《Exalted Toxin Lord》


 Lang Du Continent

    Where the hills came to an end, where the forest''s turned to sand and where the rivers converged to mist, was a land of plague, famine, war and death.


    In this sprawling continent filled with not much other than waste, stood whole kingdoms of man.


    How these beings managed to live here was a mystery to those outside.


    As for those inside, they were long since tempered to living their harsh lives in this damnable place. They didn''t give it an extra thought. They were more focused on how to put bread on the table and live their everyday lives than to think of things beyond them.


    As such, it was only natural that the people didn''t have the time to waste on others. They were barely getting by themselves. So, when one suffered through hardship, there would be no one around to lend a helping hand.


    In fact, the hardships of one man might even be another''s chance at an extra meal. Such was life in Lang Du.


    There was no such thing as kinship here. It only existed in name. For big clans to seem bigger, they would act like brothers and sisters. But deep inside, all they cared about was self-interest. If someone were to ever be in trouble, most would first see what benefit helping would bring to themselves before making a move.


    The same could be said about the prestigious Hua Clan of Gin Town. In the whole 1,000 kilometer radius, it could be considered the number one existence, unrivalled in both strength and prestige. No one would dare to go against it, unless they were tired of living.


    However, though this was the case, one would be naive to think that all members born within the clan were equally blessed.


    This couldn''t be any further from the truth. It was completely wrong!


    Since the clan had been around for more than a couple centuries, it had an incredibly complicated family tree. There were numerous side branches, a few main branches, and a central branch that controlled all.


    So, with this being said, it made complete sense that not everyone within the clan received equal treatment.


    This was especially true in the case of the young man presently standing in front of a food stall. He was currently wearing the clothes of the Hua Clan''s side branch. By the features on his face, he was actually quite average in appearance. There was nothing unusual about him, except for the uncanny deadness in his eyes.


    Those eyes alone made him look like a walking corpse.


    But this was not the point.


    The point was that he had just reached into his coin purse and found that it was emptier than he''d like for it to be.


    Nevertheless, a man needed to eat, so he begrudgingly took out a few pieces of copper from his bag and placed them into the shopkeeper''s hands.


    Grabbing a piece of bread, the young man quickly left the bustling scene.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    By the time he reached his destination, the bread which was once in his hands had already disappeared, much faster than his hard-earned money had.


    Sighing, he stared at the tree in front of him.


    The day was aging and he had a quota to fill. He needed to distance his mind from irrelevant thoughts and get back to work.


    His job as a lowly vassal was to extract essence from the trees. The quickest way, other than spending a lot of time to properly puncture the tree with elaborate equipment, was to chip away at the tree''s bark.


    Timing was very important.


    Furthermore, all of these trees were considered his clan''s property, so destroying even a single one, or leaving irremovable marks, would lead to harsh penalties.


    He needed to always keep in mind how much force he exerted, how much essence he extracted, how much he focused on a single area of the tree, the presence of animals nearby and much more.


    It was by no means an easy job. Doing it 16 hours a day would always leave him drenched in sweat.


    But it made him money. And money, regardless if you were a king or a peasant, was needed for survival.


    The young man had no qualms against labouring like this if it meant he could live another day.


    And so, the day came to a close in this manner.


    One man and one tree.


    One man and another tree.


    One man and a whole forest of trees.


    Lonely. Alone. No other company but the stillness of the wind and the raggedness of his breathing.


    This was the average day in Hua Yan''s life.


    When the last bits of light finally faded, and all was lit in darkness, Hua Yan finally put his hands away to rest.


    He collected his three jars of Truewood Essence and packed them up into his bag. He then pulled out a bottle of crushed herbs that he had already prepared in advance


    Applying some of it onto his bruised and aching hands, he made his way out of the forest. He didn''t even bother to light a lamp in the darkness, because the cost of oil was too much for him to sustain. Besides, after spending over 5 years in and out of the forest, he was quite familiar with this place.


    As he neared the town gates, he felt his stomach grumble. He had already eaten, and this was what he told himself numerous times, but it made no sense for a young man of his age to be alright with only a tiny piece of bread.


    Still, he grit his teeth and mastered his anger.


    It was at this precise moment that he heard a whizzing sound cut past his ears.


    It was turbulence in the air brought about by a sword strike!


    Hua Yan managed to dodge it, not without getting a cut across his left cheek though.


    Rolling to lessen the impact of his fall, Hua Yan faced his agresser.


    It was a man with a thickly bearded face. He was wearing a mask, but it couldn''t hide his devious expression.


    This man was undoubtedly a bandit. Perhaps someone that could not live in the town because of his crimes, and instead had to make a living by preying on people that walked the forest road.


    Hua Yan was not surprised. This was not the first time he had faced such a character after all.


    The world was not one that was easy to exist in. Everyone had their own share of difficulties. And those that couldn''t cope as well as the average person had to resort to thievery and other such vile acts in order to survive.


    Such was life.


    Hence, it wasn''t surprising that Hua Yan met no small amount of people that tried to take what was his for their own benefit.


    Did Hua Yan blame them? Maybe he didn''t.


    But this wouldn''t make him bend over and be stepped on by them. Not in the slightest!


    After all, it was either hunt or be hunted. To try and choose a peaceful route was foolish and impractical.


    In the heat of the moment, when the blades were already drawn, it would be too risky to demand a ceasefire.


    So Hua Yan readied himself.


    The bandit had chosen this part of the forest since it was far enough from the town gates that no guards would venture by, but close enough so that people heading into the town would travel it.


    Hua Yan could try to run or scream, but even that would be foolish, because there was no saying how many other bandits were lying in wait.


    His best option now was to fight.


    He''d rather face one visible danger than a hundred hidden ones.


    He was going to take the initiative before it was stolen from him.

 Dont Look Down On Me

    Hua Yan slowly unsheathed his knife.


    This was the one that he had been using to chop away at the Truewood Trees for a very long time. It was by no means as sharp or as long as the bandit¡¯s blade that looked like it was already quite attuned to the texture of blood.


    It was but an ordinary knife that was used for carving wood. It was not a weapon of war or something that an esteemed general would be seen carrying out into the fields. It was just a tool that Hua Yan had been using to cut some wood.


    Seeing Hua Yan¡¯s action of taking it out, the bandit snickered.


    ¡°Hehe, boy, if you think you can harm me with that, you¡¯re 100 years too early. Just leave your belongings behind, and I¡¯ll let you off for today? How about it?¡±


    If the bandit were anyone else, Hua Yan would¡¯ve simply ignored his words. But since this man was after his life, and since Hua Yan wasn¡¯t in the best of moods, he decided to say some words in response.


    ¡°Let me tell you something, fellow. You see this blade here? It looks dull and edgeless right?¡±


    Hua Yan brandished his dagger as he spoke. It was almost as if he was speaking to himself. Then, out of nowhere, he charged the bandit. His feet flew across the ground and his arm was drawn backwards.


    The bandit was taken aback by the sudden attack, but quickly regained his senses and blocked the incoming knife with his blade.


    Hearing the painful screech of metal on metal, the bandit grit his teeth.


    He thought that his attack would destroy Hua Yan¡¯s little knife in one shot. He thought that he would be able to snap Hua Yan¡¯s arm off of his body.


    Contrary to his expectations, however, it was his own sword that appeared to be a little¡­ chipped around the edges.


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    ¡°This blade may look ordinary and weak...¡±


    Hua Hua Yan continued his attack. There was a dangerous glimmer in his eyes.


    The bandit was forced onto the retreat. A trace of fear appeared on his sweating face.


    ¡°But within it lies my hopes, my dreams, and my ambitions.¡±


    Hua Yan never paused in his relentless assault. Wounds were quickly covering up the bandit¡¯s body.


    ¡°It contains the fruits of my labour.¡±


    Shraa!


    The bandit¡¯s mask was shredded off and his ugly mug within was exposed.


    ¡°The proof of my hardships.¡±


    The bearded man let out a howl as one of his fingers was cut off cleanly. Blood sprayed in torrents from the location of the wound.


    ¡°The records of my deeds.¡±


    The man¡¯s sword was too late to parry the knife that was coming for his thighs. He was crudely brought to his knees. The force of his fall was so hard that he suspected that his femur was fractured.


    ¡°This blade is heavy, stranger,¡± Hua Yan announced, ¡°It carries both your life and mine.¡±


    Hua Yan broke through the bandit¡¯s guard and brushed his sword off to some faraway shrub in the distance, leaving the bearded man unarmed.


    ¡°So you¡¯d best not look down it.¡±


    A flash of light appeared on the edge of his knife as he struck it towards the bandit¡¯s throat.


    ¡°That would be unhealthy.¡±


    And just like that, the bandit left the mortal world without another sound.


    His death was meaningless.


    He was hungry and desperate and his haste had gotten the better of him, leading him to make the fatal mistake of choosing a stronger opponent for a target. His downfall was not an uncommon one in this world. Many often overestimated themselves while thinking that they were different from the rest.


    Unfortunately for the bandit, he was no one was special. He was unable to escape the curse of being shackled down to the dirt by the chains of fate.


    He was just a friend of fortune and a foe of hardship; he wasn¡¯t one that could take matters into his own hands and control the direction of his life. He was just another ordinary man that could only be satisfied with his lot in life. Either that, or he could die trying to vie for a better one like how he had just now.


    ¡°I wonder if I can be special,¡± Hua Yan murmured to himself, staring into the distant skies above.


    He would be eternally grateful if he was given a chance to prove himself. But, if he wasn¡¯t given said chance, he would just give up. He would not try to make an opportunity for himself.


    He really lacked the drive for that.


    He was someone that was tied down and had many things on his mind. As such, for him to go out of his way to change his fate was something that wasn¡¯t very likely.


    This was the curse of the ordinary man. They weren¡¯t bound for greatness because they only dreamt of it, never really taking any conscious efforts to realize their dreams.


    They kept waiting and waiting for a lucky break. But when the days aged and their beards turned grey, they still had not moved a step closer to where they wanted to be.


    Hence, most spent their lives as ordinary folk, only being able to fantasize of what things could have been if they had done things differently.


    Hua Yan was no different. He was just a dreamer.

 Youre Free Now

    Sinking slowly into a pond, Hua Yan relaxed his taut muscles. He had gotten too much blood on himself earlier.


    He would not be allowed into the city in such a state, so he decided to take a dip into a pond for a bit.


    Sure, it was cold, but it was much better than being denied access into the city by the guards at the gate. He was already running late and could not afford to be turned back.


    Hua Yan looked at the broken blade of the bandit that he had picked up earlier.


    The metal on it was undoubtedly of a higher grade than the one on his own knife, yet it still took quite the beating, to the extent that it was only a few swings away from becoming completely useless.


    By this point, Hua Yan was no longer surprised at such an outcome. The reason was because he knew that there was something special in his usage of his dagger.


    After using it for so many years, with grit, determination, unwavering will and a lot of luck, he managed to reach a realm of proficiency that few others could match.


    It was precisely this skill that let him defeat his opponent from earlier, despite having the weaker weapon.


    Though he had never practised any fancy martial arts before, he did know the saying; ¡°Fear not the man who has practised a thousand kicks once, but he who has practised one kick a thousand times.¡±


    In a nutshell, he was this person to be feared.


    He had extracted essence from the trees because his life depended on it. And, through constant trial and error, he had unintentionally learnt something that many experts could only dream of attaining in their lifetimes.


    Though he had no true control over that spark of light from earlier, he could guess what it was and understand what it signified.


    It was an early manifestation of Sword Intent!


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    One who could form such a frightening intent was definitely not an ordinary person. Such figures were rare. In fact, such figures were people of legends! They didn¡¯t exist in reality as far as Hua Yan knew.


    And Hua Yan, who had mastered this intent unintentionally, without even having the slightest bit of martial knowledge, was nothing short of a monster. A demon in disguise as a human!


    But, even if this was true, Hua Yan would not really be able to do much with his skill.


    He did not have the power for that.


    He was an exploitable asset in his clan that was nothing short of a pawn. His parents held no status that was beneficial to him, so the objective value of his life was essentially zero.


    If those old fogies in the clan discovered his talent, it would not necessarily be a good thing for him. They would greatly restrict him and confine him to the clan.


    While being discovered to have such an intent would increase Hua Yan¡¯s value in the clan, he would not be able to see any of the positives from this. He would be more of a treasured sword that was locked away under constant guard. He would not have his freedom.


    Hua Yan did not want this. He wanted to leave this crummy city as soon as possible. He had no memories of home here anyway.


    He wanted to start another life, and in order to do that, he needed to attract the least amount of attention as possible. Only then would he be able to make it out in one piece.


    Hence, it made sense that the only ones who had seen his true knife skills were now nothing more than corpses.


    He would never expose these skills unless he was forced to in a battle where life and death were both hanging on a delicate balance.


    Rising from the cold pond after thoroughly cleaning his clothes, getting rid of the scent of the blood with the help of some herbs, Hua Yan inspected the bag of the bandit.


    The man was indeed desperate, and it made a lot of sense considering how little he had to his name.


    In his bag was not much more than a few coppers, some morsels of meat, some oil for polishing his blade, and a woman¡¯s wooden hairpin.


    Hua Yan took all the items except for the hair pin.


    He then tossed the bag over to the thief¡¯s corpse and burnt the two together.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what sins you committed to die a dog¡¯s death, but at least you¡¯re free of them now. Enjoy yourself out there.¡±


    Hua Yan carried his now heavier bag and made way to the city.


    The city guards stared at him and his soggy appearance for a while, but they let him in nevertheless.


    Even though he had no money or real influence, he was wearing clothes of the Hua clan. Regardless of anything else, this piece of identification alone was enough for him to get into the city without causing too much of a stir amongst the guards.


    If it were someone else, the guards might have probably asked for a bribe. But none of them had the guts to mess with someone from the Hua Clan, even if that someone was a mere branch member.


    Walking into the city, Hua Yan noticed that quite a few people were already going home to end their days. It was a bit past sunset, so the number of people he saw on the streets were fewer. While there were still others that were bustling about, with no thoughts of sleep on their minds, Hua Yan didn¡¯t have the time to pay them any heed.


    For these were the people that lived in a completely different world from him. They were people that were used to engaging in mortal pleasures come the night time. To him, who did not know the definition of the word pleasure, these people were not worth taking the time to even think about.


    Besides, Hua Yan needed to hand over his jars for the day, get paid, and return home soon, lest his sleep schedule be affected for the next day¡¯s work.


    Navigating through the streets, he approached Hua Ding Manor.

 Spare Me Please

    Hua Ding Manor was the location of the Hua Ding Main Branch. There were 7 main branches across the city. Each of them were spread in different areas, allowing the Hua Clan to always be in the know for affairs that took place within the city¡¯s walls. The central branch was located in the centre of the city, acting as the heart that kept the entire place alive.


    As for the side branches, they existed within the main branches. They had no fancy manors of their own, but only little courtyards on the side.


    In truth, the side branches couldn¡¯t really be considered as real parts of the Hua Clan. They were more like the servants that did all the dirty, day-to-day work for the clan, such as cleaning, cooking, managing clan-owned establishments, hunting, running errands, and so on.


