Chapter 58 Reclaiming Everything

"Since I have returned this time, I will never again allow myself to be bullied by others! I am going to take back everything that rightfully belongs to my mother and me—those things that you greedy wretches have usurped and that were always ours by right must be returned to their rightful owners today!"

With that, his figure flashed. Like a goshawk seizing a hare, he grabbed his second uncle by the collar and hoisted him up like a frail chick, dragging the usually arrogant and tyrannical man straight toward the old Zhao family estate.

Pale with terror and with legs turning to jelly, the second uncle struggled desperately all along the way, his mouth pouring out endless pleas for mercy.

"Changsheng, my boy, don't be rash! Let's talk things over reasonably, we're all family here!"

Yet, Zhao Changsheng's heart was entirely consumed by the flames of vengeance at this moment; how could he possibly listen to such nonsense? He tightened his grip even further, leaving the second uncle to be dragged along, stumbling every step of the way.

Before long, the two arrived in front of the grand Zhao estate.

Once a magnificent and imposing mansion, it still boasted its ornate beams and painted pillars, but in the eyes of Zhao Changsheng, every inch was stamped with humiliation.

It was from this very place that he and his mother had been driven out all those years ago.

The second uncle's wife was leisurely sipping tea in the inner hall when she heard the panicked maid rush in to report that Zhao Changsheng had actually acted with such outrageous audacity. Instantly, she flew into a rage.

She slammed her teacup fiercely onto the ground, sending tea splashing in all directions and shattering the porcelain into countless fragments.

"That little bastard, he's turned the world upside down!"

Screaming at the top of her lungs, she trotted all the way to the entrance.

"Zhao Changsheng, you ungrateful wretch!"

As soon as she reached the door, the second uncle's wife pulled back her ears and launched into a shrill tirade. "How can you treat your second uncle like this? He has always treated you well! To think you dare to commit such an act of gross insubordination and drag him here—do you have any respect for your elders left at all?"

With her hands propped on her hips and her eyebrows cocked in fury, she cut the quintessential figure of a shrew hurling abuse in the streets, looking as though she wanted to tear Zhao Changsheng apart alive.

Zhao Changsheng cast a cold glance at her, his eyes brimming with utter disdain.

"Treated me well? You know very well in your heart how you and the others treated me and my mother all these years! Today is the day for a final reckoning."

With that, he released his second uncle and slowly raised his right hand, pointing his palm directly at the plaque hanging high above the main gate of the Zhao estate—the one his second uncle had privately replaced.

A cold glint flashed in Zhao Changsheng's eyes as the spiritual energy within his body surged violently, converging upon his palm.

In an instant, he thrust his palm forward with explosive force. A majestic and overwhelmingly powerful shockwave of spiritual energy surged forth like a roaring dragon, striking the plaque dead-on.

*Crack—*

A deafening roar erupted like a thunderclap right beside everyone's ears.

Struck by the raw spiritual power, the plaque instantly splintered into countless pieces, wood shavings flying in all directions as it disintegrated into a heap of rubble scattering across the ground.

Where the plaque had once proudly hung, only a bare, desolate door frame remained.

The second uncle's wife stared in petrified horror at the scene before her.

Never in her wildest dreams would she have imagined that the once easily bullied Zhao Changsheng now possessed such formidable power.

Her mouth hung wide open, and though she desperately wanted to utter something, she was rendered utterly speechless by the sheer magnitude of her shock, left with no choice but to watch helplessly as Zhao Changsheng strode into the Zhao estate with an unstoppable, crushing momentum.

Ximen Feixue stood outside the main gates of the Zhao estate, clad in robes as white as snow, his posture straight and proud.

His gaze pierced through the open doors, locked tightly upon Zhao Changsheng standing at the very center of the courtyard. The look of deep admiration in his eyes grew even more intense.

Beholding Zhao Changsheng standing tall and proud, exuding an innate dominance from the very marrow of his bones, Ximen Feixue could not help but feel a slight stir of emotion.

"My senior brother's actions today truly display an unbridled dominance!"

Ximen Feixue could not refrain from praising aloud, his voice tinged with a measure of excitement.

"To endure silently for so many years, only to erupt all at once with such thunderous momentum—such a spirit is truly breathtaking to behold."

