Chapter 17 — The Most Despised Son Who Shocked the World

Tuong Khinh Vu is not someone who passively waits for results. After the victory celebration party, when the drunkenness of victory had subsided, a deep uneasiness crept into his heart - a long-simmering feeling of discomfort whenever he thought of Wuji's inexplicable progress. He cannot accept the risk of letting the finals take place uncertainly.

"I need an absolute guarantee." He spoke to Loi in the night, his eyes cold and calculating. "Let's find out where that bastard's mother and younger brother are. I heard they disappeared from the service area a few months ago."

Loi spent nearly two days searching through underground connections, finally finding a clue through a coachman who once drove the carriage carrying Vo Ky's family out of Tuong Phu Thanh that rainy night, and found a general direction leading to the northern mountains.

"Young master, the villain found a clue. It seems they are hiding in a certain village in the northern mountains, near an area called An Van Trang." Loi reported.

Khinh Vu listened, the corner of his mouth curled up in a cold, malicious smile. "Very good. The night before the final match, send someone there. No need to kill, just show the illegitimate son that I can touch his relatives anytime I want. That will be the last lesson before he steps into the arena, so that he understands that whether he wins or loses, his family's fate is still in my hands."

The next night, a group of assassins hired by Mr. Loi from an underground organization outside Tuong Gia, leaving no trace directly related to Khinh Vu, quietly approached An Van Trang in the middle of the quiet night.

Fortunately, Old Vong, an old friend of Senior Thiet Dien, is a retired veteran who still maintains the habit of being highly vigilant even after living in seclusion for many years. He arranged a few simple wind chimes traps around the village area, enough to detect unusual intrusions.

When the assassin team just passed the outermost fence, the wind chimes sounded an alarm. Old Vong immediately woke up, shouted to warn the whole family, and at the same time picked up an old but still sharp scimitar, rushed out to fight to buy time.

Ha Thu Nhan, startled awake in the middle of the night, quickly pushed Nhat Pham's wheelchair into a secret shelter that old Vong had instructed in advance, in case something happened. But when she turned around to find a way to help fight back, one of the assassins broke into the house, his cold blade swung straight at her.

In that moment of life and death, Nhat Pham, even though his legs were disabled, still remembered his brother's instructions about an emergency flare that Vong Ky Dao Truong had secretly given to the whole family before leaving, used to signal danger to a secret patrol team of Duong Gia that Tuyet Y had secretly arranged near the area in advance as a final layer of insurance. The boy, with his still strong hands, used all his strength to ignite the signal flare, a beam of red light shot up into the night sky.

In just a moment, Duong Gia's patrol team stationed nearby immediately rushed to the rescue. The fighting broke out fiercely, but thanks to the timely arrival of reinforcements, the assassins were forced to retreat, unable to complete their mission. Ha Thu Nhan narrowly escaped death, only suffering a light wound on her shoulder due to not being able to dodge completely in time, but the horror was still deep in her eyes.

Lao Vong, after driving away the remaining group of assassins with the help of the Duong Gia patrol team, hastily checked Thu Nhan's wound and took the whole family to a stronger shelter that night, in case of a second attack. Nhat Pham, even though he had just experienced a moment of life and death, still tried to calm his mother, holding her hand with trembling hands. "Don't be afraid, Mom, we're safe. Big Brother will definitely come save us."

The news was transmitted to Tuong Phu Thanh that night through Duong Gia's messenger falcon, reaching Tuyet Y first. She immediately went to the service area and woke Vo Ky up in the middle of the night, his face pale with worry.

"Vo Ky, your mother was attacked!" She spoke, her voice trembling but trying to stay calm to convey the information as quickly as possible. "Fortunately, she escaped death, with only minor injuries. Our patrol team promptly responded. But..."

Vo Ky stood frozen in that moment, the whole world seemed to collapse around him. The anger that had been repressed for ten years, through every insult, through his younger brother's disability, through the direct threat to his mother's life, now, knowing that her mother had almost lost her life, it all suddenly exploded like a dike bursting after many years of pressure.

"Enough." He said, his voice shaking with extreme anger, his eyes bloodshot. In his body, the Demon Essence aura swirled so violently that the whole room shook, the floor tiles cracked into large pieces, black and purple light flashed from under the skin of his bone ridges, a phenomenon that had never happened so strongly before.

Tuyet Y took a step back, not because she was afraid of him, but because she was amazed at the power flowing uncontrollably from him, a power stronger than any time she had ever witnessed before. "Woo Ky, calm down! Your mother is safe!"

Hearing those words, Vo Ky gradually regained some of his reason, trying to suppress the flow of air that was rolling down, even though his whole body was still shaking because of unresolved anger. "We have to go to mom right away."

"There's no time, and it's not safe for you to leave here now, otherwise everything will be revealed before the finals." Tuyet Y grabbed his shoulder tightly, her voice both resolute and full of understanding. "I have sent someone to take your mother to a safer place, with the best doctors of Duong Gia taking care of her. She will be fine. But Vo Ky, you must listen to me, this is the final and clearest evidence we need. The person who ordered the attack on a remote village has nothing to do with him, it can only be Khinh Vu, there is no one else with the motive and ability to do this."

Vo Ky stood still, his breathing still heavy, but Tuyet Y's words gradually helped him reshape his goal clearly. The last limit of his patience had been completely broken tonight, but instead of acting blindly, that anger had now crystallized into a steely determination, colder and more precise than ever before.

"Okay." He spoke, his voice having regained its usual terrifying calmness, but his eyes now held a different light — no longer one of resignation, but of unshakable determination. "Then tomorrow, in the finals, I won't tolerate anything anymore. I will let this whole family see clearly who is really the one who deserves to be despised."

He sat down on the edge of the bed, holding his head in his hands for a moment, letting the pent-up emotions of the past seventeen years subside into a cold stillness. When he raised his head, his face was completely different — there were no longer any traces of panic or angry outbursts, only a sharp determination like a newly sharpened blade remained.

"The three seniors need to know about this immediately." He said, standing up and quickly putting on his coat. "We need to discuss the entire plan for tomorrow's finals, there's no time to delay anymore."

Tuyet Y looked into those eyes and nodded firmly. "I will be with you, carrying all the evidence I have collected. Tomorrow, we will end it all together."

They both went up to Tuyet Cot Nhai that same night, waking up the three seniors to report the whole incident. After listening to Dry Bone Old Man, his face darkened with anger, while Vong Ky Dao Truong closed his eyes for a long time, as if trying to suppress his own anger.

"He went too far." Vong Ky Dao Truong said, his voice was rarely so stern. "This is no longer a matter of ordinary youthful jealousy, but a deliberate murder plot. You don't need to endure anything anymore, Vo Ky. The time has come."

Senior Thiet Dien, even though his health was much weaker, still tried to sit up straight, looking firmly at his students. "I'm ready. Broken Bone One Fist, will, and now the most righteous indignation a person can carry into battle. Tomorrow, nothing can stop me."