As the avatar’s form began to slowly dissolve, Li Wei’s voice, cold and resonant, seemed to penetrate every soul present: "This has only just begun! It is far from over!" 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

[System Alert: Your descendant Li Yaozu, upon witnessing the clan’s invasion, despite his grievous, unhealed wounds, attempted to drag his failing body into battle against the attackers. He was, however, rescued and carried away by a newly awakened Fang Linglong. He is consumed by bitter resentment. Obtained Trait: The Unresigned Avenger.]

[System Alert: Your descendant Li Yaotie has awakened inside the storage ring that Li Tianshuang entrusted to Wang Jinhu for safekeeping. He has realized that from the very onset of Venerable Tian Xing’s assault, Li Tianshuang had used a technique to render him unconscious and conceal him within the ring for his escape. His entire being now seethes with fury directed at Venerable Tian Xing. Obtained Trait: The Enraged Avenger.]

[System Alert: Your descendant...]

[Ancestor Moment: Duration Expired!]

[You have immediately expended another 3 Family Will to reactivate: Ancestor Moment!]

Li Wei’s form slowly dematerialized, only to rematerialize an instant later directly before the avatars of Venerable Tian Xing.

The avatars of Tian Xing were visibly taken aback by this uncanny ability of Li Wei’s to simply vanish and then reappear at will!

Li Wei hovered there in mid-air. His gaze was locked onto the avatars before him, his grip tightening fiercely around the North Star Spirit-Breaking Spear!

Yes. He was their Old Ancestor; despair was not an option.

"It was not over! His ’children’ were still fighting to escape! Venerable Tian Xing was monstrously powerful, a foe whose might seemed to challenge the heavens themselves. He had shattered every dream the family held, and the ’children’ were perishing. But... but the clan was not yet extinguished. Hope... still endured!"

"KILL!"

With that roar, Li Wei hurtled himself with insane abandon towards the oncoming avatars of Venerable Tian Xing.

"Every single one I can hold back," thundered through his mind, "buys our children one more sliver of hope, one more chance to survive!"

He believed, with unwavering conviction, that this was far from the end for his family.

From a tiny mountain hamlet, starting with only Li Dalong, the Li Clan had clawed its way step by painstaking step to its present standing. His ’children’ – they never knew the meaning of surrender!

"The outcome is not yet decided!" he affirmed inwardly.

He believed with all his heart that he, and every Li clansman who still drew breath, would fight to their very last!

....

Half a day later.

Within the airspace over Merit City, the iron-masked attackers, now battle-scarred and numerous, stood amidst the swirling clouds.

One by one, they removed their masks. Had any seasoned, knowledgeable cultivator from Eternal Sun Prefecture been there to witness it, they would have been struck dumb with terror. For these figures, who had come with the express purpose of annihilating the Li Clan, were revealed to be, without a single exception, prominent leaders from all the major aristocratic houses and powerful sects of Eternal Sun Prefecture itself!

At this moment, these ’great personages’ – the avatars of Tian Xing – all frowned slightly as they gazed down upon the Li family compound below, now reduced entirely to rubble.

They could perceive cultivators converging on the ruins from every direction, combing through the debris in search of any surviving Li family members.

The Azure Cloud Region Army units stationed at the borders, along with cultivators from Azure Cloud region’s allied factions, had all evidently abandoned their posts in the border regions. They were rushing to the defense of their homeland, every last one prepared to meet death as if returning home.

"These Azure Cloud region ants," the avatars thought, "They howl their rage to the skies, clamoring about vengeance and whatnot."

"Laughable," one of the figures, declared coldly. "When the day comes that I truly break the Void, then no one in all of Eternal Sun Prefecture – let alone these insects – shall be spared."

From among the iron-masked figures, one stepped forward. Though a sneer played on its lips, its eyes held an undeniable solemnity.

The leading avatar reflected on the battle.

He had launched this assault, exerting his full capabilities, yet never had he imagined the Li family possessed such an array of trump cards.

