Identity Exposed

"Oh, so that doesn't mean the fake was forged based on the clan leader's token with thirty-four scratches, and the person who originally possessed the token with thirty-four scratches was..."

The gaze shifted again, then focused on the old patriarch Si Jingzhi.

"Hmph, I didn't expect you to suspect me. Are you all stupid?" Si Jingzhi sneered, her imposing gaze sweeping over everyone, and no one dared to meet her eyes. "Leaving aside the fact that I don't even know this assassin, let's talk about the motive. Why would I assassinate my own daughter? Doing such a thing is completely meaningless."

At that moment, a man's voice abruptly broke in.

"Oh, so this is the clan leader's token... Speaking of which, when those Aristocratic Clan asked me to deal with the Si Clan, someone showed me the clan leader's token, implying that they would work with me from the inside to completely destroy the Si Clan. But that person never showed up in the end, which made me realize that I had been tricked."

The speaker was Guan Chong, whose original name was Si Chong. At the ancestor's funeral, he willingly served as a pawn for other powerful Aristocratic Clan to deal with the Si Clan.

After being defeated and captured by Si Ming, he was not secretly executed. Instead, because Si Jingyu revised the family rules and allowed male members of the Si Clan to practice martial arts, his crimes were reduced. Although he was punished and his Cultivation Body were sealed, he still had a certain degree of personal freedom.

"Who do you think you are? Who gives you the right to speak here? How dare you falsely accuse me of betraying the Lineage! How laughable! I think you are the most suspicious person. You should be arrested and tortured to find out who taught you to speak like that!"

As the former head of the Si Clan, Si Jingzhi possessed an air of authority. Even now, when he was angry, his lingering power still remained, causing Guan Chong to feel a sense of unease.

At this moment, Si Shuiyun stepped forward, blocking Guan Chong's Guan Chong, and said, "Elder Chief, you are currently the prime suspect. Although I don't believe you did it, I'm afraid someone is using you. I hope you can cooperate with the investigation so we can search your residence and find the real culprit as soon as possible, so the truth can come to light and put everyone's minds at ease."

Si Jingzhi looked surprised, clearly not expecting Si Shuiyun to step forward and speak up for Guan Chong. After his gaze lingered on the two of them for a moment, he suddenly burst into laughter. "So that's how it is! What a brilliant scheme! What a brilliant scheme! My dear granddaughter, you've completely fooled your grandmother..."

At this point, how could she not guess what was going on? How could she dare to agree to let the other party send people to search her residence? Even if there was nothing there before, it must now be full of evidence of collusion with other Si Clan. She immediately made a gesture, and her former confidants stepped forward to stand beside her, bolstering her authority.

"How dare you suspect the old clan chief? Girl, have you lost your mind?"

"The old patriarch has devoted herself tirelessly to the Lineage, how could she possibly betray Lineage? I believe that anyone who dares to doubt the old patriarch is the real traitor, colluding with outsiders and betraying the Lineage's interests!"

"You're just a brat promoted from a branch clan. What right do you have to search the old patriarch? Don't even mention you; even the young patriarch needs to convene a council of elders and get the consent of many elders before he can order a search. Don't try to intimidate me."

More and more people stood behind Si Jingzhi, and almost all of them were from the older generation, holding high positions and great power in the clan. Even those who had retired from their positions still had a lot of say. Now that they were gathered together, they formed a force that made the Si Clan tremble with fear.

Si Jingzhi took in the awe-inspiring expressions on the faces of his clansmen, sneered, and said, "Let's see who dares to touch me now!"

"I dare!"

A figure radiating light charged straight at him. Si Jingzhi instinctively struck with his palm, but felt an immense force surge through him. With a crack, his arm bone broke, and he was thrown back through the air.

While suspended in mid-air, Si Jingzhi, her eyes slightly dazed, caught sight of a figure that seemed like a sharp spear, piercing fiercely into her entourage of confidants. Anyone touched was sent flying as if hit by a chariot, instantly scattered and routed.

Thump! Si Jingzhi fell heavily to the ground, her old bones almost knocked out, but before she could get up, Si Shuiyun pressed down on her shoulder.

"Elder Zhi, the young lady asked me to pass on a message to you: the Lineage she leads doesn't need those corrupt, obstructive, and inflexible burdens. So, please just go and die, okay?" Si Shuiyun lowered her head and whispered in Si Jingzhi's ear.

"You!"

"Please don't be angry, because everything the young clan leader has done is for the sake of this Lineage!"

Chapter 320 Identity Revealed

Upon hearing these familiar words, Si Jingzhi felt an immense sense of humiliation. She had used this excuse countless times to silence the questions from her opponents and the torment of her own conscience, but she never imagined that she would be spoken to in this way by someone else.

"You lowly brat who relies on your master's power, what right do you have to say that to me!"

Even though his arm bone was broken and he couldn't use martial arts, Si Jingzhi could still use Divine Arts. With a roar, he gathered the moisture in the air with divine power, compressed it into a disc, and slashed it out with high pressure. It could even cut through steel with a single blow.

But even the sharpest weapon needs to hit a person to be effective. Si Shuiyun was prepared and dodged with a few light and agile movements, combined with the twisting of her supple waist, easily avoiding the attack.

"Elder Zhi, why fight like a cornered beast? The situation is hopeless. If you are willing to admit defeat, I will spare you some dignity out of consideration for your years of hard work for the Lineage. But if you don't know what's good for you, don't blame me for ruining your reputation in your later years."

