Iron Garb Slain Again

Whenever Zhu Chengzong returned from the Radiant Extreme Sect, it was like coming home in glory.

This time, he had returned in the same grand fashion, but his home was gone.

Inside Zhu Family Manor, his father's and eldest brother's corpses had already begun to rot, and their heads were nowhere to be found.

They had probably been tossed into the sea like trash.

A former retainer of the Zhu Family knelt before Zhu Chengzong and nervously recounted everything that had happened.

The retainer had originally been a martial artist from Lone Mountain City. When the Zhu Family collapsed, he had fled. Only after sensing that the heat had died down over the past few days had he returned.

But he had not expected Zhu Chengzong to return as well and capture him immediately.

After hearing it all, Zhu Chengzong bared his teeth, unsure whether he should laugh or cry.

Unlike the rest of the Zhu Family, after joining a top sect like the Radiant Extreme Sect, he had seen the world.

They had sought to marry a woman. When the other side refused, they wiped out her family, yet failed to eradicate the roots, which led to their own family's destruction.

What was that?

A joke!

And though the corpses had decayed, it was still obvious at a glance that his eldest and third brothers had died by killing each other.

The destruction of the entire Zhu Family had been nothing but a joke.

Zhu Chengzong took a deep breath and asked in a low voice, "Did you see what the culprit who destroyed my Zhu Family looked like?"

The Zhu Family retainer trembled as he said, "I did, more or less. But it was nighttime, and he was wearing a conical hat, so I could not see clearly. I could only make out half his face."

"Describe him. Have an artist draw him."

Zhu Chengzong summoned an artist and had the retainer describe the man, making constant revisions.

After more than a dozen alterations, the portrait finally bore an eighty-percent resemblance to Chen Yuan, though it showed only half of the face beneath the conical hat.

The retainer nodded repeatedly. "That's him!"

Zhu Chengzong nodded and abruptly pressed a finger against the retainer's crown.

True qi pierced through him. In an instant, a bloody hole appeared, and red-and-white pulp trickled out.

The other disciples of the Radiant Extreme Sect nearby did not feel that Zhu Chengzong had done anything wrong.

This man had once been a retainer of the Zhu Family, yet when the family faced disaster, he had fled in panic. He was a textbook traitor to his master.

What use was a disobedient dog?

His senior brother sighed. "Junior Brother Zhu, my condolences. How about we head to the Murong Clan first? You can stay in Lone Mountain City to handle your family's funeral arrangements."

Zhu Chengzong shook his head and said solemnly, "Senior Brother, give me one day. Once I have buried my family, we will set out for the Murong Clan.

"The sect's mission is still at hand. How can I be absent because of personal matters?"

His senior brother nodded, looking at Zhu Chengzong approvingly.

With his family annihilated, anyone else would surely have been heartbroken and emotionally shattered.

Yet Zhu Chengzong kept his emotions contained, revealing neither joy nor anger. His mind remained remarkably clear.

This trip to celebrate the birthday of the Murong Clan's patriarch in Dragon City was a sect mission. Those sent out were all outstanding disciples of the younger generation, meant to show their faces before the many people of the martial world.

Zhu Chengzong chose to hold a simple funeral rather than give up such an opportunity to make himself known. That was the wise choice.

Taking a deep breath, Zhu Chengzong stared fixedly at Chen Yuan in the portrait, as if he wanted to carve the image into his mind.

Ten days later, Chen Yuan rode south all the way to Northwatch Town at the border between Ningzhou and Youzhou.

This small town was an essential route from the Central Plains to Youzhou. Many merchants passed through it, making it quite prosperous.

There were still half a month left until the Demon-Sealing Conference. Since Demon-Sealing Valley had yet to open, Chen Yuan chose to rest here for the time being.

Chen Yuan also noticed that Northwatch Town was unusually crowded with people of the martial world. Most were martial artists from Youzhou and Ningzhou, and some had come in groups from small sects or families.

They were clearly here for the Demon-Sealing Conference and had arrived early to wait in Northwatch Town.

Northwatch Town was bustling beyond measure. Chen Yuan visited two restaurants in a row, only to find both completely full. After circling around twice more, he finally found one with an empty seat.

After sitting down, Chen Yuan ordered every signature dish the restaurant had.

He had been rushing along the road these past days, with no post stations in between where he could rest. Most of the time, he had endured on dry provisions.

Now that he could finally have a hot meal, he intended to satisfy his cravings.

"Sir, as you can see, there are simply too many people in the restaurant. The dishes may take a while to arrive. Please bear with us."

The waiter came over with a pitiful look and explained.

"No matter. Bring me a pot of tea first."

Chen Yuan drank tea as he waited for his food, listening in on martial-world gossip while he was at it.

Many people were discussing the Demon-Sealing Conference, but there was nothing particularly new.

The Demon-Sealing Conference was held once every ten years. Under normal circumstances, Demon-Sealing Valley was not open to outsiders, and the Three Demon-Sealing Clans never interacted with the outside world.

Thus, there was no way to learn any inside information before Demon-Sealing Valley opened.

Just then, a tall martial artist entered the restaurant, weather-beaten from travel.

He carried a long spear on his back, its spearhead wrapped in burlap.

The waiter hurried over and said with an apologetic smile, "Sir, there are no more seats in the restaurant. Please try another establishment."

