The Shangguan Family was one of the three great Families in White Emperor City.
Eighteen years ago, Shangguan Yilan, the most talented Young Miss of the Shangguan Family, met Zhang Wanqing of the Zhang Family from Anping City in Demon Beast Canyon while out on an experience.
At that time, Shangguan Yilan was under a fierce attack from a Six-Eyed Lion, and Zhang Wanqing, disregarding his personal safety, rescued Shangguan Yilan, but was severely injured himself.
After her experience ended, Shangguan Yilan, despite her Family's objections, resolutely left her Family to take care of the severely injured Zhang Wanqing in Anping City.
The following year, after Zhang Wanqing recovered from his injuries, he was chosen as the Zhang Family Head due to his excellent Martial Dao Aptitude and his superb financial and management abilities.
In the same year, Zhang Wanqing and Shangguan Yilan married, living a happy life that was the envy of others.
Zhang Wanqing and Shangguan Yilan had two sons, the eldest son Zhang Haofeng and the second son Zhang Haoyang, who were two years apart in age.
Among the two children, Zhang Haoyang had even better Aptitude.
At the age of eight, Zhang Haoyang broke through the shackles of a Mortal and entered Body Tempering Realm First Stage, then broke through one stage each year, reaching Body Tempering Realm Fourth Stage at the age of eleven.
Zhang Haoyang was therefore given the title of Anping City's number one Genius.
To Cultivate to Body Tempering Realm Fourth Stage at the age of eleven was not only a first in Anping City, but even in White Emperor City, where the Shangguan Family resided, he was ranked the number one Genius, and even on the entire Saint Martial Continent, he was a standout among his peers.
Due to his Prodigy-like Aptitude, Zhang Haoyang successfully attracted the attention of Shangwu Academy, one of the three super Academies on the Saint Martial Continent.
Shangwu Academy sent people to the Zhang Family in Anping to invite Zhang Haoyang to join the Outer Sect of Shangwu Academy.
Shangguan Yuantian, the Head of the Shangguan Family, had originally disagreed with his daughter marrying into the small Zhang Family of Anping City.
For a long time, he had been unable to forgive his daughter's departure and had never been able to let it go.
From the time Shangguan Yilan left the Shangguan Family until she married Zhang Wanqing and had children, Shangguan Yuantian never once went to Anping City to see his daughter.
He didn't even attend the births of his two grandsons to offer congratulations.
During this period, Shangguan Yilan and Zhang Wanqing returned to the Shangguan Family multiple times to visit Shangguan Yuantian, but Shangguan Yuantian always looked down on Zhang Wanqing and the small Zhang Family of Anping City.
This disdain and lack of interaction only slowly began to change after Zhang Haoyang displayed his Prodigy-like Aptitude.
Zhang Haoyang was exceptionally gifted, breaking through to Body Tempering Realm First Stage at the age of eight, followed by one stage per year, reaching Body Tempering Realm Fourth Stage at the age of eleven, fully displaying his Prodigy-like Aptitude.
Upon learning that his grandson was such a Prodigy, and also due to his age, he missed his daughter greatly, so Shangguan Yuantian began to resume contact with the Zhang Family.
Whenever outsiders mentioned how much of a Prodigy and Genius his grandson Zhang Haoyang was, Shangguan Yuantian would be beaming with joy, feeling extremely gratified!
Zhang Haoyang's extraordinary Aptitude not only brought supreme glory to the Zhang Family of Anping City but also brought supreme glory to the Shangguan Family of White Emperor City.
When Zhang Haoyang was exceptionally admitted to Shangwu Academy, one of the three super Academies on the Saint Martial Continent, at the age of eleven, this great news directly pushed the Shangguan Family's prestige and influence to an unprecedented height.
However, what happened later was beyond everyone's expectations.
After Zhang Haoyang was admitted to Shangwu Academy, over two years, Shangwu Academy provided many valuable Medicinal Pills to help Zhang Haoyang improve his Realm.
If it were other youths with mediocre Aptitude, with the aid of Heaven And Earth Treasure, they would at least break through one stage.
Youths with good Aptitude would definitely reach Body Tempering Realm Sixth Stage or even higher.
But strangely, the incredibly Prodigy-like Zhang Haoyang, after arriving at Shangwu Academy, his Realm never improved.
Finally, Shangwu Academy had no choice but to arrange for Zhang Haoyang to be sent back to the Zhang Family.
Even though Shangwu Academy sent Zhang Haoyang back to the Zhang Family, they did not completely close the Academy's doors to him.
They told the Zhang Family that as long as Zhang Haoyang could reach Body Tempering Realm Sixth Stage before the age of sixteen, the doors of Shangwu Academy would still be open to him, and he would be re-admitted into the Sect, though he would no longer be cultivated as an Inner Sect Disciple at that time.
This is because Body Tempering Realm Sixth Stage is a watershed; only by reaching Body Tempering Realm Sixth Stage before the age of sixteen can one have the potential to later Break through to Core Formation Realm and Nascent Soul Realm.
Otherwise, the physical condition will not be able to sustain the conditions for continued Breakthrough, and one will remain in the Body Tempering Realm, at most reaching the Foundation Establishment Realm.
In other words, reaching Body Tempering Realm Sixth Stage at sixteen is the minimum admission requirement for Shangwu Academy.
Zhang Haoyang was already thirteen years old when Shangwu Academy sent him back, with less than three years remaining until he turned sixteen.
If he had developed as he had in the past, one stage per year, he should have broken through to Body Tempering Realm Sixth Stage or even higher by the age of thirteen.
However, ever since he entered Shangwu Academy at the age of eleven, Zhang Haoyang's Realm had stagnated.
In the two years at Shangwu Academy, although his Martial Skill improved, his Cultivation made no progress.
After his return, in the more than a year he was home, no matter how hard Zhang Haoyang Cultivated, his Realm never improved.
It was widely rumored that Zhang Haoyang's Aptitude had been lost, and no matter how hard he tried, his Cultivation would only remain at Body Tempering Realm Fourth Stage.
At this time, Zhang Haoyang was already fourteen years old.
It was during this special period that the Zhang Family suddenly suffered the calamity of extermination.
Overnight, more than a hundred members of the Zhang Family were all killed, with corpses strewn everywhere and blood flowing like rivers.
The next day, someone discovered corpses strewn inside and outside the Zhang Family courtyard.
Everyone was terrified and quickly reported it to the officials.
The government immediately dispatched constables to inspect the scene, where they found over a hundred bodies.
There were knife wounds and sword wounds on their bodies, but since all the Zhang Family members were dead and there were no survivors, no clues were left at the scene.
This made it impossible for the government to investigate, and after several days of fruitless investigation, the government hastily closed the case.
For a time, rumors also spread throughout Anping City.
Some said that the Zhang Family had obtained a rare treasure and was coveted by a great Family in White Emperor City, leading to their slaughter and the seizure of the treasure.
Others said that the Zhang Family had offended a powerful figure and was exterminated, with no one surviving.
There were many different opinions.
Rumors are, after all, rumors and cannot be verified for their truthfulness, but one thing is true: the Zhang Family was indeed exterminated.
What people didn't know was that the Zhang Family's second son, Zhang Haoyang, and his loyal servant Bai Shaoyang, had secretly escaped the Zhang Family under the arrangements of his parents, thus avoiding the disaster.