On such a hot day, I don't even have the energy to act cute; I can only lie under the electric fan hoping for some likes~
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Zhou Heng casually flung aside, and Zhao Si's body immediately collapsed to the ground, his face devoid of expression.
Zhao Si was just a mere servant, acting on orders; killing him wouldn't quell the hatred, the real instigator behind the scenes was the chief culprit!
Bang!
Just then, there was another noise at the courtyard entrance, but this time it wasn't pushed open, it was kicked open with a forceful kick as four youths entered—Zhou Kan and his three lackeys.
"Zhou Heng, come out here!" Zhou Kan yelled, "I know you just got back, don't think about hiding in the house playing dead. Now, your useless old man can't protect you!"
They're practically bringing death upon themselves!
Zhou Heng's eyes closed, and upon reopening them, he had made his decision.
He was going to cause a big scene!
The Great Elder indeed held absolute power in the Zhou Family, but there were four other Elders who had long been dissatisfied with Zhou Xianming's monopoly of authority. As long as these four saw a chance to overthrow Zhou Xianming, they would definitely not let it slip away!
Patted the Frost Cold Sword at his waist, Zhou Heng strode out of the house.
"Hahaha, what's the use of hiding from me for three months, you can't hide for a lifetime, can you?" Zhou Kan laughed, "Come over here, kneel down and lick my shoes!"
The three lackeys all snickered. Normally, they wouldn't dare to be so brazen, but now that Zhou Dinghai had become a cripple and Zhou Heng himself was a waste who couldn't cultivate, about to be expelled from the family records after the New Year, what was there to worry about?
"Zhou Kan, I'll give you a chance, sever your right hand, cut off that foul-tongue of yours, and I'll spare your life!" Zhou Heng said indifferently, all his rage transformed into a bone-chilling killing intent.
"Hahaha!" After a moment of stunned silence, Zhou Kan burst into loud laughter, "You, a waste who can't cultivate, can only use your mouth! Oh, right, I forgot to tell you, a month ago I broke through to the Body Refinement Seventh Layer, and now—I've reached the Bone Refinement Realm!"
"You waste, kneel and submit before my dazzling light, and I might let you be a dog by my side!"
Zhou Heng shook his head and said, "Since you're seeking death, you can't blame anyone else!"
"You three, didn't you hear what I said? I want this waste to lick my shoes!" Zhou Kan glanced at his three lackeys with a snort.
The three men quickly moved forward, pressing towards Zhou Heng without drawing weapons—was there a need to use weapons against a waste who couldn't cultivate?
They all let out a roar and lunged forward, like vicious dogs leaping at their prey.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Three heavy sounds echoed as the trio, like kites with broken strings, were simultaneously blown away, each slamming into the courtyard walls, creating hefty thuds. Two were knocked unconscious on the spot, while the third barely managed to climb up, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
"Eh!" Zhou Kan showed a look of disbelief; he had never expected such an outcome.
How could this waste's strength be so great?
Chilled to the core, he then took a fresh look at Zhou Heng, sensing the deep, vast aura emanating from him, which was not the slightest bit weaker than his own!
Bone Refinement Realm!
How is that possible!
Wasn't this guy an unteachable waste? Barely three months ago, he was the epitome of worthlessness, so how had he suddenly acquired strength that could rival his own?
"Zhou Heng, so what if you can cultivate now? Your old man is already a cripple, what can you possibly turn over?" Zhou Kan started to clamor again. An eighteen-year-old in the Bone Refinement Realm was indeed extraordinary, but the Zhou Family was not lacking for those in the Bone Refinement Realm!
Geniuses needed time and space to grow, but if they were nipped in the bud, what was the difference between a genius and a waste?
"The same words again, kneel and lick my shoes, and I might consider sparing your life!"
Zhou Heng's expression was cold. The Zhou Kans had blatantly come for his head; let them pay with their blood!
"Die!" He raised his sword horizontally, the humiliations suffered by his father accumulated in his heart, turning into endless resentment. He blamed himself; if it hadn't been for him, how would his father have ended up like this!
This intense guilt turned into boundless killing intent, and he longed to see the blood of his enemies.
He advanced step by step toward Zhou Kan, with killing intent as palpable as reality swirling around him, forming sword blades that, upon closer inspection, were identical to the Black Sword but in their complete form.
This killing intent harmonized with the Sky-soaring Nine Forms. Although the sword techniques had not been unleashed, it still produced an immense pressure that could cause the heart of someone with weaker cultivation to burst and die!
Zhou Kan could not help but retreat step by step; although he was also in the Bone Refinement Realm, under Zhou Heng's immense pressure he felt no will to resist, as if facing a high mountain or vast sea, how could he possibly contend?
Bang, he felt a weight behind him and realized he could retreat no further; unbeknownst to him, he had already backed up against the courtyard wall. Cold sweat streamed down his forehead, but he didn't even have the chance to wipe it away—it seemed that any slight movement of his hands could invite Zhou Heng's thunderous strike!
Such a feeling brought him unbearable humiliation!
No, he absolutely couldn't lose to a failure!
