Not far from the residential alley where Qingxu lived, on the main street of Yunhuang City, a group gathered at the finest restaurant in the district.
Jin Wu, son of the Jin family and one of the most famous young heroes in Yunhuang City, was entertaining Lan Yutong.
With them sat Jin Wu's sister Jin Lan, the Fang family's eldest son Fang You, their second daughter Fang Long, and the Feng family's second son Feng Cun.
A month ago, Jin Wu, Fang You, and Feng Cun had been equals with Lan Yutong—all of them the most outstanding young talents in Yunhuang City. But now, while the three young men still dominated their small corner of the city, Lan Yutong had become something far greater.
She was now a disciple of Hunyuan Heaven Sect, one of the ten great holy places of the continent. Her status was high enough to speak as an equal with the family heads and elders of the Jin, Fang, and Feng families.
The seven of them sat drinking fine wine when the commotion in the alley caught their attention.
"Eh, isn't that the Zhuo family's clansmen?" Fang Long looked in that direction with curiosity. "I can see Zhuo Fengyun, Zhuo Fenglei, and Zhuo Yunqing—all from the main branch. And isn't that Zhuo Qingxu, the eldest son who never amounted to anything?"
When she mentioned Qingxu's name, Fang Long glanced meaningfully at Lan Yutong.
Everyone knew that Lan Yutong had used Qingxu's infatuation with her to steal the Hunyuan Heaven Sect token. Qingxu had failed to become anything impressive because he'd donated all his cultivation resources to her.
Still, the fact that he could reach Tendon Changing at age twenty-two without proper resources showed he had extraordinary talent. Of course, compared to Lan Yutong—the greatest genius Yunhuang City had ever produced—anyone would seem ordinary.
"Without their connection to Hunyuan Heaven Sect, the Zhuo family would be nothing," Jin Wu said, flicking imaginary dust from his sleeve. "Why else would they be allowed to control the high-quality mineral resources outside the city? Even with Zhuo Fengyun barely holding things together for the younger generation, they're still far from being truly powerful."
"Zhuo Fengyun has reached Marrow Cleansing, true enough," Feng Cun said with a smile. "But who knows how long it will take him to step into Impurity Refining? He naturally can't compare with Brother Jin, who has already begun organ refinement."
"I can only refine the third part of my internal organs," Jin Wu replied modestly. "But Miss Yutong has completed the entire Impurity Refining stage. She just needs to find an opportunity to stimulate her blood vessels and practice blood essence. Compared to Miss Yutong, my small achievements aren't worth mentioning."
"Young Master Jin Wu is not yet twenty years old and has already reached Impurity Refining," Lan Yutong said, her beautiful face bright with a spring breeze smile. "This strength would be considered excellent even among the outer disciples of Hunyuan Heaven Sect. If Young Master Jin Wu is fortunate enough to go there and pass the examination, he could create quite a future for himself."
"Hunyuan Heaven Sect..." Jin Wu's eyes sparkled with ambition. "They recruit disciples once every five years. Any young martial artist no more than thirty can apply. The next recruitment is in a year, isn't it? I will go. I don't expect to achieve the transmission of inner disciples and catch the eyes of elders like Miss Yutong, but I must at least claim an outer disciple position."
Lan Yutong smiled, and her companion looked Jin Wu up and down appraisingly. "With your strength, becoming an outer disciple should be simple. But if you want to become an inner disciple, you either need excellent cultivation talent or must reach Blood Exchange before you're thirty. Miss this opportunity, and you'll have no hope of inner discipleship in your lifetime."
"Eh, there's a fight starting?" Jin Lan suddenly focused her attention on the alley.
"These Zhuo family members have no ability to compete outside," Fang You said with disdain. "They only rely on Nalan Fei's reputation, but they fight among themselves without any hesitation. I heard the elders and chiefs of their major family branches argue every day. When families aren't united, how can they talk about development?"
