Chapter 16: A Single Killing Blow

His power... seems greater than it was before.

Standing in the crowd, Guild Master Hong Yue of the Sunset Guild swallowed hard. Looking at that youth in the distance, the look of dread in his eyes grew more pronounced.

When the second elder of the Wang family had made his move, he had known that he was in for trouble.

The second elder's ability was of a similar level as his, and since even he had been so badly beaten by Zhou Donghuang, the second elder of the Wang family would be no exception.

What he did not expect was this: In just one exchange, Zhou Donghuang had killed the second elder of the Wang family whose ability was comparable to his, showing a level of power even more fearsome than he had that day.

Is this Zhou Donghuang really a martial invalid who is unable to manifest his qi?

Even though this assertion came from the lips of Young Mistress Chen Dandan of the Hong family of the prefecture capital, Hong Yue could no longer believe it.

As of now, the only ones present who were clear on this matter were Hong Yue, Granny Lian, and Lin Lan. These three people had witnessed Zhou Donghuang's abilities.

A mere level-one adept would be no match for Zhou Donghuang.

However, it was different for the others.

Witnessing the second elder of the Wang family make the first move against Zhou Donghuang, but get killed by him instead, everyone including the grand patriarch of the Wang family Wang Yukun was shocked for a while.

"Second Elder!"

Patriarch Red Crane Wang of the Wang family recovered his wits, and his expression changed.

As his attention turned from the corpse on the floor to the youth, his eyes involuntarily showed an expression of incredulity.

Was not Zhou Was not this Zhou Donghuang a martial invalid?

How could a martial invalid kill the second elder of the Wang family?

As for the rest of the members of the Wang family, their expressions had changed completely as well.

Wang Feng, the first young master of the Wang family, was so frightened that his whole body trembled, and thinking of that day when Zhou Donghuang had only maimed one of his arms, he could not help but feel that he had been fortunate.

"This... how is this possible?!"

"He... killed the second elder of the Wang family?!"

...

In the crowd, Qin Fei and the three Zhong siblings were just as shocked. What had just happened was something they could never have imagined in their wildest dreams.

Zhou Donghuang, who was a martial invalid, had killed the second elder of the Wang family, who was a level-one adept?

And it ended in just one exchange, with the second elder having made the opening move?

"Big Brother Donghuang!"

Qin Xiaoyu's eyes lit up, and her little fists which had been curled up in anxiety now relaxed a little.

"This..."

Qin Zhen, who was standing beside Qin Xiaoyu, had a shocked expression on his face, and there was a look of pure disbelief in his eyes.

The second elder of the Wang family was a level-one adept who was more powerful than him, but he had been killed in an instant at the hands of a youth who was publicly known to be a martial invalid.

Was this youth the same martial invalid that he used to be?

The crowd seethed with excitement!

"My God! Am I dreaming? The second elder of the Wang family, a full level-one adept, dead at the hands of Zhou Donghuang?"

"This Zhou Donghuang, isn't he a martial invalid? How did he kill a level-one adept? Was he too careless?"

"Careless? They were face to face, and they could see each other's every move... Zhou Donghuang evaded his attack, and he could not evade Zhou Donghuang's blow; how could this be carelessness, it's obviously a difference in ability!"

"When Zhou Donghuang maimed First Young Master Wang Feng's arm, I felt that he could not possibly be a martial invalid... but even then, I never imagined that he had the ability to kill a level-one adept."

"He... he is only sixteen years old, and he can kill a level-one adept? Even if he was the most outstanding son of a preeminent family such as the Lin or Hong Families of the prefecture capital, he would still not be able to kill a level-one adept at this age, right?"

...

Looks of shock and disbelief were turned towards Zhou Donghuang, making him the focus of the entire scene.

Zhou Donghuang, a youth of sixteen years, had killed the second elder of the Wang family who was a level-one adept in just a single exchange.

From this day on, Zhou Donghuang would be a legend in Qingshan Town regardless of whether he survived.

"I must be mistaken... I never thought that a little boy like you could have such ability," Wang Yukun said coldly as he gave Zhou Donghuang a searching look. "If you grew and developed well, your future would be limitless... it's a pity that you must die at my hands today.

"I consider myself to have lived a worthy life, to be able to kill a prodigy like you in my lifetime."

As he said this, Wang Yukun stared at Zhou Donghuang suddenly with a bloodthirsty look.

"You intend to kill me all by yourself?"

Zhou Donghuang smiled a brilliant smile, as though he had heard the funniest joke.

"Little boy, since you are in a hurry to die, let me send you on your way!"

Seeing Zhou Donghuang mocking him, Wang Yukun's expression turned cold. He moved in a flash, and it seemed as if he had turned into a hunting dog, rushing towards Zhou Donghuang.

In the eyes of the gathered onlookers, it seemed that Wang Yukun had become a gust of wind, charging towards Zhou Donghuang and leveling a blow at him.

"Donghuang!"

Lin Lan's heart was in her mouth.

"Young Master."

Granny Lian looked at Zhou Donghuang's back in anticipation.

"Even a mere level-two adept talks about killing me, Zhou Donghuang? Laughable!"

As Wang Yukun was charging towards him, Zhou Donghuang seemed to flicker as he moved to intercept Wang Yukun, and to the gathered onlookers, it looked as though he was moving into the path of the blow.

