hall. A great battle was on the verge of breaking out.

Xie Jinghan remained seated, his body utterly motionless, appearing to watch with detached indifference.

Only his left hand gripped the hilt of his sword tightly, coldness seeping into his knuckles. His pitch-black eyes locked firmly onto Wu Hen, his gaze frosty and sharp as winter.

My eldest brother had been murdered, and my household humiliated. Today, this man would certainly die.