The whole Valley Town was covered in the darkness. The moon was so bright, and the stars twinkled
magically in the sky.
A grand courtyard, located in the northern part of the town, covered a large area. Around it stood well-
constructed buildings that looked dignified. Two noble-looking stone lions were standing each side of its
gate.
However, even with its grand architecture, everything inside the courtyard was old and shabby—the
walls were broken, and there were weeds, snakes, and mouse that housed in its interiors. It was
obviously abandoned.
At that moment, more than ten people stood at its gate, which had already been opened. They intently
gazed around the Zhang Clan's Courtyard--a place which was once glorious and magnificent. Now, it
looked the opposite. The people, at the sight of the forgotten place, shed tears.
The person leading them was Mindy. She bore her teary eyes at the ruins of the Zhang Courtyard.
A young man was silently standing still not far from her. He looked a little thin, his arms around his
chest and his lips pursed into a grim line.
He understood the despairs of the other people from the Zhang Clan and did not want to interrupt that
emotional moment.
After a while, Mindy and other members of the Zhang Clan walked towards the young man.
"Austin, do you really think we should break into the Li Clan's courtyard tonight?" Mindy asked him.
She gazed at him, full of trust for the young man who had been her companion and savior.
The other members of the Zhang Clan regarded Mindy as their leader. But Mindy knew clearly that
Austin was far better than her when it came to cultivation base and wisdom, and it was also him to
devise their plan.
"Yes, I think it is better to do it immediately. This is the right time to fight against the Li Clan face to
face. Moreover, four days later, it will be the Top Ten Outer Disciples Ranking Challenge," Austin
explained.
Mindy was suddenly enlightened, covering her mouth with her pretty hand.
"I am sorry. I almost forgot about it," she said in a low voice.
The past few days, Mindy had been occupied thinking about taking revenge and had almost forgotten
about the Top Ten Outer Disciples Ranking Challenge. Now Austin had mentioned it, she suddenly
remembered it was important to him.
"Are you worried that we might not be strong enough if we recklessly break into the Li Courtyard?"
Austin inquired, looking at her tensed face.
Mindy was embarrassed, but she nodded slightly.
When they employed some sort of strategy to kill the people from the Li Clan, they could already do it
with sheer strength.
But at least one hundred people were guarding the Li Clan's Courtyard. It seemed to be difficult for their
small group to fight against them, for they were clearly outnumbered.
Moreover, the other members of the Zhang Clan had low cultivation base. If they faced hundreds of
people attacking, they would be all killed in no time. Now, they were sole survivors of the Zhang Clan,
and if all of them died tonight, the Zhang Clan would be totally annihilated.
"Haha, don't worry about the people from your clan. I am going to break into the Li Clan's Courtyard
only with you. The two of us will be enough. You can ask all the others to hide somewhere else. After
we succeed defeating the Li Clan, you can ask them to come and rebuild your clan," Austin reassured
Mindy, figuring that she might be worried about her people.
He knew exactly what was in Mindy's mind and tried to calm her.
Hearing Austin's words, Mindy was stunned. She stared at Austin with a surprised look.
"Just two of us will break into the Li Clan's courtyard?" Mindy could not believe what she heard.
Before Austin was able to reply, the other members of the Zhang Clan interrupted their conversation.
"Austin, you cannot take such a risk. There are more than one hundred cultivators in the Li Clan's
Courtyard. Even if you two are at a high level of cultivation base, you cannot defeat so many people. It
is too dangerous for both of you," one of the members said worriedly.
Mindy had the highest cultivation base among the Zhang Clan and was the only hope in restoring their
clan. The rest of the members wouldn't let her take the risk.
"Please don't worry. I can guarantee that Mindy will return safe," Austin uttered to all the other
members of the Zhang Clan.
Actually, Violet, who was as strong as a cultivator at the Earth Realm, was staying in Austin's space
ring. Besides, the vital energy stone inside Austin's elixir field was stored with enough vital energy. If
Austin used up all of it, the vital energy stone could support him for a long time.
