"Father, this is no time for contemplation! We must quickly figure out how to properly apologize to Grandmaster Chen!" Su Yunduan's voice was fraught with anxiety.

"You must find the right time to visit Grandmaster Chen's residence and offer a sincere apology. I believe he will be magnanimous about the matter with Wang Yu," Old Master Su suggested calmly.

"Sigh... I will try." Su Yunduan sighed. Though his heart was in turmoil, he was filled with apprehension about this so-called Grandmaster. After all, he couldn't predict the disposition and character of such a powerful figure.

"Hmph... I don't care how you apologize to him. I, for one, will not tolerate this humiliation. That lowly bitch brought all this trouble on us, and I'm going to make her regret ever being born!" Chen Xing's voice was as cold as ice.

Su Yunduan's body stiffened instantly, his gaze locking onto Chen Xing like a pair of sharp arrows. "You..."

Under that gaze, as deep and cold as an abyss, Chen Xing's heart felt as if it had plummeted into an ice cellar. A heavy, chilling premonition washed over her.

"Chen Xing, what in the world do you think you're doing?" Su Yunduan's voice was a furious roar, like a winter gale, laced with both anger and terror. "Don't you understand? That woman is personally protected by a Grandmaster! If he connects her to us, the Su Family will be plunged into an abyss from which we can never escape!"

The expression on the face of Su Kunan, the old master of the Su Family, was as grim and cold as a winter frost.

Chen Xing, however, acted as if she hadn't heard a word, her eyes dripping with contempt. "Second Brother, who are you trying to scare? How could that insignificant little tramp possibly be connected to a Grandmaster?"

The moment Chen Xing's words fell, a deafening explosion rocked the building. All heads whipped toward the entrance. A dark figure shot backward through the opening like an arrow, slamming violently into the center of the main hall.

SWOOSH!

In that same instant, everyone shot up from their seats, their gazes as sharp as daggers, piercing the darkness outside. A man with a handsome face, no older than twenty-five or twenty-six, came into view. His expression was blank, but his eyes glinted with an icy killing intent.

"Grandmaster... Grandmaster Chen!" Su Yunduan's voice trembled as if he'd been electrocuted. His teeth chattered, a physical battle against the terror gripping his heart.

Su Hunyun, sitting in his wheelchair, trembled uncontrollably, as if trapped in his worst nightmare. The senior members of the Su Family turned pale and backed away, their bodies moving of their own accord. A suffocating silence descended upon the room. No one dared to utter a sound; even their breathing grew shallow and cautious.

THUMP. THUMP. THUMP.

In the vast hall, the only sound was Chen Zheng's footsteps. Each heavy step was like a death knell, branding itself upon everyone's heart.

At last, Chen Zheng stopped. His voice was low and cold. "Who is Wang Duanhe?"

Startled, Wang Duanhe answered quickly, "I am."

Only then did it dawn on Chen Xing. She asked in confusion, "You're Grandmaster Chen? What brings you to our home so late at night?" She still hadn't grasped the severity of the situation.

Su Yunduan was so scared he was rendered speechless.

Chen Zheng didn't even spare Wang Duanhe a glance. He simply waved a hand. A thread of energy materialized in the air. It hummed like a taut bowstring, instantly intensifying beyond the limits of physical matter. With a soft, sickening *snap*, the invisible projectile pierced Wang Duanhe's sturdy heart. The violent energy within it completely pulverized the organ, like a sandcastle obliterated by a tidal wave.

He coughed, each breath a gasp of pain. His complexion turned from deathly white to a ghastly pale as his body convulsed. Finally, he collapsed to the ground, a crumpled heap like a withered leaf.

"Ah!" Chen Xing shrieked, her voice echoing like a lonely wind through an empty house.

"Who is Chen Xing?" Chen Zheng asked again, his tone utterly devoid of emotion.

"Grandmaster Chen," a middle-aged man from the Su Family stammered, his face a mask of confusion and terror. "Is there some kind of misunderstanding?"

Chen Zheng's answer was a mere flicker of his finger. A delicate thread of energy shot out, touching the man.

BANG!

A deafening crack echoed through the hall as the man was thrown backward, rolling in agony like a withered leaf in a storm before collapsing to the floor, unconscious.

"You are Chen Xing?" Chen Zheng's voice was cold and deep, like the blackest, iciest water, and his gaze fell upon her. It was a look that plunged her terrified soul into a dark abyss.

*"When a Grandmaster is enraged, a thousand miles turn barren!"*

In that single, terrifying moment, Chen Xing finally understood the profound meaning of that saying. It wasn't just an empty warning; it was a testament to an unimaginable power.

"No, I'm not Chen Xing!" she shrieked, her voice a sharp blade piercing the silence. Her body trembled violently as if struck by lightning. A dark, wet patch spread across the floor beneath her as the stench of urine filled the air.

Chen Zheng remained indifferent to her terror. He flicked his finger, and another thread of energy shot out like a bolt of lightning. Chen Xing's scream was cut short. Her eyes bulged, filled with regret and a desperate, fading cling to life. In that instant, her existence was extinguished, like a meteor streaking across the night sky.

"Mom! Dad!" Wang Yu cried out, as if jolted from a nightmare, and scrambled to embrace Chen Xing's lifeless body. Her warmth was already fading, and a chilling cold seeped into his own heart.

"You will pay the price as well." Chen Zheng's voice echoed in Wang Yu's ears, each word a line in a cruel poem.

In that instant, Wang Yu felt an invisible force tear through him, his organs shredding as if sliced by a thousand blades. The world went dark, and then there was only silence.

At the same time, a voice sounded in Chen Zheng's mind.

[Ding! Congratulations, Host, for completing the selection mission. Reward: Taiji Cloud Ladder!]

In that moment, it was as if a whole new world had opened up to Chen Zheng. His mind was flooded with a profound understanding of the Stepping on Air skill. The system's prompt restored a sliver of his rationality. He was aware that he had made a choice—an irreversible one. He didn't care about the lives and deaths of others; he only cared about acting on his own will.

With that, Chen Zheng turned and left. None of the Su Family's senior members, Su Yunduan included, dared to even think of stopping him.

"Stop!"

At that moment, Su Kunan's eyes were bloodshot. His face was contorted with fury, and his body radiated a reckless killing intent.

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