Town Suppression

In the side courtyard, several figures scaled a pile of sand and dirt, slipping into the estate with hushed movements. At their head was a hulking brute standing eight feet tall, his face twisted in a ferocious sneer. His name was Wang Yan. The men following close behind him possessed equally sinister countenances, their eyes shifty and thievish.

As the saying goes, the face reflects the heart. These men were all lawless vagrants from neighboring settlements who spent their days loafing around, stealing livestock, and refusing to engage in honest labor. Some time ago, a wealthy landlord from another village had bribed them to ambush and stab to death a returning cultivator of the Spirit Awakening Realm. That successful slaughter had left them utterly arrogant and unbridled.

It was precisely for this reason that the Wang family had sought them out. If the attempt succeeded, it would merely cost a sum of silver. If it failed, the deed could never be traced back to the Wang clan.

Each man gripped a sharp, wicked blade, their bodies exuding a cold, murderous intent.

Waiting within the courtyard was an estate guard named Zhao Quan, dressed in tight-fitting martial attire. He scanned his surroundings before stepping forward to help the intruders down one by one.

"What is the situation?" Wang Yan asked in a low whisper, silently slipping a hefty twenty-tael silver ingot into Zhao Quan's hand the moment his feet touched the ground.

Catching the silver, Zhao Quan grinned with unsuppressed delight. "Rest assured. I am the one on watch tonight; nothing will be discovered. I have already memorized the Zhou family's routine. By this hour, they are always sound asleep."

Although Zhou Changhe had ordered two squads of four guards to patrol the estate together, countermeasures always arose to meet policies from above. Once the masters retired for the night, the guards naturally slacked off. Since Zhao Quan had volunteered for the late shift, the other retainers had been only too glad to hand it over.

By merely guiding these killers into the estate, he had secured twenty taels of silver. If the deed succeeded, he would receive fifteen mu of land and be stripped of his slave status. How could Zhao Quan not be tempted?

The vagrants caught the glint of silver in the darkness, and their breathing quickened, their eyes burning with raw greed.

Wang Yan turned back, his voice dropping to a harsh whisper. "If we succeed tonight, every man receives thirty taels!"

A burly ruffian named Lin Shitou grinned savagely. "An Immortal Master? We have butchered one before. A white blade goes in, a red blade comes out, and they gasp their last just like anyone else."

The others chuckled wickedly, the edge of their weapons gleaming with a chilly light.

Strictly speaking, the Zhou family shared a distant thread of kinship with them, as Zhou Hong's wife, Madam Lin, hailed from Lin Family Village. Yet, the Immortal Master these men had previously slaughtered had belonged to their own ancestral clan-slain simply because the wealthy elders of their village feared him. So long as the silver was sufficient, these vagabonds would murder their own flesh and blood without hesitation, let alone an Immortal Master to whom they bore only a tenuous connection.

"The Zhou family's second master is in the eastern chamber of the rear courtyard. Follow me," Zhao Quan said, stuffing the silver into his robe.

The group slunk toward the inner quarters. Wang Yan remained at the very rear of the formation.

The Wang family had ordered this night raid not only to assassinate Zhou Ping, but also to handle any potential failure. If things went awry, Wang Yan was expected to eliminate all witnesses at any cost, ensuring the Zhou family could never secure evidence against the main clan.

"Wang Yan, remember this well," Wang Du had told him before the operation, handing him twenty taels as a family settlement fee. "If that Second Master Zhou possesses some profound magical ability, you must fight to the death to silence everyone. Under no circumstances can you implicate the clan. Rest assured that the family will provide well for your parents, wife, and children."

Wang Yan was originally a fugitive murderer who had escaped justice by hiding under the protection of his clan. He had long felt the sting of shame for being unable to care for his aging parents. If he could trade his worthless life for the lifelong prosperity of his household, it was a bargain he would gladly strike.

Zhao Quan crept forward, his face contorted with malice. Once this night ended, he would possess wealth and finally shed the shackles of servitude.

Lin Shitou was already fantasizing about how he would squander his reward. The five men moved like a pack of starving wolves, their eyes gleaming with a sinister, predatory light in the gloom.

Suddenly, the doors separating the front and rear courtyards burst open. An blinding explosion of white light erupted from within, instantly striking the intruders with sheer terror.

"Damn it! My eyes!"

"Flee! Second Master Zhou is awake!"

