“BANG—!”

An extremely violent crashing sound exploded as the door was smashed open, splinters of wood flying everywhere.

Two unfamiliar Chen family guards barged in, their eyes fierce, yet their bodies showed not the slightest fluctuation of Spirit Qi.

“Ah!” Chen Ziyi let out a startled cry, staggered back several steps from the immense force, nearly falling. But once she steadied herself, she didn’t hesitate for a moment. She spread her arms wide, placing herself in front of Zhou Kai, her pretty face deathly pale.

Zhou Kai’s eyes instantly turned ice-cold.

He had just stabilized his cultivation, his dantian fully restored, and was in a state of mental ease when he was so rudely interrupted. What made his blood boil even more was that these two who had barged in… were actually just Mortals!

Sending two Mortals to break down the door of a Qi Condensation fourth-layer cultivator? What kind of insult was this!

“Outrageous!” One of the guards, his face full of coarse flesh, completely ignored Chen Ziyi. He glared at Zhou Kai and bellowed in a muffled voice, “By order of the Sixth Elder, we suspect you, Zhou Kai, of harboring a wanted fugitive! We are here to search! Kid, cooperate quietly, or don’t blame us for being rough!”

Sixth Elder? Chen Xingze?

A flash of understanding instantly crossed Zhou Kai’s mind, followed by heavy mockery. This method… was far too childish. Using two Mortals to test him? Or was it simply wanting to disgust and humiliate him in this way?

Zhou Kai could almost imagine the Chen family’s prodigal son, shrouded in family glory and having grown up with smooth sailing, hiding in the shadows right now, waiting to see his reaction. What a… little brat who’s never weathered any storms.

Zhou Kai sneered inwardly. If it were him, wanting to deal with a low-level cultivator without backing, he would either strike with thunderous force—directly capture or even kill them, seize their Storage Bag, and torture them for information—or he would simply remain silent and observe secretly, looking for solid evidence.

Sending two Mortals as the vanguard? Besides exposing one’s own intentions and that ridiculous arrogance, what good did it do?

Oh, perhaps in Chen Xingze’s view, whether he lived or died wasn’t important at all. What he truly cared about were those three Foundation Establishment Pills. Zhou Kai even speculated maliciously—this twenty-five-year-old Qi Condensation eighth-layer genius… could it be that he hadn’t yet taken a life? Otherwise, how could he come up with such lowly and laughable tactics?

Having figured out the key point, the mockery in Zhou Kai’s eyes grew even stronger. Since the other party wanted to play, he would play along. He wanted to see if the Chen family would really move against him, a Guest Elder, over two blind Mortal guards!

“Ziyi, step aside.” Zhou Kai’s voice was calm but carried an unquestionable authority.

Chen Ziyi hesitated for a moment. Seeing the confident light of complete control in Zhou Kai’s eyes, she bit her lip and obediently stepped aside. However, her beautiful eyes remained fixed on the two guards, filled with vigilance.

Seeing Zhou Kai so compliant, the two guards revealed ferocious smiles and stepped forward to act.

“Search?” The corner of Zhou Kai’s mouth lifted into an icy arc. “Are you worthy?”

A cold glint flashed in his eyes. The Spirit Qi within him stirred slightly. He didn’t even use a spell; he merely flicked his fingers lightly.

Thud! Thud!

The two guards didn’t even have time to react before their bodies went limp and they fell to the ground dead, their eyes still holding shock and confusion.

Chen Ziyi covered her mouth, fear in her eyes, but more than that was an inexplicable sense of relief. Zhou Kai patted non-existent dust off his robes and looked calmly at the two rapidly cooling corpses on the ground.

The moment the two fell dead, Chen Xingze, hidden in the shadows where he was monitoring from outside the courtyard, curled his lips into a smug smile.

Just as Zhou Kai had thought, Chen Xingze had sent people to monitor him these past few days but couldn’t find any problems. Thinking about the reward of three Foundation Establishment Pills for capturing Shen Hanyi alive—with his own aptitude, he would definitely establish his foundation, and perhaps there would even be two Foundation Establishment Pills left over to give the Chen family another great cultivator.

His two junior brothers had already gone to Crouching Tiger Mountain to search for her. He himself had to oversee matters at the Desolate Herb Garden and couldn’t get away. Plus, he always felt Zhou Kai was hiding something. Hence this incident.

