In the grand hall.
The red-haired Lord Huolie sat high upon the main seat, flanked by the two elders of the Zong Clan and the elders of the Marquis’s estate. Of course, seated at the very end was Rong Xinglan, holding her son in her arms. Rong Xinglan trembled slightly, her legs weak from sitting alongside the Marquis and the elders. As for Dongbo Xueying, he could only endure it—with his mental fortitude, pretending to be a child wasn’t difficult, though it did feel a bit awkward.
*”Just bear with it,”* Dongbo Xueying thought to himself.
“Let that fool come in,” Lord Huolie commanded, his gaze landing on Yingshan Liehu, who stood obediently outside the hall. Though this son of his was rather useless, he was still a child born during Lord Huolie’s weaker days, and thus, he held deep affection for him. He had personally arranged a good marriage for him and allocated many resources under his name. Despite his son’s weak bloodline, Lord Huolie had always hoped he would rise.
Alas, this son had only indulged in pleasure, leaving Lord Huolie somewhat disappointed.
*”Hmm, so this is my so-called father?”* Dongbo Xueying observed the middle-aged man who entered, his back slightly hunched under the oppressive atmosphere of the hall.
“Stand right there,” Lord Huolie barked.
“Yes.”
Yingshan Liehu dared not disobey, standing silently in place. Yet, his eyes couldn’t help but drift toward the woman seated at the far end and the child in her arms. The child was studying him with a gaze devoid of any reverence.
*”I’m his father! How dare he look at me like that? I ought to teach him a lesson—no, wait, I can’t. He was born a Void God!”* Yingshan Liehu suddenly felt a pang of bitterness. *”The guards and servants assigned to him by the Marquis’s estate will surely be far stronger than mine.”*
*”But he’s just a child. I’m still his father. If I dote on him more, he’ll surely grow close to me,”* Yingshan Liehu schemed inwardly. *”The treasures and resources he’ll receive will far surpass mine. If he just lets a little trickle my way, I’ll live in luxury forever.”* If he had once harbored any ambition for cultivation, the long years of indulgence had long since eroded it.
*”Whoosh!”*
A figure was flung into the hall, crashing onto the floor—it was the red-robed woman, Chanyu Yanzhen. Disheveled, she looked up and saw the imposing Lord Huolie seated high above, the elders of the Zong Clan and the Marquis’s estate, and that wretched concubine Rong Xinglan holding her child.
“My Lord,” Chanyu Yanzhen scrambled to her feet, bowing deeply. No matter how arrogant she usually was, she knew better than to misbehave now.
“You have quite the audacity, daring to violate the clan laws of the Yingshan Clan!” Lord Huolie’s voice was icy. “You forced a pregnant woman of our clan to drink poison, causing the most extraordinary child our clan has seen since the founding ancestor to be born prematurely—after only fifteen years! Fifteen years, and he’s already a Void God! Had he been allowed to gestate fully—”
Not just him, but the two Zong Clan elders and the Marquis’s estate elders all glared at Chanyu Yanzhen with fury.
The strength of the clan determined the status of its members. Yet this woman, for her own selfish reasons, had robbed ‘Yingshan Xueying’ of the chance to develop fully in the womb. Had he gestated for centuries, his bloodline would have been even purer, his potential far greater. All because of this venomous woman!
“Poison? Born after fifteen years?” Yingshan Liehu gaped at his wife beside him.
*How could this be?*
How could his wife dare to do something so brazen? Though Yingshan Liehu had many women, his true wife was only one—Chanyu Yanzhen. She was the woman his father, Lord Huolie, had arranged for him, a proper marriage with dowry and grand ceremonies. She was a noblewoman from a Marquis’s clan and a Unity realm cultivator. Thus, he had always been somewhat cowed before her.
As for his other women? Most were simply taken by force, their statuses low—mere sixth-tier in the estate, on par with maidservants. Only those who bore children saw any elevation in status.
So Yingshan Liehu had never held them in any regard—they were merely tools for his pleasure. His feelings for them paled even in comparison to Fuer from the Misty Cloud Pavilion, whom he visited often. His hundreds of women? He rarely saw them at all.
And now, his wife had done *this*? Yingshan Liehu couldn’t believe it.
