At Wu Nanxun’s command, the two middle-aged men behind him answered in unison, “Yes, Young Master!” with a serious look in their eyes.
They sprang into action together.
Swoosh! Swoosh!
As level-five adepts of Qi-gathering of the grand Wu family, they both practiced the lesser-grade swiftness technique of the Wu family, and they moved lightly and fluidly like shadows.
Ching! Ching!
When they had advanced halfway, they drew the swords sheathed at their waists almost simultaneously and charged towards Zhou Donghuang with their swords raised, the keen edges of their swords gleaming coldly.
In the country of Yunyang, there were differences between the lesser-grade offensive techniques.
For example, sword techniques and other weapon techniques, compared to fist techniques and palm techniques, were far more valuable.
Preeminent families could petition the royal family for the latter. However, only grand families could petition the royal family for the former.
The great majority of preeminent families in Yunfeng prefecture, including the governing Zhao family, did not have any lesser-grade offensive techniques that utilized weapons.
Of course, between offensive techniques of the same level, those that utilized weapons were naturally much more powerful than other kinds of offensive techniques.
If not, why would some adepts spend so much effort in obtaining a weapon that suited them best?
Swoosh!!
Faced with the ferocious advance of the two level-five adepts, Zhou Donghuang used the Star-Stepping Footwork and met them calmly.
Huff! Huff!
Zhou Donghuang’s hands became claws, demonstrating the third-grade technique Stonebreaking Fingers for the first time in a long while. His ten clawed fingers became hard as stone, grabbing for the swords of the two men on his left and right.
Because the two men were using all their strength, they were not able to draw their swords back from Zhou Donghuang’s grip.
That morning, Zhou Donghuang’s level of practice had advanced to level-five of Qi-gathering, and with only his qi, he was able to exert the strength of five bulls…
Together with his maximum muscular strength, his total strength exceeded that of an ordinary level-six adept of Qi-gathering.
With his current strength, and demonstrating a third-grade technique, he could easily defeat any level-five adept in the country of Yunyang.
“Let go!”
As Zhou Donghuang commanded casually, he jerked his arms violently, splitting the two men’s hands between their thumb and index finger. Blood spurted out, and he wrested the swords from their hands.
Swoosh!!
With a sword in each hand, Zhou Donghuang sped up his steps, moving like lightning through the space between the two men.
Pu-chi! Pu-chi!
Zhou Donghuang gripped the handles of the two swords and swept them across the throats of the two men, making a gentle sound as their throats spurted blood like a fountain.
“Ahhhhhhh!!Ahhh!!”
“Hak~~Hakk hakk~~”
The two middle-aged men frantically grabbed at their throats in an attempt to stop the flow of blood, but it was useless, and they soon fell in a pool of their own blood with a thud.
Ching! Ching!
The two swords fell to the ground, their handles covered in blood, completely startling the gathered crowd.
It had all happened in the blink of an eye, too fast for anyone in the crowd to comprehend just how fast Zhou Donghuang had been.
As they came to their senses with a start, they saw the two men from the governing Wu family of Guangling prefecture lying in a pool of their own blood, completely lifeless.
And Zhou Donghuang was somehow already standing close to Wu Nanxun and Li Caiyun.
Zhou Donghuang stood straight with his hands clasped behind his back, his white robe fluttering in the wind, with not a single drop of blood on him, his robe white as snow and without a speck of dust.
If they had not witnessed it with their own eyes, no one would have dared to believe that this was the work of Zhou Donghuang. Looking at him, it seemed as if he had strolled over not just slaughtered three men.
“Those two men… are they really level-five adepts?”
“If they really are level-five adepts… then isn’t this Zhou Donghuang truly fearsome?”
The gathered crowd looked once more at Zhou Donghuang with shock and dread.
Just a moment ago, they were still thinking that Zhou Donghuang was probably no match for the two men, but in the blink of an eye, Zhou Donghuang had killed them in just one exchange.
“It’s a pity… you didn’t treasure the chance I gave you.”
Zhou Donghuang looked at Wu Nanxun with a casual smile.
Now, Wu Nanxun looked again at Zhou Donghuang with an expression full of dread as though he had seen a ghost.
No one present knew better than him just how powerful the two middle-aged men with him had been.
Those two men were somewhere in the middle in terms of ability among the more than twenty level-five adepts of the Wu family.
But two such people attacking together had been killed by Zhou Donghuang instead. Moreover, they had been killed in a single exchange.
This Zhou Donghuang, even if he is not a level-six adept, he is at least at the peak of level-five!
Wu Nanxun’s heart trembled. Was this really a youth who was only seventeen years old?
Not just in Yunyang country, but even above Yunyang country, in the Valley of Medicine Masters, there was probably no one so monstrous.
“Zhou… Zhou Donghuang, I… I am the first young master of the governing Wu family of Guangling prefecture, if you dare touch me, the Wu family will not let you off!”
Wu Nanxun took a deep breath and tried to threaten Zhou Donghuang with the might of the grand Wu family to intimidate Zhou Donghuang against harming him.