Outside the courtyard came hurried footsteps; several Qi Condensation stage cultivator auras approached without any attempt at concealment. The leading aura was precisely at the Qi Condensation eighth-layer—belonging to Chen Xingze!

Zhou Kai sneered inwardly; this was exactly the moment he had been waiting for.

Just as Chen Xingze and his group were about to charge through the courtyard gate, Zhou Kai suddenly grabbed the two corpses on the ground as if picking up two ragged sacks. Simultaneously, he madly circulated the spiritual power in his dantian and channeled it into his throat!

“Enemy attack—! Enemy attack—!”

Zhou Kai’s voice was like thunderclaps. Empowered by Spirit Qi, it instantly spread across nearly half of the Chen family estate!

“There are enemies impersonating subordinates of the Sixth Elder attempting to assassinate a Guest Elder! Someone come quickly!!”

While shouting himself hoarse with all his might, he hoisted the two corpses onto his shoulders. Instead of retreating, he charged forward—directly sprinting toward the direction of the Chen family Elder Hall!

This sudden turn of events left Chen Xingze and several mid-stage Qi Condensation cultivators behind him, who had just rushed to the courtyard entrance, completely frozen on the spot. They had anticipated that Zhou Kai might surrender quietly or might put up desperate resistance…

But they never expected that Zhou Kai would instead pin on them a label of “villains impersonating assassins,” carry corpses on his shoulders with such grand fanfare… and go “report” to the Elder Hall?!

What kind of operation was this?!

Zhou Kai’s shout had an immediate effect. Figures flew out from various courtyards and pavilions everywhere upon hearing it. Soon, a large number of Chen family disciples and guards gathered around Zhou Kai’s path; even several Elders arrived upon hearing the news.

Everyone watched Zhou Kai sprinting while carrying two bloody corpses on his shoulders shouting “enemy attack,” then looked at Chen Xingze’s group behind him with livid faces seemingly giving chase. Their expressions showed doubt, confusion, and an eagerness for drama.

“What happened to Guest Elder Zhou?”

“Does someone dare commit violence within our Chen family?”

“Listening to Guest Elder Zhou, it sounds like someone impersonated the Sixth Elder’s people to try and assassinate him?”

Chen Xingze’s face turned livid green; his lungs were almost exploding with rage! He had originally wanted to use two Mortals to humiliate Zhou Kai and force him to kill them, then reasonably take him down using “Guest Elder brutally killing family guards” as an excuse. Then, whether he lived or died wouldn’t be up to himself.

But now Zhou Kai’s move of “the villain accusing first” directly splashed the dirty water back!

Zhou Kai had now transformed into an acting emperor. He ran onto the square in front of the Elder Hall, threw the two corpses to the ground with a heavy thump, and appeared shaken, terrified, and filled with righteous indignation. Facing the rapidly gathering crowd, he clasped his hands toward several arrived Elders.

“Honored Elders! Fellow clansmen! Please uphold justice for me, Zhou Kai!” His voice carried a sob, fitting perfectly with the grief and lingering fear on his face.

“I, Zhou Kai, since entering the Chen family, have diligently and conscientiously guarded the Spirit Beast Garden, not daring to slack off in the slightest! Although my dantian is damaged and my cultivation stagnant, I still care deeply for the family!”

“Just now, I intended to deliver a furnace of important pills I painstakingly refined to the family Pill Room to verify their efficacy…” Saying this, he took out a jade bottle from his bosom and held it high. “This is a bottle of Yang Locking Pills! These pills can consolidate the foundation, nourish vitality, and strengthen the physique to help our Chen family sons become vigorous and robust, allowing them to open branches, scatter leaves, and continue the lineage!”

Many male members, hearing the words “Yang Locking Pills,” saw their eyes light up. This was good stuff!

Zhou Kai pointed at the corpses on the ground and said indignantly, “Who could imagine that these two thieves would barge in at that moment, claiming to be obeying the Sixth Elder’s orders, and try to kill me without explanation? They must have seen that I refined such treasure pills and developed evil intentions, wanting to kill me to seize the treasure—or even wanting to prevent me from contributing to the family!”

“If I had not desperately resisted and luckily killed these two thieves, I probably would have died in bloodshed today!”