    They were the descendants of the servants that once used to work for the clan in its glory days.


    They were given the right to use the Hua Clan surname given their long years of service as a token of gratitude by the clan.


    But Hua Yan knew better.


    Neither the main branches nor the central branch cared a bit for the side branches. The Hua family surname was actually like a chain that held him and the rest of the side branch members down, marking them as the eternal slaves to the clan.


    As things stood now, there was no way out of this. He was destined to serve his entire life in obeisance to the clan, just like his father and his ancestors before him had.


    He didn¡¯t want this. He didn¡¯t want to die a useless death as well.


    He wanted to live.


    Not to be wise. Not to be strong. Not to be rich.


    He just wanted to be free.


    He wanted a carefree life.


    But at that point he still hadn¡¯t realized it yet.


    In Lang Du continent, only those with intelligence, influence and strength could have what they wanted.


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    A person like him could only leave his fate in someone else¡¯s hands.


    A carefree life was too much of a pipe dream.


    But he didn¡¯t want to accept this. He wanted to try. He wanted to see what would happen if he were to work towards his dream.


    When the guard at the gate of the manor saw Hua Yan, he let out a snort.


    ¡°You, what are you doing out so late? You know you can be punished for breaking curfew right?¡±


    Hua Yan¡¯s brows creased in irritation when he heard the guard¡¯s words.


    What curfew! Curfew your sister!


    Hua Yan knew that there was no such thing as a curfew. So did the guard. The whole clan knew it! But he had no power to point this out.


    This was because the guard was not asking to be contradicted. He was asking for his palms to be greased, and he knew that Hua Yan was in no situation to refuse.


    Hua Yan could only curse his luck and hand over some coins.


    The guard looked at him in dissatisfaction after seeing the paltry amount that Hua Yan had offered, but didn¡¯t press the issue too much.


    He let him in with parting words: ¡°Even beggar trash like you is part of the Hua Clan, ah¡­ how the standards have fallen.¡±


    Hua Yan ignored the man¡¯s words and strode further into the manor.


    If he were to get angry at every idiot that got in his way, he¡¯d spend the rest of his life being mad.


    ¡°Hmm, that would be pretty unhealthy,¡± he muttered to himself.


    Soon, Hua Yan spotted the clerk who he regularly saw to exchange his Truewood Essence jars for money. The man seemed to be in a hurry, and he was quite annoyed with Hua Yan for showing up so late.


    ¡°You damned thing! Hurry and hand over the jars, fool!¡±


    Seeing the clerk so mad, Hua Yan did not retort. He had no power to do such a bold thing.


    After all, even though he couldn¡¯t be held responsible for his lateness since it was all that bandit¡¯s fault, the fact of the matter was that he was still late. In this world, where people only valued results, Hua Yan would gain no one¡¯s true sympathy.


    As such, he kept his mouth shut and accepted his wage. The minute Hua Yan felt the lighter than usual coin purse, his expression showed a bit of displeasure momentarily.


    Even though he was quick to erase it, his actions did not escape the clerk¡¯s eyes.


    The clerk looked at him in disdain.


    ¡°Boy, wipe that look off your face. Not only do you show up late, but you also dare to dream for more money? Scram!¡±


    And that¡¯s exactly what Hua Yan did.


    He counted exactly how much he¡¯d made. It was a measly 150 coppers, which wasn¡¯t really a lot. His pay was ruthlessly cut in half. It would be too hard to live off this small amount of money¡­


    With slightly drooped shoulders, he headed home. He really felt ashamed of himself. How was he supposed to leave his lowly life if he kept being looked down on like this.


    He really needed something to threaten them all with.


    The guards at the city gate were threatened by his identity as a member of the Hua Clan.


    But the guard at the Hua Ding Manor gate? The clerk? They didn¡¯t give him the slightest bit of acknowledgement.


    Why? Was it because they were incapable of such a thing?


    No. Definitely not.


    It was simply because he lacked the qualifications to garner their respect.


    If he wanted to escape, he needed to become better. He needed to be feared. He needed such an identity¡­


    By the time he was snapped out of his thoughts, he was finally home.


    It was located in a little corner of the 24th side courtyard.


    There were 52 side courtyards in total in the Hua Ding Manor. Hua Yan and his sister lived in one such courtyard. As for his mother¡­ well she was another story.


    As soon as he entered his dingy place, a pair of fierce, inquisitive eyes latched onto him, making him feel a headache coming on.

 Let Me Rest A Bit

    ¡°Why¡¯re you sooooo late!¡±


    The first sound that Hua Yan heard after opening his rattly doors was not the doors themselves, but the voice of a girl, Hua Yin.


    His sister was not pleased with his tardiness. In fact, she¡¯d trained a pair of glaring eyes on his figure the second he stepped into the small house. It was then that the barrage of questions began.


    ¡®Hey, hey, why are you so wet? Hmm? It isn¡¯t even raining outside!¡±


    ¡°I was bored, so I went for a little dip in th-¡±


    Not letting him finish, she approached him and shrieked out.


    ¡°Ewww, you smell weird! Why did you apply all these wild herbs? Are you dumb?¡±


    Her asking him that in such a manner made him feel unwell. He felt like he¡¯d failed as an elder sibling and didn¡¯t raise his sister up the right way.


    Anyway, he was tired, so he swore to himself that he¡¯d discipline her later. For now, he just wanted some peace and quiet. So, he gave her a simple answer.


    ¡°I stepped on some animal droppings.¡±


    Hua Yin, who was standing close, immediately drew some distance between them within a matter of seconds, and even started launching random things at him from across the room.


    ¡°Filthy! Get out! Out! Get loooost! Go away!¡±


    When one of the objects hit Hua Yan square in the nose, the atmosphere turned colder by a few degrees. All went silent. Even the screaming Hua Yin, who was throwing stuff around without concern for anything else, was frozen in place.


    She knew her brother¡¯s temper well¡­ and this time, she had messed things up big! She knew that he absolutely hated it when he was hit in the face.


    Before he could do anything to her, she ran away to her little room and locked the door.


    ¡°I-I¡¯m tired today. Ummm, I left some food for you over there. Eat and go to bed! Good night!¡¯


    Hua Yan didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry.


    Should he be happy that she was so lively, everything that had happened to them considered, or should he be concerned that she was such a wild spirit despite having already aged to become half a woman.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°Ah, later! I¡¯ll think about it later!¡±


    Hua Yan collapsed onto the floor and pulled out his knife.


    He spent a while staring at it before looking over to the food that his sister had left over for him.


    She was¡­ a terrible cook. But food was food and he wouldn¡¯t complain. Besides, he also had some meat on him which he¡¯d taken from the bandit. With this and that, the meal wouldn¡¯t be so bad.


    Soon, the fragrance of the meat spread through the tiny house, and the ¡°sleeping¡± Hua Yin rushed out of her room, looking left and right for the source of the food.


    Before she could locate it, she was dragged to the floor by Hua Yan. As she put on a struggle, he shoved the rice she had prepared into her hands.


    ¡°You eat it. I got this meat. That¡¯s enough for me.¡±


    Hearing his words, Hua Yin¡¯s eyes went round. At first there was confusion, then it slowly transformed to shock, and finally it became anger.


    ¡°How could youu?! I made that for you, so you eat it! Meanwhile, I didn¡¯t even make anything for myself b-because I was concentrating on making something for you, so how cou-¡±


    Hua Yan raised an eyebrow and shut her up in a single sentence.


    ¡°Where are the dumplings I left in that cabinet then?¡±


    Hua Yin started looking around the room, unable to meet his eyes.


    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t have¡­ eaten them right?¡±


    She stood up abruptly, almost knocking the food in her hands onto the floor.


    ¡°N-No way! I¡­ It was the rats! Yeah, this place is so old and nasty and grimy and mucky and¡­ yeah the perfect place for rats to come and steal dumplings from!¡±


    Seeing Hua Yan appearing to be convinced by her words, she started speaking louder, with more and more conviction in her voice.


    ¡°Yeah, right, the rats did it! It was really them!¡±


    ¡°I see. So it was the rats that did it, eh? Hmm, I¡¯m guessing they must¡¯ve been some really big rats then,¡± Hua Yan said, looking right at Hua Yin, as if implying that she was the rat herself.


    ¡°Then I guess the rats can eat this rice too. I¡¯ll be eating the meat.¡±


    Hearing this, Hua Yin knew that he didn¡¯t buy her story and probably also knew that it was her who had eaten the dumplings. Changing tactics, she began to cry.


    ¡°Uwaaa, I didn¡¯t mean too! Big Bro, I was hungry! Starving! My tummy was making all these funny noises that I thought just a tiny bite would be enough. B-But¡­ These delivilish things! They tasted sooooo gooddd! Hua Yin isn¡¯t at fault!¡±


    Pinching her cheeks, he grabbed the rice out of her hands.


    ¡°You better make me something better next time. Or I won¡¯t forgive you even if it isn¡¯t your fault.¡±


    Immediately, Hua Yin nodeed, staring hungrily at the meat that was still cooking.


    Hua Yan also noted her expression and let her go.


    ¡°You can take both pieces. I¡¯ll be fine with just this.¡±


    It was only after she took a few hasty bites into one of the pieces of meat did she register his words.


    He was giving her both pieces?


    Was this a trick? Was she being scammed? She was unsure, and she was deeply unsettled.


    ¡°But, Big Bro, how can you eat that trash¡­ er, plain rice? Don¡¯t you want some meat too?¡±


    Seeing her only care for him after filling her own belly, Hua Yan had no words to say.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, you¡¯re still growing and this is the best I can do for you. So eat.¡±


    Suddenly, Hua Yin was overwhelmed with guilt.


    ¡°Eh¡­ But, but, I don¡¯t need both pieces! If I eat that much I¡¯ll grow too much and become like those old aunties across the street! You want me to become like them?! Stop plotting against me and take some!¡±


    Laughing, Hua Yan shook his head and stared outside the window. The moon was hidden tonight, so it was especially dark outside.


    But here in his own home, under the bright fire coming from the stove and the light radiating from his sister¡¯s eyes, he felt that it didn¡¯t matter even if the rest of the world was completely dark. As long as he had this place to return to, what did all else matter.


    Thoughts of leaving and his ambitions of becoming someone that could inspire fear slowly started to fade. He just wanted to enjoy the night, and perhaps let it live on in his memories forever.


    It was unknown when, but somewhere along this train of thought, he had fallen asleep with a smile on his face.

 Task Pavilion

    When Hua Yan awoke, he was confronted with the sight of a little monster sleeping around a pile of bones from last night¡¯s meal. Seeing how comfortably she was sleeping, with drool pouring out of her mouth, he had the urge to kick her awake.


    And that¡¯s exactly what he did.


    ¡°Owwwww! Don¡¯t hit mee! Go awayy!¡±


    Rolling around, Hua Yin refused to open her eyes. All she did was simply dodge his kicks out of instinct.


    ¡°Clean this mess up and go fetch some water.¡±


    ¡°Yesh. Yesh. Yesh. Ye,¡± murmured Hua Yin, continuing to keep her eyes closed.


    ?( ? ? ? )?


    Seeing her still refusing to budge, Hua Yan tried another tactic.


    ¡°Oh look, it¡¯s Hua Li from Courtyard 28. It looks like he¡¯s¡­ searching for something here.¡±


    (¤Å??????)¤Å


    The next thing he knew, the mess on the floor was cleared at record speed, and Hua Yin had disappeared outside with an empty bucket, almost like magic.


    ¡°Sigh¡­ this girl.¡±


    Ignoring her, Hua Yan decided to walk outside for a bit. He needed some air.


    The sun was not yet up, but the bustle of the manor was much more than it was last night when he had returned late.


    The reason for this was because the people living in this area were mostly servants of the side branches. They were quick to bed and early to rise, since they had to prepare a lot of things in the morning for the people of the main house.


    Besides, some of the younger ones also practiced martial arts in the morning, so as to not fall behind the other youths of their age. Competition amongst the servants was something that was not uncommon after all.


    In fact, these practitioners were essentially all close to Hua Yan in age. But the main difference between them and Hua Yan was that he had more responsibilities, whereas they had their parents to look out for them.


    As for Hua Yan, not only were his parents completely useless, they actually brought him more trouble than good. Even after his death, his father was still a cause of discomfort in his life. As for his mother¡­ she was a wicked woman.


    Forgetting about them, Hua Yan walked to the Task Pavilion. This was the place all members of the clan went to in order to collect missions to do and find some money to make. It was a two story building, and the first floor was only open to those from the side branches.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    The upper floor was restricted to those from the main branch. This was because the missions there were more rewarding, albeit being a little harder in nature. Despite this, the reward was much, much more significant compared to the paltry amount offered in the lower floor.


    The reason? It was because in the upper floor, no one was paid in money for the tasks they did. In fact, they were paid with clan contribution points.


    What makes clan contribution points so valuable? It was worth more than gold because it was able to purchase things which money alone could not.


    For example, special cultivation techniques circulated within the clan were not things that ordinary outsiders could ever dream of getting a hold of. It was precisely these manuals that gave the martial artists of this clan the name they had today.


    And for this reason, the clan protected these manuals very strictly. Only members who the clan valued could obtain them.


    For a side branch member to get these techniques was essentially an impossibility. Unless they had strong connections with those in the main branch, it was not practical to expect them to be able to obtain even the simplest techniques.


    As for main branch members, it was a bit easier for them. All they needed to do was go to the Task Pavilions of their respective manors and complete missions. Once they completed missions, they would earn class points. And once they had accumulated a significant number of these points, they could redeem them for a visit to the clan library to pick out some martial techniques.


    Central branch members? They just needed to exist, and all the techniques of the clan would be dropped at their feet. That¡¯s how much of a status they had within the clan. They were true chosen sons and daughters of the heavens who were able to go out into the bigger world and make a place for themselves, unlike most of the people in Gin Town.


    Inside the Task Pavilion, there were numerous levels of tasks for practitioners to choose from. Even the lower level had such variety.


    There were tasks suited to both ordinary people and martial practitioners. Obviously the ones catered towards martial practitioners would be better paying compared to the ones for ordinary people.


    This was because there was a significant difficulty increase in the tasks for the martial artists. But for those that actually practiced martial arts, these tasks were actually a quick way to earn money. This was precisely the reason why many rogue cultivators would join up with local clans; they wanted to make some quick coin.


    They had the skill for it. They just needed to find a place to sell their skills to. And the missions offered in the Task Pavilion were a perfect fit for their demands.


    This had nothing to do with Hua Yan though. He was just a normal civilian without any formal martial arts training. He had yet to even reach the most fundamental Ballooning Stage, which was the most entry level bodily cultivation stage.


    With this being said, Hua Yan severely lacked the qualifications to take up most of the tasks inside the pavilion, outside of the tasks that had to do with simpler stuff meant that was meant for civilians.


    The tasks he could do would only offer up a few silvers at most for a reward. And even those would take him a while. So he just stuck with collecting Truewood Essence, since the job was always available and because he was already long since used to doing it.


    Furthermore, he could also do other auxiliary tasks such as herb picking if they were offered on his way back and forth from the forest.