"Swish! Swish! Swish!"

Before the raiders could scramble, an overwhelming spiritual pressure surged through the air. A small flying sword shot from the darkness of the inner courtyard like a dancing phoenix, carving through the panicked crowd. In an instant, severed limbs flew, and agonized screams shattered the night.

Wang Yan's heart seized with dread. Disregarding his temporary blindness, he swung his massive broadsword wildly before him, the heavy blade sinking deep into the neck of one of his own men. Blood sprayed in a violent torrent.

Knowing Second Master Zhou possessed such terrifying methods, he knew he had to destroy any link to his masters.

Zhou Ping watched from the shadows, momentarily surprised that someone within the enemy ranks was attempting to silence the witnesses. However, a mortal could never outrun a flying sword. Concentrating his Divine Sense, he caused the small sword to erupt with immense power. The weapon cleaved straight through Wang Yan, bursting his body into bloody fragments.

"In the end, I still brought ruin to the clan..." Wang Yan's final shred of consciousness faded into absolute regret.

Standing beside his uncle, Zhou Minghu had never witnessed such a gruesome spectacle. His young body trembled violently, and he instinctively closed his eyes.

"Open your eyes and look closely!" Zhou Ping barked sternly. "The weak are prey to the strong; this world is that cruel. If we do not slaughter them, they will annihilate our entire Zhou family!"

He would not allow Zhou Minghu to grow up timid and weak. A faint-hearted heir could never sustain the future of an Immortal Clan.

The sharp reprimand, mingled with the lingering groans of the dying, forced Zhou Minghu to master his trembling. He compelled himself to look, his gaze locking onto the severed bone and scattered flesh.

As the blinding white radiance faded, the small flying sword transformed back into a stream of light and slipped neatly into Zhou Ping's sleeve. The cultivator's face was slightly pale, his energy taxed. On the blood-drenched ground, only Zhao Quan and Lin Shitou remained breathing. The rest had been reduced to mangled remnants.

The moment Zhou Ping had detected the intruders through his spiritual senses, he had roused Zhou Minghu and instructed him to cast the Light Illumination Technique. Though it was a minor technique typically used by cultivators to see in the dark, the sudden flash in the dead of night had achieved a devastating effect.

The instantaneous blindness had left the attackers completely helpless. Under the swift strikes of the flying sword, they could do nothing but await execution.

The guards in the front courtyard had been awakened by the screeching. When they rushed over and beheld the carnage, their faces turned stark white, and several immediately collapsed to their knees, vomiting uncontrollably.

"Zhao Quan! What have you done?" Old Xu cried, dragging his aged frame into the courtyard. As an old soldier who had survived bloody battlefields, his expression remained firm, but a single glance allowed him to piece together the betrayal. He fell to his knees with a heavy thud, kowtowing to Zhou Ping in profound grief.

"Second Master! It is this old servant's failure to discipline his subordinates. My crime deserves ten thousand deaths! But I beg the Second Master to let me slaughter this beast with my own hands before I take my own life to atone for this sin and repay the family's kindness!"

Zhao Quan, bleeding from numerous superficial cuts, had been entirely broken by terror. He thrashed on the ground, kowtowing frantically while shuddering from head to toe. "Second Master, spare me! Second Master, have mercy! This lowly servant was momentarily possessed by greed! I beg the Second Master to spare my life!"

"Old Xu, rise. This is not your fault," Zhou Ping said softly. However, his cold eyes swept across the remaining estate guards, sending a wave of panic through them that brought every single retainer to his knees.

Old Xu's forehead was slick with blood. He snatched a discarded dagger from the ground and lunged forward, intent on plunging it into Zhao Quan's chest. He had received endless grace from the Zhou family; he could not tolerate a guard he had trained turning into a traitorous dog against their masters.

Before the blade could fall, Zhou Minghu suddenly stepped forward. A sharp golden light burst from his hand, piercing straight through Zhao Quan's chest and bisecting his upper torso in a spray of crimson.

In an instant, an icy dread gripped every onlooker.

Hiding in the distant shadows outside the estate walls, two separate scouting parties from the rival families felt their souls leave their bodies. Terrified out of their wits, they turned and fled toward their respective compounds.

The Zhou family did not merely possess an invincible immortal technique-they had produced a second Immortal Master!