Those four devastating hidden projectiles, the fierce resistance of the Li clansmen, and especially that black-misted entity who kept rematerializing despite being repeatedly ’destroyed’ – all this had resulted in the loss of half his avatars.

Not even one of his Divinity Transformation stage manifestations had been spared. Though his avatars had swarmed in from every conceivable direction, a significant number of Li family members had still managed to slip through the net. What surprised him even more was that the Wu Clan had actually deployed two of their own Elders, who had directly interfered with his operation to annihilate the Li clan!

"If only I had struck earlier," the avatar lamented internally, "or perhaps launched my full assault back when that Feng Qingyang vessel was eliminated... things might have been considerably smoother."

The leading avatar muttered with vexation, "But it’s done now. Let those who fled flee. The Li Clan, so the stories go, never forsakes any of its own. I shall simply bide my time and see if they dare return to rescue you."

"As for my Abode, and those thirteen Li clan members still within its confines – heh – they are nothing more than my playthings now."

With that pronouncement, the multitude of avatars began to withdraw, heading back towards Eternal Sun Prefecture. Among them, one grievously wounded figure was being transported through the air, callously dragged along by the hair by a single avatar. The captive swayed listlessly ike a dead leaf caught in a breeze, deeply unconscious, yet a broken murmur still escaped his lips:

"Run... Run away..."

...

North Sea City • Fishermen’s Village

Out on the sea near the village, a small fishing boat bobbed on the waves. Its fishermen were calling out cheerfully, every one of them ecstatic, for the boat was piled high with their catch.

Nearby, two strikingly handsome young men skimmed along on their swords, barely half a meter above the water. They cut through the ocean spray as they towed a massive fish, leaving a trail of surging waves in their wake.

The fishermen aboard the boat watched them, their faces full of admiration and a touch of envy.

"Just look at that father and son duo!" one fisherman exclaimed.

"The rarest kind of cultivators you’ll find in all these parts! Thanks to them being here, even our fishing’s gotten a whole lot easier."

"If you ask me," another fisherman chimed in, "with their abilities, they shouldn’t be messing around with our trade at all! Someone with that kind of power, wouldn’t they be better off taking over a mountain and declaring themselves chieftains or something?"

"Eh, everyone’s got their own path, right? What’s it to you anyway?" a third remarked. "The ocean’s a big place; surely you’re not worried that pair will catch every single fish out here, are ya?"

As the fishermen chatted on, the father and son duo lightly landed on the boat. Indeed, were they not Li Chang’an and his son, Li Xingchen – the pair who had chosen to stay in this small fishing hamlet.

The years had flown by. Li Chang’an himself had become even more strikingly handsome, and standing beside his now fully grown son, Li Xingchen, the two of them bore an uncanny resemblance to actual brothers.

Li Xingchen, too, diligently practiced various cultivation methods and techniques; true to his father’s earlier words, he had indeed become the most skilled fisherman in all the surrounding villages.

"Another bountiful catch today, everyone!" Li Chang’an announced, presenting the large fish.

"And this one’s a true Sea Serpent! Eating this will surely add years to your lives, my friends!" So saying, Li Chang’an passed the huge, barely living fish he’d been towing to the eager villagers.

He and Li Xingchen – now a young man, though still half a head shorter than his father – stood together at the side of the boat. Moments before, both had been cheerful, but now, for some indiscernible reason, their faces were etched with deep worry and a profound sense of unease.

A worried expression clouded Li Xingchen’s features. He stared out at the breaking waves, the sea breeze tugging at his long, fluttering hair. "Father," he said, his voice troubled, "For some reason, this child just can’t shake this feeling of profound unease today."

"Mm." Li Chang’an drew in a deep breath. He moved his fingers for a moment, performing a quick divination, but his amateurish grasp of the arts of Fate yielded nothing.

He exhaled slowly. "Something has indeed occurred," he said. "Cultivators such as ourselves do not experience such disquiet without cause. It signifies either an approaching calamity, or that one of our own blood kin has encountered grave misfortune..."

---

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