    Today, as he was accepting a mission from the Task Pavilion, a hurried voice had caught his attention.


    ¡°Trouble from the Scraplands!¡±

 Priorities

    ¡°What do you mean there¡¯s trouble in the Scraplands?¡± a servant that heard the clamour asked, ¡°What does trouble in that backwater place have to do with us?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, they can barely feed themselves over there, so it¡¯s pretty obvious that they¡¯re in trouble,¡± another servant tuned in, ¡°But why is any of this relevant?¡±


    ¡°No! You misunderstand!¡± the initial deliverer of the message exclaimed, ¡°This matter is much more serious than a small-scale conflict brought about by lacking resources! The Scraplanders are rising a revolt! They plan to take over the Ming City Union!¡±


    Immediately, the whole room quietened down. Earlier, when the breaker of the news had mentioned the Scraplands and their troubles, no one had really paid any attention to his words, since the Scraplands wasn¡¯t really a place worth thinking about. As its name suggested, the Scraplands was a resource-barren area that was not ideal to live in. Hence, it wasn''t a topic of interest to most people.


    At the mention of the Ming City Union, however, everyone immediately stopped their actions.


    The barbarians of the Scraplands wanted to take over the Ming City Union? Were they tired of living?!


    The people of the Scraplands could barely even get by. What kind of rotten medicine had they taken to even think of ruling over a behemoth like the Ming City Union? The difference between the strength in the forces that the two areas could muster couldn¡¯t be any more exaggerated.


    One was an ant and the other was an elephant!


    ¡°What! They¡¯re simply courting death!¡± a gruff voice shouted out.


    ¡°Indeed! Just a Blue River Battalion alone would wipe the Scraplands off the map! And they want to take over the whole union?! Naive!¡±


    ¡°Be that as it may,¡± the news breaker announced, ¡°Whether this matter is big or small is not for us lowly servants to decide. The elders of the clan have already moved and it seems that they¡¯re paying great attention to this matter.¡±The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    ¡°Ah!¡± a man shouted in exclamation, ¡°That¡¯s right¡­ if the Scraplanders truly made a move, our Gin Town would be right in the middle of it. We¡¯d be the first to go down.¡±


    All of a sudden, everyone burst out into panic. That was right! If the Scraplanders wanted to take over the whole union, they¡¯d first have to cross through the smaller towns in their way. And, in doing so, they would definitely have to go by Gin Town, since the Blue River Township that Gin Town was present in, was the direct neighbour of the Scraplands.


    ¡°But, even still, it shouldn¡¯t be too much of an issue right?¡± a worried voice sounded out, ¡°Even if the Scraplanders do come, we have the backing of Blue River City, not to mention the mighty Union that stands behind it! We shouldn¡¯t be in harm¡¯s way.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha, what a joke,¡± a fat man mocked, ¡°Expecting the Union to help us is out of the question. They have their own matters to take care of, and they wouldn¡¯t consider our little Gin Town as part of the grander picture no matter how much we begged them. As for Blue River City, we can pretty much expect minimal aid from there. They will use our city as a guinea pig to probe the enemy¡¯s strength before making a move. This wouldn¡¯t be the first time for something of the sort to occur.¡±


    Following this man¡¯s words, another offered his own opinion. A debate soon started between the two opposing parties. There was one side arguing that the Union and the Township wouldn¡¯t abandon Gin Town, and there was another side arguing for the opposite.


    As for the contents of their arguments, Hua Yan didn¡¯t really have the time to listen. Sure, this matter may have concerned the welfare of his town, but even if he did care, what could he do about it?


    He thought that instead of wasting his time wandering about here, it would be more productive to get started with his day of work. After all, he didn¡¯t have the luxury to sit around and argue like these old fellows had been doing. He had someone to support, so he could not just idle about.


    Quickly accepting a few missions for herb collection and Truewood Essence gathering, Hua Yan left the pavilion and returned to Courtyard 24.


    On his way back, he noticed some of the younger servants, perhaps around his sister¡¯s age, practising some bodily tempering arts. Most of them looked like they had already reached Ballooning Stage, since their bodies were quite bloated up from excessive meat. Seeing these 11 or 12-year-old kids that looked strong enough to crush stones with their fists, Hua Yan felt no emotion.


    Maybe if he were younger, he would feel envious. He would be jealous at their progress and the opportunities that they were blessed with.


    But now, as the years trickled by and he became more mature, he viewed strength as just another tool; he viewed it as another outlet to obtain anything that was desired.


    But strength, though it could be used to make people happy, wasn¡¯t the only method to achieve happiness.


    Though Hua Yan couldn¡¯t be said to be perfectly content with his life, he had to admit that he was happy about some of the things that he was doing. Though he wasn¡¯t strong enough to be any sort of hero or legendary figure, he had his priorities that he could never back down. To him, the meaning of happiness was living up to these priorities that he had set up for himself. As long as he could comply with them, he would be satisfied with anything that life threw at him.


    As he neared his home, Hua Yan had accidentally bumped into someone. Though he was completely alert of his surroundings, and was by no means being careless, a figure rushing faster than his body could react had rammed right into him.


    Looking at this person, he recognized that it was none other than the local bully, Hua Gwan.


    Hua Yan was in trouble.

 Exploitation And Anger

    ¡°What the hell do you think you¡¯re doing?¡± Hua Gwan¡¯s angry voice exploded, ¡°Are those eyes of yours just for show?!¡±


    Reeling from the impact of the collision, Hua Yan slowly rose to his feet. This Hua Gwan in front of him was no ordinary man. That unintentional push from him alone had already knocked the air out of Hua Yan¡¯s lungs.


    If he were to consciously attack Hua Yan, the effects could only be imagined. One thing was for sure though, the results wouldn¡¯t be pretty.


    ¡°Argh, nevermind,¡± Hua Gwan grunted, ¡°I¡¯ll deal with you some other time, punk. Scram!¡±


    Saying these words, Hua Gwan brushed past Hua Yan and started madly rushing in the direction that he had previously been heading in. It seemed like he really needed to get somewhere.


    Brushing off the debris that had accumulated on his clothes from hitting the ground, Hua Yan decided to act as if nothing had happened. He gathered his bearings and made a move to leave.


    Before he could, however, a meaty palm landed on his shoulder, pinning him in place.


    ¡°Where do you think you¡¯re going, brat!¡± a gangster-looking fatty threatened. The fatty was round and plump, and there were three other similarly-looking thugs standing beside him. All of their expressions were hostile and seemed to be glaring daggers at Hua Yan. Under the intensity of their stares, Hua Yan felt sweat pouring down his back.


    All four of these gangsters had already evidently reached the Continuous Ballooning Stage. No wonder they were able to make Hua Yan feel a sense of danger and make him seriously contemplate his next course of actions.


    ¡°You think you can just bump into the boss and get away with it Scott-free? I think you need a lesson in discipline,¡± a tall but round fatty exclaimed.


    Instead of trying to remove himself of all blame from the incident, Hua Yan apologized sincerely.


    ¡°Brothers, I was in a rush just now, so I wasn¡¯t paying attention to my surroundings. I am deeply regretful for this matter,¡± Hua Yan said, cupping his fists respectfully, ¡°Please take this for the trouble.¡±


    Hua Yan slipped a few coppers over to the fatty that was holding onto him. Seeing the coins, the bullies had less of a will to fight anymore, but they were still a bit unsatisfied with the amount that was handed over. To them, a few coppers was a joke. There wouldn¡¯t even be much room to split it amongst themselves, much less offer any to the boss. This was a matter of the boss¡¯ reputation. Hua Gwan would be furious if he found out that they had let someone that had directed offended him off by only having him pay a few coppers for the trouble. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Didn¡¯t this just mean that their boss¡¯ dignity wasn¡¯t worth much? Could anyone that paid a few coppers just bump into the boss? Absolutely not!


    Just as they were thinking what other methods they could use to make Hua Ya cough out some more money, a sharp voice pierced the air.


    ¡°Big Bro! What are you doing over there! Why are these guys surrounding you!¡±


    Seeing Hua Yan in such a situation, Hua Yin didn¡¯t think of anything else and attempted to rush over and confront it with him. Hua Yan did not appreciate her gesture, because she had indeed showed up at the wrong time.


    Seeing this new person arrive, the bullies started to conspire again.


    As Hua Yin came over, one of the fatties that was standing on the side made a move. He intentionally walked over to Hua Yin, blocking her path and causing her to fall down. He also acted like he was knocked off his feet by the impact of the collision and recoiled a bit.


    But his state was nowhere near as bad as Hua Yin¡¯s.


    He was only rendered slightly off balance, while she had been swept off her feet and made to rather harshly hit the ground. And to top it off, the bully had the shame to say the following words: ¡°How dare you knock into me!¡±


    By this point, Hua Yan would be a fool if he didn¡¯t understand what was happening. These good-for-nothings were trying to exploit him! They wanted to rob him dry of everything and even act as if they were doing the righteous thing by demanding for compensation.


    Even though this type of thing disgusted him, usually he would have no issue with it if it happened to others. Heck, even if it happened to himself, he would try his best to forget it and carry on as if there was nothing more to think about. He was just an ordinary person. There was no use for him to think about matters beyond him.


    But the story changed when his sister was involved.


    Seeing her pick herself up with trembling legs, he was quick to notice the pool of blood that had formed around her knees. She had scraped them on the ground in an unnatural angle during her fall. These wounds appeared to be causing her great pain, judging from the complicated expression on her face.


    Hua Yan instantly clenched his fists, causing his bones to crack.


    The four fatties were unaware of the changes that were taking place in Hua Yan¡¯s expression. They were instead focused on their new target.


    ¡°You¡¯re his sister, huh? No wonder! The lot of you really have no manners,¡± one of the fatties commented rather sinisterly, ¡°I truly wonder what your parents have been doing, not educating you properly.¡±


    ¡°I agree,¡± another fatty commented, ¡°I think it would be best if us brothers taught these two a lesson.¡±


    ¡°Indeed. Indeed!¡±


    By this point, a crowd was forming. This was exactly the intention of the fatties. They wanted the entire courtyard to witness what happened to those who were targeted by them. They wanted to firmly engrain their boss¡¯ power into all of these bystanders, so no one dared to disrespect them in the future.


    They were truly trying to exploit the ¡°survival of the fittest¡± law.


    Had they not assaulted Hua Yin, perhaps they would have succeeded in their schemes.


    One of the fatties that was still laughing didn¡¯t even feel his head being repositioned. One minute he was staring mockingly at the bleeding Hua Yin and, in the next, the view of his feet dominated his vision.


    His head was lobbed off cleanly and was now nothing more than a bloody mush by his feet.!


    The surroundings went quiet, and everyone watching was only knocked out of their stupor after the fatty¡¯s body also hit the ground with a heavy thud. The image of Hua Yan standing covered in the dead man¡¯s blood terrorized everyone.

 A Handful of Heads

    Seeing Hua Yan¡¯s violent action of killing a man in broad daylight, a fellow clan member no less, the people watching were left speechless! Hua Yan appeared to not have even the slightest expression of guilt on his face after doing such a dark and damnable deed.


    This murder had truly startled the three fatties that were originally intent on bullying the pair of siblings. Never in their wildest dreams had they ever imagined that someone as cowardly and weak as Hua Yan could muster the balls to actually kill one of them!


    What was even more ridiculous was the fact that this youngster hadn¡¯t even reached the most fundamental level of the Ballooning Stage yet! Where did he inherit such daringness from? Was he the reincarnation of some sort of previous God of War?


    The most flabbergasting thing though, ignoring the lad¡¯s courage, was his display of strength! Even if the attack had been a surprise attack, the difference between an ordinary mortal and one who had reached the 5th level of the Ballooning Stage was vast! A level 1 Ballooning Stage expert was one that could toy around with a couple mortals. Much less one that was level 5!


    Considering this, how did it make any sense for Hua Yan to kill such an existence in only one blow? The other party did not even have the ability to resist!


    Seeing the rather tiny and broken blade in Hua Yan¡¯s hands, the surprise in the eyes of the three bullies grew even more exaggerated.


    How could a mortal kill a Ballooning Stage expert with only a kitchen knife! What a joke! How could such a thing even penetrate the skin of a level 5 Ballooning Stage expert?


    Was there perhaps some hidden master watching from the shadows, making it appear as if Hua Yan had commited the murder instead of himself?


    Realizing this possibility, the fatties started looking around in panic, wondering which deity they had offended for this!


    In their fear and panic, they did not notice Hua Yan charging into one of them.


    When they finally did notice, it was already too late. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    A knife was coming right for a fatty with a rather large face. Seeing it coming, the man knew that he had no time to dodge it. Instead, he brought his arms up, attempting to shield his face.


    The weirdest thing was that, even though he had successfully raised his defence, the blade seemed to have eyes of its own, and managed to slither through a very tiny opening in his arms, piercing right through his skull and completely killing him.


    As his lifeless body fell onto the floor, the remaining two fatties were now certain that there was no master hidden in the shadows. This evil demon standing in front of them was responsible for the deaths of their two brothers earlier! It was all him!


    Gathering their wits, they attempted to face him! Even though they were a little bit scared at this point, since two of their comrades were already dead, they would never let their fear show on their faces! As gangsters that lived off the fear of those they victimized, showing fear was equivalent to dropping out of the business.


    ¡°Cocky brat!¡± a fatty exclaimed, pulling out a sword as big as Hua Yan, ¡°Now you¡¯re going to regret being born!¡±


    As one fatty screamed and brandished his weapon, the other charged right into Hua Yan, not wasting any time speaking.


    Hua Yan quickly noticed that the charging fatty was actually not unarmed. In fact, there were blades hidden under his sleeves.


    Had Hua Yan been inattentive to this, he would¡¯ve lost his life quickly. But Hua Yan was Hua Yan after all.


    Getting low on the ground, Hua Yan actually charged into the fatty that was coming for him. The fatty, looking at Hua Yan who was rushing towards his death, began chuckling.


    ¡°Perhaps we overestimated you, kid! Come! Taste the power of a level 4 Ballooning Stage expert!¡±


    As the fatty struck his fist out in the air, the blades hidden under his sleeves popped out, aiming for the incoming Hua Yan.


    Hua Yan, who was still poised low, suddenly bent his knees and jumped.


    He whizzed past the concealed blades and landed a leg on the attacking fatty, knocking the large man off balance. Using the momentum from kicking off of him, Hua Yan managed to jump even higher in the air.


    He brought his blade down while the fatty was still looking for him on the ground.


    By the time his legs touched the floor, the head of the fatty was in his arms.


    He had killed yet another fatty in the span of less than a few breaths.


    Clank!


    The last remaining fatty that had witnessed the entire scene of Hua Yan dodging the hidden blade and so seamlessly going for the kill had startled the man. He could no longer hold onto his weapon because of how much he was shaking.


    He was terrified! He had never imagined that such a day would come!


    If someone had told him that a lowly mortal that hadn¡¯t even begun cultivating yet could single-handedly dispose of three experts in a matter of seconds, he would beat that person black and blue.