Zhou Kan finally let out a great roar, mustered a thread of fighting spirit, clanged, the long sword at his waist unsheathed, and he sprung forward to deliver a heavy slash towards Zhou Heng.
Bang!
No sooner had the sword been swung than Zhou Heng's body wobbled, astonishingly appearing right in front of him, with a fist rapidly enlarging in front of his face and heavily smashing onto it.
A bizarre pain struck, and Zhou Kan couldn't help but turn his head, spitting out a stream of fresh blood that mixed with several teeth. He stumbled back three steps in quick succession, crashing into the courtyard wall once more before coming to a halt.
He shakily wiped his mouth and, upon seeing Zhou Heng's murderous expression, suddenly realized Zhou Heng wasn't just threatening him, but truly intended to kill him!
Why!
How did this brat suddenly acquire such formidable strength?
He was Zhou Kan, ah, the Great Elder's sole grandson, who entered the Bone Refinement Realm before the age of eighteen, the Zhou Family's new pride. How could he lose to a failure!
"You wouldn't dare kill me! This is the Zhou Family, my dad is the Family Head, my grandpa is the Great Elder, if you kill me, you're making an enemy of the entire Zhou Family!" Zhou Kan yelled, as if clinging to the last straw.
"So what if I'm making an enemy of the Zhou Family?" Zhou Heng said indifferently, "Moreover, since when could you and your father and grandfather represent the Zhou Family!"
Swish, he thrust out with his sword.
"Bastard!" Zhou Kan roared, hastily parried with his sword, only to hear a "ding" as his long sword was immediately reduced to half its length, the Frost Cold Sword piercing through without hesitation, burying itself in his left shoulder.
"Ah—" He immediately screamed in agony; as Zhou Heng withdrew the long sword, a spurt of blood gushed from the wound on his shoulder.
Zhou Heng certainly didn't want him to die too easily!
How dare those three generations of his family treat his father so, to humiliate his father, a hero, for life, how could Zhou Heng not be furious?
"Zhou Heng, you dare! You dare!" Zhou Kan was truly afraid, having lost several teeth, his voice even sounded out of tune, and with a bloodied cavity on his shoulder, although he temporarily stemmed the flow of blood with his True Yuan Force, if he were to be stabbed a few more times...
"Knowing fear of death, very good!" Zhou Heng's lips curled into a cold smile, his right hand flicked, and the Frost Cold Sword stabbed out once more.
Puf!
Zhou Kan's counterattack seemed like child's play to him; the Frost Cold Sword pierced through unobstructed, thrusting into his left leg.
"Ah—" Zhou Kan screamed again, so loudly it seemed as though he would flip the roof over.
"Screaming so loudly, aren't you afraid of disturbing others? What kind of upbringing!" Zhou Heng snorted coldly, and a fist smashed into Zhou Kan's face.
Zhou Kan's scream abruptly halted, but then he began to spew blood violently, with even more broken teeth and blood ejecting; his screams not only did not cease but actually became louder.
"I told you, don't disturb others!" Zhou Heng threw out several punches in a row, and Zhou Kan's face quickly swelled up; by then, even Zhou Jianming, coming over, might not recognize that this pig-headed man was his son.
Crack!
A brick fell to the ground, and Zhou Heng turned to see that the only clear-headed lackey of Zhou Kan's three henchmen was continuously trembling, having knocked down a propped-up brick.
Upon receiving a glance from Zhou Heng, the man felt a chill running through his body and suddenly felt warmth in his groin—he had been so frightened that he wet himself.
—This madman dared to torture even Zhou Kan like this, let alone take one's own life with a single strike!
Zhou Heng turned back, thud thud thud, throwing several more punches, and Zhou Kan was now at death's door, withering into silence and no longer making any noise.
Clang, another loud noise was heard, and Zhou Heng turned back again, only to see Zhou Kan's lackey had awkwardly fled the courtyard, with a large door slamming heavily against the wall behind him. But before he could turn back, he found that shadow had returned.
Not just one, but two!
An extra man in his forties appeared, of average stature and extremely sullen expression, instantly recognizable as a person with deep schemes.
Zhou Jianming, Zhou Kan's father!
He had come over so quickly because, after waiting a long time without Zhao Si returning to report, he whimsically decided to come over and take the opportunity to mock this old rival who had suppressed him for decades, right in front of Zhou Dinghai.
Who would have thought that before he even reached the doorway, he encountered that panic-stricken fellow fleeing, and then this scene unfolded.
"Kan, Kan'er!" Zhou Jianming's gaze swept over to Zhou Kan; though he couldn't make out his son's features from that swollen face, father and son share a connection, and along with Zhou Kan's clothing, he still recognized him.
He had just sprung into action when a flash of sword light passed by, exceptionally sharp, stopping him in his tracks.
Zhou Jianming's eyes turned cold as he looked towards Zhou Heng, who stood holding the sword; his fists clenched tightly, producing a series of crackling sounds. He regained his composure and said, "Zhou Heng, you plot to harm a clansman, and the evidence is conclusive. As the Family Head, I hereby decree your expulsion from the family!"
"Is that so?" Zhou Heng said with a light smile, bending to lift Zhou Kan up, his face openly radiating killing intent.