Chapter 54: Doing as he Wishes

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

“Settle accounts? You?”

Lin Tonghong looked condescendingly at Zhou Donghuang with a derisive expression and continued, “Even if that Freezing Wind were here, he would not dare to say such things.”

The last time Lin Tonghong went to Qingshan town intending to seize Zhou Donghuang’s Yunxuan Restaurant, he had been defeated by Freezing Wind and sent packing with his tail between his legs.

Therefore, in his view, the strongest person that Zhou Donghuang and Lin Lan had with them was Freezing Wind.

But he did not know that Freezing Wind’s ability was given to him by Zhou Donghuang, and without Zhou Donghuang, Freezing Wind might not even have attained level-two of Qi-gathering by now.

“Enough!”

Zhou Donghuang had long ago lost his patience, and seeing that Lin Tonghong still dared to carry on with his nonsense, he let out a shout of impatience and sprang into action.

Star-Stepping Footwork!

Zhou Donghuang swayed and stepped in a series of peculiar steps. He moved like a flash of lightning as he suddenly appeared right before Lin Tonghong, who was standing not far away.

Lin Tonghong’s expression changed immediately in the instant that Zhou Donghuang appeared before him.

How could this Zhou Donghuang be so fast?

Just as this thought appeared in Lin Tonghong’s mind, he saw Zhou Donghuang’s palm rise and descend towards his head.

At this moment, his reaction was still a split-second too slow.

There was only one reason why the scene played out as it did: the difference in their ability was too great.

“No—!”

In the same instant that Lin Tonghong cried out in desperation, Zhou Donghuang’s palm landed like a tiger bounding down a mountain.

Pong!!

Zhou Donghuang’s palm struck Lin Tonghong’s skull, and he fell to the ground with a crash, raising a cloud of dust.

From the time Zhou Donghuang first moved till the time he killed Lin Tonghong with a single blow, the entire process had happened in the blink of an eye, too fast for the people present to react.

Now, seeing Lin Tonghong fall lifeless to the ground, the gathered crowd of Lin family members all sucked in a cold breath.

Lin Tonghong was the fourth elder of the Lin family, an outstanding level-three adept of Qi-gathering, with a good chance of attaining level-four of Qi-gathering within ten years. But now, he was dead before them, and moreover, he was dead at the hands of a youth who looked to be no more than sixteen or seventeen years old.

“I’m not dreaming, am I?”

“This… this is too incredible. He killed Fourth Elder?”

As the Lin family juniors began to come to their senses, they exchanged glances and saw disbelief and incredulity in each other’s eyes.

Several of them even pinched themselves to confirm that they were not dreaming.

“Fourth Elder!”

The patriarch of the Lin family, Lin Zhuoyue, Second Elder Lin Chonghuan, and the rest of the Lin family leadership regained their senses. Their expressions changed completely.

When they looked again at the youth standing beside Lin Tonghong’s corpse, their gazes were filled with disbelief without exception.

If they had not seen it with their own eyes, they would never have believed that such a youth had the ability to kill the fourth elder of the Lin family, a level-three adept of Qi-gathering, Lin Tonghong.

Among the Lin family leadership, the head elder, Lin Tianzheng, was the last to come to his senses.

“Little Brother Hong!”

After he regained his senses, Lin Tianzheng stared in anguish at Lin Tonghong’s lifeless body, and he wailed in sorrow, his body trembling in anger.

Lin Tonghong was only his cousin, but to him, they were no different from brothers. And now, seeing Lin Tonghong killed before his eyes, he was filled with rage. He had no intention of holding back!

“Zhou Donghuang, you killed my little brother, Hong, I will kill you!”

Lin Tianzheng was furious beyond reason and was not considering whether Zhou Donghuang’s ability was beyond his own. He sprang forward at Zhou Donghuang like a hound fixed on its prey.

Although he was almost beyond reason, nevertheless, when he was approaching Zhou Donghuang, Lin Tianzheng did not dare to be reckless. He used the Lin family’s lesser-grade technique, Crazy Python Punch.

Swoosh!!

Lin Tianzheng was a level-four adept and struck with the strength of four bulls, just over three thousand jin of force, in an impressive show of force. And Lin Tianzheng’s attacking arm in that moment seemed to become a frenzied python, barreling towards Zhou Donghuang.

“A good attempt!”

Faced with Lin Tianzheng’s furious attack, Zhou Donghuang laughed indifferently and shifted his weight as his whole body shot forward.

Swoosh!!

As his body shot forward, Zhou Donghuang threw a punch like a cannonball, and it met the furious assault of Lin Tianzheng’s fist.

Thunderbolt Punch was a second-grade technique with an emphasis on directness, speed, accuracy, and ruthlessness, destroying enemies with sheer force and fury.

With this second-grade technique, Thunderbolt Punch, in addition to Zhou Donghuang’s strength that was no less than Lin Tianzheng’s, one could imagine the power of his attack.

Pong!!

Under the gaze of the crowd, Zhou Donghuang and Lin Tianzheng exchanged blows, and it was glaringly obvious that his fist was a size smaller than Lin Tianzheng’s.

