"Unrepentant… must it come to this?" Huang Guyuan sighed.
"This is your home, after all. While things may have been a little unfair to you, do we really need to face each other in life-and-death?"
"I told you keeping this brat would become a threat one day," the Huang Clan's Grand Elder said angrily from the side.
"A little unfair?" Yan Buhui sneered.
"Where were you when my mother died? In this family, I lived worse than a dog. Even after I fled to the True Martial Sacred Ground, you still wouldn’t let me go. You sent Huang Tianxie after me to force me out of the sect. How do you plan to settle those debts?"
"Whatever the case, I am still your father. That’s a fact that cannot be changed," Huang Guyuan replied.
"Do you even see me as your son?" Yan Buhui said coldly. "Spare me the emotional talk. I came here today for justice."
"What are you trying to do?" Huang Guyuan asked with a frown.
"Everyone who humiliated me over the years, must die," Yan Buhui said grimly.
"But don’t worry. I know the difference between right and wrong. I won’t slaughter innocent members of the clan."
Hearing this, the Grand Elder’s face changed drastically.
He released the pressure of an Empyrean Meridian Realm expert and shouted, "Huang Buhui, you’re too arrogant!"
"I’ll say it again. My name is Yan Buhui. I no longer carry the Huang surname, and I don't care for it either," Yan Buhui interrupted calmly. "And what if I am arrogant?"
Just as the Grand Elder was about to attack, Huang Guyuan gently shook his head and stopped him.
His gaze turned toward the people beside Yan Buhui.
One of them was a man in white robes.
The style of his clothing was unusual. On the back were four large burning words:
"A step away, a world apart."
Those flaming characters were instantly recognizable, the symbol of Heaven Ender.
Huang Guyuan's heart sank.
He didn’t know how Yan Buhui had managed to form a connection with Heaven Ender, but this lineage of three Grand Emperors was certainly terrifying.
Still, he couldn’t allow Yan Buhui to go on a killing spree.
Because deep down, Huang Guyuan knew, many members of the Huang Clan had wronged Yan Buhui.
He couldn’t just stand by and watch them all die.
"Are you people from Heaven Ender?" Huang Guyuan asked, cupping his fists slightly toward the white-robed group.
"Patriarch Huang, your reputation precedes you," the man in white, who had remained silent until now, said with a smile.
"And you are?" Huang Guyuan asked.
"Qin Chaotian," the man replied calmly.
"The head of Heaven Ender’s Eastern Continent division."
Hearing this name, Huang Guyuan was visibly shocked.
As clan leader, he was familiar with many top powerhouses of the Eastern Continent.
Qin Chaotian was a God Meridian Realm cultivator, one of the strongest in the entire region.
He oversaw all operations of Heaven Ender in the East.
Heaven Ender was known as an elite intelligence organization, and Qin Chaotian was rarely seen in person.
Huang Guyuan realized things were worse than he’d thought, Yan Buhui clearly had serious backing.
"Our Huang Clan has no quarrel with Heaven Ender," Huang Guyuan said cautiously.
"Yan Buhui has been chosen as the Holy Son of our Eastern Division," Qin Chaotian said flatly.
Listening to their exchange, Xu Zimo, observing from below, chuckled softly.
It seemed Yan Buhui had earned the approval of the Eternal Sword God, otherwise, Heaven Ender wouldn’t be backing him so firmly.
"You think the Huang Clan can be pushed around at will?" Huang Guyuan said through clenched teeth.
"You’re welcome to find out," Qin Chaotian replied with a light smile.
Huang Guyuan glanced back at his clan’s elders, then narrowed his eyes and said coldly: "Summon Ancestor Youlan."
"Huang Youlan… that name sounds familiar," someone in the crowd murmured.
"Isn’t she known as the Gentle Sword?" another asked, uncertain.
"Heaven and Earth birth a single Orchid, and the Huang Clan bears all gentlemen."
Someone suddenly realized and shouted, "I remember! The Gentle Sword, Huang Youlan, the most talented member of the Huang Clan since the Sword God of the Desolate Era! I heard she went into seclusion centuries ago to attempt the immortal path and was never seen again."
Within a secluded cave on the Huang Clan’s rear mountain.
The rocky walls were worn and covered in thick green vegetation.
The plants gave off a damp, earthy scent, mixed with fresh floral aromas.
Suddenly, the mountain wall began to tremble. A crack opened, and a pale blue light shot into the sky.
A hidden cave entrance appeared within the mountain.
Countless orchid petals drifted down from the air, like a gentle rain of flowers.
A cool breeze stirred the blossoms, scattering them beautifully through the sky.
Their fragrance filled the air, everyone could smell the delicate aroma.
Amid the falling petals, a woman in a flowing blue dress walked forward step by step, each footfall landing on a flower.
She moved from the horizon with the elegance of a goddess.
Power surged from her, peak of the God Meridian Realm, shaking the very fabric of the sky.
The rain of flowers continued around her. Her long hair flowed in the wind, making her appear like a celestial being descended from the heavens.
"Ancestor Youlan!" the members of the Huang Clan fell to their knees in greeting, awed by her presence.
"Huang Guyuan, why have you called me?" she asked gently.
"Ancestor Youlan, Heaven Ender seeks to destroy our Huang Clan. I had no other choice," Huang Guyuan said bitterly.
As Huang Youlan turned her gaze to Qin Chaotian, he smiled and said, "The proud daughter of the Huang Clan, truly impressive."
Huang Youlan didn’t respond.
Instead, she raised her slender fingers and plucked an orchid petal drifting through the air.
She flicked it lightly,
Spiritforce exploded violently. Fierce power tore through the sky.
A path of destruction was carved into the heavens by the single petal. A tornado howled in its wake.
Qin Chaotian's expression changed. He quickly raised both palms, his True Fate World surging behind him.
The petal exploded in front of him.
The sky itself was torn open into a black hole. Qin Chaotian’s figure flew backward, slammed by the blast.
When the crowd looked up again, his robes were shredded and his body covered in wounds.
"I believe there’s been a misunderstanding," Qin Chaotian said calmly, wiping the smile off his face. "I am not your opponent."
As his voice faded, Huang Youlan’s eyes turned toward the horizon.
From the edge of the sky, a majestic immortal pressure descended.
The endless resonance of celestial power echoed in the heavens.
The might of an Arcane Immortal swept through the air.