    Now that he was confronted with such a situation, however, he wanted to beat himself up! Why had he provoked such a monster! Was today a bad day for him to leave the house? He really, sincerely wished that he had just obeyed his mother in the morning and left to do her errands instead. That way, he wouldn¡¯t have a reason to face this beast!


    As the fatty was still backing up while thinking woeful thoughts, Hua Yan coolly relieved him of his head.


    Now, all four fatties were dead!

 Rage Digs Graves

    The people that were watching all of this were completely taken aback. Were they still in the residence of the Hua Clan or had they been mystically transported into the middle of a jungle?


    They were seriously asking themselves this question because the level of savagery that they had just witnessed made them rather uncomfortable and sick in the stomach¡­


    Seeing Hua Yan toss away the decapitated head of the last fatty, there was not a single person in the audience that did not have the chills.


    This was no ordinary conflict! This was a brutal and one-sided massacre of four fellow clansmen!


    How could any ordinary person stay calm in the midst of such a thing?


    Even if one was strong enough to commit a murder, who actually had the guts to do so in the confines of the Hua Clan? Was Hua Yan not afraid of the consequences? People were even starting to feel worried for him.


    Which one of them did not know of the infamous reputation of the four fatties and their boss? Everyone in the courtyard had their fair share of grievances with them.


    That group was tyrannous and unforgiving, and they were probably at fault for the entire matter today.


    Now, to see the lot of them deader than dirt, the bystanders felt a bit content. Hua Yan had vented for them, and he had even done so in such a pleasing manner.


    However, though this was the case, they all knew that Hua Yan would not get a good ending after this. To be so brazen as to kill people inside the clan, without even hiding it from anyone, was equivalent to directly challenging the laws of the clan. Such a thing was blasphemous, and any person that opposed the laws of the clan would be dealt with in the most severest form possible.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    Even enemies could be forgiven, but not traitors!


    By this logic, since Hua Yan had become a traitor by breaking one of the clan¡¯s most rudimentary laws, he would be taken care of by the higher ups. In front of this fate, even if he had a thousand times more strength than he presently did, he would be unable to escape. Heck, he wouldn¡¯t even be able to offer the tiniest amount of resistance if they came after his life. This is what the bystanders believed.


    This youth was strong, but he was too rash. In a matter of time, he would face a harsh retaliation. Though the four bullies were not important characters in the clan, it was an undeniable truth that they were members of the clan.


    This kind of fratricide within the clan¡¯s walls would spark great outrage amongst those in the upper echelons. Hua Yan would definitely be made an example of to prevent such a situation from occurring again in the future.


    Furthermore, by the looks of things, it seemed unlikely for his little sister to get away with it as well. Since the fatties were the men of Hua Gwan, and since Hua Gwan was in fact the henchman of someone that was even more influential, this issue wouldn¡¯t simply be brushed aside. It was more than possible for Hua Gwan to press this matter and make things extremely difficult for both Hua Yan and Hua Yin.


    This also had to do with Hua Gwan¡¯s reputation. So, of course he would try to cover up the matter of his men being slain by one that didn¡¯t even cultivate by directing less attention on the reason of the murders themselves and directing more attention onto the fact that Hua Yan had the audacity to murder people within the clan¡¯s walls.


    He would essentially invert black and white by using the clan¡¯s name and the clan¡¯s rules as leverage to have his revenge.


    He would try to frame and portray Hua Yan as some kind of an evildoer.


    And this wouldn¡¯t be the first time he would be doing such a thing. Hua Gwan was after all quite known in Courtyard 24 for his vile and poisonous acts. He was by no means the strongest person here, but because of his glib-tongue and deceptive nature, he was amongst the most dangerous people to deal with. He had connections with those higher up than him and he knew how to speak fairly well.


    Hua Yan was definitely not his opponent, and all the bystanders acknowledged this. In fact, even Hua Yan himself acknowledged this¡­


    He did not know had gotten into him. Usually he wasn¡¯t this quick to jump the gun. It was just that¡­ he could not stand to see his sister being stepped on like that, so something deep within him was let out. Something that he never knew existed within his fragile body.


    Before he knew it, he was using his utmost to kill those that had wronged him. To be honest, it would have been best for all parties if he just let Hua Yin suffer some minor injustice. That way, things would not have escalated to the point where he was drenched in the blood of four once living human beings that he had killed with his own hands.


    Lost by his rage, he had only dug his own grave.

 Two Roads To Death

    ¡°B-Big Bro¡­¡±


    The first thing that Hua Yan heard after snapping out of his frenzied stupor was his sister¡¯s weak voice.


    He had almost forgotten about her! As he was putting his life on the line to take care of those four fatties, his sister was just standing off to the side, completely terrified of everything that was happening in front of her. For someone that didn¡¯t go out much, let alone seeing corpses, the sight of her brother in life-or-death combat with a bunch of goons had really frightened her.


    It made her have a mental breakdown and feel a great profound fear envelope her entire being. Even someone that had already started cultivation would have misgivings when viewing such a bloody scene, much less Hua Yin who had never cultivated even once in her life before.


    So, for her to be shocked at seeing her brother murder people in cold blood like this was only natural.


    Understanding this, Hua Yan¡¯s hands trembled as he had just noticed what he had done. The severity of this matter was something that he could not ignore.


    He had to do something about it immediately.


    Before he could rack his brain for any solutions, however, some angered voices penetrated through the courtyard, filling the entire place with their presence.


    ¡°Who dares to cause trouble in the Hua Clan residence!¡±


    ¡°Capture all involved parties. Kill any that resist!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t let any criminal get away!¡±


    It was the guards! They had already arrived at the scene in such a timely manner.


    Judging by their rapid reaction speed, Hua Yan realized that he truly was unlucky. The actual duration of the four killings themselves was only a few moments long, so it would not be near enough time for someone to report this incident to the guards and bring them back here so quickly.


    The only other possibility was that Hua Yan had picked the wrong time to kill the four fatties. He had picked the very time that the guards were doing their routine patrol of the area!


    In this situation, it looked like even the heavens themselves wanted to snuff Hua Yan out of existence.


    Around 12 guards that were wearing the Hua Clan¡¯s Hua Ding Manor uniform had arrived at the scene. The level of their power was not something that any of the four previous fatties could compete with. They were all much bigger and more intimidating. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    Hua Yan subconsciously tightened the knife in his hands, using his body to protectively block Hua Yin from the guards.


    Shielding her from their vision, he said something in a voice that only she could hear.


    ¡°Leave this place. Get to Chil Pin, spend a few days there, bide your time, and you¡¯ll find me at the Hour House.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t leave yo¡ª¡±


    ¡°Leave!¡± Hua Yan interjected very sternly, ¡°Leave of your own accord, unless you want to see me die trying to make you.¡±


    ¡°I¡ª¡±


    ¡°The longer you delay this, the worse for the both of us. Leave!¡±


    Saying these words, Hua Yan removed the guards¡¯ attention from her by running into the crowd of the gathered bystanders. The guards thought that he was trying to flee, so they temporarily ignored Hua Yin and focused their attention on catching Hua Yan instead. Hua Yin did not waste this opportunity and made her leave as silent as possible.


    Hua Yan was covered in blood, and the scent he emitted made him fairly noticeable even in the crowd of around 70 people. Everyone he walked beside would immediately take a few steps backwards whenever he got too close. In a matter of moments, he was surrounded by a large circle of emptiness, which those around him simply refused to walk into. They did not want to be involved in this matter any further, so they kept their distance.


    The guards soon surrounded the perimeter of this circle and had essentially blocked off all of Hua Yan¡¯s escape routes.


    Now, he wouldn¡¯t be able to run anywhere unless they made way for him.


    ¡°You think you can escape?¡± One of the guards barked mockingly, ¡°With that trifling cultivation of yours? To be so foolish, you must surely have been dropped as a child!¡±


    ¡°What gave you the courage to kill people here?¡± another guard roared indignantly, ¡°You think you are some sort of immortal? Immune to punishment?¡±


    ¡°Even a hundred lives won¡¯t let you get out of this matter today, boy! So best drop your weapons and submit yourself to the law!¡±


    As the guards shouted out their taunts, Hua Yan began to consider his options.


    If he stopped resisting now and let himself be apprehended by them, he would be taken for a trial. Usually, trials that involved parties that were charged with the murder of clansmen would not have any good endings. They were essentially useless to hold, because the final result would always be the instigator being punished very harshly for his or her crimes.


    Furthermore, Hua Yan was a nobody in the clan. He had no powerful status to rely on. He was not recognized as a prodigy of any kind. He had no relatives or family members that could provide him with any sort of help. And to top it all off, he had offended someone with connections.


    He would essentially be burying himself if he surrendered now.


    But not surrendering didn¡¯t seem like any better of an option.


    These 10 or so guards that had him surrounded were not ordinary folk. They were guards of the prestigious Hua Clan! No one in the city¡¯s confines would dare to trifle with them. And this wasn¡¯t only because of the power of the clan that they represented, but also because of their own strength.


    The amount of force that they could muster up if they were all gathered together was nothing to scoff at. Even the members amongst them with the lowest cultivation base would be at a realm higher than the 7th level of the Continuous Ballooning Stage. And this was nothing to mention about the special officers and guard captains amongst their ranks¡­


    For Hua Yan to fight against them would be nothing more than a joke, especially if one considered the fact that Hua Yan didn¡¯t know the first thing about cultivation.


    If he submitted, he would die. If he resisted, he would still die!


    Was there not another option for him but to die?


    Fine, if things were going to be like this, he would rather choose his means of death than to leave it in the hands of some other uninvolved party.


    Using the law to take him down? The laws had never helped him, so why would he care a pigeon¡¯s foot about the laws!


    ¡°If you want to take me, then stop prattling and come!¡±


    With a roar, Hua Yan began his assault. He was unsure of his future, but he knew how to use his blade to hit a man where it hurt the most.

 Picking up A Fallen Sword

    Seeing how he was surrounded by enemies on all fronts, Hua Yan decided to plan his strike on the side which had the least number of people.


    This was precisely the area to his immediate left. He swept his feet off the ground and began to move.


    Since he had no cultivation base to speak of, the two guards that saw him running over to them did not really call for help or take Hua Yan¡¯s charge seriously. They simply raised their fists up and planned to capture Hua Yan in a single stroke.


    As for the guards on the other sides, they were even less inclined to make a move. The reason for this was because they believed that this matter would be wrapped up in a matter of seconds anyway, since Hua Yan was rushing to his death by challenging the guards in such a direct and straightforward fashion.


    Let alone beating two of the guards, no one watching thought that Hua Yan could beat even a single guard. Hence, the guards¡¯ lack of response towards Hua Yan¡¯s movements was highly warranted.


    Though these men were all trained to never underestimate their opponents, they could not bring themselves to think of Hua Yan as an opponent. In their eyes, he was a weakling. He was trash that could not even cultivate.


    Besides, the numbers were in their favour. Even if the other party had more in numbers, they still had a stronger overall strength. Furthermore, even if Hua Yan managed to miraculously defeat them all, they were still in the Hua Clan.


    Even if there were 10,000 Hua Yan¡¯s, he wouldn¡¯t be able to get out of this place alive.


    The guards did not even think this far. To them, Hua Yan was as good as captured now that they had spotted him.


    Gwaaaaahhhh!!!


    Everyone¡¯s thoughts were interrupted by the painful screaming of a man. At first, they thought it was Hua Yan, but only after looking towards the direction of the voice did they notice that it was in fact a guard.


    Just moments ago, this guard was facing Hua Yan¡¯s direct assault. He had used the power of his cultivation base to bulk up certain portions of his body to resist against Hua Yan¡¯s flimsy knife. And thought this action had caused him to become faster and stronger, the blinding white light that suddenly erupted from Hua Yan¡¯s blade had startled him and essentially made him defenceless.


    It seemed to numb him and rob him of his mental faculties. He could only watch as his paralyzed body was pierced through by the knife.


    Had this knife been in someone else¡¯s hand, there would have been no way for it to cause anything more than a scratch on the guard¡¯s skin. Since it was in Hua Yan¡¯s grasp, however, he used his understanding of blades to unleash its full potential, causing the guard to suffer a great defeat.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    Moreover, Hua Yan was rather ruthless in his choosing of a spot to attack. He actually had the decisiveness to launch an attack under the waist, in a very delicate area¡­


    The guard that was standing next to the one that was now profusely bleeding from the legs was scared stiff. He thought Hua Yan was just a rat that had walked into a trap. Never in his wildest dreams did he expect that this rat could bite back. And in such a sensitive area as well¡­


    The guard shivered just thinking about it. The other guards that were watching were also baffled, but since they didn¡¯t witness the attack from up close like the two guards near Hua Yan did, they were quicker to master their shock and pull out their weapons.


    ¡°You evil thing!¡± one of them screamed out, almost as if he had taken the hit himself, ¡°You actually dared to hit a man in such a spot!¡±


    ¡°Vile, venomous snake! If I don¡¯t kill you today, I will change my surname!¡±


    ¡°Chop that rebel into pieces!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll make you wish you were never born!¡±


    Soon, all the guards were rushing towards Hua Yan while shouting vulgarities. They had their sharp weapons pointed at him and they would be on him any second, ready to tear away all his flesh.


    Hua Yan knew that neither his speed nor strength could be matched up with theirs. Individually, maybe he would have stood a chance. But if they all came together at once, he would only have to put his life on the line and resort to some petty tricks to barely get out of this alive.


    He threw his knife towards the baffled guard that was standing next to him. The guard, not expecting the attack, could only dodge after having his ear cut off.


    As he was screaming out in pain, Hua Yan made use of a gap in his defences to slip through and reach the first guard that he had attacked.


    This guard was in a sorry state and looked like he was on the verge of death. Though his injury wasn¡¯t fatal, he looked like he was begging for someone to kill him and end his suffering. The weapon that he once held by the sheath on his waist was claimed by Hua Yan.


    Shiiiing!


    As Hua Yan drew out the blade, he took a moment to admire it.


    It was just an ordinary longsword, but it was much better than his previous weapon. Not to mention, this was his first time using a proper sword.


    In the past, when he encountered bandits and the like outside of the forest, rarely did he take their weapons. The reason for this was because most of their weapons were of abysmal quality and were very poorly maintained. After getting into a brawl with Hua Yan, most of their weapons would actually break.


    This had a lot to do with Hua Yan¡¯s lack of control of his monstrous power. In addition, it also had to do with the exhausted durability of the weapons the bandits usually wielded. As such, he just stuck with his knife, instead of salvaging their worn out weapons.


    In this situation, however, he would be an idiot not to take the fallen guard¡¯s weapon. Since the guards were stationed within the Hua Clan, which no one dared to look down on, their swords were actually in excellent condition. They did not really have much of a need to use these blades, because they were able to solve most conflicts with words alone.


    This was the influence of the power that backed them. Even if people wanted to continue to fight some more, they would be weary of the guards¡¯ identity. Few people would court death like Hua Yan and force the guards to draw their weapons.


    But Hua Yan knew that he had no other choice but to offend the guards. If not, he would end up dying!


    In usual times, Hua Yan would not even be able to hold this sword because of how precious it was compared to his own life, but now was different.


    Since the guards were coming after his life anyway, he might as well help himself to the goods they had to offer.