As the family members emerged from the rear quarters, the women and children shrieked at the gruesome sight. Zhou Hong and Zhou Changhe forced down their instinctual fear and strode forward. Amid the chaos, Lin Shitou caught sight of Madam Lin at the back of the crowd and lunged toward her like a drowning man grasping at a straw.

"Sister! It is me, Brother Shitou! Save me! You must save me!"

"I do not want to die!"

Zhou Changhe's brow furrowed in anger. He stepped across the slick stones and kicked the man squarely in the chest, sending him sprawling. "Hold your tongue! Speak quickly-who ordered you to raid our home?"

At a critical juncture involving the survival of the clan, even if the intruder were his own maternal uncle, the man would have to die, let alone a distant cousin from his mother's village. Further back, Madam Lin felt a pang of pity, but she dared not utter a syllable.

Fearing that a moment's delay would mean his immediate execution, Lin Shitou pointed a trembling, bloody finger at Wang Yan's bisected corpse. "It was Wang Yan! Wang Yan of the Wang family!"

Zhou Ping sneered. He had gathered extensive intelligence regarding the Wang clan, and he knew well that Wang Yan was a fugitive murderer. He had simply never expected the Wang family to harbor such a criminal within their ranks. Now that this undeniable leverage had fallen into his hands, he saw a path to utterly dismantling the Wang family.

After all, both the Wang and Sun clans had kinsmen serving as minor functionaries within the county yamen. Though their titles were lowly, they possessed the right to petition the imperial authorities. Consequently, dealing with them could not be accomplished through a blunt massacre like the destruction of the Liu family; it required strategic maneuvers.

Yet, one could not forget that Zhou Ping was now the Village Head of Baixi Village, vested with the authority over law enforcement and local taxation. For a local household to harbor a fugitive murderer was a crime that fell squarely under his jurisdiction.

He turned to the trembling retainers and commanded, "Take Wang Yan's corpse and this living wretch. We go to the Wang estate to demand justice."

The guards were already paralyzed with fear, terrified that their masters would punish them for negligence. Now offered a chance to redeem themselves, they wished they had eight legs. They hoisted Wang Yan's remains and hoisted Lin Shitou, charging out of the gates toward the Wang compound without the slightest hesitation.

Zhou Ping subtly passed the small flying sword into Zhou Minghu's hand while he took up the shield artifact. Surrounded by a roaring crowd of attendants, they marched toward the Wang estate.

The Wang family was numerous, and the Spirit Qi within Zhou Ping's Dantian was insufficient to unleash the flying sword a second time. Although his remaining three strands of True Essence could not trigger the shield's full mystical pressure, it would suffice to protect his body in a sudden clash.

After Zhou Ping's departure, only the iron scent of blood remained in the courtyard.

The maids and servants kept their heads pressed firmly against the dirt, their previous casual demeanor thoroughly erased. An ordinary Immortal Master was one thing, but an Immortal Master who slaughtered without blinking was an entirely different terror. Within the souls of these domestic servants, an indelible awe and dread had taken root.

"Clean this place up."

Zhou Minghu's voice was incredibly hoarse, sounding like coarse sandpaper, yet the sound caused the servants to jump in terror. Suppressing their horror, they frantically began scrubbing away the filth and gore.

At this moment, the young master's authority far eclipsed that of Zhou Hong and his son, who had managed the estate for decades.

Meanwhile, across the village.

Upon hearing Sun Mingcheng's report that Zhou Ping commanded lethal immortal methods and that Zhou Minghu had also manifested as an Immortal Master, the Patriarch of the Sun family fell into a profound, heavy silence. After a long moment, he let out a weary sigh.

"From this day forth, Baixi Village belongs to the Zhou family."

"Tomorrow at dawn, accompany me to pay our respects at the Zhou estate."

He understood perfectly that an immortal technique capable of instantly rendering multiple men into meat was not something the Sun family could oppose. Furthermore, the Zhou family now possessed two active cultivators who could support one another, rendering any resistance futile.

Fortunately, his clan had not been the first to draw their blades, and they shared a marital alliance with the Zhou family. He had already resolved that the Sun family would henceforth become a submissive vassal clan through their marriage ties. At the very least, this would preserve their ancestral incense. If the Zhou family ascended to greatness in the future, his own bloodline might follow them into the heavens.

As the principle dictated: when the Zhou family was weak, the weak were prey to the strong; now that the Zhou family was powerful, the Sun family would bow their heads and gladly serve as their vanguard.

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