The Empyrean Dragon Realm expedition had finally come to an end. Some had prospered while some gained nothing at all, but with a time limit of only a single week, it wasn't surprising that many weren't able to encounter the fortune they were hoping for.
Even the likes of Xue Feng and Huo Lingtian came out with nothing in the end, but their wills didn't diminish. Even if they didn't make any material gain, the experience was worth its weight in gold.
It was always good to know how high the heavens were. Too much conceit might've blinded them to their true standing, making them arrogant beyond their means.
The temporary abodes outside the Empyrean Dragon Realm were engulfed in a lively atmosphere. At least, most of them were.
Considering the nature of this expedition, not many major powers suffered serious damage to their forces. Even if disciples died, there weren't enough dead for it to matter at all. As for those peak geniuses, it was impossible for them to be slain in such a place.
The Xue Clan, however, carried a chilling atmosphere that dropped the surrounding temperature by multiple degrees.
The clan elders gritted their teeth in frustration.
It wasn't just a simple matter of their disciples dying in the secret realm, it was the fact that all but two were exterminated. It was quite obvious that someone was targeting their clan.
'It must be that bitch princess.' The Second Elder growled inwardly. Even if the Clan Head didn't put her strength in his eyes, it wasn't the same for the rest of the elders.
The Clan Head had a tendency to be biased against women due to the nature of the Xue Clan before his reign. Not only that, he had an even stronger bias toward his firstborn daughter, who abandoned the clan for her own benefit.
This bias had blinded him to reality. The little princess was a disciple of one of the most powerful experts in the Cloud Plane, Tian Yang. Even though Shangguan Yu was acknowledged as the strongest, that was only because the two of them had never actually fought before.
The disciple of such a man would never be weak. One just had to look at the show that man's second disciple put on when he first showed himself to the world.
'The second she exits the secret realm, kill without mercy! Don't allow Tian Yang to act before us!' The Second Elder sent a sound transmission to the rest.
Multiple nods of affirmation followed his order. Besides the First Elder, all the rest were going to join him in this.
And just as they finished speaking about it, the familiar uneasy feeling of spatial fluctuations started emanating from the clearing ahead.
Voom!
The gate to the Empyrean Dragon Realm opened without suspense, teleporting dozens of disciples and rogue cultivators out at the same time. Since it was forceful teleportation, there was no rhyme or reason to the order they came out in.
And once around 200 people had been ejected, a black-haired man appeared in the crowd.
Long Chen opened his eyes and rubbed his temples. 'Teleportation will always be a pain. It is at times like these when I envy spatial cultivators the most.'
His gaze turned to the sky where the Celestial Star Palace's floating castle stood proudly. At the same time, his awareness spread through the crowd to find Ling'er and Xue Feng.
'Hmm, it looks like they have yet to arrive. I'll wait for them before I go. Besides, I think I'll get to witness a fun show if I stay here.'
Long Chen smirked. Even from so many meters away, he could clearly feel the Xue Clan's bloodlust as if they were standing right next to him.
'Is this another ability of my eyes? Or maybe it comes from Empyrea itself. From what I can tell, nobody else can feel it, even though it's so obvious.'
Long Chen shook his head and moved off to the side. 'That woman is truly an ice princess. There's nobody else who would dare slaughter the Xue Clan's geniuses so easily. I wonder, how many did she manage to kill?'
Xue Feng and Xue Yue soon appeared within Long Chen's awareness, however, Long Chen didn't go over to them immediately.
'Brother Xue, I think it's best you come over here for now and watch the show. I have a feeling that your Xue Clan won't last much longer.'
A mental transmission entered Xue Feng's head. Hearing it, his eyes hardened.
'Brother Long, even if I'm not fond of the clan, they are still my family. Please don't make such distasteful jokes.'
'I'm not joking, though? It seems your little princess has caused quite a scene in the secret realm, though I don't know how big exactly it is.'
Xue Feng furrowed his brows. With everything that happened with the Empyrean Dragon Sword, he had already forgotten about the task assigned to him by the Xue Clan.
'Mm, since Xue Yue and I weren't involved, it is plausible that she has killed every other clan member that came with us. How troublesome…'
Xue Feng was stuck between a rock and a hard place. On one hand, was the man he acknowledged as his own brother, and on the other was the clan who raised him since birth.
Even if he hated the inner workings and politics of the clan, he still had a sense of filial piety. If it wasn't for this, his decision would've come much easier.
But he knew Long Chen's personality by now. If Long Chen was saying it'd be dangerous to return to the Xue Clan at the moment, it meant that the clan was probably facing catastrophe.
A catastrophe they brought upon themselves, at that.
'Father is still in the clan, and no matter what, I cannot abandon him. However, with his loyalty, I'm sure he would follow the Xue Clan in life and death.'
Without thinking further, Xue Feng pulled out a communication jade slip, similar to the transmission talisman that Tian Yang had given Damien and Ruyue. As for who he was calling, of course, it was the First Elder.
'Father, are you there?'
An aged voice came from the other side. 'My son, it's good that you came out safely. Now, this one time, be obedient and listen to your father. Flee from here and never look back. No matter what you see or hear, never turn back.'
Xue Feng's heart skipped a beat. 'Father!'
'Don't say anything. Even if you know, don't say anything.'
'Father, is it worth it to be like this towards a clan that never cared for you at all?!'
'What do you mean by that? Of course the clan has taken great care of me. It's just…the era of the previous Matriarch and our indomitable rule is over. Haa, if only we could return to that era, how great would that be?'
Xue Feng's eyes were bloodshot. Even though the words they said didn't amount to much, the emotions behind them were becoming too much for him to handle. He was practically roaring into the communication jade slip already.
'Father! The previous Matriarch is already dead! Even if you wish to repay her grace, you shouldn't do so in a clan that has been so far corrupted! The way to repay her grace is by living on and building a proper Xue Clan from the rubble of the one that will fall!'
'…'
The First Elder didn't reply. Within the Ice Palace of the Xue Clan, he sat silently and stared at the ceiling.
'How funny. In this situation, it is supposed to be our Xue Clan that stands tall and demands revenge for being offended, yet, I am already admitting defeat.'
It wasn't the little princess he was afraid of. Even if she was more powerful than everyone in their younger generation, how could she compare to experienced 4th class beings like the elders?
The one he was wary of was the man she arrived with. That man had casually deployed five existences that were greater than most of the elders of the clan. Only the First Elder and the Clan Head had the power to stand alone against even one of them.
If the five of them were to siege the Xue Clan, it was guaranteed that most of their older generation would die. The Xue Clan would be finished from that moment on.
'Ahh, it's an unavoidable fate. When Yebai overthrew the previous Matriarch, I was powerless to do anything. She forced me to live on and accumulate strength as I did so. That stupid woman, did she know that this day would come eventually?'
He thought back to the words his son had spoken just moments prior. To live past the catastrophe the Xue Clan would face and to rebuild it anew once it was over.
That offer…sounded incredibly enticing.
'Shan'er, perhaps this is why you wanted me to live? Ah, but I have become an old man by now, so I'm sure you wouldn't want to hear me calling you so endearingly. I still remember how the Clan Elders back then were beaten by you for being overly frivolous.'
The First Elder smiled. It was a smile filled with sorrow and longing.
And as soon as that smile vanished from his face, he vanished as well, disappearing from the Xue Clan's ice abode as if he was never there in the first place.