There had been far too many martial artists arriving in Northwatch Town lately. They were either powerful independent cultivators or people with backgrounds in prominent families and sects. The restaurant could not afford to offend any of them, so everyone spoke with utmost care.

Otherwise, one wrong word could cost them their lives, and they would have nowhere to seek justice.

The man did not get angry. He merely smiled bitterly. "Brother, I haven't had a proper meal in days. If there's really no room, can you bring my food out? I'll squat on the ground and eat."

Naturally, the waiter could not agree. He scratched his head for a long while before saying, "How about this? I'll ask around and see whether anyone is willing to share a table."

"Yes, yes, yes. I'll have to trouble you, brother."

The waiter looked around the restaurant and saw that only Chen Yuan was sitting alone.

He approached and cautiously asked, "Sir, could you perhaps do us a favor? The guest who just arrived would like to share your table."

Chen Yuan nodded.

When traveling, helping others was also helping oneself.

Of course, the main reason was that the other man seemed good-tempered. Upon hearing there were no seats, he had not made things difficult for the waiter and had even offered to squat on the floor to eat.

Unlike some martial artists, whose abilities were not much to speak of but whose tempers were enormous.

The moment they heard there were no seats, they would curse at the waiter and demand that the owner come out. The owner would have to beg and plead before they could finally be sent away.

Chen Yuan had already seen several groups like that.

When the waiter went over and told him, the man was immediately overjoyed.

He walked over and cupped his hands toward Chen Yuan. "Many thanks, brother, for doing me this favor. This meal is on me."

As he spoke, he planted the long spear in his hand on the ground and leaned it against the wall.

Chen Yuan narrowed his eyes.

When the spear struck the ground, it produced a reverberating thud. Its weight was obvious.

From afar earlier, Chen Yuan had not gotten a close look at him. Only now did he carefully assess the man.

The martial artist looked somewhat older than Chen Yuan, around twenty-five or twenty-six. His face had a simple, honest appearance, while his rough, reddened skin showed that he had traveled outdoors year-round.

Chen Yuan could sense that the man's aura was steady and deep. At the very least, he was in the Qi Forging Realm.

Moreover, Chen Yuan could faintly sense an air of warfare and slaughter about him.

After merging with the Seven Kill Stele, Chen Yuan had become extremely sensitive to killing intent.

The man might have come from the army. Even if he was not part of the Great Xia Military, he had certainly killed no small number of people.

"No need to be so polite, brother. We are all people of the martial world. Helping others is helping ourselves."

The man shook his head. "My adoptive father said that when someone treats you well, you have to treat them twice as well.

"And when someone wants to harm you, you must strike back twice as hard and show no mercy.

"I have to pay for this meal, or I won't feel right about it."

As he spoke, he reached into his clothes to take out some money.

But after fumbling around for a while, his expression abruptly turned awkward.

"Damn it! I think my silver fell off while I was riding!"

Chen Yuan could tell that the man was not trying to mooch a meal. He was genuinely embarrassed.

"No matter. I'll treat you this time. When you have money, you can repay me double next time."

"Hehe, then I won't stand on ceremony."

The man smiled sheepishly. Just as he was about to introduce himself, a fierce gust suddenly whistled in from outside. A gray blur came hurtling toward them.

The martial artist had looked simple and honest moments ago, but now a savage look abruptly appeared on his face.

"Damn it all! These bastards just won't quit!"

With a sweep of his palm-sized hand, he slammed a gray spinning wheel that had flown toward their table onto the ground.

Chen Yuan looked closely. Wasn't that an Iron Conical Hat from the Iron Garb Sect?

Outside the restaurant, four Qi Forging Realm martial artists from the Iron Garb Sect charged in menacingly.

"You killed members of the Iron Garb Sect and still think you can leave? It won't be that easy!"

The four men stared coldly at the martial artist, but then their gazes shifted toward Chen Yuan, and killing intent instantly burst from their eyes.

"It's you! You were the one who killed eight disciples of the Iron Garb Sect at Yellow Dragon Post!"

Chen Yuan was not surprised in the slightest that they recognized him.

Though he had killed everyone from the Iron Garb Sect in that battle at Yellow Dragon Post, plenty of people had witnessed it.

Someone might have run their mouth in hopes of claiming a reward from the Iron Garb Sect and described his appearance to them.

The simple-looking martial artist frowned. "Hey, hey, hey. I only killed five of your people. Since when did I kill eight of them at Yellow Dragon Post?

"I'll own up to the people I killed, but don't dump that crap on my head if I didn't do it!"

"They're talking about me."

Chen Yuan picked up Azure Dragon Blooddrinker and said calmly, "Fight outside. Don't hold up the owner's business."

The simple-looking martial artist immediately grinned. "Brother, we really are fated. Not only are we eating at the same table, we've both killed these iron lumps."

He grabbed his long spear, then turned and shouted to the waiter, "We're heading outside to kill these iron bastards. Keep serving the food as usual!"

Seeing that the two of them did not take them seriously at all, the four disciples of the Iron Garb Sect nearly exploded with rage.

"Seeking death!"

The four moved at once, about to charge into the restaurant.

But Chen Yuan and the simple-looking martial artist were faster.

With a tug of his spear, black light flashed as it came free, like a black dragon lunging forward.

Chen Yuan was even faster. Azure Dragon Blooddrinker left its sheath, and before the ringing of the blade had even fully reached the ears of the restaurant's patrons, that brilliant saber light had already swept before the four men of the Iron Garb Sect like a startling streak of lightning!