Chapter 44: No More Family members distinction.

Chapter 44: Chapter 44: No More Family members distinction.

Chen Yuan raised his hand.

A gentle wave of spiritual energy spread outward from him, passing beneath the countless people who had just bowed. Their bodies were lifted almost simultaneously.

"Raise your heads, children."

The countless heads that had been bowing just moments ago slowly rose.

Some of the younger members looked around awkwardly, unsure whether they were supposed to remain standing or kneel again. A few elders quietly straightened their robes while others glanced toward the three ancestors above them.

The atmosphere was still strange.

Only a few moments ago, Chen Yan and Chen Feng had been complete strangers to most of them. Now they were being told that these two men had been their ancestors all along.

Chen Yuan waited until the murmuring died down.

"We have so much to discuss."

His words brought a brief pause to the surrounding chatter. Those who had been talking among themselves gradually fell silent, their eyes returning to him.

He looked across the crowd for several breaths before speaking again.

"First, there is something that should have been changed a long time ago."

Chen Yuan’s gaze moved toward the outer family members standing farther across the platform.

"For generations, our family has maintained a distinction between the inner family and the outer family."

His voice remained calm, but there was a quiet weight behind his words.

"Perhaps in the past, such a distinction was necessary. When our family was weak, every resource had to be carefully divided, and every decision had to be made with survival in mind."

He paused for a few breaths.

"But that is no longer the family we are."

Several elders exchanged glances.

Chen Yuan’s eyes slowly swept across the crowd.

"A person’s fate should not be decided by the circumstances of their birth."

His gaze briefly settled on the younger members before continuing.

"Nor should it be decided by whether they were fortunate enough to possess a spiritual root."

The words caused several mortals to quietly raise their heads.

Chen Yuan continued.

"Some people are born with extraordinary talent. Others are born without even the ability to sense spiritual energy."

"That does not mean one person’s life is worth more than another’s."

A few of the outer family members lowered their heads thoughtfully.

"Talent may determine how quickly someone can walk a certain path, but it should never determine whether they are given the chance to walk at all."

His voice became slightly firmer.

"Fairness does not mean giving everyone the same abilities."

"It means giving everyone the opportunity to discover what they are capable of."

The crowd gradually fell completely silent.

Chen Yuan looked toward the outer family members once more.

"And that is why I have decided that the distinction between the inner family and the outer family will end today."

He paused.

"From this day onward, there will be only one Chen Family."

The reaction was immediate.

For several seconds, nobody seemed quite sure how to respond.

The outer family members exchanged stunned glances, as though they were afraid they had somehow misunderstood what Chen Yuan had just said.

Then the excitement began to spread.

A few younger members could barely hide the smiles on their faces. Some of the older outer clan members looked at one another, their expressions filled with disbelief.

They had spent most of their lives knowing that the distinction between the inner and outer family was something they simply had to accept.

Their opportunities had always been more limited, their access to resources more restricted, and their place within the family clearly defined.

Yet today, the Ancestor had simply erased that distinction with a few words.

"Did Ancestor really mean it?"

"There won’t be an inner and outer family anymore?"

"So... we’re all part of the main family now?"

The questions spread quietly through the crowd.

Not everyone reacted with the same excitement.

Several inner family members stood stiffly among the crowd, their expressions noticeably more complicated. Some exchanged uneasy glances, while a few older clansmen frowned slightly.

For generations, being part of the inner family had meant having a higher position within the clan.

Their families had enjoyed better access to cultivation resources, more opportunities for their children, and greater influence in family affairs.

Now that advantage was disappearing.

Chen Yuan noticed all of it.

He noticed the excitement of the outer family members, the uncertainty of the younger generation, and the dissatisfaction that some of the inner family members were trying to hide.

He did not blame them.

Hierarchy had existed within the Chen Family for generations. It was not something that could simply disappear from people’s minds because he had announced a new rule.

But Chen Yuan also understood something they had yet to fully realize. A hierarchy could only remain important when the people at the top had the strength to uphold it.

And the Chen Family was no longer the same family it had been before.

If Chen Yuan wanted the Chen Family to grow further, then the family could not remain divided by an old system created when they were still struggling to survive.

He looked across the crowd again.

"I know some of you may find this difficult to accept."

The murmuring gradually stopped.

"Change is rarely comfortable, especially when it means giving up something you have grown accustomed to."