“No, I didn’t!” Chanyu Yanzhen protested frantically. “My Lord, please investigate! Since leaving the Chanyu Clan to marry into the Yingshan Clan, I have always been cautious, never daring to violate clan laws. The poison has nothing to do with me! Someone must be trying to destroy our clan’s future genius, using that steward Tian as a pawn to frame me. I’m innocent!”
“You killed Steward Tian, didn’t you?” Lord Huolie looked down at her.
“I discovered his treachery and acted in anger,” Chanyu Yanzhen said quickly. This was the only part of her scheme that wasn’t perfectly clean—she hadn’t had enough time to cover it up.
“You’ve covered your tracks well. Those involved are either dead or know nothing,” Lord Huolie said coldly. “And yet you still deny it.”
“I’ve been framed!” Chanyu Yanzhen insisted.
Lord Huolie’s gaze remained icy.
He had ordered a thorough investigation, and though some traces had been obscured by temporal interference, the Marquis’s estate had experts capable of piercing such veils. Yet all leads had been severed—witnesses dead or vanished. Still, all evidence pointed to Chanyu Yanzhen. The only direct proof was her personal involvement in Steward Tian’s death.
Had the child been weak and unremarkable, the matter might have been buried. But the birth of ‘Yingshan Xueying,’ a prodigy of such caliber, made it impossible to ignore.
“Elders of the Zong Clan,” Lord Huolie turned to the two beside him. “Since this venomous woman refuses to confess, I must trouble you to take her to the Zong Clan and probe her soul.”
“Very well,” the two elders nodded.
Chanyu Yanzhen’s face paled.
*”Whoosh!”*
The tall, thin elder extended a hand, and an invisible force enveloped Chanyu Yanzhen, whisking her away into a spatial treasure.
Yingshan Liehu watched in stunned silence, not daring to utter a word.
“Xueying,” Lord Huolie turned to Dongbo Xueying, his expression softening into a smile.
“My Lord.”
Dongbo Xueying immediately hopped off his mother’s lap, his voice crisp and clear.
Looking at the chubby little child before him, Lord Huolie’s mood improved considerably. “I’ve arranged a guard captain for you. He will protect you well.” With that, he glanced toward the hall’s entrance, where a gray-robed elder stepped forward.
“This is Elder Tian Yizhi. Aside from me, he will obey only your commands.”
“Young Master Xueying,” the gray-robed elder bowed respectfully.
“Are you strong?”
“Moderately so.”
The elder showed no arrogance, fully embracing his role as a guardian.
Lord Huolie waved his hand, and two streaks of black light shot out, landing on the ground and transforming into two sleek, black beasts with blood-red eyes—both exuding the aura of Unity realm experts. “These are the ‘Blackflow Cloud Howlers.'”
The two beasts suddenly shifted into human forms, two black-clad youths who bowed in unison. “Greetings, Master.”
…
Soon, all arrangements were complete.
“Very well. Go now, and see the residence I’ve prepared for you. And remember—visit the library often. Once you’ve decided on your cultivation path, inform me.”
“Yes, my Lord,” Dongbo Xueying replied brightly. “Then I shall take my leave. Let’s go.”
With that, he called for his mother and climbed onto one of the Blackflow Cloud Howlers. Elder Tian and the other beast followed closely behind, along with a nine-man guard squad—all Unity realm elites.
*”Whoosh!”*
Soaring through the skies above the Marquis’s estate, other clan members quickly made way at the sight of them.
“That’s Young Master Xueying!”
“Him?”
“Born a Void God! Look, even Elder Tian is his guard now.”
Whispers spread in the distance, but Dongbo Xueying paid them no mind. Seated comfortably on the Howler’s back, his gaze fixed on a towering structure in the distance—the library.
The library housed countless tomes and secret arts, organized by tier. Access to higher floors was strictly regulated, with limited entry. But for Dongbo Xueying? The entire library was open to him, with no restrictions on time or access.
*”This is my true destination,”* Dongbo Xueying thought, his outward nonchalance belying his inner focus. *”Through this library, I can truly understand the power structures of the Heartworld Continent, the hierarchy of its experts… Only with full knowledge can I chart my own path to strength.”*
“Go, faster!”
The Blackflow Cloud Howler dove toward the library.
The guards at the entrance spotted them from afar.
“Blackflow Cloud Howlers? Elder Tian? That must be Young Master Xueying.” None dared to stop him, though one called out, “Young Master, you may enter, but your guards cannot.”
…
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