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Chapter 69: Advancing under a diversion
The capital’s northern region offered luxurious and tranquil residential living, in contrast to the bustling southern commercial area that housed entertainment venues for high-ranking officials and influential figures.
Xue Xun Xiang and his fellow Xue clan disciples stumbled along a quiet street, their flushed faces revealing their recent departure from a bar, clearly intoxicated.
Xue Xun Xiang was quite troubled recently.
His recent successes included receiving praise from the renowned ‘Art Fairy’ for identifying Zi Lin using the Dragon Seeker ring, as well as being rewarded by three merchants during the Xue clan’s upheaval. These triumphs had left his wallet considerably heavier.
Upon acquiring his newfound wealth, he had eagerly led his friends on a drinking spree.
“My friends, can you enlighten me as to why Ren Mei has been avoiding me? I-I invited her out, but she never showed up.” he stuttered, seeking answers.
Neither of his two friends that were supporting his side was sober, their minds were in a complete mess, unable to comprehend his words, they simply blurted out, “Good! Good wine!” “Wonderful! That figure……”
“Hiccup!” Xue Xun Xiang hiccupped, struggling to make out their recent conversation.
“What? You’re letting me do it?”
His face took on a lecherous expression as he extended his hands weakly, obscenely grabbing at the air.
“Hehe, nice.”
Xue Xun Xiang turned his head slowly, only to realize that his friends had vanished.
“Eh? Where are they?”
With his vision blurred by intoxication, he stumbled backwards clumsily, glancing behind. Unbeknownst to them, their unsteady steps had led them into an alleyway.
Two figures lay sprawled on the ground.
Xue Xun Xiang hastily kicked forward, stammering, “Yo-You two, get up, let’s go for a drink!”
They didn’t react.
A chilling gust of wind swept past, partially sobering up Xue Xun Xiang.
He scrutinized the two figures on the ground, his flushed complexion fading into a pallor.
Blood, injuries, corpses.
They were dead.
Before a scream could escape his lips, he felt a presence behind him. Swiftly, a cold blade was pressed against his throat.
A killer!
They wanted to kill him!
No! He had only just begun to taste success; he couldn’t meet his end like this! Not now!
But he hadn’t made any enemies recently!
Was it an enemy of the Xue clan?
Trembling, Xue Xun Xiang desperately searched for words to save himself. In a moment of panic, he blurted out thoughtlessly, “I don’t want Ren Mei anymore! I’ll give her to you guys, just spare my life!”
Even to his own ears, his words sounded absurdly comical.
Then, the corners of his lips lifted.
And in the next moment, his world dissolved into a blur.
The bloodied, shadowy world marked the final vision he would ever witness.
Three lifeless bodies lay in silence within the confines of the narrow alleyway, quickly discovered by unsuspecting individuals.
And this sight became increasingly common throughout the capital.
The roaming disciples of the Xue clan were relentlessly targeted, falling one by one to assassinations, yet the culprits remained elusive.
Meanwhile, within the sprawling estate that served as the Xue clan’s headquarters, a grand manor dominated the vast grounds. The area teemed with pavilions, structures, ponds, and bamboo groves, bustling with constant movement.
In his study, Xue Zhan was seated, a sense of unease gnawing at him.
His eyelids twitched incessantly, a subconscious indication of impending danger made it impossible for him to remain still.
However, he couldn’t pinpoint the source of his unease.
Was it possibly the imperial court intending on holding them accountable?
No, that couldn’t be, especially considering that the duke’s manor had already been eradicated.
Tormented by a headache, he persisted in poring over the clan’s documents until the clamor from outside disrupted his focus.
What’s going on? Why was it so chaotic outside?
In his role as the clan leader of the Xue clan, he maintained a supportive and lenient stance towards the younger disciples. However, he also had the responsibility to preserve the dignity befitting his position. It was absurd for anyone outside to be disturbing him like this.
As such, he placed the documents aside and emerged from his study, questioning those around him. “What is happening?”
As he ventured outside, a deafening eruption echoed in the distance.
His eyes followed the trail of dust and smoke, and Xue Zhan’s complexion paled.
The explosion was not a random occurrence; it targeted a specific location.
It was the very facility where the Xue clan’s ancestors recuperated and healed.
This explosion unmistakably signaled a deliberate attack on that sacred place!
“Quick! Someone come with me! We must hurry to the ancestors’ location!”
