Zhui Feng and Shan Dian both trotted up to Zhang Yang’s side, Zhui Feng holding his head high. The two little beasts were intelligent, but they lacked the complexity of human emotions; they only knew that Zhang Yang had killed Hu Yan Feng, and together, they had exacted revenge.

As Zhui Feng passed by, he deliberately stamped his hoof on Hu Yan Feng’s corpse. That previous chase—being hunted by Hu Yan Feng for a thousand li—was the most unforgettable event of its life.

Whether human or spirit beast, anyone would never forget running until complete exhaustion for so long; from that moment, it had thoroughly loathed the Hu Yan Feng who had pursued it so relentlessly. At this moment, their revenge was finally complete.

“Old Ancestor!” While others were distracted, Hu Yan Ming had somehow awakened. The instant he opened his eyes, before he could even take in his surroundings, he saw Hu Yan Feng lying there, motionless in a pool of blood beneath him.

This discovery nearly stopped his heart. He could sense no energy fluctuations from Hu Yan Feng, nor any sign of life—only the stillness of the dead.

And Hu Yan Feng’s wretched appearance told the Great Elder of the Hu Yan family, their Guardian, the most powerful person in their lineage, that he was truly dead here. The fall of the Guardian meant the family was in peril; every elder in a thousand-year-old lineage understood this truth.

The Hu Yan family was finished. Just pulling himself from the shock of Hu Yan Feng’s death, a look of sheer horror flashed across Hu Yan Ming’s face.

He instinctively tried to summon his inner qi; whether to continue fighting or to flee, both required the massive reserves of inner energy within him. But this time, his inner qi did not flow as commanded.

He couldn't feel its presence at all. Then, Hu Yan Ming’s complexion turned ghastly pale.

“Zhang Daofeng, you are ruthless!” Hu Yan Ming turned his head, mumbling a few indistinct words, his eyes locked fiercely onto Zhang Daofeng. He looked as if he could spit fire; if he could have moved at this moment, he would have lunged forward to bite the man before him to death.

That is, assuming his teeth were still intact. He had already felt it: his inner qi wasn't sealed away; it had been utterly destroyed.

Zhang Daofeng had completely crippled him, stripping him of his cultivation. Abolishing the inner qi of a mid-Fourth Layer expert was no simple task; Fourth Layer masters possessed innate self-preservation instincts, releasing natural counterattacks even when unconscious or injured.

Zhang Daofeng had sustained minor injuries when he crippled Hu Yan Ming earlier. Zhang Daofeng lowered his head and merely glanced silently at Hu Yan Ming before saying nothing more.

He paid no mind to this old rival. He was the victor today; he had merely disabled Hu Yan Ming first.

Had the tables been turned, the victor—his opponent—would surely have inflicted something far worse than just the loss of inner qi. The Hu Yan family, living for generations in the harsh, cold environment of the Tianshan Mountains, had been tempered by it, but it had also twisted their hearts.

They held a natural aversion to anything truly good. In their minds, they always felt that having endured the world’s greatest suffering entitled them to stand above others, to be inherently superior, and that all the best things rightfully belonged to them.

The previous incident on the Long family’s plains was initiated by the Hu Yan family, and the Li family, seeing a chance to supplant the Long family’s premier position, readily agreed. It was the Hu Yan family again who later proposed that both families drag the Hua family onto their warship, ultimately leading to the spectacle of three great families ganging up on the Long Family Grand Competition.

This mindset easily bred distortions, much like Hu Yan Feng’s absolute insistence on destroying Zhang Yang. Zhang Daofeng understood perfectly: if he had been the loser today, Hu Yan Ming would have treated him in a manner hundreds of times more cruel; that would have been a fate worse than death.

“Zhang Daofeng…” Hu Yan Ming shouted again, his words still slurred by missing teeth. But before he could finish, he slumped over again.

“Noisy!” The one who acted this time was none other than Zhang Pinglu. He was currently exhilarated, and Hu Yan Ming’s interruption greatly annoyed him.

“Yun’an should be at the Hu Yan family headquarters by now. Daofeng, Yangyang, let’s head over there too!” After knocking Hu Yan Ming out, Zhang Pinglu added softly, “With Hu Yan Feng dead and Hu Yan Ming crippled, the Hu Yan family has little left to resist with.

How they are handled is up to us.” Today, this thousand-year lineage would truly be erased. Zhang Yang nodded.

Zhang Daofeng lifted the unconscious Hu Yan Ming with one hand, then walked over and picked up Hu Yan Feng’s corpse as well. Their destination, the Hu Yan family stronghold, was not far from here.

They walked around half the mountain, and within a short time, the group arrived at the entrance of the Hu Yan family’s new base. A Qimen Formation had been set up here, but it was a simple one, already broken by Zhang Yun’an earlier.

The Hu Yan family lacked any formation experts; this layout had been arranged long ago by someone they had captured who possessed knowledge of formations. To ensure secrecy, they had subsequently killed that person, who now remained as a resentful spirit haunting the grounds.