Several of the inner family members lowered their eyes.

"But remember this."

Chen Yuan’s voice remained calm.

"The Chen Family does not become weaker because more of its members are given a chance to grow."

He paused, allowing his words to settle.

"If anything, we become stronger."

That finally drew the attention of those who had remained uneasy.

Chen Yuan looked toward the outer family members.

"And those who were once called the outer family should not mistake this for charity."

His tone became slightly firmer.

"You are Chen Family members. You have always been Chen Family members."

The excitement among the outer clan members slowly turned into something deeper. A few clenched their fists, while some older members lowered their heads, their expressions visibly moved.

Chen Yuan then turned his gaze back toward the inner family.

"Those who were once part of the inner family will not lose their place simply because the distinction has been removed."

"You will still be responsible for the family. You will still have opportunities to lead, to cultivate, and to contribute."

His eyes swept across them.

"But from today onward, those things must be earned through ability and contribution, not through the circumstances of your birth."

Chen Yuan let the silence linger for a few breaths before his gaze moved toward the outer family members again.

"Tell me something."

The outer clan members slowly looked up.

"Do you truly believe that you are destined to remain mortals forever?"

The question left the crowd unusually quiet. Several outer family members exchanged glances, but this time, nobody immediately answered.

An elderly man eventually lowered his head.

"Ancestor... I think so."

His voice was quiet, almost embarrassed.

"I was tested when I was young. I have no spiritual root."

Another middle-aged man nodded.

"Me too. I’ve lived for more than forty years. If I could cultivate, I would have discovered it by now."

A woman standing among the outer family members gave a bitter smile.

"We’ve already accepted it, Ancestor. What else can we do?"

A younger man hesitated before speaking.

"My father told me that people like us should just focus on living a good life. Cultivation isn’t something we can hope for."

More voices gradually joined them.

"It’s impossible for mortals to cultivate."

"We don’t have spiritual roots."

"Even if there is another way, we’ve never heard of it."

"How could someone without a spiritual root possibly become a cultivator?"

The answers were not filled with resentment. They were simply honest. These people had spent decades believing that cultivation belonged to someone else.

Some had accepted it when they were children, while others had struggled with it for years before finally giving up.

To them, the boundary between mortals and cultivators was not something that could simply be crossed. It was a wall they had never believed they could break.

Then, from above them, a voice suddenly rang out.

"Impossible?"

The single word was not loud, yet it immediately silenced the remaining whispers. Everyone turned toward Chen Feng.

The old swordsman stood beside Chen Yuan, his hand resting casually against the hilt of his ancient sword.

His brows were slightly raised, and there was a faint look of disbelief on his face, as though he had genuinely found their answer difficult to understand.

"Impossible?"

This time, his voice was louder. A sharp clang suddenly resounded through the sky as the ancient sword trembled within its sheath.

Chen Feng’s expression changed.

"Who told you that it was impossible!?"

The shout rolled across the enormous platform.

For a few breaths, nobody moved. Several of the younger members stared at Chen Feng with wide eyes, while others instinctively straightened their backs when they felt the faint sword intent spreading through the air.

Even the inner family members who had been uncomfortable with Chen Yuan’s earlier announcement turned their attention toward Chen Feng.

The outer family members were different. Many of them simply stared.

They had expected another explanation from Chen Yuan. They had not expected Ancestor Chen Feng beside him to challenge their answer so directly.

The elderly man who had first spoken lowered his head even further.

"Ancestor... I didn’t mean..."

Chen Feng raised his hand, and the man immediately fell silent.

Chen Feng looked across the countless faces before him. There was no anger in his eyes now, only conviction.

"I did."

The crowd froze. Chen Feng’s fingers slowly tightened around the hilt of his sword.

"I did the impossible."

A faint sword cry escaped from the ancient blade.

"I was born without a spiritual root."

His voice carried clearly across the platform.

"I was born into a cultivation family, yet I could not cultivate like the others. While other children learned to sense spiritual energy, I could only watch."

He gave a faint smile.

"Do you know what they called me?"

Nobody answered.

"Useless."

The word landed heavily.

"Some called me a cripple. Some told me that I should stop dreaming about cultivation. Others simply ignored me because they believed I would spend my entire life as a mortal."

Chen Feng looked down at his hand.

"For a long time, I believed them. I thought the heavens had already decided what I would become."

His fingers moved slightly along the sword’s hilt.

