"You're going too far!" The old man flew into a rage. Ye Yang's sword shot out like lightning, aiming straight for Zhang Qiang's throat.

Seeing Ye Yang make a move, the old man hurriedly blocked Zhang Qiang with his saber. But Ye Yang's longsword pierced through the saber in a flash and pressed against Zhang Qiang's brow.

Before the old man could react, the snow-white blade emitted a dragon's roar. The ghost-head saber, pierced by the sword, split into two along the blade. Ye Yang's longsword advanced another half-inch, breaking Zhang Qiang’s skin.

As blood mixed with cold sweat trickled down Zhang Qiang's face, Ye Yang withdrew his blade. "Before I lose my temper, I'll give you one more chance to choose."

The old man trembled with anger. "You're breaking the rules of術道 (Shu Dao)!"

Ye Yang said in a deep voice, "Zhang Qiang tried to trick my brother, so I have the right to kill him. You'd better not talk to me about rules."

As Ye Yang spoke, a strand of sword light, urged by gangqi, slid towards the tip of the sword like a water droplet.

As long as that wisp of cold light left the tip of the sword, Zhang Qiang would be blown away on the spot, and his body would be left on the ground.

"You…you don't…let's talk this out!" The old man finally relented. "I promise you. Stop!"

Ye Yang retrieved his longsword, stood in the middle of the room with his hands behind his back. "I don't want to waste words. You should know what to do."

"Fate! What's meant to be will always come! Sigh—" The old man sighed. "Mr. Ye, please sit down! I need to discuss this with you slowly. Qiangzi, pour Mr. Ye some tea, offer him a cigarette."

Ye Yang stood there without moving. "I'm not in the habit of sitting on other people's stools, nor do I want to drink tea."

That guy, Ye Yang, had a slight obsessive-compulsive disorder. He never sat in places he considered unclean. Doing something like sitting on the ground and drinking alcohol like I do was something Ye Yang would never do.

The old man didn't force him. He took out a bottle of wine from under the table and took a few sips to calm his nerves before lighting a cigarette. "My name is Zhang Chengye. I'm the sixth-generation successor of the Zhang family. The Zhang family's secret techniques will end with me. Zhang Qiang hasn't learned them. I'll go with you after I explain my affairs."

Before Ye Yang could speak, Zhang Qiang said, "Grandpa, why don't you tell him that the Zhang family failed to kill He Haoyu and several people died? Also, I know some secret techniques! I should be considered a Zhang family successor!"

"You little bastard!" Zhang Chengye stood up angrily and pointed at Zhang Qiang, scolding, "Get out of here."

Ye Yang suddenly raised his hand and grabbed Zhang Qiang's neck, lifting him up. His five fingers suddenly tightened. "No need to chase him away, I'll send him off!"

Even though Zhang Chengye was close at hand, he couldn't snatch Zhang Qiang from Ye Yang's grasp. He could only watch helplessly as Ye Yang choked him until his eyes rolled back.

Zhang Chengye knelt on the ground with a thud. "Mr. Ye, please have mercy. Please let Qiangzi go. I'll do whatever you want."

Ye Yang said calmly, "Swear! Swear on Zhang Qiang that if you hide anything from me, if you don't tell me the whole truth, he will die without a burial."

Forced into a corner, Zhang Chengye had no choice but to make a blood oath.

Ye Yang threw Zhang Qiang down. "I'll give you five minutes to say everything you need to say. After five minutes, I don't want to hear any more nonsense."

Zhang Chengye stroked Zhang Qiang's chest while complaining, "Why are you so clueless? I've spoiled you. The more I tell you not to do something, the more you do it!"

"Some things can't be touched! You're the last descendant of our old Zhang family. If something happens to you, how can I explain it to your parents when I go down there?"

As Zhang Chengye spoke, he seemed to have figured things out. "I'll tell you everything you want to know in a moment. Don't cause any more trouble. After you've heard everything, pack your things and get the hell out of here! Go wherever you want."

Zhang Qiang was unable to speak, only able to listen to Zhang Chengye's rambling.

Zhang Chengye watched his grandson catch his breath before helping him to the side. He sat back down. "Mr. Ye, it's not that I deliberately wanted to hide anything from you. It's just that this involves the lives of the Zhang family, so I have to be careful!"

"The Zhang family's ancestors were lucky enough to be given a blood-soaked bowl of rice by our grandmaster. Logically speaking, we should be grateful. However, the grandmaster who passed on the Zhang family's secret techniques set a rule for the Zhang family: to stop after beheading three thousand prisoners."

"For five generations, the Zhang family has traveled all over the world as executioners. Later, they almost became overlords among executioners. As long as our Zhang family arrived, the executioner's job had to be done by us. No one could compete with us."

When Ye Yang heard this, he interrupted, "Executioners are not to execute more than ninety-nine people, you’ve already broken the rules, haven't you?"

There was an unwritten rule among executioners that they could not kill a hundred people. After ninety-nine, they had to wash their hands of the trade, otherwise, they would be haunted by evil spirits.

The Zhang family had beheaded three thousand prisoners in five generations, which averaged to five hundred heads per person. This far exceeded the limit of ninety-nine prisoners for executioners. The Zhang family seemed to be quite something.

Zhang Chengye nodded. "That rule does exist for executioners, but the Zhang family is different."