“If I was afraid of your Wu family… do you think I would have killed those people from the Wu family?”
Zhou Donghuang smiled brilliantly.
When Wu Nanxun heard this, his expression changed completely, and he looked at Li Caiyun beside him, who was staring wide-eyed in shock.
“It’s all because of this slut that I am in this situation!”
Wu Nanxun’s gaze turned icy, and his hand shot out like lightning and snapped Li Caiyun’s neck with a crack as though he were plucking a flower ruthlessly.
As Li Caiyun’s corpse fell to the ground, Wu Nanxun looked again at Zhou Donghuang without a trace of his former arrogance and said humbly, “Young Master Donghuang, this was all started by this woman… I, Wu Nanxun, have no reason to be enemies with you.”
Now, Wu Nanxun wished only to use Li Caiyun’s death to ensure his safety.
Circumstances dictated people’s actions.
Although he had the grand Wu family behind him, they were far away in Guangling prefecture, and a distant lake would not help put out a nearby fire.
Now, he could only save himself.
If only he could remain alive, he would return with his elders who were level-six adepts of Qi-gathering once he got back to the Wu family!
“Too late.”
Seeing Wu Nanxun kill his own woman without compunction, a look of disgust flashed across the depths of Zhou Donghuang’s eyes. He stepped in front of Wu Nanxun and struck out with his palm at Wu Nanxun’s chest.
Zhou Donghuang’s speed was too great, and Wu Nanxun only reacted after the blow landed, his expression changing.
In the blink of an eye, Wu Nanxun felt no pain, but could not help being startled.
He noticed that Zhou Donghuang’s blow did not contain much force and actually seemed to land lightly on his chest.
“Meridian Destroying Palm!”
Just when Wu Nanxun was beginning to feel puzzled, Zhou Donghuang’s palm that had landed snugly on his chest shook violently, and a strange force rolled out, completely destroying all the meridians in Wu Nanxun’s body.
Meridian Destroying Palm was a lesser-grade technique, and was useless in a fight, although it could be used to destroy an opponent’s meridians under certain conditions.
“You… you… you destroyed my meridians?!”
Wu Nanxun realized immediately that the meridians in his body had been destroyed, and his expression changed and he gaped wide-eyed at Zhou Donghuang before gasping for breath and collapsing on the ground.
On the planet of Ziyun where only the strong earned respect, having his meridians destroyed was a fate worse than death for an adept.
A deathly silence descended on the scene after Wu Nanxun collapsed on the ground.
Not only the gathered crowd but also Lu Bao and the other Lu family members were trembling in fear as they looked at the youth dressed in white standing nearby.
The youth had struck fast, accurately and ruthlessly, without seeming to consider the consequences.
“Young Master Donghuang’s ability… could he have already attained level-six of Qi-gathering? Even if he has, isn’t he afraid of the governing Wu family of Guangling prefecture?”
“That Wu family is a grand family that has may level-six adepts…”
Remembering that his older brother Lu Qinghu had told him that Zhou Donghuang was not afraid of the Wu family, Lu Bao’s eyes flashed.
Unless he has enough ability to stand up to all the Wu family’s level-six adepts!
At this, Lu Bao could not help thinking about the first time he had seen Zhou Donghuang. That was in the Lu family mansion, and Zhou Donghuang had single-handedly made a clean sweep of the seven strongest level-three adepts of the three elite lesser families with his spear, like a god that had come down to earth.
With this thought, Lu Bao drew in a breath of cold air, and when he looked back at the youth in white, there was only respect in his eyes.
“Granny Lian, find a storeroom in the Magnolia Guild to accommodate them temporarily… If they dare try to escape, just kill them!” Zhou Donghuang instructed Granny Lian.
Zhou Donghuang swept an indifferent gaze over the unconscious Wu Nanxun before looking at the two drivers who had long ago been scared stiff.
“Yes, Young Master.”
Now, Zhou Donghuang’s word was law to Granny Lian, and she acknowledged him hurriedly.
Although Lin Lan felt that imprisoning the members of a grand family was unwise, this was what her son Zhou Donghuang requested, and she did not pursue the matter.
Now, she had unconditional trust in her son, even if her son poked a hole in the sky, she would not say anything about it.
Because she knew that her son knew his own limits.
“Mother, I’m going out for a stroll… after so long in the prefecture capital, I still have not taken in the sights.”
Under the gaze of the crowd, Zhou Donghuang greeted Lin Lan with a slight smile and walked out like nothing had happened.
Although the crowd was large, they hurriedly made a path for him when they saw him about to leave.
It was not until Zhou Donghuang had disappeared from view at the end of the road that the crowd at the main entrance of the Magnolia Guild came to their senses one by one.
On March 27, 1228 of the Ziyun era, at the main entrance of the Magnolia Guild, Zhou Donghuang killed Li Jingyu, the patriarch of the preeminent Li family, followed by the two level-five adepts of Qi-gathering from the governing Wu family of Guangling prefecture. Then he proceeded to destroy the meridians of the first young master of the Wu family, Wu Nanxun.
The news spread, and the whole prefecture capital was shaken once again!
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