Though Wei Sen directed the Inspectorate, he did not recognize Ye Bei's face. His rank was far too low to bring him into the Hall Master's circle.
"Old Mr. Gu, do you take me for a fool? Do you think anyone can become a Martial Practitioner just because they want to?"
"At his age, you weren't even a Martial Apprentice, let alone a Martial Practitioner. If your family's wealth hadn't bought you a cultivation manual, you'd probably still be stuck as an apprentice now." Wei Sen sneered. It was an absurd excuse to lessen his offense.
Gu Changfeng had no answer. He too was wondering. At his eighteenth-birthday banquet, Ye Bei had been completely ordinary. How had he returned as a Martial Practitioner after only seven years?
If Ye Bei had been one back then, Gu Changfeng would never have dared wipe out the Ye family.
Martial Practitioners were symbols of power and status, sought after by every great family.
Some families lacked the innate aptitude to produce one themselves. They paid enormous sums to retain a Martial Practitioner and safeguard their standing.
"My turn." Ye Bei's voice came like the voice of death. He raised one hand like a blade, ready to strike.
Wei Sen was taken aback. Could this man truly be a Martial Practitioner? Even if he was, he could not possibly match Gu Changfeng.
His surprise turned to anger. Attacking right in front of him showed utter contempt for the Inspectorate.
"Insolence!"
Wei Sen roared and lunged, reaching out with his left hand to stop Ye Bei while driving his right fist forward. He put tremendous force into the punch, intending to execute him on the spot.
Gu Changfeng was delighted.
Wei Sen had surpassed the Martial Practitioner realm and become a Martial Venerable. If he struck, Ye Bei would die instantly, saving Gu Changfeng the criticism that might follow if he killed the man himself.
Just as the fist neared Ye Bei's face, a wave of invisible pressure erupted.
Wei Sen's expression changed drastically. He flew helplessly through the air and crashed into the wall. His blood surged backward, and he spat a mouthful of it.
"A... War God..."
Terror filled his eyes. As a Martial Venerable, he knew exactly how powerful a War God was.
When a War God struck, no one survived.
Clearly, the man had shown mercy. Otherwise, that pressure alone would have ruptured all his organs and killed him.
What Wei Sen did not know was that Ye Bei had broken through beyond War God three years earlier and become a War King.
Otherwise, how could he have beheaded the Philippines' Seven-Star War God with a single stroke and stunned the world?
The day Ye Bei returned should have been his coronation. He cared nothing for titles. He had relinquished his seal and come home, with Gu Changfeng first on his list of vengeance. His blood would be an offering to his parents' spirits.
The younger Gus were horrified. They did not understand what a War God was or how strong one could be. They simply thought Ye Bei had gone completely mad. He had attacked not just an Inspectorate officer, but its director. Offending the Inspectorate made him as good as dead.
They were still congratulating themselves.
"A War God... Hahaha..."
Gu Changfeng slumped in his seat, laughing like a madman.
Ordinary people might not know, but as a Martial Practitioner, he understood. A War God stood at the very pinnacle of their world.
One could wipe out tens of thousands of Martial Practitioners with ease.
If he had made the best of that incident and married his granddaughter to Ye Bei, he would now have a War God for a grandson-in-law. The Gu family would stand above every other family, at the pinnacle of all China.
He regretted destroying the Ye family. He regretted letting Ye Bei escape.
Who could have foreseen such twists of fate?
"When you killed my parents, your family was there. Not one of them tried to stop you. They were all accomplices."
"Today, your entire family will answer for it. None of you is innocent!"
Ye Bei slashed his hand down.
"No!"
Gu Changfeng's eyes bulged. He knew he would die today, but he had never imagined Ye Bei intended to destroy his entire clan.
His head separated slowly from his body, then struck the floor and rolled with a dull thump, still wearing the terror of his final moment.
"Aah!"
The Gu family screamed. Some of the more timid members wet themselves.
"Zhongyuan!" Ye Bei barked.
"Here, sir." Lü Zhongyuan appeared like a ghost and cupped his fist.
He had been nearby all along. Knowing the Hall Master was settling a personal score, he would not show himself without an order.
"S-State-Securing Envoy Lü..." Wei Sen was terrified. He did recognize the five War Gods, especially Lü Zhongyuan, whose jurisdiction covered every Inspectorate in Central China's six provinces and sixty-eight cities. In that sense, Wei Sen was one of his soldiers.
The five War Gods stood at the summit of China. There was only one person to whom they would bow in submission. Could this be...?
