“I beg the Third Elder to show mercy! Please, spare my sister!”
Outside an old, rundown courtyard in Jiang Family Town, a youth dressed in black knelt on the ground.
He kowtowed repeatedly before a middle-aged man, pleading bitterly.
The youth was Jiang Han, a member of the Jiang Clan.
He had just returned from hunting outside that afternoon when he heard the devastating news—the clan’s Third Elder had forcibly taken away his sister, Jiang Li.
All because Han Shiqi, a powerful figure from Yunmeng Pavilion, had taken a liking to Jiang Li. He wanted to take her as a concubine and planned to bring her into his household in half a month.
The news struck like a bolt from the blue.
Upon hearing it, Jiang Han nearly fainted on the spot.
Six years ago, Jiang Han’s parents had mysteriously vanished. He and his sister Jiang Li had been left with only each other to rely upon.
In his world, Jiang Li was everything.
Now, the Third Elder wanted to forcibly marry Jiang Li away, making her the concubine of a man over half a century old. How could he possibly agree?
What infuriated him most was that Jiang Li was only eleven years old, still just a half-grown child.
“Brother! Brother!”
The door to the inner room was pulled open, and a pretty little girl rushed out crying.
Before she could run more than a few steps, a middle-aged woman darted out from the room and roughly dragged the little girl back inside.
Soon after, the crisp sound of a slap rang out, accompanied by the little girl’s sobs.
“Jiang Li!”
Seeing this, Jiang Han’s eyes went bloodshot with rage.
He stood up, wanting to charge inside, but under the Third Elder’s cold glare, he forced down his anger and stopped where he was.
“Jiang Han!”
The Third Elder was around forty years old. He was dressed in fine robes and had a burly build.
A centipede-like scar ran across the left side of his face, making him look fierce and terrifying.
He looked at Jiang Han and said indifferently, “Have you caused enough of a scene? The matter regarding Jiang Li is a decision of the clan’s Elder Hall and cannot be changed. Keep pestering us, and do not blame the clan laws for being ruthless!”
“Elder Hall?”
Hearing the Third Elder’s words, Jiang Han pressed his lips tightly together, nearly grinding his teeth to pieces.
Did they think him young and ignorant?
The Jiang Clan’s Patriarch had been in secluded cultivation for half a year.
The First Elder had been bedridden for over a month, and rumors said he would not last much longer.
The Second Elder was far away in Yunmeng City.
The Elder Hall currently had only the Third Elder left.
A decision of the Elder Hall?
This was clearly the Third Elder’s idea alone.
Looking at the Third Elder’s cold and grim face, Jiang Han gritted his teeth and pleaded, “Third Elder, my sister is still so young. Spare her. I know you had a grudge with my father. If you have a problem, take it out on me, but let Jiang Li go!”
In truth, Jiang Han did not know much about the old feud between the Third Elder and his father.
He only knew that his father had once been a martial genius of the Jiang Clan, one seen only once in a hundred years.
At thirty, his father had reached the fourth level of the Profound Nether Realm. His combat strength had been second only to the Patriarch and the First Elder, standing supreme among his peers.
When the Patriarch promoted his father to captain of the hunting patrol, many of his generation in the clan had been dissatisfied, leading to several conflicts.
As for the scar on the Third Elder’s face, which he had carried for over a decade—it was said that his father had been the one to leave it there.
“Insolent!”
The scar on the Third Elder’s face twitched.
Furious beyond measure, he raised his hand and slapped Jiang Han heavily across the face.
Jiang Han instinctively raised an arm to block, but the Third Elder struck too quickly.
He took the slap squarely, his body flying backward before crashing heavily onto the ground two zhang away.
Cough!
Jiang Han struggled to his feet.
His head spun and throbbed with pain, while his internal organs ached fiercely.
He opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of blood.
“You truly dare to spout such utter nonsense!”
The Third Elder glared coldly at Jiang Han and barked, “This matter is settled. No one can change it. Lord Han will grace Jiang Family Town with his presence in half a month. You had best behave yourself until then. If you dare cause trouble, I will kill you myself.”
“Furthermore, Jiang Li belongs to Lord Han in life, and to Lord Han as a ghost in death. Even if she dies, her corpse will still be sent to Yunmeng City!”
