Qin Fuhai's whole body trembled, and the teacup in his hand shattered with a sharp crack.
Without the slightest hesitation, the two bowed respectfully. "Greetings, Old Ancestor!"
Ripples spread through the void, and an old man in hemp robes appeared out of thin air.
His hair was white as a crane's, yet his face was youthful. His dark Daoist robe stirred without a breeze, and the Great Dao seemed to be born and annihilated faintly around him.
Most striking were his eyes: his left eye was as profound as a vast river of stars, while his right shone like the rising sun. As they opened and closed, Yin and Yang energies swirled within them.
Qin Clan Ancestor, Qin Taiyi!
This Heavenly Emperor, who had lived through endless ages, took the Image Recording Stone and lightly tapped it with one finger.
In an instant, a gigantic Light Screen appeared in the room, and the memories of Qin Xuan and the other man being subjected to Soul Search unfurled like a long river.
"Interesting." The Phenomenon of All Things' Birth in the Old Ancestor's right eye suddenly froze. Although the Black Clad man had prepared a Magic Treasure to conceal his figure, he had no idea that, in a Heavenly Emperor's eyes, such tricks were no more than a child's clumsy doodles in the snow.
The river of stars in his left eye flowed backward, while the vitality in his right eye stilled. His two gazes pierced through the reflected memories and reached into reality.
Far beyond countless star rivers, above the ancestral grounds of the Zhou Clan, one of the Ten Great Imperial Clans.
An Eye of Dao Laws, vast enough to Cover the Sky and Sun, appeared there.
Even the Clan Protection Array set up by an Imperial Clan, mighty as it was, was easily pierced by that gaze like a sheet of thin paper.
"Found you."
Before the Zhou Clan's Great Emperor could react, the Qin Clan Ancestor's voice seemed to come from the Myriad Ages ago. Then countless Zhou Clan disciples, including the Black Clad man, suddenly burst into clouds of blood mist. Even their remaining Divine Souls were peeled away inch by inch.
This was the power of a Heavenly Emperor!
Even if they belonged to one of the Ten Great Imperial Clans, even if a Great Emperor stood guard over their clan—
Until a Heavenly Emperor emerged, they were still ants.
If not for the pact between the Three Heavenly Emperors, the Zhou Clan could be wiped out with a flick of a finger!
The Eye of Dao Laws slowly closed.
The scene returned to the Qin Clan.
"It was the Zhou Clan. I've already given them a small lesson. See to the matter of compensation."
"They dared to pull tricks in my Qin Clan. We'll have to empty their coffers."
"It was the Zhou Clan?!" Qin Fuhai jerked his head up, Killing Intent surging in his eyes. "They—"
"The Qin Clan has been lying low for too long. Even rats dare to kick up a fuss in the tiger's den now." The Old Ancestor waved a hand, then suddenly turned his eyes toward a certain place and began counting on his fingers. At the same time, he said, "Thoroughly investigate everyone within the Qin Clan, and every affiliated clan as well! Anyone with a problem is to be executed without mercy!"
"I won't have Wangchuan face even the slightest threat. Not the slightest!"
"The world only knows that he possesses a Longevity Immortal Body, but I fear his ability to disregard cause and effect and foresee the future is what's truly terrifying..."
"Oh?" Qin Taiyi stopped forming hand seals. This Heavenly Emperor, whose heart had remained as still as an ancient well for a million years, now wore the excitement of a child. "The Origin Source within that boy... is growing at a terrifying rate. It's already reached an astonishing level!"
"What does a Heavenly Emperor matter? The Qin Clan will soon produce an immortal! An Immortal Emperor!"
"Twenty guards... not enough! Send more."
"From now on, the Ninth Young Master's resources are ranked at Zero."
Qin Fuhai was taken aback. His brow furrowed slightly as he asked respectfully, "Old Ancestor, what does 'ranked at Zero' mean?"
The Qin Clan's resources were divided into several ranks: upper, middle, and lower.
Each rank had five tiers.
The highest was Upper One, and the lowest was Lower Five, reserved for servants of affiliated clans.
The Young Masters had always received equal resources, all ranked at Upper One.
In other words, every resource went to the Young Masters first, then was distributed down the ranks.
But he had never heard of a rank at Zero.
"It's something I just thought of." The Old Ancestor spoke slowly, his voice carrying unquestionable authority. "Rank Zero means that every resource in the clan is to be supplied to Wangchuan first."
The moment he said this, the air in the hall froze.
Qin Fuhai's pupils shrank, and a tempest erupted in his heart.
From now on, every Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure, Secret Realm opportunity, and inheritance of cultivation techniques in the Qin Clan would first be offered for Qin Wangchuan to choose from. Only whatever remained would go to anyone else!
This treatment surpassed even that of the Patriarchs of past generations!
"Old Ancestor, this..." Qin Fuhai weighed his words carefully. "What about the other Young Masters..."
"What about them?" The river of stars in Qin Taiyi's left eye suddenly shattered. Such terrifying pressure made the entire hall tremble. "Do you think this is inappropriate?"
Qin Fuhai hurriedly bowed. His grin was nearly splitting his face; how could he possibly think it was inappropriate?
"I was only worried the other Young Masters might grow resentful and disrupt the family's harmony."
"Hmph!" The Old Ancestor snorted and swept his sleeve. "If they show even half of Wangchuan's potential, I'll give them Rank Zero too!"
"Your grandsons and granddaughters are either mad or hiding their abilities. There are hardly any normal ones among them."