"Without a Blood Exchange master to lead them, naturally each side stands on its own mountain," Jin Wu said indifferently. His eyes fell on Qingxu, who was stepping forward with his sword. "It seems Zhuo Qingxu wants to fight? Who does he think he can beat among Zhuo Fengyun, Zhuo Fenglei, and Zhuo Xiangdong? Didn't Zhuo Fenglei teach him enough of a lesson four days ago?"
"This Zhuo Qingxu is the legitimate son of the Zhuo family head," Fang You said. "I haven't actually seen him fight before. How about we go down and take a look?"
"That's exactly what I was thinking," Feng Cun smiled.
"As our guests wish..." Lan Yutong nodded slightly.
---
Back in the alley, the confrontation continued.
"You were the one who hurt me four days ago?" Qingxu asked calmly.
"Yes, it was me," Zhuo Fenglei stepped forward, staring at Qingxu with eyes full of provocation. "Why, Zhuo Qingxu? It seems you're not satisfied with how you were treated? If you're not satisfied, come on, try to hit me."
"Wait a moment," Qingxu said, his voice thoughtful, seeing through their scheme. "You were ordered to take me back to the clan, weren't you? So you're just trying to provoke us into attacking first, then claim self-defense?"
Zhuo Yunqing was stunned by her brother's words. Then her face went pale with understanding.
Their father Zhuo Xuri was the head of the Zhuo family. Qingxu was the direct son of the head. If the family truly wanted to order his arrest, at least a law enforcement elder would need to come in person.
How could three members of the younger generation handle this? She had been too anxious earlier and hadn't thought it through, giving them exactly the excuse they needed!
"Your brain is working faster than I expected," Zhuo Fenglei sneered. "I thought you were just an idiot obsessed with women! But even if you understand our purpose, so what? Do you dare to—"
Smack!
Zhuo Fenglei's provocative words were cut short as Qingxu took direct action.
The sword in his hand turned slightly, striking at an incredible angle and speed. It slapped Zhuo Fenglei's left cheek with such force that his entire body flew backward and hit the ground instantly.
Before he could rise, he opened his mouth and spat out broken teeth mixed with blood.
"You... you..." Zhuo Fenglei was stunned by Qingxu's sword strike. Though he had spoken provocatively, he had actually been careful to guard against any sneak attack.
But when Qingxu truly moved, he couldn't mount any decent defense at all. He could only watch helplessly as the sword struck him.
At first, he thought it was just a careless moment. Being humiliated like this, having his teeth broken by a single sword strike, filled him with rage. He immediately got up and shouted angrily: "You beast, I'll kill you—"
Whoosh!
Qingxu suddenly moved forward, his sword striking from another incredible angle. Before Zhuo Fenglei could finish his words, he was hit by the blade again!
Smack!
Zhuo Fenglei, who had just stood up, was struck in the right cheek this time. The tremendous force slammed him back to the ground, blood filling his mouth.
"Go on," Qingxu said calmly, standing over the fallen man. "I want to see if you can spit ivory from your dog's mouth."
"You..." Zhuo Fenglei could barely form words through his swollen face and broken teeth.
"Zhuo Xiangdong, what are you doing? Let's attack together!" Zhuo Fengyun shouted angrily when he saw how pathetically Zhuo Fenglei was being handled by Qingxu's sword.
Zhuo Xiangdong was jolted from his shock and drew his sword from its sheath. "Qingxu, how dare you do this to your clan members, we—"
Smack!
Qingxu's body suddenly turned, his sword striking in a perfect 180-degree arc. Zhuo Xiangdong, rushing forward with his blade, could clearly see the trajectory of Qingxu's strike, but could only helplessly watch as it connected.
He immediately followed in Zhuo Fenglei's footsteps, flying backward and spitting out blood mixed with broken teeth.
"You've... reached Marrow Cleansing? You've achieved the Marrow Cleansing Realm?"
Only now did Zhuo Fengyun seem to truly take Qingxu seriously. From his performance just now, he could immediately assess the true level of strength being displayed.
Qingxu ignored Zhuo Fengyun completely. Instead, he stared down at the cowering Zhuo Fenglei.
"Get up! Continue!"