The County Yamen prison.

In the damp, gloomy prison, a group of government officials escorted three local thugs to the registration area.

"Ma San!" The Prison Chief raised an eyebrow at the sight of the newcomers.

"You were only out for a few days. Back already?"

"Brother Liuu," Ma San said with a cheeky grin, sidling closer. He seemed nothing like a criminal who’d just been brought in for murder.

"We just got into a little trouble. Brother Yeh told us three to come in here to reflect on our actions and repent."

"Chief Zhou." The Prison Chief saluted Zhou Ye.

"You’ve worked hard."

"Mm," Zhou Ye grunted, his face devoid of expression. His cold gaze swept over Ma San.

"The three of you took a life this time. It won’t be easy to resolve. Just stay put in prison and behave yourselves."

"Yes," Ma San said with a wide grin.

"We just touched that guy’s wife, and he wanted to fight us to the death. Didn’t even know his own limits."

"Pah!"

"Killing that bastard Wang with three punches was letting him off easy. We should have messed with his wife right in front of him, shown him what we three brothers are capable of."

"Enough," Zhou Ye said, frowning.

"Haven’t you caused enough trouble already?"

For some reason, ever since he’d seen the bloody corpse, his emotions had become somewhat unstable.

Irritable and quick to anger.

A wave of agitation churned within him.

"Brother Yeh, you should have seen that woman," Ma San said with a lecherous chuckle, licking the corner of his mouth.

"She was so... succulent..."

"I said, enough!" Zhou Ye’s face twisted as he snarled through gritted teeth.

"Shut your mouth!"

"Everyone knows you three work for our Zhou Family! When you cause trouble, it’s the Zhou Family that loses face!"

"Yes." Ma San wiped the smile from his face, but couldn’t help muttering under his breath,

"There’s really no need to make such a big deal out of it. It’s not like this is the first time..."

SQUELCH!

The voice cut off abruptly.

Zhou Ye’s arm, like an iron rod, had driven straight through Ma San’s chest. His hand, clutching the man’s heart, protruded from his back.

"Brother!"

Ma Si’s face paled as he roared in fury.

"You bastard Zhou, what are you doing?!"

"We three brothers have done so much for your Zhou Family! Today’s job was your orders, too!"

"What about it?" Zhou Ye’s head swiveled stiffly. He crushed the heart, tossed the corpse aside, and fixed his crimson eyes on Ma Si.

"You have a problem with that?"

"You... you killed my third brother." Ma Si’s eyes showed a brief struggle, then he roared and lunged forward.

"I’ll kill you!"

BAM!

CRACK!

The figures collided. Zhou Ye closed the distance, grabbed Ma Si’s head with both hands, and twisted it a full circle clockwise.

The lifeless body slumped to the ground.

THUD!

Ma Jiu’s face was ashen. His knees gave way and he collapsed to the ground.

"Brother Yeh, spare me! We were in the wrong today! They... they both deserved to die."

"Oh?" Zhou Ye narrowed his eyes.

"The three of you weren’t born of the same mother, but you were as close as blood brothers—you even took the same surname. You don’t hate me for killing them?"

"No, I don’t hate you," Ma Jiu stammered, shaking his head frantically.

"They were the ones who were blind. Brother Yeh, you did well to kill them, you were right to kill them! They deserved it!"

"Well said," Zhou Ye sneered.

"But I don’t believe you!"

WHOOSH...

He strode forward, planting his left leg like a steel spike driven into the ground. His right leg whipped out, kicking up a sonic boom.

BAM!

Ma Jiu’s body, weighing well over a hundred pounds, was sent flying sideways. After slamming into the wall, he slid down its surface like a grotesque scroll.

He was dead before he hit the floor.

In the blink of an eye, the three Ma brothers lay dead. The horrific scene drained the color from the faces of the assembled government officials.

Though Zhou Ye had always been moody, his actions were usually predictable. Why had he suddenly flown into a crazed rage today?

HSSSSS...

Having killed three men in a row, Zhou Ye threw his head back, a sound of pure satisfaction escaping his lips.

"Incredible!"

Feeling the Inner Qi rampaging wildly within him and the palpable increase in his strength, he couldn’t help but let out a low, strange laugh.

’The Silent Extinction Path of Evil Death...’

