Sixty years of blacksmithing, a single hammer blow forging a celestial being.

Then his spiritual energy burst forth, naturally indicating that he had reached the third level of Qi Refining.

Of course, the disciples chosen by Yu De must be talented.

Suddenly, a long sword appeared in his hand, its blade shimmering with spiritual energy. He was young and impetuous.

Seeing his family members beaten to this state, he disregarded everything and lunged at Liu Jinhu with his sword.

"don't want!"

Seeing this, Zhang Meng was terrified and cried out to stop them, but it was too late. Zhang Xiao had already charged forward with his sword.

As Zhang Xiao charged toward him, a hint of contempt flashed in Liu Jinhu's eyes.

In an instant, a black light flashed, and Zhang Xiao's body froze in mid-air, his eyes glazed over.

Moments later, Zhang Xiao's body was cut in half at the waist, blood gushing out, and he collapsed to the ground.

Liu Jinhu suddenly had a black knife in his hand, which was still gleaming with blood.

"Heh, what a fool you are! You think you can get away with anything just because you've become Yu De's disciple?"

Liu Jinhu looked at Zhang Xiao lying on the ground with a cold smile.

"My son!"

Zhang Meng cried out in alarm, and his wife was so frightened that her eyes rolled back and she fainted.

Zhang Meng wept bitterly, his eyes filled with despair and regret. He deeply regretted his momentary greed and reckless actions.

Even Zhang Xiao, whom he considered his only hope, is dead. What's the point of all he's doing?

"Come on, Zhang Meng, our case isn't over yet."

Liu Jinhu sheathed his black knife and slowly walked up to Zhang Meng.

"You still haven't told me your motive. Come on, tell me everything. I don't like liars."

Zhang Meng gritted his teeth, looked at his youngest son whom he was holding in his arms, and said through gritted teeth,

"I have been working in this abandoned hall for twenty years without any promotion. I have always been an unknown handyman disciple. So I want to burn Steward He to death and then take his place as the new steward."

"Just for this?"

Liu Jinhu looked at Zhang Meng with a half-smile.

"Yes, just for this."

Zhang Meng nodded and said,

"Now that I've been discovered and my scheme has been exposed, I, Zhang Meng, admit defeat. Please spare my family."

Upon hearing this, Steward He's eyes were filled with shock.

"Zhang Meng, how could you do this? What have I ever done to wrong you in these past twenty years? You actually wanted to burn us all alive, are you even human?"

"That's right, Zhang Meng, I even gave you a gift yesterday!"

"Pah, Zhang Meng, you're a fucking bastard!"

"Zhang Meng, you're worse than a pig or a dog!"

A group of disciples from the abandoned hall cursed Zhang Meng, but Zhang Meng closed his eyes and did not answer, not daring to speak.

"Zhang Meng, you're still not telling the truth."

Liu Jinhu was clearly not satisfied with Zhang Meng's answer and said,

"I already had my disciples investigate. Two years ago, Steward He recommended you to be the manager of the abandoned hall, but you refused, finding it too troublesome. Now you're telling me that you want to kill everyone in the abandoned hall because you want to be its manager. Do you think I'll believe that reason?"

Li Ping'an watched this scene silently, and couldn't help but feel shocked. Liu Jinhu was so meticulous in his work that he was terrifying.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Meng's expression immediately changed, not expecting Liu Jinhu to have investigated so thoroughly.

"Zhang Meng, let me tell you, my patience is limited. If you don't tell the truth, it won't just be you and your son who die."

Liu Jinhu held Zhang Meng's youngest son, his face beaming with smiles.

However, Zhang Meng could see the intense killing intent in his eyes. He knew that he could not hide anything from this living devil, otherwise the last of his Zhang family line might not be preserved.

Looking at Liu Jinhu's eyes, Zhang Meng was completely deflated. He sighed and wanted to tell the truth.

However, at that moment, a sharp shriek suddenly rang out from outside the abandoned hall, and a cold light pierced through the air, directly piercing Zhang Meng's throat!

Liu Jinhu's expression changed drastically; he never expected that someone would dare to kill someone right in front of him.

This is tantamount to courting death; it shows utter disrespect for the head deacon of the Enforcement Hall.

Liu Jinhu's reputation wasn't built on hearsay. He roared, and his spiritual energy burst forth, unleashing a powerful aura emanating from him.

He roared into the air, "Who dares to lay a hand on me?"

Liu Jinhu was in excruciating pain. He flew through the air, searching for any suspicious aura. Soon, he locked onto a suspicious aura that was fleeing into the distance.

He was suddenly alarmed.

"I'd like to see who dares to be so bold!"

Liu Jinhu roared, "You madman, don't even think about escaping!"

They followed that aura and chased after it.

Liu Jinhu, the head deacon of the Enforcement Hall, was renowned throughout the sect for his methods and formidable reputation.

This was a great humiliation for him, and he was determined to catch this man today no matter what.

Meanwhile, back at the abandoned hall, Zhang Meng's throat was suddenly pierced by an arrow, leaving him barely breathing and unable to utter a word.

As his eyes glazed over, he looked towards the horizon and uttered his last word, mumbled indistinctly.

"King...King...King..."

However, the word itself was not clearly explained, and thus it lost its vitality.

Li Ping'an watched this scene silently, his heart sinking to the extreme.

It goes without saying that it must be Steward Wang.

Manager Wang bribed Zhang Meng, making him his pawn. First, he poisoned Zhang Meng's wine, and then he set his house on fire in the middle of the night.

They attempted to kill him through an accident.

However, to everyone's surprise, the poison had no effect on him whatsoever, allowing Li Ping'an to escape with ease.

Now, under Liu Jinhu's pressure, just as Zhang Meng was about to reveal the real culprit, he was killed to silence him.

That's a bit too ruthless!

What made Li Ping'an even more uneasy was the sheer narrow-mindedness of this senior brother, which was simply beyond comprehension.

All I did was say one thing about the saintess, and he's held a grudge against me ever since!

He was determined to kill himself!

How can someone be so ruthless and vicious?

Li Ping'an sighed. It's true that the longer you live, the more you see and experience.

The only way for him to break through this impasse is to continuously strive to become stronger.

Liu Jinhu did not return, and no one dared to make any rash moves.

I don't know how much time passed, until a black dot appeared in the distance, it was Liu Jinhu returning.

He appeared even angrier at this moment, his hair standing on end in fury. However, his clothes were torn in several places, and his spiritual energy was somewhat disordered, indicating that he had obviously been through a fierce battle.

"Damn it, that guy got away!"

Liu Jinhu cursed under his breath. He had chased after the man and fought him, but despite using all his strength, he hadn't been able to force out the man's true strength.

That only proves one thing: that person's true strength is above his, but he just doesn't reveal it to avoid exposing himself.

However, this puzzled Liu Jinhu greatly. Someone whose strength was above his was at least at the Foundation Establishment stage!

Why would a Foundation Establishment cultivator go to such lengths to incite Zhang Meng to set fire to this abandoned hall?

Isn't this making a mountain out of a molehill?

Despite his inability to understand, Liu Jinhu still gritted his teeth and swore:

If he doesn't expose this person, he's not Liu Jinhu.