An oppressive silence choked the entire main hall of the Xiao Family Residence. The festive atmosphere that had been filled with laughter and the plucking of zithers only moments ago had vanished without a trace, replaced by the pure scent of menace emanating from the young man standing in the doorway.
Xiao Chen stood upright amid the ruins of the shattered door. His black robe, trimmed with gold, fluttered in the cold night wind, while his silver-gold hair emitted a mystical gleam beneath the dim light of the remaining lanterns. Yet the most terrifying thing was his gaze—a pair of golden irises crowned by red pupils that radiated both an aura of immortality and the darkness of ancient times.
On the main platform, Xiao Yiran instinctively took a step back. His fingers trembled violently as he pointed at Xiao Chen. His face, once filled with arrogance, had turned deathly pale.
"Impossible! This can't be happening!" Xiao Yiran cried, his voice trembling and shrill with confusion. "I personally destroyed your meridians with the *Soul-Severing Claw Technique*! And two guards threw you into the depths of Shenmo Death Valley! No one on the Tianyuan Continent could survive that abyss, much less a crippled piece of trash like you!"
Xiao Chen stepped forward once.
*THUD.*
The sound of his foot landing on the cracked marble floor rang out with startling clarity, as though it were the death knell for everyone in the room. A wave of incredibly dense aura pressure erupted from Xiao Chen's body, spreading in every direction like ripples across water.
*THUD! THUD! THUD!*
Dozens of clan guards at the Body Refining stage standing around the hall were forced to their knees. Their bones groaned in pain beneath the pressure of that mystical aura, and several of them immediately vomited blood and passed out on the spot.
"Trash?" Xiao Chen whispered. His voice carried a double resonance, trembling as it burrowed directly into the souls of everyone who heard it. "Cousin Yiran, you were so certain you'd destroyed my life. But fate seems to prefer a story where I return to claim yours."
Seeing the chaos in the hall and the fear spreading among the guests, Great Elder Xiao Tianhai finally recovered from his shock. The middle-aged man swept back his luxurious sleeve, unleashing the formidable aura of the **Middle Golden Core Realm** to withstand Xiao Chen's pressure.
"Enough, Xiao Chen!" Xiao Tianhai thundered, releasing a wave of blazing-red Qi that swept through the air. "I don't care what demon saved your life at the bottom of that abyss! Today is the clan's official celebration feast. You dared to smash down the hall door and injure the clan guards. That's treason, and it must be paid for with your life!"
Xiao Tianhai swept his gaze toward the main guards outside the hall. "Soldiers! Clan Core Guards! Surround him and kill him on the spot! Whoever brings me his head will receive ten thousand spirit stones!"
Upon hearing the staggering reward of ten thousand spirit stones, the Clan Core Guards' fear suddenly vanished, replaced by madness and greed.
"Kill him!"
"He's only pretending to be strong! Attack together!"
More than thirty Core Guards in the **Late Body Refining Realm** and **Early Foundation Establishment** leaped into the air at the same time. Their swords, spears, and battle-axes flashed through the darkness, hurtling toward every vital point on Xiao Chen's body from all directions.
Xiao Chen did not even blink. His golden eyes stared coldly at the dozens of vicious weapons aimed at him.
"Xue Ling'er," Xiao Chen whispered inwardly.
*"Massacre them without mercy, my lord,"* Xue Ling'er's soft, icy voice echoed gently within his soul.
Xiao Chen planted his right foot on the floor.
**[Untraceable Shadow Step]**
*WHOOSH!*
Xiao Chen's body vanished from everyone's sight in an instant, leaving behind more than a dozen black-gold afterimages that scattered randomly among the crowd of guards.
"Where is he?!"
"Find him! He used a movement technique!"
Before the guards could realize Xiao Chen's true position, a dazzling yet deadly purple-gold light exploded in their midst. Xiao Chen had reappeared behind the line of main guards, with the God-Demon Sword drawn halfway from the sheath on his back.
*SHING!*
Xiao Chen pushed the sword hilt with his thumb, sliding it back into its sheath with a single, delicate chime.
*CLINK.*
The next instant, time seemed to stop.
*CREAK... CRACK!*
Suddenly, more than fifteen guards at the front froze in place. Thin golden-red lines appeared across their necks and waists. Before they could scream or call for help, their bodies and steel weapons split neatly in two! Fresh blood sprayed like red rain, soaking the marble floor of the feast and the magnificent wooden walls.
"AAAAAARGH!"
Hysteria erupted among the invited guests. The heads of neighboring clans and representatives of outside sects scrambled backward toward the corners of the room, their faces filled with utter terror. One slash! With just one slash, without even fully drawing his sword, Xiao Chen had massacred fifteen elite clan practitioners as easily as chopping vegetables!
"He's not human... He's not human! He's a demon!" one of the neighboring clan heads shouted, his lips trembling.
Xiao Chen stood amid the pool of blood soaking the floor. Not a single drop had touched his black robe—the invisible aura barrier around his body repelled all mortal filth. He slowly turned and walked across the tragic corpses of the fallen guards.
The surviving guards threw their weapons to the ground and crawled backward, howling in terror. There was no courage or greed left in their eyes, only absolute fear of the ruler of death standing before them.
"Who else wants to step forward and claim the ten thousand spirit stones offered by the Great Elder?" Xiao Chen asked softly. His calm voice sounded a thousand times more frightening than the roar of a storm.
No one dared answer. Even the night wind seemed to hold its breath.
Xiao Chen shifted his gaze and stared straight at Xiao Yiran, who was now hiding behind his father's body. Deep fear enveloped Xiao Yiran's soul. He remembered how, three days ago, he had stepped on Xiao Chen's head in the mud and destroyed his meridians. Now, the person he had once mocked as a mortal worm had transformed into the ultimate predator standing atop the food chain.
"Xiao Yiran," Xiao Chen said, calling his cousin's name in a flat tone. "Three days ago, on the Clan Trial platform, you used the *Soul-Severing Claw Technique* to destroy my life. You said that in this world, the weak were nothing but worms fit to be stepped on."
Xiao Chen took one step after another, approaching the main platform.
"Now I stand here. Bring out every bit of that Peak Body Refining, Sixth Level power you're so proud of. Prove to me... which one of us is really the worm!"
Xiao Yiran's face flushed deep red with overwhelming shame and suffocating fear. Surrounded by hundreds of guests and clan elders, his pride as the number-one genius was torn to shreds.
"Father... Father, please kill him! Kill this piece of trash right now!" Xiao Yiran screamed hysterically, tugging at Xiao Tianhai's robe.
Xiao Tianhai clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white, the joints cracking loudly. The Golden Core Realm aura within his body erupted at full force, ripping open the upper part of his robe and radiating blazing-red energy flames that scorched the surrounding air. The middle-aged man realized that if he did not eliminate Xiao Chen tonight, not only would the clan's honor be destroyed, but both their lives would also be lost.
"You ungrateful beast!" Xiao Tianhai roared, his eyes blazing red. "Don't think that just because you've mastered a little forbidden technique, you can act insolently in front of me! Before a Golden Core Realm cultivator, you're still nothing but an ant I can crush with ease!"
Xiao Tianhai leaped from the main platform and shot through the air like a flaming giant descending from the heavens, bringing the full force of his killing intent straight toward Xiao Chen's head!