From a country cook to a master chef

Lin Jue stood rooted to the spot, and the air seemed to freeze instantly.

Did Zhao Kun already know his identity?

A cold wind blew by, the lights in the courtyard flickered, and the shadows of swords and knives were reflected on Lin Jue's face.

A faint, inappropriate fragrance drifted into everyone's nostrils.

After a long while, Zhao Kun gave an order, and three people surrounded Lin Jue from the left, right, and center. Two more people jumped out from the backyard and blocked Lin Jue's retreat.

"You're not as terrible as Wu Yanzi made you out to be!"

"Kill him!"

Zhao Kun chuckled lightly; his only target tonight was Old Master Zhao.

The others are insignificant.

"You unfilial son, I should never have adopted you in the first place. Tonight, do as you please, kill me or torture me!"

Old Master Zhao was filled with regret and roared as he looked at his eldest son's corpse.

He only regretted his blindness, ignoring his children's advice and insisting on adopting Zhao Kun, who had fled famine after his family's ruin, as his godson. This led to him inviting a wolf into his house and raising a tiger that would cause trouble, needlessly harming over a hundred innocent people in Yulin Town.

Hearing Old Master Zhao's insults, Zhao Kun remained unmoved, looking down at him condescendingly: "The mistake lies with you..."

"What happened?"

Inside the Zhao family compound, the five men who had surrounded and killed Lin Jue fell one after another, their eyes rolled back, foaming at the mouth, and after convulsing, they died.

Everyone else who was away from Lin Jue, including the Liu family gang, all had their legs go weak and collapsed to the ground, as if they had been poisoned.

Only Zhao Kun in the attic and Liu Hua, the leader of the Liu family troupe who was flying in the air on his sword, showed no signs of discomfort.

The two, not understanding what had happened, suddenly changed their expressions and looked at Lin Jue in unison.

"You little brat, you're asking for death!"

Liu, the head of the troupe, roared and a white light flashed on his body. He pounced on Lin Jue with great speed, his hand forming a claw as he fiercely grabbed at the top of Lin Jue's head.

His movements were as fast as the wind. Lin Jue was extremely anxious. His will to survive surged, and the only energy in his body pushed his body backward to avoid a fatal blow.

"Um?"

The head of the Liu family troupe was astonished, never expecting that a mere mortal could evade his attack.

The two were now only a palm's width apart, which was the perfect opportunity for Lin Jue, who possessed the venom of the silver-ringed snake, to strike.

"It's only polite to reciprocate, you old dog, have a taste!"

Lin Jue grinned maliciously, and a silver ringed snake covered in black and white tattoos flew out from his sleeve, its venomous fangs biting solidly into the tiger's mouth of the Liu family troupe leader.

Upon seeing what was in his hand, Liu Hua was stunned. A fierce glint flashed in his eyes, and the silver-ringed snake was shattered into several pieces by his spiritual power.

"Once I've refined the snake venom, I'll take your life!"

Liu Hua glanced at Lin Jue with murderous intent, then leaped up to the pavilion to meditate and expel the poison.

Silver-ringed snakes are rare, and the fact that they managed to bite him was purely by surprise. As a Foundation Establishment cultivator, Liu Hua believed he would be able to take the snake's life himself in a moment.

As Lin Jue staggered to his feet, he secretly felt a surge of relief.

If Liu Hua hadn't been confident that he could control this mortal and hadn't used magic, even with the silver-ringed snake by his side, he probably wouldn't have had a chance to make a move.

The silver-ringed snake truly lives up to its reputation as the most venomous snake in the world. Even a Foundation Establishment cultivator who is poisoned by it must immediately meditate and refine the poison, otherwise the toxin will attack the heart, and even a great immortal descending to earth cannot save him.

With this precious time gained through such a desperate struggle, Lin Jue quickly strode to Old Master Zhao's side as soon as he regained his footing. He kicked aside the obstructive Zhu Xinghe, helped the old man up, and, panting heavily, urged him:

"Grandpa, let's summon the Crimson Scale Python now, or none of us will survive!"

"good!"

Old Master Zhao took out a compass from his pocket, pushed it half a circle to the left and pulled it two circles to the right. The compass flashed with a dazzling blood-red light, and a blood-red arc shot into the sky.

Boom!

A deafening roar came from the backyard of the Zhao family, the ground shook, and suddenly the stone wall of the courtyard collapsed. A serpent eight feet long crawled out of the ruins, its body covered with blood armor and its huge fangs a full foot long.

