Outside the secret realm, the crowds that had gathered didn't disperse even though the relevant parties had already long since entered.
The ones who were remaining were mostly the elders and heads of various clans and sects. Since the secret realm opening was only a week long, they set up camp outside instead of wasting time on leaving and returning.
Due to this, various constructs now decorated the once-empty plain. Of them, the five massive objects floating in the sky were the most eye-catching.
Two were castles, one having a gold and red theme while the other was black and blue. These were the temporary abodes of the Jade Heavenly Palace and Celestial Star Palace.
Next to them stood a massive lifelike dragon and an equally massive Celestial Vine, where the Divine Dragon Temple and Supreme Fairy Paradise resided.
As for the last flying construct, it was a large lotus flower where the Azure Lotus Sect, the often forgotten 'fifth' of the Five Great Sects, resided.
Underneath these five flying constructs, there were tens of earthen constructs of differing levels of grandiosity. Among these was an ice palace that seemed to want to compete with those palaces in the sky.
Within that ice palace, furious roars could be heard.
"WHO DARED?! WHO DARED KILL MY SON AND DAUGHTER?!"
The Second Elder of the Xue Clan roared furiously as he looked at the shattered life tablets in his hand. He was simply relaxing and waiting for this usually calm secret realm to end and for his children to return after gaining their benefits, but within seconds, both of their life tablets shattered back to back.
His mana raged, threatening to shatter the ice palace around him. The blazing aura of a mid-level 4th class being caused many maids and servants to directly explode into blood mist.
"Second Elder! Calm yourself!" The First Elder roared in response, releasing his aura to counteract and lessen the pressure on those in the surroundings.
"Calm?! Why should I be calm?! My lineage has been cut in a single instant, how can I be calm?!"
"I understand what you're feeling, but—"
"HOW COULD YOU UNDERSTAND?!" The Second Elder boomed. "Your son is still alive and well in there. You must be celebrating that nothing happened to him. Yet, you dare tell me to stay calm?!"
"Enough!" A third aura encapsulated both of the previous ones. It was so cold and murderous that it immediately stopped the quarrel between the two elders.
"Second Elder, you aren't the only one that lost something just now. Be sure to remember that." The man's voice was exceedingly cold. With words alone, he managed to lower the temperature to the point where even 4th class existences were shivering.
"Y-yes Clan Leader." The Second Elder bowed while gritting his teeth. He suddenly realized who else would've been grouped with his two children. The Clan Leader's fourth son frequently hung out with them, after all.
But the Clan Leader's next words made his blood run cold.
"That trash really sullied the name of my Xue Clan. It's good that he died before he could embarrass me further."
That's right. This was the kind of man Xue Yebai, Clan Head of the Xue Clan, was. Nothing mattered to him more than benefits. Even his own children were tools he could use to further his own power.
"How are Yue'er and little Feng? The ones they took with them should be fine too." Xue Yebai asked.
"Y-yes, Clan Head. It is as you say." An attendant responded fearfully.
Xue Yebai nodded indifferently. "As I thought, the useful ones won't be killed off so easily. However, I want to see who really dares to target our Xue Clan."
By the end of his words, his voice was booming. The deaths of those geniuses mattered not, but he would never allow the Xue Clan to lose face.
"C-clan Head, weren't our groups given a mission to eliminate the little princess? Perhaps…" someone suggested.
Xue Yebai glanced over icily. "That slut? Didn't you see the way she arrived? As I thought, her only use is to cling to the thighs of a man and bring our Xue Clan's standing up. How could a slut like her be powerful enough to take on our geniuses?"
"Y-yes. I shall not doubt the Clan Head's judgement." The man replied hastily.
Although he said it, Xue Yebai wasn't so sure about his words himself. Unlike these clueless elders, he knew the true reason why Xue Ruyue was treated like trash in the clan.
It was because her talent, it was so great that it far outstripped any genius the Xue Clan had produced in the thousands of years of its existence. If she was allowed to properly grow…
'The work my ancestors and I have put into bringing this matriarchal clan down and taking it for ourselves, I won't allow a single wench to ruin it.' Xue Yebai thought to himself.
'I should've gotten rid of her when I had the chance. If she didn't get accepted by that damn Tian Yang…! Whatever, what's done is done. The opportunity may not present itself now, but when it does, I will cease it without fail.'
Xue Yebai turned his attention back to the five remaining life tablets on the wall. Looking at the name of the woman named Xue Yue, he showed a mixed expression of both visible disgust and lust.
'That bitch…if she didn't take after her sister so much she'd be the perfect woman. I should put her in her place when we return to the clan.'
A malevolent grin spread on his face for a second before disappearing. He licked his lips as if he was thinking of the most delectable meal.
'I birthed you and raised you, I groomed you into a fine woman, so it shouldn't be too much to ask that you repay your father, is it?'
Seeing Xue Yebai's expression, the elders in the room shivered.
Although he didn't show it often, they knew how vile of a man he was. Even talking about his sexual preferences alone, he had no limits. His mother, sisters, daughters, none were off limits. In fact, he seemed to become more aroused when he was with someone he had blood ties with.
It was due to his insane fetish that the Xue Clan began practicing inbreeding. The whole matter about preserving their lineage was simply a front. Yet, only a select few were privy to this information, and those select few held undying loyalty towards the vicious Clan Head.
The Xue Clan elders sighed and returned to their previous posts, minding their own business until the secret realm closed.
Having a Clan Head like Xue Yebai was a gamble amongst gambles. With his raging ambition and twisted personality, either he would raise the Xue Clan to the peak, or he would cause it to fall within moments.
But it was too early to tell which outcome would come to fruition. The Xue Clan had been laying low for so many years, perhaps this secret realm was the first time they would show the strength of their younger generation.
Xue Feng and Xue Yue, the two heavenly geniuses of the Xue Clan and the hope they had for becoming more than they were now.
It was just…the personalities that those two had were odd to say the least.
