⚆_⚆!
Ancestor? That jump in seniority had caught them completely off guard! It even carried a hint of youthful, unbridled arrogance.
Could the young master have developed a rebellious streak too?
What deadly filial piety. But now that the Chen Lineage depended on the young master, whatever he said was right.
Bai Fengyao held back her laughter. She knew her master's age, and for him to become an ancestor like this was really... But I'm a scholar. I can't laugh unless I can't help it.
Si Fu said, "Young master, what about the ancestors who went away?"
What were they supposed to do about the original ancestors?
Chen Fan considered it for one second. "As for the other ancestors, they can be elders."
Those who did not hold a position did not concern themselves with its affairs. Anyway, I'm taking the top spot!
Chen Tianya was quick-witted as hell. This was a moment to witness a miracle; it deserved a little ceremony! He immediately cupped his hands. "Greetings, Ancestor!"
"Pfft." Bai Fengyao's defenses broke on the spot. "Hahahaha!"
She laughed mercilessly.
Chen Fan glanced at her, and she immediately shut her mouth, holding it in.
"I've thought it over. For the Chen Lineage to rise, someone must step forward, and I cannot shirk that responsibility."
Chen Luoyu smiled. "Our Chen Lineage's rule is that the strong become ancestors. It's very fitting. Greetings, Ancestor."
She nodded in acknowledgment, proving that she really was his aunt.
That was indeed the reasoning. All they could say was that Chen Fan's circumstances were unusual, because powerful people were generally very old, so becoming ancestors did not feel out of place.
But Chen Fan... he truly was an ancestor who transcended time and space.
A Great Emperor in his early twenties was utterly unprecedented. Other families could only dream of having such a young ancestor.
Thinking of it that way, it was perfectly reasonable.
"Greetings, Ancestor," Si Fu said solemnly.
The Chen Lineage was going to rise! They need not worry; they only had to do their utmost to resolve the ancestor's troubles.
Bai Fengyao had certainly broadened her knowledge. This trip had not been wasted. But her master not only lacked martial virtue-he was also a sneaky bastard.
Those Chen Lineage ancestors were truly unlucky. Somehow, without even knowing it, they had been struck with a demotion in seniority... Wait, if I'm the ancestor's chief disciple, then I...
A promotion in seniority, absolutely! Her back instantly straightened further. As a scholar, she only needed to learn a little of her master's ways.
And so the matter was happily settled, and the youngest ancestor in Chen Lineage history, one who transcended time and space, was born.
Everyone immediately smiled in relaxation, because the whole thing somehow felt a little playful.
Chen Fan said, "Uncle Fu, Tianya, go manage Langya City and take over its affairs. The Puppet Legion will assist you. Within days, I'll bury crystal veins throughout Langya City!"
He would drive the divine crystal veins underground and strengthen the Chen Lineage's fortune.
Crystal veins! At that, everyone exchanged glances. If they were crystal veins, they would at least be saint crystals! With the ancestor's strength, obtaining saint crystal veins would not be difficult.
"Yes, Ancestor." Their gazes burning, Si Fu and Chen Tianya rose and left without another word.
They would certainly reclaim Langya City, and this was only the beginning. The road ahead was still long, with much to look forward to.
Only the three of them remained in the scripture repository.
Bai Fengyao asked curiously, "Master, are they saint crystal veins?"
"I feel like saint crystal veins aren't worthy of you. How about I beg my daddy to dig up our Ancient Phoenix Clan's emperor crystal veins and bring them over?"
Chen Luoyu had thought the first remark got right to the point; the next left her completely flustered.
Chen Fan finally understood. It was not that he had been careless in accepting a disciple; the disciple herself was a little slapdash.
She needed training. That could wait until later; he had proper business now.
"Feng Yao, Aunt, you'll know when the time comes." He kept them in suspense.
"All right, next I'm going to organize the scripture repository."
Then he walked to the shelves and leafed through the cultivation techniques and divine abilities one by one.
"Master, I'll help you." Looking excited, Bai Fengyao hurried after him, light as a swallow.
Her master must be hiding precious books with names like "The Quick Guide to Becoming a Great Emperor."
She absolutely had to dig deep and uncover her master's secrets.
Chen Luoyu felt rather wistful.
She walked over, suddenly feeling constrained, and said with a slightly awkward expression, "Fan... Fan'er. These things were once the foundation of our Chen Lineage, but now they've been buried in obscurity."
That form of address was something she had dreamed of using. With no one else around now, she did not have to call him Ancestor, so let his aunt enjoy a little backdoor privilege.
Chen Fan smiled. "Aunt, these things were never buried. They've merely scattered. Unable to gather together, they've become loose sand."
The Chen Lineage had countless descendants, and they had all learned what they ought to learn. They would eventually carry it forward, so how could it be called buried? They had merely gone out undercover to bring home other families' children, scattering the foundations, which naturally created that feeling.
Chen Luoyu smiled in relief. Chen Fan was even more extraordinarily charming than she had imagined, and so handsome too. The sacrifices the entire Chen Lineage had made back then had not come to nothing after all. It had been worth it!
"Yes. Scattered..."
"Fan'er, what do you plan to do next?"
Chen Fan swept his gaze around.
"I'll spend some time perfecting every cultivation technique and divine ability here and write down my insights to help future generations of our Chen Lineage cultivate."
Chen Luoyu was slightly taken aback. "Fan'er..."
This also meant that a dignified Great Emperor would have to waste his time comprehending every single one of these things before he could finish.
