The three matriarchs of the Chen Clan all noticed the swirling hostility in Chen Ruifan's eyes whenever he looked at Chen Haoran. But they all ignored it. Rivalry between two little kids was normal, especially in a powerful cultivation clan like the Chen Clan.
Chen Haoran and his mother sat down at the dining table. A moment later, the door to the dining room opened, and a handsome middle aged man stepped into the room. He wore an ancient white robe that trailed behind him. His long white hair was neatly tied neatly, and his red eyes were calm and deep. He walked with dignity and poise befitting a powerful man.
This man was Chen Daotian, Patriarch of the Chen Clan.
"Father."
"Husband."
The voices of his wives, Lianhua and Ruifan called out in respectful greetings as soon as he stepped into the room.
Yet Chen Haoran was silent as usual. Though he never had any animosity towards his father, he couldn't be bothered to call him father.
Chen Daotian's face was indifferent when he entered the room, but when he saw his gathered family, a faint smile crept onto his lips.
After sitting at the head of the table, his gaze shifted directly to Haoran and his smile deepened ever so lightly. "I see you've begun cultivating," Daotian said calmy, his voice cold yet filled with approval. "Already at the third level of the origin spirit realm just a few days after you turned twelve. Good, starting tomorrow, you will join your siblings in the clan's academy and learn properly under the teachers so you don't make any mistakes setting up your foundation for the future."
Haoran simply gave a small nod, only Xie Meilin was aware that it only took him a couple of hours to reach third level of origin spirit realm. Chen Daotian smiled and turned to talk to the other people seated at the table.
Su Qing's forehead creased, though it disappeared quickly as it came. Chen Ruifan, however, nearly lost control of his expression.
The last time he saw his father was a year ago was when he hadn't even started cultivating. Now only a short five months, he was already at the peak of the origin spirit realm, showing talent that none of his siblings could match, except his older brother. Yet in front of their father, it was Haoran who was acknowledged first. Again as always, the cold blooded bastard only nodded as a reply.
Ruifan's blood boiled in his veins, but he forced himself to smile as his father turned towards him.
The rest of the dinner was filled with warmth and unity, or at least the illusion of it. Hours later, the dinner ended.
Back in Xie Meilin's courtyard, Chen Haoran sat cross legged in his private chamber. "Do I really need to waste my time in that academy with those kids?" He muttered under his breath.
The thought was quickly tossed to the back of his mind. He closed his eyes, steadied his breathing as he circulated the Celestial Undying Sutra. Immediately, the surrounding Qi essence flowed toward him like a stream. The moment it entered into his body, it was refined and transformed into celestial Qi and merged into his flesh and meridians.
Cultivating like this was painfully slow compared to using source crystals, but he had already blown through his weekly quota. This was all he could do for now.
A few miles away from the Chen Clan, a warship glided through the air. Inside, on a throne in the middle of the ship, an old man sat with his eyes closed. Golden light danced around him, making his form blur between real and unreal.
Beside him, a tall man with a beastly aura around him bowed. "Master, we're almost at the Chen Clan."
The old man's eyes opened slowly. His eyes were black and empty of warmth. He rose slowly. Before his body had fully straightened, he flickered and appeared at the edge of the warship. Seven figures silently appeared behind him.
Soon the warship arrived above a lively city. The outer area of the city had many restaurants and bustled with life. In the inner area of the city lay the Chen Clan estate.
A cold snort suddenly echoed out as a burly, tall man in white robes appeared above the city and unfurled a mid sovereign spirit realm cultivation in full force as a protective formation flared into life to cover the whole city. This man was Chen Hao, the only ancestor of the Chen Clan.
Five figures soared into the sky and appeared behind the ancestor. They were the four great elders of the clan, all in the heaven spirit realm, and the Patriarch, Chen Daotian.
Chen Hao's voice thundered, "I wonder which fellow Daoist has arrived."
The warship descended, and a figure cloaked in saintly light walked off the ship with seven figures behind him. Every step he took caused the air to distort as a terrifying aura erupted out of his illusory frame.
"A saint." Chen Hao's voice cracked with fear. "Senior, what brings you to my Chen Clan, if there's anything you need, give your order and we will obey." He hurriedly said.
Silence hung in the air for what seemed like an eternity. Then the saint asked flatly, "Who is Chen Fan?"
All the Chen Clan experts swung their heads to look at a grey haired great elder with lots of wrinkles on his face. His Daoist name was Blacksun. He stepped forward, bowing so low his head nearly touched his knees. "Senior, he is my grandson."
Chen Fan was the only grandchild of great elder Blacksun of the Chen Clan. His mother, Blacksun's only child, died when Chen Fan was only a year old. Hence Blacksun poured all his love and attention into him and spoiled him rotten since he was a child. He grew up to become infamous in the Chen Clans region for kidnapping and raping women, especially pregnant women. Because of the backing of a Heaven spirit expert, and his habit of only targeting women from low level cultivation clans and commoners, he never really got into trouble for his actions. Although everyone from the Chen Clan was aware of his actions, his grandfather was always around to shelter him from all consequences.
The saint looked over directly at Blacksun.
In his eyes, there were strings attached to the experts of the Chen Clan and stretched down below into the inner area of the city below. He focused on the string attached to Blacksun until his eyes pierced into a pavilion. "Found him."
He suddenly disappeared and reappeared, holding the neck of an unconscious young man.
Blacksun's expression instantly changed. A hint of rage was now visible on his face. "Senior, where are you taking my grandson? My Chen Clan is a vassal of the Primal Heaven Sect. Although Senior is a saint, I trust you would not want to become an enemy of the Primal Heaven sect."
The saint's face didn't change. With a flick of his sleeve, a small pagoda suddenly appeared in front of him. A sealing aura exploded out of the pagoda and covered the whole city in a black, eerie dome. "Kill them all. Leave no one alive."