Chapter 609: Further Upgrades (Two-in-One)

Is it over? Tear-streaked, Xue Zixun stared blankly at Yan Jing, who was putting away his Bow.

It just ended like this?

Did I actually survive?

He touched his unblemished chest, still finding it hard to believe.

"Cripple your own Tier, and the family will protect you and eldest brother for three hundred years,"

Yan Jing said coldly.

"After Advent Day, if our Xue Family ranks high, we will protect you both for five hundred years."

"Any problems with that?"

Yan Jing's voice was frigid, every word striking Xue Zixun's heart like solid ice.

Xue Zixun gritted his teeth. Finally, he reached out and pressed a palm to his chest, weird energy surging from his flesh.

The weird energy acted as a blade. Blood splattered as his origin was carved away, dispersing between heaven and earth to nourish the disciples of the Xue Family.

Xue Zixun's Tier began dropping at a visible rate.

It didn't stop until it reached the Third Tier.

"That is enough."

Xue Zixun froze.

Yan Jing turned his back.

"Old Eleven was only fourteen when he died. You and eldest brother get to live another five hundred years."

He had spoken his final piece.

Tears leaked from the corners of Xue Zixun's eyes.

A moment later, Yan Jing took a single step and vanished into midair.

"Xue Family Heir Secures Massive Victory Upon Awakening!!!"

"Xue Family Heir Defeats Council of Elders Single-Handedly!!!"

"The Truth Behind That Year!"

"Xue Family Blood War Ends! Xue Family Heir Becomes Next Successor"

Reports and headlines spread like wildfire across the major Domains.

Now, everyone knew the Xue Family Heir had returned. Furthermore, his strength had reached terrifying extremes, far surpassing his past self.

With a Ninth Tier cultivation, he had withstood the entire Council of Elders alone.

What kind of concept was this?

Such a thing had not happened in years.

A great era was truly descending.

The Xue Family had produced a peerless candidate.

Right now, hidden currents surged across the various Domains.

Everyone watched and waited, desperate to see what the Xue Family's next move would be.

After all, rumors had long since spread that the Blood War between the two great families of the Pure Blood Heavenly Kingdom was merely a smokescreen. Their true goal was to seize the initiative for the Domain War on Advent Day.

Now that the Xue Family's next successor had been decided, that public smokescreen had outlived its usefulness.

Any further action could provoke unnecessary trouble.

Inside the Xue Family's grand hall.

"You shouldn't have been so flashy."

Xue Yi sat in his chair, coldly gazing down at Yan Jing.

Yan Jing's expression was just as cold.

"You didn't inform me of the Family's true objective beforehand."

"As a qualified successor, these are things you must inherently understand." Xue Yi's expression did not soften at Yan Jing's explanation.

Yan Jing replied with total apathy, "If I hadn't been flashy, I wouldn't even have had the right to be an unqualified successor."

"I imagine that was exactly your intention."

Yan Jing looked up at Xue Yi, completely unfazed by the icy stare leveled at him.

Xue Yi's face grew stern.

"I truly have no idea whether you are my son or not."

"He had a foul temper, as rotten as a toilet bowl, but he never opposed me, nor did he ever talk back."

"I already told you. The Xue Mo of the past is dead,"

Yan Jing said coldly.

After a few seconds of silence, Xue Yi suddenly let out a cold chuckle.

"Fine, it doesn't matter. I don't care if you are my third son or not, as long as you get the job done."

"Before Advent Day, I want to conquer half of a First Level Domain. Can you do it?"

Half of a complete First Level Domain.

With a single sentence, Xue Yi had issued a virtually impossible task.

The impossibility didn't lie in the sheer size of the territory.

It lay in the words 'First Level Domain.'

Those words meant Yan Jing would have to directly clash with the accumulated foundations of other First Level Domains.

Take the Heavenly Kingdom as an example.

The Pure Blood Heavenly Kingdom was a First Class Incomplete Domain. Not only did it occupy a tiny fraction of the Heavenly Kingdom's overall area, but even if one factored in its authority...

Outside of the Pure Blood Heavenly Kingdom, there were also the Life Heavenly Kingdom and the Mechanical Heavenly Kingdom.

Not to mention, the Xue Family wasn't the only power within the Pure Blood Heavenly Kingdom.

So, overall, the Xue Family only accounted for one-sixth of the Heavenly Kingdom.

To conquer half of a territory...

Was equivalent to defeating at least two powers the size of the Xue Family.

But Yan Jing's expression remained neutral.

"As you command."

"It won't be a problem."

"But war requires a price."

"How steep of a price are you willing to pay?"

Xue Yi's eyes flashed.

"Half the Xue Family."

"Fifty at the Summit, ten at the Ninth Tier, and two at the Tenth Tier."

"Is that enough?"

He looked at Yan Jing.

Yan Jing nodded.

"It's enough."

"Then go," Xue Yi said coolly.