Upon hearing Si Jingzhi sneered, "Years of hard work? You think you can erase all the contributions I've made for the Lineage with just a few words..."

"The young lady said you are a sinner to the Lineage. Without you, the Lineage's strength would at least be twice as strong. It's a pity we had to deal with an ambitious but incompetent old man like you, who dragged the Lineage down. What's worse than someone who holds a position but does nothing is an incompetent person who forgets to eat and sleep all day long. The more you do, the more mistakes you make. The only difference between you and Steward Mu is that one of you became the clan leader and the other did not."

The final comparison truly stung Si Jingzhi's pride. She had always looked down on her incompetent eldest daughter, but she never expected that in other people's eyes, she was actually on the same level as her eldest daughter. Her old face couldn't help but turn bright red.

"I underestimated your master. It seems that she stayed indoors for the past few days under the pretense of being injured, but actually she was deliberately feigning weakness to lower my guard. And that traitor Guan Chong, when were you bribed? Was his harassment of our Si Clan on the day of the funeral also part of your plan?"

"No, that's not it. The young lady only persuaded Guan Chong in the last few days. The reason she gave him was very simple: to acknowledge the status of the men in the Lineage and give them the same learning opportunities as the women, whether it's martial arts or other subjects."

Si Jingzhi, having held power for so many years, was no pushover. He immediately realized, "That day, she announced the revision of the family rules just to gain the trust of the traitor? I've long known this granddaughter is adept at using elaborate schemes, but I always thought revising the family rules was the final link in her scheme. I didn't expect it to be just a middle link... Hmph, young people are just ignorant of their own limitations. What she's doing is undoubtedly raising a tiger to cause trouble. She thinks she has the lion's help, but in the end, she'll inevitably be bitten by the lion. Once the men of the Si Clan achieve something in martial arts, they'll become restless like this Guan Chong. At that time, there will inevitably be chaos in the Lineage. Those who don't listen to the elders will suffer the consequences."

"Elder Zhi is judging others by your own standards. You fear your clansmen will become unruly, so you desperately suppress them and maintain the status quo because your abilities are limited and you can't control a more powerful Lineage. But don't assume that the young lady's magnanimity is as narrow as yours!"

Si Jingzhi's facial muscles twitched, but he nodded and said, "It's undeniable that this granddaughter does have some talent, but she's still too young and made the mistake of being too hasty. If this scheme had been implemented five years later, there wouldn't have been any turmoil. She hasn't even become the clan leader yet, and she's already in a hurry to establish her authority. Does she think the clan members are all fools who can't see that this is a planned frame-up? Such a domineering clan leader will only arouse the resentment of the clan members..."

"I told you, don't use your narrow-mindedness to speculate about the young lady! Regarding this incident, the clansmen have only three attitudes: first, the majority of blind followers who will believe the victors; second, the wise ones who see through it but don't say anything, who will silently choose to follow the young lady; and as for the third type, those who will rebel, look, they're all over there."

The direction Si Shuiyun pointed was where Si Ming was beating up a group of old women.

Calling her an old woman isn't entirely accurate. The Si Clan's martial Cultivation Method have the effect of preserving youth and beauty. Some elderly women with strong Internal Cultivation look about the same as those in their forties or fifties even when they are in their sixties or seventies, deserving the evaluation of being middle-aged beauties.

Si Ming knew that there were several experts among these old women. In order to suppress the situation and intimidate the whole audience, he immediately entered the Solar Prominence Eruption state, doubling his overall strength. He smashed his fists with the force of a thousand pounds. Even if the opponents knew the Higher Vehicle method of deflecting and neutralizing force, they were still smashed until their arm bones were broken and they flew away.

"Punching the old folks' home in Nanshan"—while others just used this phrase as a joke, Si Ming actually achieved it. He showed no respect for the elderly whatsoever, charging around like a bull and knocking a group of elderly women off their feet.

"How dare you, you brat!"

The two old women attacked from the front and back, simultaneously activating the "Water Moon Mirror Shatters" technique. The spiraling force transformed into two drills that roared towards them. Although the two women were of average strength, their skill was truly profound, both reaching level ten. Their immense True Qi stirred the air, producing a storm-like howling sound. Their moves were also meticulously crafted, leaving no flaws to be found.

"Drills are men's weapons, what are you guys using?!"

Si Ming activated the Radiant King Fist, his hands radiating dazzling light, causing the two women to momentarily lose their focus. The flawless fist power revealed an opening, and since the Water Moon Precious Mirror was also familiar to him, he immediately seized the opening to disperse the spiraling force. He then grabbed the shoulders of the two old women and, with a powerful surge, forcefully pressed their legs into the ground, where they could no longer pull them out, as their foot bones had suffered a shattering impact.

Si Ming looked around and saw a bunch of old women lying on the ground. It took about half a minute for them to recover. Among them were many experts with Internal Cultivation Level Ten. Their hands and feet might be clumsy, but their Internal Cultivation was truly profound. Even though he was in his Solar Prominence State and could move around unimpeded, he was actually shaken and suffered internal injuries. However, his physical fitness was strong enough that injuries that would make an ordinary martial artist cough up blood would heal in about ten minutes.

"Taking down a bunch of old women won't earn me any fame, but there's actually a real expert among them. I'm never doing this kind of job again."

He shook his head, walked towards Si Shuiyun, and asked, "Why is yours still standing? I've already taken down more than twenty here."