Chapter 1644: He’s Yours!
"Zeng Changshou... is dead?!"
The third young master of the Wang Family, Wang Zilang, stared blankly at the now empty place, hardly believing what he just saw—a Prominent Origin Seeking Realm late stage expert.
Although such a cultivator might not seem significant in the entire Nine-layered Dragon Cloud, in the eyes of Wang Zilang, who couldn’t cultivate due to his Innate Pulse Cutting condition, he was a figure of extreme prominence.
At least Wang Zilang knew that someone with Zeng Changshou’s Origin Seeking Realm late stage cultivation wouldn’t be considered weak even in Yulong City, yet now he had mysteriously died at the hands of an unfamiliar young boy.
At this moment, the look in Wang Zilang’s eyes toward Yun Xiao was filled with both fear and awe, while a strange feeling stirred within his heart, as if something was beginning to sprout from its depths.
This continent ultimately revered strength. Before Yun Xiao demonstrated his own power, Wang Zilang wouldn’t have believed a single word he said.
But now, Yun Xiao had turned Zeng Lianhu, a Spirit Vein Realm Middle Stage, and burned Origin Seeking Realm Late Stage’s Zeng Changshou to ashes with just two stunning moves, making Wang Zilang realize he had stumbled upon a treasure.
A young man he had inadvertently rescued from a river turned out to be such a formidable expert. Once the thoughts inspired by Yun Xiao’s previous words took root, they became impossible to shake off.
"Father... is really dead?!"
On the other side, Zeng Lianhu, despite his voice filled with disbelief, had already accepted the reality he had witnessed with his own eyes, causing his jaw to tremble.
Zeng Changshou was Zeng Lianhu’s greatest and final support. He was always hoping his father would capture Yun Xiao so he could torture the one who had ruined his Dantian in endless ways.
Who could have imagined the final result would be like this? His father, at the Origin Seeking Realm late stage, was no different from himself, a Spirit Vein Realm Middle Stage cultivator, when facing Yun Xiao.
Both unleashed just one attack, and both were defeated by the teenager’s singular move, yet Zeng Changshou’s end was far more tragic. Not even his bones remained.
"I... I... I..."
As he caught the gaze of the young man in coarse clothes turning towards him, Zeng Lianhu felt his breath stop. Cold sweat poured from within, knowing his moment of life and death might be next.
If time could rewind to a few days ago, Zeng Lianhu surely wouldn’t have dared lay hands on Yun Xiao’s Waist Storage, unaware the then half-dead guy would turn out to be such a monstrous being.
Moreover, Zeng Lianhu couldn’t fathom why such a demon-like figure would appear in the Western Regions, the most remote area of the Nine-layered Dragon Cloud, let alone in the remote Yulong City and Five Desolate Village.
"He’s yours. Finish him and then come see me!"
To Yun Xiao, Zeng Lianhu, whose cultivation was already crippled, was of no concern at all. After a single glance, he gave an order and returned to the thatched hut.
"Yes, Brother Yun Xiao!"
Watching the silhouette disappear at the hut’s doorway, Wang Zilang appeared somewhat exhilarated, then turned his gaze to Zeng Lianhu, causing the latter visible discomfort.
"Wang Zilang, what... what are you going to do?"
Seeing the boy slowly approach him, Zeng Lianhu instinctively stepped back, shouting with a false sense of authority.
Perhaps Zeng Lianhu had bullied Wang Zilang for too long and couldn’t adjust. Though heavily injured, with Wang Zilang having no cultivation, Zeng Lianhu had no power left to resist.
"What am I doing? Zeng Lianhu! You and your father are merely house slaves of the Wang Family, yet you dared to exploit and cause havoc in the Five Desolate Village. Today, I shall rid the village of this menace!"
Wang Zilang, kind-hearted by nature, was no pushover. Previously, with no cultivation, he had no choice but to endure under the eaves, and swallow his pride.
Feeling the burning pain on his face, Wang Zilang’s heart surged with new and old grievances, and he unleashed a flurry of slaps, turning Zeng Lianhu’s face into a swollen pig’s head.
"You dare hit me?"
Dazed by the barrage of slaps, Zeng Lianhu didn’t know where he summoned the strength to shout angrily, attempting to retaliate.
Clash!
But unexpectedly, at this moment, Wang Zilang pulled out a sharp dagger from somewhere and plunged it into Zeng Lianhu’s chest, freezing the latter in his tracks.
"Go to hell!"
A roar erupted from Wang Zilang’s mouth, and immediately he retracted his hand, causing a spray of crimson blood to gush out, staining his coarse tunic red, though he seemed oblivious to it.
