The sounds of fighting in the hall had long since alerted the people of the Zhou Mansion.

Many guards and servants heard the commotion and rushed over. They gathered outside the hall, and when they saw the Second Master fighting a Qingxuan Sect disciple—and clearly losing—they all turned pale as ghosts, unsure of what to do.

"What are you all standing around for?! Attack this brat together! There will be a great reward for whoever kills him!"

Seeing this, Zhou Tong roared, trying to drive his men to swarm Fang Han and create chaos so he could escape.

However, the formidable reputation of the Qingxuan Sect, combined with the terrifying power Fang Han had displayed, made most of the guards hesitate, their faces filled with fear.

’Assassinate a Qingxuan Sect disciple? That’s a disaster that could get our whole family annihilated! The reward is nice, but you have to be alive to spend it!’

Only three or four men, clearly Zhou Tong’s loyal bodyguards, exchanged a look, clenched their jaws, drew their weapons, and charged Fang Han from the sides and rear with a yell.

"You’re courting death!"

Fang Han’s eyes turned cold. Faced with the pincer attack, he remained completely composed.

The subtlety of his Wind Shadow Step was on full display. His figure moved like a butterfly flitting through flowers, weaving and dodging within a tiny space. The bodyguards’ attacks all missed; they couldn’t even touch the corner of his robes.

Meanwhile, his Cyan Blade Sword struck like a viper’s tongue. With each flash of the blade, one of them would clutch a sword wound in their throat and fall to the ground, dead.

In the blink of an eye, all the charging bodyguards had been executed. The remaining people outside the hall scattered like birds and beasts.

Seeing his last glimmer of hope extinguished, Zhou Tong felt his heart shatter with terror. He couldn’t care about anything else. He feinted with his saber, forcing Fang Han back slightly, then turned to smash through a window and escape!

"Trying to run? Too late!"

Fang Han had anticipated this move. How could he let him get away?

He pushed off the ground with his toes, his body shooting forward like an arrow loosed from a bow. His speed exploded, and in an instant, he was right behind Zhou Tong. The Cyan Blade Sword let out a sharp whistle as it pierced the air, aimed straight for the vital point on his back.

Hearing the wind whistle behind him, Zhou Tong felt his soul nearly leave his body. He desperately twisted around to block with his saber.

"CLANG!"

Another deafening crash!

Zhou Tong was already exhausted. How could his hasty defense block Fang Han’s fully charged strike? The broadsaber was knocked high into the air, leaving his guard wide open.

Fang Han flicked his wrist, and the blade swung horizontally, slashing heavily across Zhou Tong’s chest!

"PFFT!"

A gruesome wound appeared on Zhou Tong’s chest. His body flew backward like a kite with a snapped string, slammed hard against a hall pillar, and then slid limply to the floor.

His face was ashen and his aura was weak. He no longer had the strength to resist.

Fang Han retracted his sword and stood, his breathing slightly ragged but his eyes as sharp as ever.

He stepped forward slowly and rested his longsword against Zhou Tong’s neck, completely subduing the infamous village butcher.

"Stop!"

A roar like a clap of thunder came from outside the hall. The voice was infused with powerful Inner Qi, making one’s eardrums buzz.

Immediately after, several powerful auras approached rapidly. The man in the lead walked with the stride of a dragon and the gait of a tiger, entering the hall in an instant.

This man was about fifty years old and bore some resemblance to Zhou Tong, but he was far more dignified. With high brow bones, a straight nose, a square mouth, and a pair of tiger-like eyes that glinted with sharp light, he was naturally imposing. This was the Zhou Family Patriarch, Zhou Tianxiong.

Behind him, five more people surged in—three men and two women, some middle-aged and some elderly. Each had bulging temples and sharp eyes, and the Inner Qi fluctuations around them were intense. None of them were weak.

Zhou Tianxiong’s gaze was like lightning, instantly sweeping over the devastated hall before finally landing on the blood-soaked, battered figure of Zhou Tong. His face immediately turned ashen, and rage nearly erupted from his eyes.

He whipped his head around to stare death at the sword-wielding Fang Han.

