Chapter 400: That Means Making a Choice

“Are you Zhang Xuan?” Lin Ruotian squinted at the young man standing outside the door.

He was so arrogant, I thought he’d have three heads and six arms. Who knew he was just a guy at the initial stage of the Transcendent Mortal realm? People with that level of strength are a dime a dozen in our courtyard; no one would even bother to pick them up if you threw them outside. Does he have a death wish, coming here to cause trouble for our Lin family?

“Are you the head of the Lin family?” Without answering, Zhang Xuan looked over calmly, his hands clasped behind his back.

“Teacher, he is the Lin family patriarch, Lin Ruotian!” Lu Chong clenched his fists. Lin Long had sent people to exterminate their entire family, and Lin Ruotian must have played a crucial role in that! Otherwise, how could a woman who had already married out of the family know the Qu family’s whereabouts and manage to slaughter them all, leaving no one alive?

For the past two years, although he hadn’t sought revenge, he had deeply memorized every significant figure in the Lin family, not daring to forget a single one.

“Lin Ruotian?” Hearing that he was indeed the head, Zhang Xuan nodded with satisfaction. “Since you are the patriarch, this makes things simpler. My student, Qu Chong. Two years ago, you killed his entire family, one hundred and thirty-seven people. Do you remember?”

“Qu Chong? That little bastard who escaped? He’s not dead yet?” Lin Ruotian was momentarily stunned. Of course he knew that a small boy had escaped two years ago, but he hadn't taken it seriously because the boy's strength was too low and his talent wasn't impressive. He never expected him to become such a hidden danger! In less than two short years, he had already reached the Master realm! But... so what if he escaped? Coming here today is like walking into a trap. He won't be leaving!

He raised his eyebrows, his gaze filled with murderous intent. He gestured, and several elders immediately began to slowly encircle them from both sides, completely cutting off Zhang Xuan and Lu Chong's escape route.

“It’s better that you’re not dead. Today, I’ll send you to the Underworld to reunite with your relatives!” He smirked coldly, a corner of his mouth curling upwards.

“Killed one hundred and thirty-seven people? Patriarch Lin, what exactly happened?”

“Yes, I also heard about the Qu family before; later it was said they moved away, so I didn’t pay attention. From the sound of it, they were all massacred by you?”

“Killing is forbidden in the King City, let alone annihilating an entire family! This matter must be clarified today!”

All the prominent figures nearby looked over when they heard the conversation between the two. Although the Qu family wasn’t particularly famous, they weren’t weak either. The news they had heard was that the family had moved away, not that they had been cruelly massacred. No wonder the teacher had come knocking; no one could forgive such a profound hatred of family annihilation. They had been brought here by their juniors today, intending only to support and mediate, with no intention of opposing the Lin family. However, upon learning of this tragedy, their expressions turned grim. If the Lin family could quietly wipe out the Qu family, they could do the same to their own families. It seemed they needed to be more careful in the future!

“The Lin family does not need to explain its actions to you!” With a wave of his hand, Lin Ruotian cut off the crowd’s murmurs and sneered, “The Qu family colluded with external enemies, intending to assassinate the Crown Princess... this accusation has been confirmed. If you don’t believe it, you can inquire with the Xuanyuan Kingdom!”

“You... you’re spouting nonsense!” Lu Chong trembled with rage, not expecting the other party to twist the truth.

“Alright, if we can resolve this by other means, let’s stop with the empty words!” Patting his student’s shoulder, Zhang Xuan raised his eyelids and looked at Lin Ruotian. “Since you admit that the Qu family’s demise is related to your Lin family, that’s good. Now, I’ll give you two choices. First, hand over the murderers and have them commit suicide as atonement! Second, the entire Lin family will be buried with them!”

“Be buried with them? You want our Lin family to be buried with them? Just the two of you? Haha!” Lin Ruotian looked at them with pity, as if he had heard the funniest joke. “Where did this Qu Chong find such a crazy teacher? If he had stayed hidden, I certainly wouldn’t have known, and he might have continued to live. But now that he’s shown himself, he’s cut off his own retreat, making escape impossible.”

“One at the initial stage of the Transcendent Mortal realm, one at the intermediate stage of the Master realm... and they want our Lin family to be buried with them? Even if this guy might have used some method to conceal his cultivation, otherwise he couldn’t have injured the Third Elder. Even so, being so young and in Tianwu Kingdom, how strong could he possibly be? What if he’s at the peak of the Master realm? Before my half-step Zun realm, he could be killed with a casual strike!”

It wasn’t just his expression; everyone who had come to lend support was also filled with doubt. Demanding the Lin family be buried... even the Tianwu Royal Family wouldn’t dare say such a thing. Where did this mere initial-stage Transcendent Mortal get such confidence? Mo Tianxue was also extremely puzzled.

He couldn't help but look at his daughter.

“I... I don’t know either!” Mo Yu shook her head.

On the day of the Master Teacher examination, she had personally witnessed Zhang Xuan’s breakthrough. It had only been six or seven days since then; in such a short time, he might not have even consolidated his initial Master realm cultivation, yet he had come here boasting, repeatedly claiming he would destroy the Lin family... Could it be... he brought the Iron-toothed Roaring Beast with him? Thinking this, she couldn’t help but look up, but the sky was clear and cloudless for thousands of miles; there wasn’t even a shadow of a beast. No Roaring Beast? On what basis is he saying this? Is he truly not afraid of Lin Ruotian’s wrath? What if he directly attacks?

“So you mean... you won’t agree to these two choices?” Ignoring the crowd’s strange gazes, Zhang Xuan looked at Lin Ruotian.

