Li Bairan.

He was the Patriarch of the Li Family, a clan second only to the Qin Clan Royal Family in Lingjin City. His perspective and worldliness needed no elaboration. As the closest friend of Qingyao Daoist, he knew better than anyone just how powerful Qiyun Road's foremost expert truly was.

It was for this very reason that at this moment, no one on the scene was more shocked than him.

A mighty peak Thirteenth-Order expert, forced to kneel by nothing more than an aura, then tossed aside like a doll? This...

HUMMM!

Thoughts swirled in Li Bairan's mind. The immense shock was like a succession of towering waves, relentlessly crashing against his psyche. Most critically, the man before him didn't look to be thirty years old.

Is... is this man even human?

Huff, huff.

Li Bairan was, after all, no ordinary man. After taking two deep breaths, he forcibly suppressed the turmoil in his heart and said respectfully while cupping his fist, "Young Master, I am Li Bairan, Patriarch of the Li Family."

"I am indeed acquainted with Qingyao Daoist, but I mean you no offense. Please, forgive me."

The sharp eyes Chen Yang cast upon him were piercing, with an eagle-eyed gaze that could steal one's soul. In all his decades, Li Bairan had never encountered such a look. Even a man like him, long accustomed to holding power, felt his composure crack. He didn't dare meet that gaze.

"So, you are the Patriarch of the Li Family."

Chen Yang retracted his gaze and gave an indifferent nod. Since he was Li Si's grandfather, there was nothing more to say.

Snap.

Chen Yang snapped his fingers.

"No, no..." a distant Yu Xiaoguang suddenly shrieked in horror, his hoarse voice tearing through the quiet atmosphere.

"What... what is happening?!" Sun Wen yelled immediately after.

The crowd looked over, baffled.

But when their gazes landed on Yu Xiaoguang and Sun Wen, they were all struck dumb, frozen like statues, as if they had just witnessed the most terrifying thing in the world.

Before their eyes, Yu Xiaoguang and Sun Wen were melting away like snow under a scorching sun.

In the space of two or three breaths, the two men had completely dissipated, leaving not even a speck of dust behind.

This...

HISS!

A collective gasp swept through the crowd, their eyes wide with terror.

Chen Yang lowered his hand, tugged at his sleeve, and strode away.

Meanwhile, news that Qingyao Daoist, Qiyun Road's foremost expert, had been thrown from a building swept through the region instantly. The photo of him lying in a pool of blood, his eyes wide open in death, was plastered across the front-page headlines.

"I've been saying it all along! That Qingyao Daoist was all talk. Qiyun Road's number one expert? Just a self-proclaimed title! Look at this photo—his face is completely smashed in. Calling him the top expert is a disgrace to all of Qiyun Road!"

"I say a new top-tier expert has arrived on Qiyun Road!"

Online comments were polarized. Some claimed Qingyao Daoist was all show and no substance, while others argued that a top-tier expert had descended upon Qiyun Road and killed him with thunderous might. In any case, all sorts of rumors ran rampant, adding another layer of fervent excitement to the already bustling Qiyun Road.

「Cangyun City, Chen Clan Royal Family」

Inside a small courtyard guarded by several top-tier experts, two middle-aged men stood facing each other.

One of them was Chen Jinnan, Chen Yang's father, who had been imprisoned in this courtyard for over twenty years.

The other man appeared to be in his forties or fifties. He was dressed in white training clothes, was not particularly tall, and had a pale, effeminate face marked by a shocking cross-shaped scar.

This was Chen Linan, the current Family Head of the Chen Clan Royal Family.

He was the most controversial Family Head in the clan's several-hundred-year history, for he had usurped the position that rightfully belonged to Chen Jinnan. To seize power, he had colluded with outsiders and massacred half of his own kin.

That had been on a rainy night twenty-eight years ago. A torrential downpour had failed to wash away the crimson stains on the ground. The tales of that night's carnage were horrifying. Rumor had it that because of this internal strife, other powers nearly seized the opportunity to dismantle the vast Chen Clan Royal Family.

At this moment, Chen Linan stood with his hands behind his back, staring at Chen Jinnan. "Chen Boyong died on Qiyun Road," he said coolly. "You must be very pleased to hear this news, aren't you?"

"Of course," a faint smile touched Chen Jinnan's lips. "Across the entire Chen Clan Royal Family, how many from the younger generation could accomplish such a feat?"

"Chen Bonan also led men to Qiyun Road. It wasn't necessarily your son who killed Chen Boyong."

A complex expression flickered across Chen Jinnan's face. He knew why Chen Bonan had gone to Qiyun Road, of course, but...

Alas. If it were me, wouldn't I have charged forward without a second thought?

"Worried your branch of the family will be completely annihilated?" Chen Linan laughed. "You know very well why they are still alive. Soon, I will no longer have any use for them."

"That includes you."

Chen Jinnan's entire body trembled slightly, his gaze turning sinister. "You're that confident you can kill him?"

"Are you truly unaware of the power our Chen Clan Royal Family wields? I'll grant that he's at the peak of the Thirteenth Order, or even the Fourteenth. So what? Before the might of the Chen Clan Royal Family, he's utterly insignificant. As long as one has not stepped into the Saint Realm, they are nothing more than fish on the chopping block."

"He is no flower raised in a greenhouse. To have reached this point without any family backing means he would have been killed long ago if it were that easy." Chen Jinnan looked directly into Chen Linan's eyes. "Or perhaps you, our honored Family Head, would like to personally take the field and kill him yourself?"

BOOM!

With a wave of his right hand, Chen Linan sent Chen Jinnan flying. He crashed into a large tree before crumpling to the ground, vomiting mouthfuls of blood.

"Don't try to provoke me," Chen Linan said, dusting off his sleeves. "I will act when the time is right. Do you really think I'm the type of person who cares what others say or think about me?"

"The Qin Clan Royal Family's wedding is the day after tomorrow. I'll have the Great Elder deliver a congratulatory gift. Qiyun Road may be vast, but with their help, finding Chen Bonan shouldn't be too difficult, should it?"

"And the Great Elder will, of course, bring back the Ancestral Sword."

Chen Linan turned and walked out of the courtyard. "The moment the Ancestral Sword returns to the clan," he stated flatly, "is the moment you die."

"You should be content. I've already let you live for more than twenty extra years."

BANG.

The courtyard door slammed shut.

Chen Jinnan struggled with all his might, using the tree for support. It took a great effort to finally clamber to his feet.

COUGH! COUGH!

He coughed up more blood, his face ashen as he gasped for breath. That the prodigy of the Chen Clan Royal Family—a man who had dominated his generation and was destined to be Family Head—had been reduced to this broken state was a truly lamentable sight.

Leaning against the tree, Chen Jinnan wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his eyes blazing with renewed fire. "You could only have reached this point through your own trials and fortuitous encounters. And with the Ancestral Sword in your possession, I believe we will meet again."

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