Chapter Fifty-Five: Mo Wuyá

“You think that just because you’ve reached the Meridian Unification Realm, you’re my match? Let me tell you, you’re far too naïve!” As Zhang Yi charged at him, Zhang De shouted, raising his palm to meet the attack head-on.

Both men practiced the Zhang family’s supreme martial art, the Rending Eagle Claw—a technique derived from the fearsome black-clawed eagle, a fifth-tier fierce beast. It was a set of claw skills with the might to split mountains and shatter stones, ranking among the finest of its kind throughout Qingxue Prefecture.

In Zhang De’s eyes, Zhang Yi was indeed a genius, but he had watched him grow up and cultivate since childhood. Zhang Yi might have a keener mind, but martial arts were honed through practice, every move and form ingrained by repetition. Though both had achieved mastery in the Rending Eagle Claw, there were distinctions even within the same level of attainment.

Zhang Yi had reached mastery, true, but Zhang De stood at the very peak of mastery. This granted him greater speed and power when using the Rending Eagle Claw: in their current state, at the same realm, his skill alone was enough to suppress Zhang Yi.

It was like two swordsmen of equal skill; one’s swordplay had a speed of one, the other a speed of 1.2. That slight increase meant that even if the slower swordsman brought his blade to the other’s throat, the faster would already have pierced his.

Such was the difference between Zhang De and Zhang Yi at this moment.

Of course, this was only true for now, not forever. Zhang Yi had only been comprehending martial arts for twenty or thirty years, while Zhang De had delved far longer, at least a decade more. He had to admit Zhang Yi’s talent far outstripped his own; given time, Zhang Yi would surpass him easily.

But at this very moment, there was no “if.” Zhang Yi’s impatience had led him to come seeking trouble in the Zhang family right after his breakthrough. Zhang De resolved to use this opportunity to dispose of him once and for all, eliminating future threats.

Seeing Zhang De’s approach, Zhang Yi’s movements did not falter. A savage grin twisted his lips as his claws became even more ferocious.

Boom!

With a thunderous crash, their palms collided. Zhang De’s expression changed abruptly—he realized that the force behind Zhang Yi’s Rending Eagle Claw actually exceeded his own.

Before he could react, Zhang Yi unleashed another claw, forcing Zhang De into a frantic defense.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

Their hands blurred, locked in a vicious melee. Each exchange was sharp and ruthless, every move aimed to kill—throats, eyes, foreheads, every attack deadly in intent.

Fast!

Faster!

Fastest!

They moved so quickly that the naked eye could not follow, only the crash of claws meeting and the occasional tearing sound, splashes of crimson appearing in the air.

Boom!

Suddenly, a muffled explosion sent a violent surge of energy sweeping outwards. With a crack, the main gate of the Zhang family shattered and was hurled into the inner courtyard by the shockwave.

No longer locked in combat, Zhang Yi and Zhang De had separated. Zhang De stood before the ruined gate, his sleeves in tatters, blood beading and dripping down his arms, staining the stone slabs at his feet—a sight both shocking and grim.

He panted heavily, eyes full of dread. In their recent clash, he had been completely overpowered by Zhang Yi!

If not for their deliberate restraint—both withdrawing their energy to avoid damaging the Zhang estate, and Zhang Yi apparently wishing not to disturb the passenger in his sedan—the destruction would have been far worse; within dozens of yards, nothing would have remained but ruins.

Yet Zhang De had suffered a hidden loss in the exchange, his arms injured, and even a trace of Zhang Yi’s energy had slipped through, destroying the Zhang family’s main gate.

Zhang Yi, on the other hand, stood brimming with energy and confidence. His sleeves were just as shredded, exposing powerful arms—arms entirely unscathed, clearly holding the upper hand.

“What’s this? Is that all you’ve got?” Zhang Yi sneered, looking at Zhang De. Now that they were equals in cultivation, his advantage in martial skill allowed him to suppress Zhang De completely.

He could have killed Zhang De just now, but he knew that even if he tried, he would not succeed—the sound of battle would have drawn Zhang Wangshan. In fact, Zhang Wangshan was likely already present, simply unseen.