Ka-chak!!

“Ahhhh—!”

Before the crowd could react, they heard the clear sound of bones cracking and snapping, followed closely by a hoarse and shrill cry of agony.

Zhou Donghuang stood where he was, unmoved, and Lin Tianzheng was sent flying to land awkwardly more than three meters away on the ground. His attacking arm was broken, obviously maimed by Zhou Donghuang’s one blow.

Their strength was comparable, but a second-grade technique was completely superior to a lesser-grade technique.

Therefore, this was the result.

In that moment, silence reigned.

Even Lu Qinghu and Lu Bao could not help staring dumbfounded at the scene.

It turned out that even without the black iron spear, this Young Master Donghuang’s ability was equally formidable.

Lin Tianzheng was not just an ordinary level-four adept. He was a level-four adept of the preeminent Lin family, second in power only to the patriarch of the Lin family Lin Zhuoyue. He had long since forged his reputation with his exploits in Yunfeng prefecture.

Such a person had now lost an arm while exchanging blows with a youth.

Hss! Hss! Hss! Hss!

The gathered crowd of Lin family juniors let out a cold breath as they came to their senses after this second shock.

When did the head elder of the Lin family become so weak that he could not withstand a single blow?

Was this really the head elder of the Lin family, a level-four adept?

“You… you are… a level-five adept of Qi-gathering?!”

Lin Tianzheng gritted his teeth as he endured the pain from his broken arm, and when he looked at Zhou Donghuang, it was with shock and dread. It was as though he had seen a ghost, his voice trembling with anxiety.

Simultaneously, Zhou Donghuang slowly stepped forward towards Lin Tianzheng with an apathetic expression, his chilly gaze showing no hint of emotion.

With every step he took, Lin Tianzheng grew more stressed, causing him to grow more and more pale.

“You… you want to kill me? No! You cannot kill me! If you kill me, the Lin family will not let you go!”

Lin Tianzheng was panicking.

“The Lin family?”

Zhou Donghuang laughed derisively, and he darted forward like a gust of wind and brought his palm down as Lin Tianzheng raised himself up on his good arm to try to flee. It was swift and efficient.

Hong!

Another member of the Lin family fell, following in the footsteps of Fourth Elder Lin Tonghong. This was the head elder of the Lin family, Lin Tianzheng.

“You… you actually… actually killed Head Elder?”

Seeing Lin Tianzheng die, Patriarch Lin Zhuoyue glared at Zhou Donghuang in anger as he trembled in rage.

But he did not dare make a move.

The ability Zhou Donghuang had displayed far exceeded his own, and if he rushed forward, he would probably not escape with his life.

Faced with Lin Zhuoyue’s glare, Zhou Donghuang merely swept an indifferent gaze over him and gave him a carefree smile.

“When I, Zhou Donghuang, do things, I always do as I please, and whoever takes issue with that is begging to be taught a lesson!”

“With your ability, why did you go through the trouble of formulating the blood-staunching elixir to clear Lin Lan’s name?” Lin Zhuoyue asked in a low voice. “You, are you making fun of us?”

He could not comprehend it.

With Zhou Donghuang’s ability, he could have forced the Lin family into compliance with the threat of force right from the start. He could have forced the Lin family to deal with Fourth Elder Lin Tonghong…

Even if Lin Tonghong had not actually stolen Lin Lan’s formula, with Zhou Donghuang’s ability, no one would have said otherwise!

The planet of Ziyun was one where only the strong gained respect, and adepts who were strong enough could establish their own rules and order.

“I did indeed think of doing that,” Zhou Donghuang said as he looked at Granny Lian who was supporting Lin Lan. His gaze softened, and he continued, “However, my mother did not want me to do so. She said that if I did that… I would be no different from Lin Tonghong who had stolen her formula and tried to suppress her with force. Besides, she had the utmost belief in the Lin family and did not want me to raise my hand to make the first move against the Lin family.”

He paused and seemed to have suddenly recalled something. Zhou Donghuang’s electrifying gaze fell on the crowd, on a middle-aged man who had just turned around and was about to leave.

“Lin Hua!” Zhou Donghuang called out casually. “Are you going to come here on your own… or do I have to go over to you?”

The middle-aged man who Zhou Donghuang was staring at was Lin Hua. He had let them into the Lin family mansion several days ago and proceeded to slander them, accusing them of sneaking in.

Thud!

Hearing Zhou Donghuang’s voice, Lin Hua trembled violently and turned around, sprinting to Zhou Donghuang and kneeling down before him. He was trembling and frightened to the core.

“Young Master Donghuang, I deserve to die! I should not have slandered you! I deserve to die! I deserve to die!”

As Lin Hua spoke, he raised his hands and slapped himself repeatedly on both cheeks, as though he would not stop until Zhou Donghuang told him to.

He hoped that this would be lenient and spare his life.

He had just witnessed Zhou Donghuang kill the fourth elder and head elder of the Lin family. He was already frightened out of his wits.