Anthony stepped out of the private jet and met a group of guards dressed in suits, led by a middle aged man who had his hands clasped behind his back, exuding and aura of nobility.
"Welcome home, young master!" The group shouted and executed a ninety degree bow.
Anthony who was not accustomed to such fanfare didn't know how to reply and nodded at them instead.
"This way, the car will drive you to the ancestral hall. The clan is pretty big, it's nearly a ten minutes walk from here to the ancestral hall. But we can cover it within three minutes using the car." The man said and pointed to a lamborghini which automatically opened the moment Anthony approached it.
"Butler James, the old man even sent you here to personally receive him." Joyce said, walking out with her chin up in the air. Her posture exuded the arrogance and grace of one who thought that they were superior to everyone.
"Welcome back, madam. Congratulations on retrieving the young master."
Anthony who was about to enter the car at that moment paused. Retrieved? Was he an item to be picked up or discarded at will?
He bit his lips and entered the car, closing his eyes as he felt the car zoom off. He barely took a few breaths when he felt the car stop and opened his eyes. The car door opened and he got down, his eyes couldn't stop scrutinizing the building before him. It was built in ancient Chinese pagoda style, with sculptures depicting various battle stance. Beneath each sculpture was a few words, listing who the warrior was, the battle technique being used and when the battle was fought.
"This way, young master." The butler said, making him look away from the sculptures and follow him inside. His mom glared at him and walked past them.
Soon, they got to a hall decorated with gold colors with undertones of red.
"This is the inheritance hall, and also the meeting point for the inner clan members." The butler explained.
The wall was lined with cultivation treasures, all the way to the golden throne at the farthest end of the hall. There were numerous sword mounts and accompanying swords on them, with the history of each written below the mount. The swords were of different designs and had different energy types imbibed in them. The swords numbered about thirty-three. Then there were also ancient scrolls and techniques kept on golden mounts attached to the walls. The scrolls contained techniques of different levels of cultivation. There were also histories of scrolls and some ancestors engraved on the wall. Anthony continued to go deeper in to the hall, while scrutinizing the different weapons casually kept hanging on the mounts attached to walls. The deeper he went, the treasures kept increasing in quality. He began to see whips, daggers, and wooden staff. There was even a mirror above the dragon throne. While two luminous stones were revolving on a candle holder on either side of the throne.
"What's he doing?" Someone whispered behind him. However, Anthony didn't seem to notice the people watching him with a frown. He looked like someone in a different dimension.
His eyes suddenly went to two daggers at the far edge of the hall, there was an elegant mount in a 'X' shape holding them. Anthony felt an inexplicable attraction to it and reached out to touch it.
His mom who was standing with the rest gasped and quickly rushed to stop him. The man sitting on the throne made a grabbing motion towards her and purple lightning curled around her, rendering her immobile.
"Let him be, don't interfere."
However, Anthony didn't notice the commotion around him. There seemed to be a concealment spell, making him unable to see the rest. The moment he touched one of the daggers, a mini tornado arose around him and the daggers unsheathed themselves, swooshing around him as if they were being controlled by an invisible hand determined to kill him.
Anthony quickly moved fast, avoiding the daggers, but the daggers only got faster, determined to end him.
"This our little cousin seems to be more stupid than we expected. Of all the weapons in the inheritance hall, he chose the martial god's twin dragon dagger which even the ancestors couldn't wield. Those daggers have been lying around for a thousand years, collecting dust because the spirit in them is too proud to bend. Ever since they were discovered accidentally after the great war, it has changed hands numerous times but no one has been able to use it. Luckily, it sealed itself after the death of the martial god. Otherwise, it would have killed countless souls. And now, an idiot that has probably not reached the grandmaster realm wants to touch it." One of the young men watching muttered to the one beside.
The girl beside him chuckled.
"Dante, you didn't have to make a move after all. Our dear cousin here has a death wish. We just need to sit back and enjoy the view."
"Ah! I haven't seen bloodshed in a while, too bad my cousin wants to be the first person to entertain us." Another young man who seemed to be in his early twenties whispered, smirking as he watched the scene. There were only two people looking panicked as they watched; a boy of about nineteen years dressed in a warrior garb and Joyce Meyers. That's right, they were Anthony's immediate younger brother and his mom.
"Stephen! Stephen, what are you doing? Step away from them. They will settle down once they are assured that you are not trying to take them away. Step back immediately!" Joyce shouted, trying to break free from the bind.
However, Anthony doesn't seem to hear her. Two women around her age scoffed and rolled their eyes, obviously filled with disdain.
"Joyce, you can't protect him forever. He's already a man, old enough to have his own family. Besides, he's about to ascend to the heir's position. If he can't escape from the daggers on his own, it means he lacks common sense and the barest minimum of strength. How then do you want to convince his brothers who are all talented geniuses that he's worthy of being their leader?" A man of about fifty years said, stroking his beard lazily as he watched Joyce's futile struggles.
"Keanu, if it was that easy, why are the daggers still without owners after all these while? I know you desperately want to be the patriarch, why don't you step forward and tame the daggers then?" Joyce bit back, her eyes spitting fire. She may not have the courage to go against the patriarch in public. But when it comes to the useless elder who has been eyeing her son's birthright, she had no qualms releasing her acidic words on him.
"Good! Good! Joyce, you keep growing more wings and going out of line. Good, good." Keanu said, gritting his teeth.
"Eh? What's he doing? Is he mad?" Someone shouted, making Joyce's eyes snap to Anthony.
Anthony had stopped avoiding the daggers, instead, he was writing spells mid air with one hand while the other tried to block the daggers.
"Those daggers can cut through anything, regardless of the density, and he wants to go toe to toe with them? Those dagger spirits are not the patient type. Anthony or Stephen, whatever he is called, must have a death wish." One of the young men whispered, watching Anthony through his narrowed eyes.