Hearing Zhaang Ye’s chilling voice, Zhaang Tu couldn’t help but panic. At that very moment, the Thick-Backed Saber on Zhaang Ye’s back slid from its sheath with a SHING! A brilliant flash of light appeared out of thin air, flying toward Zhaang Tu.

"Ah!" Although Zhaang Tu was at the Late-stage Second Layer of the Martial Dao, he never expected Zhaang Ye’s saber to be so fast. The sound of it being unsheathed was still ringing in his ears when the piercing flash of the blade was already upon him. His face turned ashen with fright, and he couldn’t help but scream.

Just when Zhaang Tu thought his death was certain, Zhaang Ye’s Sword Force shifted slightly, and the blade WHOOSHED past his head. Zhaang Tu would never forget the terrifying sensation of the cold steel grazing his skin for the rest of his life.

"AHHHH—" Zhaang Ye’s saber was like the wind, flashing back and forth over Zhaang Tu’s head. With every pass, Zhaang Tu let out a scream of utter terror. In the span of a few blinks, the Thick-Backed Saber had shaved his head completely clean, leaving him bald.

After shaving Zhaang Tu’s head, Zhaang Ye didn’t withdraw his Sword Force. With a SHRED, the Thick-Backed Saber sliced downwards. Zhaang Tu felt a chill run from his chest straight down to his crotch—a bone-deep cold that froze his very soul. His body went rigid. He glanced down, only to see that in that single instant, Zhaang Ye had shredded all of his clothes away, leaving his entire body exposed.

"Eek!" Cyan Lotus cried out and hurried away.

Zhaang Ye sneered. "Zhaang Tu, you run around doing evil with that thing between your legs, don’t you? Well, I’m going to cut it off right now. Let’s see how you do any evil after that!"

As he spoke, the wind from the Thick-Backed Saber’s edge nicked Zhaang Tu’s skin. He felt a terrifying chill creep slowly from his chest toward his manhood. In an instant, several gashes appeared on it, and fresh blood began to stream out. It seemed as if his manhood would be sliced clean off in the very next moment.

What is the most important part of a man’s body? Without a doubt, it is his manhood. Zhaang Tu felt his lower body grow colder and colder, as if freezing over, knowing his manhood could be severed at any moment. This terrifying sensation instantly shattered his Heart Spirit.

"Ah!" Zhaang Tu screamed in terror. He broke down, wailing, "No, please no! I’m begging you, please don’t cut it off!"

As he spoke, a stream of liquid ran down between his legs. It turned out that having his hair and clothes sliced off had already pushed Zhaang Tu to the brink of terror. Zhaang Ye’s threat to castrate him was the final straw, causing him to have a complete mental breakdown and lose control of his body.

Zhaang Ye sheathed his Purple Copper Thick-Backed Saber and said coldly, "Slap your own face. Harder. If I’m not satisfied, I’ll cut you down with a single strike!"

Zhaang Tu’s spirit was already broken. The moment Zhaang Ye spoke, he began slapping his own face with all his might. After just a few slaps, his cheeks were already swollen, and he was spitting out teeth.

"Hmph. Zhaang Ye, quite the show you’re putting on! Attacking your own clan brother the moment you return!" While Zhaang Tu was slapping himself endlessly, the sound of disorderly footsteps approached from behind Zhaang Ye, followed by Zhaang Fang’s voice.

Zhaang Ye turned around to see Zhaang Fang in the lead, followed by Zhaang Dashu, Zhaang Jin, and Zhaang Huo.

A year had passed since they last met. Zhaang Fang had grown a bit taller and was still dressed in white, but his aura was much more powerful than it was a year ago. He had clearly advanced to the Martial Arts Third Layer.

As for Zhaang Ye’s old rival, Zhaang Dashu, his aura had also grown considerably stronger. He had clearly reached the Late-stage Second Layer of the Martial Dao.

Zhaang Ye’s gaze swept over the two as he said flatly, "Whether I’m impressive or not is none of your damn business! This is my courtyard. You are not welcome here. Get the hell out!"