This might be Wang Zilang’s first kill. His right hand holding the dagger trembled slightly, but his face showed a hint of excitement, as if all the gloom and frustration that had been building up over time dissipated with this single stroke.
"You... you useless creature, I..."
Lowering his head to look at his chest, where the blood surged crazily, Zeng Lianhu couldn’t quite believe it at the moment. His trembling voice pointed at Wang Zilang, but ultimately he powerlessly fell to the ground in the rain.
The gentle wind and fine rain scattered down, among some scattered ashes and a mighty corpse bleeding profusely on the ground, signifying that the duo of father and son from the Zeng Family, who had been tyrannizing Five Desolate Village, would no longer resume their evil deeds.
"Huff... huff..."
Finally seeing Zeng Lianhu motionless on the ground, Wang Zilang took several deep breaths before putting away the dagger, adjusted his expression, and returned to the thatched hut with a hint of respect.
"Not bad!"
Seeing Wang Zilang covered in blood entering, Yun Xiao naturally guessed a few things. He immediately praised him, leaving the Third Young Master Wang quite pleasantly surprised.
"Come over, sit here!"
After Yun Xiao nodded, he didn’t say much more about it but pointed to a simple bed beside him, signaling Wang Zilang to sit down.
Regarding Yun Xiao’s words, Wang Zilang naturally had no reason to refuse, and he vaguely guessed something, feeling undoubtedly excited.
"Could it be... Brother Yun Xiao can truly cure my Innate Pulse Cutting?"
Clearly, Wang Zilang considered this possibility, which made him excited. If he had had any doubts about Yun Xiao’s promise upon waking earlier, then now he was full of anticipation.
A young man barely over twenty, yet already slaughtering Origin Seeking Realm Late Stage cultivators like chickens—a peerless demon. If such a person isn’t worth believing, who else would be?
"You were discovered to be suffering from Innate Pulse Cutting from the moment you were born, right?"
After Wang Zilang sat on the bed, Yun Xiao didn’t immediately proceed but asked softly, leading the latter to nod immediately, while confusion arose.
As it’s called Innate Pulse Cutting, it naturally wouldn’t be caused by acquired reasons. On the Nine-layered Dragon Cloud, there is no shortage of those unfortunate souls afflicted with Innate Pulse Cutting, a condition reputed that only Intermediate to Advanced Holy Rank Meridian Refining Masters might have a slim chance of curing.
"Your Innate Pulse Cutting is indeed ’innate,’ but this innate is not the same as that innate; the two cannot be equated."
As confusion brewed within Wang Zilang, Yun Xiao nodded faintly. Even if he didn’t know the specifics, he could infer a few hints from his formidable Soul Sensing.
Innate Pulse Cutting is merely a general term, meaning that a human on the continent is born with closed meridians, unable to cultivate even a trace of Meridian Qi as ordinary cultivators do, potentially posing a threat to life.
Such Innate Pulse Cutting sufferers, if born into ordinary families, wouldn’t be a big deal. But if born into cultivation families, especially large family sects, it’s surely a tragedy.
Those around are all cultivating rapidly, yet you are forever a cultivation waste, enduring countless inhuman glances and ridicule.
Forget those distant examples, even Wang Zilang before him, despite his dignified status as the Third Young Master of the Wang Family, was relegated to this godforsaken Five Desolate City, living a bleak life of hauling water, carrying manure, and eating coarse food while residing in a thatched hut.
As Innate Pulse Cutting is a general term, the causes of its formation are varied.
It may be due to an anomaly during conception or possibly caused by external shocks affecting the fetus’s development during the mother’s pregnancy.
"If I’m not mistaken, your Innate Pulse Cutting occurred due to someone poisoning you in the womb; your mother likely died miserably on the day of your birth, didn’t she?"
These thoughts swirled in Yun Xiao’s mind before he voiced them, causing Wang Zilang’s eyes to widen. Though he didn’t fully understand the first half, the latter part matched the facts entirely.
Back then, when Wang Zilang was born, his mother didn’t have a difficult labor, nor were there any mishaps, yet she died mysteriously after his birth, prompting the Wang Family Patriarch to investigate.
Eventually, a Poison Vein Master discovered the Wang Family Patriarch’s wife had died of poisoning, but despite further investigation, they never found the perpetrator.
This matter remained an unsolved mystery within the Wang Family for years, a family scandal kept hush-hush. Except for that Poison Vein Master, the cultivators of Yulong City were largely unaware.
But now, it was unveiled by this just-acquainted young man before him, causing Wang Zilang to feel a mix of shock and increasing confidence, secretly thinking since the other knew the cause, it might indicate there are means to treat Innate Pulse Cutting.