Trouble.(2)

Ta Sen's eyes snapped open as he looked towards the direction the cry came from.

"That old man is dead?", he whispered to himself. He was a bit shocked at this development. Old Guan was specifically said to be one of the top experts in the Su Family, in the entire Ping Yang Town!

And yet, he died so easily?

Ta Sen closed the Sage's Eye and walked steadily towards the main hall of the clan, where most of the cries were coming from. Along the way, he saw dismembered guards, wives crying over their dead husbands, and even a woman attempting to commit suicide due to the overwhelming despair she had just experienced.

It was heart-wrenching.

But it was not a scene Ta Sen was unfamiliar with. Seeing the families of the men he killed in his past life firmly ingrained this scene into his mind.

Ta Sen opened the door to the main room and raised an eyebrow as he looked at a severely injured figure sitting on a chair, surrounded by Captain Liu and a few doctors.

The figure was Uncle Zheng. Blood continuously flowed from his wounds as he struggled to keep his eyes open. His white hair fluttered as his gaunt and yellow face turned to look at Ta Sen.

"S-senior Ta Sen...i-i apologize. This...i-is, not the condition that you should see me in."

Ta Sen simply shook his head and swept his gaze across everyone in the room. This...display was pitiful, to say the least. For one of the top clans, their power wasn't much if they could end up in such a state so easily. But, before Ta Sen drew any conclusions, he had to know what happened.

"Old Zheng, what happened, who did this?"

Before Uncle Zheng could answer, the guard named Yuchi Huo seemed to have reached the end of his wits as he shouted, "Damn! It was some thugs at the Postnatal Realm and their leader was a middle-aged man at the connate realm. He was the one who killed Uncle Guan! We can't take this lying down!"

Seeing the confused expression on Ta Sen's face when the two realms were mentioned, Captain Liu quickly added, "Sir, the Postnatal and Connate Realms are the cultivation realms we mortals follow. They're divided into the early, mid, and late stages, and it's completely in the realm of body cultivation. Understandably, an immortal wouldn't know about them."

A look of understanding appeared on Ta Sen's face at the explanation. Immediately, he thought, 'I wonder what realm I am at? I need a way to...'

Ta Sen suddenly swept his gaze across everyone again as a wonderful idea came to mind. It was the most obvious way of testing the power of his body.

"Ahem, Old Zheng, Captain Liu. Do you have any idea where the thugs came from? I need some practice, you see."

Ta Sen's deep voice resounded like a bang in the minds of everyone there. An immortal was going to personally step in your help the Su Family? What kind of luck was this?

Just as Captain Liu was about to respond, the doors to the room were pushed open as a handsome young man walked in. He had long black hair, wore clean, green robes that completely covered his thin body and he gave off the aura of a weak scholar.

At least, to most he did.

To Ta Sen, this young man's secrets were all laid bare before him. The blood in his body flowed like a raging ocean and his muscles thrummed with power with every step he took. This man wasn't a weak scholar at all. To Ta Sen, even if Uncle Zheng and Uncle Guan teamed up against him, they would only be killed like stray dogs.

"Second Young Master is back!"

Captain Liu and the rest bowed slightly as the young man made his way towards the disheveled figure of Uncle Zheng. Anger and worry flashed across his face as he started asking them questions about what happened.

Not once did he look at Ta Sen.

'This must be the one named Su Zimo. Does he have some kind of grudge with me perhaps? Ah, whatever, I'll just listen and figure out everything I need to know.'

As they spoke, Ta Sen learned that the culprits were most likely hired by the Shen Family, a smaller-sized family that was usually taken care of by the Su Family.

It seemed that recently, their young miss had been recruited by an immortal sect and because of that, their status rose rapidly in Ping Yang Town.

The servants wanted to become the masters and the Su Family, unfortunately, was in the line of fire.

"Ah, Second Young Master, I almost forgot! This is Senior Ta Sen, an important guest of the Family. He is an immortal. Senior Sen, this is Su Zimo. He cannot cultivate but his scholarly achievements are second to none!"

Uncle Zheng seemed to be implying something when he introduced them. Su Zimo immediately picked up on this and smiled wryly. He then turned to Ta Sen with a gaze filled with indifference and nodded as a way of acknowledgment.

When everyone saw this, their heart sank. This was not the first time Su Zimo was being impolite to an immortal. Just a few days, he had all his scholarly achievements voided just because he offended the immortal who recruited the woman of the Shen Family.

Now, he was about to do it again.

Was this young man insane?

Seeing the reactions to Su Zimo's words, Ta Sen immediately understood what was happening.

He looked at Su Zimo and nodded back. Since he was from a different culture, that type of greeting was already polite enough. There was no need for any extra words.

Su Zimo seemed to be a bit surprised by this but he quickly left right after, saying that he was about to take a walk.

Ta Sen laughed inwardly when he heard this. He was too familiar with those words. 'Take a walk' was a code phrase for 'I'm about to go kill someone.'