His silhouette flickered as the aura at the eighth layer of the Manifestation realm erupted from his body.
But in the blink of an eye, two additional members of the Xue clan materialized before him.
These were none other than the esteemed elders of the Xue clan, both at the first layer of the Manifestation realm and typically stationed at the treasure pavilion.
They were sprinting toward him, their faces etched with panic, intermittently casting anxious glances over their shoulders. Their behavior triggered an immediate surge of anger within him.
“What on earth are the two of you up to?” Xue Zhan halted them, his tone demanding an explanation.
The two elders swiftly recognized the figure before them as none other than the clan leader, Xue Zhan. Relief washed over them as if they had stumbled upon a lifeline. Hastily, they exclaimed, “Clan leader! A grave incident has occurred! Elder Xue Qian Shi led a faction in an assault on the Treasure Pavilion. We attempted to intervene, but we were met with a near-total defeat!”
Xue Zhan’s anger flared, dismissing their claims. “Impossible! The guardian of the treasure pavilion is Elder Xue Cun, who is at the eighth layer of the Manifestation realm. He’s the fifth-ranked member in the Xue clan!”
The two elders looked miserable as they stuttered, “But elder Xue Qian Shi killed elder Xue Cun with one attack, and even though it was an ambush, he had the strength of a ninth layer Manifestation realm expert.”
Xue Zhan’s expression morphed into one of visible bewilderment, but before he could utter a word, yet another group of individuals came charging toward him. Their faces mirrored the same terror as they spotted him, hurrying over in haste.
“Father! Save us! Someone is attacking the Xue clan! The guards stationed at the entrance are losing!”
“Clan leader, save us! My father has gone mad! He’s killing everyone he sees, he even tried to kill me!”
“Sob sob sob, how scary! It’s too scary!”
A cluster of young disciples hurried to Xue Zhan’s side, as if that was the only place where they felt safe.
Xue Zhan was now completely distraught.
It was becoming increasingly evident that the Xue clan was under deliberate assault.
Both the ancestral grounds and the treasure pavilion were targets.
Was the Xue clan under siege?
“What in the world is happening? Who is responsible for this?” Xue Zhan frantically racked his mind, attempting to discern which influential force was behind the attack on the Xue clan.
Was it the Murong clan?
It can’t be……?
Xue Zhan scanned the faces before him, his eyes reflecting a sense of desperation.
Finally, through gritted teeth, he declared, “Our primary focus is to secure the ancestral grounds. By holding that position, we can endure until reinforcements arrive from the Wang clan and the imperial forces!”
His only recourse was to place his hopes in the ancestors.
If they could manage to hold out, the Wang clan’s forebears wouldn’t idly stand by. Their clans shared a relationship of mutual benefit and dependence, after all.
Upon reaching the Xue clan’s ancestral site, a heart-wrenching sight greeted them—a desecrated landscape strewn with lifeless bodies.
Among the fallen were the loyal servants and guards who had dutifully served the ancestors. Their bodies lay battered and broken, forming gruesome mounds of blood and flesh on the ground.
“Why did this happen?” The members of the Xue clan gazed at the ghastly scene before them, disbelief etched across their faces.
At the heart of the scene, a corpse sat in a cross-legged position, its head seemingly sunken into its own body.
The unmistakable sign was that they had been crushed to death.
The attire adorning this lifeless figure left no doubt—it was the unmistakable garb of the Xue clan’s ancestor.
“Ancestor?” Xue Zhan’s voice was soft, almost as if he hoped that uttering the word would somehow awaken the deceased figure.
Yet, it was in vain. The ancestor was dead.
The pillar of the Xue clan, their only Sky Reaching realm expert, had perished.
This fast?” Xue Zhan uttered in a daze.
The deceased ancestor had once embodied the Xue clan’s confidence and strength. Yet, now he lay lifeless while the assailants appeared unscathed.
This grim reality pointed to the disheartening truth that the influential force attacking the Xue clan exceeded Xue Zhan’s initial expectations in terms of power and capability.
Damn it!
“Quick, disperse! We must split up and strive to stay alive!” Xue Zhan’s gaze locked onto the disciples before him, issuing urgent instructions to ensure their safety before the attackers unveiled themselves.
However, in that very moment, a faint voice emerged from the debris.
“There’s no need to leave, is there?”
Translator’s note nice. 69.
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