10. Ancestor in fight!

Situ Xi saw the Ancestor had arrived and quickly greeted him:

"Great Ancestor, I apologize for disturbing your cultivation," he said, knowing that the Ancestor usually disregarded worldly matters. He continued, "These old things are the family heads of the ruling families in BlackCloud City. The bald one is the leader of the Jiang Family from the west; this muscle-brained sword-wielder leads the Kai Family."

He then gestured toward the back, pointing:

"The one at the back, yes, that feminine figure with the bow is the Master of the Cheng Family. And leading these bastards is this Hai family old thing, Hai Yaozu; the 7th generation Family Head." He faced the Great Ancestor and bowed. "Great Ancestor, they are here to bask in your glorious presence."

Listening to the introductions, Hai Yaozu's veins bulged; he was on the verge of losing his temper. The others behind him were no better; however, Cheng Weizhe—the Cheng family head—managed to remain calm. Yaozu was very wary of that cunning, sneaky individual.

But he controlled himself. Today, Situ Xi was full of himself, unlike before, now that he had backing. But Yaozu is on an important mission from his Ancestor Hai Delu; they have to probe the so-called Great Ancestor of the Situ Family. Without knowing the condition of this Great Ancestor of the Situ family, they could not proceed with their plan. So, he bowed to Ancestor Situ:

"Great Senior, this humble one is Hai Yaozu, current Family Head of the Hai Family." He then pointed at the others and said, "The others are Cheng Weizhe – Cheng Family Head, Kai Chao – Kai Family Head, Jiang Honghui – Jiang Family Head. Today, we are here to congratulate you on your recovery."

Lan observed these individuals and found that Situ Xi's descriptions were accurate; they fit them well. When he heard Hai Yaozu's title, he was sure that these individuals were very sneaky. Someone who can remain calm in the face of such insults is worthy of leading a family. They must have some other plan.

But as his cultivation was far superior to these lesser opponents, he did not concern himself with their plans. Now that he had a whole crowd watching him, he decided to crash the party and give them a grand show. He gazed at Hai Yaozu and said in a flat tone, while shaking his head:

"You are not worthy! You are not worthy of congratulating me, kid. Even your ancestor used to shit his pants if he accidentally saw me, and you are here causing a commotion at my house."

He added a strong snort. "Humph, you've got guts. Scram now before I decide to keep you here forever."

Lan's voice was not loud but was clear enough for everyone to hear. As they listened, the Situ family crowd buzzed with excitement. Their Ancestor had directly insulted even the ancestors of the Hai Family. Despite their excitement, they only muttered among themselves and did not speak out loud, knowing they were not worthy of speaking in such a high-level confrontation.

Hearing the bustling crowd, Hai Yaozu could no longer control himself. He did not expect Ancestor Situ to not only ignore him but to also insult his ancestors. Now that it has come to this, I must proceed with my plan. Looking at the carefree, bony figure, he drew his sword and shouted with anger:

"Old skeleton, let me see if you are capable of backing your words." With that, he charged towards Lan. The others behind him also drew their weapons and followed.

Today, they planned to kill this fake ancestor once and for all. According to them, Situ Xi had somehow faked having a powerful ancestor just to prevent the demise of the Situ Family. Otherwise, why hadn't this Great Ancestor appeared when the Situ Family was suffering for the last three years? They aimed to put an end to the rumors once and for all.

Lan did not expect the situation to escalate so quickly. He had planned to give a few more awe-inspiring speeches, but faced with this sudden assault, he was disappointed. These guys are attacking me with killing intent, so I won't go easy on them. He waited for them to attack before responding. He had to maintain his powerful image; he could not be intimidated by a mere ambush.

As Hai Yaozu came within striking range, he shouted and struck:

"Tri-wind Sword Strike!"

His sword created three illusionary winds and vanished, with the winds targeting Lan's vitals. Lan did not flinch. The sword winds were difficult to defend against, but since they were a cluster of Qi created by the opponent, he decided to eliminate the source.

Now that the opponent had loudly declared his technique, Lan felt obliged to respond in kind. After all, one must adhere to social norms. His fist moved like a ghost and struck Hai Yaozu's face:

"Bloody Strike!"

Bloody Strike: A quick strike that causes blood loss in the enemy.

Hai Yaozu fell back, a river of blood flowing from his nose. Lan's fist was smeared with blood, but he did not care. He proceeded to strike down the others with his Bloody Strike, leaving only the archer behind, as he had not attacked.

Lan expected the others to back out and kneel after witnessing one strike. However, he was surprised when they quickly got back on their feet and charged at him in a group, shouting their skills:

"Tri-wind Sword Strike!"

"Snake Ghost Spear!"

"Thousand Pound Sword!"

Lan decided to continue responding with Bloody Strike until they lost consciousness due to blood loss. The best way to deal with them was to make them feel hopeless. He turned to Rin, who had already retreated at the start of the fight, and said:

"You must tolerate weak people, but before that, you have to make them understand that they are weak."