The Azure Dragon Sect's Ascension Ceremony proceeded as scheduled. In addition to the various powerful figures who had stayed from the day before, many nearby factions had caught wind of the event and arrived to offer their congratulations.
However, when those later arrivals discovered that the ones attending to them were none other than golden-armored guards of the Qilin Prince's Manor, they were quite frightened.
And when they learned that these Qilin Prince's Manor guards had been ordered by Qi Fengyang to perform menial labor as punishment for offending Chu Feng, their shock only deepened.
The news that Chu Feng had become sworn brothers with Lord Qi Fengyang was simply too explosive—many found it hard to accept. Combined with the tale of how Chu Feng, at the seventh level of the Yuan Martial Realm, had slain Gong Luyun of the fourth level of the Xuan Martial Realm, people regarded Chu Feng as nothing short of legendary.
Naturally, more and more people wanted to catch a glimpse of Chu Feng, to witness the splendor of this prodigy for themselves. Unfortunately, on this important day of the Ascension Ceremony, Chu Feng never showed his face. No one knew where he had gone; all they heard was that he had entered closed-door cultivation.
Meanwhile, Gong Tianping and the other residents of Xuan Martial City had already returned to the city. At this moment, Gong Tianping was drowning in the grief of losing his son and had shut himself away, refusing all visitors. But as it happened, on this very day, several distinguished figures from the Qilin Prince's Manor arrived with a full army, leaving him no choice but to emerge and receive them.
"What? Lord Lin Ran still hasn't returned to the Manor? That can't be right—judging by the distance, he should have arrived long ago." In the parlor, Gong Tianping looked nervously at the several elder members of the Lin clan from the Qilin Prince's Manor seated across from him.
"Exactly. That's why we're worried—something may have gone wrong on the road. And since all the Lin clan members who originally went to the Azure Dragon Sect are now being held there by Qi Fengyang, we have no way of getting information. That's why we've come to you."
These elders were no weaklings. Every one of them stood at the seventh level of the Xuan Martial Realm, and their auras were all more formidable than Gong Tianping's. They were core figures of the Lin clan within the Qilin Prince's Manor.
"My lords, on that day Qi Fengyang struck Lord Lin Ran with tremendous force, and his relationship with Chu Feng is rather... unusual. Do you think there's a possibility that Qi Fengyang deliberately let Lord Lin Ran go, only to secretly imprison him on the way back?" Gong Tianping ventured.
"No. That Qi Fengyang may be reckless in his methods, but he acts openly and aboveboard. Moreover, he is fiercely loyal to the Manor. Even if he doesn't see eye to eye with our Lin clan, he would never kill anyone from the Qilin Prince's Manor. I don't believe he's behind this." The elders shook their heads.
"Let me in! Let me in!!"
"Madam, please wait—madam! MADAM!!"
Just then, a commotion erupted outside the parlor. The tightly shut doors were suddenly kicked open, and a pale-faced woman drenched in tears burst in, flanked by several guards.
"What are you doing here? Don't you know I'm entertaining distinguished guests? Get out!!!" Gong Tianping leapt to his feet and bellowed. The woman was none other than his own wife—Gong Luyun's mother.
Under normal circumstances, such a reprimand from Gong Tianping would have struck her speechless with fear. But today she was like a completely different person. Not only did she refuse to retreat, but with trembling hands she pointed at Gong Tianping and snarled through gritted teeth:
"Gong Tianping, how can you be so cruel! Even if Luyun wasn't born of me and you, there was no need for you to murder him so viciously! He called you 'Father' for twenty years—in his heart, you were his true father!!!"
"And Lord Lin Ran—so what if he was Luyun's biological father? He and I weren't having an affair. I knew him long before I ever met you!"
"But you... you killed him! And you tortured him with such madness—are you even human? You're a demon!" By this point the woman was weeping uncontrollably, her voice hoarse from screaming, her body trembling even more violently.
"What... what are you babbling about?" Gong Tianping, utterly bewildered, strode forward and delivered a vicious slap to her face that sent her flying dozens of meters away.
"Go ahead—hit me! Kill me if you want! Luyun is dead, and I don't want to live anymore either. But before I die, I will make sure you demonic madman face justice."
"My lords, Lord Lin Ran has been killed by this deranged Gong Tianping! His body is in Gong Tianping's room right now!" the woman cried to the elders. Even as she spoke, she scrambled to her feet and began stumbling toward the door.
The elders of the Qilin Prince's Manor, their expressions now grim, exchanged a glance and followed swiftly behind her.
"My lords, please don't listen to her ravings! She's lost her mind from the grief of our son's death—she doesn't normally talk like this!" Gong Tianping hurried after them, trying to explain, but the elders ignored him completely.
Led by the woman, the group quickly arrived at Gong Tianping's private quarters. When the doors swung open, every person present—save the woman—gasped in horror.
Hanging from the ceiling of the room was a naked corpse. It was grotesquely incomplete—both hands and feet had been severed, and even his manhood was missing. But the face remained intact. It was Lin Ran of the Qilin Prince's Manor.
Lin Ran's eyes had been gouged out, and his tongue had been cut from his mouth. Around his neck hung a placard, and on it were written two large characters: "Adulterer."
"Gong Tianping, look! Look at what you've done! Even if Luyun was born of me and Lord Lin Ran, you had no right to mutilate him like this! You're nothing but a monster!" The woman broke down in fresh wails at the sight of Lin Ran's wretched remains.
"Heavens—this... this..." Gong Tianping collapsed to his knees with a thud, completely stunned by the scene before him.
"You wretch of a Gong Tianping! The Qilin Prince's Manor nurtured and elevated your Gong family, and this is how you repay us—slaughtering Lord Lin Ran over your petty grudges!" One of the elders pointed at Gong Tianping and cursed furiously.
"Someone! Someone come! Tear this Gong family apart! I want every last one of these wretched animals slaughtered—leave nothing behind!!!" Another elder rushed outside to summon the Qilin army stationed outside Xuan Martial City.
As for the third elder, he was even more direct. He struck without hesitation, slamming his palm down on Gong Tianping's skull and shattering it until blood poured from all seven orifices. Even then he roared: "I won't be satisfied until you're torn limb from limb! Only then will Lord Lin Ran's spirit find peace!!!"
Upon learning what had happened, the Qilin army stationed outside erupted in towering fury and began their massacre of the Gong family without a shred of mercy—because nothing less could quench the rage burning in their hearts.
It was all because of Lin Ran's death. The Gong family was plunged into utter ruin. Screams rang out without cease as they were slaughtered bit by bit, their name erased from the annals of Qingzhou.
And just as the Gong family faced its annihilation, atop a palace in a distant corner of Xuan Martial City, a young man stood gazing into the distance. It was Chu Feng.
Watching the Gong family being put to the sword, not a trace of pity crossed Chu Feng's face. He lifted his eyes to the sky and spoke with sorrow: "Father, the ones who harmed you have received the retribution they deserve. You can finally rest in peace."