"Kid, what are you spacing out for? Pay the toll to enter the town. One Strong Soul Crystal. If you’re broke, get lost."
The gatekeeping disciple suddenly barked at Ye Xuan.
Ye Xuan grinned, raising his hand and delivering a vicious slap right across the man’s face. The disciple was sent flying, spinning several times in the air before finally crashing to the ground.
Of course, this was already Ye Xuan showing mercy. Otherwise, a single slap from him could have completely shattered the disciple’s skull. He only spared the man because these people would soon be guarding the gates for *him*. There was no need to be too ruthless.
GASP.
Ye Xuan’s actions sent a shockwave through the Cultivators behind him.
"Who is this kid?"
"He actually dares to cause trouble in Wuzong Main Town! He must have a death wish."
Ye Xuan ignored the astonishment of the crowd behind him. After striking the gatekeeper, he declared coldly, "I, Ye Xuan, do not pay tolls."
With that, Ye Xuan strode right into the town. Not a single gatekeeper dared to stop him.
Finally, someone in the crowd recognized his face. "It’s Ye Xuan! That’s Ye Xuan! Hurry and report to the Town Mayor! Tell him Ye Xuan is here!"
Meanwhile, at the Town Mayor’s Mansion.
The Fourth Elder was having tea with Zhang Wuzong when he suddenly brought up Ye Xuan.
"Town Mayor, four days have passed, yet there’s not been a peep from that brat. Could we have been tricked? The message he had Niu Tong pass along might have been a mere stalling tactic. In reality, he probably used this time to flee with his clan!"
The Fourth Elder’s words caused Zhang Wuzong to frown. It had been four days, and the kid still hadn’t shown up. Escaping wasn’t entirely out of the realm of possibility.
Just as Zhang Wuzong was about to speak, a massive explosion erupted from the main gate. The very earth seemed to quake.
"Members of the Zhang family! Submit, or die!"
The mighty roar echoed throughout the entire Zhang family estate. Zhang Wuzong and the Fourth Elder narrowed their eyes. They knew the kid had finally arrived.
In a blur of motion, the two vanished from the courtyard.
Meanwhile, in the front courtyard.
The arrogant Ye Xuan was already surrounded by the Zhang family, forming an impenetrable wall of bodies. Yet, not a single member of the Zhang family dared to step forward and attack him. The reason was clear—a pile of corpses lay strewn at Ye Xuan’s feet. Anyone who had foolishly attempted to strike him down was already dead.
"Stand back! Let me handle this!"
An elderly man suddenly roared. Leaping down from the eaves, he swooped toward his target like a predatory eagle. Before he even landed, a massive hand formed purely of Spiritual Qi lunged down to crush Ye Xuan.
"Kid, you’re dead meat! That’s the Ninth Elder of our Zhang family, a master at the second level of the Super Spirit Realm!"
"Ninth Elder, kill him! Avenge our fallen clansmen!"
Hearing this, the Zhang family members surrounding Ye Xuan finally relaxed a fraction. In their eyes, Ye Xuan was already a dead man.
Ye Xuan merely shook his head. Facing the elder’s attack, he made no move to defend himself.
"Heh, this brat is so terrified he can’t even dodge."
"The Ninth Elder’s attack is awe-inspiring! How could a little... a little..."
The Zhang family member had initially been wearing a contemptuous sneer, but the next moment, his jaw dropped in absolute disbelief. The Ninth Elder’s attack had vanished like a stone tossed into the ocean, failing to stir up even the slightest ripple.
The boy remained standing exactly where he was. Steadfast as a mountain, his gaze fierce as a dragon.
"Is that it?" Ye Xuan sounded disappointed.
The Ninth Elder was only at the first level of the Super Spirit Realm—a level of cultivation that couldn’t inflict the slightest harm on him. With those words, Ye Xuan finally made his move.
Golden light erupted from his body as a towering battle intent surged forth, sweeping over the entire Town Mayor’s Mansion. Every Zhang family member in the courtyard—save for the Ninth Elder—coughed up a mouthful of blood. Those with weaker cultivation bled from their eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, dropping dead on the spot.