    Clutching his sword by the hilt, he took a quick moment to familiarize himself with its weight distribution before turning around to let out a massive swing at the incoming guards.


    Ziiiiiip!


    As the sword cut through the air, arcs of light followed its trajectory. The guard¡¯s¡¯ skin that it touched, which were supposed to be as hard as stone, actually melted into the sword, allowing the weapon to pass through their bodies with ease.


    As their screams of absolute terror escaped their lips, Hua Yan felt the sword in his hands cracking. He had used way too much power in that strike!


    But even though he felt a little drained and his new sword looked like it had just been completely brutalized, the results spoke for themselves.


    He had wasted 5 guards with a random move!

 Keep Your Soul For A Sword

    As the blade slid through the guards¡¯ bodies, more than half of it was torn apart. Most of the sword¡¯s edge had been lost, and it looked like someone had taken a large bite out of its midsection.


    The sword was now essentially as useless as scrap metal.


    Nevertheless, it had performed in a manner much, much greater than Hua Yan could have ever anticipated. It had actually managed to tear apart the defences of 5 Continuous Ballooning Stage experts in a single attack.


    To top it off, these experts weren¡¯t those that had only recently stepped into the world of cultivation either. They were warriors that were in the upper-middle levels of the Ballooning Stage! There was not a single one amongst those that were killed that was under the 7th level and two of them even happened to be at the 9th level.


    This was such a crazy concept.


    For Hua Yan to use nothing more than an ordinary sword to eat through the guards¡¯  armour like a rat gnawing through cheese, despite having no cultivation base to speak of, was nothing short of a miracle.


    The bystanders were unable to make heads or tails of the situation. Why wasn¡¯t Hua Yan¡¯s head on a pike yet? Why was he still alive and kicking?!


    At first, they thought that he would surely die when he rammed into that first guard. Little did they expect that, instead of obtaining injuries on his own body, he had grievously wounded his opponent.


    Later, as more guards started to approach him, it looked as if he made a futile attempt to escape, even tossing away his knife in what appeared to be a gesture of surrender.


    What they didn¡¯t expect though was that his knife wasn¡¯t just tossed away in some random direction. It was actually aimed at the other guard that was standing next to the one that had just gotten hit.


    This guard was taken by surprise, and ended up losing an ear in an attempt to dodge the blade that was hurling towards his neck.


    His screams of pain only enraged his comrades further. They really wanted to skin Hua Yan alive! Being played by a brat like him truly was their life¡¯s greatest humiliation!


    At this point, the bystanders were sure that Hua Yan would not live any longer.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    Surely, with 10 or so Ballooning Stage masters coming for him all at once, he would not be able to escape his fate.


    They only realized how wrong they a moment later, however, after Hua Yan picked up a fallen blade and aimed a slash at all those that challenged him.


    In a matter of seconds, 5 guards that were once very much alive were sent on a journey to the underworld.


    The cause? Hua Yan¡¯s ungodly strength!


    The bystanders could not believe what they were seeing. In their eyes, Hua Yan had just randomly picked up a fallen sword, turned around, and whipped it in a very spontaneous direction.


    The white light that was emitted from the sword was very mysterious, and it blocked the spectators from seeing exactly how the guards were skewered to death. All they knew was that it was indeed Hua Yan that was responsible for the guards¡¯ demise.


    What they failed to notice though, perhaps because their thoughts were elsewhere, was the blood leaking from Hua Yan¡¯s hands.


    That last strike that he delivered was simply way too powerful. Even though the guards couldn¡¯t even manage to touch him, he had injured himself while hitting them. It was his fault for not controlling his power better, but he never expected that he could move his weapon that fast.


    All this time, Hua Yan was not used to using an actual weapon. He had just been using something that seriously belonged in the kitchen, perhaps for cutting animal meat. To take it and expect to battle humans with it was already a joke. But Hua Yan had used it to face a large number of enemies already.


    Now that he had gotten his hands on a real weapon, the aftermath was mind-boggling. He didn¡¯t think that the results of using it would be so exaggerated.


    Clutching his arm, he realized that his fingers weren¡¯t in their best state. It seemed as though he might have dislocated them in his last attack. This was of minimal concern, however, since Hua Yan was long used to this happening. He was, after all, someone that spent hours and hours toiling away in the forest, doing his utmost to collect Truewood Essence for very low monetary returns.


    Injuries on the job were only to be expected. So Hua Yan was one that was always prepared for anything that could happen. He had to rely heavily on his body to receive a stable income to take care of both himself and his sister, so of course he had to know how to maintain his peak body state.


    Crack!


    Crack!


    Crack!


    As Hua Yan was ¡°fixing¡± his busted knuckles, the bodies of the 5 severed guards began to fall. In total, ten loud thuds were heard, since all five of the bodies were cut evenly in half.


    It was such a perfect stroke!


    The comrades of the 5 dead guards were completely flabbergasted at this outcome. Even the two previously injured guards that were screaming miserably in pain not too long ago went absolutely silent.


    What¡­ just what in the world was this monster?!


    How did someone as young as this youth, who appeared to not have an ounce of strength in him, manage to completely wipe out 5 trained guards with a simple sword swing?


    Was this all a dream? If it was, they wanted to be woken up, because it was quickly turning into a nightmare!


    ¡°G-Gather some reinforcements!¡± shouted the patrol captain.


    After seeing Hua Yan in action, Hua Chin no longer dared to underestimate him. What a joke! Even he, as an 11th level Ballooning Stage expert, could not wipe out five guards in one strike.


    Just thinking about it drenched Hua Chin¡¯s back in cold sweat. He was totally unconfident in suppressing Hua Yan. He could no longer think of his pride as he ran away with his men, not daring to stay in the area a second longer.


    Just when he thought he was safe, however, he felt the cool texture of metal on his neck.


    ¡°That sword of yours looks nice. Mind handing it over?¡±

 Alls Wrong If Not Strong

    Hearing Hua Yan¡¯s demand, Hua Chin wanted to spit out vulgarities.


    Hua Yan had murdered people in broad daylight and had also killed the law enforcers that came after him! And now, he even wanted to rob a senior officer of his weapon! Hua Chin was truly unable to contain his anger at this!


    Even so, he knew better than to lash out now, especially considering the fact that there was a sword pressed up against his neck. To be honest, he was actually quite happy that Hua Yan had only asked for his weapon and not for his life.


    Removing his sword sheath from his belt, he tossed it over to Hua Yan while muttering about having his revenge.


    ¡°Just you wait! I¡¯ll¡ª¡±


    Before he could finish, he was interrupted by Hua Yan.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll wait for you. Take your time fetching out your coin purse. I can afford to linger around for a bit.¡±


    Even as he said these words, Hua Yan unsheathed Hua Chin¡¯s sword and began pressing it deeper and deeper into the latter¡¯s neck.


    Hua Chin knew that if he didn¡¯t hand over his valuables promptly, his neck would definitely be severed off. This was exactly the threat that Hua Yan was currently making.


    Hua Yan could afford to linger around, but could Hua Chin? If Hua Chin dared to try such a thing, he would become nothing more than a corpse.


    ¡°Yes! Yes! Just a moment!¡±


    Hua Chin desperately fumbled around his armour for his coin purse. Usually, he never really had a need to take it out whilst on duty, since he could just coerce people into giving him stuff for free or ask his subordinates to pay in his stead.


    Now that he was being mugged, however, he realized that he had been storing his purse in a really inconvenient location. Squeezing out of his armour, he finally retrieved his purse, not before dropping it to the ground twice because of how nervous he was though.


    Seeing this, Hua Yan found that the situation was quite humorous.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    In normal times, guards would rather be caught dead than to be shamed like this in public. Now, seeing as how this guard was degrading himself in a feeble attempt to protect his life, Hua Yan was rather intrigued.


    Usually, even guards with the lowest possible rank would try to act like tyrants in front of Hua Yan and people of similar unimportant status. Now, even this esteemed guard captain was acting very fidgety around Hua Yan and all the bystanders.


    The reason? It was because Hua Yan had absolutely terrified the man with his display of power and swordsmanship from earlier. This was a direct consequence of him not holding back at those that wanted to bring him misfortunate.


    But, as he considered this, Hua Yan wondered if he had really done the right thing? Sure, those four fatties from before had harmed his sister over a small matter, but did that really give him the right to take their lives? Would a beating not suffice? Why did he have to kill them?


    Sure, the guards were coming after him to have him submit to the law, and eventually have him killed, but wasn¡¯t it just their job to enforce the rules? Why did Hua Yan have to be different and escape from their clutches? Wasn¡¯t he acting too arrogantly, putting himself above the law?


    It was only now that Hua Yan had realized something. After asking himself all of these questions and seeing how the guards were madly flee for their lives, despite being the ones that were chasing after him not more than a few seconds ago, Hua Yan figured out an answer that would perhaps pave out his future road.


    Whether he was right or wrong, he could not afford to be weak. Those without power did not have the luxury to think about morals and ethics. If Hua Yan was weak, he would not even be able to stand up for himself, much less for others. So, if he wanted to take care of his sister, and perhaps do some good for the world, he would need to be stronger for it first. If not, his voice would just be muffled and he would never have the opportunity to speak.


    Without strength, he would have been stepped on today by all of the people that came after him. That was why it was important that Hua Yan needed to dedicate his utmost to becoming stronger. He would need to find an alternative way to earn money, since working for 16 hours a day to harvest Truewood Essence was too time-consuming and bereft of proper monetary return.


    By this point, all the guards that Hua Chin had arrived with were either all dead or had long since fled. As for the bystanders, they also followed through example. They didn¡¯t want to be near this Hua Yan who had such demonic strength.


    Even an 11th level Complete Ballooning Stage expert could not hold a candle to him. If they were to inadvertently offend him now after discovering his immense power, they could be said to be tired of living; hence, they drew up as much distance as they could away from Hua Yan, only watching his actions from very far.


    After finally handing over his coin purse, Hua Chin immediately turned to leave. Once again, Hua Yan held him back. There was a plan in his mind.


    Hua Yan wanted a better source of income and an idea had struck him when he had received Hua Chin¡¯s money. There were about 50 silvers inside.


    This sum of money was a stupendous amount to Hua Yan, who only lived off a few silvers a week. As for Hua Chin, this wasn¡¯t the largest sum that he could afford to bring out. He probably had some more assets hidden away somewhere else. This was simply a small sample, since he only carried it for the sake of show.


    A guard could not be walking around without any money on him. Even if it increased the chance of thievery and the like, Hua Chin did not particularly care. Firstly, no thief would come after him, a guard captain of Hua Ding Manor. Secondly, even if he lost this money, it was no big deal, since he could earn it back in under a month.


    Realizing this, Hua Yan wanted to make full use of Hua Chin. It would be a waste to have him run away now. Besides, Hua Yan had just offended the Hua Clan. It would be better if he had more information on their military strength and what measures they took to capture criminals.


    Hua Yan was prepared to milk Hua Chin of all his worth. The look in Hua Yan¡¯s eyes as he was thinking about this really scared Hua Chin, to the extent that it almost made the man trip back and fall.


    ¡°You seem to be a person of important standing. Why not walk around with me for a bit?¡±

 Heres To A New Future

    Hua Chin had never been so aggrieved in his life by his ¡°important standing¡± than he was now. He was afraid that he might even lose his ability to stand because of his status.


    The look Hua Yan was giving him was really frightening to say the least.


    ¡°I-I gave you everything you wanted¡­ what else is there for us to talk about?¡± Hua Chin blurted out.


    Hua Yan looked over to the distance.


    As a member of the Hua Clan for 15 something years now, Hua Yan knew that there were existences that were far scarier than the guards. A guard captain like Hua Chin only represented the very tip of the Hua Clan¡¯s prowess.


    There were still numerous other forces within the clan that could completely eradicate Hua Yan before he even moved a muscle.


    If not for the fact that it was hard to move these forces over petty matters, such as the murder of unimportant clan members, Hua Yan would have long since become a corpse.


    But, at the rate at which Hua Yan was taking things, it was only a matter of time before the clan sent out such people after him. The murder of 5 guards and the injury of 2 others was no small matter.


    The clan would definitely send some very capable experts to take him down. They were more than capable of mustering up such a force.


    Before things escalated to that point, Hua Yan wanted more information to work with. He wanted to know who his enemy was going to be. After all, going into a battle blind was not a very wise choice.


    Hence, Hua Yan wanted to be a bit more astute.


    Though Hua Chin would not be able to tell him much, the man definitely knew more about the clan¡¯s strength distribution than Hua Yan did.


    As such, Hua Chin was Hua Yan¡¯s best bet to work with for the moment.


    Furthermore, Hua Yan was also in need of money. He would no longer be able to live within the Hua Clan after what had just happened today, so he needed to pack his bags and leave the town.


    And to find residence somewhere else, the most important thing that Hua Yan needed was money.


    To get this money, Hua Yan had plans with Hua Chin. Even if the latter party did not want to help, Hua Yan would force him to do so anyway. Hua Chin obviously valued his life, so Hua Yan did not believe that he would be unable to coerce Hua Chin into doing his bidding.


    Sure, these kinds of methods to exploit Hua Chin and blackmail him would be looked down upon by others, and it could even be argued that Hua Yan was committing the exact same crime that the four fatties were guilty of, but Hua Yan didn¡¯t have the leisure to care about all of this.


    He didn¡¯t care about his reputation.


    He had his own principles in life.


    He didn¡¯t naively believe that he was a selfless person. He knew and acknowledged that all of his goals were extremely egocentric.


    To achieve them, he would not stop short of anything. This was how dedicated and ambitious he was.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    And so, regardless of what he did in the future, if it helped him to get closer to accomplishing his goals, he would not hesitate to do whatever it took.


    He would kill all reluctance and move with a singletrack mindset.


    He could only be apologetic to those he harmed, but in the moments when things actually mattered, he would not let his pity towards them hold him down.


    He was prepared to give away anything.


    For now, to accomplish his goals, he needed to use Hua Chin.


    ¡°Which gate are you from?¡± Hua Yan asked.


    The reason why he asked this was because he wanted to plan out his escape route. There were a total of 5 gates in Hua Ding Manor. Four of these gates were solely for the side branch members that lived within the numerous numbered courtyards.


    The last gate was the one that led to the heart of the manor. Only the main branch members and a select few servants could access this gate.


    As for the other gates, they were spread apart by physical location. The gates were divided up into northern, eastern, southern and western denominations. The courtyards in the manor were numbered based on which gate they lied closest to.


    Courtyards 13 to 22 belonged to the Northern Gate, courtyards 23 to 32 belonged to the Eastern Gate, courtyards 33 to 42 belonged to the Southern Gate and courtyards 43 to 52 belonged to the Western Gate.


    As for courtyards 1 to 12, they belonged to the main gate. Those that lived in these courtyards were servants with a certain status higher than the rest.


    They worked closely with the main branch members, hence they were given special privileges which others were not. Rarely did they ever get menial labour jobs. Those jobs were all left to the lower ranked servants like Hua Yan who lived in the outer courtyards.


    Ignoring all of this, each gate had guard barracks. Most of the guards that were tasked with maintaining order in the manor were stationed in these barracks.


