ตอน 33: Chapter 33 The Fall of Zhang Family
The Zhang Family is situated in the eastern part of the Xia Family's territory. It is a mid-grade family with a foundation of 150 years and around one thousand members. Most of them are martial artists, with only around 60 being cultivators.
It was a deep and quiet night. Zhang Kai, the patriarch of the Zhang Family, was dealing with matters inside his study room. For some reason, he had an uneasy feeling as if something bad was about to happen, but he couldn't pinpoint the source of it.
"Strange! Why is my heart beating so fast for no apparent reason?" Zhang Kai muttered. He wasn't in the mood to deal with matters anymore, so he stood up and walked around the study room to calm his mind.
"Sigh, I might need some relaxation. I should go back and rest." Thinking this, Zhang Kai walked out of the study room and headed for his bedroom, where his wife was already asleep.
On the way, Zhang Kai sensed an abnormal smell, which made him even more uneasy. He quickened his steps towards the room, and the nearer he got, the quieter it became.
"Strange! It shouldn't be this quiet! Something must have happened!" He quickened his steps to the room.
"Wife! Wife!" Zhang Kai shouted when he was a few steps from the room.
What answered him was silence, complete silence.
Zhang Kai opened the door anxiously.
Bang!
After the door was opened, he saw his wife still sleeping there, which softened his expression. He walked over to his sleeping wife and said, "You scared me, wife. You were in the room; why didn't you answer my call?"
What answered him was still silence. Zhang Kai lowered his body to sleep beside his wife and lifted his hand to hug her.
But he froze there immediately as he sensed that his wife had stopped breathing. Zhang Kai couldn't believe it and scanned her with his Divine Sense. The result made his heart sink—she was dead, completely dead.
Zhang Kai froze there, many expressions hit him hardly, sadness, anger, heartache, confusion, unbelief.
"Who? Who did this?! Arggggh!" Zhang Kai screamed loudly.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
"Help! Help!"
"Don't! Don't kill me!"
"Please spare me! Please let go of my child!"
"Xia Family, are you crazy?!"
"Xia Family, have you fallen to demonic paths? Why are you so cruel?"
The screams of Zhang Family members were heard from outside.
Zhang Kai, in his enraged and saddened state, left the room. The sounds were coming from the eastern part where most of the elders stayed, and where the family library was located.
Zhang Kai arrived quickly and was greeted with the scene of his family members being slaughtered by the Cultivators. He recognized most of them—they were Cultivators from the Xia Family.
"Xia Family! How dare you?!" Zhang Kai entered the battle immediately.
As a level 7 Foundation Establishment Cultivator, Zhang Kai activated his movement technique and took out his Iron Spear. He charged towards the nearest Cultivator from the Xia Family without hesitation.
Seeing this, the Xia Family Cultivator showed no fear and sneered at Zhang Kai.
"Not good! Patriarch, it's a trap! Don't come in!" The Great Elder of the Zhang Family shouted, attempting to rescue him.
Bang!
However, he was knocked out immediately by Xia Fu, the previous Patriarch of the Xia Family.
"Run, Patriarch!" The First Elder of the Zhang Family shouted.
Bang!
Xia Fu sent him flying away.
Zhang Kai, in his abnormal state, didn't hear their words and continued to charge at the Xia Family Cultivator. However, when he sensed Xia Fu's aura, he quickly understood the situation and tried to run, but it was too late.
Bang!
Xia Zu attacked from above, his giant hand pressing down on Zhang Kai, releasing his core essence to the fullest. Despite being a false Core Formation Cultivator, Xia Zu's core essence was far beyond what a Foundation Establishment Cultivator could withstand with their mere physical body.
Zhang Kai didn't even have time to scream before he was turned to bloody mist on the spot; the Patriarch of the Zhang Family died just like that.
The eyes of the Zhang Family members turned red with fury, and Zhang Kai's death drove them to madness.
"Patriarch! No!"
"Arghhh! Xia Family, I'll fight you to the death!"
The Great Elder, who had reached the 7th level of the Foundation Establishment Realm, didn't hesitate to burn his pillar essence and used his essence to the fullest to activate his techniques. Many elders began burning their pillar essence one by one.
However, Xia Fu was not about to let them finish.
He attacked the Great Elder again.
Pu!
Xia Fu's finger pierced through the Great Elder's chest, the Great Elder's eyes widening in disbelief.