“Elder Sir, you’ve arrived!” As soon as they entered, Zhang Yun’an rushed forward. After capturing the six assailants, he had come alone to this Hu Yan base and forcibly broken through their protective array.

The remaining eighty-seven Hu Yan disciples who had been stationed here were all lined up outside, nervously awaiting their fate. Of the eighty-odd people, five were severely wounded, and one was dead, lying to the side.

These casualties were all Third Layer elders of the Hu Yan family. Seeing that Zhang Yun’an was alone, they had attempted to defeat him through a combined assault.

Unfortunately, the gap between the Fourth and Third Layers was vast, and unlike Zhang Yang, they lacked backup plans or monstrous strength. The result was one death and five injuries.

The one who died was currently the highest-cultivated member of the Hu Yan family—a late-Third Layer senior whose strength was at the peak of that stage, and who was still young, with the potential to break through to the Fourth Layer within a few years. Being the strongest, he had received the most attention from Zhang Yun’an, who ultimately delivered a blow that ruptured his heart meridian, ending his life.

“And these two?” Zhang Yun’an’s eyes fell upon the two figures held by his father, and he quickly inquired, a hint of pleasant surprise and hope coloring his tone. “Hu Yan Feng and Hu Yan Ming!” Zhang Daofeng replied softly, a slight smile on his face.

Dealing with these two meant their bloody conflict had reached its conclusion—a victory for the Zhang family. “It really is them!

Excellent!” Zhang Yun’an exclaimed, his excitement mounting. Although he had guessed their identities earlier, hearing it confirmed made his heart soar.

These two were their greatest adversaries in this entire campaign. Eliminating them meant eliminating the entire Hu Yan family.

“Great Elder!” “Old Ancestor!” The gathered Hu Yan members inside had also spotted the two figures being held by Zhang Daofeng. Many cried out in sorrow.

This was the most perilous moment for the Hu Yan family. Every single one knew of their Ancestor, the Guardian, the strongest among them.

And now, their strongest was being held by another, looking utterly pathetic. The faces of the Hu Yan disciples turned ashen, and their hearts plummeted.

“All Hu Yan disciples, listen up! Fight to the death!

Those above mid-Second Layer, charge with me! The rest, run if you can!” A voice suddenly rang out among the ranks—a young, Third Layer elder of the family.

He had participated in the attack on Zhang Yun’an earlier, but due to his lower strength, he hadn't been a main attacker and wasn't severely injured. It was he who shouted this command.

As he yelled, dozens of others charged forward with him, pushing their inner qi to its peak. Their individual strengths might be meager, but in a massed charge, even if they couldn't win, they could buy precious time.

The Hu Yan family was finished, utterly finished; everyone knew it. What mattered most now was seeing if they could save any seeds of the future.

As long as a few seeds escaped, the Hu Yan family still held a glimmer of hope. The Hu Yan family had divided its forces during this relocation.

Another location existed—a diversion meant to mislead outsiders, though it hadn't fooled the Zhang family. However, some disciples were stationed there, and crucially, the Clan Head, Hu Yan Bai Sheng, was also placed there to sell the deception.

Though Hu Yan Bai Sheng was there, that decoy location lacked any truly promising successors; those sent were merely mediocre disciples without future prospects—they were bait, and bait is never the elite. Tragically, Hu Yan Bai Sheng never imagined that while the bait remained untouched, the true elite of the family would suffer utter annihilation here.

“Hmph!” A sharp burst of sound erupted, causing all those charging to seize up momentarily. This time, it was Zhang Pinglu’s disdainful grunt.

He could silence a Fourth Layer elder with a single word; this grunt carried an even greater deterrent against those who hadn't even reached the Fourth Layer. If it hadn't been dispersed across the crowd, weakening the embedded energy of heaven and earth, this single sound could have heavily injured, or even killed, the man leading the charge.

Even so, the leader took a substantial blow, spitting out three mouthfuls of blood. This one sound of 'Hmph' froze the rampaging Hu Yan disciples where they stood.

This was the gap in power. Without their Guardian, the once formidable Hu Yan family was nothing more than fish on a chopping block, awaiting slaughter when faced with another Great Perfection expert.

“Yangyang, how should we deal with these people?” Zhang Daofeng had already dropped Hu Yan Feng and Hu Yan Ming onto the ground and stood at the front, coldly surveying the remaining Hu Yan members. Zhang Yun’an stood beside him.

If these people dared to move again, neither hesitated to unleash a slaughter. The immense killing intent radiating from both men kept the numerous Hu Yan disciples frozen in place.

“Me?” Zhang Yang pointed a finger at himself, perplexed. He hadn't expected the Elder Sir to ask him how to handle these matters.

He was the youngest by generation in the Zhang family; the elders should decide such things, not him. “Yes, what is the best way to deal with them?” Zhang Pinglu asked again, a smile fixed on his face, though no one noticed the sharp glint hidden deep within his eyes.

Chapter Two continues below; the next update is scheduled for around two in the afternoon. RQ

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