Yan Jing shook his head.

"But that price is too steep."

Xue Yi's eyes shifted, but he spoke impassively.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't think it's necessary," Yan Jing replied.

"The Xue Family's ancestral teachings state that everyone surnamed Xue is a brother or sister. To sacrifice half of my brothers and sisters just to seize the initiative... I don't think it's worth it." "This is Advent Day!" Xue Yi stood up.

"It is the crucial window that dictates whether our Xue Family's glory will endure into the next great era."

"I believe they will all understand."

Yan Jing shook his head.

"Actually, most of them won't understand at all."

"They only possess a short hundred years of life. When that time passes, dust returns to dust and earth to earth. They do not like war."

"They only like the idea of war because they haven't experienced it yet."

"Ridiculous. Are you saying you've experienced war?!" Xue Yi glared at Yan Jing.

Yan Jing's voice was frigid.

"I think the eleven of us siblings have never been far from war since the day we were born."

Xue Yi stared at Yan Jing in silence for several seconds.

Then, he slowly exhaled a breath of stale air and muttered softly, "You really are my son after all."

"But..."

He raised his voice, looking back at Yan Jing.

"You must conquer at least half of the Domain. That is an order."

"As for your bleeding heart for the Xue Family clansmen, I invite you, as the future successor, to figure out your own solution."

"It is only natural for a leader to bleed for their people."

Yan Jing nodded.

"Very well. In that case, I will use whatever means necessary."

He bowed slightly to Xue Yi, then turned and walked out of the grand hall.

Along the way, Yan Jing's mind wasn't focused on how to accomplish his objective.

Instead, he was thinking about something else.

Xue Yi and San Yan were completely different kinds of fathers.

If forced to compare them, San Yan was like an ancient emperor who trusted none of his children. He could be as gentle as a spring breeze, but in his bones hid a deep paranoia toward his offspring and an absolute lust for control. No defiance was openly tolerated; any resistance was treated as a challenge to imperial authority. Xue Yi, on the other hand, was more like a tribal chieftain. He had many children; some he favored, some he didn't. But no matter what, when facing his offspring, his entire tribe always came first. Talking back to him was fine, contradicting him was acceptable—as long as you did what you had to do and protected the tribe.

The two men had their own distinct methods of raising children. As superiors, both at least carved out a little time for their sons and daughters. They were doing their best in their own ways.

But...

Yan Jing still missed a certain rat wearing a suit and tie.

That rat who would wipe away tears for the kid he'd fished out of a garbage pile... what was he doing right now?

"Pops, oh Pops... your son has really made something of himself now..."

Yan Jing murmured softly as he gazed up at the sky.

Somewhere deep inside.

Seeing Yan Jing like this, a trace of softness inevitably entered Fei Yu's eyes.

Her young master probably hadn't noticed that he was very different from before.

While her young master was changing those regret-filled lives, they were changing his life in return.

She was incredibly happy because she could feel the missing pieces inside Yan Jing finally being filled.

Even if this change seemed to push him a little further away from the young master she knew, it brought him closer to happiness.

As a phoenix bird, her sensitivity toward fortune was blessed by heaven.

Seeing that Yan Jing could be happy was enough for her.

"Second Sister, why are you here?"

Yan Jing paused, looking at Xue Shi, who was half-slouched against his doorstep, hiccuping continuously.

From the looks of it, Xue Shi was completely drunk.

And heavily so.

"Come! Third Brother! Let's drink!"

Xue Shi pulled a jug of wine from her robes and set it down in front of Yan Jing.

Yan Jing's face frosted over. He grabbed Xue Shi by the arm and dragged her into the courtyard.

"Old Four! Old Five! Old Eight! Old Nine!"

The moment Yan Jing spoke, four younger siblings scurried out from the courtyard.

"Greetings, Third Brother!"

All four wore incredibly obedient expressions.

"Why did you dump this sloppy drunk at my doorstep?" Yan Jing demanded coldly.

"Second Sister said you went to see Father, which meant we were definitely going to war. She said she was coming over to help you," Old Four, Xue Wan, explained.

"But after waiting here for a long time without seeing you, she started clamoring for alcohol, claiming she was celebrating your victory," Old Five, Xue Xiao, added.

"We tried to stop her. We really did..." Old Eight, Xue Yunhe, wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"But you know how Second Sister is..." The last one, Xue Rou, let her voice trail off.

If that were all, it would have been fine, but the moment they finished speaking, Xue Shi suddenly scrambled up from the ground.

"How do you four have the nerve to complain?! Why didn't you drink with me?! Are you trying to act antisocial?!"

With a sharp smack, Yan Jing slapped Xue Shi firmly on the back of the head.

"Take this sloppy drunk away."

"Understood!!!"

The four siblings saluted in unison before clumsily dragging Xue Shi, who was clutching her head, out the door.

"Oh, right... Third Brother..."

