Chapter 78

That sharp‑mouthed, monkey‑cheeked Shi clan disciple now truly resembled a mangy dog whose spine had been broken—crawling and rolling, wailing as several Shi clan lackeys who had rushed over upon hearing the news clumsily carried him back.

The Shi family manor was brightly lit.

"Trash! A bunch of trash!" a burly, rough‑featured man slapped the pear‑wood table with one palm, making the tea cups jump and tea splash everywhere. He was one of the Shi family's stewards in charge of external affairs, Shi Yong, a Body Refining seventh‑stage cultivator, and also the direct superior of that sharp‑mouthed, monkey‑cheeked man.

"Y‑Yong… Grandpa Yong, that… that old geezer is really sinister! Just… just like that, Monkey… Monkey‑bro's cultivation was completely ruined!" a servant who had gone to respond trembled as he knelt on the ground, not daring to raise his head.

"Ruined?" Shi Yong's eyes widened. "How exactly was it ruined?"

"My dantian… my dantian is shattered, and my meridians… they're also severed—I'm no different from an ordinary person!" the servant's voice trembled with tears.

A sharp‑faced Shi clan elder beside him spoke with a sinister tone: "Hmph, not only did they ruin our man, they even named Tianlei the steward and said 'Control your dog.' This is outright contempt for our Shi clan."

"Preposterous!" another hot‑tempered elder jumped up. "An outsider bumpkin dares to run wild in Heishi Town? In my view, we should send people over, raze his shabby courtyard—kill the men to feed the dogs, and… hehe, enslave the women as household slaves."

"Exactly! We must teach them a lesson; otherwise, any stray cat or dog will dare to ride on our Shi clan's head and defecate on it."

For a moment, the hall erupted in fury, with shouts of battle and killing ringing incessantly.

"Silence, all of you!"

A deep shout rang out like muffled thunder in the hall. Everyone turned toward the sound and saw a middle‑aged man in a brocade robe, his face refined but his eyes sharp, stride out from the inner chambers. This man was one of the Shi family's actual power‑holders, Steward Shi Tianlei, who oversees most of the family's daily affairs, a Body Refining ninth‑stage early‑phase cultivator, and a notable figure even throughout Heishi Town.

As soon as Shi Tianlei appeared, the previously noisy hall fell silent at once, and everyone bowed in greeting: "Greetings, Steward Tianlei!" "Greetings, Second Elder!"

Shi Tianlei walked to the main seat, sat down, picked up a freshly brewed cup of tea, blew on it lightly, and did not rush to drink. His gaze swept over the crowd and finally settled on the servant still trembling on the floor: "Tell me the whole story, in detail, leaving nothing out."

The servant dared not conceal anything, describing in detail how the sharp‑mouthed, monkey‑cheeked man had gone to spy, how Wang Shan discovered him, how his cultivation was ruined, and finally Wang Shan's parting words.

After hearing this, Shi Tianlei's brows furrowed slightly.

"Second Elder, what's there to hesitate about? That old bastard is bullying us too much! If we don't kill him, what face does our Shi clan have left?" the hot‑tempered elder from before could not help speaking again.

Shi Tianlei glanced at him and said calmly, "Third Elder, stay your hand. This matter is probably not that simple."

"Oh? Second Elder, what makes you say that?" a middle‑aged man dressed as a strategist asked.

Shi Tianlei set down his teacup and tapped the table lightly with his forefinger: "Do you think someone who dares to act like this in Heishi Town would be an ordinary hothead? Since he dared to cripple our man and openly provoke me, he must have some backing."

He paused, then continued his analysis: "According to what you said, that old man struck ruthlessly yet spared the monkey‑bro's life, only ruining his cultivation. What does that indicate? Either he wants to give us a show of force, or… he is warning us that he could do far worse."

"Moreover," Shi Tianlei's eyes grew somewhat deep, "don't forget the sky‑high bounty recently posted by the Wan family of Qingyang City. The bounty notice describes a group of old, weak, women and children, led by an old man, doesn't it?"

Upon hearing this, everyone in the hall was stunned.

"You mean… they might be the very people the Wan family is looking for?" Shi Yong asked, somewhat uncertain.

"Hard to say," Shi Tianlei shook his head, "but it's better to be safe than sorry. If they really are the Wan family's bounty targets, anyone who could escape from Wan Tianjue's grasp must possess strength or means that cannot be underestimated. Although our Shi clan has some influence in Heishi Town, we are still far inferior to the Wan family of Qingyang City."

"Then… what should we do now? Are we just supposed to let it go?" the Third Elder said, unwilling to accept it.

A cold smile curled Shi Tianlei's lips: "Forgotten? When have our Shi clan members ever been bullied for nothing? Still, before we act, we must know both ourselves and the enemy." He rose, "Prepare the sedan; I will personally go meet this 'Wang Old.' I want to see just what divine figure dares to act so arrogantly on our Shi clan's turf!"

