The morning sun hung high over the sprawling estate of the Xu Clan. And for centuries, this estate had stood as a monument to absolute power in Azure Cloud City. It was a fortress of privilege, wealth, and orthodox martial might.
But on this particular morning, the floor of the central plaza was stained with fresh red blood.
"Know your place, you filthy branch family trash!"
The sharp, and arrogant voice echoed across the plaza. Standing at the center of the arena was Xu Ming. Clad in the extravagant crimson robes reserved exclusively for the direct descendants of the main branch, the young man looked down with absolute, sneering disgust. At only twenty years of age, Xu Ming had recently broken through to the early Foundation Establishment realm. In the eyes of the clan, and indeed the entire city, he was considered an absolute genius, a rising star destined to one day take a seat among the clan elders.
Beneath Xu Ming’s heavy boot lay Xu Yan, a disciple from a peripheral branch family. Xu Yan was bruised, his ribs fractured, and his humble gray robes were torn to shreds. He coughed up a mouthful of blood, his Qi Condensation cultivation utterly useless against the overwhelming suppression of a Foundation Establishment genius.
Surrounding the plaza, hundreds of Xu Clan disciples and a few lower-level elders watched the public humiliation. None of them stepped forward to intervene. In the brutal, and unforgiving structure of a major clan, the strong devoured the weak, and the main branch held absolute authority over life and death.
"Do you truly believe a toad like you is worthy of looking at swan meat?" Xu Ming spat, grinding the heel of his boot into Xu Yan’s shattered shoulder, drawing a sharp, agonizing cry from him.
The cause of this brutal public spectacle was simple, yet entirely reflective of the arrogant vanity that plagued the main branch. Just an hour prior, the esteemed Saintess of the Pure Cloud Sect had arrived at the Xu Clan estate for a diplomatic visit. She was a peerless fairy, her beauty renowned across Zhao province and even the Central Continent. As her grand carriage had passed through the outer gates, Xu Yan, who was tasked with sweeping the steps, had accidentally made eye contact with her and offered a polite, reverent bow.
To Xu Ming, who had spent the entire morning preening and preparing to court the Saintess’s attention, a lowly branch member daring to even breathe the same air as her was a supreme offense. It was a slight against his own dignity.
"The Saintess of the Pure Cloud Sect is a guest of the main family! She is a maiden!" Xu Ming roared, kicking Xu Yan violently in the ribs. "And you, a rat born from the dirt of the peripheral branches, dared to pollute her vision with your existence? You court death!"
Xu Yan groaned, clutching his side. "Young Master Ming... I... I merely bowed out of respect for our guest. I meant no offense..."
"Silence!" Xu Ming interrupted, his face twisting into a mask of cruel vanity. He raised his hand, channeling his Foundation Establishment qi. Faint, crackling arcs of purple lightning—a crude, and foundational imitation of the clan’s Five Thunder Arts—began to gather in his palm. "Your very voice is an offense to my ears. You branch family parasites forget that everything you have, everything you are, is provided by the grace of my Patriarch, the Thunder Lord! Without us, you would be beggars in the slums!"
The crowd murmured in agreement, so eager to align themselves with the rising genius.
"Crippling his cultivation is letting him off too easily," one disciple sneered from the sidelines.
"Young Master Ming is truly merciful for teaching this trash a lesson," another flattered.
Intoxicated by the fear and adulation of the crowd, Xu Ming’s ego swelled to the absolute limit. He looked down at the battered branch member, his eyes flashing with lethal intent. There were no Core Formation elders present this morning to restrain him; they had all mysteriously left the estate the night before with the Patriarch and had not yet returned. Xu Ming was the highest authority in the plaza.
"I will shatter your dantian today, Xu Yan. Let your crippled life serve as a warning to the rest of the branch family rats. Remember the name of the genius who sent you to the mortal slums!"
Xu Ming channeled the full might of his early Foundation Establishment cultivation into his right palm. The purple lightning flared violently, emitting a sharp, buzzing hiss that made the surrounding Qi Condensation disciples take a fearful step back. He aimed the strike directly at the center of Xu Yan’s lower abdomen, intending to completely eradicate the boy’s spiritual roots in a single blow.
"Ra!" Xu Ming bellowed, thrusting his palm downward with all his might.
But the strike never landed.
Before Xu Ming’s palm could even cross half the distance to Xu Yan’s stomach, the entire area shook.
The ambient spiritual qi in the air violently froze. The morning sun seemed to instantly dim, swallowed by a sudden shadow that fell over the entirety of the sprawling Xu Clan estate.
Then, the aura descended, crashing down upon the estate like a million-ton meteor forged of iron. It was a spiritual pressure so dense, so utterly transcendent, that it struck directly at the souls of every single living being within the clan’s walls.
BOOM!
The floor of the grand martial plaza instantly shattered into millions of spider-web fractures.
"Gah—!"
Xu Ming, the arrogant, highly touted genius of the main branch, did not even have the time to process what was happening. The early Foundation Establishment qi he was so immensely proud of was instantly snuffed out like a fragile candle in a hurricane. The crackling lightning in his palm evaporated into nothingness.
The overwhelming aura, which he immediately linked to that of a Nascent Soul Realm, slammed into his back. Xu Ming was violently forced down. His knees slammed into the floor with enough force to shatter his kneecaps, but the pressure did not stop there. It shoved his upper body forward, slamming his face brutally into the stone. His nose broke on impact, blood spraying across the ground as he was pinned completely flat, unable to lift a single finger, unable to even draw a breath into his burning lungs.
He was not alone.
All around the plaza, the hundreds of gathered disciples and others collapsed simultaneously. It was a terrifying wave of absolute submission. Those at the Qi Condensation realm were instantly knocked unconscious, foaming at the mouth, while the Foundation Establishment cultivators were pressed into the dirt, their bodies trembling violently under the sheer terror of the presence.
Deep within the luxurious guest pavilions, even the visiting Saintess of the Pure Cloud Sect was forced to her knees.
A heavy, and oppressive silence blanketed the estate, broken only by the groaning of everything threatening to collapse under the weight of the aura.
Pinned face-first to the floor, Xu Ming’s mind spun. What is this?! his mind screamed, his vision blurring. An enemy attack?! No, impossible! My Xu Clan is ruled by Patriarch Xu Canghai!! Who would dare... who could possibly possess such an aura?! This... this is the might of a Nascent Soul!
Slowly, and agonizingly, Xu Ming managed to shift his bloodied eyes just enough to look toward the grand, and towering entrance gates of the clan estate.
Hovering high above the outer walls was a single figure.
He stood tall and slender, his ethereal black hair flowing freely in the wind. He was clad in elegant, black-and-white Daoist robes embroidered with intricate golden patterns. He looked like a young immortal who had descended from the highest heavens to pass judgment.
It was Lin Yuan.
Despite having just single-handedly suppressed the entire population of one of the most powerful clan in the City with a mere fraction of his aura, Lin Yuan was not even looking at them.
His eyes were fixed entirely upward, looking at the massive dome that protected the inner sanctum.
He was gazing at the clan’s ancient defensive formation. And he was deciding exactly how to shatter it.