It was the Crimson-Scaled Blood Python that the Zhao family had raised for generations!

The blood python coiled up to protect Old Master Zhao and Lin Jue. Looking at the boy they had met not long ago, a hint of confusion appeared in the blood python's eyes.

呲!

The blood python, with its keen senses, suddenly turned its head to look in one direction, flicking its tongue and hissing alertly.

Liu Hua, the head of the Liu Family Troupe, flew over on his sword, his face extremely gloomy. As soon as he opened his mouth, another mouthful of black blood gushed out.

It is clear that the toxins in the body have not been completely eliminated.

Upon realizing this, Lin Jue's expression suddenly hardened. "Grandpa, this man, in league with Zhao Kun, has brought the Zhao family to such a state. Please have the Crimson Scale Python kill him to prevent future troubles!"

Thinking of Zhao Xiaoyao, whose situation was still unclear, Lin Jue's eyes darted around, and he tearfully recounted how he had been kidnapped to Wufeng Mountain and how he learned that the Second Miss had been murdered by Zhao Kun.

This sudden news sent a chill down the spine of the already despairing patriarch of the Zhao family. "No wonder we didn't receive a reply that they had arrived safely in Yucheng. So that's how it is..."

"You and Zhao Kun deserve to die!"

Old Master Zhao was furious and pointed a finger at Liu's troupe leader without any politeness. The crimson-scaled python, shrouded in ferocity, immediately shot towards him.

Liu Hua's expression changed drastically, and he realized something was wrong.

He hasn't completely gotten rid of the silver ring snake venom in his body yet. If he uses his magic to fight the blood python for a long time, the venom will spread throughout his body again, and he will surely die.

After fiercely repelling the blood python, Liu Hua glared angrily at Lin Jue below, then turned and flew away on his sword, unwilling to give up.

The Zhao family has been raising the Red-Scaled Python for over a hundred years, and now it is poisoned. He has no chance of winning at all.

Just as Lin Jue was worrying about letting Liu Hua escape, Old Master Zhao, who was standing next to him, suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.

His body swayed and trembled. His face was pale and unsightly. He was like a candle in the wind, about to die at any moment.

"Red-scaled Python, go and kill that man. From this day forward, you will be free!"

Old Master Zhao clutched his chest, using all his remaining strength to stroke the blood python that had reached out to get close to him, and gave his final command.

The blood python wept and turned to chase after Liu, the troupe leader.

"Lin Jue, the current misfortune befalling the Zhao family is entirely my fault. This is the key to the Zhao family's storeroom. Inside the innermost octagonal box is a scroll of immortal scripture that I obtained many years ago. Take it!"

"Furthermore, there is the Zhao Family Blood Saber Manual, which must not be lost. Although you are not a member of the Zhao family, you are of good character. If you wish, you can cultivate it on your own..."

As the lamp on the wall fell and shattered, Old Master Zhao slowly closed his eyes.

Lin Jue was stunned. He wanted to tell the old man that Zhao Xiaoyao might still be alive, but he didn't have the chance to say it.

Perhaps because Lin Jue was unsettled, the control of the Spirit Gourd Seal weakened, and Zhu Xinghe barely managed to get up and flee towards the outside of the Zhao family compound.

Having witnessed Lin Jue's methods once again, he said he was unwilling to be his enemy again.

"stop!"

Realizing what was happening, Lin Jue didn't give Zhu Xinghe a chance to escape. With a thought, the latter's body was once again gripped, unable to move an inch.

"How did you come back to life? Tell the truth, or I'll kill you right now."

"No, no, Master Lin, please don't kill me. I only escaped death in Wufeng Mountain because of this thing."

Zhu Xinghe hurriedly took something out of the bag and respectfully handed it over with both hands.

"I obtained this from the corpse at the foot of Wufeng Mountain. It was this very thing that saved my life last time. However, it was perfectly intact when I obtained it, but now it has a crack and is probably unusable."

This is a bronze cube with a crack in the middle, as if it is about to split into two pieces.

Lin Jue accepted the bronze block with some skepticism. Just then, a deafening explosion came from the direction of the Zhao family's backyard.

"Zhao Kun!"

Lin Jue's expression suddenly turned cold. Compared to Zhu Xinghe, eliminating Zhao Kun was the most urgent task.

This person is treacherous and cunning, a ruthless killer, and a master of scheming. Wu Yanzi's long absence is likely related to this person.

Zhao Kun cannot be allowed to live.