As night eclipsed the Continent, in the city of Glorious Flag, inside one of its luxury taverns, an old man sat drunk and disgruntled. Beside him, a courtesan leaned into each of his arms.
"Mr. Xinyi, tell us more about your adventures," one of the courtesans coaxed as Ling Xinyi burped.
"Ah, if I were to tell you all of my excursions, then we'd be here till dawn!" Ling Xinyi laughed, his voice slurred with intoxication.
"Aww, but there should be something, right? How about your greatest adventure?"
"Well, I really don't know," Ling Xinyi sighed, taking another sip of wine. "This old mind of mine can't remember things like it used to."
He paused, a grin creeping onto his face. "However, there is one thing I'll never forget."
The courtesans leaned in closer, their interest piqued as Ling Xinyi grinned incredulously.
"You see, five years ago, when Xuanhuan was still the Clan Leader, there was a brat. That brat's father was an extremely accomplished individual, and he was slated to become the next Clan Leader. But that wasn't to be the case," Ling Xinyi snorted.
"One day, he suddenly vanished. No matter how much we looked for that kid, we couldn't find him. That bastard fled, leaving his wife and child behind. This was good for us. That bastard was already in ties with The Thunder Law Sect, and we were planning to cut him off, though it would've come with dire consequences. We fed his wife poison that weakened her enough that she died after childbirth. And as for the kid?" Ling Xinyi chuckled darkly. "That kid was as useless as a donkey! Xuanhuan, the quiet, compassionate one, gifted that boy with a measly number of guards who kept dying. Slowly, the protection around that boy weakened until we finally attacked!"
Ling Xinyi grinned, his eyes glazed with drunkenness, unaware that the tavern had emptied.
"Oh, and what happened then?" A voice asked, low and ominous, yet Ling Xinyi paid no heed to the source and continued as requested.
"What more! We sent a few trained assassins and almost wiped out that bastard's bloodline. But that bastard, even after death, had help," Ling Xinyi gritted his teeth in frustration. "A friend of the bastard from The Thunder Law Sect arrived and fended off the attackers, saving that brat. Yet it seems luck was on our side as the brat went to The Disciple Selections and joined the Sect instead of following the original path of just gaining experience, which was the actual reason for being sent there. That brat has probably died by now after the invasion of The Thunder Law Sect! Hahahaha, good riddance, I must say!" Ling Xinyi laughed, his mirth echoing through the empty room.
"I see... who was involved?" The voice asked, cutting through the drunken haze.
"All of the Elders! Even that Xuanhuan turned a blind eye! Hahaha!" Ling Xinyi laughed again, oblivious.
"Alright, thanks, uncle," the voice replied.
Ling Xinyi, confused by the sudden familiarity, turned his head, only to see no one there. Panic gripped him as he tried to comprehend the situation, but it was too late. In an instant, his head was severed clean from his body, rolling to the ground as the courtesans' screams echoed across the street, piercing the stillness of the night.
—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In the Ling Clan's manor, several old men knelt on the ground, their faces heavy with tension. A middle-aged man, the Clan Leader, paced back and forth across the room, his expression clouded with anxiety. The silence in the room was oppressive, broken only by the sound of his footsteps.
As the atmosphere grew more strained, another old man arrived at the room, puzzled by the sight of his fellow elders kneeling and the Clan Leader pacing with such evident distress.
"What has happened, Clan Leader?" the newcomer asked, his voice tinged with concern.
One of the kneeling elders, his face drawn with worry, gestured for the newcomer to sit beside him. "So you've finally arrived. Come and sit; the Clan Leader was waiting for all the Elders to arrive before he could begin."
The newcomer hesitated but eventually took his place among the others, his curiosity piqued.
Finally, the Clan Leader stopped his pacing and turned to face the Elders, his expression grim. "Ling Xinyi has died," he announced, his voice filled with a dark, somber tone.
The room fell into stunned silence. The elders' mouths hung open in shock, their minds reeling from the news. Who could dare to have the gall to assassinate an Elder of one of the Great Clans? they wondered inwardly, but they waited for their Clan Leader to provide more information.
After a few moments of stunned silence, the newcomer Elder finally spoke up, his voice hesitant. "Uh, Clan Leader, can you explain to us who assassinated Ling Xinyi?"
The Clan Leader opened his mouth to respond, but before he could utter a word, a voice interrupted him, dripping with sarcasm.
"I killed that old man, dear old man."
The room fell deathly silent, the air thick with tension. The elders looked around, trying to locate the source of the voice.
"Who's that!?" the newcomer Elder demanded, his voice quivering with a mix of fear and confusion. The Clan Leader sighed heavily, his shoulders sagging as if a great burden had just been placed on him.
"Oh, don't tell me you don't recognize this junior of yours?" The voice mocked, as slow, deliberate footsteps echoed through the chamber, growing louder with each passing second.
The elders turned their heads towards the sound, their eyes widening in shock as the figure slowly emerged from the shadows.
"Y-you!" the elders stammered in unison, their faces pale with disbelief as the figure finally stepped into the light.
Their body was shaped like an ox, muscles bulging from every inch, radiating a terrifying strength. Black hair flowed down to their neck, and the man's eyes glimmered with a predatory amusement as he watched the shock and horror spread across the faces of the elders.
"H-ho-how are you alive?!" Ling Xuanhuan stammered, his voice shaking. Once the Clan Leader, he had resigned due to his old age, opting to become an elder, passing the mantle of leadership to a younger member of the clan.
"What, I can't be?" Ling Xuan grinned, the smile on his face twisted with a mix of mockery and disdain.