As a level-two adept, the full force of Wang Yukun's blow contained the strength of two bulls, and it seemed to rip through the sky and create wind.

"Die!!"

Seeing Zhou Donghuang expose himself, Wang Yukun smiled a savage smile and aimed his blow at Zhou Donghuang's chest with a roar.

"Donghuang!"

"Young Master!"

Seeing Wang Yukun's palm just a hair's breadth away from Zhou Donghuang's chest, Lin Lan's expression changed, and Granny Lian began to doubt Zhou Donghuang's earlier self-confidence.

"Die."

Qin Fei and the three Zhong siblings broke into a wide smile at the same time.

"Big Brother Donghuang!"

Qin Xiaoyu's expression changed completely, and Qin Zheng sighed a long sigh next to her. "Heaven envies heroes."

Just then, everyone thought that Zhou Donghuang was about to be killed by Wang Yukun's blow.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Zhou Donghuang's legs quivered as they remained planted on the ground, and he demonstrated a swiftness technique. His legs left twin tracks on the ground as he slid aside like a ghost to evade Wang Yukun's full force.

Huh?

Wang Yukun never dreamt that his blow would strike thin air, and in the instant that it took his target to vanish from right in front of him, his expression changed completely.

Right now, he wanted to withdraw and retreat, but the momentum from the force of his blow was too great, and he was unable to stop the follow-through in that instant.

Whoosh!

In the same instant that Zhou Donghuang took to evade Wang Yukun's blow, he swept in like a ghost behind Wang Yukun, who could not possibly turn around in that short a time.

It is over.

With a cold gleam in his eyes, Zhou Donghuang stiffened his palms, and summoning every ounce of strength from his muscles and channeling all the qi in his meridians to his palms, he swung at Wang Yukun's neck.

Ka-chak!!

As his palm made contact with Wang Yukun's neck with over a thousand jin of force, it was as though a metal club had been swept downwards, shattering the vertebrae in his neck.

With his vertebrae shattered, Wang Yukun's head was flung forward towards his chest, and he turned his body around with great effort, trying to reach out and point his finger at Zhou Donghuang. He only managed to extend his arm halfway before he collapsed with a blank stare and a defiant expression on his face.

Thud!!

Wang Yukun's corpse threw up a cloud of dust as it hit the ground.

Silence descended over the scene.

At this moment, everyone was looking at Zhou Donghuang as though they had seen a ghost.

The grand patriarch of the Wang family, also known as the bloody-handed butcher, Wang Yukun, had actually been killed by a single blow from this youth?

"Young Master, he..."

Granny Lian's aged face was full of shock. At first, she had thought that the Young Master had merely hoped to stand up to Wang Yukun and force him to retreat.

She never imagined that the Young Master would actually kill Wang Yukun!

This was Wang Yukun, the legendary bloody-handed butcher of Qingshan Town, a level-two adept, not just any ordinary opponent...

"Donghuang..."

Lin Lan was deeply shocked as well, and although she knew that her son's abilities were no longer insignificant, she never thought that he would be able to contend with Wang Yukun, and what's more, kill him!

Moreover, killing him in a direct confrontation with one blow!

Even if Wang Yukun had been careless, it could not hide the fact that her son had a frightening level of power.

At the very least, even another level-two adept might not have been able to evade Wang Yukun's blow just when it was about to land.

However, her son had managed to evade it.

...

The people in the crowd forced out cold breaths, making a sound like the bellows used to stoke the furnace. The sound only died down slowly after a good while.

"Grandfather!"

"Father!"

"Grand Patriarch!"

The four surviving members of the Wang family, Wang Feng, Red Crane Wang, Bamboo Crane Wang, and the grand elder of the Wang family, let out shrill cries of anguish once they had recovered their wits from the unbelievable scene before them.

Wang Yukun was the pillar that held up the Wang family.

And now, that pillar had been toppled.

Without the support of a level-two adept, could the Wang family maintain its standing?

Earlier, the six members of the Wang family had ridden out in majesty... and now, two of them were dead, and the four remaining members found themselves in an extremely difficult situation. They were like dogs who had lost their home.

"Now... do you believe me?" Zhou Donghuang asked calmly, sweeping a casual gaze over Qin Fei and the three Zhong siblings.

Their expressions changed, and not daring to answer, they lowered their heads and left, trembling. They dared not look at Zhou Donghuang, fearing that he would return seeking vengeance.

Zhong Yi was so frightened that he had pissed his pants.

At the same time, Zhou Donghuang saw Qin Xiaoyu and her father Qin Zhe and greeted them with a smile and a nod before turning away and walking to Lin Lan.

"Mother, I'll bring you back to rest."

Zhou Donghuang bent down to scoop Lin Lan up and returned to the Magnolia Guild with Granny Lian in tow.

Only after Zhou Donghuang was out of sight did the gathered onlookers recover their wits one-by-one, expressions of shock and amazement on all their faces.

What they had seen today had completely overturned what they thought they knew...

A sixteen-year-old youth had killed a level-two adept in a direct confrontation.

The twenty-first of the twelfth month,1227 in the Ziyun Era would be seared into the memory of all the people of Qingshan Town who were present.

This day, outside the main entrance of the Magnolia Guild, the son of Guild Master Lin Lan of the Magnolia Guild, the sixteen-year-old Zhou Donghuang killed the level-two Qi-gathering adept, Wang Yukun, and earned great renown!