Wei Sen drew a sharp breath, his heart hammering.
"Throw Gu Changfeng's remains into the river. Exile the rest of the Gu family to the Northern Frontier, where they will live as beggars for generations. Anyone who tries to escape is to be killed on the spot!"
Let this powerful family taste homelessness too. And in the bitter hardship of the Northern Frontier, it would be far crueler than death.
"Yes, sir." Lü Zhongyuan swept out his hand. Hundreds of black-clad soldiers poured into the courtyard.
Only then did the other guests realize something was wrong. They hurried away without a moment's delay, terrified of being implicated.
"Where are you going, Uncle?" Ye Bei's gaze swept the crowd with apparent casualness.
One man stopped abruptly amid the fleeing guests.
Several seconds passed before he slowly turned and met Ye Bei's eyes.
Sun Zhengming was petrified. He had seen what happened in the hall. His nephew was no longer the young man he had once known. He could kill even Gu Changfeng with ease.
"Oh, Little Bei, it really is you! I thought I must have mistaken you for someone else. Where have you been all these years? I've looked everywhere for you. When did you come back? Why didn't you tell your uncle? I would've welcomed you home and treated you to dinner." Sun Zhengming spoke first, pretending nothing was wrong.
Ye Bei sneered inwardly. "What brings you here, Uncle? Surely you didn't come to celebrate the birthday of the man who killed your sister?"
A flash of panic crossed Sun Zhengming's eyes. "Of course not! I was just passing by. Just passing by. I've wanted to kill that old Gu bastard for years. But his family was too powerful. There was nothing I could do."
Ye Bei's gaze hardened, his killing intent deepening.
Lü Zhongyuan's investigation had shown that after his parents were murdered, his uncle had clung to the Gu family for protection.
With their influence behind him, he had prospered over the years. His annual tribute to them alone ran to more than ten million yuan.
Seeing the murderous look in his nephew's eyes, Sun Zhengming broke into a cold sweat. "Little Bei, you haven't eaten, have you? Come home with me. I'll have your aunt cook her specialties, and we'll share a drink. She's told me so many times how much she misses you."
To escape, he could only appeal to family affection, hoping his nephew would spare him for the sake of their blood ties.
He had thrived in business these past few years largely on the strength of his silver tongue. He was very good with words.
"Dinner?" Ye Bei gave a cold laugh. "And what if you put something in my drink again? I might make another terrible mistake."
Sun Zhengming's heart lurched. Forcing himself to stay calm, he squeezed out a smile. "Little Bei, what are you talking about? I'm your own uncle. Why would I drug you? Always making these ridiculous jokes."
Ye Bei smiled, but his heart felt as though a knife were cutting through it.
If this had been anyone else, he would simply have struck them down.
But this was his own uncle.
And that very uncle had drugged him for personal gain, causing the deaths of his parents—his uncle's own sister and brother-in-law.
How could he have done that to his closest family?
"Of course. How could a real uncle poison his own nephew?" Ye Bei paused, his gaze sharpening. Through clenched teeth, he forced out three words.
"But. You. Did."
A tremendous pressure erupted.
The force of a War God's aura bore down on Sun Zhengming like a mountain. His knees slammed into the floor, cracking and caving it in. White bone showed through the wounds.
Thunder cracked.
A sudden thunderclap split the night sky. Dark clouds gathered, and a downpour began.
"Aah! My legs!" Sun Zhengming screamed like a pig being slaughtered.
"Ye Bei, I'm your uncle! Your own uncle! How can you do this to me? Heaven will punish you!"
Cold sweat poured from him in agony. His legs were ruined for good.
Ye Bei lifted his face to the rain. "Heaven's punishment?"
Then he slowly lowered his head. "Did you think about heaven's punishment when you ruined my life seven years ago?"
"When you destroyed your brother-in-law?"
"When you killed your own sister?!"
His roar shook the air. His eyes were bloodshot, and a tear slipped down his cheek.
His vengeance was complete, but he felt no satisfaction. The man before him was one of his last surviving blood relatives in this world.
"Hall Master, leave this man to me," Lü Zhongyuan said from behind him, cupping his fist.
He knew Sun Zhengming was the Hall Master's uncle. He knew how much it must hurt, how hard it must be to strike the final blow.
"No."
"Let him kneel here and repent. No one is to treat him. Anyone who does will be executed without mercy. Let him remain until his flesh rots from his bones and he crumbles to dust!"
With that, Ye Bei strode away without looking back, ignoring Sun Zhengming's sobbing pleas behind him.