Chapter 77 A Relative Returns to the Ancestral Clan

Several weeks passed in the blink of an eye.

Inside the temporary residence provided by the kingdom, Ling Tianyou stood in the courtyard with one of his junior brothers from the Thousand Sword Sect.

After a moment of silence, Ling Tianyou finally spoke.

"Junior Brother."

"I have something I need you to do."

His junior brother immediately cupped his fists.

"Please give your orders, Senior Brother."

Ling Tianyou's gaze drifted toward the distant horizon.

"I want you to travel to the Crimson Empire."

"Investigate someone for me."

His junior brother nodded.

"Who is it?"

Ling Tianyou was silent for a brief moment before replying,

"Shenyuu."

"Her name is Shenyuu."

He continued in a calm voice,

"I don't know whether she is still alive or has already passed away."

"If she has passed away..."

"Find where she is buried."

"But if she is still alive..."

"Inform me immediately."

His junior brother respectfully bowed.

"I understand, Senior Brother."

"I'll investigate her whereabouts at once."

Without another word, he mounted his flying sword and departed toward the Crimson Empire.

Ling Tianyou quietly watched him disappear into the horizon.

Originally, he had intended to make the journey himself.

However, he couldn't leave.

Tianlin had only recently awakened his physique and still required someone to watch over him.

Furthermore, his junior brother and junior sister were still hunting low-ranked monsters throughout the kingdom.

As the only Nascent Soul Realm cultivator in their group, Ling Tianyou could not recklessly leave while his juniors, who were only in the Foundation Establishment Realm were carrying out their mission.

If an unexpected danger arose...

There would be no one capable of protecting them.

For now, he could only entrust the investigation of Shenyuu's whereabouts to his junior brother and patiently await the results.

After his junior brother departed, Ling Tianyou remained standing alone in the courtyard.

His thoughts gradually drifted back more than two centuries.

He remembered the young girl who would often gaze toward the distant mountains with sparkling eyes.

"I want to become an immortal someday."

"I want to soar through the heavens."

That had always been Shenyuu's greatest dream.

Unfortunately...

When an immortal master once passed through their town to recruit disciples, Shenyuu's adoptive parents firmly forbade her from participating in the spiritual root examination.

Fearing they would lose the daughter they had painstakingly raised, they refused to let her step forward and test whether she possessed the qualifications to cultivate.

In the end...

Shenyuu never even had the opportunity to learn if she had a spiritual root.

Ling Tianyou slowly clenched his fists.

"If only..."

"If they had allowed you to take the test..."

"Perhaps your fate would have been completely different."

"...Maybe you wouldn't have married that man."

A trace of melancholy flashed across his eyes.

. . .

Inside the Zan Clan's training grounds, Haoyu and Yuhan sat beneath the shade of a large tree, watching the disciples practice their swordsmanship.

As they watched, Yuhan suddenly whispered,

"Brother... have you noticed we haven't seen Brother Junhao since that day?"

Haoyu nodded.

"Now that you mention it... Senior Sun Lei dragged him away, and he hasn't appeared since."

The two exchanged puzzled glances.

Just then—

A familiar voice suddenly rang out behind them.

"So..."

"You two still remember me?"

Yuhan and Haoyu jumped in fright.

They hurriedly turned around, only to find Junhao standing behind them with his arms crossed.

His face was filled with indignation, and there were faint bruises visible on his cheeks.

Junhao pointed accusingly at the two siblings.

"How could you betray your own relative?"

"You just stood there and watched Senior Sun Lei drag me away!"

Yuhan blinked innocently.

"How were we supposed to save you?"

"Senior Sun Lei is a cultivator."

Haoyu nodded in agreement.

"Exactly."

"We're still ordinary mortals."

Junhao puffed out his cheeks in dissatisfaction.

"Even so..."

"You could've at least pretended to stop him!"

"Instead, you gave me a thumbs-up!"

"You even looked like you were congratulating Senior Sun Lei for catching me!"

The siblings looked at each other.

After a brief silence...

They awkwardly scratched their heads.

"...That was a misunderstanding."

Junhao's eyelid twitched.

"Misunderstanding?"

"I suffered for three whole days!"

"And you call that a misunderstanding?"

Junhao let out a long, aggrieved sigh.

"And because of that..."

"I stayed inside my quarters for several weeks just to avoid that gor—"

He paused before muttering,

"...that gorilla."

Haoyu coughed lightly.

"Brother Junhao..."

"I don't think you should call Senior Sun Lei a gorilla."

