Han Yu's eyes narrowed as he continued reading. The tone was desperate and full of bitterness.
In their desperation, the Patriarch and the elders decided to attempt what was once forbidden. They spoke of the Ritual of Returning Blood, an ancient rite meant to awaken dormant lineages and strengthen the veins of the next generation.
Grandfather was among those who supported it, though I begged him to reconsider. The ritual required the essence of an entire generation to act as catalyst. They gathered all the youths, those under fifty years old and began at midnight.
Han Yu felt his stomach twist. He could already guess what had gone wrong.
But something went terribly awry. Instead of awakening the bloodline, the ritual ignited it. The resonance became uncontrollable, spreading through the clan's formation arrays like wildfire. One by one, their blood began to boil from within. The screams could be heard from miles away.
And then… everything exploded.
