In a beautiful garden filled with blooming flowers, two kids between the age of six and ten were playing.
A cute and adorable kid with silver hair seemed to be the youngest among the two.
He was dressed shabbily with tears in his eyes as he cried and complained to the girl besides her.
She was only ten years old but looked beautiful and graceful, unlike the shabbily dressed boy she was dawned in silky robes as she played with the flowers.
She stopped playing when she saw the shabbily dressed kid come to her crying.
"Gu Shang, why are you crying? Who dares to bully you? She asked angrily.
"Big sis, I was bullied by the servants under big brother Gu Lin" the little boy said crying.
The girl used the edges of her pure silk green dress to wipe the tears on the young boy's face as she comforted him.
She began to sing him a song until he calmed down. The little boy was dazed by his sister voice and singing and stopped crying just so he could here her sing.
After the little girl saw that Gu Shang had stopped crying, she pinched his cheeks and said, "You should be a man and stop crying, cultivate hard and become so strong to the extent that nobody can ever bully you again, not even the Gu Clan, alright? She said calmly as he stroked the little boy's back gently.
"I might not be here to protect you always, but I can assure you that you'll live, but you have to get stronger on own.
But for now, your big sister is here, no one is allowed to bully you, humph" She snickered before grabbing the little Gu Shang hands and gently pulling him towards Gu Lin courtyard.
The little boy followed his big sister whiles glancing at her back, which grew further and further away until it disappeared.
"Big sister!" Gu Shang muttered as memories of his elder sister flowed through his mind. He was only alive now because his big sister protected him.
His mother told him that when she first gave birth to him, the old clan lord had ordered his immediate death, but when his big sister saw him, she took a liking to him and threatened the old man to let Gu Shang live.
The old man listened to her because she was the future of the clan and did not want to make her unhappy.
The old man had thought she would get tired of the baby eventually,but that never happened.
That was the only reason why Gu Shang was alive today.
And also the same reason Gu Shang didn't want to take the Gu Clan members life. Gu Shang really hated this family and wanted to get rid of them, but when he remembered that big sister of his, he always falters.
He never wanted to do anything that would make his big sister hate him.
"The Gu Clan schemed against me and accused me of a crime I did not commit.. They sent me to the battlefield to die, how can I forgive you?" Gu Shang said coldly.
The Gu Clan members closed their eyes in despair, they had actually expected this. Gu Shang had only asked them to treat his mother, he had never said he would spare them if they did.
So they knew they would meet their end today. They closed their eyes expecting the order that would bring them their long awaited doom, however....
"But..." Gu Shang said slowly, " That also led me to becoming who I am today, that led me to meeting my brothers in the battlefield and it also led to my ascension to power.
It won't be wrong to say Gu Lin intent to kill me led to this situation, So I should be grateful to you? Shouldn't I? He asked slowly.
Gu Lin felt like an idiot, of course he knew that his perfect plan of sending Gu Shang to die on the battlefield was the worst mistake he had ever made.
If Gu Shang had never went to the battlefield, then there would have been no Grand General. If he had let Gu Shang be, he would have become a useless bastard and live in son in law of the Liu family.
He blamed himself and hated that decision, but alas there was no medicine for regrets.
"I would spare the Gu Clan today because of their eldest daughter, the only person in this family who treated me like a human being, your existence now is a payment to my elder sister"
Gu Shang turned around to leave, "Hate us all you want, despise us however you like, but it won't change the fact that the Gu family blood runs through your veins? The old leader suddenly said boldly.
"What? What did you just say?" Gu Shang turned around and said frostily.
The temperature dropped significantly as everyone began to tremble as a result of the sudden drop in temperature.
"Where's the ice coming from on such a sunny day?" One of the onlookers asked in surprise.
Snow flakes could be seen around the area seemingly out of nowhere, how powerful was Gu Shang.
He could literally move nature with his will alone.
The Gu Clan members trembled in the cold, but the old man did not retract his statement.
"Ah, I see.. Very well" Gu Shang took out a dagger and glanced at the old man.
"Indeed you are right, the Gu Clan blood gave me life, and for that they've tormented me for a crime my father committed all those years ago.
I didn't ask that man to force himself on my mother to bring me to this world, so why did you make me suffer for his mistakes?
The Gu Clan blood gave me life through their blood In me, so today I'll return it back to you"
Gu Shang took out a bottle and cut his wrist open as his blood flowed into the bottle.
The droplets of his blood formed a votex, sucking in the spiritual Qi furiously.
The space around them cracked with zapping sounds.
The onlookers were shocked, this was a treasure, Gu Shang blood was a treasure.
After sometime the bottle was fully filled with Gu Shang blood.
Gu Shang closed the lid of the bottle, stoping the bizzare phenomena. The space around them went back to normal, but the spiritual Qi around the area became extremely dense.
Some cultivators had immediate breakthroughs as a result of the dense Spiritual Qi. (Many years later, this would be the most desired venue in the realm)
Gu Shang gave the bottle to the old man, "Have it all.. Your Gu family blood. From now on I've cut all ties with the Gu Clan, we are nothing but strangers now" Gu Shang said coldly before climbing his horse, he couldn't help but cough out blood again, but this time he dealt with it by disposing it in the void.
"Take my mother home along with the troops" Gu Shang ordered.
"But where are you going?" The sixth emissary asked.
Gu Shang smiled, "To take my wife home of course" he pulled the reins of his horse and left with his entourage.
The soldiers surrounding the manor retreated on the sixth emissary command and followed the carriage to the Rising Phoenix Manor.
The Gu Clan members sat there in a daze, they were still alive!