Chapter 10: Attend The Banquet Alone Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios Su Zimo had just entered the Zhao family courtyard, and the door slowly closed behind him. The two sides of the courtyard were full of people. They were Postnatal Experts. They had their weapons ready, they were glittering with coldness. They looked surprised when they saw that it was Su Zimo who arrived at the courtyard. Many of them ridiculed and sneered, shaking their heads at him. The hall at the Zhao family’s residence was situated at the end of the courtyard. There was an eight seater square table at the end. Many people were already seated, including Zhao Yu and Lee Yuanmao. Shen Nan arrived with Su Zimo and went to take a seat at the table. Su Zimo walked slowly into the hall, his eyes sweeping over everyone, looking calm and composed. There were a total of 17 people in the hall. Except for Zhao Yu, Lee Yuanmao and Shen Nan, everyone was a Connate Expert. Among them were Tang Mingjun, the “Soul Reaping Sword” who once sparred with him in Shen family’s residence. Out of the 14 Connate Experts, seven of them had stronger aura than Tang Mingjun. Three of them had the strongest aura! Not surprisingly, four out of the seven people were mid-stage Connate Experts, while the other three were late-stage Connate Experts! Su Zimo had a grasp of the situation now. The Zhao family was obviously taking drastic measures to deal with a situation. They wanted to get rid of he and his brother today. Unfortunately, Su Hong was not around. “We wanted to catch a big fish, but we did not expect to catch a small shrimp instead. If we had known, there is no need to gather such a crowd over here.” Zhao Yu sneered, looking at Su Zimo with disdain. “Where’s my sister?” Su Zimo sounded calm and composed. Zhao Yu clapped his hands. Two women walked out side by side from the back of the hall. To be exact, one of which was being held hostage. Su Xiaoning wore a green dress, looking quick-witted. She was 15 years old, and she was already beautiful and had a flawless complexion. However, at this time, Su Xiaoning had tears in her eyes and she was trying to contain her tears. She pursed her lips as she stared at Su Zimo, refusing to say a word. Su Zimo’s heart ached at the sight of her. All these years, this was the first time that he had seen his sister in such a predicament. She must have suffered a lot of grievances. Lee Yuanmao smiled. “The person next to her is my younger sister, Lee Xiangtong. It seems like she gets along very well with Miss Su.” The lady next to Su Xiaoning smiled, pulling Su Xiaoning to take a seat. She waved a sharp dagger in her hands while she spoke softly, “Sister, don’t cry. I’ll do manicure for you.” While Lee Xiangtong was talking, she pulled Su Xiaoning’s trembling fingers and glided the dagger gently across the fingertips. “Yah!” Lee Xiangtong gasped softly as drops of blood oozed from Su Xiaoning’s fingertips. It was glaringly red. “Sister, you must not tremble. Fortunately I was being careful, otherwise your fingers would be cut off.” Lee Xiangtong had a malicious smile on her face. Su Zimo did not move a single inch. Lee Xiangtong was no weak lady. She was a Postnatal Expert. Su Zimo and Lee Xiangtong were separated by an eight seater square table. They were four mid-stage Connate Experts, three late-stage Connate Experts seated at the table. There were also seven early-stage Connate Experts who stood by both sides of Su Zimo. Su Zimo had no way to save her. “Well, well, well...” Right then, an elder in his fifties, seated at the eight seater square table clapped his hands slowly, as he nodded and said, “Faced with calamities, he is still able to remain calm and unperturbed. He is a talent. Yu-er, this is no small shrimp. Given his temperament, he is worthy of this banquet.” Zhao Yu curled his lips. “I am Zhao Chengping, the master of Zhao family.” The elder in his fifties pointed to the left and said, “This is the Lee family’s master Lee Xing, as for this...” Zhao Chengping looked to the right, saying in a deep voice, “This is Zeng Yao, Swordsman