Misty Rain of the Old Times

Overwhelmed by endless fear, Wei Wuyai felt his very soul trembling. Having lived to a ripe old age, death was not the most terrifying thing for him. However, the words Chen Xuan uttered when he left filled him with immense terror, something he had always considered indifferent to worldly affairs.

With his last breath, he quickly returned to the Wei family ancestral home and rang the 'alarm bell' eighteen times in a row in the middle of the night.

For the Wei family, this bell should not be rung except for major events. Once it is rung, all direct descendants who are still breathing must be present upon hearing the bell.

The eighteen tolls of the bell were the most important summons for the Wei family, signifying that they had reached a critical juncture of life and death.

But the urgent tolling of the bells now sounded more like Wei Wuyai's death knell.

As soon as the bell rang, the clan elders, the head of the family, and all direct descendants quickly gathered at the ancestral hall.

The first to arrive was Wei Xixiang, the head of the Wei family. He was 78 years old and hadn't even had time to put on his clothes. He was the Grand Tutor of the Jing Kingdom and the tutor of the Crown Prince. He was a first-rank official and held the highest position among the ministers.

"Third Uncle, what's wrong with you...?" Upon seeing Wei Wuyai, Wei Xixiang exclaimed in disbelief. He had been perfectly fine just a moment ago, and now, how could his Third Uncle look so gaunt?
If they hadn't known each other for years, Wei Xixiang would have thought it was some kind of mummified corpse, given the clothing and scent.

Wei Wuyai, his life force extinguished, had long since stopped beating. His weathered, cloudy eyes looked at Wei Xixiang, and he said in a lisp, "Grandson, your third grandfather only has the time it takes to drink a cup of tea left. Quickly gather everyone you can; I have my final instructions."

"Yes," Wei Xixiang replied, his voice filled with shock and anger, before he could think or ask any more questions. He knew something terrible was about to happen.

Soon, about a hundred people gathered at the ancestral hall. Wei Wuyai didn't have time to wait for everyone to arrive. Amidst the fear and anxiety of his descendants, he used his last strength to say, "Now, I say it, you must all obey. Anyone who dares to disobey will be expelled from the family register."

"I have only three things to tell you, my ancestor. First, from this moment on, the Wei family will unconditionally support His Highness the Crown Prince and His Majesty, and no decree or order shall be disobeyed. Grandson, especially you, go to court early tomorrow morning to retire due to illness. It's better to do so with dignity. Staying in the position of Grand Tutor will only bring misfortune rather than fortune."

"Secondly, after Grandson and the elders of each clan discuss this, the direct line of my Wei family will split into four families. Grandson's line will remain in Jing Kingdom, while the other three families will go to Rong Kingdom, Yuhua Kingdom, and Shuangyue Kingdom respectively. They will use the contingency plans they have accumulated over the years to establish themselves and quietly restore their former glory. From now on, they will not have any contact with each other unless each family is destroyed. Even if a Grandmaster-level expert emerges in the later generations of each family, they can only form their own family. From now on, my Wei family will be divided into four and will never be united again. This is an ironclad rule."

"Finally, you must not avenge me, you must not avenge me, you must not avenge me... Do you hear me?"

In the end, Wei Wuyai's eyes widened, and he almost roared, his voice extremely weak, staring intently at the group of juniors.

"Ancestor, what happened?"

"Uncle, why have you become like this? Who did it?"

"Isn't this a bit too hasty..."

Amidst the fear and unease of the younger generation, Wei Wuyai gritted his teeth and roared, "Shut up! Did you hear me clearly?!"

"I...I heard it."

With a heavy nod, Wei Wuyai took a deep breath and said, "Then all of you must swear an oath before our ancestors to do as they say, now!"

"This is……"

So the main members of the Wei family knelt down in the ancestral hall and swore an oath, terrified and bewildered, but they had no choice but to listen.

After they finished swearing their oaths, Wei Wuyai closed his eyes slightly and said, "That's good... Remember, do not seek revenge for me..."

He forced himself to finish uttering the last word before passing away peacefully, his spirit and energy completely dissipated, leaving him like a dried-up corpse that could be crushed at the slightest touch.

“Ancestor…Uncle…Grand Uncle…”, the Wei family members were filled with grief, feeling as if the sky had collapsed.

My greatest support died right before my eyes. It was so sudden, I wasn't prepared at all. What am I going to do now?
But right now, the three things Wei Wuyai entrusted to him on his deathbed are not a time for grief, but rather a question of whether or not to do them. Even though he has already sworn an oath to his ancestors, it is not a decision that can be made easily.

If this is done, it will signify the disintegration of the Wei family. Although they will still retain the title of a prestigious family, they will definitely fall to the bottom, their reputation will not live up to it, and they will be even inferior to some powerful families.

They hesitated and couldn't make up their minds until news from the Wu family arrived. They immediately came to their senses and did as their ancestor had said. They had to be quick and efficient, as there was no time to lose. Otherwise, the Wei family might very well become the next Wu family!
This night was destined to be earth-shattering and go down in history. The Wu family suffered a calamity, the Wei family split up, and it was as if two of the five great families of Jing Kingdom were gone overnight...

While Wei Wuyai was at home making his final arrangements, Chen Xuan had already arrived at the Wu family's headquarters, a long, blood-dripping knife floating beside him, holding a death list, and brazenly descending upon the Wu family.

Starting from the main entrance, a ten-foot-wide crack runs through the entire Wu family headquarters, widening as it goes deeper, dividing the ancestral home in two. The crack is like a deep abyss, ready to devour everything.

However, there was no panic here; instead, there was a subdued calm.