“Jiang Long!”
The Third Elder turned and barked in a low voice.
Not far away, a youth as thin as a bamboo pole strode forward.
He casually glanced at Jiang Han, his eyes full of mockery, and smirked. “Third Uncle, what are your orders?”
“Starting today, you will lead men to guard this place day and night!”
The Third Elder said with his hands clasped behind his back, “For this half-month, Jiang Li is not to step a single foot out of this courtyard. If Jiang Han dares to cause trouble… deal with him directly according to the clan laws!”
“Yes, Third Uncle!”
Jiang Long was the Third Elder’s own nephew, so the Third Elder was naturally completely at ease.
He cast one last cold glance at Jiang Han, then turned and strode away.
Watching the Third Elder’s retreating back, Jiang Han’s heart sank to the bottom.
Despair filled his face.
Although they belonged to the Jiang Clan, Jiang Han’s branch had been a single-heir line for three generations.
After their parents disappeared, the two siblings were left with no one to rely on in Jiang Family Town.
He had no way to obtain the clan’s cultivation resources. His abilities were meager, and he had absolutely no standing in the clan.
Although the Jiang Clan had many experts, the Third Elder’s branch was incredibly domineering and overbearing.
No one dared to speak on his behalf.
Purple Mansion Realm, Profound Nether Realm, Mountain and Sea Realm… each realm was divided into nine levels.
Jiang Han was only at the fifth level of the Purple Mansion Realm.
Setting aside the Third Elder, who was at the third level of the Profound Nether Realm, even Jiang Long before him was at the ninth level of the Purple Mansion Realm.
There was a gap of four levels between them.
He was far from being a match for Jiang Long.
If he tried to force his way in and take Jiang Li away, there would be only one outcome—Jiang Long would beat him to death.
“Jiang Xiaotian, you abuse your power for personal revenge. You will die a miserable death!”
Jiang Han gritted his teeth, hatred burning in his heart.
The Third Elder, Jiang Xiaotian, had a personal grudge against his father.
This was clearly Jiang Xiaotian taking revenge for a private grudge.
Jiang Li had never left Jiang Family Town in her life.
How could Han Shiqi, far away in Yunmeng City, possibly know about her?
Jiang Xiaotian must have deliberately offered Jiang Li to Han Shiqi as a concubine.
This way, he could both avenge the old grudge and curry favor with a powerful figure from Yunmeng Pavilion.
It was a perfectly calculated scheme.
“I must go back first!”
Standing there in a daze for a while, Jiang Han forced himself to calm down.
Enduring the pain, he slowly walked toward his own small courtyard.
Many passing Jiang Clan members cast sympathetic glances at him, but no one came over to speak to him.
In the Jiang Clan, the Elder Hall was the absolute heavens.
No one dared to defy it.
Returning dejectedly to his own small courtyard, Jiang Han sat on a chair like a statue.
He sat there for an hour.
No matter how hard he thought, he could not come up with any good plan to escape.
To take Jiang Li and flee, his combat strength would need to reach at least the ninth level of the Purple Mansion Realm.
Otherwise, he could not even get past Jiang Long.
He had cultivated for six years just to barely reach the fifth level of the Purple Mansion Realm.
How could he possibly rise to the ninth level in just half a month?
If he stayed, he could only watch helplessly as Jiang Li was sent to Yunmeng Pavilion, toyed with and humiliated by that lecherous old man, living a life worse than death…
“Is there truly no way out?”
Jiang Han murmured in despair.
His hand involuntarily tightened around a small jade pendant shaped like a tripod cauldron resting against his chest.
It was the only thing his mother had left him.
His gaze drifted out the window, and he murmured in confusion, “Father, Mother… where did you go? Are you alive or dead? What should I do? What should I do!”
Crack!
Perhaps due to his emotional agitation and excessive force, the jade pendant shaped like a tripod cauldron was crushed entirely in Jiang Han’s grip.
Suddenly!
The jade pendant burst forth with a blinding light, instantly illuminating the entire room until it was as bright as snow.
“Huh? This…”
Jiang Han jumped in fright.
He looked down, his expression somewhat dazed.
Although he had crushed the jade pendant, not a single fragment remained.
His hand was completely empty.
The jade pendant shaped like a tripod cauldron had mysteriously vanished…