Zhang Wangshan would never allow him to kill Zhang De. The moment he truly struck to kill, Zhang Wangshan would intervene, and Zhang Yi would gain nothing. His purpose now was to buy time for all the Zhang family’s experts to gather—so he could wipe them out in one fell swoop.

“You—!” Zhang De, incensed at Zhang Yi’s taunt, moved to attack again, but was stopped by a voice.

“That’s enough, De’er. Let them come in!”

Zhang De paused, shooting Zhang Yi a deep, searching look before heading into the inner courtyard. Zhang Yi waved his hand, leading Ah Hu and the others as they carried the sedan into the Zhang family’s grounds.

“Quite a crowd. Is this everyone in the Zhang family?” Zhang Yi remarked with a mocking twist of his lips as he entered the courtyard, taking in over a hundred people, led by an old man.

The old man was none other than Zhang Wangshan. Shaking his head, he replied, “So what if they’re all here? You’ve learned the truth of the past and broken through to the Meridian Unification Realm, but you should have gone into hiding, waited until your power grew, and only then come seeking revenge.”

“Coming here so soon—you are doomed to die.”

He glanced at the black sedan with golden trim behind Zhang Yi, then back at him. “You are usually cunning and prudent, never taking unnecessary risks. Your master is only at the Qi Drawing Realm—why not show us your trump card?”

“Zhang Wangshan, second son of the Zhang family, feigns virtue,” came a faint voice from within the sedan, as if narrating a tale. “When Zhang Beishan, the eldest son, wished to yield the position of family head to his younger brother, Zhang Wangshan refused, fearing his ambition would be exposed. Yet, when Zhang Beishan went to visit his wife’s family, Wangshan spread word of his father’s grave illness, luring Beishan and his family home in a panic. Then, with the aid of his cronies, he brutally slaughtered his own elder brother’s entire household!”

“Afterwards, fearing the wrath of his father and the elders, he poisoned their food the day before the incident, killing his father and eight elders in one fell swoop.”

“He went on to withdraw the Zhang family from Taicheng, giving up vast assets, causing their influence in Qingxue Prefecture to plummet from the top twenty to below sixtieth place.”

Zhang Yi offered no reply, but the calm, narrative voice from the sedan continued, recounting Zhang Wangshan’s deeds.

“Zhang Wangshan was disloyal to his family, reducing its power and giving away the legacy of his ancestors. He lacked filial piety, murdering his father and the elders out of fear and cruelty. He was unjust to his brother, who offered him the family headship in good faith, yet Wangshan suspected deceit and destroyed his brother’s entire clan while he was away. He was treacherous to all allied factions, secretly murdering every small group that aided him, leaving no survivors, lest word leak out.”

As the voice spoke on, Zhang Wangshan’s face grew dark as night. At some point, a barrier had risen around the entire Zhang family compound, enclosing it and preventing any sound from escaping. The formation, crafted by Zhang Wangshan himself, was a fourth-grade grand array, primarily defensive, capable of withstanding the siege of dozens at the Meridian Unification Realm for half an hour. Soundproofing was merely an auxiliary function.

“You court death!” As the array fully activated, Zhang Wangshan could bear it no longer and roared in fury. In a flash, he vanished, reappearing above the sedan. With a sweep of his hand, a massive energy palm—several dozen yards wide—descended upon the sedan, aiming to crush it. The voice had come from within, and only a handful knew the truth of those old events: himself, his son Zhang De, and the family who had bought his safety with wealth. Not even his seventh brother knew; it was the family’s greatest scandal.

Now, with so many Zhang family members present, how could he allow the speaker to live? He knew the occupant of the sedan was Zhang Yi’s master, Lin Fan—merely at the Qi Drawing Realm, and easily annihilated with a single blow.

Boom!

But just as his energy palm was about to strike, a razor-sharp sword light burst from a corner of the sedan, severing the energy palm in an instant.

“That sword energy—Mo Wuyá?” Zhang Wangshan’s pupils shrank in shock as he stared in the direction of the sword light...

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