Patriarch's Fury, Blood Debts Must Be Paid in Blood!

Night.

The night in the Black Wind Mountain Range was icy and deathly silent.

At the edge of the cliff crevice, Wang Zhan sat cross-legged like a lifeless statue.

He had been guarding this spot for three full days and nights.

For three days, he had not closed his eyes once, his powerful Spiritual Sense shrouding the entrance of the crevice like a spiderweb, not letting a single rustle escape his notice.

He firmly believed that the little bastard could never have survived in such a desperate place.

The only reason he stayed here was for peace of mind, to personally dig up the boy's remains, grind his bones to dust, and scatter them to vent the hatred in his heart!

However, three days had passed, and the depths of the crevice remained deathly silent.

Even his Soul Chasing Mother Jade, which could sense the position of the child jade, had begun to flicker, its signal extremely weak, as if it might cut out completely at any moment.

This meant that the child jade was either destroyed or had entered a place so deep that it blocked all sensing.

"Hmph, dead or alive, this ends here."

Wang Zhan slowly opened his eyes, a flash of impatience and fatigue crossing them.

He decided to wait one last hour; if there was still no movement, he would return to Qingyang City.

The family could not go a day without a master, and if he stayed away too long, trouble would inevitably arise.

He stood up, stretched his stiff body, and habitually scanned his surroundings.

However, at that very moment, his pupils contracted violently!

He saw that on top of a giant tree a hundred meters to his front left, a black figure had appeared, standing there silently without him even noticing.

The figure was like a ghost, perfectly blending into the night.

If he hadn't happened to look in that direction, even with his perception at the Ninth Level of Body Tempering, he wouldn't have discovered him at all!

"Who's there!"

Wang Zhan barked, the blood in his body instantly boiling as he gripped his blood-colored saber with a sharp clang.

At the top of the tree, the figure slowly turned around, revealing a young and cold face.

The moment he saw that face, Wang Zhan's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets!

"Chen... Chen?!"

He gasped in shock, his face filled with disbelief!

"You... you actually didn't die?!"

How was this possible!

Falling into such a bottomless abyss and being ravaged by violent energy—let alone someone in the Body Tempering Realm, even a cultivator in the Qi Condensation Realm would have no chance of survival!

Yet, not only was he alive, but...

Wang Zhan's gaze locked onto Chen Chen.

He could feel that the aura of the youth before him was more than a notch stronger than it had been three days ago!

The faint, blood-red baleful aura radiating from him even made Wang Zhan feel a tremor of fear!

"Seventh Level of... Body Tempering?!"

Wang Zhan's voice cracked.

Three days!

In just three short days, he had actually soared from the Fourth Level of Body Tempering all the way to the seventh?

What... what kind of monster was this?!

"Wang Zhan, long time no see."

Chen Chen looked down at him, his voice cold and devoid of emotion. "You couldn't take my life. Today, it's my turn to take yours."

"Arrogant!"

After the brief shock, Wang Zhan's face twisted with endless ferocity and killing intent.

"So what if you got lucky and broke through to the Seventh Level of Body Tempering?"

"Between the seventh and ninth levels lies a Heavenly Chasm you will never be able to cross!"

"Today, I will show you what true despair is!"

Before the words had even faded, the Flying Sword Artifact beneath his feet flared with intense red light!

He transformed into a streak of blood-colored light, man and sword becoming one, and shot toward Chen Chen at the top of the tree like a cannonball!

This time, he held nothing back; his opening move was a thunderous, lethal strike!

Yet, facing this fatal blow, there was not a hint of fear on Chen Chen's face.

Instead, the corner of his mouth curled into a mocking arc.

Just as Wang Zhan was about to reach the top of the tree, Chen Chen's figure suddenly turned into a wisp of green smoke and vanished from where he stood.

Seven Shadows Step!

Wang Zhan's sword thrust missed, the immense power behind it piercing straight through a massive tree that would have required several men to encircle, shattering it completely!

"Trying to run?!"

Wang Zhan roared, his Spiritual Sense spreading out like a tidal wave, instantly locking onto the position of Chen Chen.

He saw that Chen Chen's figure had already appeared a hundred meters away, fleeing toward the depths of the dense forest without even looking back.

"This trick again! Do you really think the same old routine will work on me twice!"

Wang Zhan sneered, urging his flying sword forward as he prepared to give chase.

However, the moment he turned, a powerful sense of crisis erupted from beneath his feet without any warning!

He looked down, his expression changing drastically!

He saw that the ground beneath him had been rigged with a crude yet lethal trap at some point!

Dozens of sharpened, venom-coated vines shot out from the earth like vipers, coiling toward his feet and his flying sword!

And in the center of the vines, a rope shimmering with a ghostly light was coiled!

Spirit Binding Rope!

The moment Chen Chen had fled, he had thrown out the broken magical artifact he had just acquired!

"Child's play!"

Wang Zhan bellowed, his protective blood energy erupting in an attempt to shatter the vines and the rope.

But the Spirit Binding Rope, though damaged, was still an authentic magical artifact!

It coiled tightly around Wang Zhan's flying sword, causing the spiritual light on the blade to dim for a split second!

That split second of delay was all that was needed!

A cold voice, carrying endless killing intent as if it had emerged from the Nine Nether Hell, suddenly rang out right beside his ear!

"Wang Zhan, your time of death... has arrived!"

Chen Chen's figure appeared behind Wang Zhan as if he had teleported!

He had never intended to run at all!

Everything before this had been to lull Wang Zhan into a false sense of security, to make him reveal this fatal opening!

Eye of Asura, open!