Meanwhile, Xia Zu expanded his body and covered it with his core essence, trampling the battlefield. Everywhere he passed, members of the Zhang Family perished. Xia Zu's body, stained with blood, made him look like a beast from hell.
On another side, Xia Feng and Xia Kun led a few elders to assassinate other elders who were still cultivating in their rooms. Those elders were of the level 5 or lower.
In the corner of the chaotic battle, Xia Kong vented his frustration on the Young Master of the Zhang Family, Zhang Fong. Zhang Fong had the cultivation of a level 2 Foundation Establishment Realm, but he couldn't shake Xia Kong off. Xia Kong was like a cockroach; no matter where Zhang Fong went, Xia Kong would follow. They fought for more than 50 rounds, both of them with pale faces as they were about to run out of essence.
"Xia Kong, I must admit that you are the most talented person in the Xia Family. I'm not your match. Can you let me go now, please?" Zhang Fong said with an ugly expression.
"Zhang Fong, your family is doomed to perish tonight. No matter where you go, you can't escape!" Xia Kong said, his face pale.
"Hmph! Your Xia Family is too arrogant. Aren't you afraid of angering the public by acting like demonic cultivators?" Zhang Fong said through gritted teeth.
"Oh? Don't you notice how we got in without alerting the protection array? If even you guys didn't know, who would?" Xia Kong sneered as he attacked.
Zhang Fong gritted his teeth and prepared to go all out. Previously, he had still held hope of escape, but upon hearing Xia Kong's words, his hope turned to hatred, determined to take Xia Kong down with him.
Xia Kong closed his eyes, ready to burn his pillar essence, but suddenly, an old voice stopped him.
"Oh? Just because your Xia Family has the array master, you think you're invincible? Don't underestimate my Zhang Family," said an old man with large eyes, his core essence palpable.
"A false Core Formation Cultivator!" Xia Kong recognized instantly, having experienced the genuine aura of a Core Formation Cultivator like Shangguan Yi before. He could discern between false and genuine core essences; even though it was false, it was an opponent he couldn't handle. His heart sank.
The old man was surprised that Xia Kong could discern his cultivation, but he shook his head in pity.
"Such potential, but you still have to die!"
Meanwhile, Xia Zu and Xia Fu had slaughtered more than half of the Zhang Family members, leaving only a few high-level elders. The rage from before turned to despair as they witnessed Xia Zu's invulnerability.
"Is Zhang Family going to end here? I can't accept it!" the Second Elder muttered, looking up at the sky with a heavy heart.
Xia Zu paid no attention to the elder. His giant hand swept toward the Second Elder, aiming to slap him to death.
"Second Elder!" the remaining elders shouted grimly.
The Second Elder didn't attempt to resist any longer; he had little essence left, and resisting was futile.
"Hmph! Xia Zu, do you think you can do whatever you want in my family? How dare you!" An old man with a sturdy figure suddenly appeared beside the Second Elder, blocking the attack.
"The First Ancestor!" everyone immediately recognized the old man.
Simultaneously, a level 10 Foundation Establishment Cultivator appeared and blocked Xia Fu from attacking another elder of the Zhang Family.
"The First Ancestor! The previous Patriarch! We're saved!" exclaimed a member of the Zhang Family in excitement.
However, their brief moment of relief quickly turned to horror as flames engulfed the First Ancestor and the previous Patriarch. The source of the fire was unknown, causing them both to scream in pain as they activated their essence and core essence to no avail.
Simultaneously, a false Core Formation Cultivator who had been about to attack Xia Kong also caught fire, his screams echoing across the area.
Observing from afar, Shangguan Yi blinked his eyes three times, and three wisps of flame engulfed the Zhang Family Ancestors. Not stopping there, he activated his cultivation technique, the Everlasting Firmament Flame, and blinked another three times. Three more wisps of flame enveloped them.
This time, the heat was more intense. Within just ten seconds, the three Zhang Family ancestors were reduced to ash, leaving only two wisps of white flame. These white flames were the true reason for Shangguan Yi's visit to the Zhang Family.
According to the system, absorbing each wisp would advance his cultivation by 1%.
——
Cultivation Realm:
-Body Refining Realm (mortals / practitioners)
-Foundation Establishment Realm ( genuine Cultivators)
-Core Formation Realm
Technique/Pill/Artifact/Array/Beast/Herb/Talisman Level
-Warrior (level 1)
-Elite (level 2)
-Master (level 3)
Each level divided to 4 grades: low, mid, high and supreme.
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