"Second Elder, you're going yourself?" Shi Yong worried, "What if…"

"No problem," Shi Tianlei waved his hand, "take Shi Meng, Shi Bao, and a few others. I simply don't believe anyone in Heishi Town would dare to move against me, Shi Tianlei."

Shi Meng and Shi Bao are both elite Body Refining eighth‑stage cultivators of the Shi clan, plus a few Body Refining seventh‑stage experts; such a force would be enough to dominate Heishi Town.

Soon, the party set out with a mighty aura toward the small courtyard rented by the Wang family. Shi Tianlei sat upright in a soft sedan, eyes closed to nurture his spirit, yet the powerful aura he exuded made even the bearers tremble.

Along the way, the loose cultivators lining the streets stepped aside, whispering and speculating which clueless household had provoked this Shi clan killing god.

"Hiss… that's Shi Second Elder! Where is he heading? With this momentum, is he going to raid and exterminate a household?"

"Who knows? Heishi Town has been unsettled lately. I heard that just a couple of days ago, Zhao Si's gang came to grief—they had their storage bags picked clean, and not even their corpses were found whole."

"Tsk tsk, this Heishi Town is really getting more and more chaotic."

The Wang family's small courtyard.

Wang Shan sat cross‑legged on the stone bed, his eyes half‑closed, but his powerful spiritual sense had already taken in everything outside.

When the aura of Shi Tianlei's party appeared at the lane's entrance, he slowly opened his eyes.

"Here they come…" a faint smile touched his lips as he rose, smoothed his robes, and walked calmly toward the gate.

Inside the courtyard, Wang Zhezhe and the others also sensed something amiss, gathering around with tense expressions.

"Clan head… outside… outside it seems many people have arrived, their aura very strong!" Wang Zhezhe said in a lowered voice.

"Don't panic." Wang Shan said lightly, gesturing for them to step back. He approached the makeshift stone‑stacked gate, moved a few stones aside, and revealed a narrow slit just wide enough for one person to pass.

Outside, Shi Tianlei had already dismounted from the sedan, leading seven or eight Shi clan elites such as Shi Meng and Shi Bao to block the entrance of the Wang family's small courtyard. The unique pressure of a Body Refining ninth‑stage early‑phase cultivator spread like a tide over the courtyard, making the surrounding air seem to congeal somewhat.

Wang Shan pushed open the dilapidated wooden door, stepped out alone, walked slowly into the courtyard, and stood opposite Shi Tianlei at a distance.

Their gazes met in midair, as if an invisible flash of electricity passed between them.

Behind Shi Tianlei, Shi Meng and the others were fierce and menacing, their hostile eyes fixed on Wang Shan, waiting for his order to rush forward and tear this clueless old man to pieces.

Shi Tianlei was also carefully sizing up Wang Shan.

The old man before him was slightly stooped, his face weathered and lined with frost, wearing a plain gray robe that looked unremarkable. The aura he emitted was indeed, as reported by his subordinates, roughly that of a Body Refining seventh‑stage cultivator.

Yet, for some reason, Shi Tianlei felt that something about this old man was off.

Those eyes!

Deep as an ancient well, calm and waveless, yet seeming able to perceive everything.

Facing Shi Tianlei's Body Refining ninth‑stage pressure and the tiger‑like stares of the several experts behind him, this old man showed not a trace of panic or fear; his composed calm could not be feigned by an ordinary Body Refining seventh‑stage cultivator.

"This old fellow… is rather interesting," Shi Tianlei thought to himself.

After a moment's contemplation, he finally spoke in a low, magnetic voice tinged with the authority of one long in power: "Sir, are you the 'Wang Old' they speak of?"

Wang Shan lifted his eyelids, glanced at him, and said nothing.

Shi Tianlei, not annoyed, continued: "You crippled our clan member and even named me directly in provocation—what justification do you have, Wang Old?"

Though his voice was not loud, it carried a questioning tone, and an invisible pressure pressed once more upon Wang Shan.

Upon hearing this, Wang Shan finally tugged at the corner of his mouth, letting out an indistinct soft hum. He stared straight into Shi Tianlei's sharp eyes, his tone flat yet tinged with mockery: "Justification?"

He seemed to have heard some great joke, paused, then spoke slowly and deliberately: "Your dog ran to my doorstep, barking wildly, not just barking but even trying to bite. In a good mood, I merely broke its leg, leaving it a dog's life—that is already ample justification, and I did it out of respect for your Shi clan's face."

"How so?" Wang Shan's eyes suddenly narrowed, and an aura of dominance not inferior to his opponent's erupted. Though his cultivation appeared slightly lower, the spiritual pressure it exerted made Shi Tianlei's heart skip a beat: "You Shi clan leaders, bringing so many people today—do you think I went too easy on you, wanting to test my methods in person, to see whether I'll also break your leg?"