"Rise."
Lin Fan waved a hand, a trace of profundity in his calm tone.
Before Ao Jianlie could react, an invisible force unceremoniously lifted him to his feet.
Ao Jianlie slowly rose, yet did not straighten fully, keeping his head bowed.
Lin Fan saw it all. He was both annoyed and amused, but did not continue reprimanding him.
The mountain wind swept over the peaks and poured in through the doors and windows of the cave mansion, making Lin Fan's robes flap loudly.
Standing with his hands behind his back, he looked past the anxious young man before him toward the distant horizon shrouded in clouds and mist, a complicated feeling rising in his heart.
He could understand Ao Jianlie's feelings. Before this, Ao Jianlie had still been the young clan heir, with a father who diligently guided him and an elder sister who gently watched over him. The only thing he needed to think about each day was cultivating and growing stronger.
But now, his father had fallen in that earth-shattering battle, his sister's whereabouts were unknown and her life or death uncertain. Every support he had relied upon had crumbled overnight, and he had been forced to become the Clan Leader of the Dark Blood Jiaolong Clan.
It was certainly a kind of growth, like a fledgling eagle pushed off a cliff and forced to learn how to fly.
But more than that, it was still helplessness.
The world was just this absurd and cruel.
For this young man to be standing here and reporting affairs to him was already no easy feat.
After a moment of silence, Ao Jianlie seemed to finally gather his courage. He raised his head, his voice low but clear. "Senior, there is one more matter to report to you."
"Speak."
"The Clan