    As such, Hua Yan asked Hua Chin which barracks he was from. Knowing this information would help him in getting a better understanding of which kind of assistance Hua Chin could provide him with.


    ¡°Northern Gate.¡± Hua Chin replied nervously, worrying about what Hua Yan had in mind.


    ¡°Northern Gate?¡± Hua Yan asked confusedly, ¡°What the hell are you doing here then? Your men shouldn¡¯t be patrolling this area¡­ why did you show up here?¡±


    ¡°Ahhh, ummm, you see, the thing is¡­ actually¡ª¡°


    ¡°Spit it out,¡± Hua Yan threatened impatiently.


    ¡°I¡­ someone here offended someone who they shouldn¡¯t have. I came here under orders to teach that person a lesson, and perhaps even hit them with the law¡­¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re here to frame someone?¡± Hua Yan asked.


    Hua Yan somewhat understood the situation now.


    Hua Chin was ordered to bully someone that lived near the Eastern Gate. That was the reason why he had come here. Him running into Hua Yan along the way was completely coincidental.


    But Hua Yan wanted to make sure.


    What if Hua Chin was lying, and was after him all along?


    Though Hua Yan didn¡¯t think that such a thing would be the case, because he really had no deep enmity with anyone, he couldn¡¯t help but be careful. His sister¡¯s life was also hanging on this matter.


    ¡°Who were you after?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Ah¡­ that¡¯s confidential information.¡± Hua Chin replied.


    Hua Yan brandished his blade again.


    ¡°Is it more costly than your life?¡±


    Hua Chin almost bit his tongue in fear at those words.


    ¡°No, no, haha, of course not,¡± Hua Chin laughed anxiously, ¡°I was after Hua Po from Courtyard 29. He was truly out of his mind for daring to step beyond his place and going after something that he wasn¡¯t qualified to possess.¡±


    ¡°Thievery?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I guess it can be considered that?¡±


    ¡°What did he do?¡±


    ¡°He dared to spar against his better and steal a win.¡±


    Hua Yan was truly speechless at Hua Chin¡¯s words.


    ¡°D-Don¡¯t look at me like that! H-His role was to be beaten up. Yet, he had the gall to fight back!¡±


    ¡°It was a spar, wasn¡¯t it?¡± Hua Yan asked patiently.


    ¡°Bahahaha,¡± Hua Chin laughed crazily. His previous fears were forgotten.


    ¡°That¡¯s only what they call it on the surface, but, in reality, that match was only for the young lord to vent.¡± Hua Chin explained, ¡°The young lord was already angry over other matters. And this cocky brat further worsened the young lord¡¯s mood by giving him a tight slap in the face. Literally!¡±


    ¡°So,¡± Hua Yan reasoned, ¡°that¡¯s why you went after this Hua Po?¡±


    ¡°Exactly!¡±


    ¡°Heh,¡± Hua Yan displayed his disdain with a smile, ¡°What a loyal dog you are¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine! Even if you call me a dog, at least I¡¯m the dog of the Northern Gate commander¡¯s only son! Haha, many would vie for my role.¡±


    Hua Chin¡¯s words were indeed the truth. Being a servant to someone wasn¡¯t a problem, as long as that someone was someone that was important.


    The Northern Gate commander was an important person in Hua Ding manner, and lowly branch members couldn¡¯t afford to disrespect him. Riding his coattails and rising to success was something that many dreamed about.


    For Hua Chin to align himself with the commander¡¯s son was the same as aligning with the commander himself. If he proved to be a loyal dog, his future would be much brighter than all the other guards that he worked with.


    ¡°Too bad you crossed paths with me though,¡± Hua Yan said, giving Hua Chin a pat on the back and dragging him along, ¡°You can kiss that future goodbye.¡±

 Hua Chin

    ¡°W-What do you mean by that?¡± Hua Chin asked, feeling very uncomfortable, ¡°Where are you taking me right now?¡±


    ¡°The Northern Gate.¡± Hua Yan answered a matter-of-factly, ¡°We¡¯re heading over to the barracks.¡±


    ¡°You should be running away from here!¡± Hua Chin exclaimed, ¡°Why are you heading to the barracks! And what plans do you have with me? Where do I fit into this picture?! Please, I beg of you, just let me go, ok? I promise I will never get in your way again!¡±


    ¡°You should have thought of that before ordering your men to come for my head,¡± Hua Yan responded, ¡°Now, because of you, I have the added crime of killing five guards, and grievously wounding two others. This is a much worse offense than killing off some ordinary clansmen¡­¡±


    ¡°But, that doesn¡¯t have anything to do with me!¡± Hua Chin argued, ¡°I was just doing my duty and bringing you before the law! If you have a problem, you should address it to the clan! I don¡¯t make the rules!¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t make the rules,¡± Hua Yan nodded, agreeing with Hua Chin, ¡°But you¡¯re the only pawn I have. I¡¯m not strong enough to face the entire clan at the moment, so you¡¯re going to help me get out of here.¡±


    ¡°W-Why should I help you!¡± Hua Chin barked, ¡°You killed my comrades, disregarded the law, and even robbed me of all I had! Helping you means I turn a traitor. Why in blazes would I choose something like that?¡±


    ¡°Because,¡± Hua Yan enunciated his words, ¡°Your life is in my hands.¡±


    ¡°You! You can¡¯t kill me! I am your only way out, so you definitely cannot kill me. Besides, even if you do kill me, you would suffer a fate much worse than death at the hands of the clan.¡±


    ¡°You think I won¡¯t drag the both of us into the fiery pits if I have to?¡±


    ¡°You¡­¡± Hua Chin did not know how else to argue against this suicidal action plan.


    ¡°Accept it already. You will help me get out of here.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t,¡± Hua Chin once again rejected. There was a deep conviction in his voice. It sounded like he would even sell his soul to the devil, but he absolutely would not help out Hua Yan.


    ¡°What?¡± Hua Yan demanded puzzledly, ¡°What do you mean? Aren¡¯t you afraid of death?¡±


    Hua Yan really did not understand this guard¡¯s hesitation. The man was definitely someone that was afraid of death. He was not the heroic type nor did he have the traits one would come to expect from a filial man. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    He looked like your everyday scum of a man who liked to prey on the weak and bow down to the strong.


    ¡°I am afraid of dying,¡± Hua Chin explained, ¡°But I would rather die than become a traitor.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Hua Yan asked, desperately wanting to know the reason.


    ¡°I have a family to feed and dying on duty would at least move the clan to give my family proper compensation. Turning traitor, however, will not only be of no benefit to my family, it may even have them all executed! The clan doesn¡¯t look kindly towards any that betray it to side with criminals. So, even at the cost of my life, I am not willing to work with you.¡±


    ¡°You think I won¡¯t slaughter them all myself if you don¡¯t agree to help me now?¡±


    Hua Chin¡¯s hands clenched into fists.


    ¡°You will never have the chance.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± Hua Yan remarked, rather interested in the complete change of Hua Chin¡¯s character, ¡°Why do you say that?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll never find them,¡±  Hua Chin said in a low voice, ¡°And even if you did... I wouldn¡¯t let you touch a hair on their heads.¡±


    ¡°And, how exactly do you expect to do that?¡± Hua Yan mocked, ¡°You¡¯re unarmed and you¡¯ve seen what I am capable of. Yet, you still have the nerve to say that you can stop me?!¡±


    ¡°Tch,¡± Hua Chin replied, giving Hua Yan a kick and creating some distance between them, ¡°Don¡¯t look down on me. I¡¯m not a guard captain for nothing.¡±


    Hua Yan had dodged the kick, but he didn¡¯t pay it much attention. He had other things that were weighing on his mind.


    He was completely flabbergasted by the way this guard was behaving. The man obviously had no way to win this battle, but why was he still so reluctant to not help him? Did he perhaps have some tricks hidden up his sleeve?


    But that wasn¡¯t right. Even if he did have such tricks, if he were truly confident in them, he would¡¯ve used them earlier when his men were still around. By doing that, he would¡¯ve drastically increased the chances of victory.


    So, what was actually going on now?


    Hua Yan was sure that the man had no trump cards left to play¡­ but when he thought of the man¡¯s earlier words about his family, a faint degree of understanding had hit him.


    When it came to random people, Hua Yan didn¡¯t care about whether they lived or died. In fact, he would even be willing to make use of their weaknesses and benefit off of their circumstances.


    He was also not that different from this guard.


    When it came to his sister, however, he would be unable to remain calm. She was his reverse scale. If any injustice were to ever happen to her, he would not be able to control himself. Even at the cost of his life, he would ensure that anyone that had ill intentions towards her would be taken out.


    If the guard was the same as Hua Yan, then it was understandable that he too would feel the same guilt if he put his own family in danger.


    As such, it would make sense if he said that he would rather die than become a traitor. This was not because he was against the idea of being a traitor, but because he was against the idea of having his family suffer because of this decision he made.


    Consequently, Hua Chin was hell-bent on dying now if it meant that he couldn¡¯t escape death.


    ¡°Leave then,¡± Hua Yan muttered, choosing another direction to walk in.


    Hua Chin was completely taken off guard by this turn of events. He had his hand pressed against the knife hidden in his sleeves. He was ready to snap off Hua Yan¡¯s arm before being reduced to nothing more than a lifeless piece of flesh himself.


    He was ready to make a sacrifice and have his family reap the benefits.


    But he never expected that Hua Yan would just spare him like that and leave without saying another word.


    Before he could even think, there were words in his mouth.


    ¡°My men have already gone to inform the guards at the Eastern Gate. There are a number of bystanders here that know you by your face, so you can¡¯t stay in the area any longer. You¡¯ll need to leave, but going directly through the other gates is foolish. But¡­ there¡¯s a party near the Western Gate. If you can get there, and disguise yourself as one of the guests, it should be easier for you to get out.¡±


    Saying his part, Hua Chin quickly left the scene to report to his superiors.


    Hua Yan considered all of this information before turning around to the figure that was almost gone from his line of sight.


    ¡°Wait,¡± Hua Yan called out, ¡°What is your name?¡±


    ¡°Hua Chin,¡± came the reply, disappearing with the wind a few seconds later.

 Guard Colonel

    As Hua Chin left the scene, he began to think of the words that he had just said.


    Some of his men were killed, a few of his items were stolen from him, and there was even a moderate flesh wound around the area of his neck where Hua Yan had placed his sword.


    Considering this, Hua Chin should have harboured a grudge against Hua Yan.


    Yet, what was he thinking when he gave the latter some crucial information on how to escape from the clan?


    Why did he offer his assistance? Why did he say those words? Just what exactly was going on in his mind?


    He clearly knew that if anyone were to have heard him speaking, he would¡¯ve suffered the dire consequence of being labeled as a traitor. He would have been seen as nothing short of a rebel that sold his clan out to support criminals.


    If he were to be charged with such a thing, he would definitely receive a punished many times more severe than Hua Yan¡¯s.


    After all, he was a hired guard captain.


    He was supposed to be setting positive examples for the masses. If he himself was a traitor, then the clansmen wouldn¡¯t respect the guards anymore.


    Hence, Hua Chin would have been punished severely to serve as an example to all those that had similar thoughts.


    And though he was certain that there was no one was around to hear him when he spoke, why did he take such a large risk?


    And just why did he have to go so far for a person like Hua Yan, who he had no agreeable relationship with?!


    Was it because of Hua Yan¡¯s bearing? Was it because he was impressed by Hua Yan¡¯s strength? Was it because he admired Hua Yan¡¯s manner of dealing with all the things that were tossed at him?


    No, this definitely wasn¡¯t it. These things about Hua Yan would only serve to make Hua Chin jealous and wish harm onto him for being such an outstanding person.


    It was definitely due to a different branch of reason.


    Because he was grateful that his life had been spared? Because he felt like Hua Yan understood all his struggles? Because he did not have to be forced to make a choice that had no real right answer?


    Hua Chin did not know for certain, but he did have a very reasonable guess.


    Perhaps the most important reason why Hua Chin was willing to offer those few words of advice to Hua Yan was because he saw a lot of himself in the youngster.


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    Hua Chin had his family to support and, in life, he didn¡¯t really care about anything else. Even towards riches and status, he was only greedy for them on the surface. But, deep down, he was actually very apathetic and indifferent.


    The only thing that could move him and make him break his limits was his family.


    The thought of them being in danger or suffering terribly really tore his heart apart. He was not an unfilial type that could just look the other way while using his family as sacrificial pawns.


    If he turned traitor, he wasn¡¯t scared of the clan coming after him; he was most afraid of them going after his family.


    So, when Hua Yan let Hua Chin go after seeing Hua Chin¡¯s resolve to stand his ground, Hua Yan¡¯s true character was displayed.


    Hua Yan was no irrational killer. He was someone that valued certain things over others. And it just so happened that Hua Yan and Hua Chin valued the same thing.


    It was this understanding between Hua Chin and Hua Yan that had caused Hua Yan to spare Hua Chin. It was also this very chemistry that had urged Hua Chin to give Hua Yan a helping hand.


    Whether or not Hua Yan decided to make use of this help, however, was not Hua Chin¡¯s problem. This was a battle that he would have to fight alone.


    Hua Yan quickly rushed out of 24th courtyard.


    From this point forth, he could not go to the Eastern Gate or the Northern Gate. Hua Chin¡¯s men would have already informed their superiors by the time he got to either of those places, so he would not waste his time by even considering them as escape routes.


    Furthermore, it was more than possible that the other four gates would also be locked down. The spreading of news within the clan was rather efficient.


    After all, Complete Ballooning Stage experts were rather quick on their feet, so it would not take long for them to deliver all kinds of information.


    The only thing was that the Southern and Western gates would not be as informed as the Eastern and Northern ones.


    And, in practice, this made a lot of sense.


    The guards were, after all, from the Northern Gate. Because of this, they would dedicate more importance on rushing back to their own base and reporting the incident to their superiors first.


    Furthermore, the entire incident had happened near the vicinity of the Eastern Gate, in a courtyard that was under the gate¡¯s radius of influence.


    As such, it was only natural that the clansmen that lived within the courtyard would have already scurried over to the Eastern Barracks by now to inform the officers stationed over there about the tragedies that had taken place.


    Because of these reasons, Hua Yan could not go to either the Eastern Gate or the Northern Gate.


    He would have to try his luck with the other two areas.


    Taking into account the information that Hua Chin had told him, if the man wasn¡¯t bluffing, then he would have to try his luck with the party that was happening at the Western Gate.


    Though he did not really know what kind of party or gathering it was, he had to try anything that was available to him.


    He was actually quite worried about his sister. He didn¡¯t know if she had gotten out safely or not, so the matter kept weighing down on his heart.


    This was precisely the reason why he wanted to get out of the manor as fast as possible and to head to Chil Pin.


    As Hua Yan was passing through the various courtyards, he heard loud footsteps coming from a random direction.


    It was the guards! They were all suited up and looking for someone!


    Judging by where their search radius was, it was quite obvious that they were looking for him!


    Since they were already here, Hua Yan needed to be stealthy.


    If he were to bolt towards the Western Gate, he would immediately attract attention.