The Bronze Broken Sword in his hand, infused with the blood-evil energy of the Asura God Transformation Art, transformed into a heaven-shaking crimson rainbow, aiming straight for the weakest energy node on Wang Zhan's back—the one exposed by his exertion of protective blood energy—and thrust forward with all his might!

"You little beast, how dare you!"

Wang Zhan's eyes were wide with rage. Sensing the lethal threat behind him, he unleashed his full potential.

The crimson saber in his hand moved at an impossible angle, turning to parry!

"Clang—!"

The broken sword and the long saber collided with a deafening crash!

A terrifying shockwave centered on the two of them, spreading wildly in all directions!

The earth cracked, and trees toppled over!

"Pfft!"

Chen Chen felt an irresistible force strike him; he felt as if he had been hit by a lightning bolt, spitting out a mouthful of blood as he was sent flying backward.

Wang Zhan fared no better!

Although he had blocked the lethal blow, the rushed defense left his blood energy roiling, and the webbing between his thumb and forefinger was torn open by the impact, blood streaming down!

What terrified him even more was that a cold, domineering blood-evil energy had surged along the blade and invaded his body, frantically ravaging his meridians!

He stared fixedly at Chen Chen, who was slowly climbing to his feet not far away, a look of genuine shock appearing in his eyes for the first time.

This brat...

He had actually managed to wound him!

"Old dog, this is only the beginning!"

Chen Chen wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his crimson eyes burning with towering battle intent!

He tapped his foot, once again turning into a blood-red shadow, and took the initiative to attack!

A life-and-death battle between a Seventh Level of Body Tempering and a Ninth Level of Body Tempering erupted fiercely in the middle of the completely devastated forest!

Blade light and sword shadows flashed, blood energy roaring!

The aftermath of the battle razed everything within a radius of several hundred meters to the ground!

The longer they fought, the more alarmed Wang Zhan became.

He realized that Chen Chen's fighting style was not like that of a human at all!

He was ruthless, insane, and fought with a complete disregard for his own life!

Every attack was aimed directly at his vitals, with absolutely no regard for defense!

Yet, the wounds on his body were healing at a speed visible to the naked eye!

This... what kind of monstrous cultivation technique is this!

This brat must not be allowed to live!

Killing intent flared in the eyes of Wang Zhan, and he decided to hold nothing back!

"Little beast, to force me to use this move, you should be proud of yourself!"

He violently forced Chen Chen back and spat a mouthful of essence blood onto the blood-colored saber in his hand!

Hum—!

The long saber let out a shrill, mournful cry, and the blood-red light on the blade surged to its limit, as if it were about to drip blood!

A destructive aura erupted with a boom!

"Secret Skill: Blood Sacrifice Mad Saber!"

At this moment, Wang Zhan's aura faintly touched the threshold of the Qi Condensation Realm!

He leaped high into the air, gripped the saber with both hands, and transformed into a burning blood-red meteor, slashing down directly at Chen Chen!

This strike drained nearly fifty percent of the blood energy in his entire body!

But it was enough to slaughter any opponent in the Body Tempering Realm!

Facing this world-destroying strike, there was not a trace of fear in Chen Chen's eyes.

Instead, he revealed a smile... of success.

"This move is exactly what I've been waiting for!"

He took a deep breath and mobilized every remaining Cultivation Point within his body!

[Consumed 65 Cultivation Points, activating temporary system function: Energy Berserk!]

[Within three seconds, host's total attributes increased by 100%!]

Boom!

A power even more terrifying than when he broke through exploded within Chen Chen's body!

His aura surged instantly!

Seventh Level of Body Tempering peak!

Eighth Level of Body Tempering!

Body Tempering Ninth Stage!

In this instant, his cultivation was forcibly raised to the same height as Wang Zhan's!

The Bronze Broken Sword in his hand also let out a groan, unable to bear the strain!

"Asura... One Sword!"

He poured all his strength, all his hatred, and all his killing intent into this single strike!

A blood-red sword beam, equally earth-shattering, soared into the sky!

It met the falling blood-red meteor head-on!

Sword and saber collided in mid-air with a thunderous crash.

There was no deafening roar.

Only a momentary... deathly silence.

The entire world seemed to lose its sound and color.

The next second.

Crack!

The blood-colored long saber in Wang Zhan's hand, the high-grade magical artifact that had accompanied him for decades, shattered and broke inch by inch from the middle!

Immediately after, it was his body.

A thin line of blood spread from his forehead all the way down to his lower abdomen.

"Im... possible..."

Extreme shock and unwillingness still lingered in Wang Zhan's eyes.

He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but in the end, nothing came out.

His body split in two from the middle.

A rain of blood filled the sky.

[Ding! Killed a Body Tempering Ninth Stage martial artist, gained Cultivation Points +100!]

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for completing the Main Quest: Prologue of Revenge (Kill Wang Zhan).]

[Quest Rewards: Cultivation Points +400, Random Cultivation Technique Chest *1!]

Chen Chen dropped to one knee with a heavy thud, the broken sword in his hand crumbling completely into dust.

The duration of the Energy Berserk had passed, and an endless sense of weakness surged over him like a tide.

But he smiled.

He raised his head, looked at the sky stained red, and laughed aloud.

"Father! Mother! I have... avenged the first of you!"

His laughter was filled with boundless sorrow and grim satisfaction.

However, at that very moment, his laughter came to an abrupt halt.

He jerked his head up, staring toward the dense forest not far away.

There, appearing out of nowhere, were three figures.

Leading them was none other than the White-robed Woman he had encountered in the mountain stream three days ago.

Behind her veil, she was watching him quietly with those eyes as cold and clear as water.

It was as if she had been watching him for a long time.