The sky was blanketed by thick, rolling clouds, casting a somber gray hue across the battlefield. The blood-soaked ground echoed with the agonized cries of battle, creating a chilling symphony of pain, despair, and chaos, stretching endlessly across the plain.
The Zhou Clan had been completely annihilated. Every house lay in ruins, structures had toppled onto one another in twisted heaps of timber and stone, and the survivors fled in absolute panic, stumbling over debris as they sought safety. Loyal soldiers, their armor battered and bloodied, fought to the death against overwhelming enemies, striving desperately both to push them back and to hold even a sliver of ground for their clan. Amidst this chaotic scene, Zhou Tianren, the fifth heir of the Zhou Clan, prepared himself to leave the clan's central stronghold. He was brave yet measured, his courage tempered by careful consideration and strategic thinking.
Zhou Tianren had the future of his family heavily on his mind. Though the war had claimed his beloved wife, his son, Zhou Yuan, still survived, a fragile beacon of hope amidst the devastation. He had only one request for his son, a plea heavy with responsibility and solemn expectation:
"War is inevitable, my son. We all know the Zhou Clan will fall," he began, his voice firm yet laced with sorrow.
"Having succeeded in your cultivation, you are the only candidate capable of representing our clan, as the last surviving patriarch, the Fourth Zhou, is now deceased. Our options are grim: either we escape to continue our lineage or die with honor on the battlefield. All of our founding ancestors have fallen; with the death of the Fourth Zhou, the title of patriarch now passes to you and your brother. My mind races with countless thoughts today, but I ask this of you: take your brother and cross to the Polia Guo[1] from the far side of the river."
"Father, I cannot simply accept such a thing," Zhou Yuan replied, his youthful face twisted with inner conflict. "I do not wish to take my brother's future from him, yet leaving seems impossible. We will fight together, side by side."
"Do only as I say," Zhou Tianren commanded, his voice steady and unwavering. "What you do will not disgrace our clan. You are the embodiment of our family's future. I repeat this one final time: leave here with your brother. Conceal your identities at all costs."
"Very well," Zhou Yuan said after a long pause, his eyes betraying the weight of the decision.
"I will follow the path of the Zhou family, as you have instructed."
"Yuan.. do not forget to take the Zhou Lotus, which contains our clan's ancient techniques," his father reminded, with both urgency and sadness in his tone. "It has been our legacy since the time of our founding ancestor."
He took the Lotus and carefully placed it into his spatial pouch. The ancient techniques contained within would safeguard the future of the Zhou Clan, a repository of knowledge accumulated over generations. To prevent any cries from betraying their escape, he placed a Silence Seal on his brother, wrapping him securely in cloth. Then, silently and with precise movements, he exited the central stronghold through the rear, avoiding patrols and the eyes of the enemy.
"At the very least, I must break this barrier to ensure my family's escape," he thought, determination steeling his features. "Otherwise, all fleeing members of the clan will be detected and slaughtered."
Zhou Tianren drew the intricate seal upon his gleaming jade stone and activated it once more, sending a precise and urgent message to the elders still embroiled in combat. He instructed them to retreat strategically and then apply the clan's ancient techniques to protect those still surviving.
With the aid of several senior elders, he began to create the Zhou Clan's formidable Thousand Souls Path Seal. Every member involved spent hours concentrating their cultivation, channeling immense energy into the seal with painstaking precision. Meanwhile, the enemy forces steadily approached the stronghold, their movement slow but relentless. The moment the seal activated, a voice outside cried in shock:
"Something is glowing from within! Elder Kian Hao, you must retreat immediately!"
The elder, Kian Hao, responded with a calm pride that betrayed no fear.
"Young one, something so weak cannot harm me. This is merely the Thousand Souls Path. It would have been concerning only if the seal required more than a thousand souls."
