Chapter 4: Forsaking the Lu Clan!

"Stop!"

From the head of the grand hall, the Patriarch of the Lu family roared, his eyes bulging with fury.

As the word left his lips, his body surged forward like a streak of grey light, hurtling toward the center of the hall. He unleashed the full, crushing pressure of a peak Zhoutian realm cultivator upon Lu Changfeng.

Though Lu Changfeng’s speed was already immense, it paled in comparison to that of a peak Zhoutian expert. In the blink of an eye, a gale of overwhelming force descended upon him. Lu Changfeng’s body shuddered, and streaks of blood began to bloom across his skin.

Ignoring the pain, he fused his fingers into a blade. Originally intending to strike a lethal blow to Lu Tianyun’s skull, he was forced by the crushing pressure to shift his aim, slamming his hand instead into the youth’s abdomen.

*Slash!*

The sound of tearing flesh echoed through the hall. A burst of blood erupted from Lu Tianyun’s stomach as his body was sent flying, spraying crimson like a fountain before he crashed into the wall and fell unconscious.

"You beast! How dare you harm my son? Die!"

Mid-air, the Patriarch’s face twisted into a mask of pure malice. He pushed his cultivation to its absolute limit, condensing his spiritual energy into a massive, surging torrent that hammered down toward Lu Changfeng. The sheer pressure caused the entire hall to tremble, as if it were on the verge of collapse.

Lu Changfeng retreated violently, yet he was still grazed by the edge of the attack. In an instant, he was slammed into the back wall of the hall. Standing up, he wiped a smear of blood from his mouth and spoke with cold indifference:

"Beat the young one, and the old one can’t wait to jump out?"

"..."

"Insolent!" The Patriarch’s face darkened, his aura billowing like a storm. "I commanded you to stop, yet you continued your assault, intending to kill?! Do you have no respect for me as the head of this clan?!"

Lu Changfeng remained impassive, his expression one of bored contempt. Seeing this, the Patriarch erupted in fury:

"You animal! You defy the orders of the Patriarch, act with such sinister cruelty, and harm your own kin! Do you have no regard for the Lu family at all?"

The Patriarch was cold, his intent to kill razor-sharp. As the head of the Lu family, he found being humiliated by a junior in such a manner intolerable. A wave of Zhoutian-realm pressure surged forth, crushing down upon the hall. The wind howled, and the onlookers were forced back by the sheer weight of the force.

*Boom!*

Caught in the center of the pressure, Lu Changfeng felt as if he had been struck by a mountain. His bones groaned and cracked under the strain. The floor shattered instantly, and a cloud of dust engulfed him completely.

***

"Excellent!"

"That damnable Lu Changfeng! To defy the Patriarch—his crimes deserve death!"

"The Patriarch is at the peak of the Zhoutian realm! How could Lu Changfeng possibly survive such a strike?"

The members of the Patriarch’s faction cheered and cursed in unison.

The Patriarch, however, frowned slightly. He felt something was off. The feedback from his attack suggested that his pressure hadn't truly connected with Lu Changfeng. Or perhaps, he reasoned, Lu Changfeng’s cultivation was simply so low that he had been vaporized instantly. After all, he was a peak Zhoutian expert; a mere first-stage Tongmai cultivator could not possibly survive him.

Just as the Patriarch let his guard down:

*Whoosh!*

From the swirling dust, a streak of light shot off into the distance. At the same time, a roar echoed across the heavens:

"A mere Zhoutian-realm ant thinks he can kill me? One day, I will see the entire Lu family wiped from existence!"

Every word fell like a heavy hammer upon the hearts of everyone present. Some even felt a seed of dread take root: "This wretch... he might truly become a calamity!"

The Patriarch’s face turned leaden. Spiritual energy surged around him as he shattered the great doors of the hall into splinters. "Men!" he bellowed. "Seal Jiangling! Send out every cultivator in the clan! Whoever beheads Lu Changfeng shall be promoted to an Elder of the family and rewarded with a thousand spirit stones!"

"As you command!" the Lu family members responded, their eyes burning with greed.

The Patriarch took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. He carefully lifted Lu Tianyun, his eyes flickering with concern. After checking his son’s meridians, he finally let out a sigh of relief. He funneled a stream of pure spiritual energy through Lu Tianyun’s meridians, smoothing out the internal injuries. Visible wounds began to fade.

"Father..." a weak voice called out. Lu Tianyun stirred back to consciousness.

The Patriarch sighed softly and spoke in a gentle tone: "Say no more... Your path of cultivation has been too smooth; this setback will be beneficial for your journey. You possess great fortune and heaven-defying talent! I believe in you—you, the Heaven-Blessed Son of the Lu family, will surely rise like a dragon upon the wind! For now, you must remain patient and wait for the great changes in the world to come."

Lu Tianyun nodded slightly, a flash of brilliance crossing his eyes. "Do not worry, Father. Lu Changfeng will certainly die by my sword in the future!"

He had heard Lu Changfeng’s taunts before falling unconscious, and under his father’s words, that humiliation transformed into the fuel for his cultivation. Bracing his body, Lu Tianyun spoke softly:

"Father, do you not have a close friend in the Shengyuan Sect? I wish to leave the Lu family and seek advanced training there!"

The Patriarch looked at the resolute expression on his son’s face and agreed. "Very well! You are the Heaven-Blessed Son of our clan; I believe your future achievements will be boundless!"

The Shengyuan Sect was the premier sect of the Tianyuan Region, having cultivated countless powerhouses. Legend had it that they had even produced a master of the True Spirit realm. It was the sacred land of cultivation that countless practitioners longed to reach.

Lu Tianyun clenched his fists, his fighting spirit reignited. He looked at the surrounding Lu family disciples and put on a facade of magnanimity: "Father, although Changfeng acted on impulse, his crimes do not warrant death. If you manage to capture him, could you hand him over to me? I will see to it that he repents and turns over a new leaf!"

The Patriarch replied indifferently, "Very well."

***

Deep in the mountains, under a sky obscured by dark clouds, a stumbling figure fell from the treetops to the ground. His black robes were in tatters, and a ghastly, shocking wound marred his chest, blood dripping continuously.

Behind him, a black-clad figure followed closely, sword light flashing as he struck directly for Lu Changfeng’s neck.

"Die!" the masked assassin roared, his eyes filled with murderous intent.

Lu Changfeng’s expression remained unchanged. The Pure Yang Sword Technique surged forth, erupting from his fingertips.

*Slash!*

The blade light tore through the air with a shrill whistle, slamming into the assassin’s neck.

*Splurt!*

The assassin’s head hit the ground, his eyes filled with disbelief. Lu Changfeng turned back, coughing up a mouthful of black blood.

"Pfft!"

Though his condition was dire, his eyes were bright and his expression remained calm. "The Lu family Patriarch is truly ruthless. I have neutralized three waves of assassins, yet they continue to come one after another!"

Lu Changfeng took a deep breath and carved a cave into the cliffside. After covering the entrance, he retreated inside to heal. The Patriarch’s attack had not killed him, but it had left him severely wounded.

"Huff!"

Lu Changfeng exhaled a breath of turbid air as waves of heart-wrenching pain stimulated his senses. "It is fortunate that the remnants of my Reborn Emperor Soul were there to block eighty percent of the force. Otherwise, I truly would have fallen today!"

He could not afford to lament. While the last of the Emperor Soul’s power remained, he had to make use of it.