"I’m barely scraping by, and they still dared to come knocking on my door?"

You doubted your own life choices.

You sized up the six tough guys in front of you, each with a different look.

One at the Skin Refining Peak, three at mid-stage Skin Refining, and two at early-stage Skin Refining.

What a pathetic, suicide squad kind of lineup.

And they actually had the nerve to come swaggering at you!

Still, before throwing down, you asked, "Alright, gentlemen, what brings you here?"

Better to know who you’re dealing with than let some stray fish slip away.

"Cut the crap! We are the seven sons of the Zhang family from Xuancheng. Today, we will take the life of this evil thief!"

You counted them again: six of them. "Seven sons, huh? And yet you can’t even count properly. I hate people who can’t count the most!"

The Cry of the Swan Goose instantly appeared in your hand.

You charged forward fiercely.

"Ah—"

A scream erupted from the other side.

You took them down one by one like slicing melons and cutting vegetables.

"Not good! He’s a Bone Tempering martial artist! Run for your lives!"

You smiled cruelly, "Run? You already kicked down my courtyard gate. And you still think you can run?"

The local gang sure lacked manners!

While speaking, you slashed another one to death.

Two breaths later, only two remained alive.

The last two were utterly terrified and decided to split up and escape.

They ran wildly without any plan.

Your Phantom Phoenix Steps were eerily unpredictable, and you caught up with one of them directly.

With one slash, you split that man vertically into two halves.

Without a glance, you turned and chased after the other.

But the last one had vanished.

You frowned and scanned the area: "Running this fast?"

Suddenly, a flash of insight struck your mind.

You headed straight back to the small courtyard.

"Still daring to play tricks on me in the dark!"

You pulled that person out from the pigpen.

"Mercy, please! Mercy, please!!"

The man was soaked in filth and reeked of stench, begging incessantly for mercy.

"Ah—"

You chopped off his hands and feet to prevent him from escaping.

"I ask, you answer. Got it?"

"Got it! Got it!!"

You asked, "Did the seven sons of the Zhang family lose one on the way here?"

"Hero! Only six of us came. My seventh brother was killed by you eight years ago!"

You recalled only killing a few groups of bandits and never provoking a proper family.

That title of 'seven sons' for these seven brothers sounded nothing like bandits.

You frowned. "Explain everything clearly!"

It turned out that eight years ago, the seventh son of the Zhang family went roaming the martial world.

He became the third-in-command of the Black Wind Stronghold.

Every day he raided and plundered, living a carefree life.

One day, he tried to rob you.

You didn’t tolerate it at all. You stormed the mountain and wiped out the Black Wind Stronghold’s main base.

Naturally, the seventh son was killed by you in the process.

So the six remaining brothers of the Zhang family came to seek revenge.

They were usually arrogant and reckless, but today they met a hard nut—you—and were completely wiped out.

You understood the entire situation.

You ignored this last man’s pleas and smashed his dog head with a slash.

"Rich second generation, yet refuses to behave and instead wants to experience life."

"Fine, go experience life, but choosing to be bandits and cause chaos?"

"And when killed as bandits, still dissatisfied and come back for revenge? You deserve to die!"

"The Zhang family from Xuancheng, huh!" You decided to completely eradicate them.

Since these six brothers came together, it meant they surely informed their family before leaving.

You didn’t want endless trouble from them. They all had to be wiped out.

A month later, you arrived in Xuancheng.

The Zhang family had a considerable reputation locally. All seven sons were martial artists, and no one dared to mess with them.

Even the local county magistrate avoided the Zhang family whenever possible.

Calling the Zhang family the local overlords wouldn’t be an exaggeration.

You easily found out the location of the Zhang family mansion.

You arrived outside the Zhang family estate.

Two guards at the gate cursed, "What the hell are you doing blocking the Zhang mansion’s gate? Want to die? Get lost!!"

You ignored them and walked straight forward.

"Hey, did you get lost when I told you to scram?!"

One guard weighed his silver longsword in his hand, glaring ferociously as he approached.

Clang—

You didn’t move at all.

The lower half of his longsword suddenly snapped off and fell to the ground.

He looked confused as he picked up the upper half of the sword.

The broken cut was unusually smooth, reflecting the sunlight.

"You..."

Before he could finish, the upper half of his body slowly slid down.

Like his broken sword, his body snapped into two halves and crashed down.

The two halves in the pool of blood twitched twice before losing all life signs.

The other guard panicked, his face pale, legs weakening as he collapsed to the ground.

"Murder! Murder!!"

The guard screamed wildly, crawling and stumbling on the ground, trying to escape.

You slid over in one step.

A flash of the blade, and a perfect head flew up.

You kicked the Zhang family’s gate open.

"Everyone get down and cover your heads! Anti-prostitution raid!!"

The Zhang family members were shocked.

"How dare you trespass the Zhang family! No one leaves alive today, die!!"

A mid-stage Skin Refining martial artist swung a nine-ringed great cleaver at you.

Behind him stood a group of armored soldiers wearing standard soft armor and wielding weapons.

Private soldiers? That was a capital offense for rebellion. The Zhang family had become so arrogant they blatantly ignored the law.

"You think you’re worthy to play with blades!"

You dodged the charging mid-stage Skin Refining martial artist.

A flash of the blade, and he was cut in half at the waist.

The squad of soldiers immediately panicked.

The slain mid-stage Skin Refining martial artist was their chief instructor, responsible for teaching them martial arts—definitely the strongest warrior in the Zhang family.

Yet he couldn’t even withstand a face-off with you.

You rushed into the soldiers, your movements graceful and fluid.

Like a butterfly weaving through flowers, wherever you passed, heads fell like ripe fruit.

The blade of the Cry of the Swan Goose flickered in the flying blood.

Over a hundred soldiers died in an instant.

Losing this squad of soldiers, the Zhang family also lost their core fighting force.

The remaining house servants and guards were even easier to kill, dealt with effortlessly.

You hacked your way from south to north, east to west.

Every swing of your blade killed without hesitation.

Out of the more than five hundred people in the Zhang family, nearly all met their end.

Only four remained in the main hall.

The Zhang family patriarch, his wife, and two grandchildren around ten years old—a boy and a girl.

The four sat trembling on the ground, utterly terrified.

The patriarch was in his sixties, dressed in brocade, experienced in many worldly affairs.

He thought he had seen every scene, but today’s was a first.

"Young hero! Spare our lives! Whatever you want, the Zhang family will give it to you, just please spare us!"

The patriarch didn’t ask who you were, only kowtowed and begged.

He knew the Zhang family had made too many enemies, and asking questions was pointless.

He planned to calm you first and seek revenge when his six sons returned.

Beside him, the matron cried with tears and snot all over her face.

She hurriedly chimed in through her tears, "Yes, yes! Young hero, our family owns thousands of acres of fertile land and countless riches. If you spare us, it’s all yours!"

You thought for a moment. "All mine?"

"Yes! All yours!!"

You flicked your wrist, and two heads flew cleanly through the air.

"Fools. Killing you all is mine too!"

The two children were pale and terrified, trembling uncontrollably, unable to say a word.

They looked at you with ashen faces, hands and feet twitching nervously.

You frowned, "This is troublesome, I don’t kill kids..."