Chapter 14: Smashed to Death
Chapter 14: Smashed to Death
Five miles outside Red Cloud City, the Silver Sand River roared like ten thousand galloping horses, its thunderous sound audible from miles away.
It was already midsummer. The earth was lush and green, and a sweltering summer wind swept through the air.
“Everything here is just as it was, but I’m no longer that naive kid who was blindly struggling two months ago. How familiar this sound is…”
On a solitary rock amidst the crashing waves stood a lone, proud figure, sighing as he faced the torrent. It was Ye Yun, who had rushed over in a hurry from Qingyang Town.
Gazing at the familiar scene, Ye Yun felt a thousand emotions in his heart. Staring at the familiar stretch of beach behind him, he seemed to see his past self from months ago, diligently practicing the Iron Forging Art and anxiously worrying about his Dantian. All the distant, seemingly impossible dreams he had back then had now come true one by one. Remembering all those past struggles, he couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.
After all, this place had witnessed his lowest, most disheartened times.
“Father would surely be surprised to see me. No, I can’t show myself just yet. I need to understand the recent situation of the Ye Family first.” Lost in thought for a long while amidst the howling waves, Ye Yun turned and walked toward Red Cloud City.
Upstream on the Silver Sand River lay Yinsha Town, one of the major towns surrounding Red Cloud City, with a population of tens of thousands and merchants as numerous as clouds.
Noon, at a tea stall in the town.
“So from what you’re saying, Old Brother, all the Ye Family’s influence in Red Cloud City has been taken over by the Qin Family now?”
“I’m not too clear on that, myself. But a few tragic incidents happened in this town not long ago. Several of the Ye Family’s warehouses and shops were massacred. They didn’t even spare the apprentice children.”
“Old Zhang, I know more about this than you. Young man, you seem to be from out of town, right? I have a distant relative who works for the Qin Family. Once he got drunk and accidentally let slip a few sentences. Hearing them made me so angry I nearly jumped. Thinking of how decent the Ye Family usually was to everyone, I felt indignant on their behalf.”
“What happened?”
“Don’t tell outsiders. Those recent massacres… they were done by the Ye Family’s own people. It was the Ye Family’s Second Master. He had secretly been in league with the Qin Family for a long time.”
“Ah, once the Qin Family gains power, who knows how much our rents will go up. Our good days are over.”
At the tea table by the wall, four people sipped tea and nibbled snacks, whispering amongst themselves. Ye Yun was one of them.
After listening, a fierce killing intent flashed in Ye Yun’s eyes, but he quickly suppressed it. He took out some silver to pay the bill, put on his bamboo hat, bid farewell to the three commoners, and disappeared into the crowd.
“I never imagined Ye He was so treacherous, actually turning on the Ye Family and colluding with the Qin Family.”
Seething with anger, Ye Yun walked down the street. Many passersby sensed his intimidating aura and fearfully gave him a wide berth. Ye Yun wandered around for a while, looking for more people to inquire about the happenings in Red Cloud City.
“Hahaha, kneel down for me, or you won’t live through today! You lot, go in and ransack the place!”
In front of a small herbal medicine shop, an entire family, nine members in all, knelt on the ground. A cold corpse already lay there. Several burly men held big blades against the necks of the family, who didn’t dare to move a muscle.
A rich, fat middle-aged man sneered and laughed at the nine of them. No onlookers were around; they were all afraid of him. He was from the Yang Family of Yinsha Town, a powerful clan not much weaker than the Ye Family.
The Yang Family had always been trampled underfoot by the Ye Family. Now that the Ye Family was in chaos, the Yang Family seized the chance to occupy Ye Family territory, snatch shops, forcibly seize assets, and kill without mercy.
“Sir, it’s just some ordinary herbs. There are only a few spirit herbs. They’re paupers!”
A servant with a monkey-like face, carrying a delicate wooden box, swaggered out of the shop leading a group of people dragging hemp sacks. He presented himself before the rich, fat middle-aged man, seeking credit.
The rich, fat middle-aged man’s face darkened. He angrily ordered the burly men, “Leave no one alive!”
The elderly head of the nine-member family immediately kowtowed, begging, “Please spare our family! We don’t bear the Ye surname. We only have a distant relative connected to the Ye Family, and he was already killed by the Wang Family.”
“Then you deserve to die! Do it!” the middle-aged man shouted with a sinister laugh.
Boom!
Just as the nine family members were in despair, about to become victims of the blade, a figure wearing a bamboo hat suddenly flashed out. Raising a palm, he struck towards the rich, fat middle-aged man’s head. Before the man could react, his head was smashed into a pulp, and his body fell to the ground like a sack.
“You…” The several burly men and their underlings stared dumbfounded at the suddenly appearing hat-wearing man. Though they couldn’t see his face or expression, the cold aura emanating from him made them tremble uncontrollably.
The hat-wearer calmly uttered one word, “Scram!”
“Hmph, you just wait! If you have any guts, don’t you dare leave!” The Yang Family servants, carrying the headless corpse, slunk away in disgrace.
The nine family members kneeling on the ground immediately kowtowed to the hat-wearer. “Thank you, benefactor! Thank you for saving our lives! Otherwise, all nine of us would have met our end. May we ask your honorable name, benefactor? We will surely set up an incense hall for you in the future and worship you for generations.”
