Chapter 72 The Bloodline Deception

Amidst the awe-filled silence, Zan Yunxiao, accompanied by Xueyun and Jin Feixue, slowly descended through the sea of clouds.

Their feet gently touched the stone platform at the front of the plaza.

Only then did the spiritual mist gradually disperse.

Before them...

Hundreds of descendants remained kneeling with their heads lowered.

Zan Yunxiao blinked in confusion.

He looked around the enormous gathering before turning to Xueyun.

"What is this?"

"Why are there so many people?"

"And... what's going on?"

Xueyun simply smiled sweetly without saying a word.

Unable to get an answer, he turned to Jin Feixue.

She merely returned the same mysterious smile.

Zan Yunxiao could only sigh helplessly before shifting his gaze toward Zan Wei.

The moment Zan Wei met his father's questioning eyes, he awkwardly cleared his throat.

Then, stepping forward, he announced in a loud and respectful voice,

"Everyone."

"Standing before you is the Founder of the Zan Clan..."

"...the true Ancestor of our clan."

"He has recently emerged from seclusion."

The crowd immediately lowered their heads even further.

"Greetings, Founder!"

"Greetings, True Ancestor!"

Their voices echoed throughout the plaza.

Zan Yunxiao listened quietly, his expression remaining calm.

"So... this is simply a gathering of the clan's disciples."

His gaze swept across the crowd.

He saw young children...

Teenagers...

Adults...

And even quite a few elderly people with gray hair.

Seeing such a wide range of ages, he naturally came to a conclusion.

After all, a hundred years had already passed. It was only natural for many of the disciples to have married one another and started families. Most of the people standing before him now were likely the children and grandchildren of those original disciples.

Just as he finished that thought—

Zan Wei spoke again.

"Father."

"Everyone gathered here..."

"...is your descendant."

Zan Yunxiao froze.

"...What?"

He slowly turned his head toward Zan Wei.

"My... descendants?"

Zan Wei nodded seriously.

"Yes."

Zan Yunxiao slowly raised a finger toward the kneeling crowd.

"...All of them?"

"Yes."

The answer came without the slightest hesitation.

The corner of Zan Yunxiao's mouth twitched.

"...How?"

His eyes swept across the crowd once more before stopping on an elderly man whose beard had already turned completely white.

The old man looked as though he was nearing the end of his lifespan.

Zan Yunxiao pointed directly at him.

"...You mean..."

"...even that old man who's almost at death's door..."

"...is my descendant?"

Zan Wei nodded firmly.

"Yes."

Zan Yunxiao was genuinely speechless.

His finger remained suspended in the air as he stared at the elderly descendant.

Then he slowly looked back at Zan Wei.

"...So these hundreds of people..."

"...are all my descendants?"

Zan Wei nodded without hesitation.

"Yes."

Zan Yunxiao remained stunned for a long moment before asking once more,

"...How?"

Zan Wei let out a helpless sigh.

"Father..."

"Please don't ask the same question repeatedly. I'll explain everything to you later."

He then turned toward Xueyun and Jin Feixue.

"Mothers."

"Please escort Father back to his chamber."

Before Zan Yunxiao could ask another question, Xueyun gently took hold of his arm.

"Husband."

"We'll explain everything once we're back."

Jin Feixue smiled as she took his other arm.

"Let's go."

The two women practically dragged Zan Yunxiao away from the plaza.

Even as he was being led away, Zan Yunxiao still wore a bewildered expression.

"How could there be hundreds of descendants?"

However, what truly puzzled him wasn't the sheer number of descendants.

It was something else entirely.

"Something isn't right..."

"According to the system..."

"Every descendant born grants me five years of cultivation as a passive reward."

"With hundreds of descendants..."

"I should have broken through to the next major realm long ago."

"So why am I still only at the Seventh Soul Transformation Realm?"

The more he thought about it...

The more confused he became.

Meanwhile, after watching his father disappear into the distance, Zan Wei turned back toward the descendants still kneeling in the plaza.

His calm voice echoed across the square.

"You have all seen the Founder."

"There is nothing more for today."

"Return to your respective residences."

The descendants immediately cupped their fists.

"Yes, Patriarch!"

One after another, they rose to their feet.

Although many still wore expressions of excitement and disbelief after witnessing the Founder's appearance, no one dared linger.

Soon, the bustling plaza gradually emptied as the descendants dispersed in every direction, returning to their homes while excitedly discussing the legendary Founder they had finally met.

Meanwhile, Zan Yunxiao arrived at his former Patriarch's residence within the Zan Clan grounds.

Just as he reached the entrance, he suddenly stopped.

He turned toward Xueyun and Jin Feixue.

"Please inform everyone to gather in the Patriarch's Main Hall."

"I want to discuss something."

Both women hearing his serious tone, immediately understood that the matter was important.

Without asking any questions, they nodded.

"Very well."

"We'll notify everyone."