Standing to the side with his hands clasped behind his back, Ye Xing河 (Ye Xinghe) radiated an ethereal and transcendent aura of utter calmness.

Hearing Ximen Feixue's exclamation, the corners of Ye Xinghe's lips curved upward into a faint, serene smile.

He let out a soft chuckle, his tone carrying an air of absolute inevitability.

"If he is to be my disciple and lacks even this shred of dominance, how could he ever hope to make a stand in this jianghu hereafter? How could he ever carve out a domain of his own?"

Having said that, he unhurriedly lifted his foot and stepped forward, taking the lead as he walked into the Zhao estate.

Upon seeing this, Ximen Feixue hurriedly followed right behind him.

In the courtyard, maids and manservants fled in all directions out of sheer terror, hiding in various corners without daring to draw a single heavy breath, venturing only to cast fearful, furtive glances at these two uninvited guests.

Those stewards who had previously lorded it over others by virtue of the second uncle's power now wore faces as pale as death, their legs trembling uncontrollably as their former arrogance vanished without a trace.

Standing within the main hall, Zhao Changsheng slowly raised his head to survey everything and everyone around him.

"Today, I, Zhao Changsheng, have returned!"

Channeling his inner energy into his dantian, Zhao Changsheng's voice rang through the entire hall like the tolling of a great bell.

"And this means that everything belonging to the Zhao family will be completely reshuffled! From this moment onward, I shall take charge of all affairs of the Zhao family and restore its former glory. If anyone is dissatisfied, feel free to step forward and test me in battle. I, Zhao Changsheng, will not retreat a single step; I shall fight whoever dares to challenge me to the end!"

Every single word he spoke struck the ground with the weight of a hammer.

After a long silence, a timid, trembling voice finally crept out cautiously from a corner.

"Changsheng Young Master... We wouldn't dare..."

This single voice seemed to shatter the deadlock. Finding themselves a lifeline of sorts, the surrounding crowd hurriedly echoed in panicked agreement: "Indeed, Changsheng Young Master, we will obey your every command..."

In an instant, sycophantic sounds of subservience rose and fell in waves, echoing throughout the hall.

A cold sneer crossed Zhao Changsheng's lips. He knew all too well that these people were nothing more than opportunists bending with the wind.

Just as an oppressive, dead silence hung over the Zhao estate—with everyone utterly awed and silenced by Zhao Changsheng's overwhelming presence—a flurry of rapid footsteps suddenly sounded from outside.

Immediately afterward, a servant came tumbling and scrambling into the hall, crying out with a trembling voice, "This is terrible! The Huangfu family is here!"

This piece of news struck the hall like a heavy bomb, shattering the atmosphere instantly.

One had to know that in recent years, the Huangfu family had grown immensely powerful in this region, employing ruthless methods, and had long harbored an irreconcilable blood feud with the Zhao family.

They had previously subjected the Zhao family to repeated suppression, driving them virtually to the brink of ruin.

The second uncle's wife had been slumped in a chair nearby, but upon hearing this, her clouded eyes dilated instantly. Yet, a flash of cunning soon replaced her shock.

She jolted violently to her feet.

"They've come at just the right time!" the second uncle's wife muttered through gritted teeth, her eyes filled with venomous malice.

Without even bothering to straighten her disheveled garments, she charged toward the exit like a crazed beast, stumbling blindly.

Along the way, she knocked over a few maids who failed to dodge in time, paying them no heed whatsoever as her mind was consumed by a single goal.

That goal was to leverage the power of the Huangfu family to eliminate Zhao Changsheng, this thorn in her side and flesh in her eye.

Bursting through the gates, the second uncle's wife laid eyes upon the imposing procession of the Huangfu family.

At the vanguard rode a middle-aged man clad in brocade robes, followed by a phalanx of well-trained, murderous guards, every single one of them mounted on fine, tall steeds and grasping sharp blades, radiating an aura of supreme intimidation.

A servile, ingratiating smile instantly plastered itself across the second uncle's wife's face—a smile far uglier than tears.

Throwing all dignity and status to the wind, she trotted forward to greet them, frantically rubbing her hands together before her chest like a wretched, pitiful beggar.