"Xiong Ba, you’ve got a lot of nerve, daring to bring an outsider and trespass into the clan ancestral hall!?"
At this mont, a chilly voice echoed along the long, shadowy corridor. Following the sound, Xiong Qianxing slowly stepped out, blocking the end of the passageway.
"Xiong Qianxing, did you forget your last beating? Itchin’ for another, huh."
Xiong Ba was stunned for a mont but quickly regained his composure. Since he’d already been discovered, he might as well go all out—barefooters needn’t fear stepping on shards.
It had to be said, after cultivating under Zhang Fan for a while, both his cultivation and his aura had changed.
If this had happened in the past, he would have been panic-stricken and scrambling in confusion. But now, a surge of boldness filled his chest—unyielding, domineering.
"You lookin’ to die?"
"I’m lookin’ for your mom. You go first, I’ll cover you." Xiong Ba spat, figuring he was done for in the Xiong Family after today anyway. No more hiding.
"Xiong Ba, I’ve underestimated you. Never thought our Xiong Family would breed a rebel like you."
Just then, another figure slowly erged from behind Xiong Qianxing. A wicked, chilling aura wafted like ghostly mist, blanketing the corridor in an instant.
"Xiong Qianshan!?" Xiong Ba’s eyes narrowed, wariness flashing across his face.
"Today, neither you nor him will leave the Xiong Family alive." Xiong Qianshan was calm as ever. His cold gaze swept past Xiong Ba, finally landing on Zhang Fan.
...
anwhile, atop the earthen mound in Xiong Family Village, an ancient, simple Daoist Temple.
This was where the Xiong Family first rose to power.
"That brat Xiong Ba has gone completely rotten, daring to bring an outsider right into the ancestral hall?"
Xiong Baoping glanced toward the ancestral hall, a frosty glint in his eyes.
"So little bastards will always turn on their own, just like that Xiong Sanqi back in the day—so things just can’t be tad."
Beside him, a middle-aged man in a Daoist Robe, hair half-gray, gave a cold snicker.
"Xiong Baofeng, that man’s been gone ten years. Why bring him up?" Xiong Baoping’s brows twitched—seed downright allergic to that na.
"Heh heh..." Xiong Baofeng grinned wide. As a Xiong Family elder, he knew the taboos here and promptly fell silent.
"A sha, really thought he’d be sobody. Pity he was born to be a renegade."
At this mont, Xiong Guanchen shuffled out. Hunched and aged, he gazed toward the ancestral hall with a shake of his head.
"Might as well cripple him now. Can’t let another Xiong Sanqi run loose."
"Right." Xiong Baoping nodded grimly.
One Xiong Sanqi was already more than enough after all these years. No way to let things repeat. Any traitor unfit for the fold should be smothered in the cradle.
"Youngsters nowadays are just too naïve. Charging into the Xiong Family all on their own?"
Xiong Baoping couldn’t help but let slip a sneer.
Truth was, ever since Zhang Fan followed Xiong Ba toward the ancestral hall, he’d already taken notice.
Young n like that—no shrewdness, no footing, barging in to grab what’s not theirs—just a recipe for disaster.
"Father, that kid who ca in with Xiong Ba..."
"Deal with him, too... Night is not bright’s people, failing in discipline, breaking the rules—gotta pay the price." Xiong Guanchen didn’t even bat an eye.
"What about Bai Buran..."
"A Zhenwu Discard—what waves can he stir up in Yujing?" Xiong Baofeng sneered coldly.
The Yin Mountain Xiong Family, here in Yujing City—a single stomp and the ground would quake three tis. Of course they knew all about Bai Buran’s background, but so what?
The Xiong Family’s connections with the Jiangnan Province Daoist Alliance ran deep. The annual sponsorships alone were astronomical, letting them swim wherever they pleased in Jiangnan.
As for Bai Buran, let alone a Zhenwu Discard—even if he still sat on Zhenwu Mountain’s inner circle, his reach couldn’t touch this far.
Which was why, to Xiong Baofeng, that young man was as dumb as they co. In this village, not even Bai Buran himself would dare go wild—much less that nobody.
No brains, charging in blind—just begging to die, really.
"So people are just itching to die." One word from Xiong Guanchen sealed Zhang Fan’s fate.
That brat, who did he think he was? The Xiong Family’s no place you can co and go as you please.
Unless a miracle occurs, today he’ll just be fertilizer for the flowers here.
Rumble rumble...
In that instant, clouds churned in the sky, wild winds twisted, and beneath the broad daylight—a roll of thunder exploded, rousing every corner.
"Hm!?" The aged face of Xiong Guanchen trembled slightly. Suddenly, unease crept up inside him.
"Ten years gone—gentlen, I trust you’ve been well!?"
Just then, a resounding voice like rolling thunder, saturated with force, spread through every inch of Xiong Family Village.
"This is..."
Xiong Guanchen’s stooped body shuddered violently, his wrinkled face instantly crawling with naked shock.
Even Xiong Baoping and Xiong Baofeng lost their composure. Glancing at each other, both saw raw horror and disbelief in the other’s eyes.
Bang bang bang...
A torrent of terrifying auras erupted from the depths of the Xiong Family, shooting skyward like raging flas, fierce as steel wind. That one calm utterance alone had left every hidden master in the Xiong Family rattled to the core.
"Impossible... He’s back... That man is back!?"
"He swore on his life, never to set foot in Yujing ever again."
"Damn it... damn it... he’s co back..."
Furious shouts rolled out from the depths of Xiong Family Village, laced with raw terror and madness. mories of that by-gone era swam up like recurring nightmares, crushing the nerves of every Xiong Family elder.
At that mont, a rugged man with an eyepatch strode forward, footsteps thunderous, slowly appearing at the entrance of Xiong Family Village.
The whole village fell utterly silent, dead-still as icewater—no one dared even breathe too loud.
"He ca back after all..."
The old flesh of Xiong Guanchen’s face trembled violently, and he shut his eyes in defeat.
"Yin Mountain Ghost King—Xiong Sanqi!" Xiong Baoping gritted his teeth, fear overflowing in his eyes.
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