This meant there were three cultivators--Austin, Mindy, and Violet--who would break into the Li Clan's
courtyard. If ever they wouldn't be able to defeat the Li Clan, they would easily retreat to safety.
Moreover, the Top Ten Outer Disciples Ranking Challenge would be starting in four days. Austin
wanted to finish dealing with all the cases in the Valley Town and to be able to go back and make
earlier preparations for the event.
Austin did not want to delay anymore and had decided to fight against the Li Clan face to face—to
solve the problem once and for all.
"Okay, Austin. I will go with you," Mindy agreed in the end.
Looking at the calm face of Austin, Mind chose to believe him. She had spent a lot of time with Austin,
and Mindy had known that he was not an impulsive man who would foolishly dive into a fight.
"All of you leave the Valley Town secretly and hide somewhere," Mindy ordered the other members of
the Zhang Clan.
"Mindy, you should think about it again... ..."
A middle-aged man spoke worriedly.
"Don't worry. I know what we are doing," Mindy stopped him before he could finish his sentence.
Mindy shook her head.
"Okay, Mindy. Promise me that you will be careful. We will be waiting for your good news," the middle-
aged man sighed and replied.
He knew he could not change Mindy and Austin's minds. Both of them appeared to be determined for
their plan.
Soon enough, Austin and Middy came rushing in the direction of the Li Clan amidst the darkness then
hovered from the sky. . . . . .
At the same time, Lanny called all the principal members of the Li Clan together for the meeting hall to
discuss dealing with the current situation.
He sat in the chair, depressed and looked nothing like the usual dignified head of the Li Clan. His three
sons had been recently killed--one after another. It was a heavy blow to him, and he looked really old.
"We, the Li Clan has lost more than one hundred members in the past few days," Lanny said firstly.
On this thought, Lanny's eyes illuminated a cruel gaze and became red like that of an injured beast.
"In total, there are two hundred and twenty-three people dead. All of them are our principal members,"
a man announced.
"Can you conclude how many of the Zhang Clan appeared this time?" Lanny posed another question.
"It seems there are only more than ten of them," the man replied.
"It's impossible! How can their number possibly kill so many of us? They can't make our clan suffer
from just more than ten of them!
Lanny blurted out, unwilling to admit the reality. His face was in despair and total desolation.
"Master, is it possible that the people from the Zhang Clan came with powerful allies?
They can't do this only with the few people left. They are not strong enough," another man asked.
It was Lanny's cousin, and both were around the same age. He held the second position in the Li Clan,
next to Lanny. He was tall, thin and shrewd.
"Hm! I have thought about it already. It seems to be the case. Based on our fight, the ones who are
lucky enough to escape are all at low cultivation levels. The highest are only at the sixth or seventh
level of the Energy Gathering Realm while the rest are at the third to fifth level. But the one who killed
my son is at least at the Earth Realm, and he is definitely not from the Zhang Clan. There is only one
who has such a high cultivation base in the Zhang Clan--it is Zachary, the one we have imprisoned."
"Then who is it? Who will stand behind the Zhang Clan and fight against the Li Clan?"
All of the members were silent, and the meeting hall became tensely sedated.
The Strongest cultivator among all the members of the Li Clan was Lanny, who was at the Earth
Realm. If the Zhang Clan had invited an ally who was at the same level, it would be difficult for them to
handle the fight. Moreover, if it was right, that also explained why there were so many members of the
Li Clan who had been easily killed.
All the members of the Li Clan who died were at the Energy Gathering Realm. If a cultivator at the
Earth Realm was truly standing against them, it was to no wonder why it took him little effort in killing so
many people. . . .
In that instant, a figure opened the door of the meeting hall and rushed inside--it was a servant. He
walked hastily into the meeting hall and reported, "Master, there are people who claimed to be from the
Zhang Clan. They broke into our gate!"
"What? Members of the Zhang Clan?" Everyone in the meeting hall was stunned to hear the servant's
report.
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