Chapter 41: A Battle of Words, The Elder's Wrath

Stone Hao, who had been preparing to make a move, also stopped out of curiosity and looked toward the source of the voice.

The main gates of the Martial King’s Residence creaked open, and an elder with a face full of wrinkles, hunched over and coughing every few steps, slowly emerged.

Seeing the elder, Shi Zi Teng hurried forward to support him and said, “Ancestor, there’s no need for you to come out for this matter. We juniors will handle it.”

This elder was the most senior member within the Martial King’s Residence, a great patriarch whose presence was the very foundation of the clan. His cultivation was only a hair’s breadth beneath that of the Human Emperor, and even if the Emperor of the Stone Nation were to visit in person, he would show the utmost respect.

Upon seeing the elder appear, Shi Yuan, who had been fighting Shi Hao, quickly used his treasured weapon to force Shi Hao back and stepped forward to salute the elder. “Ancestor!”

Shi Zhongtian and Shi Zi Ling also wished to pay their respects, but thinking back on how Shi Hao had once been cruelly harmed by their clan, they doubted the elder, as the clan’s cornerstone, could have been ignorant of it. They held back, refraining from any gesture of respect.

Shi Zi Teng tentatively asked, “Ancestor, this child lost his Supreme Bone long ago. Why would you still protect him?”

The elder lifted his deeply wrinkled face and glanced at Shi Zi Teng, his eyes flashing with a hint of displeasure. He spoke faintly, “Back then, when I was in seclusion, what you all did truly went too far. This has undermined the very roots of our Martial King’s Residence!”

“The younger generation truly did not know at the time—it was all the doing of my late wife. Had I known, I would surely have stopped it,” Shi Zi Teng replied respectfully, though his eyes brimmed with contempt.

The elder ignored him, a faint smile appearing on his face as he turned to Shi Zhongtian and said kindly, “Little Fifteen, why is it that you no longer greet your elder?”

From a distance, Shi Zhongtian saluted and said, “Ancestor, I wish you well. Forgive me for my discourtesy.”

The elder nodded in satisfaction. “I know the residence owes your branch a debt, but the chief instigator of those events is dead, and it’s time for your line to return.”

Shi Zhongtian, neither humble nor servile, replied, “Ancestor, you are mistaken. That venomous woman may be dead, but my grandson’s Supreme Bone must still be returned, or else it is unjust to him!” His voice rang out clear and strong.

The elder’s face darkened. “You are a member of the Martial King’s Residence as well. You know the importance of a prodigy to our clan. So many years have passed—must you destroy our only peerless genius?”

Shi Zhongtian did not reply, but his resolute expression said it all.

The elder sighed softly and turned to Shi Hao. “Young one, the clan truly wronged you in the past. Now that you are safe, could you let this matter go? In the future, how about letting your branch head the Martial King’s Residence?”

“Ancestor! How… how could that be? What about Yi’er…” Shi Zi Teng was instantly anxious.

Ignoring Shi Zi Teng’s urgency, the elder fixed his gaze on Shi Hao, clearly waiting for his answer.

Shi Hao smiled coolly, his voice tinged with frost. “Do you know? The one who first realized I possessed the Supreme Bone was Shi Yi. Only he, with his double pupils, could see the secret hidden within my young body. While my Supreme Bone was dug out, he stood by my side the entire time, watching from start to finish without a flicker of emotion. In his eyes, I saw only coldness. He even schemed against his own mother, all for his own ends. A child of just a few years old, willing to sacrifice even his birth mother, and to harm his younger cousin—now you ask me to forgive him?”

He paused, then continued coldly, “Are you truly offering control of the Martial King’s Residence to my grandfather’s branch out of remorse? Or is it because you’ve realized my little brother also possesses the Supreme Bone? Do you really think I’m that easily deceived?”

Shi Hao’s three consecutive questions stunned everyone present. Shi Zhongtian and his son’s faces changed dramatically, and Qin Yining instinctively hugged Qin Hao tighter, her face filled with anger.

