Zhang Yang’s words immediately elicited peals of laughter from those who had just emerged from the villa.

To them, Zhang Yang was utterly ridiculous. A young man who appeared to be barely twenty, oh, and another young man of the same age—just the two of them storming up to a family’s grand entrance, shouting threats to wipe out their entire lineage. People like that were either fools or madmen.

“Look, isn’t that the kid from the Yan family who fled to Changjing? What was his name again? Yan Liangfei?” At this moment, next to the mysterious figure completely shrouded in a black cloak, a sleazy middle-aged man suddenly slapped his forehead and shrieked, “Right, Yan Liangfei! Hey, you look furious, are you here seeking revenge?”

“That’s right, it’s your Yan family’s grandfather! Beasts, pay with your lives for my father and grandfather!!”

When enemies meet, their eyes burn with a special hatred. Seeing his true adversaries right before him, Yan Liangfei’s eyes immediately became bloodshot again, his muscles swelling under his skin. On his exposed arms, veins stood out like thick cords!

With a great shout, Yan Liangfei leaped down directly from his horse, grabbed the solid wooden railing blocking the way, vaulted clean over it, and then charged forward, fists raised!

Zhang Yang had not expected that upon confronting the Jiang family, Yan Liangfei would unleash such power, even rushing ahead of him. The power of the Golden Eye Physique, one of the Five Great Cultivation Physiques, was truly miraculous!

But Yan Liangfei’s reckless charge would accomplish nothing. Although he already possessed the strength of the second layer of Inner Strength, in the eyes of the group opposite, he wasn’t particularly formidable. Zhang Yang had taken a quick survey beforehand: besides the mysterious figure in the black cloak whose power level he couldn't discern, among the dozen or so other Jiang family members, two had already reached the third layer of Inner Strength, while most others hovered around the mid-stage of the second layer.

Yan Liangfei charging forward so rashly was guaranteed to suffer a major loss!

“Insolent fool, let this old man deal with you!”

Seeing Yan Liangfei charge over, a Jiang family member stepped out. This man was about forty, his face flushed with vitality. His Inner Strength had already reached the early stage of the second layer, clearly meaning a breakthrough to the third layer was imminent.

He stepped forward, assumed his stance, essentially waiting for his prey. Once Yan Liangfei rushed in, he was absolutely confident he could strike a fatal blow instantly.

“Lightning, Shadowless!” Zhang Yang instantly recognized the gap between Yan Liangfei and that man, knowing Yan Liangfei would gain no advantage by continuing his path, and roared out!

Swish-swish!

Two afterimages instantly shot past Zhang Yang’s side, their speed as fast as lightning—infinitely quicker than Yan Liangfei. In the blink of an eye, they were flanking Yan Liangfei!

When the Jiang family members, who had been arrogantly waiting for Yan Liangfei to fall into their trap, clearly saw the two afterimages flanking Yan Liangfei, their expressions immediately changed. All trace of their previous masterly composure vanished, and they turned to flee!

The Jiang family had been masters of poison for generations and were certainly not unfamiliar with the ultimate poison, the Fox-tailed Marten. How could the small mountain rat accompanying the Fox-tailed Marten be an ordinary creature?

As the Jiang family man tried to escape, Lightning certainly wouldn’t give him the chance. The instant he turned, Lightning spewed out a cloud of toxic mist. This black vapor transformed into sharp arrows, shooting straight toward the man!

Shadowless, unwilling to be outdone, suddenly ejected a surge of powerful Inner Strength, striking the Jiang family man squarely on the body, instantly robbing him of all mobility!

The toxic mist from Lightning was inhaled into his nostrils, and in an instant, his face turned pitch black!

At that moment, Yan Liangfei also arrived, landing a punch directly on the man’s face!

“Jiang family, pay with your lives!”

Bang!

The Jiang family man who stepped out to block Yan Liangfei was flung backward like a broken kite, smashing onto the steps before the villa door, right at the feet of the gathered crowd!

“Jiang Sheng!”

Another old man from the Jiang family rushed out, calling out ‘Jiang Sheng’ with grief and indignation, quickly squatting down to check on his condition.

Poisoned by the Fox-tailed Marten, wounded by Shadowless’s Inner Strength, and finally hit by a full-force punch from Yan Liangfei, the man was beyond saving once he hit the ground; he was utterly dead.

At this time, Zhang Yang also rode Chasing Wind into the villa courtyard; the solid wooden gate posed no obstacle to the beast.

This old man seemed to have a significant connection to the now-dead Jiang Sheng. Discovering Jiang Sheng was dead, tears instantly welled up in his eyes. He raised his head, glaring furiously at Yan Liangfei, and cried out tragically, “Yan family brat, your methods are too vicious!”

“Jiang Anguo, when you attacked my father and my grandparents, why didn’t you say the same thing?!” Yan Liangfei’s eyes were red, his breath ragged, utterly incensed. The words spoken by this old man named Jiang Anguo only fueled his rage further.

