The next morning, Wu Han met with Wu Zhen at the clan treasury.
The guardian of the treasury was none other than the Second Elder himself. Since he held neutrality, it was no wonder he also held a key to the clan's hard-earned wealth.
"I hope you find what you need, young master." The Second Elder bowed to Wu Han, showing respect for the boy who had endured abuse from a power-hungry woman, fought against injustice, and emerged anew.
"Thank you for all your help, Second Elder. If it wasn't for your fair judgment, I would be dead," Wu Han replied, bowing in return. The plan was going smoothly because the Second Elder was a man of principle, one who judged by evidence, not emotion.
Even back during his first trial, he had been among the few who disagreed with condemning Wu Han as Wu Yaoshi's killer.
But a man of principle is still a weak man, one who tries to float on the sea of indulgence, clinging to what he can control because he's afraid to let go and face the true waves.
Wu Han respected him yet also thought the Second Elder a fool.
Understanding how people think is how one truly wins, and principled men are the easiest to understand.
Inside the clan treasury were rows upon rows of shelves seeping with elemental power.
Rare herbs, pills, weapons, and armor filled the place.
When clan members gathered treasures, they could either keep them or exchange them with the clan for favor or spirit stones.
"It's been ages since you came here, remember?" Wu Zhen reminisced.
As a member of the elder's lineage, he had first gained access to the treasury when he awakened his Qi, to select one gift to hone his skills with.
"Yes, Grandfather, I almost killed myself back then too." Wu Han let out a fake laugh as the memory surfaced, young Wu Han nearly dying when a falling sword cut him in half.
"Haha! Sure, you did!" Wu Zhen laughed proudly as they walked deeper until they reached the altar guarded by stone sculptures, the character Wu carved into a massive stone slab.
"Wu Zhen greets the ancestors."
"Wu Han greets the ancestors."
Wu Zhen drew his jade sword and placed it on the altar.
The stone began to move, activating the ancient formations and arrays passed down through generations.
The vault opened, revealing piles upon piles of spirit stones inside.
'Almost thousands of them!' Wu Han was astonished by the amount.
By measuring the Qi density and comparing it to the stone volume, he roughly calculated the total and realized it was nearly double what he had anticipated.
"It seems Wu Wei was even more foolish than I thought…" Wu Zhen muttered, half disappointed, half insulted by Wu Wei's incompetence.
The job of a clan leader isn't just to keep the clan functioning, but also to invest their spirit stones to strengthen the clan's power. The fact that most of them were just sitting here collecting dust meant Wu Wei was too afraid to act.
It's no wonder the clan rotted away.
"Here, with this amount, you should be able to break into the 6th stage and easily prepare for the 7th." Wu Zhen picked up around six stones and handed them to Wu Han.
"Grandfather…" Wu Han's eyes widened. This amount was equivalent to winning the clan championship three years in a row. Only an unrivaled genius would receive such a reward, and even then, after long preparation and rigorous training.
"You may have a great master, but the fact remains—you're already eighteen. We need to advance as much as we can while time still favors us." Wu Zhen placed his hand on Wu Han's shoulder, his face full of expectation.
"Yes, Grandfather." Wu Han bowed slightly.
"It feels like a dream, being here with you. How I wish your father and mother could have lived to see this day…" Wu Zhen's face showed a trace of sadness as he thought back on the past.
Wu Han's parents were killed in an assassination attempt, and, even more insulting, they were just innocent, caught in the crossfire.
The assassin's real target had been Wu Yaoshi, to break the arranged marriage, but it was Wu Han's bloodline that paid the price.
Still, fortune had shifted. "Let's get some herbs for you to bring to your master," Wu Zhen said as he turned around.
Both walked out of the secret vault, and Wu Han began his plan.
"Grandfather, may I hold the jade sword? I feel like it hides a secret." Wu Han asked carefully.
"Sharp eyes! Indeed, our sword is rumored to be a Foundation Establishment realm weapon. But alas, none have ever awakened it. Maybe you will be the first since our great ancestor." Wu Zhen was delighted to see his grandson could sense the hidden greatness within the sword.
This was the same blade their founder had left behind. Within it lay many secrets, one of which was the key to the clan's secret vault, as they had just witnessed.
But this was as far as he will play along.
With a single thought from Wu Han, his storage ring activated. Wu Wei's puppet and Ming rushed out, charging straight at Wu Zhen, who froze in shock.
And in that instant of confusion, Wu Han thrust his sword.
Stab!
The sword pierced Wu Zhen's unguarded heart.
Wu Zhen's Qi dropped, his life force flowing away. With his heart exposed, his body became nothing more than an open valve.
