Transforming into a stunningly beautiful fox spirit, leaving a scar on the heart of a prodigy.

Chen Xuan stood up from in front of the Taiyin Ice Crystal.

The chill from the melting ice still lingered around his clothes. The broken sword lay across his knees, its patterns gradually illuminating, as if recognizing his presence once more.

Su Chang'an's hand was still on the back of his hand.

The warmth of his palm suppressed the restlessness surging within the newly formed sword bone. Chen Xuan glanced down at her, then, without asking again if she would leave, simply sheathed the broken sword.

"The Chen family's score is not yet settled."

Su Chang'an gently pressed his fingertips along his wrist bone, smoothing out the last wisp of chaotic sword energy.

"Then go and get rid of those relatives of yours who only care about connections and not people."

She withdrew her hand, her tone dismissive.

"Don't let the ruins continue to take up space."

Chen Xuan cupped his palm slightly, the back of his hand still seemingly retaining her warmth. He glanced at her, then turned and walked towards the Chen family ancestral land.

The former imperial city has been mostly destroyed.

Only a few broken pillars remain of the Guiyuan Hall, and cracks left by the Nine Nether Refining God Array crisscross the ground, with black mist slowly dissipating from the gaps. The ancestral hall and ancestral stele stand deep within the ruins, becoming the last two relatively intact places.

The main lineage cultivators gathered in front of the monument, chanting, "The imperial clan cannot be without a leader for even a day." Chen Boyong's former subordinates sealed off the treasury and spiritual veins, and kept the list of collateral branches tightly in their hands, still trying to maintain the hierarchy of legitimate and illegitimate offspring by relying on the old rules.

Outside the ruins, Chen Fan led dozens of his collateral relatives to guard the area.

Upon seeing Chen Xuan, he first clasped his hands in greeting.

"Brother Chen Xuan."

That was all.

He did not plead for anyone.

The elders in front of the ancestral stele saw Chen Xuan, their expressions changed several times, and they quickly managed to force a smile.

"Chen Xuan, you've come back just in time."

The chief elder presented a golden seal of the imperial son and strode forward.

"Chen Tianyou is dead, and Chen Daolin's whereabouts are unknown. You are now the only remaining Great Saint Sword Cultivator of the Chen family, and you should succeed as the Emperor's Son, inheriting the ancestral stele, the imperial treasury, and the main lineage's authority."

Another person immediately spoke up: "All that happened in the past was done arbitrarily by Chen Boyong and Li Changgeng. As long as you acknowledge your ancestors and return to your clan, the entire Chen family will surely serve you as their master and revive the imperial clan."

They made "recognizing one's ancestors" sound grand, as if digging out bones, imprisonment, and forging formations could be erased from the Chen family's record simply by changing the charge.

The crowd of people from the collateral branches gradually quieted down.

Some looked down at their wrists, where the black marks left by the restriction still remained. Some recalled the night during the Imperial Prince Trial when they were forced to wield their swords against their own kind.

Chen Fan gripped the medicine bottle tightly in his sleeve.

The empty bottle pressed against his palm. Inside the bottle was the Soul-Scattering Pill he had swallowed to deceive his ancestor.

Everyone assumed that Chen Xuan would accept the golden seal.

After all, that was the position above all others in the Chen family, and it was also everything that had been taken away from him.

The wind blew through the broken wall, stirring up a cloud of dust.

Chen Xuan did not reach out.

He only asked, "Where were you when Chen Tianyou's bones were dug out?"

The elder holding the seal's expression changed slightly.

"Chen Tianyou is a direct descendant of the Heavenly Mandate, while you were merely a discarded son of a collateral branch. How can the two be confused?"

Chen Xuan raised his hand and pointed at Chen Fan and the others.

"Where were you when they were sent into the secret realm to fill the formations, forced to scout ahead for the direct descendants?"

"presumptuous!"

Enraged, the elder suddenly formed a hand seal with his fingers hidden in his sleeve.

The ancient characters on the ancestral stele lit up simultaneously.

