The footsteps of the Shidashi Mao slowed until it began to sway as if drunk on something. Its eyes were closed while it revelled in whatever it was that Long Di was doing.

Shortly after, a shocking sight took place that shook everyone to their core.

“Puurrrrrr…”

****

A few days ago…

“You’re telling me that a young child did this to Zhen Song!?” A booming voice filled the halls of some grand building.

“Yes, family head!” a muscular demon was continuously kowtowing in the direction of a middle-aged demon.

This demon was stereotypically bulky as well. The features that differed him from a human were that his skin was a pale yellow, in addition to a pair of arms instead of one on each side. What was unique about the arms was that the top arms on both sides were much more muscular than the ones below.

Finally, he easily stood over 10 ft tall, a towering physique that did justice to his title as the patriarch of the Zhen family.

This was the father of both Zhen Paohui and Zhen Song, Zhen Yong. He was a powerful figure in the demon region, both personally and politically.

His title as leader of one of the great families cemented this fact; and now, a figure such as this was furious at the state of his sons, as both suffered from severe injuries, one behind the other.

Sure, Zhen Paohui was next to useless and, despite possessing greater talent than his older brother, chose to waste away that talent by playing around and acting like a spoilt young master, but that didn’t mean that anyone could offend them as they saw fit.

To make matters, he didn’t even spend that time in the capital where their household was located. He spent that time in some obscure backwater place where it was hard to keep track of him.

To add insult to injury, Zhen Song, the future leader of the Zhen family, was slapped into a pig head for everyone to see. How could they walk around with their heads held high after such blatant disrespect and humiliation!?

“Protector Gang!”

“Yes, esteemed elder!” Protector Gang, the one who was kowtowing like there was no tomorrow, looked up to see a grey-haired old demon staring intensely at him.

The demon’s body appeared emaciated, as it appeared to be nought but skin and bones. However, upon closer inspection, one could see that whatever muscles he possessed was defined beyond all logic. Most likely a testament to the terrifying strength that lay within.

He also possessed four arms, like the patriarch of the Zhen family. The difference here was that all four arms appeared equally malnourished, but even the family head looked upon this demon with a bit of fear in his eyes.

This old demon was called Zhen Ta. He was the previous family head before he gave it to his son Zhen Yong. Even though he was hunchbacked at the moment, he still stood head to head with Zhen Yong, which showed his impressive stature.

This was the same demon that attacked Long Di following his victory over the Nitu demon before he and the others had left. He had let loose a shock-wave based attack when Long Di was saved by a mysterious pillar of fire, thwarting the sure kill move.

Afterwards, he had been forced to retreat by the same existence that summoned the pillar of fire.

“The child that attacked Zhen Paohui and fought you, are you able to describe him?” Zhen Ta asked.

Protector Gang nodded and began to describe Long Di to the best of his abilities.

When Zhen Ta heard what Protector Gang had to say, his expression turned dark and his body started to shake as their surroundings began to tremble.

Sweat beaded down Protector Gang’s forehead as his body plastered to the ground. He tried to circulate his somatic essence to resist the pressure, but it was of no use.

The somatic essence in Zhen Ta’s body gave off small explosions that affected the world outside his body despite him only circulating it. This old demon was powerful to an obscene degree.

“Father!” Zhen Yong had to call out to Zhen Ta to control his temper lest the pressure alone will kill Protector Gang who was red in the face from trying to resist the pressure and failing spectacularly at that.

Thankfully, the somatic essence that lost control within Zhen Ta’s body calmed down, returning peace to the hall.

Zhen Yong stared at Protector Gang who was still dazed by the earlier display of power, “Stand up.”

“Thank you family head,” said Protector Gang who had just managed to stand up.

The family head put his hand on Protector Gang’s shoulder and comforted him, “It’s good. My boys are alive and that’s what’s important. Go back and treat your injuries.”

Protector Gang’s brows furrowed in confusion, “I’m alright sir. My somatic essence healed whatever superficial inju-”

Pu Ci!

“Ah!”

A muscular arm flew into the air, followed by a geyser of blood that flew out from the limbless stump.

Zhen Yong held an arm in one of his hands as he watched Protector Gang wail in pain with a stony expression.