Ta Sen turned to Uncle Zheng and said, "Where is this Shen Family located?" Uncle Zheng, now feeling a bit better from the treatment of the doctors near him, shook his head and responded, "Before that, Senior, please forgive our Second Young Master. These young ones tend to be arrogant and they lack knowledge. About the Shen Family, there is no need for-"

"I insist."

Uncle Zheng choked on his words as the temperature in the room seemed to drop immediately. Everyone turned their heads towards Ta Sen as an ominous feeling crept upon them. His gaze was cold as he looked at the members of the family.

These people don't seem to learn from their mistakes. Betrayal by a subordinate wasn't something a master should take lightly.

Ta Sen then said, "Uncle Zheng, do you know why, that even with the slight backing of an immortal sect, that the Shen Family immediately betrayed you? It was because they viewed you as weak."

Ta Sen's gaze swept across the crowd once again, his eyes turning colder as he saw their uncomfortable expressions.

"They killed the members of your family because, in their minds, you're nothing more than washed-up benefactors who they only used for profit. They didn't respect you, nor did they fear you. Your family was just a means to an end, and your kindness was taken as weakness. But I have to say, looking at the state of your main attacking force right now...I have to agree. Pick yourselves up and stop hiding in here like cowards."

Yuchi Huo, who was already a hotblooded guard, felt his blood boiling as he clenched his fists and looked at Ta Sen with a reverent gaze.

He completely agreed!

The Su Family has been turning the other cheek for too long! It was time for the debts to be repaid in blood.

Yuchi Huo glanced at Uncle Zheng who was still hesitant and grit his teeth. He hoped that Uncle Zheng would make the right decision.

But in the end, Uncle Zheng shook his head decided against it. He had to think about his family members. Even though revenge would sort out the grief in their hearts, would most of them even survive the battle?

It sounded like a suicide mission to him.

A look of anger appeared on Ta Sen's face when he heard this. While a part of him understood why Uncle Zheng chose this, another part of him knew that only more despair awaited this family.

If they didn't retaliate now, the other powerful families would think they're weak. And if they thought they were weak, the Su Family could only wait to be destroyed. It was a common occurrence in the world Ta Sen came from.

"Then, Old Zheng, I'm afraid I can't stay in this family anymore. Betrayal...is something that I completely detest. But a man who would take it without retaliation, even more so. Don't worry, I haven't forgotten the favor I owe you. Just tell me where the Shen Family is located and I will take care of them myself. Then we're square."

Ta Sen's deep voice was filled with indifference as he spoke. The sense of familiarity he had before was completely gone. Uncle Zheng seemed as if he had aged 10 years as he slumped down in his chair.

This situation had gotten completely out of hand and the Su Family couldn't seem to catch a break. Captain Liu, seeing Uncle Zheng like this, couldn't help but sigh. He then told Ta Sen where the Shen Family was and stood silently in the corner, staring at Ta Sen's departing figure.

Ta Sen, on the other hand, walked steadily out of the mansion and arrived at the Shen Family after the time it takes an incense stick to burn.

BOOM! BOOM! CLANG! AGHHH!

When he arrived he heard the sound of battle coming from inside the Shen Family Mansion. Immediately, he realized who the one fighting them was.

'At least their young master has some backbone.'

BOOM!

Ta Sen grinned and blasted open the doors to the mansion with his fist. The scent of blood assaulted Ta Sen's nose as his gaze landed upon a green-robed figure fighting like a wild beast amidst the small army of cultivators within the mansion.

It was quite the sight to see.

Ta Sen's arrival immediately attracted the attention of everyone there, but unfortunately for them, he wasn't one to stand around and wait for them to attack.

WHOOSH!

Ta Sen moved like a blur as he arrived behind a large burly man wielding a massive saber.

Before the man could even move, Ta Sen spun around and obliterated the man's head with a vicious roundhouse kick, moving to the next opponent immediately.

With an axe kick, Ta Sen cleaved the man in half with his heels and ducked under a sword attack from a man coming behind him, sweeping the attacker off of his feet. As the man was falling, Ta Sen elbowed him in the throat, removing his head from his body.

At this point, the situation had taken a turn for the worse. There was supposed to be a banquet at the mansion today to celebrate the defeat of the Su Family at the restaurant. Who could've guessed things would become like this?

At this point, some men wanted to leave, but Ta Sen was too experienced in this situation. He immediately picked up some furniture and threw it at the entrance, repeating this process until it was thoroughly blocked.

"No one can leave!"

Those who were leaving felt their brains shake and eardrums rupture with Ta Sen's shout. The Su Family might have thought that Ta Sen came here just because of them, but that wasn't the case.

He saw an opportunity. An opportunity to establish his power base, using the ones who were strong or lucky enough to survive this encounter. This would make gathering information and cultivating much easier.

Where would he stay, some may ask? Where else but the Shen Family? Immortal sect be damned. Ta Sen was sure that there wasn't one sect and if push comes to shove he knew he could find a way to survive.

His eyes swept across the crowd as he then shouted, "Submit or die!"