    Just as he planned to slip into some random courtyard and wait for the guards to pass, a voice of a familiar man screamed out.


    ¡°He¡¯s over there! The murderer is right there!¡±


    The one that was screaming was none other than the bully, Hua Gwan, that he had bumped into earlier. This man, who was now ratting him out, was the root cause of all his problems today.


    Thinking about him, Hua Yan¡¯s anger once again awoke.


    This time around, there were more than 30 guards that had arrived at the scene.


    Hua Yan knew that he could not wiggle his way out of such a large number. Confrontation was to be absolutely avoided, unless of course he wanted to be killed.


    In addition, there were more stronger experts in this group.


    Judging from their uniforms, Hua Yan saw around 7 people that were around Hua Chin¡¯s rank, and 1 that was dressed even more elaborately.


    It was a Guard Colonel!


    Such a person was actually sent after him so early on!


    He was someone that had already surpassed the limits of the Continuous Ballooning Stage and had stepped into the next realm!


    A Complete Deflation Stage expert!

 Ten Minute Chase

    Once Hua Gwan had said his piece and all the soldiers around him had spotted Hua Yan, there was a moment of silence shared amongst them.


    The Guard Colonel and Hua Yan locked eyes, forming silent evaluations of each other in their heads.


    When Hua Yan observed the Guard Colonel, the most prominent thing that he noticed which stood out about the man, apart from his nicer clothing and finer weapon, was his build.


    His body was actually very noticeably different from the other guards that he was standing next to. In fact, it was actually smaller and less bloated. It looked skinny and frail. It was like a stick placed in the middle of a bunch of trees.


    Yet, even though this was the case and the Guard Colonel appeared more miniscule than his subordinates, there was an undeniable power coursing forth from his being that was simply absent from everyone else.


    Hua Yan knew that this man was much more dangerous than the bigger men he was surrounded by, not just by a scale of one or two extra times, but by a magnitude in the tens!


    And what was the reason?


    It was because this Guard Colonel had already fulfilled the conditions for completing the Continuous Ballooning Stage and had officially stepped into the Complete Deflation Stage.


    The level of power that existed in the gap between these two stages could not be underestimated.


    If the Ballooning Stage cultivated the body, then the Deflation Stage cultivated the mentality.


    It was not said without reason that those who could reach the Deflation Stage were actually total nut-jobs. The amount of training that they needed to go through for even the slightest increase in their cultivation levels was crazy. They were all battle-tested and courageous, and their cultivation bases were representative of this undeniable truth.


    Now, facing a veteran of this stage, Hua Yan knew that the outcome of this battle would not be in his favour.


    He needed to leave this place immediately!


    As for the Guard Colonel, Hua Bim, he also noticed the peculiarity that was Hua Yan.


    The boy obviously had no cultivation to speak of. Yet, considering the reports that his men had sent him about his previous feat of slaughtering 5 armed guards in a single stroke, Hua Gim had to re-evaluate the lad.


    Hua Yan was by no means a simple mortal.


    What a joke!


    If someone that could kill 5 Ballooning Stage experts in a single blow was a simple mortal, then cultivators would be worth less than dirt. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    This Hua Yan obviously had his own share of secrets, and Hua Bim¡¯s men had already informed him about the oddness of his sword style and the white light that was generated each time he threw out a swing.


    Hua Bim was extremely inquisitive about Hua Yan¡¯s mysterious power in his mind, but he didn¡¯t dare to let his guard down because of it. He would try his best to not draw out the battle just because he wanted Hua Yan to show all his cards. He would not fail to deliver the critical blow at the most effective time, and he would not let any advantages go to waste just to sate his curiosity.


    Even though, realistically speaking, he shouldn¡¯t have put up any kind of defence against an ordinary mortal, since he had no need to, he couldn¡¯t help but be cautious against Hua Yan.


    After all, since Hua Bim could not really evaluate his level of power, he did not know exactly how deep and profound Hua Yan¡¯s strength was. So that alone was reason enough for him to keep his shield up.


    Hua Yan, however, was different.


    He knew exactly how strong he was, and he also had a rough idea of how he would compare with a Complete Inflation Stage expert in battle. Though he was unsure of what kind of effects using his newly obtained sword would have in a fight, he did not want to test and see for himself.


    He was already injured from his last fight and this battle, if he chose to engage in it, would not be a 1 on 1 fight. He would be surrounded and made quick work of if he tried a direct confrontation.


    Moreover, even if he fought and won against this group, another group would come over and take his head. He was still in the Hua Clan, so it was impossible to win a war of attrition.


    So, instead of wasting even more energy on this useless battle, he needed to flee before he got surrounded again and forced to make a move. If things got to that point, then it really would be game over for him, even if he had a dozen extra lives.


    For now, he needed to divert the guards¡¯ attention off of him.


    They all had their eyes trained on him and were slowly nearing his position, so it would be impossible for him to evade them even in his wildest dreams. He needed to start a commotion elsewhere and get the guards to be momentarily distracted.


    This would be enough for him to get away.


    Though it was a risky gamble, he had a plan in his mind.


    Looking over to the right, he got into a posture to run.


    Immediately, he started bolting. But, instead of heading to his right like he had made everyone believe, he had changed his stance midway through and ran to the left.


    Though this had slightly disoriented the guards, it was unable to get rid of them. They were not some kids that could be fooled by this low-level of play.


    And Hua Yan understood this too.


    This was all just a warm-up. He wanted to make their minds as confused as possible for his planned moment, so that when he finally pulled wool over their eyes, they wouldn¡¯t even know the better until a little later.


    Nearing a bend in the road, Hua Yan suddenly jumped in the air and spun around.


    The guards that were nearing him who saw this were startled out of their minds. They immediately backed up, and some even fell back onto their bottoms in fear.


    But Hua Yan was not planning on stopping.


    Once he made this move, he turned around and continued running as if nothing had happened


    The guards that had fallen on the ground were slightly embarrassed and started cursing Hua Yan, but they quickly picked themselves up and continued the chase at the sight of the Guard Colonel¡¯s disapproving gaze.


    As Hua Yan continued to run, he would frequently shout, or move around his blade, and a lot of the guards kept falling for his tricks and losing themselves in the moment. This made them subconsciously afraid of getting too close to Hua Yan.


    Soon, however, it got to the point where they had become desensitized to his actions, and his bizarre moves no longer rustled them.


    The Guard Colonel was watching this all coolly as he continued to follow after Hua Yan.


    With his speed, he could have long since closed the distance between the two of them, but he chose not to because he was still wary of what tricks Hua Yan could suddenly pull.


    Seeing Hua Yan¡¯s horseplay, however, he began to second guess himself.


    What was so special about this kid? All he was good for was playing a few petty and immature tricks. Why did he, as a dignified Guard Colonel, have to continue with this chase any longer? It was both humiliating and a waste of time!


    As Hua Bim clenched his sword and got ready to go in for the kill, trouble had finally begun.


    Around 10 guards and 3 guard captains were currently only a few metres away from Hua Yan. They got really comfortable with this distance after chasing Hua Yan for more than 10 minutes, so they really didn¡¯t expect it when Hua Yan suddenly turned around and moved at a speed that was nearly teleportation.


    One moment they had heads, and the next moment they didn¡¯t!


    A total of 13 guards had just lost their lives, and in the torrent of all the bloodshed, the remaining stupefied guards didn¡¯t even notice that Hua Yan had disappeared.

 Kill The Criminal

    After Hua Yan had decimated that group of guards who had gotten too close to him, he made use of the flare of the moment to disappear into a nearby courtyard.


    His arms were in pain, his vision was a little foggy, and his fingers felt like they were about to turn to sand and fall off.


    But, though this was the case, he knew that he had made a necessary sacrifice.


    If he had dallied for any longer, the consequences would have been much too severe for him to handle.


    Instead of only being minutely affected by his actions, he would have lost his life from his inaction!


    So, it was indeed a great gamble that he had taken in order to trick the guards in that fashion.


    On another note, though he had been running for around 10 minutes, the truth was that he was not running very fast.


    This was because he had wanted to lure the group of guards that were chasing after him to get into a position that was close enough for him to deliver a decisive blow and overwhelm their numbers with a solid strike.


    Due to this decision, he was actually still quite a distance away from his destination near the Western Gate.


    Currently, he was near the gathering of courtyards near the southern area of the manor. If he mustered up his fastest speed, he might be able to reach the Western Gate in a matter of minutes.


    He decided against this though, because running at his top speed would attract too much unwanted attention.


    He didn¡¯t want the guards to be aware of his plans.


    He had decided to come this way, instead of heading directly towards the Western Gate, because he did not want to hint his intended destination to the guards that were madly chasing after him.


    Consequently, he took a bit of a detour and entered the 37th courtyard. This courtyard was actually located very close to the Southern Gate and was only a couple minutes away from it.


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    If Hua Yan was suicidal enough, he could even attempt to leave the clan through the Southern Gate, as it wouldn¡¯t take him a great amount of time to do so.


    But, this was only under the assumption that the guards stationed at the gate would let him go through unquestioned, which they absolutely, most certainly would not allow.


    With the commotion that he had created behind him, the guards of the Southern Gate would most likely already be aware of his arrival in this area, so heading to that gate, where they were waiting for him, would be foolish; it would be akin to pouncing into a lion¡¯s open maw.


    Hua Yan did not have iron skin or a demon¡¯s luck to come out such a situation alive.


    But, though he could not make use of that gate to escape, he was actually not in much danger at the moment. The reason for this was because, even though the guards of the Southern Gate knew about his presence in the area, they would not actively come after him, as it was not their job to do so.


    In addition, there was fierce competition amongst the guards from the various gates. The dispatch that had chased after him from the 24th courtyard all the way to here were from the Eastern Gate.


    And, because of numerous conflicts of interest, the guards of the Eastern Gate did not get along well with those from the Southern Gate


    As such, the guards from the Southern Gate would watch the situation from a distance and give the guards from the Eastern Gate a perfect chance to lose face, since they were being played so effortlessly by a kid with no cultivation.


    The Southern Gate guards would be more than happy to watch their colleagues in name be kicked down a peg by a brat.


    Hua Yan made use of this knowledge and arrived in this area to lose his pursuers. He was going to stealthily continue to head west until he reached the party that was taking place in the Western Gate.


    Meanwhile, Hua Bim was not pleased.


    All this time he was carefully watching Hua Yan, and was completely captivated by his frivolous actions. The moment the boy drew blood, Hua Bim was greatly taken aback.


    In his stupor, he didn¡¯t notice that Hua Yan had run away. He was too preoccupied with the fact that a junior with no cultivation had just killed 13 of his men with one strike. And some of those men even happened to be those at the peak of the Complete Ballooning Stage.


    This amount of shocking power¡­ Hua Bim would not have believed it if he didn¡¯t see it.


    Even the greatest of geniuses that he knew would not be able to mimic such a feat. With no cultivation bases, they were like chickens placed up on a chopping board ready to be slaughtered when placed up against cultivators. And this was especially so if they were pitted up against numerous high-level Continuous Ballooning Stage masters.


    Yet, what was this Hua Yan doing?


    He had just flipped around Hua Bim¡¯s understanding of the world in a single, very lethal sword strike.


    Hence, Hua Bim could not be blamed for momentarily losing track of what his mission was. Hua Yan had shocked him out of his pants!


    When he came back to his senses, he was furious, both with himself and with Hua Yan!


    How could he afford to be distracted like that? That was exactly what the enemy had wanted, and like some greenhorn, he had walked right into the enemy¡¯s trap.


    As for that Hua Yan, he was only a youth, yet he had such a poisonous and cunning mind! Hua Bim was greatly disgusted that such a conniving and despicable trickster was part of the Hua Clan.


    He truly, completely believed that someone like Hua Yan should have been executed the moment he was born. Keeping him around all this time was only waiting for an accident to happen.


    Today, now that the accident had happened and numerous guards and civilians had lost their lives to Hua Yan, Hua Bim would make sure to get justice for the clan today.


    Drawing out his sword, he commanded his men in a thunderous voice.


    ¡°I don¡¯t care if you have to die to catch that criminal, but today, he must not be left alive!¡±


    Hearing his emboldening speech, the guards rose their weapons and screamed back.


    ¡°Kill!¡±

 Revenge Is Blind

    The roaring from Hua Bim and company was loud enough to alert Hua Yan of their actions. He had still not left the guards¡¯ immediate search radius, so he couldn¡¯t yet make any elaborate movements from where he was now.


    He needed to somehow pass through around 5 or more courtyards to reach the western part of the manor. From there, he needed to inquire from the locals about what exactly the party Hua Chin had mentioned was and where it was being held.


    After that, he needed to think of a way to somehow infiltrate the party and find a method to leave the manor disguised in the robes of an outsider.


    Before he could even think about accomplishing all of this though, he needed to first do something about the guards that were still hot on his tail.


    Because there were so many of them, and since more would most likely be joining into the fray to replace the dead ones in a matter of moments, Hua Yan needed to be quick about the planning and the execution of his escape.


    If the guards closed off the courtyard by quarantining it and got the clansmen to help look for him once they had a portrait of him ready, he would truly be trapped in here like a sitting duck.


    If he couldn¡¯t leave the courtyard and missed the party, he didn¡¯t know when and where his next opportunity to escape would come.


    He could just bide his time and wait while hiding, evading the public eye until everyone forgot about him, but he was too worried about how his sister was faring. So, leaving the manor immediately was of utmost importance.


    There were around 100 or so seperate rooms in this courtyard for the Side Branch members to reside in. The rooms were all cluttered into 5 or 6 conjoined buildings that made up the courtyard as a whole. In addition to this, there were a few pavilions spread across the courtyard near the middle area, and there were even some clansmen that had set up stalls to sell things along the road.


    Though the amount of traffic inside couldn¡¯t be considered anything major if the entirety of Gin Town was considered, in this small area, it gave the illusion that the whole courtyard was filled with a lot of people.


    The truth was that the place was lived in. That was why it appeared like it was so buzzing and eventful all the time.


    This kind of environment would be ideal for Hua Yan to lose his pursuers. He could make use of the terrain and the surrounding people to blend in and quickly make his escape.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    One thing that would not help him though were his clothes.


    Ever since his previous clashes with the guards and the four fatties, he had gotten a lot of blood spilled onto his person. As a result, he looked very odd to look at drenched in all of that red.


    Furthermore, even if any person walking by were blind, he or she would still be able to smell the strong scent of gore on him.


    So, he needed to think of a way to get out of his clothes and find some apparel for replacement.


    Stealing a few articles of clothing in this kind of area would not be too hard for, since there were so many people mulling about, so Hua Yan thought that he could easily get his hands on some new clothes.


    Since he did not want to travel on the ground level and attract the eyes of the various pedestrians, Hua Yan headed to a secluded corner where no one was looking, and immediately began to climb to the rooftop.


    Unbeknown to him, his actions did not go unnoticed. A figure idling somewhere below had caught sight of him, but other than having an interested expression, it did not make any move to chase after him or call out to the guards. It just watched without a word as Hua Yan scanned the perimeter.


    When Hua Yan was doing this, his expression immediately turned sour.