"What if... that gorilla suddenly appears out of nowhere?"

Junhao clicked his tongue dismissively.

"Hah!"

"If he appears, I'll report him to the elders for abusing his authority!"

The moment those words left his mouth—

Yuhan suddenly looked past Junhao, her eyes widening in surprise.

"Eh?"

"Senior Sun Lei!"

"You're here!"

She enthusiastically waved her hand.

Junhao's face instantly lost all color.

"What?!"

Without thinking, he dashed behind the nearest tree, hugging the trunk as he nervously peeked around it.

His eyes darted left and right, desperately searching for Sun Lei's towering figure.

"Where?"

"Where is he?"

"Did he hear me?"

Seeing Junhao's panicked reaction, Yuhan could no longer hold it in.

"Pfft..."

"Hahaha!"

She burst into laughter.

Haoyu also covered his mouth, trying not to laugh.

Junhao froze.

Realizing there wasn't a single trace of Sun Lei nearby, he slowly stepped out from behind the tree.

His face immediately turned red with embarrassment.

"...You tricked me."

Yuhan giggled mischievously.

"I didn't expect Brother Junhao to get scared that easily."

Junhao's eyelid twitched.

Junhao gritted his teeth and raised his hand, ready to give Yuhan a light smack on the head for teasing him.

However, halfway through, he suddenly remembered why he had come looking for the siblings in the first place.

He lowered his hand and cleared his throat.

"I almost forgot."

"I came here to tell you something."

Haoyu and Yuhan looked at him curiously.

"What is it, Brother Junhao?"

Junhao crossed his arms and replied,

"A distinguished guest is arriving at the Zan Clan today."

The siblings blinked.

"Guest?"

They spoke in unison.

Junhao nodded.

"That's right."

"I heard they're almost here."

He turned toward the direction of the clan's main gate.

"Come on."

"We should go and see who this guest is."

Hearing that, Haoyu and Yuhan's curiosity was immediately piqued.

Without another word, the three hurried toward the entrance of the Zan Clan, eager to see who was important enough to be personally received by the clan.

By the time Junhao, Haoyu, and Yuhan arrived at the Zan Clan's main gate, quite a crowd had already gathered.

Many clan members and descendants stood on both sides of the entrance, seemingly waiting for the distinguished guest to arrive.

After waiting for a short while, the sound of horse hooves echoed from afar.

A luxurious carriage slowly approached before coming to a halt outside the clan gates.

The carriage door opened.

A dignified middle-aged man, appearing to be in his thirties, stepped down gracefully. He wore an imperial robe embroidered with a majestic golden dragon, and every movement carried the aura of one accustomed to ruling over millions.

Someone in the crowd immediately recognized him.

"That's... the Emperor of the Crimson Empire!"

"Emperor Hong Yuanji!"

The crowd instantly fell into an uproar.

"The emperor?"

"What is His Majesty doing at the Zan Clan?"

"Did something happen?"

As the whispers spread, several people hurriedly knelt upon recognizing the emperor.

However, before anyone could speculate further, another figure appeared at the entrance of the clan.

It was Shenyuu.

The moment Emperor Hong Yuanji saw her, he respectfully cupped his fists and bowed.

"This junior greets Elder Shenyuu."

Shenyuu merely gave a slight nod.

"Follow me."

Her tone was calm and devoid of unnecessary words.

Hong Yuanji did not dare show the slightest dissatisfaction.

"Yes, Elder Shenyuu."

He immediately followed behind Shenyuu as the two disappeared deeper into the Zan Clan.

Only after they had left did those gathered at the gate slowly rise to their feet.

The crowd immediately erupted into whispers once more, each person wondering why the ruler of the Crimson Empire had personally come to visit the Zan Clan.

As the crowd continued whispering among themselves, no one realized the true reason behind Emperor Hong Yuanji's visit.

To the outside world, the Crimson Empire and the Zan Clan merely maintained a cordial relationship.

No one knew...

That Emperor Hong Yuanji himself shared the blood of the Zan Clan.

He was one of its descendants.

This secret had been kept hidden for generations.

Only the emperor's most trusted ministers within the imperial court and the core members of the Zan Clan were aware of the truth.

To everyone else, including the ordinary members of the Zan Clan and the citizens of the Crimson Empire, Hong Yuanji was simply the ruler of the empire.

Because of this, the clan members could only speculate endlessly, completely unaware that the emperor was, in fact...

A relative returning to his ancestral clan.