Blood ties

When they first noticed the mist wall thinning, everyone on the outside of the ancestral lands panicked. Those from the Heaven and Glaize clans knew that outsiders were within the space, so they immediately wondered if those outsiders and the battle that had occurred had something to do with it. However, those remaining from the Clite clan all knew that the assassins were on their side, so they couldn't even come up with a likely suspect. A few of them suspected the assassin from the Tower of Killers, but Kalos was sure it wasn't him. As people who had met the 'progenitor', he and Nalos knew that the seal could only be affected at the mountain peak and only descendants of the Theos clan were allowed to take the tests to get there.

And so, instead of that assassin, Kalos suspected that Shui had something to do with the destruction of the seal since he was the only one allowed to meet the progenitor. Nalos had similar thoughts, but it was only in passing. Unlike Kalos who highly evaluated Shui, he didn't think the boy would be able to do anything to the seal with the progenitor there. Rather he was more willing to believe that the collapse of the seal was due to the terrifying battle that they sensed. As for who had fought with the progenitor, he couldn't even begin to imagine.

As soon as the mist wall was thin enough, all of those in the Earth Realm used their full strength to pierce through it. Since both of the domineering auras that had battled were now gone, they were able to convince themselves to take the risk. Nalos looked at the other cultivators who entered the ancestral lands with dissatisfaction.

"And why are you people rushing as well? If you want to find your missing clansmen can't you wait until the mist is completely gone?"

"What, are you going to stop us?" Kalos replied.

No one else even looked at him, so Nalos turned away his gaze and focused on finding Shui. He had no love for this grandson of his, but he couldn't allow such a promising seed to wither so soon. As Earth Realm cultivators, though they couldn't fly, they could use mental control on a special artifact built to assist them in doing something similar to flying. On their respective flying artifacts that came in various forms, they quickly went towards the rubble that used to be the mountain. All of them gasped at that sight. They were sure that the wreckage had come as a result of the battle that happened. This sight made Kalos more certain that Shui had been killed, but he still planned on checking for himself. Especially in case there were any assassins left; if they would be caught he had to kill them.

Kalos increased his speed and headed their journey to the wreckage. Nalos could easily see through the reason why Kalos would do this, so he also increased his speed but the Earth Realm elder that was with Kalos blocked Nalos' path.

"Kalos! Don't you dare push me!"

"Hmph! Can you even stop me?"

Kalos normally wouldn't do anything too drastic, but this time he was determined. The brat had caused more than enough trouble, so he had to ensure his death the moment he spotted him.

The Glaize clan remained as spectators to this conflict. Kaitlyn was especially uninterested in it since she was more irritated by the fact that traitors were in her clan. Even now, she was wondering if something had happened in her clan home and if she should rush back, but the need to investigate what happened in the ancestral lands trumped that.

'When I get back, I'll make sure to find every one of them and rip them to pieces myself!'

Unlike Kaitlyn, Nalos was more worried about his current circumstances than what happened in his clan. He was also frightened by the existence of traitors, but he could focus on his current task since he had sent Corin back to the clan. More importantly, he had to make sure to find Shui before Kalos did. Since Shui's aura was constantly suppressed, they would have to rely mostly on sight to find him. However, Nalos had a method to find him that would definitely surpass that, but he really didn't want to use it. If he used it, he would be admitting to a fact he had looked away from this entire time. He could interact with the boy by treating him as just a talented youth of his clan, but if he used this method then he would have to find a different way of interacting with him.

'Hurry Nalos, you don't have time for this! It's either his life or my ego; ...the choice should be obvious.'

In the midst of his hesitation, they were getting closer to the sight of the rubble. When they could sense the blood that had been spilled in the area, Nalos broke his own finger and finally made his decision.

Nalos suddenly lowered towards the forest below them. When he saw this, Kalos sent the elder to chase after him while he continued towards the rubble. Nalos noticed the elder following him but he didn't mind him, he only kept going at full speed. At a certain point, Nalos jumped off his flying artifact in the shape of a sword and ran until he found Shui. The boy was heavily wounded and unconscious, but he was alive.

Even though his aura was faint, they were still relatives. it wasn't as significant to weak cultivators, but the stronger the cultivator the more keenly they could sense those who had their bloodline. By taking advantage of the fact that Shui was his grandson, Nalos found him and picked him up. Now that he looked closer, the boy was similar to his late daughter. The unfilial girl had the child of an outsider and no longer saw him as a father, but he could never truly bring himself to hate her. Just like he resembled his late mother, his mother resembled his late wife.

'I miss those times.'

The memories of the time when she was his little princess, that he tried not to think about, came to his mind as he looked at the boy's face, and he stepped on his flying artifact once more.

"Hold it Patriarch Nalos!"

"I'll give ten seconds to get out of my way."

Nalos didn't look at the elder who tried to stop him, he didn't even raise his voice, but just his presence forced the elder to take a step back. There was only a single level of difference between them, but the elder couldn't even imagine beating Nalos. However, he had enough courage to hold him back until his Patriarch arrived. Since he noticed this determination from the elder, Nalos finally turned his eyes to him, and shifted Shui's body so that he could stretch out one hand to him.

Near the rubble, everyone was shocked by the sight of the corpses. Those from the Glaize clan had grave expressions when they looked at the dead body of one of their youths that entered the ancestral lands. Kaitlyn was especially hit hard by the sight.

'If only I was more careful!'

The boiling hate for the traitorous trash which were within the clan was expressed through the sudden lowering temperature. Even the elder beside her had to step back due to this chill.

On the other hand, Kalos was more frustrated by the death of the assassins than the death of the boy from his clan. The boy had been the son of one of the few that opposed him, so he took the opportunity to get rid of both of them. The circumstances were basically the same for the other boy from his clan that was killed. Rather than such nuisances, the loss of his carefully raised assassins was more painful. Their causes of death were the same, a single wound through the neck. If their bodies were more mangled, he would just think they were unlucky enough to get tangled up in a battle between Masters, but these wounds made him suspect Shui. The way they were killed was just too similar to how the assassin he had sent after Shui died, without any trace of the killer's aura. Of course, he also considered that Shui's master might truly exist and did this himself. Even if they couldn't get through the barrier, that didn't mean someone in the Master Realm couldn't force their way in.

However, the corpse of the assassin from the Tower of Killers showed that there was obviously a fierce clash to decide the victor, and that wouldn't be necessary if Shui's master was present in the ancestral lands.

BOOM!

Out of nowhere, an explosion of wind inside the forest interrupted Kalos' thoughts. He immediately thought it was Nalos and looked back towards the rubble before using his flying artifact to get to the location. He wanted to look through the rubble to see if he could find any remains or treasures of the progenitor, but judging that such things would probably have been picked up either by Shui or whoever fought the progenitor, he made the decision to leave.

When he made it to the sight of the explosion, he found the elder that came with him, injured, and collapsed on the ground in an area of uprooted trees, and the sight of Nalos' back flying off.

"Nalos!!!"