23: So what?

Chen Qingxuan felt numb.

If an outsider saw this, they would think exterminating Shenyou Stronghold was his idea.

Would someone whose Nine Profound Pupils were gouged out as a child, yet still became a legendary Mystic Maiden in the dog-eat-dog cultivation world, be afraid of seeing people killed?

This was even more absurd than calling him a loli-con!

Thus, Chen Qingxuan stopped wasting words and prepared to forcibly pry Jiang Susu off him.

"No... Brother, don't... Susu is scared..."

Jiang Susu still tried to refuse by acting cute;

"If you keep hugging me... I'll be more scared than you." Chen Qingxuan knew where to draw the line and gave her no room to be unreasonable.

Before long.

The two arrived near the Zhao Family.

As a millennium-old Family and regional hegemon, their foundation was undoubtedly deep; the Zhao Family's territory alone occupied more than half of the town's area.

There were at least several thousand clansmen within.

To keep his conscience clear, Chen Qingxuan specifically investigated the people's attitude toward the Zhao Family before taking action.

In the hearts of the people, the Zhao Family was indeed an immovable titan. Those who lived around the Zhao Family for generations but were not part of it... though supposedly under the Family's protection and only required to support and love them, in reality, no one except the Zhao Family would ever bully them;

To have a stable life, they often had to put in several times more effort than the Zhao clansmen, yet they might not see the same rewards.

Thus, it could be said they were merely a blood transfusion station raised by the Zhao Family, doing the dirtiest and most exhausting work just to earn the right to survive.

"Clearly exploiting them... yet acting all righteous and demanding gratitude... Heh~"

Chen Qingxuan chuckled.

No wonder Zhao Wuying, as the Old Ancestor, dared to seize treasure in public. As the saying goes, 'if the upper beam is crooked, the lower ones will be too.' Since that was the case, he wouldn't have any psychological burden in destroying the Zhao Family.

After finishing his investigation of the Zhao Family, the beast soul sent word that Zhao Wuying had arrived.

"The hunting hour has begun."

Without any nonsense, Chen Qingxuan flew directly into the Zhao Family with his sword in hand.

On the other side.

"Old Ancestor, save us quickly!"

Seeing the newcomer, the Zhao Family experts felt like they were grasping at a straw.

"A Core Transformation Realm beast soul?" Zhao Wuying was also somewhat surprised. Without time for words, he first struck the mountain-sized beast soul with a palm to force it back;

Then, he turned to the Zhao Family juniors and asked, "Where is that kid? Where is he?"

"Reporting to Old Ancestor, this beast soul was summoned by that kid."

"We were held back by the beast soul, but Zhao Miao has already chased after him. He definitely won't escape."

Several people spoke up one after another.

"What?"

Zhao Wuying furrowed his silver brows;

Previously, Chen Qingxuan had managed to escape from him and had so many tricks up his sleeve. Zhao Miao alone... likely wouldn't be a match for him.

"Everyone, stand back. I'll deal with it."

Zhao Wuying decided to deal with the beast soul first before going to support Zhao Miao.

The Zhao Family experts were overjoyed to hear this. They were already exhausted from being stalled by the beast soul and retreated without hesitation.

Boom—

With limited time, Zhao Wuying didn't intend to prolong the fight and directly erupted with his powerful Void Integration Realm strength.

"As expected of the Old Ancestor... this pressure makes me want to kneel in worship."

"A mere Core Transformation Realm beast soul... it's an honor for it to die at our Old Ancestor's hands."

"With our Old Ancestor's strength, one palm strike will likely turn it to dust!"

The Zhao Family experts looked excited.

They seemed to already see the magnificent scene of Zhao Wuying annihilating the beast soul in one move; it would surely be unforgettable!

But just as Zhao Wuying gathered his powerful Profound Power and struck toward the beast soul, an unexpected scene occurred in the next moment—

Roar!

The beast soul took the incoming palm force head-on. Amidst its roar, its already massive body rapidly expanded.

"Hmm?"

Zhao Wuying looked puzzled at the sight;

But before he could figure out the situation, the beast soul had already swollen to twice its size, and a dangerous aura rushed toward him.

"Not good, it's going to self-detonate..."

Zhao Wuying shouted.

This move was simply too insidious and underhanded.

He wasn't playing by the rules at all!

After all, a beast soul scroll was not a one-time consumable. A summoned beast soul could be recalled and reused. This was one of the reasons a Core Transformation Realm beast soul was priceless;

It could be used repeatedly, equivalent to having a Core Transformation Realm expert as a personal bodyguard!

With such a precious treasure, who would be so wasteful as to use it as bait for a self-detonation against an enemy?

But Chen Qingxuan did exactly that.

Thus, even Zhao Wuying hadn't expected it, and for a moment, he simply had no time to save the juniors behind him.

Boom—

A deafening explosion rang out. The terrifying shockwave swept in all directions, leveling everything within a several-mile radius in an instant.

Dust and smoke billowed, blotting out the sun.

The Zhao Family experts didn't even have a chance to scream before being reduced to nothing. Even the Void Integration Realm Zhao Wuying... was now covered in blood, his clothes in tatters!

"You brat... I will swallow you alive and skin you!"

Zhao Wuying, recovering from his daze, roared while trembling with rage.

Pfft—

Under the intense fury, his already heavily injured Physical Body couldn't bear it, and a spray of blood immediately spat from his mouth.

Zhao Wuying hurriedly took out a Spirit Pill from his storage ring and consumed it, finally stabilizing his body slightly.

After all, the self-detonation of a Core Transformation Realm beast soul was not to be underestimated;

Had Zhao Wuying not possessed a Void Integration Realm Physical Body and worn defensive armor, he would have been blown to pieces in the previous explosion.

Even so, he had just suffered a severe loss of Origin Qi and damage to his heart's meridians.

He hadn't suffered such an injury in centuries.

Yet now, he had suffered such a massive loss at the hands of a mere youth.

Biu~

While Zhao Wuying was thinking of how to get revenge, the sound of a firework exploding rang out in the sky.

When he looked up toward the sound, a line of text met his eyes—

[Through wind or rain, the Zhao Family awaits you.]

"What?"

The Zhao Family... Zhao Wuying's head buzzed.

That kid wouldn't...?

An ill omen made him fly back toward the Family's direction like a madman, not even having time to change his clothes.

At this moment,

The Zhao Family was already littered with corpses and ruins.

The perimeter of the Zhao Family's walls was packed with people, all talking incessantly.

Despite so many people gathering, not a single person came forward to plead for the Zhao Family. It was clear they weren't unaware of the Family's exploitation; they simply had weaknesses that forced them to compromise.

Now that someone was overthrowing the Zhao Family, they naturally stood by and watched.

You didn't share your luxury, so why should I care about your survival?

"Waaah... You brat... How dare you be so rampant!"

A trembling roar of anger came.

Everyone looked up to see Zhao Wuying, who usually had the air of a transcendent immortal, but now looked as wretched as if he had just crawled out of a pile of bloody mud.

"Finally here."

Chen Qingxuan stood up with his sword.

"You... you dared to slaughter my entire Zhao Family?!" Looking at the Zhao Family littered with corpses, Zhao Wuying's eyes burned with a raging fire, like a volcano about to erupt.

Before Chen Qingxuan could speak;

Jiang Susu stepped forward, one hand on her hip. "So what?"