Chapter 241: Rules

To the ordinary citizens of the world, the ancient families stood as unparalleled and unfathomable titans. Their supremacy was accepted as absolute, born from intrinsic bloodline advantages and sustained by their monopoly over the tool required to forge an Ex-RANK cultivator. In the eyes of the masses, they maintained a delicate, harmonious equilibrium of equal standing, power, and political influence.

?Yet, public perception was little more than a carefully curated illusion.

?Beneath the veneer of unity, the ancient families were rigidly stratified into four distinct tiers, ranked sequentially from first to fourth. At the pinnacle sat the Sylvan Ancient Family, reigning uncontested as the strongest; a colossal hegemony so dominant that even if the other three houses pooled their military might, they would likely shatter against Sylvan’s defenses. Ranking second was the Bladecrest Ancient Family, whose Awakened were whispered of in dread, renowned for wielding swords with a lethal, unpredictable mastery that defied conventional combat tracking. In third place stood the Pendragon Ancient Family, monsters of physical warfare who commanded the terrifying ability to transform into true dragons, weaving ancient draconian techniques into their skills to form a force that demanded absolute caution.

?And then, anchoring the bottom of the hierarchy as the fourth and weakest of the great bloodlines, was the Genesis Ancient Family.

?The Black-haired figure who had just descended from the sky like a falling star was none other than the second child of the Bladecrest Ancient Family—Aurora Bladecrest, a prodigy whispered across the continent to be second in raw, devastating talent only to Astrid herself.

?Draven swallowed hard, an icy spike of realization driving straight through his chest. No matter how lofty his ambitions or how arrogant he had been moments prior, standing in the shadow of Aurora meant he was nothing more than a sheep led helplessly to the slaughter. His throat went bone-dry. Quickly withdrawing the volatile, crimson lightning spilling across his skin, he stiffened his spine and dropped into a low, deferential bow, his knuckles whitening against his thighs.

?"Greetings, Lady Aurora. May I know the reason for your presence here?" he asked respectfully, his voice tight with forced composure, before darting a frantic, bewildered glance over his shoulder toward Asher. "And why would your family go to war with mine because of them?"

?"You are mistaken."

?The majestic white steed landed softly on the scorched ground of the northern gate, its wings folding in with a crisp rustle of feathers as Aurora dismounted. Her midnight-black hair whipped violently in the air, framing a face carved from ice as she turned her dark, unblinking eyes past Draven to lock directly onto Asher, Kelly, and Juliana.

?Draven and the surrounding onlookers watched in total, paralyzed bewilderment as the second daughter of Bladecrest bypassed the noble heir entirely, walking with measured, deliberate strides toward the three outsiders before dipping into a small, formal bow.

?"I greet the head of the Aetheldawn, the fifth Ancient Family." She said, her voice cutting clearly through the howling wind.

?"Huh?!!!"

?Draven and Talitha felt their minds violently short-circuit. Their eyes widened to impossible limits, locking in sheer disbelief onto the black-haired man with piercing golden eyes standing before them—a man who isn’t even twenty-five years old.

?"The hell?!! He’s ten years younger than you, Lady Aurora!! Why bow to him—"

?"—Have you forgotten the second rule of the ancient families?!" Aurora snapped, her head whipping around with a razor-sharp glare that could freeze blood.

?"Of course I haven’t forgotten such an important rule." Draven muttered defensively, heat rising to his face.

?"Then say it." Aurora turned fully to face him, her posture rigid and unforgiving.

?Draven gritted his teeth so hard a muscle feathered dangerously along his jaw. No matter how violently his aristocratic pride rebelled against the public humiliation, he could not—and dared not—afford to cross Aurora.

?"Amongst the ancient families, as long as someone’s rank and position are higher than yours, even if they are years younger, you must show them absolute respect," he recited mechanically through a tight throat, his gaze violently refusing to meet theirs as burning shame flushed hot on his face.

?Standing quietly amidst the palpable, suffocating tension, Asher processed the dynamic with a sharp, calculating glint in his golden eyes. With everything we just witnessed, although the ancient families seem united on the outside, in fact, they aren’t... Every family for themselves; and this second rule state something very important:

’In the ancient families, strength is power... I don’t know the Ancient families and their strength, or trump cards; attacking them, or making enemies blindly is stupid.’

?Furthermore, with the looming threat of one of the four ancient families actively hunting Sara, he needed every scrap of intelligence he could secure. Having a diplomatic foothold with these powerful bloodlines—or at least an enforced buffer—would prove invaluable.

?"Patriarch, forgive his foolishness. We of the ancient families only seek peace, nothing more." Aurora said, pivoting smoothly back toward Asher with practiced, diplomatic grace.

?"I’ll drop this matter if he apologizes for insulting my wife." Asher noted with a flat expression.

?"You—"

?Draven bristled, starting to bark a protest, but the words choked in his throat as Aurora shot him a single, freezing glance over her shoulder. He let out a long, shuddering breath, his shoulders slumping in total, unadulterated defeat.

?’Apologizing to another ancient family isn’t against any rule... I just need to leave this place alive and salvage what little remains of my reputation.’ He thought bitterly.

Draven forced his rigid muscles to relax, stepped forward, and bowed his head low toward the three figures before him:

?"I apologize for my blindness and foolishness. I couldn’t recognize the mountain before me and kept running my mouth. Please treat this junior as dirt and forget what happened," Draven said, the words tasting like ash and broken glass in his mouth.

?".....?!"

?Every single spectator scattered across the battlefield blinked in dumbfounded silence. Issuing a formal, polite apology should have been more than sufficient to settle the dispute, but the proud third heir of the Genesis house had willingly bypassed all dignity, degrading himself entirely.

?Asher stared down at the bowing noble, his expression unreadable, before shifting his golden gaze to Juliana: "Do you forgive him?" he asked quietly.

?"Well, as he said himself, he’s dirt, and I don’t want to dirty my eyes; so I forgive him," Juliana replied smoothly, her tongue as sharp as ever.

?"....?!"

?The surrounding crowd was left utterly speechless by her razor-sharp dismissal. Asher simply exhaled a soft breath, turning his attention back to Aurora as the system screen flickered to life in his peripheral vision, automatically scanning the combat power of the target standing before him.

?{Name: Aurora Bladecrest}

?{Rank: Ex-Rank}

?{Equipped Gear: Athena armor set. (Note: Weapons are not calculated because she isn’t armed).}

?{Combat Power: 900 Million}

?"....?!"

?Asher was utterly dumbfounded, staring at the staggering numerical combat power displayed before him, frozen in absolute shock.