After the secret meeting ended, although they had discussed matters until dawn without finding a foolproof solution, Li Xuansheng had already made up his mind. With the gods bound by their covenant and unable to act freely, a Level 99 Ultimate Douluo stood at the pinnacle of conventional power on the continent! The scorching Summoning Card in his hand was the key to turning the family's fate around!
Without further hesitation, Li Xuansheng sat in his quiet chamber and immersed his consciousness into the system.
"System, use the Level 99 Ultimate Douluo Summoning Card!"
[ Ding! Level 99 Ultimate Douluo Summoning Card successfully used! Beginning summon... ]
[ Summoning... ]
[ Ding! Congratulations, Host! You have successfully summoned Level 99 Quasi-God Ultimate Douluo—Yun Ming! ]
As the system notification fell silent, an indescribably vast aura seemed to cross endless space before being quietly drawn to the vicinity of Heavenly Phoenix City.
"System, add the Li Bloodline to Yun Ming and rationalize his identity! Set it as follows: his father was a cousin of my grandfather's generation. He suffered an accident while carrying out a family mission in his early years. His pregnant wife was left wandering outside. Not long after giving birth to a child, she died of grief. Her son, Yun Ming, was separated from the family in childhood. The family searched for him for many years without success, and it became a lasting regret. Now, through his own efforts and the faint pull of his bloodline, Yun Ming has endured countless hardships and finally returned to his homeland!"
[ Ding! 175 Summoning Points consumed—one-third of the 500 Summoning Points required for a Level 99 summon. Identity rationalization complete! Bloodline successfully added! ]
[ Current remaining Summoning Points: 225. ]
The instant the summoning was completed, Li Xuansheng sensed a gentle yet majestic spiritual force sweep across all of Heavenly Phoenix City like spilled mercury. That spiritual force carried a trace of searching, a trace of excitement, and an even deeper tremble of apprehension at nearing home. Immediately afterward, rather than flying in from outside the city as the previous summons had, a figure seemed to merge with space itself and silently appeared above the Li Family estate.
He was a man who appeared to be around thirty, tall and upright, with handsome and refined features. His eyes were as deep as though they contained a sea of stars, giving people the feeling of a spring breeze while remaining unfathomable. He wore a simple white robe, and no oppressive aura radiated from his body. Yet merely standing there, he seemed to become the center of heaven and earth itself, drawing even the light toward him. He was Yun Ming, the famed Master of the Sea God Pavilion from the Douluo Continent of his previous life—the Sky-Piercing Douluo! His life had been legendary. His martial soul, the Sky-Piercing Divine Spear, possessed both offense and defense, with boundless might. He had once been hailed as the person closest to God Rank on the continent, and both his strength and prestige stood at its very peak.
His appearance instantly alarmed every expert of the Li Family.
Li Yuanhui, Chen Jianjun, Li Tianwu, and the others immediately appeared in the courtyard, staring uncertainly at the figure in the sky who resembled an immortal descended into the mortal world. They had never seen him before, but the unfathomable aura surrounding him, one that made even Chen Jianjun and Li Tianwu feel faint pressure, put them on high alert.
However, in the next moment, Yun Ming's gaze fell upon Li Yuanhui, and uncontrollable excitement and reminiscence filled his eyes. He slowly descended to the ground, his voice carrying an almost imperceptible tremble as he asked, "You... are you the current head of the Li Family? My father... his name was Li Tiandao."
"Great-Uncle Tiandao?!" Li Yuanhui's entire body shook violently, and disbelief burst from his eyes. Li Tiandao's name had only been mentioned in a few brief lines in the family records. He had been a grand-uncle with considerable talent who had unfortunately died young, while the disappearance of his wife and child had been one of the family's greatest regrets! "You... you are?"
"My name is Yun Ming. Before my mother passed away, she told me of my origins and instructed me to return to my ancestral roots no matter what." Yun Ming—no, he should now be called Li Yunming—spoke with grief and sincerity. "After drifting for half my life, I have finally returned today!" As he spoke, the pure and powerful aura of the Li Bloodline within him erupted without reservation, resonating clearly with Li Yuanhui, Chen Jianjun, and the others!
This bloodline resonance could not be faked! Together with that long-buried family secret, all doubts instantly vanished.
"He truly is Great-Uncle Tiandao's descendant! Heaven has eyes!" Li Yuanhui was so moved that tears filled his eyes as he stepped forward and tightly gripped Li Yunming's arm. A clansman who had been lost outside the family and cultivated to such a realm through his own efforts had returned—this was simply smoke rising from the Li Family's ancestral graves!