With that, Xueyun and Jin Feixue departed to summon Zan Wei, Zan Tianming, Shenyuu, Elder Dan, and the other core members of the clan.

Soon, only Zan Yunxiao remained standing quietly in the courtyard.

He slowly looked toward the bustling Zan Clan beyond the walls.

His expression became increasingly thoughtful.

"Hundreds of descendants..."

He still found it difficult to believe.

The sight of elderly descendants kneeling before him earlier continued to replay in his mind.

"Just how many descendants do I actually have now?"

More importantly...

His brows gradually furrowed.

"If I truly have hundreds of descendants..."

"Then why hasn't my cultivation reached the next major realm?"

With such a massive bloodline...

He should have accumulated enough cultivation to break through long ago.

Yet reality was completely different.

He was still at the Seventh Soul Transformation Realm.

Something...

Didn't add up.

Just then, a thought suddenly flashed through Zan Yunxiao's mind.

"...What if..."

"...some of them aren't actually my descendants?"

His eyes narrowed.

Without wasting another moment, he silently opened the Clan Interface.

A translucent panel appeared before him.

He began searching for the familiar faces he had seen in the plaza.

One...

Five...

Ten...

The more he searched, the darker his expression became.

Until finally.

"...What?"

His brows knitted together.

A shocking truth appeared before his eyes.

Most of them...

Were not his descendants.

They had no bloodline connection to him whatsoever.

The Clan Interface, which was directly linked to the Eternal Ancestor System, could never make a mistake.

Only those who truly carried his bloodline would appear as descendants in the Clan Interface but most of them did not appear in the Clan Interface which means they're not his descendants.

Zan Yunxiao continued checking face after face.

The results remained unchanged.

Only a portion of those gathered in the plaza were genuine descendants.

The majority...

Were complete frauds.

"..."

For a long moment, Zan Yunxiao simply stared at the interface.

Then he slowly closed it.

A vein bulged on his forehead.

"So that's why..."

"I didn't break through."

His passive cultivation reward only came from true blood descendants.

No wonder hundreds of people in the plaza hadn't translated into hundreds of passive rewards.

Realizing this, he felt relieved that the system hadn't malfunctioned.

But immediately afterward...

His expression turned gloomy.

"How did these frauds enter the Zan Clan? And worse how did they end up standing among my descendants?"

His eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Did Zan Wei allow this..."

"...or does he not know they've deceived the clan?"

He couldn't believe that so many unrelated people had managed to falsely claim the Zan bloodline.

Either someone had deliberately deceived the clan...

Or Zan Wei himself had been unaware of the deception.

Although he was pleased that there were still many genuine descendants among the crowd...

He couldn't overlook such a serious matter.

People with no blood relationship to him had falsely claimed to be descendants of the Founder's bloodline.

That was nothing short of fraud.

A cold glint flashed across Zan Yunxiao's eyes.

"This matter must be investigated."

"If they're pretending to be my descendants..."

"Then someone is responsible."

He slowly exhaled.

"Zan Wei..."

"I hope you have a reasonable explanation."

Otherwise...

His son was about to receive a severe scolding for allowing impostors to infiltrate the Zan Clan and pass themselves off as descendants of the Zan bloodline.

. . .

A few minutes later, inside the Patriarch's Main Hall, a solemn atmosphere filled the room.

The grand hall was completely silent. On both sides sat the core elders of the Zan Clan, including Zan Wei, Zan Tianming, Shenyuu, Elder Dan, and the other senior members. None of them spoke, sensing that the Founder had summoned them for an important matter.

At the very front of the hall, upon the Patriarch's seat, sat Zan Yunxiao.

His expression was unusually serious, his fingers lightly tapping the armrest of the chair. His calm gaze slowly swept across everyone present, causing the atmosphere to grow increasingly tense.

No one dared to break the silence.

They simply waited respectfully for the Founder of the Zan Clan to speak first.

The oppressive silence lingered for several moments before Zan Yunxiao finally broke it.

"Do any of you know..."

"...why I summoned you here?"

His calm voice echoed throughout the Patriarch's Main Hall.

No one answered.

Seeing Zan Yunxiao's unusually serious expression, the elders lowered their heads, unwilling to speak carelessly.

After a long pause, Zan Wei slowly stood from his seat and cupped his fists.

"This son does not know why Father summoned us."

Zan Yunxiao looked at him for a moment before nodding faintly.

"It concerns the descendants."

The moment those words were spoken, everyone in the hall exchanged puzzled glances.

They had expected the discussion to be about the Founder's century-long seclusion or perhaps the future plans of the Zan Clan.

None of them had expected the topic to concern the descendants.

Zan Yunxiao slowly swept his gaze across everyone present.

His expression remained calm, yet there was an unmistakable hint of displeasure in his eyes.

"I have just inspected the clan through a special method."

"And I discovered something..."

His fingers lightly tapped the armrest of the Patriarch's chair.

"...Most of the people gathered in the plaza earlier..."

"...are not my descendants."