68: Chapter 68 Is the Zhang Family Ancestor a Blood Demon?

"Fourth Brother, watch out!"

Second Elder Zhang Mingyuan's shout was filled with fear and despair, but he was too far away to rescue him.

Hearing the shout, the hair on Zhang Mingliang's body stood on end as a sensation of death approached from behind. He instinctively wanted to dodge, but Han Ming's Star-Shattering Finger was too fast.

The finger radiance, like a shooting star, instantly pierced through the back of Zhang Mingliang's head.

"Pfft!"

Blood splattered, Zhang Mingliang's eyes widened, his body stiffened for a moment, and then he collapsed to the ground with a thud.

He was dead as dead could be.

"Fourth Brother!" Zhang Mingshan's eyes were bloodshot, and he let out a heart-wrenching roar.

"You animal! I want you to pay with your life!"

Zhang Mingshan roared, his 8-star Grand Martial Master Protective Aura exploding like a volcanic eruption, causing the air around him to hum.

He lunged at Han Ming regardless of anything else, throwing out a Mountain-Splitting Fist filled with crazed killing intent.

Second Elder Zhang Mingyuan's eyes were also red, and he followed closely with his sword, the sword light pouring down like a rainstorm.

"You killed my brother, you must die today!"

Grand Elder Zhang Mingyu struggled to climb up from the ground, swallowed a healing pill, and forcefully suppressed his injuries to join the fight.

With the two heavily injured retainers as well, the five of them joined forces, their offensive even more frenzied than before.

Han Ming sneered, pushing his Water Shadow Step to the limit, weaving and dodging within the encirclement of the five.

He did not take the attacks head-on. Taking the enraged strike of an 8-star Grand Martial Master would be courting death.

His target was the two retainers who were already injured.

One had his shoulder pierced, the other had his thigh shot through; both were the weakest in strength to begin with, and combined with their heavy injuries, their speed was much slower than before.

"Watch out!"

Zhang Mingshan's warning was a step too late.

Han Ming appeared behind the two retainers like a ghost, pointing his Star-Shattering Finger twice in quick succession.

"Pfft! Pfft!"

Two beams of finger radiance precisely pierced the hearts of the two men. The two 3-star Great Martial Master-level retainers didn't even have time to scream before they collapsed limply.

"Bastard!"

Zhang Mingshan was trembling with rage.

Five Great Martial Masters besieging one 5-star Great Martial Master, and the result was three dead, one heavily injured, and they hadn't even touched a corner of the opponent's clothes. If this got out, how would the Zhang Family stand in Jiangbei Base City?

"Haha, the Zhang Family is nothing more than this. Until we meet again!"

Han Ming laughed loudly, no longer lingering in the fight, shifting his feet and unleashing his Wind Shadow Step.

Although his Yellow Rank High Grade movement technique at the Perfection Realm was not as High Grade as the Water Shadow Step, it was faster in a straight-line sprint. His figure turned into afterimages, swift as wind and lightning, as he dashed outside the Zhang Family courtyard wall.

"Want to run?"

Zhang Mingshan roared and pursued with all his might. But his movement technique was far inferior to Han Ming's, and he could only watch helplessly as that black shadow moved further and further away.

Just at this moment.

"Hmph!"

A cold snort rang out in the night sky like a thunderclap.

Han Ming only felt a terrifying Aura descend from the sky, like a mountain pressing down, locking him firmly in place. The pressure contained within that Aura caused his Protective Aura to stagnate.

Martial Ancestor!

And not just an ordinary Martial Ancestor!

Han Ming's expression changed drastically as he looked up.

He saw a gray-robed figure walking out from the depths of the Zhang Family compound. With white hair and a sinister expression, it was none other than the Zhang Family Old Ancestor, Zhang Zhentian.

With every step he took, the bluestone slabs on the ground cracked; the Peak Martial Ancestor Aura was deep and vast like the sea, pressing down until the surrounding air became viscous.

"Since you've come, then stay here."

Zhang Zhentian spoke indifferently, his tone filled with condescending apathy.

In his eyes, a 5-star Great Martial Master was merely an ant that could be crushed at will.

But what truly shocked Han Ming was not Zhang Zhentian's Realm.

It was the thing mixed into that Aura: bloody, cold, and violent.

The Zhang Family Old Ancestor was actually a Blood Demon?

Han Ming's heart surged with stormy waves.

He had seen Blood Demons before at the Tianwu Great Mansion and even killed one himself during the Martial Exam; he was all too familiar with this kind of Aura.

Han Ming had no time to think as Zhang Zhentian's pressure crushed down like a physical object. The Peak Martial Ancestor's Aura was like a mountain pressing down, causing the Protective Aura within his body to stagnate; his internal organs felt as if they were being gripped by an invisible giant hand, and even breathing became difficult.

He couldn't take it head-on!