But when his eyes fell upon the conspicuous Qingxuan Sect Disciple’s Robe Fang Han was wearing, he forcibly suppressed the urge to attack, squeezing a cold voice from between his teeth.

"Your Excellency from the Qingxuan Sect, why have you come to my Zhou Mansion to commit violence and grievously injure my second brother?!"

His voice was low, yet it carried a heavy pressure, like the calm before a storm.

The other five Zhou Family Elders also had grim expressions. They faintly formed an encirclement, sealing off all of Fang Han’s escape routes. The atmosphere grew taut with tension in an instant.

Facing an encirclement of nearly all the Zhou Family’s experts, Fang Han’s expression was as placid as water; he felt little turmoil in his heart.

’Before coming here, I already used the Sect’s intelligence to understand the Zhou Family’s strength. I know that while the family has several Seventh Grade Martial Artists, there are no Sixth Grade Martial Artists among them.’

’As long as there are no experts from the Middle Three Grades, with my current strength, even if I can’t win, escaping shouldn’t be difficult with my Wind Shadow Step at the Great Success Level.’

"Qingxuan Sect disciple, Fang Han."

His voice was calm, yet it reached everyone’s ears clearly.

"I am here to investigate the case of the one hundred and eighty-three murdered villagers of Huangshi Village, as well as the murder of five disciples from my Qingxuan Sect."

His gaze, sharp as a sword, stabbed toward Zhou Tianxiong.

"As for why I have grievously injured Zhou Tong... it is because he is the culprit behind this monstrous crime!"

"Nonsense!"

Before Zhou Tianxiong could speak, a gaunt-faced Elder with sinister eyes standing behind him shouted sharply.

"Elder Zhou Tong is a pillar of our Zhou Family! How could he commit such a heartless act? Don’t you dare slander him, boy!"

Another slightly plump Elder also sneered.

"You wet-behind-the-ears brat, spouting nonsense! Do you have any proof?"

Zhou Tianxiong raised a hand, silencing the Elders’ rebukes. He stared intently at Fang Han, a flash of astonishment flickering deep in his eyes, but his face maintained the Patriarch’s dignity and anger.

"Young Hero Fang, you can’t make such wild accusations. My second brother has always been a law-abiding man. There must be a misunderstanding."

"If you can’t produce concrete evidence, then even if you are a high-ranking disciple of the Qingxuan Sect, you will still have to give me an explanation for injuring a member of my Zhou Family without cause today!"

A cold arc formed at the corner of Fang Han’s mouth.

"Evidence? When Zhou Tong massacred the village, he used a special Concealing Breath Powder to hide his aura, thinking his plan was flawless."

"Unfortunately for him, he couldn’t escape the perception of my Spirit Nose Technique, which has reached the Mastery level. But more importantly..."

His gaze shifted to the pale-faced, shifty-eyed Zhou Tong, and his voice suddenly rose.

"He just confessed to it himself!"

In an instant, everyone’s eyes focused on Zhou Tong.

Zhou Tong’s body trembled violently. Under the intense stares of his brother and the Elders, his lips quivered, wanting to offer a defense.

But faced with the ironclad facts and Fang Han’s all-seeing gaze, he finally lowered his head in defeat, avoiding Zhou Tianxiong’s eyes. It was a tacit admission.

"Second Brother! You...!"

Zhou Tianxiong looked as if he’d been struck by lightning. He staggered back half a step, his face filled with extreme shock, heartache, and disbelief.

He never would have imagined that his second brother—the one with the most hope in the family of breaking through to the Sixth Grade and bringing glory to their name—had actually done something so insane and foolish.

The other five Elders also stared at each other, their faces filled with horror and disbelief.

A deathly silence fell over the hall.

Massacring a village was already a heinous crime. Killing Qingxuan Sect disciples was tantamount to challenging the authority of the Qingxuan Sect itself. Once confirmed, the Zhou Family would face annihilation! 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Zhou Tianxiong’s chest heaved, his eyes shifting uncertainly. Shock, anger, conflict, calculation... all these emotions finally coalesced into a single, resolute decision.

He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the turmoil in his heart. When he looked at Fang Han again, his gaze had become deep and inscrutable.

"Young Hero Fang..."

Zhou Tianxiong’s voice grew low, carrying a subtle hint of compromise and suggestion.