Zeng from Cang Lang City. People hailed him as ‘Thunderbolt Saber’. The person who died under Su Hong’s spear three months ago was Swordsman Zeng’s junior martial brother.” These three were late-stage Connate Experts! Su Zimo remained composed as he spoke slowly, “The family should not be implicated in the pugilistic affairs. Will the few of you let her go and I will stay behind to accompany you?” “Hehe, you are not considered as part of the pugilistic society. You are merely an inferior commoner!” Lee Yuanmao smiled and made a dig at him. Zhao Yu spoke in a peculiar tone, “It is alright if it is your brother, Su Hong, but you are not qualified.” “Brother, run...” Su Xiaoning had barely said a few words and her mouth was covered by Lee Xiangtong. She could only utter a few sounds, her tears rolling uncontrollably down her cheeks. Zhao Chengping sighed. “I am an elder, and I don’t want to lower myself to your level and deal with a junior like you. However, the Su family has been too arrogant.” Su Zimo spoke with mockery, “One should fight openly for any disputes between the family clans, the Su family would not shy from it. Aren’t you worried that you will be a laughingstock by doing these insidious things?” “Haha!” Lee Xing, the master of the Lee family laughed and shook his head. “Young lad, you are still very inexperienced. You have not encountered any sinister events in the pugilistic society. This is nothing compared to it.” “Is Lee Xiangtong your daughter?” Su Zimo raised his eyebrows slightly, asking a seemingly insignificant question. “So what if she is?” Lee Xing snorted. “Then prepare to die!” A loud snarl that sounded like thunder resonated in the hall. In the meantime, Su Zimo strode forward, releasing the impact of plowing the heavens. The eight seater square table was overturned in no time, smashing to pieces. It was too fast! No one would have thought that under such circumstances, Su Zimo would make the first move even when he was unable to save himself. Everyone except Zhao Yu and two other were Connate Experts. They reacted quickly and grabbed their weapons, advancing toward Su Zimo, shouting in anger, “What an audacious junior!” All at once, there were glint and flash of cold steel everywhere in the hall. It was cold and terrifying, no one could pass through. Zeng Yao, “Thunderbolt Saber” had a backhand grip on his saber. There was a flash of glaring light and he directed his attack toward the area under Su Zimo’s rib. Su Zimo was oblivious to the surrounding swords and sabers. He fixed his gaze on Lee Xing as he slapped with his palm, releasing a ferocious and formidable aura! Ground-rupturing Palm! Lee Xing’s countenance changed at Su Zimo’s violent and domineering aura. His first thought was to turn and flee. His years of experience in the pugilistic society told him that if he did not flee, he would definitely die! Lee Xing widened his eyes in anger, giving out a loud shout. He was not in time to draw his weapon, he could only use his arms to block the attack. On the other side, Zhao Chengping held the sword with one hand, a wicked light shone in his eyes. The sword quivered slightly as it dabbed toward Su Zimo’s eyes. Zhao Chengping had long heard that Su Zimo practiced corporal mortification martial arts. But no matter what type of corporal mortification martial arts one practiced, one’s eyes were still vulnerable. Snap! There was a loud bone-cracking sound. Lee Xing shrieked in pain. Su Zimo slapped his palms against Lee Xing’s arms, breaking his bones. The broken bones protruded from the flesh, being exposed. It was a gruesome sight. A late-stage Connate Expert could not survive one single stroke of Su Zimo’s! Everyone was aghast! After executing Ground-rupturing Palm, Su Zimo charged forward, capturing Lee Xing by the throat. At the same time, Su Zimo took a big step toward the left, he faced Zhao Chengping sideways, putting his cheek at the mercy of his long sword, while his left hand seemed as soft as the cow tongue, wrapping around his hand! Zhao Chengping stabbed his sword at Su Zimo’s cheek. However, it did not pierce