It would have been one thing if Chen Fan were an ordinary person, but with his cultivation, these things were bound to be chicken ribs-of little use, yet a pity to discard.
"Aunt, it's fine. It isn't difficult for me," Chen Fan said with a smile. Before the Chen Lineage's descendants returned en masse from... undercover work, he wanted to lay the foundations and build his own ancient Chen Lineage.
"Also, I'll find top-tier cultivation techniques and divine abilities to fill the scripture repository!"
Chen Luoyu smiled in relief. "All right. Your aunt will help you."
"Master, I'll help too." Bai Fengyao suspected her master wanted to sneak around behind her back and do something big.
She had to keep an eye on him, bringing all eight hundred of her wiles to bear. The books said that without wiles, you would not survive three chapters...
Over the next few days.
The Puppet Legion lived up to expectations and swept through Langya City!
Leading the puppets, Si Fu and Chen Tianya effortlessly seized the city lord's residence, wiped out the families that threatened or had conflicts with the Chen Lineage, and formally took the reins of administration.
The sign above the city gate was changed, simply and brutally, to the words "Chen Lineage."
The Puppet Legion stood guard atop the walls. Workers without feelings.
Chen Fan had no need to personally handle such trivial matters, because the other side was not yet qualified to make him appear, much less warrant a single word of unnecessary talk.
His life was simple during these days as well.
He comprehended cultivation techniques and divine abilities, corrected flaws, remedied shortcomings, balanced their power, experimented constantly, and wrote down his insights.
At the same time, he benefited greatly himself, because this meant gaining the experience and knowledge that came from reading widely.
After all, at this level, he had to embrace a hundred rivers; capacity made greatness!
Whenever he had nothing to do, he checked in and collected the system's subsistence rewards.
[Ding, check-in successful. Congratulations, host, on obtaining the divine-grade cultivation technique, "Order Heavenly Dao Art."] [Ding, check-in successful. Congratulations, host, on obtaining the divine-grade divine ability, "Primordial Divine Emperor Palm."] [Ding, check-in successful. Congratulations, host, on obtaining the divine-grade defensive formation, "Heaven and Earth Demon-Subduing Barrier."]
With those subsistence rewards, Chen Fan naturally lived very comfortably.
"Order Heavenly Dao Art"-order meant rules, establishing rules. Once he unleashed this art, everything would follow his rules!
All his power would be like an order that could not be resisted.
"Primordial Divine Emperor Palm" was simple enough: a big slap across the face.
As for the "Heaven and Earth Demon-Subduing Barrier," it was a divine-grade defensive formation. As its name suggested, even Gods and Devils could not breach its defenses. It was perfectly suited to keeping the Chen Lineage safe.
More importantly, the system could cultivate automatically while idle.
Chen Fan was very satisfied.
"Once I've buried the divine crystal veins and set up the Heaven and Earth Demon-Subduing Barrier, it'll be time for me to go to Burning Province..."
He had already completed accepting a disciple, while purging his sect would be difficult to accomplish anytime soon. Finding a wife and producing a descendant with the potential of a Great Emperor within two months now seemed pressing...
Hard. Far too hard on a man.
It would have been one thing without requirements, but since there were requirements, his master was his first target.
He was absolutely not a rebellious disciple seeking to defy his master and destroy his forebears.
At that thought, Chen Fan rose and went out.
Meanwhile.
At the Falling Cloud Sect.
Su Chanyue returned all alone, her face exhausted and haggard.
Even her image as an aloof goddess had faded considerably.
Then she went straight to see her master. She could not face going back to see her parents, because they had opposed her breaking off the engagement from the beginning.
Pain. So much pain.
Inside the great hall.
A mature beauty had been waiting for a long time.
Yun Lan, the Falling Cloud Sect's sect master, rose and approached when she saw her disciple return, full of affection.
"Chanyue, why are you so haggard? Could it be that Chen Fan refused to break off the engagement?"
Su Chanyue looked at her master, utterly unreconciled inside. The blow she had suffered was too great.
Everything had been fine when she left, but when she returned, she was alone!
She wanted to cry but had no tears. Only heaven knew what she had been through.
Her red lips parted, but she could not get a single word out.
Then she took out the repudiation letter and handed it to her master.
Yun Lan found it strange. There had to be more to this, and her heart ached for her disciple.
After taking the repudiation letter and reading it, she immediately felt much more relieved.
With an understanding smile, she reached out a fair hand and stroked her disciple's long hair, comforting her. "Chanyue, since Chen Fan has agreed to break off the engagement, you'll have no obstacles from now on..."
Sure enough, Chen Fan had agreed after all; otherwise, he would not have signed the repudiation letter. Of course, the compensation their Falling Cloud Sect and the Su Lineage had given the Chen Lineage was enough as well.
To the Chen Lineage of the past, those pills would not have counted as anything good, but times had changed. Now, they amounted to half a lifesaving straw for the Chen Lineage, leaving them no reason to refuse.
This way, with no ties binding her disciple, she could focus on cultivation and have a limitless future!
Su Chanyue nearly broke down on the spot.
"Master..."
Hmm? Yun Lan noticed that something was very wrong with her disciple. Should she not be happy, with everyone satisfied?
"Chanyue, why are you so dejected? Did the Chen Lineage make things difficult for you?" Anger rose in her beautiful eyes. It was understandable, but no matter what, she could only side with her disciple!
Yet all she heard was...
"Master, Chen Fan... is a Great Emperor!"