The members of Shi Zi Teng’s branch were equally shocked. Only now did they realize that the Supreme being the elder feared might be harmed was not Shi Hao, as everyone had thought, but the little boy in Qin Yining’s arms. Only then did they recall her earlier words: “I also have a Supreme Bone here,” which had not been idle boasting.

Shi Zi Teng looked at the boy in Qin Yining’s embrace with a complex expression—a mixture of jealousy, envy, and unwillingness.

He understood that if Shi Zhongtian’s branch produced another natural Supreme, there would be no more opposition to them leading the Martial King’s Residence. Even with Shi Yi, his own branch would have no chance to compete.

The elder was not angered by Shi Hao’s questions. He simply nodded and said matter-of-factly, “That’s right. Your branch bears such a prodigy; it is only fitting that you lead the Martial King’s Residence!”

He sighed, “Though you no longer have to worry for your life, without your Supreme Bone, your future achievements will always be limited. But with your brother to protect you, your life will be safe and blessed.”

A laugh rang out, startling everyone. They turned to see a young girl in red, laughing so hard she nearly bent double—it was Huo Ling’er.

The people of the Martial King’s Residence were furious. The great elder commanded such respect that even the Human Emperor would treat him with courtesy; yet this girl acted so insolently, enraging them all.

Ignoring their reactions, Huo Ling’er strode up to the great elder and spoke with disdain, “A frog at the bottom of a well knows nothing of the vastness of the sky. Old man, you know only about the Supreme Bone—have you ever considered the little one’s current cultivation?”

The elder glanced at her and said flatly, “Young lady, I do not know what means you have used to conceal your cultivation, making it impossible for us to fathom. But no matter how high this child’s current cultivation may be, limited talent and foundation will always leave him overshadowed by true prodigies. You must not be too arrogant.”

Shi Hao was too impatient to argue further. He said bluntly, “I don’t care what you think. From this day forward, our Fifteenth Branch severs all ties with the Martial King’s Residence. Today, we must kill Shi Yi and wipe out his entire line!”

“Little Fifteen, have you truly decided to do this?” The elder’s face grew dark as he angrily questioned Shi Zhongtian.

Shi Zhongtian watched the scene before him and could only give a bitter smile. In his mind, killing Shi Yi and reclaiming the Supreme Bone would suffice to avenge the past, but he had not expected Shi Hao to insist on exterminating Shi Yi’s entire lineage. He wanted to say something, but after glancing at those behind him, he sighed and fell silent, acquiescing to Shi Hao’s decision.

Shi Zi Ling, who had remained silent, stepped forward and pleaded with Shi Hao, “Hao’er, can we not just kill Shi Yi and spare the rest of his branch?” There was a hint of supplication in his eyes. After all, they were all of the Martial King’s Residence; if Shi Zi Teng’s branch were wiped out, the clan’s power would plummet.

Shi Hao lowered his head in thought, then shook it. “I’m sorry, Father. Back then, Master left instructions with Liu Shen: Shi Yi’s branch must be eradicated, down to the roots. I cannot go against my master’s wishes!” His voice was resolute.

Hearing that these were Chen Xing’s instructions, Shi Zi Ling could only give a series of bitter laughs. Though his relationship with Shi Hao had improved over the past two years, when it came to Chen Xing’s orders, no one could persuade Shi Hao otherwise. In his heart, no one outweighed Chen Xing—not even his own father. He sighed, stepped back, and said nothing more.

The great elder, listening to the exchange, was so enraged that he laughed. “Very well, very well! Today, I’ll see how you slaughter wantonly before this old man!” He then called to the clan elders hidden in the void behind him who had set up the ancestral formation: “Activate the grand array—seize them all!”

With a thunderous boom, the sky was instantly filled with chains of runes, and the phantoms of vicious beasts appeared once more.