Shengyuan City.

The Fu Family.

"Kill!"

A massacre was unfolding under the cover of night.

Over a dozen black-clothed, masked individuals had stormed the Fu Family estate, embarking on a killing spree. The servants and Nursing Home guards fell one after another.

"Who in the world are you?"

Fu Zheng, Patriarch of the Fu Family, roared in fury.

"Why?"

"Patriarch Fu, why pretend you don’t understand?" a Black-Clothed Man said as he killed a Nursing Home guard with a palm strike and slowly walked forward.

"Over a hundred years ago, the Unparalleled Grandmaster Fu Xuan, in his quest to step into the legendary Celestial Human Realm, threw the entire Martial World into turmoil. After his death, his enemies came calling. To ensure its survival, the Fu Family pledged allegiance to the Court to gain its protection."

"However..."

"Some of your family members disliked the Court’s ways, and wanting to leave a way out, they secretly broke away from the main family and went into hiding."

"And thus, your branch, the Shengyuan Fu Family, was born!"

The color drained from Fu Zheng’s face.

It was true that the Shengyuan Fu Family was descended from the Unparalleled Grandmaster Fu Xuan of a century ago, but this matter was an absolute secret. Only three people in the entire Fu Family knew, and he could guarantee that none of them would ever leak it.

But now that these people had found their way to his doorstep, denial was pointless.

"How do you know that?"

"Heh..." The Black-Clothed Man gave a faint smile.

"There’s no such thing as an absolute secret in this world."

"So what if it’s true?" Fu Zheng gritted his teeth.

"What happened a hundred years ago has nothing to do with us. The Shengyuan Fu Family doesn’t have the Five Elements Fist inheritance."

"Don’t have it?" The Black-Clothed Man sneered, then flashed in front of Fu Zheng, striking at his face with an open palm.

His attack was swift and fierce; he was a Grandmaster Gui Cang.

PENG!

Fu Zheng raised a hand to block. The Palm Force he projected was mysterious and unpredictable. This benevolent-looking Master Fu was, shockingly, also a Grandmaster Gui Cang.

However, compared to his battle-hardened opponent, Fu Zheng, who had always lived a secluded life, was sorely lacking in practical combat experience.

After only a few exchanges, he found himself at a disadvantage.

"Heart Following Palm?"

The Black-Clothed Man raised an eyebrow.

"You really haven’t learned the Five Elements Fist?"

"That’s right." Fu Zheng gritted his teeth and parried, growling, "We don’t have what you’re looking for here. Can we just stop this? I swear I won’t seek revenge for today’s events."

"Hmph!" The Black-Clothed Man snorted.

"Besides the Five Elements Fist Scripture, Fu Xuan possessed another item. That is what we are truly after."

"What?" Fu Zheng’s face was a mask of confusion.

"What are you talking about?"

"That saber. The Demon Saber, as famous as Fu Xuan himself. And the thing that the two of them saw back then," the Black-Clothed Man hissed.

"Hand that thing over!"

"I don’t know what you’re talking about!" Fu Zheng roared.

"Whatever it is you want, we don’t have it! My ancestor came here only to preserve a trace of our bloodline!"

"Is that so?" The Black-Clothed Man’s attacks suddenly intensified. He smashed through Fu Zheng’s guard and landed a palm strike directly on his chest.

PUH!

Fu Zheng went flying backward, coughing up blood.

"Since you don’t have it..." The Black-Clothed Man stretched out his hand, his Qi Blood flaring out to wrap around a nearby sword.

"...then there’s even less reason to let you live!"

"Big Brother!"

One of the men on the field shouted.

"That little brat was forced to reveal a move from the Earth Element Fist just now. The Shengyuan Fu Family must have the Five Elements Fist Scripture’s inheritance."

"If we can’t find what our superiors sent us for, getting our hands on the Five Elements Fist Scripture will at least ensure this trip wasn’t a complete waste."

The Five Elements Fist Scripture!

The world’s number one Wonderful Dharma!

Even though they were assassins, they were ultimately martial artists. How could they not be tempted by such a legendary Method?

"Oh!"

A glint appeared in the Black-Clothed Man’s eyes. He gave a sharp wave of his hand.

"Bring the living ones over here!"

"Yes, sir!"

「A short while later.」

The few remaining members of the Shengyuan Fu Family were dragged into the backyard, their hands tied, and forced to kneel on the ground.

After the brutal fighting, both sides had sustained casualties. Most of the survivors were children who had no way to fight back. With swords held to their throats, terror surged through their hearts.

"Dad!"

"I don’t want to die! I don’t want to die!"

"Sob..."

Several children knelt on the ground, weeping loudly.

"Quiet!"

Fu Zheng roared.

"As members of the Fu Family, you should live with integrity and die without fear or regret! Do not disgrace the Fu Family!"

Years of his ingrained authority made the children instinctively suppress their cries, though their bodies still trembled from fear.

CLAP! CLAP!

The Black-Clothed Man clapped his hands lightly, his voice filled with emotion.

"Truly worthy of a patriarch, concerned with your ancestors’ reputation even at death’s door. But... the children are so innocent, aren’t they?"

"Patriarch Fu, they should all have wonderful lives ahead of them. I can let them go with a single word from you. Can you really bear to watch your own children die?"

Seeing that Fu Zheng remained unmoved, the leader’s eyes filled with disdain, and he waved a hand behind him.

"Zhao Er!"

"Sir!"

A man answered the call, slowly raising the long saber in his hand and aiming it at the neck of a kneeling child.

