Chapter 48

In the Wang Family Courtyard, the shouts of killing finally ceased.

The night wind blew past, rolling up a thick stench of blood that permeated the broken walls and ruins.

First came suppressed sobs, then, the cries of survivors after the catastrophe, mingled with mournful joy, rose intermittently, tearing apart the suffocating night of Luo Bay County.

"We won…… we won!"

"Father! Mother! We have taken revenge!"

"Wuu… Family Head is mighty!"

These sounds, like stones tossed into dead water, sent out ripples upon ripples.

Those hiding in the dark, craning their necks and pricking up their ears, who had watched the whole battle—various scouts, faction representatives, and idle busybodies who loved a spectacle—were all stunned.

Is it over?

It ended just like that?

The Wang family's cheers, though weak and mixed with endless sorrow, were indeed the voices of the victors!

But…… how could this be possible?!

That Wan family expert was a Body Refining Ninth Layer Peak! He even brought four elites at least at Body Refining Seventh Layer or higher! With such a force, flattening ten of the former Wang families would be more than enough!

The result…… the Wang family won?

This script is all wrong!

Soon, like wings grown, like a plague, a piece of news that made scalps tingle and spines chill began to spread wildly through the streets and alleys of Luo Bay County.

"Extra! Extra! Wan family helmsman Wan Hong is dead!"

"What?! Which Wan Hong? The Wan Hong from Heitu City's Wan family?"

"It's him! The Body Refining Ninth Layer Peak! He brought four experts, and they all fell in the Wang family! Not one escaped!"

"Hiss——! Real or fake? You're not just spouting drunken nonsense, are you?"

"Absolutely true! Someone saw it with their own eyes! At the gate of the Wang family's old residence, the corpses are still there! Although they'll probably be gone soon, that bloody stench can be smelled several streets away!"

"Good heavens! A Body Refining Ninth Layer Peak…… just gone like that?"

The news was like a depth charge dropped into a calm lake, exploding with a boom!

The entire Luo Bay County seemed as if the pause button had been pressed.

In an instant, all the clamor, discussion, and speculation vanished.

You could hear a pin drop.

Everyone who heard the news first reacted not with shock, but with absurdity! It was utter disbelief!

What kind of joke is this?

Body Refining Ninth Layer Peak!

What does that mean? It's an existence capable of sweeping across the entire Luo Bay County, and even having a say in Heitu City!

Did it just die so obscurely at the hands of a Wang family that's unknown, at most recently a bit tough?

This is even more outrageous than hearing that the old Wang family's sow next door suddenly started speaking human words!

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!" A gambling house boss slammed the table, spit flying, "What stature does Helmsman Wan Hong have? That old Wang family head, even if he broke through by sheer luck, would at most be Body Refining Eighth Layer—how could he kill a Ninth Layer Peak?!"

"It must be a rumor! Surely the Wang family released it to confuse everyone!" Someone declared firmly.

But the doubting voices were soon drowned out by more and more details.

"Have you heard? The Wang family's old head, apparently named Wang Shan? At the final moment when Wan Hong broke the family's great formation, he actually broke through to Body Refining Eighth Layer in the heat of battle!"

"Real or fake? A breakthrough before the formation? That luck is too heaven-defying!"

"And that's not all! Supposedly after the breakthrough, Wang Shan didn't gain any advantage; he was beaten badly, both arms ruined!"

"So how did they win?"

"Here's the key! Just as Wan Hong was about to deliver the killing blow, the Wang family suddenly unleashed a mysterious golden talisman! As soon as that golden light appeared, Wan Hong's Black Fiend Art was shattered outright! He was severely wounded on the spot!"

"Holy crap! They still have such a trump card? What talisman is this powerful?"

"Who knows? In any case, they completely countered Wan Hong! Then Wang Shan, dragging his wounded body, actually killed the wounded Wan Hong outright! Rumor has it… he literally stomped his head to pieces!"

"Stomp… stomped his head to pieces?!"

"Not just Wan Hong! Those four experts he brought—one at Body Refining Eighth Layer, three at Body Refining Seventh Layer—were all chopped down by Wang Shan and the remaining Wang family disciples! Not a single one survived!"

As these details, through various open or secret channels, gradually gathered like puzzle pieces and corroborated each other, Luo Bay County fell completely silent.

Not the previous loss of voice, but a deathlike silence.

People could not help but believe this cruel, almost unbelievable fact.

Wan Hong, really died.

The elite forces the Wan family sent to Luo Bay County were utterly annihilated!

What followed was not sudden enlightenment, but a fear that surged in like a tide!

Deep fear!

Wang family!

This, in their impression, was merely a family that had been prosperous in its ancestors, now barely maintaining respectability by relying on its ancestral techniques, only recently gaining a bit of prominence due to producing a genius grandson, a family whose conduct was harsh but whose foundation was likely shallow…

Yet it actually hid such terrifying power and trump cards!

Breakthrough in battle!

A powerful talisman that mysteriously counters evil arts!

And…… that old family head, Wang Shan!

Before, when people mentioned Wang Shan, they might call him "Old Wang" or, more politely, "Family Head," showing some respect for his age, perhaps also a hint of disapproval of his stern conduct.

But now, almost overnight, a completely new title, spreading like a virus in private, quickly replaced all previous forms of address.

"Old Demon Wang!"

Exactly! It's Old Demon Wang!

This appellation is filled with intense fear, indescribable awe, and even a twisted admiration for the strong and the ruthless.

With early eighth-layer Body Refining cultivation (though just broken through, who cares?), he actually killed a ninth-layer peak Body Refining expert!