In the Barbaric World, strength was paramount. Now that Zhaang Ye had the power of the Martial Arts Third Layer, he no longer needed to be cautious when speaking to his peers. He was finally saying the things he had always wanted to say but never dared to before.

"You—" Zhaang Fang was furious. "How dare you speak to me like that! Huh—"

In his fury, Zhaang Fang was about to attack when he suddenly sensed Zhaang Ye’s powerful aura and froze in shock. He sized up Zhaang Ye carefully, an expression of utter disbelief on his face. "You... you’ve reached the Martial Arts Third Layer! How is that possible? A year ago, you were just trash at the Martial Arts First Layer. How could you possibly jump two Layers in a single year?"

"The Martial Arts Third Layer!" Hearing Zhaang Fang, Zhaang Dashu, Zhaang Jin, and Zhaang Huo were all stunned. Zhaang Dashu said in disbelief, "Young Master, you must be mistaken. On the Martial Dao, advancing even one Layer is incredibly difficult. Zhaang Ye has no renowned master to guide him, nor does he have any Elixirs to help his Cultivation. How could he possibly jump all the way to the Martial Arts Third Layer?"

Zhaang Jin chimed in, "That’s right! With our talent, we’ve been in Cultivation for so long and still haven’t reached the Peak of the Second Layer. I wouldn’t believe that piece of trash could reach the Martial Arts Third Layer even if you beat me to death!"

Zhaang Ye let out a cold laugh and shot a glance at Zhaang Jin. Remembering the methods Zhaang Ye had just used, a chill rose from the depths of Zhaang Jin’s heart, and he couldn’t help but shrink back.

Just then, Zhaang Fang gave Zhaang Dashu a meaningful look.

Having followed Zhaang Fang the longest, Zhaang Dashu knew him better than anyone. One look was all it took for Zhaang Dashu to understand that Zhaang Fang wanted him to test the waters and find out Zhaang Ye’s true strength.

Zhaang Dashu also happened to want to test whether Zhaang Ye had truly reached the Martial Arts Third Layer. He gave a slight nod, stepped forward from the crowd, and said to Zhaang Ye, "Zhaang Ye, we didn’t get to finish our fight last time. Let’s have another go."

Without waiting for Zhaang Ye to agree, he raised his palm and struck out at him.

This palm strike had a name: "Yellow Stone Hand." When executed, the palm would turn a strange yellow color, and the True Power behind it felt as heavy as a boulder. A year ago, this had been the very first technique Zhaang Dashu had used against Zhaang Ye.

Now, in order to probe Zhaang Ye’s strength, Zhaang Dashu once again opened with the Yellow Stone Hand.

Zhaang Ye had no fondness for Zhaang Dashu whatsoever. Seeing him attack without even waiting for an answer, a flicker of anger rose in his heart. With a swift motion, he formed a Palm Blade and chopped forward.

The move he executed with his Palm Blade was from the Basic Saber Technique. Now that Zhaang Ye’s Basic Saber Technique had reached the level of Great Success, its power was astounding, whether he used a real saber or just his hand. As he chopped out, Zhaang Dashu had no time to change his move before his own palm was struck squarely by Zhaang Ye’s Palm Blade.

BAM!

Amidst the sound of their Powerful Qi clashing, Zhaang Dashu felt as if his hand had been brutally slashed by a blade. The True Qi covering his palm was shattered and sent flowing backward, injuring his entire arm from the backlash. With his own energy in disarray, he couldn’t help but spit out a mouthful of blood.

"Martial Arts Third Layer! It’s the Martial Arts Third Layer! Zhaang Ye really did cultivate to the Martial Arts Third Layer!" Zhaang Dashu screamed in horror.

Then, Zhaang Ye’s ice-cold voice sounded out, "Zhaang Dashu, a year ago, you made me spit out one mouthful of blood. Today, I’ll make you spit out three. You’ll pay me back threefold for what happened back then!"

As he spoke, the wind howled as Zhaang Ye chopped out with his hand once more!