"Don’t you worry, kiddo."

Zhao Er let out a low laugh.

"My blade is lightning fast. You won’t feel any pain. One blink, and you’ll be in the Underworld."

"You, with the surname Fu!"

He roared loudly.

"Hand over the complete Five Elements Fist Scripture, or this kid’s head is coming off!"

"I’m counting to three!"

"Three!"

His hand tightened around his saber.

"Two!"

A vicious glint appeared in Zhao Er’s eyes.

"One!"

Fu Zheng clenched his Silver Fang and shut his eyes tightly, actually planning to disregard his own child’s life.

"Fine!"

"Fu! Remember, you’re the one who killed this kid!"

Zhao Er’s eyes went wide as he brought the saber down in a chop.

SWISH!

TING...

A pebble shot out from the darkness, striking the blade head-on. The immense force sent Zhao Er staggering backward, his saber hand now bloody from the powerful impact.

"You won’t even spare children? Are you no better than beasts?"

Zhu Ju’s figure closed in rapidly, his violent Qi Blood erupting into an Invisible Gang Force that swept across the entire courtyard.

PENG!

BAM! BAM...

Figures flickered as swords and sabers slashed toward him.

"Hmph!"

Zhu Ju grunted, channeling his Thirteen Body Refinement to its maximum. An incomparably ferocious Strength erupted from his body.

CLANG...

SHATTER...

The swords and sabers that struck him all broke into pieces.

"Die!"

Mixed Element Iron Hand—Iron Tree Silver Flower!

The air filled with a torrent of palm shadows. Figures were sent flying one after another, and even the Gui Cang expert was no exception.

Zhu Ju was no match for a Limit-Breaking Grandmaster, but in the Gui Cang Realm, there were few in this world stronger than him.

His indestructible Physical Body, combined with his Protective Armor, allowed him to ignore any incoming attack and strike back with impunity.

"Aaargh!"

At that moment, Fu Zheng came to his senses. With a furious roar, he grabbed a saber and charged, madly hacking at the fallen Black-Clothed Men.

「After a long moment.」

"Patriarch Fu!"

Zhu Ju restrained the crazed Fu Zheng and said slowly, "It’s over."

"..." Fu Zheng’s eyes were bloodshot and his body was trembling. As his gaze swept over the corpses on the ground, the strength suddenly abandoned him, and he collapsed powerlessly to his knees.

"Dad!"

"Daddy..." 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

The surviving boys and girls cautiously drew near, and the family embraced, weeping bitterly.

Zhu Ju shook his head and slowly took two steps back.

From the way things had looked, if he had made his move a moment later, Fu Zheng’s mind might have collapsed. He might even have been forced to give up the Five Elements Fist Scripture.

What a pity...

’In the end, I’m still too soft-hearted.’

"Young Hero!" After composing himself, Fu Zheng knelt on the ground, holding his children’s hands.

"Thank you, Young Hero, for saving our lives..."

"Patriarch Fu, there is no need for this." Zhu Ju rushed forward to help him up.

"I only learned of this by a fortunate coincidence. It’s a shame I was still a step too late and couldn’t stop these people’s evil acts."

"Patriarch Fu, do you know where they came from?"

"I do not." Fu Zheng shook his head, his voice low.

"Although I practice Martial Arts, I have obeyed my ancestor’s decree to never associate with people from the Martial World, nor have I ever revealed my skills to outsiders..."

"I have yet to ask for this young hero’s great name?"

"You flatter me." Zhu Ju cupped his fists.

"I am Zhu Ju, a cloth merchant from Yue City."

"Zhu Ju? Chairman Zhu?" Fu Zheng started, looking Zhu Ju up and down before giving a wry smile.

"It’s really..."

"I’ve long heard of your great name!"

He was a merchant himself; how could he not have heard of Zhu Ju, the most famous Association Leader in Haizhou for the past two years?

But he had never imagined that the man would be so young, let alone possess such formidable Martial Arts Cultivation.

The peak of the Gui Cang Realm!

Even his ancestor, Fu Xuan, was likely not his equal at this age.

"Patriarch Fu," Zhu Ju began.

"This place is no longer safe. What do you plan to do now?"

"My plans..." Fu Zheng looked at the children beside him and sighed.

"Since our location has been exposed, we might as well seek refuge with the main branch of the family in the Capital City. But before that, we need to find a safe place to lay low."

"I have a very close friend, the Temple Master of Yanyun Temple. He has some renown in the Martial World, so we can seek temporary shelter and protection there."

"That sounds excellent." Zhu Ju nodded.

"I am also acquainted with Grandmaster Fu of the Flower Fist. How about I write a letter and ask the Capital City’s Fu Family to send someone to help?"

"That would be good," Fu Zheng said.

"Then I will have to trouble Chairman Zhu."

"It’s what I should do." Zhu Ju waved his hand, his gaze shifting to the corpses on the ground. His eyes flickered.

"This group of assassins... they’re probably not from the Martial World."

Ordinary people from the Martial World would retreat when they saw a situation was hopeless; very few would fight to the death without backing down.

But these people not only fought to the death, but they also immediately took poison hidden in their mouths to kill themselves when they knew they were beaten.

Death warriors?

What power could raise so many death warriors?

And even a Grandmaster Gui Cang among them!

"Yes."

Fu Zheng nodded in agreement.

"Though they were assassins, they were disciplined and followed orders without question, somewhat like men from the Military."

The military?

The Court!

Zhu Ju’s pupils constricted.