Liu Yiqing observed the change in expression on the others and felt something was off. He noticed a dangerous yet familiar aura emanating from Yan Huo. However, for the moment, he couldn't pinpoint why he felt this way.
Chang Kuan, who had reached his current position, was no ordinary figure. He could immediately grasp the meaning behind Zhang He's words. "Understood, Old Zhang," he replied.
The tension grew as Chang Kuan arrogantly taunted, "Little brat, watch as your grandfather shows you a few moves."
Yan Huo sneered, "If you were my grandfather, my father wouldn't even exist, let alone me."
"Shut up! Take this!" Chang Kuan's fiery temper flared as he struck, even before he reached his opponent. His palm, infused with the venomous energy of the 'Bone Transformation Palm,' rushed toward Yan Huo.
A powerful force hit Yan Huo head-on, causing his clothes to rustle with the pressure, forcing Liu Yiqing to step back a pace. "Such formidable power!" he muttered under his breath.
Chang Kuan, who was already a swift and experienced fighter, leapt forward, his palms aimed at Yan Huo with the force of crushing stones, ready to shatter everything in his path.
However, Yan Huo did not retreat, nor did he make any effort to defend. He merely stood there, smiling. "You're asking for death. Even if you try to meet my attack with your power now, it's too late."
Liu Yiqing, seeing the ferocity of Chang Kuan's advance, grew anxious. Yan Huo stood there, motionless, smiling confidently. His calm demeanor made Liu Yiqing sweat with worry. If not for Yan Huo's composed expression, Liu Yiqing would have already panicked.
"Yan'er, you're not really planning to take two of his palms directly, are you?" Liu Yiqing shouted in alarm. Chang Kuan's attack was fast and deadly, yet Yan Huo made no move to avoid it.
But as Chang Kuan's palm drew closer, Yan Huo raised his right hand. Empty-handed, he transformed his stance in a blur. The hand became a sword, a single strike cutting through the air, then instantly back to empty-handed, swiftly dodging the blow.
Liu Yiqing could barely follow Yan Huo's movements. They were so fast that even when he was standing just behind Yan Huo, he couldn't track the action. All he saw was Yan Huo's hand slash through the air toward Chang Kuan, and then Yan Huo had already moved to the side.
"That brat is fast!" Chang Kuan cursed, having no idea when Yan Huo had moved behind him.
Liu Yiqing was equally amazed by the speed of Yan Huo's movements. If it had been him, there would have been no way to avoid such a close-range attack.
"You two!" Yan Huo suddenly pointed at Zhang He and Fu Chun outside. "Which one of you is coming up next?"
Zhang He replied with a sneer, "You should be worried about yourself. I thought you might be someone to fear, but you're just a madman." Fu Chun followed up with a mocking laugh.
As he spoke, Chang Kuan once again unleashed the 'Bone Transformation Palm' from behind Yan Huo.
Yan Huo turned around, glanced at Chang Kuan, and then coldly said, "Don't you think there's something wrong with you?"
"I… I don't… I don't feel anything..." Chang Kuan stammered, realizing something was wrong. His palm, still hovering near Yan Huo's chest, was frozen in place. A red line appeared on his forehead, extending down to his lower abdomen.
With a light tap from Yan Huo's finger on Chang Kuan's forehead, the red line split him into two halves. Both halves collapsed to the ground with a sickening sound.
"Ah!!!" The entire crowd was stunned into silence, unable to comprehend what they had just witnessed. The shock was beyond words.
"Black Wind!!!" Fu Chun suddenly screamed, looking up to the sky in panic.
"Shoot them all!" he ordered, his voice trembling.
Yan Huo's cold voice interrupted, "No need to shout. Your subordinates have already arrived ahead of you, and they've already reported to King Yan."
The 'King Yan' reference was chilling. Those were fifteen hundred highly skilled men, all armed with military crossbows. How could they have been silently killed in just a few moments without anyone noticing? They had just been using their crossbows to send heads over to the escort agency moments ago.
"You're lying to me!" Fu Chun screamed in panic.
"You're a cultivator, aren't you?" Zhang He finally pieced together the clues and asked, his suspicion growing.
"Hehe! I guess so," Yan Huo's response drained all the color from Zhang Ge and Fu Chun's faces. His words made them feel as if they had fallen into the depths of despair.
"Ah!" After hearing Yan Huo's answer, and thinking about his incredible strength, Fu Chun let out a terrified scream before leaping towards the side of the escort bureau as if he were verifying the fate of his subordinates.
"Your companion ran. Why aren't you running?" Yan Huo's cold, indifferent gaze appeared again as he asked coldly.
"Then why don't you chase him?" Zhang Ge asked, his face ashen.
"Because he can't escape," Yan Huo replied with a smile.
"That's right, so I won't run. I know you don't dare kill me," Zhang Ge said confidently.
"Why wouldn't I dare kill you?" Yan Huo sneered.
"Because all of your family members are in my hands. No matter how powerful you are, you can't save them from the blade," Zhang Ge's confident words made him break out in a cold sweat, but he still had some confidence, which was why he said such things.
"Oh! So you're relying on this." Yan Huo said, as a human head appeared in his hand out of thin air.
"Zhang Wufeng!!!" Zhang Ge exclaimed in shock.
"How did you kill him? How did you know about our ambush?"
"How did I know? Of course, it was your companion who told me. Guess who told me about this?" Yan Huo smiled as he asked.
"There were only five of us who knew the plan. Could it be..." Zhang Ge's mind raced in despair.
"You don't have to guess. Here are three heads for you!" Two more heads appeared in Yan Huo's hand.
When the three heads were tossed in front of Zhang Ge, he didn't even bother to look at them. He knew who the other two were.
"Don't… don't you fear the Four Lords of Longshan? We work for them. They are cultivators like you. If you fight them…" Zhang Ge now had only one last gamble to make.
"We can talk now. Let's compromise. You give us what we want, and I promise we will never trouble the Liu family again." Zhang Ge continued to struggle, hoping for some way out.
Without the items the Four Lords wanted, he couldn't go back to explain.
"Haha! If you had made this request a few days ago, I would have agreed, but now…" Yan Huo's face showed immense pain, as memories of the deaths at Dao Qing Temple, the massacre at the Escort Bureau, and Zhang Feng's dismembered body flooded his mind, an overwhelming wave of murderous intent surged within him.
"Now, if I don't kill every last one of you, I won't call myself Liu Yan Huo!" Yan Huo had made up his mind on the mountain. Regardless of what kind of cultivator they were or how high their cultivation was, he was determined to tear them apart.
"When I was on the mountain, in a moment of rage, I killed them all. But now, when I think about it, if I kill you all, who will lead me to see the Four Lords of Longshan? So, I've decided to leave one person alive to guide me. You didn't run, so it will be you. Aren't you glad? Hehe!" Yan Huo sneered as he looked at Zhang Ge like a hunter eyeing his prey.
Originally, when Li Dao begged for mercy and revealed all the plans, personnel, and secrets, Yan Huo had no intention of killing him. But when he found the dismembered bodies of Yang Lue and the other three, a surge of anger and murderous intent overcame him, and in the end, Li Dao met a gruesome death, being torn into pieces by Yan Huo.