"Then one day, I realized something. The heavens had never told me that."

The sword suddenly gave another clear clang as a wave of sword intent spread outward.

"Humans told me."

"They told me what I could not do. They told me what I was not born with. They told me where my limits were."

"And I spent years believing them."

Chen Feng took a slow breath.

"Until I decided to stop asking whether I was allowed to cultivate."

He looked toward the outer family members.

"I asked a different question. Why should I need permission?"

Silence.

Chen Feng’s eyes sharpened.

"If there is no road beneath my feet, then I will make one. If the spiritual energy of the heavens refuses to enter my body, then I will find another way to wield it. If the cultivation world says that a person without a spiritual root cannot become a cultivator..."

His hand slowly drew the ancient sword from its sheath.

SHING!

The sound echoed through the sky.

"...then I will become the proof that they were wrong."

The sword intent erupted. It did not explode violently. Instead, it spread across the platform like an invisible tide, pressing against the air itself.

The countless people below could feel something sharp passing across their skin, yet there was no killing intent within it. Chen Feng looked down at them, his expression slowly settling into a calm smile.

"Do not ask whether you were born worthy of walking the path of cultivation."

He raised his sword toward the heavens.

"Walk it first, and continue walking until you are reduced to ashes."

The words had barely faded when Chen Feng’s wrist turned and he waved his hand.

The sword intent surrounding him suddenly surged. A long, visible line of sword intent appeared before the Chen Family.

It stood silently between Chen Feng and the countless people below, its surface shimmering faintly as countless strands of sword intent intertwined within it.

The sword intent condensed into a long, straight line before the crowd, resembling a wave of sharpened blades frozen in liquid form.

Its surface shimmered with a deep silver-white glow, while streaks of pale blue and faint crimson flowed through it like currents beneath clear water.

Countless tiny blades seemed to rise and sink within the liquid mass, each movement releasing a faint metallic hum that made the air tremble.

The crowd stared at the line in silence.

Slowly, Chen Feng lowered his sword and gestured toward the crowd.

"Those who wish to walk upon my path..."

His eyes moved toward the outer family members, particularly the mortals who had spent their entire lives believing that cultivation was beyond their reach.

"...step forward."

He paused.

"Cross it. And I will teach you my path."

The line of sword intent stood quietly before them, its silver-white surface flowing like a river of blades. Even the cultivators among the crowd could sense the sharpness contained within it, and that only made the mortals more hesitant.

A young man near the front swallowed nervously.

"Does it... hurt?"

No one answered him. Another outer family member took half a step forward, only to stop again.

He looked at the line, then at Chen Feng, as though trying to determine whether the old ancestor was testing them somehow.

Eventually, an elderly man gritted his teeth.

"I’ll try."

He stepped out from the crowd. His footsteps were slow at first, but with every step, his expression became more determined.

When he reached the line, he hesitated for one last breath before closing his eyes and stepping through.

Nothing happened. There was no pain, no blood, and no overwhelming pressure. The sword intent simply brushed across his body like a cool breeze.

The elderly man opened his eyes.

He looked down at himself, then slowly turned around.

"I’m... fine."

His voice trembled slightly.

The crowd behind him had gone completely silent as the elderly man turned around and found hundreds of eyes fixed on him, yet not a single person moved or spoke.

He frowned slightly.

"Why are you all looking at me like that?"

There was no answer.

The people standing closest to the line could only stare at him in silence. From where they stood, the elderly man’s body was covered in countless wounds. Blood stained his clothes, ran down his arms, and dripped from his fingertips.

Yet the elderly man himself appeared completely unharmed. His brows gradually drew together as his expression changed.

"...Are they seeing... something else entirely?"

"An illusion?"

The words came quietly, and he looked toward Chen Feng over the gigantic hilt. The old swordsman stood exactly where he had been, watching him without saying a word.

The elderly man stared at him for several breaths and finally understood. This wasn’t simply a test of whether his body could endure sword intent.

It was another test, an entirely different one.

Chen Feng had deliberately allowed him to see nothing while making everyone else believe that he had been horribly wounded.

The elderly man looked back at the crowd. They were still staring at him.

Some looked frightened. Others were already taking half a step backward from the sword-intent line.

He suddenly understood what Chen Feng was asking.

Are you brave enough to take the first step?

Or will you remain where you are because you are afraid of what might happen?