Han Ming gritted his teeth, forcefully enduring the suffocating pressure, and pushed his Water Shadow Step to the limit. His figure was like a reflection in the water, and with a flash, he disappeared into the darkness.

"Want to run?"

Zhang Zhentian sneered and raised his hand to strike with a palm. The blood-red Protective Aura condensed into a giant palm print, blasting towards the direction where Han Ming had vanished with a fishy stench.

Zhang Zhentian's palm print struck empty space, blasting a giant pit a zhang deep into the ground, scattering rubble everywhere.

"Hmm?"

Zhang Zhentian's pupils shrank suddenly, and a look of disbelief appeared on his face.

His figure flashed as he appeared at the spot where Han Ming had vanished, searching a hundred-meter radius, but he actually didn't find the figure of the person in black.

"This... how is this possible?"

A trace of shock flashed across Zhang Zhentian's aged face.

He knew that his attack just now had locked onto that person in black; unless the opponent was also a Martial Ancestor, they would definitely die.

Now, not to mention a corpse, not even a scrap of cloth remained.

How could this not make him suspicious?

He refused to give up and searched the vicinity for over half an hour. The courtyard walls, rooftops, tree canopies, and even underground—every place that could hide a person was turned over by him.

Still, he found nothing.

The Zhang Family Old Ancestor's face was as dark as the bottom of a pot; it was simply a great humiliation.

He, a dignified Peak Martial Ancestor, had actually let a Great Martial Master escape from his hands. If this got out, how would Zhang Zhentian be able to mix in the Alliance in the future?

How would his Zhang Family stand in Jiangbei?

"Father, did you find him?"

At this moment, Zhang Mingshan and the others walked over. Seeing Zhang Zhentian's ugly expression, they already had some guesses, but they still asked with a glimmer of hope.

"Hmph, what a bunch of trash! A Great Martial Master killed three people under your noses, and he even escaped?"

Zhang Zhentian snorted coldly, glared at them, and cursed.

Zhang Mingshan, Grand Elder Zhang Mingyu, and Second Elder Zhang Mingyuan's faces flushed red, and they lowered their heads without daring to make a sound.

In their hearts, however, they were thinking: Aren't you, an old man, a dignified Peak Martial Ancestor, also unable to keep the person here?

But they could only think this in their hearts; they wouldn't dare say it out loud.

"Father, what is that person in black's background? To dare to break into our Zhang Family at night and kill people?"

Grand Elder Zhang Mingyu clutched his injured right hand and asked through gritted teeth.

He had almost died today, and thinking about it made him feel a lingering fear.

"That person used the Gongshu Family's Water Shadow Step. Could it be related to the Gongshu Family?"

At this moment, Zhang Mingshan also looked at Zhang Zhentian and probed.

"Hmph, if it were the Gongshu Family wanting to deal with our Zhang Family, they wouldn't need to go to such trouble. You don't need to worry about this matter; I will investigate it myself."

Zhang Zhentian looked at his few incompetent sons, snorted coldly, and walked toward the backyard.

It must have been these few useless things who offended someone without knowing it.

The few of them looked at each other and began to clean up the aftermath.

Inside the Cave Heaven World.

Han Ming sat paralyzed on the ground, gasping for air. If he hadn't hidden in the Cave Heaven World during that palm strike, he would have been smashed into meat paste.

"A Peak Martial Ancestor is truly terrifying." Han Ming wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

What shocked him even more was that Zhang Zhentian was actually a member of the Blood Demon Alliance. The Old Ancestor of a second-rate Family had secretly defected to the Blood Demon Alliance—if this matter got out, it would be enough to shake all of Jiangbei.

"Hmph, I originally thought it would take some effort to destroy the Zhang Family, but since you are a member of the Blood Demon Alliance, that makes things easier."

A cold sneer appeared on the corner of Han Ming's mouth.

If the Zhang Family Old Ancestor had just been an ordinary Martial Ancestor powerhouse, he really wouldn't have been a match for him in the short term.

But since the opponent was a member of the Blood Demon Alliance, don't blame me for borrowing a knife to kill someone.

You have to know that people from the Blood Demon Alliance were just causing trouble at the Martial Exam not long ago, and recently, people from the Martial Arts Alliance and the Supervision Bureau were still hunting them down!

If the fact that the Zhang Family Old Ancestor was a Blood Demon were to get out, he wouldn't need to do it himself; the Zhang Family would be finished.

However, thinking about letting the people from the Supervision Bureau take action meant the Zhang Family's resources would be out of his reach, and Han Ming's brows furrowed slightly.

The Zhang Family was a top-tier second-rate Family; what he had snatched before was just a drop in the bucket!

"Forget it, if it's gone, it's gone. Let's eliminate the potential enemies at the Zhang Family first."

But Han Ming soon relaxed.

With the System, his rise was just a matter of time.