’Silent Extinction means death; Fierce Death means to kill. So the correct Cultivation Method for the Silent Extinction Path of Evil Death... is to kill people!’

’So this is how exhilarating it is to kill!’

"Someone!"

"...Here." A man approached, trembling.

"Go," Zhou Ye said, his crazed expression vanishing, replaced by an icy tone.

"Take these bodies to my brother Huaijing’s residence. And tell him that there will be quite a few more bodies to handle soon. There can be no mistakes."

"Yes."

The government official complied.

*

*

*

THUMP!

THUD!

Three corpses were thrown into the middle of the courtyard. Zhou Huaijing narrowed his eyes, watching as the government officials departed.

"Thousand Poison Drill... Mountain-Shattering Leg..."

"My dear older brother is vicious by nature, but he rarely gets his own hands dirty. To think he would kill three people in a row with so many onlookers."

"Heh..."

Stroking his chin, Zhou Huaijing smiled.

"It seems he’s discovered that killing helps with the Cultivation of the Silent Extinction Path of Evil Death."

"Truly?" A figure appeared behind him.

"A Cultivation Technique that is aided by killing? Isn’t that an Evil Cultivation Technique? Then again, the name itself never sounded like it belonged to the Righteous Dao."

"Father."

Zhou Huaijing chuckled softly.

"The one who gave it to us said from the beginning that this Cultivation Technique was special. It was the Zhou Family themselves who decided to cultivate it."

Anyone familiar with the local affairs would have been utterly shocked.

Because the person who had appeared behind Zhou Huaijing was none other than the infamous bandit who had run rampant in Leping County three years ago.

The man who had supposedly "killed" the previous Patriarch of the Sunx Family, Sunx Liancheng. The Gang Leader of the Fierce Tiger Gang, missing for nearly three years.

Black Tiger Wu Chun!

And Zhou Huaijing, a disciple of the Zhou Family, had just called Wu Chun "Father."

"Father!"

He said slowly,

"I’m not truly one of the Zhou Family, after all. We’ve done so much for them, father and son, yet we still haven’t earned their trust."

"Even the Cultivation Technique they gave us is incomplete."

"Don’t say that," Wu Chun said with a frown.

"Your mother was a member of the Zhou Family. The reason we agreed to let you take the Zhou surname was so you could completely integrate into the Zhou Family."

"You can’t just become a bandit like me, can you?"

Black Tiger Wu Chun had actually married a daughter of the Zhou Family and even allowed his son to take their surname.

If this secret were ever exposed, it would surely throw Leping County into chaos and cause unimaginable turmoil.

"Father, you can’t be content with this either, or you wouldn’t have had me learn the Evil Skill of Corpse Nurturing," Zhou Huaijing sneered.

"However..."

"Corpse Nurturing was useless before, but things are different now."

He flexed his wrist, feeling the cold, sinister Inner Qi flowing within him, his expression growing excited.

"The Zhou Family got it wrong. Silent Extinction isn’t just death, it’s stiffness; Fierce Death is lifelessness."

"Stiff death... stiff death... Zombie!"

"The so-called Silent Extinction Path of Evil Death is actually the Zombie Dao! With the help of Corpse Nurturing, my power can advance by leaps and bounds. In just over a month, I’ve broken through from Perfection in Entering Strength to the Qi Cultivation Realm."

"Even if the Cultivation Technique is incomplete, it’s still a huge help to me. Without a doubt... the Silent Extinction Path of Evil Death is perfect for me. Once I finish refining that zombie, my Cultivation might even reach the Inner Qi External Release Realm."

As he spoke, he glanced back toward the room.

Inside.

A stiff corpse sat cross-legged like an old monk, its entire body covered in strange, intricate patterns.

The corpse had also been a resident of Leping County.

His surname was Leng.

Cold Pool!

...

Zhu Mansion.

As various medicinal ingredients were added to the furnace, the once-murky liquid gradually cleared, and a faint, meaty aroma began to waft from it.

"Still got the touch."

Flexing his wrist, Zhu Ju stepped forward and used a slotted spoon to scoop out chunks of meat that resembled amber.

From over forty ’big rats,’ he had managed to render just over thirty acceptable meatballs.

He touched one with his finger.

The meatball was perfectly elastic.

He placed the meatballs on a wooden tray to cool, then picked one up and examined it closely.

A moment later.

"Ma Xun!"

"Come try something good."