Inside the study, the sandalwood incense still burned, yet it couldn't dispel the almost palpable sense of oppression.
Yu Yuanzhen stood with his hands behind his back by the window, his back to the door. His tall figure blocked the moonlight streaming in from outside, casting only a heavy shadow on the cold floor.
There was no fluctuation of Soul Power around him, but he was more suffocating than the raging thunder.
Yu Luomian staggered in, and the door closed silently behind him, isolating him from the outside world.
His lips trembled uncontrollably, and fine beads of cold sweat appeared on his forehead.
"Big... Big Brother..."
Yu Luomian's voice was hoarse, "Let me explain, it's not what you think..."
Yu Yuanzhen slowly turned around.
He didn't release his Martial Soul, but the look in his deep eyes made Yu Luomian's heart skip a beat.
"It's not what I thought?"
Yu Yuanzhen's voice was deep and resonant, each word striking Yu Luomian's heart.
What does it look like?
A crumpled letter was thrown out and landed heavily on the desk.
"Is it your confidant's testimony? Or this secret letter between you and Salas?!"
Yu Luomian's gaze fell upon the letter, her pupils suddenly shrinking to pinpoints, her body swaying uncontrollably, and she instinctively protested, "This... this is a forgery! Someone is framing me!"
"Yes, someone must have framed me! Yu Tianming... it must be him! He's disliked me for a long time and wanted to get rid of me..."
"Shut up!"
Yu Yuanzhen out a low shout, which was like a thunderclap, making Yu Luomian's eardrums buzz, and all the words that followed were choked in her throat.
Yu Yuanzhen approached step by step, each step lowering the atmosphere in the study.
"Smack!"
Yu Yuanzhen slapped Yu Luomian across the face, making him stagger and almost fall over.
He stared intently at his younger brother, his eyes filled not only with raging anger but also with the pain of having his heart pierced by a loved one.
"Framed?"
"Whose handwriting is this if not yours?"
"Moreover, Salas is currently imprisoned in the dungeon! He has personally testified that you provided the secret route, and that you revealed Tianming's daily routine and the location of the courtyard!"
My goal is to get him to eliminate the young patriarch of my Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan!
Yu Yuanzhen's voice grew louder and louder, and the suppressed power of thunder began to overflow uncontrollably, with fine purple lightning flashing in his hair and clothes.
One slap after another!
Yu Yuanzhen's large hand landed on Yu Luomian's face again and again, causing blood to spill from the corner of his mouth.
The eldest brother is like a father.
At this moment, Yu Yuanzhen is disciplining his good-for-nothing younger brother on behalf of his deceased father.
" Yu Luomian! My dear brother! Tell me, what kind of trap is this?! Ah?!"
The final question, like the roar of a dragon, carrying the terrifying pressure of Peak Douluo, slammed into Yu Luomian.
Yu Luomian was forced to her knees with a "thud," her bones creaking, her cheeks red and swollen from the beating.
Faced with irrefutable facts, all feeble excuses become meaningless.
After a moment of silence,
Yu Luomian suddenly raised her head, her face contorted with a mixture of fear, resentment, and a desperate, mad attitude.
"Yes! I did it! So what?"
Yu Luomian screamed hoarsely, his eyes bloodshot, "Why? Big brother! I'm your own brother! I've sacrificed so much for the family! In what way am I inferior to that brat?"
"Just because he's talented? Because he's your grandson? You're going to give him everything?"
"The position of sect leader, the family's resources, everyone's support—the future belongs to him! And what about me? What am I? What is my lineage?"
To forever serve as an assistant? To forever live in the shadow of you and your cronies? To be a mere supporting character?!
Yu Luomian, seemingly insane, exclaimed, " The Spirit Hall is powerful, and the situation on the continent is constantly changing! What's wrong with following the Spirit Hall?"
The Spirit Hall promised that as long as I cooperated, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan would not be destroyed; in fact, the clan would not only be preserved but also become even stronger! What have I done wrong? I did it all for the clan!"
"For the sake of the family?"
Yu Yuanzhen's voice suddenly calmed down, but beneath that calm was utter despair.
"Every member of our Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan is a dragon, but you're destined to be someone's dog!"
These words echoed in Yu Luomian's ears, causing him to lose his composure.
Yu Yuanzhen looked down at his younger brother, who was kneeling on the ground with a distorted face. The last trace of pain in his eyes disappeared, leaving only absolute coldness.
"Colluding with foreign enemies, letting wolves into the house, murdering the heir, and shaking the foundations of the family..."
Yu Luomian, you have disappointed your brother greatly and have also let Father down.
Yu Yuanzhen slowly raised his hand, and terrifying purple-red lightning began to condense in his palm, emitting a heart-palpitating buzz that illuminated his expressionless face.
"The first rule of our ancestral precept: Those who betray their clan shall die."
A cold, hard verdict.
Without a trace of emotion.
Yu Luomian felt that destructive power, and the madness in her heart was instantly crushed by the fear of death. She crawled forward two steps with tears streaming down her face.
No! Big brother!
No! I know I was wrong!
Please forgive me this time, for the sake of our shared motherhood, for the sake of my many years of service to the family! Brother!!"
Yu Yuanzhen closed his eyes briefly, and when he opened them again, his eyes were filled with determination.
Your merits cannot outweigh your sins.
"In your next life, don't have any thoughts you shouldn't have."
As soon as the words fell, dazzling lightning instantly engulfed the entire study, drowning out Yu Luomian's desperate wails.
A moment later, the lightning dissipated.
A faint smell of burning permeated the study.
Yu Yuanzhen remained standing in the same spot, his expression unchanged. A trace of barely perceptible sorrow lingered in the depths of his eyes, but more than that, there was the iron will and decisiveness of a sect leader.
Where Yu Luomian had stood, only a scorched human-shaped mark remained, along with a few wisps of smoke that had not yet dissipated.
The study door was gently pushed open, Yu Tianming stood quietly in the doorway, glancing at the scene inside, understanding dawning on him.
Yu Luomian is dead...
Yu Yuanzhen didn't turn around, his voice tinged with weariness, yet unusually firm. "Pass down the order."
"The second-in-command, Yu Luomian, suffered a cultivation mishap and tragically died."
"The aftermath shall be handled simply in accordance with clan rules."
"Yes, Grandpa."
Yu Tianming responded softly.
He knew that this was the family's unified message to the outside world, in order to maintain the family's reputation and avoid internal turmoil.
But a traitor is a traitor after all, and the Yu Luomian lineage will also be implicated.
The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan has very strict rules, and treason is listed as the first rule of their ancestral precepts—a crime that is... extremely serious!
Yu Yuanzhen turned around, his gaze falling on his grandson, the coldness in his eyes disappearing.
" Tianming,"
He said in a deep voice,
"The parasites of the family have been eliminated; from now on, you must walk the path ahead with greater steadiness."
" The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan must not fall into the hands of foreign enemies, much less... be destroyed by its own people."
Yu Tianming nodded solemnly. "Grandson understands."
As night deepened, nothing seemed to have happened on True Dragon Mountain, but those in the know understood that a great change would occur in the family after this night!