As they reached the entrance, Xue Yunhe, who was bringing up the rear, looked back at Yan Jing.

"Are we really going to keep fighting this war?"

Hearing that, the other three, who had already stepped over the threshold, tilted their heads back and perked up their ears.

"Make some room for me."

Xue Shi squeezed her head under Xue Rou's arm.

"I want to hear too."

Yan Jing's face was completely deadpan.

"If you don't leave right now, all five of you will lead the vanguard charge tomorrow."

"Our mistake, our mistake!"

The group turned on their heels and marched away.

After taking only a few steps, Xue Yunhe seemed to process the underlying meaning.

"So we really are fighting."

He looked at the other three.

"Looks like it," Xue Rou nodded.

"He's not actually going to make us lead the vanguard, is he?" Xue Yunhe gulped.

"Hahaha, you actually believe Third Brother?" Xue Shi laughed from where they were hauling her along.

Xue Wan breathed a sigh of relief.

She had thought Xue Shi was actually blackout drunk.

"Of course your Second Sister is going to lead the vanguard charge first!!!"

Xue Shi declared triumphantly.

She really was blackout drunk.

Feigning a careless slip of the arm, Xue Wan bumped her knee squarely into Xue Shi's head.

"Ouch!"

Xue Shi clutched her head.

Pretending she hadn't heard a thing, Xue Wan looked at the others as if nothing had happened.

"Let's just listen to Third Brother's arrangements."

The rest of them nodded in agreement.

Xue Mo was already the successor to the position of Great Patriarch.

If they didn't follow his orders, whose orders would they follow?

And that very night, the arrangements did indeed come.

All externally recruited factions were summoned to Xue Mo's estate under the premise of important arrangements.

When the group heard the news, the first thing that came to mind was the talk of leading the vanguard charge Yan Jing had mentioned that afternoon.

What were externally recruited factions? As long as a faction did not belong to the Xue Family, it was considered externally recruited.

Reinforcements from the Gods' Association and candidates from other factions all fell into this category.

"This... isn't very logical, is it?"

Xue Rou frowned.

"Those people are outsiders. If we make them lead the vanguard charge, will they actually give it their all? Besides... won't it sound bad when word gets out?"

Xue Xiao nodded.

"If word of this spreads, it might be very difficult for other Domains to provide reinforcements to our family in the future."

"That won't do. We have to tell Third Brother. This is even worse than us leading the vanguard ourselves," Xue Yunhe said anxiously.

Xue Wan furrowed her brow.

As the eldest among them, while she wasn't particularly skilled at combat, she was highly familiar with the family's administrative affairs.

For years, she had shadowed Xue Yi to learn how to manage the family's internal matters. Yet today, Xue Mo's maneuver completely baffled her.

Because the way she saw it, this kind of move brought a hundred harms and not a single benefit.

"You bunch of idiots! Blockheads! Stupid donkeys!"

Xue Shi, now sober, immediately unleashed a barrage of insults at them. Then, under their bewildered gazes, the corners of her mouth curled up.

"Won't we find out if we sneak over and take a look?"

Meanwhile, the back courtyard of Xue Mo's estate was already packed with people.

The vast majority of the externally recruited personnel had arrived.

Several eerie blue lanterns were lit along the courtyard walls. They flickered in the evening breeze, casting a cold, desolate light over the gathering.

Vague anxiety painted most of their faces. They had no idea why they had been summoned so late in the night.

And to make matters worse, Yan Jing was nowhere to be seen.

An unspeakable dread continued to spread.

Finally, just as some were beginning to lose their patience, Yan Jing's figure emerged from the estate's back doors.

"Good evening, everyone."

Holding a torch in his hand, Yan Jing surveyed the crowd in the courtyard with a frosty expression.

"I am endlessly grateful to all of you for being willing to come and support us during this Blood War."

With that, Yan Jing offered a slight bow to the crowd.

The attendees hurriedly waved their hands, and a flurry of polite platitudes echoed out.

"It was our duty, our duty."

"We hardly did anything to help."

"Congratulations to the Third Young Master on winning the Blood War."

But the more Yan Jing acted this way, the more terrified everyone became.

Because among all the people present, not a single one actually belonged to Yan Jing's faction.

They had all backed the other candidates. After all, when they first arrived, the Third Young Master standing before them had still been sound asleep.

Yet Yan Jing truly seemed to be thanking them.

After bowing, he announced the compensation for their participation in the Blood War.

It was overwhelmingly generous.

Even the candidates among them found themselves tempted upon hearing Yan Jing's terms.

Just as the atmosphere began to soften, right when everyone thought they were fast-forwarding to a happy-family conclusion—

Yan Jing suddenly spoke in a ghostly tone.

"I truly am grateful to all of you."

"But... the bow and the generous gifts just now were meant for the gentlemen and ladies who genuinely support our Xue Family."

"I heard a rumor."

"That there are spies among those who came this time?"