Chapter 914

Zhang Zhengchang is Zhang Maocheng's uncle, Zhang Liuyuan's great-uncle, and Zhang Li's paternal uncle, but neither Zhang Liuyuan nor Zhang Li showed him any mercy.

The clan's infighting had reached this point, enraging both Weilaozu, who finally intervened to quell the chaos—both sides suffered heavy injuries.

Before they could question them, the gate banged loudly, and Pan Yun's voice rang out in the back courtyard.

The Celestial Master's Mansion had raised a barrier, forming its own realm; anyone with even a shred of sense knew to stay as far away as possible.

Yet someone was still knocking at the barrier.

Both Weilaozu immediately knew the visitor was no ordinary person—these words were merely a ruse to appear weak.

The voice sounded young; how had the children outside grown so lively in just a few years since they closed their gates?

Seeing the two Weilaozu frown, someone stepped forward to explain.

The two Weilaozu, newly emerged from seclusion, quickly learned the current situation from their descendants.

The one knocking at the gate is a disciple of Mount Sanqing, Wang Feiyin's junior sister, the final disciple of the Mountain God Pan Gong, and the new National Teacher of Great Ming.

"National Teacher?" Zhang Xuefang sneered. "Has the Great Ming's National Teacher become an outsider? What is Zhang Zijin doing?"

Everyone fell silent. Zhang Liuyuan smiled faintly, bowing slightly as Zhang Xuefang glared at him: "Respected Laozu, our uncle strictly honors the pact with the founding Emperor: only non-corrupting cultivators may engage in state affairs; the Zhang family likewise abides by this decree."

Thus, any Daoist Priest who reaches the Emperor's side—if a cultivator—must not corrupt the state; if he corrupts the state, he is not a cultivator.

The Zhang family will not interfere.

Whether the Zhu family's Emperor lives or dies is entirely his own doing.

Zhang Xuefang's eyes flashed with sharp displeasure—he disliked Zhang Liuyuan intensely—and was about to speak when Zhang Shangde beside him raised a hand to interrupt both, saying gravely: "Open the gate. Let her in."

And so they saw Pan Yun—youthful, brimming with vitality.

The two Weilaozu scanned Pan Yun, their eyes flickering with surprise.

So young, and already one foot into the Second Marquis rank—just half a step from advancement.

Both instinctively sat up straighter.

Mount Sanqing truly produces geniuses.

Both felt a mix of envy and jealousy; when they looked again at Zhang Liuyuan and Zhang Li, their hearts grew heavy with unspoken complexity.

Once, the Zhang family had two geniuses too.

Alas, one was ruined, the other fled to Mount Sanqing, still bearing hidden injuries.

Pan Yun stood obediently to the side, curious about what had happened at Long Hushan, her eyes wide with thirst for knowledge as she gazed at Zhang Ziwang.

Zhang Ziwang kowtowed: "Respected Laozu, the Second Branch sought to usurp the throne. After the True Person's passing, with the nation in crisis and his death sudden, the late Emperor perished, and seals across the land began to loosen, the thing imprisoned at Si Guo Cliff stirring violently—so Long Hushan had no time to petition for the True Person's posthumous title, but instead prioritized suppressing the evil and reinforcing the seals."

The two Weilaozu nodded slightly, approving their actions.

"After two months, until the new Emperor changed the era name, the heavy vitality of New Year's Eve, coupled with victories across the realm, allowed the Heir to harness this momentum to quell the demons. But the Second Branch took advantage of everyone's exhaustion, secretly recalled their people to surround the Heir's main courtyard. Fortunately, with assistance from Zhang Li of the Sixth Branch, they broke through the encirclement…"

Zhang Liuyuan sneered: "What a twisted tale—you could turn white into black. You belong in a storytelling hall, not as Yuanzhu of the Academy."

Zhang Xuefang turned to him: "Then tell us what really happened."

Zhang Liuyuan straightened his kneeling posture, speaking gravely: "Respected Laozu, after the Heir suffered grievous, incurable injuries, the family intended to groom me as successor, so they changed my name to Liuyuan."

The two Weilaozu fell silent.

They knew well—the renaming had been tacitly approved by them.

And the Zhang family paid a heavy price for it.

Zhang Li, enraged, led her fellow disciples through layers of barriers to storm the Celestial Master's Mansion, fighting from front courtyard to back courtyard, rescuing the grievously wounded Zhang Liuyuan.

Of the two generations of disciples her age, those ranked in the top fifteen were either dead or injured—the Zhang family suffered devastating losses.

Zhang Liuyuan and Zhang Li nearly died in that battle; finally, Wang Feiyin intervened, taking Zhang Li and Tao Ji away, while Zhang Maocheng rushed back from Jingcheng to save Zhang Liuyuan, and Zhang Liuyuan was inexplicably confined to the back courtyard.

But the feud between the First and Second Branches never ceased.

Zhang Liuyuan's Upper Dantian was shattered, his meridians severed—he could no longer uphold the Zhang family.

He held the title of Heir, yet all knew he could not control the family; next in talent, bloodline, and status was Zhang Liuyuan.

Even if he was suspected of murdering fellow disciples.

But it was only suspicion—no one had proof he was responsible for that great battle against the dragon.

Why did Zhang Li rage so fiercely, fighting from the mountain's foot to its peak? Precisely because there was no proof—she could not kill Zhang Liuyuan openly for revenge, so she expressed her stance through violent resistance.

Zhang Liuyuan did not avoid the past, reopening it: "The Heir and Zhang Li harbor resentment. After the True Person's death, the Heir used the loosening of the seals as a pretext to dispatch Second Branch members on the most dangerous missions."

He raised his eyes, filled with grief: "I had no intention of competing with the Heir, yet he pressed relentlessly. When they returned from their missions, they were ambushed in secret, causing catastrophic losses to the Second Branch. When I heard, I protested to the Heir—only to find him lying in wait in his main courtyard. As soon as I entered, I was attacked from front and back, and he shouted loudly that I had rebelled."

He glared fiercely at Zhang Liuyuan, then looked upward, tears streaming down his face as he kowtowed: "Respected Laozu, please uphold justice for me—for the Second Branch disciples!"

Hearing this, Pan Yun immediately turned to Zhang Liuyuan; seeing his calm, unshaken face, she quietly exhaled.

He's confident, isn't he?

Right?

Pan Yun wasn't sure.

The two Weilaozu immediately turned to Zhang Liuyuan and asked gravely: "What do you say?"

Zhang Liuyuan: "After last Mid-Autumn, when the late Emperor was captured in person, Great Ming's destiny became unstable. My father suffered backlash and fell ill, yet could not contain it—disturbances erupted across the land. I and Lin Jing stayed at Long Hushan, jointly guarding Si Guo Cliff with my uncle and senior disciples; Aunt Zhang Li led a force to Kunlun to suppress and reinforce the array; Zhang Ziwang led a team to the Taihang Mountains… while the Second Branch's disciples were split into three teams: one to Zhongshan, one to Sichuan, one to Jiangxi."

As for where they went and what they did—just naming the locations made their purpose clear to all.

The Celestial Master's Mansion governs all mountains, rivers, and spirits of the land; they knew exactly what was sealed beneath each.

Just by naming the place, everyone understood the danger level.

In truth, the most dangerous was the thing imprisoned beneath Si Guo Cliff.

Zhang Liuyuan's choice to remain proved he deserved his title as Heir.