“P-Patria-”

“Did you think that my eldest son could have been harmed under your supervision and you be spared from punishment!? Foolish!” Zhen Yong chided Protector Gang who was still reeling from the shock of losing his arm.

“Get out!”

Zhen Yong ran Protector Gang from the meeting hall before calling a handmaiden to collect the arm he appropriated and to clean up the mess it caused as well.

“So what do we do now, father?” Zhen Yong turned to Zhen Ta, who was now at his side.

Zhen Ta thought for a moment before responding, “The child who injured Zhen Song is the same one who injured Zhen Paohui and the same one who killed the Nitu demon who visited us before, I’m sure of it.”

Zhen Yong put his arms behind him as he entered rumination as well, “If that’s the case, then we only have one target. We need only figure out his location before eliminating him. The chances of him staying in that rural area are low, so we need to execute a search,” decided Zhen Yong.

“No need,” Zhen Ta dismissed this action.

“Father, we can’t allow this transgression to pass!” Zhen Yong countered.

Zhen Ta’s head snapped in Zhen Yong’s direction before taking a step forward in his son’s direction, “Who said we were overlooking this!?”

Zhen Yong took a step back in the face of the old demon’s question, “B-But you sai-”

“I said we don’t need to do the search!” Zhen Ta repeated. “I never said we would never seek revenge! In truth, that child is doing a lot more damage than we thought and is making a lot of enemies. So many enemies, in fact, that one or few of them have been keeping an eye on his every move from the moment he stepped into Blackstone City.”

“Oh,” was all Zhen Yong managed to eke out. “Then where is he now?”

“I don’t know,” Zhen Ta admitted. “However, I have managed to set up a meeting with the sects that have less than an amicable relationship with him and who are all too eager to get rid of him.”

“Is this all necessary to get rid of a single human child?”

Zhen Ta went silent at this point as his expression turned complicated.

“Father?” Zhen Yong never saw his father like this. Though he was the current patriarch of the Zhen family, his father was the true pillar, the tower upon which they leaned. So seeing his father act this way when discussing a child, and a human child at that, was surprising.

“Do you know why I had Zhen Paohui go to that backwater place?” Zhen Ta asked out of nowhere.

“You were the one who told him to go so far?” Zhen Yong was shocked as this was the first he had heard of this.

“Well, it would be more accurate to say that I coerced him to go there without his knowledge,” revealed Zhen Ta.

“Manipulation,” Zhen Yong figured it out, and Zhen Ta nodded to indicate this was the case.

“You… really…”

Zhen Yong was rightfully shocked at this.

Manipulation was the act of a cultivator several levels higher than the other, putting certain things in motion to compel the weaker one to carry out duties or activities without their knowledge.

The activity couldn’t be too complex and oftentimes the manipulation could easily be broken if that person being manipulated came across a relatively powerful cultivator. This ability didn’t see a lot of use, since a powerful cultivator could outright force a weaker cultivator to their whim instead of going around in circles. Plus, it required a bit of practice to be really proficient at it.

However, here we have Zhen Ta saying that he had manipulated Zhen Paohui to go to a village all the way out in the sticks for heaven knows what reason.

“But why?” Zhen Yong finally asked.

“There is an existence in that place I’m interested in,” Zhen Ta declared.

“Is it a powerful cultivator?” Zhen Yong asked.

“It could be, but I wouldn’t allow it to become that. I have reasons to believe that there was an Abyss Demon in that place.”

Zhen Yong’s eyes widened in shock when he heard this.

“Father, you actually intend to-”

“We can’t let the royal family know of this,” Zhen Ta advised. “The sect leader of the Blood Crypt Sect will be here soon. I also heard that the Nitu demons will be getting involved since their previous attempts failed. When you consider that the Iron Body Forge Sect has been making movements, we can honestly say that this entire affair is going to be messy.”

Zhen Yong couldn’t believe that one human was able to kick up so many waves to the point where one of the ten great sects is getting involved.

“How are you so sure that there is an Abyss ghost there!?” Zhen Yong was understandably shaken.

“Ask him,” Zhen Ta pointed to the door of the meeting hall, where they saw another demon being ushered in by a servant.

Zhen Yong was confused for a moment before enlightenment dawned, “I know you. A-Aren’t you that Di Zhong?”

“I do hope that young master Zhen Paohui is doing well.”