Once the news spread, the entire Li Family once again plunged into an ocean of wild joy! The return of a Level 99 Ultimate Douluo meant far more than any previous event! It did not merely add another peak combatant; it injected every clansman with the strongest possible dose of confidence!
A grand homecoming ceremony and ancestral recognition ritual were quickly prepared. Within the solemn ancestral hall, Li Yunming's name was formally entered into the family genealogy, placed within the Yuan generation. During the ceremony, Li Yunming swept his gaze across the crowd before it finally settled upon Li Xuansheng, the most outstanding of the younger generation. His eyes were full of approval.
"Young Master Xuansheng possesses peerless talent, a steadfast heart, and deep fortune." Li Yunming spoke gently before all the clansmen. "If you do not mind, I am willing to take you as my disciple and impart everything I have learned in my life, helping you reach the summit as soon as possible. Are you willing?"
Li Xuansheng was overjoyed. He immediately stepped forward and performed the grand rite of three kneelings and nine kowtows. "This disciple, Li Xuansheng, pays respects to Master!"
Returning to the ancestral family and taking on a master—two joyous occasions had arrived together! The tense and oppressive atmosphere brought by the Qiu Family over the past days was finally greatly eased by these successive celebrations. Every face was filled with hope and excitement.
After the ceremony, Li Yunming was unanimously chosen by the family as Grand Elder. With his lofty status, he became the Li Family's unquestionable stabilizing pillar, presiding over its core affairs.
At the same time, the Li Family's war machine began operating at full force. Surveillance over the Qiu Family's movements was raised to the highest level, while communication with the Dongyue Clan became more frequent and closer. The upper echelons of both sides continued to exchange messages through Soul Tools, discussing measures for a joint response.
However, while the Li Family celebrated and prepared for war, the atmosphere at the Qiu Family headquarters far away was like a volcano on the verge of eruption.
When the heavily injured Qiu Qiansha returned to the family with the remaining two Titled Douluo and only a handful of battered survivors, the entire Qiu Family exploded into uproar!
The Grand Elder had been severely wounded! Seven elders at the Titled Douluo level had set out, but only three returned! Even the family head's biological younger brother, the Qiu Family's Second Master—a peak Soul Douluo who had gone to acquire a two-hundred-thousand-year ninth soul ring—had fallen in the Azure Jade Forest!
The enormous losses and humiliation instantly ignited the fury of every Qiu Family clansman.
"Blood debts must be repaid in blood!"
"How dare the Dongyue Clan collude with the Li Family to slaughter our elders? They must give us an explanation!"
"Send out the army! Level Heavenly Phoenix City, destroy the Li Family, and leave not even chickens or dogs alive!"
Inside the council hall, emotions ran high. Calls for battle rose without end as they all demanded an immediate all-out war against the Li Family and even the Dongyue Clan.
Just as things were on the verge of spiraling out of control, a terrifying pressure no weaker than Qiu Qiansha's abruptly descended and enveloped the entire hall. An old man whose features bore some resemblance to Qiu Qiansha's, though whose gaze was colder and sharper, slowly emerged from the rear hall. He was the Qiu Family's other Level 99 Ultimate Douluo in seclusion—Qiu Qianchi!
"Quiet!" Qiu Qianchi's voice was icy, sweeping through the hall like a cold current and instantly suppressing every clamor.
His gaze swept over the enraged crowd below before finally falling upon the dispirited Qiu Qiansha. A trace of sorrow flashed in his eyes, but there was even more calmness and ruthlessness.
"This vengeance must be taken! The Li Family and the Dongyue Clan must pay the price!" he declared firmly, setting the tone. "But revenge does not mean charging forward like fools!"
"First, we will hold grand funerals for the clansmen who died and unite our people in shared hatred!"
"Second, we will spare no effort to help the Grand Elder and the three returning elders recover their injuries and Soul Power. The Grand Elder in particular must recover his combat strength as quickly as possible!"
"Lastly," cold light flashed from Qiu Qianchi's eyes, "we will notify every force across the continent, citing the Li Family's unprovoked killing of four of our elders. One week from now, the Qiu Family will formally declare war on the Li Family!"
"This week is our final period of preparation. Gather every affiliated force, stockpile war resources, and formulate a detailed offensive plan! What we want is not mutual destruction, but to erase the Li Family from Heavenly Phoenix City completely at the smallest possible cost! Do you understand?"
"Yes, Grand Elder!" everyone below responded in unison, their killing intent soaring into the heavens.
The mountain rain was coming, and the winds had already filled the tower. After one brief week of calm, a violent storm that would sweep across the entire eastern region was about to descend.
(End of Chapter 16)
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