"The eldest is the only one who's decent. He possesses the Desolate Ancient Sacred Body and has the bearing of a Heavenly Emperor. What a pity... he's a fool."
As he spoke, an ancient-looking rune condensed at his fingertip. He flicked it lightly.
The rune vanished into the void and instantly transformed into a golden Dharma Edict, hovering above the Qin Clan Ancestral Grounds.
"By decree: the Ninth Young Master is rewarded with a Divine Seed for slaying a traitor. From this day forward—" The Old Ancestor's voice rang through the Qin Clan like a great bell. "Ninth Young Master Qin Wangchuan shall receive offerings of resources at Rank Zero! No one is to object!"
Every one of the Ten Great Imperial Clans possessed a unique inheritance treasure. That was the most fundamental difference between them and other clans.
The Qin Clan's inheritance treasure was the Undying Divine Tree. A single drop of Jade Nectar could grant a person longevity, and a single Divine Leaf could transform into an Emperor Artifact!
A Divine Seed was a seed of the Divine Tree.
Planted in a courtyard, it could turn all the surrounding land into sacred ground. It was an exceptionally precious treasure.
Qin Fuhai gazed at the Dharma Edict in the sky through layers of obstacles, feeling both delight and worry.
He understood that the Old Ancestor was staking the Qin Clan's fortune for the next million years entirely on Qin Wangchuan!
Grandson, you've got a heavy burden on your shoulders...
The moment the Dharma Edict appeared, the entire Qin Clan was shaken.
This was a Heavenly Emperor's decree. Every member of the Qin Clan could see it, whether they were at home or anywhere in the Three Thousand Dao Provinces.
Faint voices came from the palaces of several Qin Clan Young Masters.
"Rank Zero? Never heard of that before. The Old Ancestor really does like making a fuss. The sharper the sword, the easier it is to grow dull. Only by keeping your sword sheathed and hiding your edge can you stay safe."
"Ninth Brother's birthday is coming up, right? I'll be able to earn another fortune soon!"
"Tsk, there goes some of my science funding. But I suppose I should go see Ninth Brother."
At the same time.
Outside the Qin Clan, at the Scarlet Dragon Abyss in the Ten Directions Immortal Court.
At the bottom of the blood-misted abyss, the corpse of a scarlet True Dragon lay across the lava. Its Dragon Scales were shattered, and its blood had congealed into crystals.
The Qin Clan's Fifth Young Master, Qin Qingzheng, stood before the dragon's head. Her white dress was stained with blood, and the Dragon Blood on the sword in her hand had yet to congeal.
"The True Dragon Heart can help Ninth Brother temper his body." She murmured to herself, then tilted her head slightly, as if pondering something. "I wonder what color Ninth Brother likes... What a bother. I might as well get a few more."
She traced a line with her fingertip, and the dragon's body split open.
A throbbing scarlet Dragon Heart was encased in ice, then carried into the void as she opened a rift.
Several more hearts, similarly sealed in ice, were already visible inside the rift: one gold, one red, and another purple.
Suddenly—
"ROAR—!"
The entire abyss trembled. The Primordial Dragon Emperor awoke from the lava, its Dragon Pupils fixed on Qin Qingzheng, its Killing Intent soaring to the heavens!
"Human... you seek death!"
Qin Qingzheng blinked and drew her Innate Emperor Sword. "Do you... want to be a gift too?"
The Qin Clan was flourishing on one side, but the Zhou Clan was in dire straits on the other.
Qin Taiyi had merely glanced their way.
The Zhou Clan's Clan Protection Array had been torn apart like paper. Most of its ancestral grounds had vanished, thirteen Immortal Islands had crashed down, and the Scripture Library had gone up in Dao Fire. Ten thousand years of inheritance had been reduced to ashes.
Beneath the Great Emperor realm, the bodies of hundreds of thousands of Zhou Clan disciples exploded. Their Divine Souls were pinned in place by the willow branches of the Undying Divine Tree and peeled away inch by inch. Their screams went on without end.
They had killed your people right in front of you, and in the end, they still had to offer an apology of their own accord.
That was a Heavenly Emperor.
When a Heavenly Emperor flew into a rage, even an Imperial Clan was no more than ants!
Zhou Xuanming, the Zhou Clan Patriarch, knelt on the ground, coughing blood. Watching this unfold right before his eyes nearly drove him mad!
"I told you not to go! Not to provoke the Qin Clan! Why wouldn't you listen?!"
To be fair, no one could guarantee that their clan was completely free of wrongdoing.
Infiltration and counter-infiltration were common among great clans, mainly as a way to keep tabs on other clans.
But the problem was that the spy the Zhou Clan had struggled so hard to plant had done nothing before being rooted out—and not only that, he had brought this undeserved catastrophe down upon them!
The other Imperial Clans naturally knew everything that had happened to the Zhou Clan.
"The Zhou Clan is finished. They don't even qualify to enter the Struggle of the Great Era this time."
"That Heavenly Emperor personally intervened. It only proves how important the Qilin Child is."
"If that Qilin Child is allowed to grow..."
The world only knew that the Qin Clan had given birth to a Qilin Child, a Darling of the Great Dao. They had no idea what made him so heaven-defying.
Despite the warning they'd been given, quite a few people were already beginning to stir.
Yet Qin Wangchuan, at the very center of the whole affair, knew nothing of what had happened.
He was almost at Qixia Town.
Before you continue