through his skin, instead it bent into an arc at the strong force. “Psst! His corporal mortification martial arts is so powerful?” Zhao Chengping was shocked, he knew that things were not going well, and he made a move to retreat. Right then, Su Zimo’s palm rested on Zhao Chengping’s arm that had yet to retract. Wrap, hit, pull! Poof! Nothing could be seen except bits and pieces of flying flesh and spurting blood. The tendons and bones of Zhao Chengping had been shattered to pieces by Su Zimo’s palm. The arm was being abruptly pulled out from the shoulder! Zhao Chengping fell to the ground, staring in shock at the blood spewing from the broken arm, howling in pain. Bang! Bang! Bang! At the same time, all the swords and sabers that were swinging at Su Zimo bounced back. Although Su Zimo’s clothes had been chopped to pieces, there was no blood on his body. Impenetrable? All the Connate Experts could not get past Su Zimo’s defense even with their weapons! Poof! Right then, there was an abrupt sound of weapons cutting into flesh. A saber stabbed inches into the area under Su Zimo’s rib. Blood oozed out and stained the clothes. Regardless of whether it was Su Zimo or Zeng Yao who grabbed the saber, both were stunned momentarily. Su Zimo did not expect that someone could break through his defense. Zeng Yao thought that he would kill Su Zimo with one stab. Instead the saber was stuck and he could not move at all. Zeng Yao was hailed as “Thunderbolt Saber” in the pugilistic society not because he has good with his saber. Instead it was his saber that was famous. It was extremely sharp. It could cut a strand of hair and split metal as if it were made of soil. To his surprise, the Thunderbolt Saber did not stab through Su Zimo’s flesh. Instead it seemed to hit upon a boulder and was faced with a lot of resistance. In the end, the saber was stuck in between flesh! This was the power of Body Tempering. Zeng Yao retracted the Thunderbolt Saber and retreated a few steps. He did not continue to advance. Zeng Yao was wary of Su Zimo after seeing how he crushed Zhao Chengping’s arm. Moreover, although the stab did not result in serious injuries, Su Zimo was wounded. He believed Su Zimo would be drained of energy eventually and he would not be able to walk out of Zhao family’s residence alive! “Stop!” “Stop!” Lee Xiangtong and Su Zimo shouted at the same time. Since Su Zimo made the first move, it had only been a short while since all the Postnatal Experts in the courtyard rushed to join in the fight. By the time Lee Xiangtong realized what was happening, her father had already been captured by Su Zimo. Lee Xiangtong grabbed the dagger and placed it against Su Xiaoning’s fair neck, giving a faint shout. “Let my father go!” Su Zimo squeezed Lee Xing’s throat. Lee Xing could not resist as the bones in his arms had been shattered. His face turned a reddish purple, and he made gasping sounds. “Let my sister go and I will let him off,” Su Zimo said lightly. Su Zimo had made up his mind from the moment he ascertained Lee Xing’s identity. It was impossible to save Su Xiaoning right away. If anything went wrong, Su Xiaoning might die. Su Zimo dared not take the gamble. But it was relatively easy to catch everyone by surprise and capture Lee Xing. “Su Zimo, don’t force me. If my hands shake slightly, your sister will have a wound on her face!” Lee Xiangtong dangled her dagger in front of Su Xiaoning’s eyes. Su Zimo smiled, revealing a row of fine white teeth. “If you dare to touch her, I will annihilate the Lee family.” Su Zimo sounded very calm. It did not seem like a threat. Instead, he seemed to be telling a fact. He sounded domineering like it was unquestionable! Lee Xiangtong’s heart jumped a beat. She felt unsettled at Su Zimo’s tone and expression. She had no doubts of Su Zimo’s capability. Given what happened so far, once Su Zimo escaped from this place, the Zhao family and the Lee family would never have peace! He was much more terrifying and vicious than Su Hong. “Who exactly is the person that we have provoked? Why did we provoke him?” Lee Xiangtong was full of regrets.