Forced to Marry a Female Billionaire CEO-Chapter 670: The Terrifying Sorrowful Heart Art

"Is it hard to believe?" Xu Zhentai asked.

Xu Ke nodded frantically.

"I can hardly believe it myself, but I've indeed reached the realm of Half-Step Peak. I'm just one step away from the highest position in this world... This progress has been so fast it feels like I'm dreaming."

Xu Ke was surprised. "I thought you were already at the Peak?"

"Of course not!" As Xu Zhentai said this, he shook his head. "Breaking through to the Peak is not that easy... There is an indescribable barrier between Half-Step Peak and the Peak. I've been trapped here for more than a decade."

Xu Ke was lost in thought. So there really is a difference.

"The cultivation is real, but the power gained from rapid advancement doesn't come without a price." At this moment, Xu Zhentai exhaled two streams of smoke like dragons from his nose, then pressed the cigarette out against the back of his hand before casually flicking it into the trash can.

Watching his uncle's actions, Xu Ke hesitated for a moment before earnestly asking, "What price?"

"Paranoia, extremism, and the loss of humanity. I gained the ability to remain calm under any circumstance. In other words, my emotions never fluctuate... Because of this, I kill without remorse and feel no burden on my conscience. I'm not afraid of pain, and no matter what predicament I face, I can always keep my enemies from guessing my trump card..."

Xu Zhentai continued, "And because of this, Tao Ranju, which started as just a small, somewhat famous assassin organization, eventually evolved into the massive overseas force known as the Assassin's Alliance."

Xu Ke was astonished again. "Uncle, what did you just say? The Assassin's Alliance was originally yours?"

"No. Tao Ranju was mine. The Assassin's Alliance was formed by those who broke away to work for themselves after I washed my hands of the business." Xu Zhentai corrected him. "Strictly speaking, the Assassin's Alliance has nothing to do with me."

After a moment's thought, Xu Zhentai added, "The current Assassin's Alliance is missing at least two top-tier masters compared to Tao Ranju in its heyday. They truly can't compare to my time, so don't you dare tarnish my name by lumping me in with them."

Hearing this, Xu Ke's eyes bulged wider than a fish's. Is he even speaking human words? What a boast!

Xu Ke didn't take Xu Zhentai's disdain for the Assassin's Alliance to heart; he just assumed his uncle was bragging while reminiscing.

At this moment, Xu Ke's mind was reeling. He had dealt with the Assassin's Alliance quite a few times this month. His impression of them was still that of an immensely powerful and terrifying organization. After all, wasn't a group that could easily deploy experts at the Innate Great Perfection realm terrifying? Yet now he was being told that the Assassin's Alliance was an offshoot of his uncle's old group? This was too wild!

After taking a sharp breath, Xu Ke asked, "Then Uncle, do Aunt and the others know about all this?"

"They don't. My dad even thinks I stopped practicing martial arts a long time ago after society knocked me around a bit." Xu Zhentai said with a sigh. "I've kept it very well hidden."

Upon hearing this, Xu Ke nodded. It was true.

Then, Xu Ke remembered something and hurriedly asked, "Right, Uncle, I once saw a Tao Ranju token in the Zhou Family Treasury... was that from you?"

He recalled the time he went to the Zhou Family's banquet and Zhou Qingzhi had taken him to the treasury. Inside, he had seen the name Tao Ranju for the first time. No matter how he racked his brain back then, he never would have imagined that this name was connected to his uncle. And to think he had even suspected it had something to do with his master...

"Uh..." Hearing this, Xu Zhentai pondered for a moment before nodding uncertainly. "Yes... I suppose so? It must have been from me. In the past, I would auction off my services in exchange for money. That's how the Tao Ranju tokens were distributed."

"I see." Xu Ke's eyes lit up as he quickly asked, "What about the money?"

He was beyond excited. If his uncle was that formidable back then, earning a few billion should have been no problem, right? Even though he was being "kept" by Wong Qifu... who ever complains about having too much money?

But Xu Zhentai, his expression unchanging, replied, "I donated it all."

Xu Ke's smile instantly froze. He exclaimed in astonishment, "Why?!"

"How should I know? At the time, I was practicing the Sorrowful Heart Art and the deviation drove me mad. I felt that money was just a worldly possession, and having too much of it was a nuisance, so I donated it all." Xu Zhentai stroked his chin, then added with regret, "That's why I've been so miserable all these years. If I had known, I would've kept some for myself. Then I wouldn't get an earful from your aunt every time I buy a pack of cigarettes."

Xu Ke was left speechless.

Suddenly recalling something, Xu Zhentai asked, "Right, that old fellow from the Xie Family, Xie Hezheng... I heard from Old Hu that he helped you out in Sui City, right?"

"Ah, yes!" Xu Ke hastily nodded in response.

Even though what Xie Jinhua did was inhuman, he had to admit that Xie Hezheng had done him a huge favor. If he hadn't accepted the Jade Mountain Lotus from the Xie Family and had their covert support, he couldn't possibly have dealt with Han Wang and Ye Lang.

Then, Xu Ke suddenly had a realization. "So he helped me out of the blue because of you?"

Seeing Xu Zhentai mention Xie Hezheng, Xu Ke immediately made the connection. The two must be related.

Xu Zhentai nodded. "Back then, he was being hunted down, and I happened to help him out. Unfortunately, he accidentally saw my face, so I was planning to kill him to silence him. However, he said it was fine to kill him, but asked if he could first go back and settle his family's affairs... I don't know if he was deliberately playing the sympathy card, but my heart softened."

Surprised, Xu Ke asked, "So you just let him go like that?"

"No, I fed him poison and made him work for Tao Ranju for five years," Xu Zhentai said, his expression unchanged.

Xu Ke was speechless. Damn. So what was the point of going soft, then?

"Originally, I thought I might truly end up walking a dark path as an assassin forever." Xu Zhentai lit another cigarette and continued, "Tao Ranju was initially established to kill the unrighteous, but later on, I started to sense that something was wrong.

"I seemed to become intoxicated by the thrill of killing. Watching someone's expression shift from pleading to despair filled my heart with extreme pleasure.

"Finally, on the verge of being completely lost, I perceived it: the final opportunity for me to advance from Half-Step Peak to the pinnacle of martial arts."

At these words, Xu Ke shivered. "What opportunity?"

"The moment Xu Yi was born."

Xu Ke was startled and asked, "Why is that?"

At this, Xu Zhentai gave a self-deprecating laugh. "Because at that moment, I was holding little Xiao Yi, holding your aunt... I was so happy. Happier than I'd ever been.

"At that time, a voice in my heart suddenly told me, 'Kill them. Kill my beloved wife and daughter.'

"And after that, I would merge my body with sorrow and achieve the Pinnacle!"

As his words fell, Xu Ke's expression finally changed. His face was filled with shock, and his eyes revealed his terror.

Just what kind of anti-human Cultivation Technique was this Sorrowful Heart Art?!