Dengzhou Prefecture, the Yu Clan.
As one of Dengzhou's foremost noble clans, the Yu Clan's estate stretched for ten miles. Its towering halls and pavilions were lavish in the extreme.
But lately, a stifling gloom had engulfed the entire estate. Nothing remained of its former grandeur.
Clan head Yu Tianheng sat in the main hall, clad in a luxurious martial robe. His face was livid, and malice and killing intent seethed around him.
The powerful true qi of a Peak Inner Vajra Realm expert surged out of control, making the hall's pillars and beams tremble.
In just a few dozen days, the Yu Clan had suffered one devastating blow after another—a calamity unseen in a century.
Yu Cang, a reclusive grand elder who had spent decades at the Mid Inner Vajra Realm, had died under mysterious circumstances.
Yu Kun, a gifted direct descendant, had reached the Elixir-Embracing Realm at a young age. The clan had intended to nurture him into a Vajra Force expert, yet he too had died without a sound in the wilderness.
And that was without mentioning Yu Shou, who had been declared a traitor to the righteous path and a convert to an evil cult several months earlier!
Three core fighters were gone. Overnight, the Yu Clan's Vajra Force ranks had been gutted, its talents cut down and its foundations shattered. The mighty clan had suffered a crippling blow, losing nearly half its strength.
For days, rage had burned in Yu Tianheng's heart, leaving him unable to find peace even through the night.
He had mobilized every covert agent in the clan to investigate the deaths across Dengzhou and Qingchuan Prefectures. In the end, every lead pointed to one person—Cheng Heng of the Cloudpiercing Sect.
Every tangled thread converged on Cheng Heng.
Though he had no