Hundreds, even thousands, of people gathered in the courtyard behind the main gate, suppressing their fear as they watched Chen Xuan approach step by step.

The leader was an elderly man dressed in purple robes, with a dignified air about him. He sat upright on a large soft chair, his eyes slightly closed and his expression calm. A four-sided dragon-swallowing golden whip was placed horizontally between his knees.

Wu Hongliang, who had been called back by Chen Xuan, knelt before them all, his expression numb and his eyes vacant, but blood and tears streamed uncontrollably down his face. Passing through the broken doorway, Chen Xuan glanced around and knew what was going on; everyone from the Wu family's main camp had gathered here.

There were actually seven innate masters among the crowd, and Chen Xuan sensed the same aura from four of them as that of the assassin from Niushou Mountain a few months ago.

The family's heritage is truly remarkable; the number of innate masters within the clan alone surpasses that of any of the five major sects in the Jing Kingdom. No wonder the martial arts sects dare not openly oppose the imperial court, no matter how much they try to cause trouble.

Chen Xuan's gaze swept over the golden whip at the head elder's knee, and he coldly said to them, "Very good, you haven't disappointed me. You've saved me a lot of trouble. After tonight, the Wu family can be expelled from the family."

As he spoke, Chen Xuan flipped his wrist, and the Wu family genealogy book he had brought floated in front of him. He was about to start calling out names one by one. This was the purpose of his visit, so why waste so much time on unnecessary talk? The outcome would not change.

He didn't care how many people were watching around the Wu family's main camp. Even Wei Wuyai couldn't stop him from arriving, so who would dare to stand up and stop him at this time?
In fact, there is more than one person in this world who could stop Chen Xuan, but they will not stand up, and it is too late anyway.

"A person dies with their head falling to the ground. Since things have come to this, let us die knowing why. What has your esteemed actions done to offend the Wu family?"

As Chen Xuan opened the family genealogy, the elderly man at the head of the family opened his eyes, looked at him, and calmly asked a series of questions.

He is Wu Guangyao of the Wu family, and also the current Grand Commandant of the Jing Kingdom, whose power and status are undoubtedly at the top of the pyramid in the Jing Kingdom.

Without stopping flipping through the family genealogy, Chen Xuan said without any emotional fluctuation, "Since we're all going to die anyway, what's the point?"

"Yes, at least I won't be a fool," the old man nodded.

He remained calm and composed even in the face of danger, showing the composure befitting a Grand Commandant of the court.

“Wu Jinxun is your great-grandson? He shouldn’t have messed with me,” Chen Xuan said, turning to Wu Guangyao’s page.

In large families, seniority and age are not very relevant.

A hint of amusement flashed in his eyes as Wu Guangyao said incredulously, "Just because of this? You're going to slaughter my entire Wu clan? Is it really necessary?"

“Normally, it wouldn’t be that bad, but I only needed a trivial reason to take action, and he just happened to provide that reason,” Chen Xuan said frankly.

Upon hearing this, Wu Guangyao chuckled and said, "Don't you think this is absurd?"

"It's all meaningless now. Is this your last words? I've said enough," Chen Xuan said, looking up as the blood-dripping longsword beside him began to hum.

Wu Guangyao lowered his head slightly, then raised it again and said, "Finally, could you give us a reason that we can accept?"

"My last wish..." Chen Xuan said, then thought for a moment and said, "It shouldn't have come to this, but it's all Wu Jinxun's fault for taking me to that basement and showing me a scene that made me feel like I would never be able to get over it if I didn't do something about it."

“I see. Let’s do it, but we won’t just sit here and wait to die,” Wu Guangyao nodded in relief, reaching out to grasp the golden whip on his knee.

Waving his hand, Chen Xuan shook his head and said, "Don't misunderstand, I'm not doing this for so-called justice or fairness. I'm not that noble. This is just a personal act, nothing more. If I had to give a reason, it would probably just be to let my mind be at peace. That's all."

Wu Guangyao's brow relaxed as he said, "I understand. Among a flock of lambs, occasionally a strong one with long fangs appears, and then it bares its fangs at the pack. Even if it can kill a wolf, there are still wolves. In reality, nothing changes."

"I disagree. It can kill one wolf, but who dares to say it can't kill a whole pack? Sheep eat grass and wolves eat meat; they're never social animals," Chen Xuan said with a smile.

Shaking his head, Wu Guangyao said, "Once the sheep has tasted meat, it might want to eat meat again, so nothing will change. In the end, the wolf will never bow down to the sheep. Kill!"

As soon as Wu Guangyao finished speaking, the four innate assassins in the crowd rushed towards Chen Xuan without hesitation.

Their bodies seemed to be burning with crimson flames, and their innate upper-middle level aura surged and soared in an instant. Their essence, energy, and spirit were burning, and their lives were rapidly dissipating. They belonged to the four directions of Chen Xuan, and under the support of the combined attack formation, their auras merged into one, and they used all their strength to unleash their strongest attack.

A blood-red blade of light, hundreds of feet long, descended from the sky and slashed down towards Chen Xuan.

Is this the so-called Grandmaster power that the Wu family possesses? It's nothing more than a self-sacrificing attack that burns away one's life force using a secret technique.

'Its power is barely comparable to a grandmaster's strike; it's a classic case of focusing on quantity over quality. Unfortunately, without a grandmaster, one is ultimately just an ant.'

With this thought in mind, the blood-stained longsword beside Chen Xuan hummed, its sharpness unseen, and soared into the sky, shattering the hundred-foot-long blood-red sword light. The bodies of the four innate death warriors burning with life force exploded on the spot.

The blood-stained longsword continued its relentless advance, slashing towards Wu Guangyao with lightning speed… (End of Chapter)