Chapter 2156: Judgment of Fate

Death also comes in many forms—there is a good death, and there is a wretched death.

Lu Zhensheng feared He Lingchuan would torture him, and wanted to seize this last bit of autonomy.

"Unrepentant even in death!" Lu Lianqing pointed at the former clan chief's nose and cursed furiously, then turned to bow before the Emperor of the Nine Abysses, "Clan chief, what do you think?"

"I have always valued fairness." The Emperor of the Nine Abysses raised a hand, and the Gold Snake Coiled Ring reappeared, drifting toward Lu Zhensheng, "You killed my grandfather back then—today you shall suffer the same fate. This is swift retribution."

Lu Zhensheng stared at the approaching gold ring, eyes bulging wider than an ox's, his upper and lower teeth chattering loudly.

He had personally witnessed Lu Xuan'yuan's death back then—it had been excruciatingly painful.

He kept dodging, but Luo Xie forcefully grabbed his arm and shoved it into the Gold Snake Ring.

As soon as the Gold Snake Ring touched his body, Lu Zhensheng shuddered violently, thinking his bones and tendons would shatter and kill him, just like Lu Xuan'yuan years ago and the two Black Armor Guards today.

But nothing happened.

The Gold Snake Ring simply settled on his arm—he was perfectly fine, felt no pain, as if wearing an ordinary brass ornament.

Lu Zhensheng's expression shifted from fear to confusion, then quickly to secret delight, as he shook his bracelet repeatedly: "What's the big deal? Hah—could it be, could it be that I too am a Child of Fate?"

The onlookers were also astonished.

"You too?" He Lingchuan laughed even more openly than him, "In the past, those who made contact were kneel-slain, because they ultimately bowed to fate and knelt before it; as for you, fate has another arrangement for you——"

Having said that, he raised his right hand and lightly snapped his fingers.

"Judgment."

As these two words were spoken, the serpent eyes of the Gold Snake Coiled Ring flashed red again, and Lu Zhensheng's gaze instantly glazed over.

Everyone else looked bewildered, but only He Lingchuan understood—the Gold Snake Coiled Ring had also initiated its death game upon Lu Zhensheng.

After merely two or three breaths, Lu Zhensheng suddenly trembled like a swinging pendulum, facial muscles twisting as if trapped in a nightmare, yet unable to open his mouth or utter a sound.

Onlookers felt a chill run down their spines, sensing his soul seemed imprisoned, unable to escape.

After a full half-quarter hour, when Lu Zhensheng's face turned ashen, golden light suddenly burst from his seven orifices, and he collapsed headfirst.

How regrettable—he failed the trial.

Only then did the Gold Snake Coiled Ring slowly drift back into He Lingchuan's hand. As it flew back, the Black Armor troops scattered in all directions, fearful of being touched by it.

Luo Xie stepped forward, checked Lu Zhensheng's pulse, and confirmed he was dead.

Lu Lianqing and the others dared not even breathe.

In truth, given Lu Zhensheng's triple transgression, clan law demanded death by beating. Yet the Emperor of the Nine Abysses using the Immortal Ancestor's relic to deal with him was undoubtedly more clever—everyone inside and outside the shrine was utterly convinced.

Only then did the Black Armor troops bring forward Huang Dutong and the ten others, setting them on the shrine's stone steps, where the front-row spectators had the best view of what followed.

He Lingchuan went to all this trouble today, staging this whole performance, merely to borrow their eyes and mouths.

"You are fortunate—you may return to Mou State." He Lingchuan said to Huang Dutong, "Go back and tell them——"

"From now on, Does Bailie is a part of Cangyan State."

"From now on, Does Bailie's affairs are Cangyan State's affairs!"

Every word, every sentence, rang with weight.

The watching Lu family members listened in silence, their hearts filled with mixed emotions.

For how many years has Does Bailie been bullied by surrounding powers, forced to grovel for Mou State's protection?

Does Bailie knows best how hard it is to seek aid.

How much "tribute" has Mou State extracted from Does Bailie? The protection it offers bears no proportion to what it takes.

Even so, Mou State's appetite grows year by year, becoming harder and harder to satisfy.

The Lu family never dared dream that one day a mighty figure would descend from heaven and say, "Does Bailie's affairs are Cangyan's affairs."

Mou State has never said such a thing.

Mou State has never cared so much for Does Bailie!

From now on, will they no longer suffer exploitation? Will they finally be able to hold their heads high?

Gazing at the bloodstains on the shrine's outer wall, Huang Dutong gritted his teeth until they ached: "Emperor of the Nine Abysses, you will surely pay for today's folly!"

"We shall see." Such battlefield pleasantries from the defeated, He Lingchuan never took to heart, "Send them back."

Wan Qi Feng immediately dispatched men to escort these ten prisoners away, together with Lu Qing'an, to be escorted to the Does Bailie border.

The Emperor of the Nine Abysses specially ordered that the corpses of the three hundred Mou State soldiers who died in battle, including Wu Dutong and others, be likewise collected and sent to the Does Bailie border, returned to Mou State.

After finishing these matters, He Lingchuan summoned several Lu clan elders to his side, pointing at the hovering Gold Snake Coiled Ring: "This treasure is too ferocious—keeping it in the shrine risks lives. I will take it away first. Even the Immortal Ancestor could not master it, so it was forged into the incense burner to prevent accidents."

After today's events, the several elders nodded repeatedly: "Reasonable, reasonable—this treasure may only be touched by the clan chief."

The Black Armor troops killed many today, and the shrine still reeks of blood and vitality—no matter what He Lingchuan says now, the elders will have no objections. Moreover, the Gold Snake Coiled Ring is indeed a lethal object.

In this quarter, Lu Zhenxian personally searched Lu Zhensheng's body for a long time, not missing even his storage ring.

He was not seeking money, but the seal and treasures of the family head.

Then Lu Zhenxian presented these items with both hands to the Emperor of the Nine Abysses.

Choosing an auspicious day is no match for striking the day itself—coincidentally, the entire Lu family had gathered today, all fully convinced, so the succession ceremony began immediately.

Under the elders' supervision, He Lingchuan personally added oil and burned incense at the ancestral shrine, bowed to the ancestors, made a grand vow, and smoothly assumed the position of family head.

From this moment on, he also became the lord of Does Bailie.

He Lingchuan turned to the Lu family, first delivered a few admonitions, then urged the clan to unite in cooperation, and finally assured everyone that henceforth their days would only grow better.

He dislikes long-winded speeches, preferring to speak concisely and to the point—his remarks before and after amounted to no more than half a quarter hour.

Then he entered the shrine, closed the door, and sat in silent contemplation.

According to ritual, this is the new clan chief's meditative communion with the ancestors, with no outsiders present.

Yet the participating clan members, in their hearts, were actually filled with mixed emotions.

The new clan chief had just taken office and stirred up a bloodbath at the ancestral shrine—Mou State soldiers' corpses were carried out one by one, and the Lu family outside watched, their souls unanchored.

They had once dreamed of ancestral blessings, hoping their family head could stand firm against outsiders. They did not know whether the ancestors' vigor had been too great, sending down a mighty figure to be their clan chief—on his very first day in office, he nearly slaughtered to the last the Mou State garrison sent by the Mou Emperor.

Perhaps from now on they need no longer worry about the Ya Kingdom, but will the Mou Kingdom let the matter rest?

What will become of Does Bailie's future?

Lu Zhenxian gazed at his clansmen's worried eyes and secretly heaved a sigh.

Before the action he knew today would not end peacefully, yet the intensity of this clan chief succession still far exceeded his expectations.