“Agree? Are you out of your mind?! Kid, since you’re so eager to die, I’ll grant your wish!” Lin Ruotian didn’t speak, but an elder could no longer hold back. With a roar, he stepped forward.

*Boom!* As he stepped out from the crowd, his aura instantly erupted like ignited gasoline, a violent surge of true qi sweeping out like a howling gale. He was at the late stage of the Master realm!

“It’s the Lin family’s Eleventh Elder, Lin Hu!”

“I heard he’s skilled in fist techniques, unbeatable, and known as the Iron-Arm Tiger!”

“Indeed, he has a fiery temper and invincible iron arms. Combined with his late-stage Master realm strength, even ordinary peak Master realm cultivators find it hard to defeat him...” As he stepped out, everyone lowered their voices.

Every elder of the Lin family was renowned and held a prominent position in Tianwu King City. Although Lin Hu’s reputation wasn’t as great as that of Grand Elder Lin Tao and others, it was still significant; he was a formidable individual whom even peak Master realm cultivators were unwilling to offend. The moment he appeared, Mu Xueqing and others who had just arrived nearby couldn’t help but clench their fists.

“Teacher... will he be alright?” A student couldn’t help but ask.

“He should... be fine. We actually have no idea what Teacher’s true strength is...” Mu Xueqing replied.

Though she spoke confidently, she was actually somewhat bewildered herself. However, thinking about how her teacher had enabled her to break through to the Transcendent Mortal realm and Lu Chong to reach the Master realm in just a few days... how could Teacher’s strength be inferior to that of his students?

“Don’t worry, Teacher Liu’s strength is certainly beyond the peak of the Transcendent Mortal realm!” Alchemist Mu looked over, his gaze profound, and said calmly. He had never seen Teacher Liu fight, but he had refined pills with him. Teacher Liu could guide him to refine fourth-grade pills and remained unfazed in the face of imminent cauldron explosions. How could he only be at the initial stage of the Transcendent Mortal realm? Furthermore, during pill refinement, all the methods to prevent cauldron explosions perfectly matched his current cultivation, without the slightest error. If his own cultivation hadn’t reached the Master realm, he absolutely couldn’t have given such detailed guidance!

“It’s probably going to turn into a fight...” Zhao Ya and the others finally arrived, seeing the scene and knowing that a battle was imminent.

“Die!” Elder Lin Hu roared as he stepped out from the crowd. Without any unnecessary words, he charged directly towards Zhang Xuan. “Didn’t you want our Lin family to apologize and be buried with them? Fine, let’s see what kind of strength you possess!”

“Teacher...” Seeing him charge forward furiously, Lu Chong clenched his fist, about to step forward.

“No need!” Shaking his head, Zhang Xuan took a deep breath, blocking Lu Chong. Suddenly, he moved his feet. His hands remained clasped behind his back as he threw himself forward, crashing into the opponent.

Before Lin Hu’s iron fist could land on him, Zhang Xuan had already plunged into his opponent’s embrace. The sound of a massive boulder flying through the air echoed. This late-stage Master realm expert of the Lin family was sent flying backward before he could even react. While still in the air, blood spurted wildly from his mouth. His Dantian had directly exploded from the collision, rendering him a cripple.

*Thud!* He flew more than ten meters before crashing to the ground, his life status unknown. His Dantian was destroyed, and nearly all the bones in his body were shattered by the impact. Even if he were saved, his life was likely over.

“What?”

“A late-stage Master realm expert was sent flying with a single hit?”

“How did he do that?”

Everyone was dumbfounded. They had expected a full battle and an opportunity to see what kind of strength President Liu possessed. They never imagined that the so-called Iron-Arm Tiger wouldn’t even get close before being directly sent flying... How powerful must his physical body and reaction speed be?

“His strength...” Mo Yu was utterly stunned, her mind unable to process it. Someone who had only broken through to the initial stage of the Master realm a few days ago now sent a late-stage Master realm expert flying, their life hanging by a thread, with a single move... How did this guy cultivate?

“Teacher...” Among the crowd, the most astonished was definitely Lu Chong. It wasn’t even astonishment anymore; it was pure exasperation. Just recently, Zhang Xuan had taught him that when fighting, one should find weaknesses rather than blindly charging with brute force. Yet, with one move, his teacher had instantly sent someone flying with a collision! Are you kidding me? What about the weaknesses he had mentioned earlier? What about the techniques? What was the difference between this and his own previous brute force collisions?

“Lin Hu...” Lin Ruotian and the others also hadn’t expected Lin Hu to be incapacitated without even lasting half a move. Their expressions all turned ugly. Although Lin Hu’s strength wasn’t the highest in the Lin family, it was by no means weak. To defeat an enemy in a single move, so ruthlessly, it seemed they had truly underestimated this guy!

“It seems you do have some skill, no wonder you’re so arrogant. However... with just this much ability, you dare to be arrogant in the Lin family? I think you’ve come to the wrong place!” Lin Ruotian glanced at Lin Hu lying on the ground, then narrowed his eyes and coldly stared at Zhang Xuan, no longer showing any signs of contempt. While he could also cripple Lin Hu with such a collision, he couldn’t do it as effortlessly as Zhang Xuan appeared to. However, despite being inferior in that specific aspect, he didn’t believe his overall strength was less than Zhang Xuan’s. Some people excelled in physical prowess, others in martial arts, and he belonged to the latter.

“What, you still can’t choose between the two options?” Zhang Xuan spoke lightly, as if severely injuring Lin Hu was a trivial matter, his hands still clasped behind his back, a faint smile on his face. “Since you can’t choose, it’s simple then! I’ll just...”

“Beat you until you make a choice!”

After saying this, he took a step forward. A surge of power erupted, his peak Master realm strength fully unleashed, exploding with a thunderous roar!