Chapter 206: 206- Fang Clan [1]

Fang Lian, one of the clan’s two golden cores, stepped forward. Her lips trembled, and her voice faltered as she asked,

"Matriarch Fang... is my master—?"

She couldn’t finish. The words died in her throat.

Lin Zhaoyue, however, smiled as though soothed by an unshakable truth.

She reached out, almost tender, and said,

"Oh, my child... worry not. My husband will carve his way out of that Saberfang’s stomach."

The elders froze. Her tone brimmed with certainty, yet to their ears it was the certainty of delusion.

Everyone knew of the Matriarch’s obsession to Fang Yuan, how she spoke of him as though he were untouchable, immortal.

But now?

Now her words sounded like the mad hope of a grieving widow.

To them, Fang Yuan was already gone.

He had been devoured by a Nascent Soul beast; no cultivator could possibly survive such a fate.

Lin Zhaoyue’s smile only deepened, calm and unwavering.

Fang Chen broke. His knees hit the stone floor, his roar tearing from his chest like a wounded beast.

"Why not me?! Why must it be Yuan’er?!" His fists pounded the ground until blood smeared across the tiles.

His voice cracked with grief, ragged and hoarse. "He bore it all—watched his parents die, clenched his teeth, consoled his younger brother and still stood tall for this clan! I should have been the one, not him!"

The elders lowered their heads. Some could not bear to watch as Fang Chen’s body shook, his grief uncontained.

For years he had shielded Fang Yuan, half a father, half a brother, sometimes even a friend, but now, what was left for him to protect?

Fang Jingyi stumbled toward him, her lips trembling as though words were caught in her throat.

She reached out, but her hand quivered helplessly in the air. "Chen... he... Yuan..." She could not finish.

The Fang Clan dissolved into chaos.

Panic, despair, and cries of mourning filled the hall, a storm of hopelessness.

And yet, Lin Zhaoyue stood silent among them, her expression cool, detached.

Pathetic, she thought, her heart an island of composure. If only you knew... all of this was staged.

Then, cutting through the despair, a voice thundered like a divine bell:

"Are you all not ashamed?!"

The clan turned, startled. Fang Lian stood before them, her eyes bloodshot and wet, but her stance unyielding.

Her voice carried strength beyond her years, sharp enough to pierce through their grief.

"My master, our Clan Head, faced not one, but four Saberfangs! Four Nascent Soul beasts!" She spat the words, her chest heaving. "Each one is worth a hundred cultivators of equal realm and yet he stood, he fought, he bled!"

Her gaze swept over the elders, unflinching. "And here you tremble, at golden core juniors gnawing at our barrier?!"

The silence that followed was suffocating. Fang Chen’s sobs stilled. Even Fang Jingyi’s hand dropped to her side.

Lin Zhaoyue’s eyes lit up with dangerous delight, a predatory smile curling at her lips.

Inside, her heart swirled with laughter and pride. Ahh, husband, you really do create the most interesting disciples. This one... I’m definitely adopting her as my daughter, she’s going to be ours.

Outwardly, she stepped forward, her presence blooming like a lotus of poison and steel.

"And besides," she added with languid confidence, her voice dripping with scorn, "have you all forgotten? I am also standing here. I am a Nascent Soul master. Or did you think me a mere decoration at my husband’s side?"

Her words struck like a whip, igniting fire back into the hearts of the Fang Clan.

Meanwhile In the depths of the forest, Fang Yuan sat cross-legged beside the very Saberfang that had "devoured" him.

He jabbed a stick at the fire he had just lit and muttered, "Seriously, you should brush your teeth or something. I nearly puked in there, you hear me?"

The beast only huffed, its breath hot enough to singe grass.

Fang Yuan waved his hand as if shooing away a drunk relative. "Yeah, yeah. Don’t give me that look. I’m already traumatized."

He leaned back on the ground with a long sigh. "Why am I even talking to a beast, hah..."

The Saberfang rumbled low in its throat, then lowered itself slowly to the ground beside him, head dipped, posture almost reverent.

Of course, beasts weren’t stupid. They could sniff out strength like dogs smelling meat.

And Fang Yuan, as a Hollow Spirit cultivator, was the undisputed top of the food chain.

To the Saberfang, this wasn’t companionship, it was survival.

Fang Yuan smirked faintly. "Good. At least one creature around here knows its place."

But then his expression softened, and he stared into the fire. "I wonder how the clan is doing..."

With a flick of his thought, a familiar golden screen shimmered before his eyes.

[System Status]

Host: Fang Yuan

Realm: Initial Hollow Spirit Realm

Root: Heavenly Root

Hidden Physique: None

Dao Bone: Faith Dao Bone

Martial Techniques:

Swift Step Footwork (Low-grade Black)

Golden Shell Armor (Mid-grade Earth)

Tyrant’s Light Sword (Low-grade Black)

System Points: 17,400

Faith Points: 65,000

[Faith System – Heavenly Mandate Scripture] (Saint Rank)

Current Rank: 1 / 9

Faith Exp Needed for Level 2: 100,000

Current Faith Exp: 17,466 / 100,000

Unlocked Abilities:

Authority Domain (Passive) – Foes within one meter will be instantly identified and locked under your cultivation aura.

[Fang Clan]

Head: Lin Zhaoyue (wife of the strongest cultivator in Tharz Kingdom)

Vassal: Lin Clan

Clan Faith in Their Head: 90% (previously 75%)

Daily Generation: 1,000 Faith Exp, 8,000 Faith Points

Exceptional Believers (Faith > 99):

Lin Zhaoyue – 2,000 Faith Exp, 10,000 Faith Points daily

Du Juan – 500 Faith Exp, 1,000 Faith Points daily

Fang Yuan blinked. Then blinked again.

"...Wait, what?"

Instead of his name, it was Lin Zhaoyue’s name plastered under Clan Head.

Fang Yuan sat there, staring blankly at the glowing tab, his mouth twitching uncontrollably.

"...She didn’t even wait for me to die, huh?" he muttered, rubbing his temples.

And then came the kicker, the Clan Faith had skyrocketed to ninety percent.

His eyes bulged. "Ninety?! When I was head, I had to bleed, sweat, and babysit half the clan just to scrape eighty! She just takes the seat and suddenly everyone’s a believer?!"

He scrolled down furiously, only to choke when he hit the Exceptional Believers section.

His list of faithful had a change. His uncle was gone and in place of him, it was someone he never expected, Lin Zhaoyue.

Not only in it, but towering above everyone else like some goddess on payroll.