He could, while dragging his near-death, heavily wounded body, slaughter in succession several Wan family elites of the same rank or only one rank lower!

That ferocity! That decisive ruthlessness! That brutality of stomping an opponent's head to pieces!

This isn't a "demon"—what is it then?

This old guy is practically a primordial ferocious beast wearing human skin!

Who still dares to regard him as an ordinary old family head?

"From now on, when you see Wang family members, detour!"

"Don't cause trouble on Wang family territory!"

"Those who have old grudges against the Wang family… hurry to resolve them! Otherwise, Wan Hong will be a warning!"

All kinds of warnings and discussions quietly spread throughout every corner of Luo Bay County.

The total annihilation of Wan Hong and his elite subordinates brought not only the complete collapse of the Wan family's power in Luo Bay County,

This is more like a violent earthquake that directly shattered Luo Bay County's original power structure!

Everyone understands that the heavens of Luo Bay County are about to change!

From now on, Luo Bay County will probably be dominated solely by the Wang family!

No, it should be said that it's the "Old Demon Wang" family that will dominate alone!

Shangguan family.

In the brightly lit study, the Shangguan family head listened as his subordinate scout brought back the final confirmation, the hand holding his teacup trembling slightly.

Upon hearing "Wan Hong had his skull crushed by Wang Shan and was utterly slain," a crisp 'crack' sounded as the fine celadon teacup slipped from his hand and shattered on the smooth floor.

Tea splashed onto his brocade robe, but he was completely unaware.

His face was filled with incredulous shock, his eyes complex—filled with alarm, relief, and a hint of indescribable apprehension.

"Body Refining Ninth Layer Peak… actually… actually really killed by him…"

He muttered to himself, his voice dry and hoarse.

"This Wang Shan… hides too deeply! Too deeply!"

"What is the origin of that Golden Light Talisman? It actually can counter Wan Hong's Black Fiend Art!"

"When did the Wang family acquire such a trump card?"

Questions swirled in his mind one after another, yet he could find no answers.

But he knew these no longer mattered.

What matters is the result.

The Wang family won, Wan Hong died.

"Luo Bay County… will undergo a complete change!" the Shangguan family head slumped in his chair, remaining silent for a long time.

Compared to the Shangguan family's shock and complexity, those small families that, under the Wan family's threats and lures, had chosen to sever ties with the Wang family, even secretly fanning the flames and gloating over misfortune, now felt only one thing——

Fear!

Fear that penetrates to the marrow!

The Li family head paced back and forth in his secret chamber, cold sweat beading on his forehead as if he had just been fished out of water.

"It's over… completely over…" his lips trembled, "Wan Hong the Helmsman is dead… the Wang family… Old Demon Wang definitely won't let us off!"

Back when the Wan family was powerful, he tried to curry favor with Wan Hong, yet he didn't hold back in tripping up the Wang family, even sending people to secretly spread rumors detrimental to the Wang family!

Now Wan Hong has fallen, the Wang family has risen strongly, and in such a bloody, brutal manner!

He simply dares not imagine how terrifying the Wang family's retaliation will be!

Look at Wan Hong and his subordinates' fate! They were ninth-, eighth-, and seventh-layer Body Refining experts—yet they were killed just like that!

These small families, whose highest cultivation is only fifth or sixth layer Body Refining, are likely not even worth an ant in the face of today's "Old Demon Wang"!

To crush them would be easier than crushing an ant!

"Prepare gifts! Quick! Prepare generous gifts! No! Take out that three-hundred-year-old red yang grass I've treasured! Immediately! Send it to the Wang family! No! I'll go myself!" the Li family head shouted incoherently, his face filled with panic.

Similar scenes unfolded simultaneously in many small families throughout Luo Bay County.

Panic spread like a plague.

And the fearsome reputation of "Old Demon Wang," accompanied by the earth-shattering news of Wan Hong's demise, grew wings and had already flown beyond the bounds of Luo Bay County.

It was like a gust of wild wind, swiftly sweeping over the surrounding towns and cities.

Moreover, at an astonishing speed, it madly spread toward the distant Heitu City and in the direction of the Wan Family Main House!

An obscure village's old family head could actually defeat a Body Refining Ninth Layer Peak expert in reverse!

The news itself is enough to make any power take notice and stay alert!

Whether Wang Shan achieved this through some means, relying on his own strength, a secret trump card, or both, the ferocity and achievements he displayed are enough for the title "Old Demon Wang" to resound throughout a region in a short time!

Luo Bay County, Wang Family Courtyard.

After a night of cleanup and simple tidying, bloodstains were washed away, corpses were handled, the collapsed walls hadn't yet been repaired, but at least some order was restored.

Yet the lingering bloody smell in the air and the grief and exhaustion plainly visible on the survivors' faces bore witness to last night's carnage.

The Wang family, at a near‑devastating cost, exchanged it for a victory brilliant to the extreme.

They used the blood of the Wan family's top experts to wash away past oppression and humility, and with indisputable strength established their new hegemony in Luo Bay County.

However, all Wang family descendants who experienced last night's bloodbath understand that slaying Wan Hong may merely be a beginning.

The wrath of the Wan Family Main House hangs like a sword over their heads, ready to fall at any moment.

Above Luo Bay County, beneath a brief calm, it seems a greater, more terrifying storm is brewing.

Wang Zhize supported his father Wang Shan, looking at his father's paper‑pale face and still strangely twisted arms, he spoke worriedly: "Father, your wound…"

Wang Shan waved the hand that could still move a little, cutting him off.

He won't die.

He looked toward the direction of Heitu City; there lay the Wan Family Main House.