Zhang Yang cared most about his family. Having lacked affection for most of his life, in this existence, he treasured every relative. If the entire Zhang family was his untouchable inverse scale, then his kin were the inverse scale of Zhang Yang himself.

Zhang Yang had a good temper, but that didn't mean he was kind to everyone.

Against any enemy that might pose a threat to his family, Zhang Yang never showed mercy, regardless of who that opponent was.

Sensing the cold killing intent emanating from Zhang Yang, a sneer touched the corner of Huyan Feng's mouth, yet his vigilance never slackened as he cautiously scanned their surroundings.

He didn't fear Zhang Yang. He admitted the young man had created many miracles, and his future held potential no less than his own. But that was the future, not the present.

Currently, his greatest worry remained the elder of the Zhang family, Zhang Pinglu, and the five-layered spirit beast residing on Yinlong Mountain.

Huyan Feng searched cautiously, and after a while, his mind settled slightly.

It seemed highly unlikely that the five-layered spirit beast from Yinlong Mountain would arrive. If that beast had come, the Zhang family wouldn't need to linger here; a few chaotic blasts would have obliterated the Huyan clan instantly.

Five-layered spirit beasts were simply too powerful; their might necessitated no disguise whatsoever.

With the five-layered beast absent, the only remaining concern was the old man from the Zhang family, though this worry was significantly lesser.

Huyan Feng was severely injured now and couldn't possibly defeat Zhang Pinglu. However, if he fought desperately, even to the death, he could manage to wound Zhang Pinglu in return. The Zhang elder, like himself, faced irreversible damage upon injury. Since Zhang Pinglu was somewhat younger and the Zhang family possessed other rivals, Huyan Feng was confident the elder wouldn't truly engage in a mutually destructive brawl.

This realization offered the Huyan family a sliver of hope for survival.

Of course, this was merely his calculation; the final outcome depended entirely on the Zhang family's reaction.

Huyan Feng felt a rising surge of frustration. In all these years, when had the Huyan family ever faced such wretchedness, save perhaps against the ancient, thousand-year lineages like the Long and Li families? As for the minor aristocratic families and small sects, who didn't have to live by reading their expressions?

"Leave no one alive. Excellent!"

With a flick of his wrist, Zhang Yang’s Cold Spring Sword leaped from its sheath. Still mounted on Zhui Feng, he unexpectedly jumped down.

Huyan Feng’s eyelids twitched, and he watched Zhang Yang with a degree of surprise.

"Huyan Feng, I offer those words back to you. As long as I live today, I will ensure your Huyan family leaves no one alive!"

Zhang Yang spoke softly, his tone measured. Yet, the killing intent radiating from him intensified. Even Wuying, perched on his shoulder, leaped onto Zhui Feng’s back, observing him with surprise.

Wuying had followed Zhang Yang for so long and had never witnessed such profound killing aura from him.

"You are not yet qualified!"

Huyan Feng shot Zhang Yang a look of contempt. Although he spoke dismissively, his heart was immensely alert.

The current Zhang Yang might not yet possess the qualification, but even he had to acknowledge the young man's future potential. If Zhang Yang were allowed to develop, the Huyan family might truly face annihilation.

This realization caused a flicker of hesitation deep within him. Should he risk his old life now and finally eliminate this young man?

But if he succeeded in killing him, the Zhang elder would certainly go berserk, and the Huyan family would be unable to escape regardless. Huyan Feng found himself caught in a contradiction.

"Whether I am qualified or not is not for you to decide!"

Zhang Yang took a slow step forward, raising the Cold Spring Sword levelly in his hand. A vast surge of Heaven and Earth energy began to converge precisely at the sword's tip, immediately whipping up a localized energy storm around the Cold Spring Sword.

Huyan Feng’s expression grew slightly serious. The utilization of Heaven and Earth energy was a capability exclusive to five-layered experts. A Great Perfection master, having one foot in the fifth layer, could manipulate some crude energy, but someone like Zhang Yang, only in the early fourth layer, drawing upon Heaven and Earth energy through sword techniques, was unprecedented throughout history.

Based on this point alone, Huyan Feng was forced to admit that Zhang Yang was an unparalleled prodigy.

A faint sense of regret about relentlessly pursuing Zhang Yang suddenly surfaced in his mind.

The immense Heaven and Earth energy suddenly swept out, and a streak of silver-white sword light, clearly visible to the naked eye, whistled forth. As the silver-white beam appeared, it pulled even more ambient Heaven and Earth energy into its wake.

Huyan Feng’s complexion shifted instantly. He recoiled rapidly, arching his head unnaturally backward. The sword light grazed past him, slamming into a large boulder behind him, which immediately pulverized into dust, leaving a small pit beneath it.

In terms of raw energy volume, this blast was small—far less than the energy Huyan Feng could command. Like their previous clashes, Huyan Feng’s energy sphere had been ten times larger than Zhang Yang’s.

However, in terms of quality, the energy Zhang Yang emitted was far superior to before. It was no longer the messy, chaotic surge of Heaven and Earth energy; it was as if it had been purified—its quality pristine, now visible to the eye, unlike his previous energy emissions, which were merely disordered Heaven and Earth energy that could only be felt, not seen.

"Impossible! You... you broke through to the fifth layer?"

