The ancestor returns

Above the Spirit Master Realm!

At those words, the expressions of both the White Cloud City lord and the Balance Sect leader grew grave.

The Azure Dragon Gang leader had a point.

With Lu Qingshan's talent, who could guarantee that the Peak Spirit Master Realm was his limit?

Just then, the Azure Dragon Gang leader made another startling remark. "Aren't you curious how Lu Qingshan suddenly recovered his strength?"

Hearing this, the Balance Sect leader frowned deeply. "Can't you just get to the point?"

The White Cloud City lord said nothing, but he too stared intently at the Azure Dragon Gang leader.

Seeing this, the Azure Dragon Gang leader decided not to keep them in suspense. "I've investigated thoroughly. The Lu Clan has a treasure passed down through the generations, and it was that treasure that healed Lu Qingshan's injuries and restored his cultivation."

"An inherited treasure?!"

The Balance Sect leader was somewhat shocked.

The Azure Dragon Gang leader nodded. "Surely your respective factions have some fragmentary records about the Lu Clan. Long before our factions were founded, the Lu Clan had already existed for a long time."

The White Cloud City Lord spoke up from the side. "That's true. My City Lord's Manor has records as well. The Lu Clan has existed even longer than my City Lord's Manor."

"But are you really certain the Lu Clan has an inherited treasure?"

If it did, how could the Lu Clan have fallen to such a lowly position?

Faced with the White Cloud City lord's question, the Azure Dragon Gang leader said solemnly, "City lord, even if the Lu Clan doesn't have an inherited treasure, do you intend to stand by and let it grow?"

"Besides, Lu Qingshan's injuries couldn't possibly have healed for no reason. Even if there's no treasure, the Lu Clan is definitely hiding some great secret."

"So I suggest that all three of our factions strike together and wipe out the Lu Clan as quickly as possible, strangling it in the cradle!"

After the Azure Dragon Gang leader finished, a brief silence fell over the secret chamber.

After a long while, the White Cloud City lord and the Balance Sect leader finally agreed.

In the end, they still didn't want to see another faction in White Cloud City stand on equal footing with them.

The Azure Dragon Gang leader's expression remained unchanged, but inwardly, he was rather pleased.

Lu Clan, you dared to make my Azure Dragon Gang suffer such a loss. Did you think I'd let you off?

The so-called inherited treasure was nothing more than something he had made up.

What mattered, though, was that he had successfully stirred the killing intent of the City Lord's Manor and the Balance Sect.

"After tomorrow, there will no longer be a faction called the Lu Clan in White Cloud City."

On a street in White Cloud City.

White Cloud City was especially lively today.

Pedestrians thronged the streets amid the cries of vendors and the sounds of children playing, revealing the prosperity and peace on White Cloud City's surface.

But beneath that prosperity and peace, killing intent lurked on every side, and hidden currents surged.

"Oh, Brother Fan, you're here."

A waiter sitting outside a teahouse suddenly rose to his feet and smiled as he ushered a young man inside.

"How have things been lately? Has the Azure Dragon Gang come to cause trouble?" Lu Fan glanced around the teahouse before asking somewhat cautiously.

At the question, the waiter's smile grew wider. "Don't worry, Brother Fan. The Azure Dragon Gang just got a good thrashing from our Lu Clan. How would they dare come stirring up trouble?"

The teahouse was one of the Lu Clan's businesses in White Cloud City. Before, the Azure Dragon Gang had come to make trouble every few days.

The Lu Clan had often been angry but had not dared to speak out.

Now that the Azure Dragon Gang had suffered a setback and the Lu Clan was gradually rising, the Lu clansmen doing business outside the clan held their backs much straighter.

"Don't celebrate too soon. Knowing the Azure Dragon Gang, they'll never take this loss lying down."

After giving a few more instructions, Lu Fan walked over to a seat by the window, ordered a pot of tea, and began to enjoy this brief moment of peace.

I never expected the clan leader to recover from his injuries in such a short time. I'd originally planned to avenge the Lu Clan once my cultivation had recovered somewhat, but this works too. I can spend more time recuperating in the Lu Clan.

Besides, this Lu Clan doesn't seem as simple as it looks. I'm afraid tens of thousands of years have passed since my old era. As I recall, there seemed to have been a Lu Clan in the world back then too, but the difference in strength between the two is like heaven and earth.

Lu Fan reminisced for a moment before shaking his head with a wry smile.

Returning to his peak was a heavy burden and a long road.

Afterward, Lu Fan returned to the Lu Clan.

"What?! The Lu Clan is declaring war on the three great factions of White Cloud City? Has the clan leader gone mad??"

As soon as he returned to the Lu Clan, Lu Fan heard the crazy news.

In Lu Fan's view, the Lu Clan should now extend an olive branch to either the City Lord's Manor or the Balance Sect to achieve a balance of power in White Cloud City.

The Lu Clan's current strength rested entirely on the clan leader alone. No matter how strong the clan leader was, two fists were no match for six hands!

No, there might be more than six hands.

Lu Fan had long suspected that the City Lord's Manor stood subtly above the other two great factions. There might well be more than one Spirit Master Realm expert there.