The young men beside him knew he was right to display arrogance, yet deep down they feared the power of the Thousand Souls Path Seal. For cultivators, it was lethal, capable of annihilating even the strongest adversaries with concentrated energy.
Tiao Zan, the assistant to Patriarch Kian Hao, focused his cultivation in his hand. Witnessing the radiant blue intensity of his power, the young cultivators beside him froze in shock. Tiao Zan had erected a formidable barrier to defend against the Thousand Souls Path Seal emanating from the stronghold, a thin but resilient line of defense.
He shouted orders with precision:
"Quickly integrate the village's souls into your cultivation! Do not allow the souls to be absorbed by the seal!"
Meanwhile, Kian's warriors erected another magical barrier. Though it partially blocked the souls from entering the seal, the Thousand Souls Path Seal was already fully primed and ready to unleash.
Zhou Tianren activated the seal with deliberate intent, directing all the concentrated energy toward Tiao Zan. The assistant assumed the attack was meant to harm him directly, yet Zhou Tianren's strategy was far more complex. He understood that breaking through Tiao Zan's small barrier was essential to shatter the larger, more formidable one. His goal was to induce panic, disrupting Tiao Zan's concentration and leaving him vulnerable.
The spirits, shaped like flowing water and imbued with cultivation, surged toward Tiao Zan's position. He scrambled backward in frantic disarray as the accumulated power of the spirits shattered his protective barrier with ease.
The concentrated cultivation then struck the barrier atop the mountain, causing catastrophic damage. Stones fractured and energy rippled across the terrain, a testament to the immense power released.
Zhou Tianren commanded all elders to join the combat, pouring the remainder of his lifespan into his cultivation. Each elder attempted to stop him, shouting warnings that fell on deaf ears.
"Master Zhou Tianren, do not sacrifice your life to destroy this barrier!""Even if this barrier falls, escape is uncertain!""Elder, do not waste your life on this task!"
Unbeknownst to them, Zhou Tianren had not activated the barrier out of false hope. His aim was not merely to allow civilians to flee; he sought to guarantee the safe escape of the sons who would one day represent the Zhou Clan.
Ignoring all warnings, Zhou Tianren converted every fragment of his remaining life force into cultivation, releasing it with overwhelming intensity toward the barrier. When the immortals witnessed him transform his life force entirely, they could not calculate the consequences, so extreme was the energy unleashed.
One of the immortals squinted, attempting to gauge the unfolding situation. The sheer intensity of Tianren's strike left retreat as the only viable option.
All present could only watch, helpless, as the events unfolded.
When Kian Hao arrived at the stronghold, he saw the aftermath firsthand. Though powerless to prevent it, he felt satisfaction at the battle's outcome. A handful of fleeing civilians were insignificant in the grand scheme of the conflict.
He merely smiled and said softly, "So this is how the Zhou lineage ends."
The elders then focused their attacks on Kian Hao, their eyes wide with terror. Kian Hao simply extended a finger, halting their assaults with a cultivation barrier. Using the Dao's Bloody Sword, he extracted every spirit from their bodies in a swift, merciless motion.
To an outsider, the scene would appear as nothing more than a massacre. Yet to the surviving members of the Zhou family, it was a pitiful and sorrowful sight.
Even as Zhou Yuan departed the city, he could sense the immense aura of power capable of ending the elders' lives instantly. He quickened his pace, carefully concealing his cultivation, ensuring he would remain entirely unrecognizable.
Carrying his eight-month-old brother, Zhou Xian, and wiping away the tears beneath his unheard cries, Zhou Yuan noticed the darkening clouds above and the first gentle raindrops beginning to fall.
From that day forward, his brother would be known as Lian Aurel, and he himself as Lian Valen.
"Today, I take my brother and set out toward a greater future," he whispered to himself, his resolve solidifying with each step.
[1] “Polia Guo” refers to the Country of Polia, a small, independent realm in this world. “Guo (国)” means “country” or “state” in Chinese.