The Prince.

The once glorious branch of the Duan Clan that ruled over Yun Yang Town was now a place ridden with death. The wails and cries of those who survived rang out as their loved ones were now dead. The young man who had just arrived called out the names of the clan head and his wife many times, hoping they would answer. The pitiful state the clan was currently in made their hearts palpitate, causing a distinct feeling of despair and sadness to arise in their hearts. Just as the young man was about to give up looking for his uncle, the clan head, the woman who came with him suddenly shouted in a frantic manner, "Duan Ji!! Come, look! The young master is still alive and uninjured! It's a miracle!!"

"Where?!" Duan Ji ran towards the woman and looked at the baby that she was holding with tears in his eyes. When the survivors heard this, they didn't know whether to be happy or angry. It was a good thing that the young master was alive but some thought that he was a bad omen as the heavens themselves tried to destroy him as soon as he was born. Most decided to just mourn quietly and let things go as someone who had such an unusual birth would have extraordinary talents. Some though, thought that the young master was a curse upon the Duan Clan, something the heavens wanted to rid them off before it destroyed them. Those people immediately started shouting at Duan Ji to kill the baby as it caused the death of the clan head and many more members.

"Duan Ji! Kill that cursed bastard! Our Duan Clan will not raise him!"

"I agree, that bastard has just been born and he has already caused misfortune to fall upon the clan! What would happen to us when he matures?!"

"KILL HIM! KILL HIM! KILL HIM!"

Duan Ji's emotions were already all over the place and hearing these people disrespecting the young master like this only infuriated him. As he was about to discipline those who dared to say the young master should be killed, a majestic and domineering Qi fell upon them, making it hard for them to even breathe. Duan Ji knew that no one in Yun Yang Town had such power so he immediately fixed his attitude and looked up into the sky. A figure wearing majestic dragon embroidered golden robes with pure Qi radiating all over his body was standing there. Behind him were a multitude of guards that exuded a powerful amount of Qi which was not much weaker than the imposing young man leading them.

Duan Ji immediately knew who this young man was and dropped down on one knee with complete respect on his face. "Crown Prince Duan Ren Huang, welcome to our humble clan. I'm deeply sorry that we are not in the best of conditions to receive you today. What is it that Your Highness requests of us?" Everyone else kneeled immediately when they recognized the man who was floating in the air and didn't even make a sound. Duan Ren Huang looked down on them with eyes filled with arrogance but no one dared to say anything as he had the absolute authority and power to do so. As the crown prince was looking around the clan, he noticed the destruction and was wondering why the lightning struck this place with such fury.

Looking back at Duan Ji, the crown prince said calmly, "Explain to me what happened." Duan Ji took a deep breath and started explaining everything to the prince. Any gaps in the story that he wasn't able to fill in, the rest of the people did. When Duan Ren Huang understood everything and looked at the baby, he was surprised to see that the baby was staring right back at him. It wasn't crying nor did it look like someone that had just been born. Its eyes gave him a feeling of maturity that was only present in older cultivators.

Duan Ren Huang laughed and said, "Duan Ji, it looks like this branch family has been blessed with an extraordinary talent. Since his parents are dead and the clan is in such a state, I don't think you would be able to raise him properly. Why don't you let me raise him as my third son?" Duan Ji was astonished when he heard the crown prince's words. Third son? That would mean even their branch clan would gain a large amount of influence and prestige. Even though the clan was in a destroyed state, no one would dare try to take advantage of them as they were now directly affiliated with the main branch of the Duan Clan. Their exile wouldn't mean anything now.

As much as Duan Ji wanted to raise the boy in place of his uncle, sending him off to the imperial clan would be much more beneficial. He collected the baby from the woman and said, "Crown Prince, it would be our honor to offer this child up to you." Duan Ren Huang personally flew down and collected the baby, holding it tightly in his arm while inspecting him carefully. 'Indeed, it's just as I thought. This child's blood spirit is stronger than anyone that has ever been recorded! It even puts mine to shame! If I raise him well, he would be fiercely loyal to the Duan Clan and his achievements would be legendary. He can't become the emperor because he's not of my children but he can become one of the royal guards. That would be most beneficial.'

As Duan Ren Huang came out of his thoughts, he thanked Duan Ji and left with his men to go back to the Imperial City. They flew up into the sky and landed on five imposing dragons that they used to fly around for long periods of time. On his way there, he realized that the baby wasn't yet named and immediately came up with a suitable name that matched someone who he considered a son.

"Your name will be Duan Wu Shen."

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{16 years later}