"Hehehe! So, you remember," Lin Li sneered coldly. "You remember how good my father was to you, and you also remember how you repaid his kindness with betrayal!"
"Father?!" Mo Wentian exclaimed in shock. "You're not Lin Tian, you're... that illegitimate child Lin Li, the one who was escorted away by the household retainers!"
"Illegitimate child?"
Hearing this, Lin Li's killing intent intensified. "Even at death's door, you still can't control your filthy mouth!"
With that, Lin Li stepped forward.
In an instant, his body moved as if by teleportation, suddenly appearing right in front of Mo Wentian.
Yet, he still did not draw his sword.
Instead, he simply swung his hand—
Slap!!!
A crisp sound echoed through the air!
Mo Wentian was sent spinning by the force of the slap, flying sideways and crashing into a tree stump in front of Mo Manor's gates. The tree stump even cracked from the impact!
At the same time, Mo Wentian's face swelled up, and several blood-stained teeth scattered across the ground.
The surrounding crowd was utterly horrified by what they had just witnessed!
"He's the former Prince of Changlin's son, the young Marquis Lin Li!"
"Rumor had it that the prince's family was killed in the rebellion. Who could have thought Lin Li would survive in secret!"
"But it's only been a few decades since that event. How could the young marquis have become such a powerful cultivator in such a short time?"
People murmured in shock, but none dared to act against Lin Li. Mo Wentian was the current Prince of Changlin!
He was the strongest man in Changlin County!
If even Mo Wentian could be sent flying with a single slap from Lin Li, anyone else stepping forward would only be courting death.
So, all they could do was watch in awe as the events unfolded.
Mo Wentian finally recovered, clutching his swollen face and mumbling incoherently, "I am the Prince of Changlin! If you dare kill me, it will be an act of rebellion against the Da Jing Dynasty! Not only will the Prefecture Overseer of Nanping not spare you, but even the current emperor will—"
Before he could finish, Lin Li once again moved like a ghost, appearing right in front of him.
Slap!
Another slap!
This time, Mo Wentian's left cheek was swollen as he flew through the air, crashing into the wall of Mo Manor, leaving a deep, several-meter depression.
"It's not just you," Lin Li spoke deliberately, each word cutting like a blade, "even the Prefecture Overseer of Nanping will not be forgiven!"
"If he hadn't taken your bribe back then, how could my Lin family have been falsely accused of rebellion?"
With that, Lin Li finally drew his Soul-Devouring Spirit Sword!
The purple-red blade shimmered with a soul-consuming light, and everyone who saw it felt an overwhelming fear grip their souls!
It was terrifying!
The sight of Lin Li wielding the Soul-Devouring Spirit Sword made everyone feel as if their very souls would be devoured…
Realizing the futility of his threats, Mo Wentian fell to his knees with a loud thud, kowtowing furiously. "Young Master Lin! Master Lin! Please spare me! Whether you want me to be your servant or take back the title of Prince of Changlin, anything you want is yours, just please don't kill me!"
Sadly, Lin Li remained unmoved.
"Hahaha! You, be my servant? Give me the title of Prince of Changlin?"
Lin Li laughed, then suddenly shouted in fury, "Even if you served me, would that bring my father, my mother, my sister, and my two younger sisters back from the dead?"
"The title of Prince of Changlin… belonged to my Lin family in the first place!"
Seething with rage, Lin Li gathered spiritual energy from his Nascent Soul within his dantian.
"Jinghong Sword!"
With a swift slash, Lin Li cleaved Mo Wentian's body in half!
Not only that, but Mo Manor was razed to the ground as well!
Dust and debris filled the sky!
[You have killed Mo Wentian, Prince of Changlin, level eight Core Formation cultivator of Da Jing Dynasty's Nanping Prefecture, and gained 89,999 evolution points.]
[You have killed a servant of Mo Manor in Changlin County, gaining 3 evolution points.]
[You have killed a maidservant of Mo Manor in Changlin County, gaining 2 evolution points.]
...
A series of system notifications rang out, prompting Ye Fan's spirit to shake his head. "Lin Li has let his hatred get the better of him. With that sword strike, too many innocent lives have been lost."
Meanwhile.
The cultivators who had followed Mo Wentian out of Mo Manor were left stunned, terrified beyond belief after seeing Lin Li kill Mo Wentian with a single strike and destroy the entire manor.
When Lin Li turned his gaze toward them, they were all overcome with fear.
Thud, thud, thud!
One by one, they fell to their knees, kowtowing and shouting, "Master Lin! It has nothing to do with us!"
"Please, spare us!"
"Master Lin, we beg you, show mercy and spare our lives!"
Lin Li took a deep breath.
Although he had finally avenged his family, the sense of relief he had expected didn't come.
"There's still one more!"
Lin Li's eyes still flickered with hatred. "The Prefecture Overseer!"
With that, Lin Li coldly asked, "Is the Prefecture Overseer of Nanping still the same person from back then?"
"Yes…"
"Where is he?"
"I… We are low-ranking servants and do not know his exact whereabouts…"
"Don't know? If you don't know…"
Lin Li's killing intent surged again, causing the people before him to frantically kowtow and cry out, "Perhaps… he might be in seclusion at Nanshan Spirit Mountain outside Nanping City…"
"Nanshan Spirit Mountain outside Nanping City?"
Lin Li pondered those words for a moment before saying, "Good! Let's hope he's there! Otherwise, I will return and claim all your lives!"
With that, Lin Li soared into the sky!
...
The next day.
The news of Mo Wentian's death reached a Foundation Establishment cultivator in Nanshan Spirit Mountain through a magical artifact.
The Foundation Establishment cultivator, reading the message displayed by the magical device, trembled in shock. "The son of the rebel leader in Changlin County, Lin Li, has returned to seek vengeance, and he killed the current Prince of Changlin, Mo Wentian?"
"This is major news!"
"I must report this to the Prefecture Overseer immediately!"
With that, the cultivator informed the Qi Refining cultivators in the messaging room, then left, making his way through the lush forests of Nanshan Spirit Mountain.
Soon, he arrived at a grand waterfall.
Behind the celestial waterfall was the secluded chamber of the Prefecture Overseer of Nanping, located at the most spiritually rich spot in all of Nanshan Spirit Mountain.
"Your subordinate, head of the messaging group, seeks an audience with the Prefecture Overseer!"
The head of the messaging group called out loudly.
The roar of the waterfall filled the air, but no response came.
Suddenly, a calm and elegant voice spoke from behind the group leader, "What's wrong? Is the Prefecture Overseer not inside?"