Obtaining Top Art on Family's Extermination Night

Zuo Qingshuang raised an eyebrow, and Xu Chongshan frowned slightly.

’What on earth is Li Nanchen planning?’

Appointing Honored Guest Elders was a common practice back when Zhuji Pavilion was first founded.

This was mainly done when the sect was still small, a way to bolster its strength with Honored Guest Elders to fend off invaders.

Yet now, Zhuji Pavilion was one of the esteemed Seven Great Sects of the Eastern Domain.

The sect was teeming with talent and packed with masters.

It had long since outgrown the need for Honored Guest Elders to bolster its ranks.

Even with the Pavilion Master—the one with the highest Martial Arts—and the other Elders in secluded cultivation within the Profound Secret Cave, there was no one in the current Eastern Domain who would dare cause trouble for Zhuji Pavilion.

Besides, the Pavilion Master and the others were only in seclusion.

’It’s not like they’re dead...’

If a truly powerful enemy were to attack, they could simply be called out.

’Things haven’t gotten so bad that we need to call for outside help, have they?’

Although their instincts told them something was strange, this was Li Nanchen’s first time exercising his authority as Acting Pavilion Master. Zuo Qingshuang and Xu Chongshan, despite being second only to the Pavilion Master himself, wouldn’t casually undermine him and cause him to lose face.

So, they didn’t immediately voice their objections.

Li Nanchen then clapped his hands lightly, and a series of footsteps emerged from the direction of the Inner Sect.

But when she got a clear look at the group walking out from behind Li Nanchen, Zuo Qingshuang slammed her hand on the table, her face blazing with killing intent:

"Li Nanchen! Where did you find this band of fiends and heretics!?"

Xu Chongshan also rose slowly, Sword Intent emanating from his entire being.

His gaze swept over them one by one as he spoke coldly:

"Qing Yangzi, the Ghost Scholar, Monk Jile... and three others who dare not show their faces?"

"Why don’t you reveal your true faces and let us see who you really are?"

A sudden uproar erupted among the Zhuji Pavilion disciples in the hall.

Qing Yangzi, the Ghost Scholar!

Both were infamous figures in the Eastern Domain Martial World, their names known far and wide.

They were labeled as fiends and heretics not necessarily because they all cultivated Demon Techniques, but because their actions ran completely contrary to the righteous path.

Qing Yangzi was originally a disciple of Taixu Dao, one of the Seven Great Sects of the Eastern Domain.

He had learned the Taiqing Technique, one of Taixu Dao’s Xuanmen Orthodox Martial Arts.

But as he continued his cultivation, it’s unclear whether he suffered a deviation or simply revealed his true nature.

Citing the principle that "Heaven and Earth are not benevolent; they treat all things as straw dogs," he began to wantonly slaughter the innocent, claiming that only by doing so could he draw closer to the Great Dao.

Taixu Dao could not tolerate such a blatant violation of its principles. They not only expelled him but also dispatched numerous masters to hunt him down.

However, during the ensuing series of battles, not only did Taixu Dao fail to "clean its house," but he managed to kill many of their disciples in return, gaining great infamy overnight.

After that, he became elusive as a ghost, and his movements were nearly impossible to track.

And though Taixu Dao’s pursuit never ceased, they never succeeded in capturing him.

As for the Ghost Scholar, he was originally a man of letters.

In the world today, with the dynasty in decline, warlords and ambitious heroes were rising to power.

After ten years of diligent study, he suffered endless bullying. He finally realized the uselessness of the scholar’s path, tore up his classics, and by a stroke of luck, stumbled upon a chance to learn Martial Arts.

The moment he became proficient, he exacted his cruel revenge.

He not only slaughtered every last person who had ever bullied him, but he also flayed their skin to make shadow puppets.

If that were all, it could be seen as simply repaying an eye for an eye.

But after that, it was as if he had discovered the thrill of the strong preying on the weak. He became utterly unrestrained. Regardless of intent, good, or evil, anyone who displeased him would face a bloody slaughter. He would then flay their skin and use it to make shadow puppets for his "ghost plays."