Zhang Yang dismounted his horse and stood beside Yan Liangfei, constantly watching to prevent him from recklessly charging forward again. If any mishap occurred, Zhang Yang would have to divert attention to care for him, which wasn't the primary purpose of bringing him here personally for revenge.

“Heh heh… so that old bastard of the Yan family told you everything,” at this point, a middle-aged man with greater presence stepped out from the Jiang family crowd. He had a square face, looked to be in his fifties, and stood a good head taller than the rest of the Jiang family members.

He scrutinized Lightning, Chasing Wind, Shadowless, and Zhang Yang, narrowing his eyes. He made no attempt to hide the greedy look in his eyes, slowly murmuring, “Heavenly Horse, Treasure-seeking Mouse, Shadowless… three Spirit Beasts. Yan Liangfei, sending you to Changjing really wasn't a waste! You actually managed to hire such helpers and bring out such Spirit Beasts to support you. It seems this young man must also be a direct descendant of some great noble family!”

This man’s final gaze rested on Zhang Yang, finally tempering the greed momentarily showing in his eyes. He first offered a slight bow to Zhang Yang, then continued, “Young man, no matter which great family you hail from, why involve yourself in the petty feuds between two insignificant minor noble families in a small county like the Northern Suburbs?”

“This was originally a small matter of grievance between our Jiang family and the Yan family,” the man said, looking at Zhang Yang, composed and unruffled, completely unaffected by the death of the earlier Jiang family member. He gently tried to persuade, “How about this: our Jiang family has some standing in the Northern Suburbs, certainly much stronger than the Yan family. Whatever benefits the Yan family promises you, I will give you double!”

At these words, Yan Liangfei instantly flared up in anger. If Zhang Yang hadn't restrained him, he would have rushed over to deliver a few punches long ago. Now, held back by Zhang Yang, he could only roar at the man, “Jiang Tianxia, not only did you kill my father and grandfather, you wouldn't even spare my grandmother! Today, no matter what you say, I will use your flesh and blood to mourn the souls of my deceased parents!”

It turned out this man was the biological father of the two Jiang brothers encountered earlier—Jiang Tianxia, the current head of the Jiang family. Zhang Yang watched him coldly, saying nothing.

Among the Jiang family group, only Jiang Tianxia and the recently deceased Jiang Anguo were masters of the third layer of Inner Strength. Everyone else was at the second layer. In Zhang Yang’s estimation, they weren't worth his concern. Even without Zhang Yang, these Jiang family members wouldn't be a match for Chasing Wind, Shadowless, and Lightning; after all, even those three had already reached the fourth layer—they were fourth-layer Spirit Beasts.

The only one who gave Zhang Yang pause was the mysterious figure draped in the black cloak, who hadn't spoken a word but was surrounded and revered by the rest of the Jiang family.

Zhang Yang couldn't see through his strength, which could only mean this mysterious person was at least a master who had reached the Great Perfection stage of Inner Strength.

In the cultivation world, the number of experts who reached the Great Perfection stage could be counted on one hand, and those masters were guarding their own noble families, having no spare time to mingle with a completely insignificant minor family like the Jiangs.

But the black cloak obscured most of the mysterious man’s face, and if even Zhang Yang couldn’t see through him, seeing his appearance was out of the question.

This left Zhang Yang deeply perplexed, and it was the very reason he had delayed taking action.

“I came precisely to wipe out your entire Jiang family. I stated that earlier,” Zhang Yang stepped forward, placing himself in front of Yan Liangfei, facing the gathering Jiang family members before the villa. While Zhang Yang appeared to be addressing the Jiang family, in reality, his focus was solely on that mysterious individual. “Young man, don’t be too arrogant, lest you bring unnecessary trouble upon your clan!” Seeing his previous temptation had failed, Jiang Tianxia’s face darkened, and he warned Zhang Yang.

Zhang Yang glanced dismissively at Jiang Tianxia, casually raised his hand, and sent Inner Strength shooting from his fingertips, manifesting as a white blade of light that Jiang Tianxia!

Jiang Tianxia’s expression immediately changed drastically. He dodged clumsily, and the white blade struck the villa door behind him.

Boom!

The villa door, which had sustained no damage for countless years, shattered completely in an instant!

“En-, Energy Solidification?” Jiang Tianxia, having narrowly escaped, could no longer conceal his shock and cried out involuntarily, “You, you, you—Fifth Layer of Inner Strength—!”

By the time Jiang Tianxia finished speaking the last few words, he could barely manage to get his tongue to work.

Whoosh!!!

Upon hearing their family head Jiang Tianxia blurt out those words, every member of the Jiang family recoiled several steps simultaneously, their faces changing color. Not a single person dared to mock this man as a lunatic or a fool as they had before.

Energy Solidification—this was something only the legendary Immortal Sages could achieve. Jiang Tianxia had practiced Inner Strength his entire life; if not for fortuitous circumstances in recent years that allowed him to seize opportunities and break through to the third layer, seeing Zhang Yang unleash this technique now almost made him want to drop to his knees and beg for mercy!