[Congratulations! Your clan has rescued a large number of geniuses from Qilin Mountain, completing the Special Event: "Operation: Save the Geniuses".]
[You have gained: Clan's Will +5]
...
[Following Cheng Lingwu's threats against Ye Xiu, your clan sought out Chen Qingtian of the Heavenly Secret Pavilion. From the Pavilion, they obtained intelligence regarding Imperial Preceptor Min Youguo's recruitment overtures towards Ye Xiu. They also learned that Cheng Lingwu had embezzled sixty percent of the very treasures the Imperial Preceptor had instructed him to bestow upon Ye Xiu.]
[You dispatched Xuan Tianzi to proceed to the Cheng family estate to recover the treasures embezzled by Cheng Lingwu.]
...
[Congratulations! Your clan has completed the Special Event: "Ye Xiu's Breakthrough".]
[Through the united efforts of your clan and the Azure Cloud group, you have successfully helped Ye Xiu break through to become a Divinity Transformation cultivator, having overcome a Fourth-Grade Heavenly Tribulation!]
[You have gained: Clan's Will +8]
...
[Congratulations! Your clan has slain over one hundred of Venerable Tian Xing's avatars and has, once again, captured twelve Tian Xing avatars.]
[A large quantity of spoils of war has been obtained...]
...
At this moment, outside the Mountain, Li Wei now stood together with Li Kuanghua and the rest of the Azure Cloud group.
Upon the ground lay the corpses of a mere dozen or so of their fellow Daoists from Azure Cloud Region, surrounded by a great number of their scattered belongings.
The survivors felt no joy in the aftermath of the war; for them, it was often thus. War was always accompanied by sacrifice. In this most recent battle, a great many of the Azure Cloud Region cultivators, in order to guard Ye Xiu during his breakthrough to the Divinity Transformation realm, had chosen to self-detonate, or to deliberately draw down the heavenly lightning tribulation upon themselves and their foes, just as the Tian Xing avatars had done.
"Wuwu~ wuwu~"
A whimpering sound from nearby interrupted the group's long, silent mourning.
It was Cheng Lingwu!
At this moment, Cheng Lingwu was still trapped within a spirit artifact, unable to mobilize even half a shred of Heaven and Earth Spirit Qi. His tongue had already been torn out, and he could only whimper within the confines of his small cage.
"What should we do with this man?"
Li Kuanghua frowned.
After a moment of contemplation, Ye Xiu opened the barrier.
That Cheng Lingwu glared furiously at the assembled members of the Azure Cloud group.
He was already certain that his own death was inevitable. Previously, while fleeing for his life, he had not dared to harbor even the slightest resentment over the annihilation of his Cheng clan; now, however, he stared daggers at these people from Azure Cloud.
However, after a long moment passed, the members of the Azure Cloud group simply continued to gaze at him calmly.
"Now," Ye Xiu said, "get the hell back to your Imperial Capital. And by the way, take a message to the Imperial Preceptor for me."
Cheng Lingwu stared in utter disbelief at the people of Azure Cloud who were now letting him go. It was not until after the entire group had departed that he was finally certain he was not dreaming.
He could spare no thought for his injuries, nor could he dwell on his hatred; dragging his grievously wounded body, he fled with all his might towards the Imperial Capital.
Enduring the strange gazes of passersby, he finally made it back to the Imperial Preceptor's official residence within the Imperial Capital.
It felt as though he were in a dream as he finally laid eyes upon the Imperial Preceptor, who was seated upon the main seat of the hall.
And then...
He had not yet had time to send a voice transmission, had not yet managed to inform the Imperial Preceptor of all that had occurred, when a sharp sword appeared from an unknown quarter and shattered his Nascent Soul.
His head tumbled to the floor, his eyes still wide with utter bewilderment. He could not understand why, having returned to the one place he believed to be the safest in the world, he had instead met his end here. His blood sprayed across the floor of the great hall.
Upon the main seat, the Imperial Preceptor, Min Youguo, dressed in his formal court robes, sat. A frown creased his face, which ordinarily seemed the very picture of righteous integrity. With a wave of his hand, a set of characters carved into Cheng Lingwu's back became visible!
[I thank the Imperial Preceptor for his high regard. But, Lord Imperial Preceptor, what you offered me was, in your eyes, merely a trifle. My companions, however, were willing to lay down their very lives for my sake.]
"CRASH!"
The teacup shattered upon the floor. Within the great hall, the Imperial Preceptor's subordinates stared at the headless corpse of Cheng Lingwu and the large, bloody characters carved upon its back, a strange and unsettled look on every one of their faces.
Min Youguo's voice was low and stifled with rage.
"Make a trip to the Cheng clan," he ordered. "That greedy fool has ruined an important matter of mine. I want the lives of his entire Cheng clan!"
"This..."
The few subordinates in the great hall looked at one another in dismay.
Finally, one stepped forward hesitantly. "Reporting to the Lord Imperial Preceptor," he stammered, "the Cheng family... they were wiped out long ago."
"He still has his extended family!" the Imperial Preceptor snarled.
...
Another spring arrived, a year later.
Strangely, it was as if all the events that had transpired at that Mountain had never happened at all.
The avatars of Venerable Tian Xing no longer displayed the fury of that first day, nor did the Li family continue to make any moves against them.
The powerful nobles of the Imperial Capital, too, acted as if nothing had occurred. Only the matter of the explosion at the Heavenly Light Sect remained a topic of eager gossip and speculation.
On Azure Mist Mountain, Li Wei lay on a grassy slope in the rear hills, gazing up at the sky.
He was discovering that he, too, seemed to have changed. If this had happened in the past, he would have undoubtedly been ecstatic over such a great victory and would have frantically begun planning the next stage of his revenge.
But now...
He was more patient than he had ever been before, and far more cautious and prudent.
And it was not just him; his clansmen were all the same.
They were like slumbering wild beasts, no, not merely beasts. They were a simmering inferno of rage, waiting for the right moment to erupt in an instant.
"To kill an enemy as terrifying as Venerable Tian Xing," he thought, "one can only become even more terrifying than he is."
Li Wei let out a long, slow breath and gradually sat up.
He had to admit, though they had inflicted a heavy loss upon Venerable Tian Xing last time, they had also awakened a truly ferocious beast. And now, he had no way of knowing what move this beast would make next.
The fortunate thing was that he and his clansmen had already made every possible preparation.
As he was lost in thought...
[Your descendant, Li Yaotie, cultivating within the Heavenly Light Sect, is now prepared to break through to the Nascent Soul realm!]
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