How could a mere flock of weaklings spectate a clash between Super Spirit Realm experts and walk away unscathed?
In the wake of that crushing battle intent, Ye Xuan reached out and grabbed the Ninth Elder by the throat. His speed was blinding. The Ninth Elder barely registered a passing blur; he couldn’t have defended himself even if he had tried.
"Submit, or die," Ye Xuan demanded, his voice as cold and detached as a Divine King’s.
"I didn’t expect you to be so powerful... but to make me submit? Keep... keep dreaming."
"So you choose death."
Ye Xuan’s expression remained passive as his grip tightened. The Ninth Elder’s face instantly turned crimson. His eyes began to bulge and grow bloodshot from the lack of oxygen, and the pressure on his neck was so intense it felt as though it were about to burst.
"Brat, let go this instant! If you dare harm a single hair on the Ninth Elder’s head, I, Zhang Wuzong, swear I will exterminate your entire clan!"
A furious shout shattered the tension. Zhang Wuzong had arrived.
Standing atop the nearby eaves, his body emanated a terrifying aura. This sheer force completely offset Ye Xuan’s suffocating pressure, finally allowing the surviving Zhang family members to move.
Ye Xuan turned to glance at Zhang Wuzong, a disdainful smirk playing on his lips. He didn’t say a single word. Instead, the Spiritual Qi glowing around his right hand flared even brighter.
SQUELCH!
Blood violently spurted out from between his fingers. His physical strength was simply monstrous. Slowly and mercilessly, the Ninth Elder’s throat was mangled and crushed to a pulp. Finally, a severed head tumbled to the ground.
This was snapping a neck in the most literal, brutal sense of the word.
"You’re courting death, you little brat!" Zhang Wuzong roared in absolute fury before leaping down to land directly in front of Ye Xuan. The boy’s actions were undoubtedly a blatant slap to his face.
Ye Xuan, however, remained entirely composed. "If there’s one thing I despise, it’s being threatened. And those who threaten me usually end up just like him. So tell me, are you ready to die?"
"Good, very good! You’ve got guts!" Zhang Wuzong was practically shaking with rage. Those were words *he* usually said to *others*. Yet today, some wet-behind-the-ears brat was daring to throw them in his face.
"I’m not the one with guts here; you are," Ye Xuan retorted. "I already warned you that I’d be knocking on the Zhang family’s door. Yet, your family seems woefully unprepared. Why didn’t you call for reinforcements from the Zhang Family Main Town? Or does this mean you consider yourself the absolute peak of the Zhang family’s combat strength?"
"You hit the nail on the head, boy! I, Zhang Wuzong, am the undisputed strongest expert in the Zhang family! Bar none!"
Vivid purple Spiritual Qi suddenly erupted from Zhang Wuzong’s body. It swirled violently around him, whipping up into a terrifying storm. Upon closer inspection, one would realize that this tempest was entirely composed of thousands of Spiritual Energy Swords.
"Blade Storm! It’s the Blade Storm!"
Panic seized the expressions of all the Zhang family members.
"All of you, fall back to the rear courtyard! As far away as possible!" Zhang Wuzong commanded.
"Run! Hurry!" Following his orders, the Zhang family members scrambled to retreat.
Ye Xuan made no effort to stop them. There would be plenty of time to slaughter them after he finished off Zhang Wuzong. And even if a few managed to escape, it hardly mattered. After all, these weren’t the only members of the Zhang family in existence.
The only people who remained at the scene were the Eighth Elder, Fourth Elder, and Third Elder of the Zhang family.
At this moment, the three elders wore deep frowns.
"To think Wuzong would unleash the Blade Storm right off the bat... isn’t this overkill? Killing the brat directly is letting him off far too easy," one murmured.
"Indeed. Why use a butcher’s knife to kill a chicken? Wuzong could swat this kid dead with a simple wave of his hand. Could it be... he actually feels this brat is worthy of him going all out?"