Your Wife and Daughter, I'll Take Care of Them for You

Night fell.

Lu Fan took advantage of the cover of darkness, put on the Cracked Mask, and arrived at Blackstone Martial Hall.

He wanted to know how Zhang Yao was doing.

When he reached the vicinity of Blackstone Martial Hall, he immediately sensed numerous powerful martial artist auras spread throughout the area.

There were seven Dark Force martial artists among them alone.

Such a formation clearly meant that Thunder Martial Hall was fully prepared to wipe out Blackstone Martial Hall.

Lu Fan hid in the darkness, silently bypassed those Dark Force martial artists, and entered the hall.

The martial hall was deathly quiet and completely empty. Lu Fan then headed toward Zhang Yao's room in the inner courtyard.

Yet he did not find Zhang Yao there either.

Could it be that Zhang Yao was...

Lu Fan thought of something and headed toward the back kitchen.

Soon, at the entrance to the kitchen, he saw Zhang Yao sitting on the threshold.

Zhang Yao did nothing. He simply sat there quietly with his eyes tightly shut, as though lost in some memory. There was no fear or sorrow on his face, only calm.

With his strength, there was no way he had failed to sense the group of Dark Force martial artists surrounding Blackstone Martial Hall.

In other words, Zhang Yao had already accepted his fate.

A resolute gleam flashed across Lu Fan's face behind the mask.

No matter what, he would not let Zhang Yao die.

At that moment, a series of hurried footsteps sounded outside the courtyard gate.

Clearly, they belonged to the martial artists surrounding Blackstone Martial Hall.

Zhang Yao patted the dust off himself and rose to his feet, a trace of desolation flashing through his eyes.

"Sorry, Old Lu. I won't be able to keep that promise."

As soon as he finished speaking, a terrifying pressure surged from Zhang Yao's body. The surging blood and qi of Late Dark Force were no longer suppressed.

The next moment, three Dark Force martial artists appeared at the courtyard entrance.

"Found him! Zhang Yao is here!"

As one of them shouted, the other Dark Force martial artists who had entered Blackstone Martial Hall immediately rushed over.

"Zhang Yao's head is mine!"

"Bastard, you're trying to strike first!"

At that moment, one of the three suddenly lunged at Zhang Yao.

However, just as he took two steps, a black shadow instantly appeared before him.

That person was Zhang Yao.

There was no warning, no sound.

Zhang Yao drove a fist into the man's chest.

The next moment, the man was sent flying backward and slammed viciously into the wall behind him. His chest had completely caved in, and he was taking more breaths out than in. He was clearly not far from death.

Only then did the other two react.

But before they could even raise their hands, Zhang Yao struck with one hand each, chopping at their necks.

Crack! The two fell in response, utterly motionless.

By then, the remaining Dark Force martial artists had arrived—five in total.

But what they saw were three corpses lying on the ground.

No one had expected that, in such a brief moment, three Dark Force martial artists would die at Zhang Yao's hands.

At once, everyone realized that they were not the hunters at all.

Zhang Yao was.

"Attack together!"

As one of them shouted, the remaining Dark Force martial artists swarmed toward Zhang Yao like a hive of bees.

Although all of them were Mid Dark Force, there were five times as many of them as Zhang Yao.

Yet in the face of such a siege, Zhang Yao showed not the slightest fear. His Late Dark Force strength was fully displayed at this moment.

Moreover, he had been the master of a martial hall for decades. His wealth of combat experience was not something these newly advanced Dark Force martial artists could compare to.

In less than a moment, every Dark Force martial artist who had entered the martial hall was dead.

However, killing them had consumed a massive amount of his force. His breathing had become incredibly ragged.

Just then, steady footsteps came from the martial hall entrance, approaching at an unhurried pace.

The moment Zhang Yao sensed that aura, his expression became incomparably grave.

Soon, that person stood before him.

It was Li Xiao.

"Hm, as expected, that bunch of trash couldn't kill you."

Li Xiao looked at Zhang Yao with a smile and spoke.

"What an honor, to have a Transformation Grandmaster personally make a move."

Zhang Yao spoke in a low voice, his body involuntarily tensing as he entered a fully alert fighting stance.

When facing a Transformation Grandmaster, even a moment of carelessness could mean dying on the spot.

"Well, you and I can be considered old rivals. As your old opponent, naturally I have to personally send you on your way."

As Li Xiao spoke, he casually waved a hand, as though chatting warmly with an old friend of many years.

"So if you have any last words, I can deliver them for you."

"Your wife and daughter—I'll take good care of them for you. Of course, only until I get tired of playing with them."

"Hahaha!"

Li Xiao laughed wildly, feeling more exhilarated than ever.

Because tonight, he could finally stomp the old rival who had suppressed him for half his life beneath his feet.

If such an entertaining moment ended too quickly, that would be no fun at all.

"Li—Xiao!"

Zhang Yao's furious roar echoed over the courtyard for a long time.

His entire body burst forward like an arrow loosed from the bow, charging rapidly toward Li Xiao.

However, before he could get close, Li Xiao raised one hand.

Invisible force surged from his body, spreading forward like raging waves.

As Zhang Yao charged straight ahead, he felt as though he had crashed into a wall. Groans of unbearable strain rang out from every part of his body.

Even so, he did not hesitate. He fiercely threw a punch forward.

All of his force wrapped around that fist as he launched it.

His all-out strike finally broke through that wall of force and shot straight toward Li Xiao's body.

But after being weakened by the wall of force, the force wrapped around his fist had completely dissipated, and even more than half of his strength had been drained away.

In the end, that punch became limp and powerless, slowly drifting toward Li Xiao.

Li Xiao merely raised one finger and easily blocked it.

Then, with a light tap of his finger, the immense force of the Transformation Force Stage erupted instantly and blasted Zhang Yao flying.

Zhang Yao smashed through the courtyard wall and fell onto the street outside, gouging a huge crater into the ground.

That terrifying force even invaded his body, like a savage beast continuously destroying him from within.

"Cough, cough."

Zhang Yao spat out a large mouthful of blood, his face deathly pale.

"So this is... Transformation Force."

"Looks like today really is the end for me."

Zhang Yao struggled to stand again, but he could no longer do it. Li Xiao's strike had not only injured his internal organs, but had also scattered more than half the force within his body. His legs could not muster even the slightest strength.

All he could do now was quietly wait for death.

Yet after waiting for a while, Li Xiao did not come out.

This left him deeply confused.

But in the next moment, the terrifying aura coming from the courtyard ahead made his heart quake in alarm.

Another Transformation Grandmaster?