And that was how he earned the name "Ghost Scholar."

Yet the Martial Arts he cultivated had nothing to do with the Demon Dao. It was simply that his hands were so drenched in blood that he was no less wicked than Monk Jile, a true practitioner of Demonic Martial Arts.

If any one of these three men were to appear in the Jianghu, any follower of the righteous path would be obligated to hunt them down on sight.

’And yet, Li Nanchen had invited them to become Honored Guest Elders of Zhuji Pavilion?’

It was the most absurd joke under the heavens!

If this came to pass, not only would Zhuji Pavilion’s hard-earned reputation be reduced to ashes, but the sect would instantly transform into a great Demon Cave.

Xu Chongshan, however, was staring at the last three, the ones with their faces covered. He felt a familiar sense of revulsion from them.

As if they were old arch-nemeses, not seen for years, but bound by a deep and bitter hatred.

"Xu Chongshan, it’s been years. That dog’s nose of yours is as sharp as ever!"

A bone-chilling voice drifted out from beneath a black hood. The man pulled it back, revealing a deathly pale face.

The moment he saw the man’s face, Xu Chongshan lost all control of his expression.

He roared in fury:

"Guan Tianyue!? DIE!!!"

With a flick of his index and middle fingers, the longsword at his side shot from its scabbard and into his hand. The Sword Qi that coiled around him instantly fused with the blade, its deadly edge condensing to a single point as he thrust toward the fatal acupoint on the man’s chest.

Everyone in the hall was stunned by the sight.

As their Senior Martial Uncle, Xu Chongshan had always been known for his calm and steady demeanor. He was in charge of Zhuji Pavilion’s Hall of Enforcement, an impartial and cold figure feared by every disciple.

They had rarely seen him lose his composure like this.

The rage and killing intent in his voice were unlike anything they had ever heard from him before.

What they didn’t know was that there was a dark secret behind his outburst.

This Guan Tianyue was a master from the Black Death Sect. During the campaign to annihilate the sect, Xu Chongshan’s fiancée had been abducted by him.

By the time Xu Chongshan found her, Guan Tianyue had not only drained every drop of blood from her body, but had also brutally defiled her corpse.

They had been a deeply loving couple, but in the blink of an eye, he was left utterly alone.

He had channeled all of that immense hatred into the campaign to destroy the Black Death Sect.

He had even personally struck Guan Tianyue, sending him plummeting from a cliff.

For thirty years, not a moment passed that Xu Chongshan didn’t miss his fiancée. Not a day went by that he didn’t blame himself. ’If only I had been more careful back then... even a little bit more careful, maybe things would have been different.’

He had even returned more than once to the very cliff where he’d struck down Guan Tianyue, descending in hopes of finding his body to grind his bones to dust.

But he never found it.

Now, with Guan Tianyue suddenly appearing before him, the old saying proved true: when enemies meet, their eyes blaze with hatred. How could he possibly care about anything else?

Xu Chongshan cursed the unfairness of the heavens for letting Guan Tianyue live for thirty more years.

But this, without a doubt, was another chance to claim his vengeance!

Thirty years of hatred were poured into this single sword strike.

The chilling Sword Intent it unleashed threatened to tear the very roof off the main hall.

Even with thirty additional years of cultivation under his belt, Guan Tianyue couldn’t stop his eyelids from twitching violently.

He flipped his hands, and the Black Death True Qi around him condensed until it was almost solid.

HUMMM!!!

The tip of the sword arrived in an instant. The Black Death True Qi was momentarily unable to withstand its sharpness, allowing Xu Chongshan’s blade to press closer.

HUMMM! HUMMM! HUMMM!!!

The Black Death True Qi pulsed violently. A flush of color even appeared on Guan Tianyue’s deathly pale face as he strained with all his might to block the killing blow.

Yet he could only watch, wide-eyed and helpless, as Xu Chongshan’s sword advanced inch by inch toward the center of his brow!