"No, once war breaks out, the Lu Clan will definitely suffer heavy casualties. It might even be wiped out!"

Although Lu Fan wasn't truly a member of the Lu Clan, the clan had raised him nonetheless. He wasn't cold-blooded and heartless; he still had feelings for the Lu Clan.

He couldn't stand by and watch the Lu Clan be destroyed in an instant.

Lu Fan was just about to look for the clan leader, Lu Qingshan, when a familiar figure suddenly appeared not far away.

"It's the first elder! That's great."

"First elder, do you know the clan leader is going to declare war on the three great factions? Hurry and stop-"

Before Lu Fan could finish, Lu Guangyao said with a smile, "Of course I know. We old fellows discussed it and came up with the plan."

"What?!"

Lu Guangyao, however, offered no explanation and merely patted Lu Fan on the shoulder.

"Put your mind at ease. What's the Azure Dragon Gang? What's the City Lord's Manor? In the end, they're just stepping stones for our Lu Clan."

"Our Lu Clan is about to rise."

Watching Lu Guangyao's carefree retreating figure, Lu Fan stood rooted to the spot, his gaze somewhat vacant.

"They've gone mad. The clan leader and the elders have all gone mad."

"Could someone have secretly made a move against the clan elders and robbed them of their wits?"

This sudden turn of events troubled Lu Fan. At this rate, the Lu Clan might really be wiped out. Even with the clan leader at the Peak Spirit Master Realm, he couldn't protect the entire clan.

Unfortunately, Lu Fan was only at the Early Spirit Gathering Realm. If he were given another year—no, half a year—he could definitely become a pillar of the Lu Clan.

The reality, however, was that he didn't even have a single day.

Under these circumstances, Lu Fan had to think carefully about whether to stay or leave.

Inside the ancestral shrine.

The clan leader, Lu Qingshan, sat cross-legged on the ground like a stone statue.

Just then, the second elder, Lu Mutong, entered the ancestral shrine.

"Clan leader, the news has been sent out."

Hearing this, Lu Qingshan slowly opened his eyes and asked in a level voice, "How have the clansmen reacted?"

"Clan leader, most of the clansmen reacted strongly, but basically all of them support you. After all, you're the number one genius in White Cloud City," Lu Mutong replied with a smile.

Hearing this, Lu Qingshan smiled as well.

"The clansmen all believe in me. As their clan leader, how could I let them down?"

"It's time to show the world the depths of our Lu Clan's foundations."

Soon, news that the Lu Clan had declared war on White Cloud City's three great factions swept across the entire city like a tidal wave.

Everyone who heard the news was shocked.

They naturally knew that the Lu Clan's leader had reached the Peak Spirit Master Realm, but they hadn't expected the Lu Clan to make such a massive move right off the bat.

"This Lu Clan simply doesn't take us seriously!"

This time, even the White Cloud City lord became angry, a rare occurrence.

"The Lu Clan is courting destruction."

The Balance Sect leader's expression turned icy, and he had already sentenced the Lu Clan to death in his heart.

Seeing this, the Azure Dragon Gang leader immediately roared, "Then what are we waiting for? Strike now and show the Lu Clan what it means to overestimate itself!"

The three great factions moved with great speed. No sooner had they finished speaking than they gathered their forces and pressed toward the Lu Clan.

For a time, doors throughout White Cloud City were shut tight. The people knew that today would surely bring a storm of blood.

Boom!

With a tremendous crash, the Azure Dragon Gang leader blasted the Lu Clan's gates open.

"Lu Clan, your time has come! Surrender at once!"

Whoosh~

A desolate wind brushed across their faces.

The three great factions looked at the deserted Lu Clan grounds before them, their expressions unwittingly growing puzzled.

"Hm? What's going on?"

"Did the Lu Clan run away?"

Meanwhile, the Lu Clan's ancestral shrine was bustling with activity.

At their head, the Lu Clan's leader, Lu Qingshan, led a hundred or so clansmen in kneeling before the old ancestor's spirit tablet.

"We respectfully welcome the old ancestor! Please lead our Lu Clan to glory once more!"

"We respectfully welcome the old ancestor! To glory once more!"

"We respectfully welcome the old ancestor! To glory once more!"

Hum-

The incense burner before the spirit tablet began to tremble.

A wisp of azure smoke drifted slowly out, gradually forming a neat circle.

At that moment, every Lu Clan member was visibly excited, staring intently at the scene before them for fear of missing a single detail.

Lu Fan was even more shaken.

The Lu Clan actually had an old ancestor who was still alive?

He had never expected this.

This incense burner was extraordinary too. Even he couldn't tell what grade of treasure it was.

Sure enough, the Lu Clan he belonged to was probably anything but simple.

Just then, the three great factions inside the Lu Clan grounds heard the commotion and came charging toward them.

Cries of battle shook the heavens.

But the Lu Clan members seemed not to hear them. Every one of them was focused entirely on the azure smoke before them.

The next moment, space began to ripple.

The image within the circle of azure smoke gradually blurred. Immediately afterward, a figure appeared, dressed in dark robes, with white hair, white brows, and a weathered face.

The Lu Clan's old ancestor!