    The guards really were efficient in their closing off of the area. They had managed to bring in over 30 extra guards, and some of these guards were definitely not from the Eastern Gate.


    It looked like the Guard Colonel had really bowed his head down today to those of the Southern Gate to have them lend him their men to assist in the capture of Hua Yan.


    This kind of dedication to capturing him was scary.


    Hua Yan cursed his luck for having such a persistent opponent.


    It appeared that he would need to make use of another diversion to escape.


    As he was looking for hanging clothes to grab, his eyes caught sight of a familiar figure. It was Hua Gwan!


    Seeing him, Hua Yan grit his teeth. He really wanted to bury this Hua Gwan in the dirt for all the trouble that he had caused today.


    Though it was Hua Yan¡¯s own fault for not properly controlling his temper and massacring the fatties, he still blamed Hua Gwan for everything.


    Hua Gwan was after all the root cause.


    Hua Gwan was currently walking around with the courtyard with some guards. Since he was familiar with Hua Yan¡¯s face, as he had bumped into him not too long ago, he was playing an active role in helping the clan law enforcement officers capture Hua Yan.


    Of course, he also had some ulterior motives as well, but the guards didn¡¯t care. As long as Hua Gwan could help them out in some way, they were more than willing to allow him to accompany them on their search.


    Hua Yan forced his body to follow them.


    He was very tired and his body felt like it was on the verge of falling apart, but he would not let his fatigue get in the way of his revenge.


    There were five guards that were accompanying Hua Gwan. One of the five was a guard captain and the rest of the group were all regular guards. To Hua Yan, they were easy game, especially with the sword in his hands.


    Because of how alert they were though, Hua Yan did not think that he could sneak up on them. Furthermore, the sword that he had snatched from Hua Chin was not in a good state either.


    By drawing out the white light from before, he had greatly whittled away at its durability.


    Moreover, even if the sword was in its peak condition, Hua Yan himself was not. His arms were greatly injured and he could barely make a fist with his sword hand.


    Nevertheless, with determination alone, he performed his next subsequent maneuvers.


    He waited for the group of six to walk near a stall before jumping off the rooftop and stabbing his sword right into the skull of the guard captain.

 Battered Body, Iron Heart

    Crack!


    The guard captain¡¯s eyes immediately went lifeless as they popped out of their sockets. The man did not even understand how he had died, let alone who had caused it. After all, the affair was just way too sudden.


    Hua Yan did not use any special power for this blow, as he relied solely on the gravitational force generated from his fall and his sword¡¯s edge to do the work.


    His knees hurt from jumping off a building like that, but that didn¡¯t stop him from using them to thrust forward into another guard who had just caught sight of him.


    One moment, the guard saw Hua Yan. In the next, he saw Hua Yan¡¯s blade. After that, he couldn¡¯t see anything anymore and things would remain that way forever because Hua Yan had taken his life.


    There were now only three guards left, but Hua Yan didn¡¯t have much blade remaining on his sword to take care of them. He had destroyed too much of it in his aggressive assault, and his right hand was hanging limply at his side from overuse and abuse.


    The guards noticed this, but did not dare to attack him. They had personally seen how he had slaughtered their comrades, so they knew better than to provoke him upfront.


    Before Hua Yan could make his next move, one of the guards ran away to call for reinforcements, while the other two guards blocked Hua Yan¡¯s path.


    These two were indeed brave, but Hua Yan didn¡¯t have the energy to admire their valour.


    He held his blade with his left hand and aimed it right at the running guard.


    The other two, seeing his action, thought that he was about to impale the one that was running, so they immediately got in the way to block him.


    Unluckily for them, Hua Yan had already predicted that they would attempt to do this, so he quickly did a spinning jump, adjusted his throwing posture into a double-handed grip and brought his sword slashing down at one of the guards that had dared to intercept him.


    ¡°Graaaaaaah!¡±


    The man screamed out as Hua Yan¡¯s sword lodged itself on his forehead. Hua Yan¡¯s blade snapped in the process and he lost complete control of his right arm.


    The remaining other guard that had stayed behind tackled Hua Yan onto the ground.


    ¡°You monster! How could you kill them all! You fiend! You criminal! You scum! What am I supposed to say to their families!¡±


    The guard started pounding on Hua Yan¡¯s body in a frenzy. He was truly mad and heartbroken at Hua Yan¡¯s ruthless acts of murder. He wanted to smash Hua Yan¡¯s face to a pulp with his bare fists alone.


    Just around the time he had landed his fifth hit, a piercing white light shone from under his chin and pierced into his throat.


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    His blood sprayed in a fountain onto the object that had killed him.


    It¡­ it was actually a common rock on the side of the road. It wasn¡¯t too sharp or lethal-looking.


    It was just an ordinary rock, yet a half dead Hua Yan had managed to use it to kill the guard.


    Hua Yan shoved the guard¡¯s body off of him and stood up.


    His legs were constantly shaking, and he couldn¡¯t quite move his toes.


    What stood in front of him was a trembling Hua Gwan.


    Hua Gwan hadn¡¯t expected that Hua Yan would actually be this strong. He had followed the guards here to personally see Hua Yan¡¯s life be taken away from him. He had wanted to watch the man that had killed his thugs be torn apart with his own eyes.


    What he did not expect though was for the guards that were escorting him to be slaughtered off so easily.


    He had previously been informed that Hua Yan had already depleted all of his energy and had a foot in the grave! Hua Yan should have been in no condition to hold a weapon, much less put up any sort of a fight!


    Yet, what the heck was this?!


    He had managed to kill 4 guards that even Hua Gwan in his peak state wouldn¡¯t dare to provoke!


    This was actually what a weakened Hua Yan was?!


    Hua Gwan shivered just thinking about what sort of a concept an energized Hua Yan would be.


    Hua Yan rose his head and gave Hua Gwan a grim stare, causing the latter to immediately lower his eyes and giving him the impulse to bow.


    Hua Gwan could not stand Hua Yan¡¯s fierce gaze!


    His legs were pinned in place and he felt that if he tried to run, he would have a rock pierce the back of his head. He was truly scared!


    But as the seconds passed by, he noticed that Hua Yan had yet to make a move on him. Mustering up all the courage that he possibly could, Hua Gwan lifted his head up to see what was in store for him.


    He was shocked to come face to face with a completely empty courtyard. After Hua Yan¡¯s feat of killing the first guard, everyone had already run away. They were too shocked by the scene of a guard captain being killed like that in broad daylight, so they did not wish to stay in the area any longer.


    They had noticed the influx of guards securing the perimeter, so they knew that something was up. Since the situation had seemed so dangerous, they all went back to their rooms and barricaded themselves indoors, hoping that no one would come after them or involve them in these bloody affairs.


    As for Hua Yan, he had disappeared from Hua Gwan¡¯s line of sight.


    Hua Gwan swore that Hua Yan should have not been able to move his legs anymore, so he was really confused as to where he had gone.


    This was when something suddenly happened.


    Hua Gwan felt a strand of hair around the nape of his neck. He was so scared by this that he nearly jumped out of his boots!


    Turning around to look at it in shock, he realized that it was the hair from a human head!


    More precisely speaking, it was the severed head of the guard that had run to call for help earlier.


    And the head was actually¡­ being held up by Hua Yan!


    Hua Yan was dangling it in front of Hua Gwan¡¯s face, prompting Hua Gwan to fall over and let terror paint the contours of his face.


    ¡°Y-You¡­ what are you doing?¡±


    Hua Yan kept silent, slowly wobbling closer and closer to Hua Gwan.


    Hua Gwan soon backed up against a wall and was unable to move backwards anymore. All his routes were blocked by Hua Yan and the two swords in his hands.


    It was unknown how he was holding onto them, since his fingers had already been messed up so badly that they were twisting and entwining with each other like creeper vines.


    His legs were positioned in an unnatural angle, and his left foot was actually facing in the same direction as his back!


    Hua Yan looked like a monster straight out of a horror story.


    There was no visible part of his skin where blood could not be found. He looked like a zombie that had just crawled out of its grave, and Hua Gwan had the misfortune of witnessing this in his final moments.


    Hua Yan didn¡¯t waste time with words and sent out a slash.


    His sword never reached Hua Gwan though, because the hidden figure that was watching all along finally made a move.


    ¡°So you fell for the bait like an idiot,¡± Hua Bim exclaimed, never expecting that things would work out so easily.


    He had inquired from some of the locals of Courtyard 24 about why exactly the initial fight had taken place and he had noticed that Hua Gwan actually played a large role in it. Using him to lure out Hua Yan, Hua Bim planned to get Hua Yan to come out and confront the guards.


    Hua Bim had already seen how slippery Hua Yan was, so he did not want to let him run free again. That was why he had personally watched over the entire operation and personally decided to deliver the finishing blow.


    He parried Hua Yan¡¯s sword with his own and aimed a cut for his head.


    Instead of the sound of steel tearing flesh though, only a strange, unsettling laughter was heard.


    ¡°Jajahajahajahajhajahajhaja!¡±


    The glimmer in Hua Bim¡¯s eyes faded and his body collapsed. As for Hua Yan, there was only a pile of dust left in his place.

 Ashuras Calling

    Hua Yan felt like he had suddenly been turned off. His body no longer responded to him, and even his willpower slowly faded away. All that remained in the shell of the figure that once used to be Hua Yan was a mad, carnal, fury incarnate.


    This fury was something that had been leaking out from his being since long ago. It was something that he had noticed a while back but left in the back of his mind. After all, everyone got angry at times, so why would his fury be any different? Why would his fury be anything noteworthy?


    Instinctively, however, Hua Yan felt that there was something wrong. Something didn¡¯t add up and this didn¡¯t sit well with him.


    Whenever he was confronted about something, whenever he was conned, whenever he felt like he was up against constant injustice¡­ his fury would come out and it would sometimes make him think of some rather dangerous thoughts that he would never think of if he were in his most sane state.


    But, since Hua Yan knew better than to fall for its many temptations, he always kept his rage suppressed.


    He had someone to take care of, so he did not have the luxury to become angry at his leisure. He did not have the support to back him up if anything went wrong, so he always forgot about the demons in his heart and only worried about dealing with the demons on the outside.


    But, when his sister was harmed so brazenly in front of his eyes by the fatties, he had been rendered absolutely insane. Something inside him broke and this was exactly when things about him had started to change.


    Though he was not someone that was new to the concept of bloodshed or murder, he had never before been so bold in his claiming human lives. There was a time and place for everything, but in his fury, he had forgotten this principle.


    He was actually someone that liked to think of himself as one that did not needlessly kill.


    But, actions spoke louder than words, and his choice of killing the fatties revealed his true character.


    The strange thing, however, was the fact that Hua Yan did not believe that he was acting of his own accord.


    Even though he had acknowledged that it was indeed him who had done all the massacring, something felt very bizarre about the whole situation.


    He was a rational person. He knew what the consequences would be for the actions he had committed. So, by that logic, it would have been impossible for him to kill the fatties, because such a thing would bring him more harm than good. Even the average bystander understood this point, so why wouldn¡¯t he?


    Unless, of course, he was acting under the influence of something so powerful and mysterious that it could make him forget himself and lose control of his bodily functions. This was what he suspected.


    As he bathed himself in more blood, the amount of madness that came out from within him was on an exponential rise. It flowed out like an endless torrent and was capable of releasing power that Hua Yan never dared to even dream about.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    It turned his mortal body into a weapon of war and it was efficient in killing of foes that were supposed to be many times over him in terms of cultivation and experience.


    The fury had morphed him into something else.


    All that time when he was evading the guards, he had only been under the illusion that he still had complete control of himself.


    The truth, however, was that the second he had surpassed his limits and went beyond what he should have normally been capable of, he had fallen into an abyss from which he could never return.


    He had awoken something deep inside of him and everything else was forgotten.


    Even he, Hua Yan, seemed to become a thing of the past in his own head.


    Then, the soil cracked open!


    A hand came out from under the dirt. It forcefully pulled at the multiple tree roots that lay littered across the ground and used them as leverage to rise out of a little pit. The sound of snapping bones and collapsing dirt could be heard as bony limbs moved around.


    A figure that looked like it should have already been dead rose to the surface.


    Its eyes were void of life. Its flesh had already evidently started to rot. Its left arm was missing. Its right arm was infested with all sorts of parasitic worms and was in the process of decaying. Its legs looked a bit nibbled off, and half of its head was missing.


    No one would believe that this thing was still alive, yet it made such life-like movements after escaping from its grave.


    Hua Yan was confused.


    Just why¡­


    Just why was he in this body?


    And why did it feel as if¡­ there was someone else in here with him?


    ¡°Maybe that¡¯s because you aren¡¯t incorrect,¡± a voice exclaimed from somewhere deep within his mind.


    Hua Yan was startled by its sudden reply. It sounded so mad and domineering, but the most offsetting factor, by far, was the fact that it was coming from somewhere inside of him. It was coming from somewhere within the deepest recesses of his existence itself.


    Had he truly gone mad? Were the recent events just one big dream? Did he really get poisoned after eating that rice that his sister had made for him? What exactly was going on?!


    ¡°Yes, you are poisoned,¡± the voice sounded out, replying to his thoughts, ¡°But not by something so simple. Heh.¡±


    Hua Yan had many questions, so even though the possibility of him having gone crazy had never left his mind, his curiosity got the better of him.


    ¡°Are you that poison?¡± He asked with a steady voice, concentrating on his insides.


    ¡°The answer to that will become obvious in due time,¡± the voice replied in a scratchy, uneven tone, ¡°But before that, let me ask you¡­ do you know what this forest is?¡±


    Hearing the noise, Hua Yan felt like ripping his ears apart. The sound was unbearable and it felt as if he would be consumed by it if he tried to think about it too deeply. It hurt too much to interact with whatever was inside of him!


    He immediately turned his focus away from the voice and focused on his surroundings instead.


    This place was incomparably familiar to him. Even if he were blindfolded, he would still be able to tell where he was based on the scent emitted from the nearby flora and the feeling of the wind alone. That was how intimate he was with this place!


    It was the unnamed forest outside of Gin Town! That was where he currently was.


    ¡°Yeahs, that is correct. This is indeed that place,¡± the voice remarked, ¡°Do you know what is special about here?¡±


    Hua Yan didn¡¯t think that there was anything in particular that was special about this place. In fact, he was very puzzled as to why the voice was asking him this. Was there perhaps a deeper connection between this forest and his current situation?


    But, that shouldn¡¯t be the case. This forest was as ordinary as forests could get. Hua Yan had spent enough of his life here to know that. This place had nothing significant about it compared to some of the better known forests. It was just a place where humans didn¡¯t reside in; it was the wilderness.


    But, if there was something that he didn¡¯t know about, then the voice¡¯s question would make some sense.


    ¡°This forest is a Trial Grounds,¡± the voice answered.


    Hua Yan still did not understand what the voice was hinting at. He didn¡¯t understand what kind of an existence a Trial Grounds was. He had never before heard anyone mention this term before either.


    The voice then started to snicker, hurting Hua Yan as it did.


    ¡°You¡¯ve answered the Ashura¡¯s calling. The ritual is already complete.¡±