"This matter... perhaps there’s more to it. Zhou Tong is a pillar of my Zhou Family, and what’s more... he works for True Inheritor Chu Feng of the Celestial Pride List."

"Could I ask Young Hero Fang to be lenient, for True Inheritor Chu’s sake? The Zhou Family will offer a generous reward, one that is sure to satisfy you!"

He deliberately emphasized the words "True Inheritor Chu Feng," his eyes fixed on Fang Han, trying to find a trace of fear or concession on his face.

In his view, Chu Feng was on the Celestial Pride List and held immense power within the Qingxuan Sect. His name alone should be enough to intimidate most ordinary disciples, and even other True Disciples.

Hearing this, Fang Han was stunned for a moment, then a faint look of surprise and mockery flashed in his eyes.

’Chu Feng?’

’What a coincidence.’

’Chu Feng has been suppressing me at every turn. He even pulled strings to force this difficult assignment on me, a task that should have been handled by a Steward of the Law Enforcement Hall. But I bet he never imagined that the perpetrator would be one of his own subordinates.’

’Isn’t this like being hit by his own boomerang?’

’Trying to use Chu Feng’s name to pressure me? He’s just hoisted by his own petard.’

He sneered inwardly, raised his head, and swept his gaze over Zhou Tianxiong and the other Zhou Family Elders with their varied expressions. His voice was firm and resolute, carrying an air of awe-inspiring righteousness.

"True Inheritor Chu Feng’s reputation? Sorry, but that doesn’t work on me!"

"The laws of the Qingxuan Sect are as immovable as a mountain! Harming Qingxuan Sect disciples and slaughtering innocents... can such crimes be overlooked just for the sake of someone’s reputation?"

He paused, his tone growing colder. He raised his Cyan Blade Sword again, its tip pointing to Zhou Tianxiong and the five Elders in turn.

"As the leaders of the Zhou Family, you cannot escape responsibility for Zhou Tong’s heinous crimes. And now you wish to shelter a criminal, compounding your guilt."

"Now, surrender at once and return with me to the Sect’s Law Enforcement Hall to be investigated. If you dare to resist, you will be killed without mercy!"

The expressions of Zhou Tianxiong and the others changed drastically!

They hadn’t expected that bringing up Chu Feng’s name would not only be useless but would actually seem to infuriate him. And now, he wanted to take them all down.

"Patriarch! He’s looking for a fight to the death!"

the sinister Elder shrieked.

"Boy, don’t push your luck!"

the plump Elder also roared angrily.

Zhou Tianxiong’s gaze turned completely dark. He stared at Fang Han, and from the cold, unwavering determination in his eyes, he read absolute resolve.

He also had a faint guess—’This man must have a feud with True Inheritor Chu Feng!’

’There’s no peaceful way out of this today!’

’And if there’s no peaceful way out, then all that’s left is... a fight to the death!’

The last trace of hesitation in Zhou Tianxiong’s eyes was replaced by sheer ruthlessness.

The Zhou Family hadn’t established its footing in Yellow Leaf City by constantly backing down.

If they really let this disciple take Zhou Tong and the rest of them back to the Qingxuan Sect, the Zhou Family would be annihilated in an instant.

Conversely, if they could make this disciple disappear here forever and find a way to cover their tracks, there might still be a chance of survival!

’After all, we still have our connection to True Inheritor Chu Feng!’

"Attack! Take him down!"

Without any further hesitation, Zhou Tianxiong let out a thunderous roar and was the first to strike.

His body shot forward like a tiger springing from its cage. His palms instantly turned fiery red, generating a scorching, ferocious Palm Wind that shot straight for Fang Han’s face.

It was his signature technique, the Red Flame Palm!

At the same time, as if telepathically linked, the five Zhou Family Elders also attacked!

An Elder at the Early Stage of Seventh Grade wielded a saber, its light flashing like a bolt of silk as it swept toward Fang Han’s lower body.

The four Eighth Grade Elders took positions on four sides, their swords and sabers striking out to seal Fang Han’s escape routes. Their intertwining Qi Force formed a deadly net!

The six of them attacked in unison, their combined assault like a torrential storm, instantly overwhelming Fang Han.