Looking up, Huyan Feng’s shock deepened. He stared at Zhang Yang as if he had seen a ghost.

"No, you haven't broken through. You are still fourth layer. If you had broken through, the energy wouldn't be this small, but how can you produce such pure, tangible energy?"

Huyan Feng roared maniacally, his face contorted in disbelief.

Energy solidification—this was the unique ability of five-layered experts. Although Great Perfection was heralded as having one foot in the fifth layer, they had not truly reached it, and the crude energy they wielded could not be materialized.

Five-layered masters commanded energy with absolute freedom; they could refine it at will, enhancing its destructive power, allowing them to solidify their energy into visible forms—like the giant dragon energy avatar of the Phantom Rat or the fireballs it spat from its mouth; those were all things visible to the eye.

Energy solidification was also a hallmark of the fifth layer.

Zhang Yang’s energy volume was not large, but its purity had reached the level of materialization, which was why Huyan Feng was so shocked and shouted those words.

"How I managed it is none of your business!"

The Cold Spring Sword split into three, and three visible sword beams howled out again. This energy mass was still not large, but its purity was significantly higher than before. Facing energy of such high purity, Huyan Feng dared not meet it head-on and again relied on his movement techniques to evade.

Zhui Feng and Wuying stared at Zhang Yang, dumbfounded.

The two little beasts had harbored a period of self-satisfied arrogance after advancing to the fourth layer, especially Zhui Feng, who had once sparred with Zhang Yun’an and soundly beaten him.

Back then, it yearned for a chance to challenge Zhang Yang and show him its might.

Unfortunately, Zhang Yang had been too busy lately, leaving it no opportunity. But upon seeing Zhang Yang materialize energy, its head drooped quietly; the impulse to challenge had vanished without a trace.

If Zhang Yang could already solidify energy, challenging him now would be asking for a beating. It couldn't withstand even one of these small sword beams.

"No, absolutely impossible!"

After dodging, Huyan Feng continued to roar repeatedly. His eyes, fixed on Zhang Yang, became incredibly complex: anger, resentment, unwillingness, and a deep, corrosive jealousy.

Energy solidification had always been the ultimate pursuit of their Great Perfection experts. To refine and materialize Heaven and Earth energy was tantamount to having advanced to the fifth layer.

If one could refine energy, they could also remodel their physical body, no longer fearing that their frame couldn't endure such immense power.

Yet, this single step had stumped countless Great Perfection masters. Throughout China's millennia, there was never a break in the ranks of Great Perfection cultivators, but a five-layered expert only emerged once every few hundred years—a testament to how arduous this step was.

Zhang Yang, a young man of only twenty-one, had not only reached the fourth layer but had also grasped the Great Dao of Nature.

Grasping the Dao of Nature suggested he could only advance to Great Perfection, just like them, at most. But the energy solidification Zhang Yang now displayed showed him the undeniable possibility of the young man breaking through to the fifth layer.

This was a massive, tangible possibility, not just the pure speculation it had been before.

This reality was even harder for him to accept. At this moment, the flames of jealousy nearly incinerated his internal organs clean... "Damn it, Yun’an, I'm leaving first! Hurry up, the Old Madman is out!"

From behind, Zhang Pinglu, who had been strolling leisurely while carrying roasted chicken and Erguotou liquor, felt his expression freeze instantly. He shoved the chicken and liquor into Zhang Yun’an’s hands.

After uttering those words, without giving Zhang Yun’an time to react, he bolted away, his figure quickly vanishing from sight.

"Huyan Feng is out!"

A few seconds later, Zhang Yun’an cried out in alarm himself, grabbing the supplies and running swiftly.

The Old Madman was Huyan Feng, a Great Perfection powerhouse. With Zhang Yang and Zhang Daofeng ahead, neither of them would fare well if they encountered Huyan Feng.

In Zhang Yun’an’s estimation, the only person in the Zhang family capable of matching Huyan Feng was the Old Master, and the Old Master had just been with him.

Now, Zhang Yun’an was extremely anxious, praying that Zhang Pinglu would arrive quickly. Neither Zhang Yang nor Zhang Daofeng could afford the slightest mishap.

Zhang Yang was the future hope of the Zhang family, and Zhang Daofeng was his own father. He could not accept if either of them suffered harm.

Besides Zhang Pinglu, Zhang Daofeng was another person who sensed the distant energy outburst, having been close by, following Zhang Yang all along.

Sensing Zhang Yang's energy eruption and the other, even more massive, unfamiliar energy signature, he also quickened his pace. Regardless of who that energy belonged to, he could not stand by and watch Zhang Yang face danger.

Even if it cost him his life, he would protect Zhang Yang.

At this moment, his thoughts mirrored Zhang Yang's: Where did the Old Master go? He explicitly promised to wait for them below the Five Pillar Peak. If he bails now, this joke will become too big.

Zhang Daofeng ran swiftly, and behind him, a faster shadow was also desperately running. Meanwhile, below the Five Pillar Peak, Zhang Yang’s Cold Spring Sword was relentlessly unleashing solidified sword beams, forcing Huyan Feng’s body into a humiliating evasion.

Having a friend arrive from afar is a joy; the Alliance Leader Little Pocket has reached Zhengzhou. Little Yu will take a half-day leave tonight and make it up tomorrow. My apologies to all friends! RS