Survival of the Fittest

Tang Tian looked up and saw Tang Lingyun's attacks growing ever fiercer, leaving Lin Changdong utterly unable to fight back.

Lin Changdong's hair was disheveled, and several fresh wounds had appeared on his body, blood still flowing from them.

Although Tang Lingyun was only at the Middle Soul-Emergence Realm, his talent was unparalleled. The attacks he unleashed were comparable to those of an Advanced Soul-Emergence Realm expert like Xing Zhan.

Xing Zhan, below, could not help but sigh. "This head of the Tang Family truly is quite an exceptional powerhouse. With strength like this, few could rival him among those of the same realm. Even I would not find it easy to defeat him."

Upon hearing this, the City Lord of Starfall City could not help but feel ashamed, secretly rejoicing that he had not offended Tang Lingyun.

Otherwise, when the four great families fought to the death, he, the city lord, would very likely have been the first to die.

Lin Changdong roared, "Tang Lingyun, so what if you destroy my Lin Family today? Your son killed my son, and my son was an inner disciple of the Falling Star Sect. You have offended the Falling Star Sect—do you think you can live peacefully afterward? Hahaha! Before long, the Falling Star Sect will raze your Tang Family to the ground as well!"

"And what if we are razed to the ground? At least your Lin Family will not live to see it."

Tang Lingyun's expression remained calm. The conflicts between the four great families had existed for a long time, their disputes over interests running far too deep. Each had long wished to wipe out the others.

They had simply never had the opportunity, nor a suitable excuse.

This time, Tang Tian had become the fuse, instead bringing about cooperation between the Tang Family and the Ye Family to deal with the two great families.

"You..." Lin Changdong still wanted to say something, but he had no chance.

Tang Lingyun did not wish to listen to any more powerless threats. They were all nothing but nonsense.

A sword pierced Lin Changdong's brow. Blood gushed forth, and his life was extinguished.

Lin Changdong's corpse fell from the sky, crashing down and sending dust flying across the ground.

"The Patriarch... the Patriarch is dead too!"

Members of the Lin Family had been watching the battle between Tang Lingyun and Lin Changdong all along. When they saw Lin Changdong's corpse fall to the ground, terror seized them, and they cried out loudly.

Once one person panicked, it spread with the speed of a plague.

Fortunately, the Lin Family was different from the Qin Family.

Qin Tiande had been the Qin Family's strongest member. Once Qin Tiande died, they had no pillar to lean on, and the situation instantly became one of a tree falling and the monkeys scattering.

The Lin Family was different. They still had an Early Soul-Emergence Realm expert, an old man who was engaged in a frantic battle with Tang Xiao.

When he saw that Lin Changdong had also died, grief overwhelmed him.

The overall situation was already lost. If he did not flee quickly, then once Tang Lingyun came over and joined forces with Tang Xiao, death would be his only outcome.

"Go!"

Without another word, this Lin Family expert feinted, turned, and fled.

As for the other Lin Family members below, he had no time to care about them.

After all, Lin Yichen, the truly gifted member of the Lin Family, had already been slain. Taking the others with him would only make them burdens.

As long as the Lin Family still had a Soul-Emergence Realm cultivator, it would not take long for them to regroup elsewhere and establish another Lin Family.

The thought was beautiful, but reality was cruel.

When Tang Lingyun looked over, he had indeed managed to flee far away. Yet another figure suddenly blocked his path.

"General Xing Zhan, what is the meaning of this?"

Facing Xing Zhan, he was filled with fear.

After all, Weng Yuan, an inner elder of the Falling Star Sect, had been so arrogant and overbearing.

Yet in less than the time it took to burn an incense stick, he had been beaten away with his tail between his legs.

Throughout the battle among the four great families, the City Lord's Manor and this general stationed here had indeed not intervened.

But just as he was about to leave, Xing Zhan blocked his way. The old man of the Lin Family would never believe that Xing Zhan merely wanted to reminisce with him.

Xing Zhan snorted coldly. "Abandoning your clansmen and fleeing from battle like a coward—does someone like you deserve to live?"

"..."

The old man of the Lin Family's expression changed drastically, and he could not help cursing inwardly.

He had fled from battle to leave hope for the Lin Family. How had that made him into a heartless and faithless man?

The most infuriating part was that if Xing Zhan wanted to deal with the Lin Family, then he should just do it. Why did he have to find such a slanderous excuse?

He was filled with grief and indignation, yet utterly powerless.

The old man of the Lin Family lowered his stance and cupped his hands. "In this struggle among the four great families, my Lin Family has lost. But I must leave to preserve a sliver of hope for the Lin Family. I ask General Xing Zhan to show mercy and let me go. This old man guarantees that for the rest of my life, I will never set foot in Starfall City again!"

"Is that so?" Xing Zhan sneered and shook his head. "Unfortunately, I do not believe a heartless and faithless person like you."

"You... General Xing Zhan, do not push people too far!"

The moment the old man of the Lin Family spoke, he inwardly cried out in alarm.

Only then did he remember that Weng Yuan of the Falling Star Sect had said the exact same thing earlier, only to anger Xing Zhan instead.

He had no backing whatsoever, yet he had provoked someone as domineering and unreasonable as Xing Zhan. That was simply courting death.

Sure enough, Xing Zhan snorted coldly. A long sword abruptly appeared in his hand, and he thrust it viciously toward him.

The old man of the Lin Family wanted to resist, but helplessly discovered that everything was futile.

The defense he formed was like paper before Xing Zhan's spear.

The spear drove straight through, arriving before him and piercing his chest in one strike.

"Xing Zhan, you..."

Despair filled the old man of the Lin Family's eyes, but he had no opportunity to say another word.

The moment the spear entered his body, its terrifying force had already shattered his heart meridians and destroyed every trace of life within him.

Xing Zhan snorted coldly, flicked his spear, and flung the old man of the Lin Family's corpse away. It crashed into the plaza.

From beginning to end, he had never regarded the old man of the Lin Family as worthy of notice.

Why would the strong care about the thoughts of the weak?

The rules of this world had always been survival of the fittest, with the unfit eliminated.

In the struggle among the four great families, the Lin Family and Qin Family had already become history, their entire clans wiped out.

As an observer, Xing Zhan naturally had to make his stance known.

What was more, he greatly respected Tang Lingyun and thought highly of Tang Tian.

At a time like this, the old man of the Lin Family, who had abandoned his family to flee, naturally became Xing Zhan's sacrifice in showing goodwill toward the Tang Family.

At the same time, Tang Lingyun's figure flashed, and he appeared before Xing Zhan.

He immediately cupped his hands in salute. "Thank you, General, for lending your assistance. Otherwise, if a Soul-Emergence Realm expert had escaped, there would surely have been endless trouble in the future. I, Tang, will remember this favor."

Xing Zhan waved his hand and laughed heartily. "Brother Lingyun, you are too courteous. It was merely a small effort. What I despise most are people who cling to life and fear death. With such a disposition, how can he be worthy of being a cultivator? That is why I struck him down, which can be considered helping the Tang Family. Still, I believe that even if I had not acted, with Brother Lingyun's strength, you could certainly have killed that man with ease."

"You flatter me, General!"

As the head of a family, Tang Lingyun was exceptionally intelligent. He had long seen Xing Zhan's gesture of goodwill.

With the heads of the Qin Family and Lin Family dead, all that remained was scattered resistance. It did not take much longer before everything gradually calmed down...