The hat-wearer waved his hand dismissively, his tone very plain. “That won’t be necessary. I am merely a member of the Ye Family. Quickly pack your things and leave. The Yang Family are the local bullies here. They will certainly come back for revenge. I will wait here. Hurry up.”
“So it’s a clansman. Everyone, quickly pack our belongings.” The old man thanked him and urged the younger family members to gather their things quickly.
The hat-wearer went to sit to the side, slightly raising his head. It was Ye Yun. He thought to himself, “Although the Yang Family doesn’t have a strong expert like Father, they do have a few Sixth Level of Flesh Immortal experts. Good. Today, I’ll establish authority for the Ye Family among the various clans of Red Cloud City. Let them know the Ye Family is not something anyone can trample on.”
The empty street gradually filled with figures now, though most didn’t dare come out. During clan conflicts, these were the times when accidents were most likely to happen.
“Hurry, surround the place! Don’t let a single person escape.”
In the blink of an eye, over thirty martial artists appeared, wielding big blades and tightly encircling the shop. At the same time, five powerfully striding, murderous-intent-filled big men arrived.
Ye Yun’s eyes swept over them. He lowered his head and thought, “The bearded man in the middle has the highest cultivation, at Flesh Immortal Fourth Layer. The other four are all at the Third Layer!”
“Xiao Yun, you must strike quickly. If you truly encounter a Sixth Level expert, it will be very disadvantageous for you.” Uncle Han’s voice suddenly sounded.
Ye Yun nodded. The five men in front had already blocked the way. One of them appeared to be about fifty, with a full beard. He was short but his body was very sturdy. After a servant pointed at Ye Yun, the man sized him up coldly. “Kid, you dare touch my Yang Family’s people?”
“I just want you to know, even if the Ye Family is a soft persimmon, not just anyone can pinch it. Die!” The bamboo hat obscured Ye Yun’s eyes. As soon as the words left his mouth, he suddenly charged at the bearded man.
“Flesh Immortal Third Layer? Seeking death!” The bearded man swung his arms, crossing them inward. The muscles on his arms bulged in lumps, like stones, filled with explosive power. He raised a palm and struck out at Ye Yun.
Yet Ye Yun used no special technique at all. He simply slammed into the man with his shoulder. His whole body was like a wild beast. That sheer, domineering force caused an inexplicable fear to rise in the bearded man’s heart.
Crack!
Boom!
A severed arm flew into the sky, followed by a mass of minced flesh scattering everywhere. The bearded man instantly turned into a pile of minced meat on the ground, while Ye Yun remained completely unscathed.
Whoosh!
The Yang Family members gasped in shock. An Elder of their clan had actually been smashed to death by someone. And the person who smashed him gave them the feeling of an undefeatable war god.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A series of collision sounds followed. The four Flesh Immortal Third Layer big men of the Yang Family became corpses. The other Yang Family martial artists immediately turned and fled. But Ye Yun would never let them go.
Squish! Streams of fresh blood dyed the sky red. Living people instantly became cold corpses on the ground. They felt no pain; they merely blinked and closed their eyes forever.
Ye Yun threw down the big blade and shouted at the family standing dumbstruck in front of the shop entrance. “Hurry up and escape! If you wait for the Yang Family experts to come after you, it’s certain death.”
The family grabbed their luggage and fled. Ye Yun indifferently scanned the ground littered with corpses. Finding no survivors, he vanished from the street.
“Did you see that? That’s a true clan expert. He smashed the Yang Family’s Fourth Layer expert to death. Such strong physical power.”
“A starved camel is still bigger than a horse. How could the Ye Family be a soft persimmon? The Yang Family brought this trouble on themselves. But the Yang Family is also a local power; they won’t let this go easily.”
“A shame we couldn’t see the expert’s face clearly…”
Many clans in Yinsha Town, seeing the Yang Family dispatch their guards, had come to watch the commotion. Little did they expect to witness the unbelievable scene just now. They had seen all kinds of killing methods, but never one where someone killed by smashing into others with their body.
“I heard a reclusive senior master of the Ye Family is going to appear to take charge of the Ye Family’s situation. Could that expert be from that senior master’s faction?”
“I think that person’s cultivation was only at Flesh Immortal Third Layer. He killed the Yang Family’s Yang Lihao relying solely on physical strength.”
“Ah? He was only at Flesh Immortal Third Layer? And Yang Lihao was at Flesh Immortal Fourth Layer. How could a Third Layer be a match for a Fourth Layer? And he actually smashed a Fourth Layer expert to death?”
“A freak!”
“A powerful freak!”
“I must return to my clan and report this to the inner family immediately. The Ye Family has produced such a freak. A Third Layer can smash a Fourth Layer expert to death. Then his true strength must be equivalent to the Sixth Level or even Seventh Level?”
“I must also rush back to inform my clansmen to keep a low profile for now. It seems the Ye Family really is using that person to establish authority. Whoever sticks their neck out will suffer.”
Many clan scouts hurriedly dispersed. Not long after, another batch of Yang Family forces arrived. Seeing the pile of corpses, the Yang Family was furious, hopping mad. They split up to pursue Ye Yun.
In an instant, the news that a Flesh Immortal Third Layer Cultivator from the Ye Family had smashed a Yang Family Fourth Layer expert to death spread among the large and small clans of Yinsha Town. Many clans that had been about to forcibly seize Ye Family property all stopped. They felt wary, but what truly frightened them was the rumor of a reclusive Ye Family expert.
A great clan must have an unshakable foundation.