"Why?" Wu Zhen was hurt, confused, looking at his grandson's face with pain. All his life he had dedicated himself to their prosperity, and now they had already gained the clan leader's position, so the question burned.
"WHY!?" The old man demanded the truth. He tried to conjure Qi, but without a working heart, the flow interrupted and blood spurted from the gaping wound.
He was dying.
"We were this close to controlling the clan, why did you do this!?"
Wu Han didn't answer. He extended his hand and dragged the soul right out of Wu Zhen's body. The clan leader screamed in agony as his life and his dream faded away, torn from his flesh and leaving nothing behind.
And in that moment between life and death, he finally saw it, the reason his grandson did this.
It isn't you… This old fool. I was too blinded by potential. It's all my fault, everyone.
In the end, his soul smiled before it was absorbed, knowing his grandson hadn't betrayed them. But he still had to make peace with himself, knowing he had doomed their clan for eternity.
He was played, with no chance to fight back against it.
Wu Han sliced Wu Zhen's head clean off. Only then did he answer.
"Why did I do this? Because we are weak." Wu Han didn't want to risk Wu Zhen trying any tricks, so he was forced to kill him.
"If your clan were as strong as the Luo, I might have spared you."
He needed access to the treasury and a trump card to finish Wu Zhen; that's why he needed Wu Wei's body.
In case any hiccup happened and they had to fight, he wouldn't dare take this risk without the Wu Wei puppet.
The existence of Wu Wei and Wu Zhen were the obstacles blocking him from his goal: everything of worth in their clan.
But now that both were gone, it was time for him to finally harvest.
From all the spirit stones to the pills, weapons, and herbs the Wu Clan had collected for years.
Does he have to do this? No.
Can he wait and cultivate slowly? Yes.
Can he work with the Wu Clan and grow together? Also, yes.
But why bother when he can take all their possessions and find a better place to train?
He does this because he wants to grow as fast as possible, and the Wu Clan is the easiest target, with little risk and many rewards.
How could he turn away from an opportunity like this?
Wu Han spent the spirit stones he'd received as a gift and revived Wu Zhen as a true undead like Ming instead of a puppet. Be glad he removed all his memories, leaving only fighting skill, so he doesn't have to live with eternal pain.
"Consider this kindness from me." Wu Han then created a magic circle with a dark, ominous aura before branding it onto three of his minions. When the circle touched them, a dark mist spread as their bodies were enhanced, with one spell engraved into them.
Rank 2 magic, Bloody Curse.
A spell with a simple effect: not only does it enhance capability, but it also makes one turn uncontrollably angry and target anyone in sight. But it comes with one condition, it can't be used on the undead.
So why did he put the spell on them?
The Second Elder, seeing the gate slowly open, was anticipating what Wu Han would bring out. Having seen his talent with his own eyes, he was ready to introduce his grandson to Wu Han so they might become partners in the future.
But what rushed out were three shadows that bit him on the neck. The spell extended into the Second Elder; his eyes went wide and veins bulged.
"AH!!!" He screamed and rushed in another direction, starting to kill anyone insight.
Then the three minions moved on and started biting one after another, after another, after another. After another, after another, after another. After another, after another, after another. After another, after another, after another.
When one turned into a mindless killing monster; many died as victims.
A son saw his mother first. She reached for him, eyes wide. He drove the spear through her chest and kept pushing until the shaft split her back. Her hands clutched the wood. "Dear… why?" she whispered before falling silent.
Across the yard, a husband raised his blade to stop the chaos.
"What's happening? Stop this at once!"
His wife came up behind him with a kitchen knife. One clean stab to the kidney. He turned, stunned. She didn't stop, hacking at his collarbone, then his throat.
By the training stones, a girl clung to her brother's sleeve. She picked up his dropped sword and drove it into his belly, then up under the ribs, tears streaming down her face.
"Greetings, Second Elder!"
The Second Elder crashed through a line of juniors, fists breaking bone, eyes wide and blind.
Three shadows moved through the clan, biting throats, spreading the curse like fire on dry grass.
Disciples clawed each other.
Elders cracked skulls.
Servants tripped and were trampled.
Screams stacked on screams.
Blood ran down the steps.
Among the river of corpses, Wu Han walked out gracefully.
The gate guards rushed back in, trying to stop the chaos, only to be cursed by Wu Zhen and Wu Wei that returned to Wu Han, feeding more blood into the river.
Wu Han recalled them into his spirit ring and cast an illusion to disgust himself.
Then he walked out and shut the clan gate.
By the time an outsider arrived, the Wu Clan had no survivors.
Or to be more precise, no witnesses.
HAHAHAHAHA!!