The oppressive aura of bloodline pressed down from the monument, and the array patterns on the ground crawled towards the collateral relatives like blood snakes. Chen Fan grunted, and the restrictive patterns on his wrist suddenly tightened, causing several people behind him to bend their knees.

The familiar drama of the Chen family is being performed once again.

Using ancestral rules as an excuse, they force people to submit.

Clang!

The broken sword at Chen Xuan's waist was drawn from its sheath on its own.

He did not strike the elder, but instead gripped the sword in reverse and plunged the blade into the cracked stone brick.

The sound of swords echoed along the ground.

The reforged guardian aura spread outwards along the brick seams, without a trace of killing intent, yet precisely severing the connection between the ancestral stele and the collateral bloodline.

The forbidden mark on Chen Fan's wrist gradually faded away.

The traction marks within the other collateral descendants also collapsed. Some staggered a couple of steps, feeling the spiritual power returning to their bodies, their eyes filled with disbelief.

A moment later, a young disciple tore off his side-belt badge and slammed it to the ground.

"I will not be a slave anymore."

More waist tags were torn off.

Chen Fan walked up to Chen Xuan, kneeling on both knees, but did not address him as the Emperor's son.

"Please set the new rules."

He looked up, his eyes red-rimmed.

"The descendants of the Chen family will no longer be determined by bloodline. Collateral relatives will not be enslaved, and no one may use clan law to strip bones or seize bloodlines, let alone use human beings for cultivation."

The words echoed across the ruins, and the swaying remnants began to retreat.

The elder of the main branch shouted sternly, "Chen Fan, how dare you say such things? You poisoned Chen Xuan back then! The collateral branches are fickle and unpredictable; without the ancestral tablet and the restraint of the direct line, the Chen family will surely fall into chaos!"

Chen Fan did not offer any explanation.

He took an empty medicine bottle from his sleeve and placed it in front of him.

"I handed him the medicine."

"I was coerced by the Chen family and I did indeed harm Brother Chen Xuan. I do not ask for forgiveness."

He gripped the medicine bottle tightly, his knuckles turning white.

"But I also swallowed the Soul-Scattering Pill and risked my life to get the Marrow-Cleansing Pill to deliver to him. Today I only ask for one thing: don't let anyone who comes after us follow our path."

Chen Xuan looked at the empty bottle.

He recalled his words, "Those of collateral relatives will not be slaves," and also the supreme bones buried in the ruins of the emperor's palace.

A moment later, he drew his broken sword and walked toward the ancestral stele.

The elder of the main branch's expression changed drastically, and he stood in front of the monument.

"Stop! This stele carries the Chen family's imperial destiny for ten thousand years. Destroying it is to sever the foundation of the imperial clan!"

"The Chen family can only survive by eating the bones of their own people."

He raised his sword.

"This foundation is better off without."

The sword light fell.

The ancestral stele split open from the center.

The ancient characters "Bloodline is Supreme" on the stele crumbled one by one, and stone fragments fell like rain to both sides. The elder of the main lineage was forced back by the sword force, and the golden seal of the imperial prince in his hand fell off and smashed among the broken steles.

The remaining imperial aura did not backfire on the collateral branches; instead, it dispersed into the ruins of the ancestral land.

The severed spiritual veins began to flow again, and spiritual light pierced through the scorched earth, spreading outwards along the ruined walls.

The old guard, having lost their ancestral support, abandoned their seals of office and retreated outside the city.

Chen Fan and his collateral relatives stood before the broken monument and swore an oath in unison.

"Nobility and lowliness are not determined by bloodline."

"Never take away a person's path in life because of their family ties."

"No one shall be sacrificed."

The sound traveled beyond the ancestral hall and spread throughout the ruins.

Chen Xuan did not pick up the imperial prince's golden seal.

He sheathed the broken sword and turned to walk towards Su Chang'an.

Su Chang'an brushed a piece of stone fragment off his shoulder, his fingertips pausing for a moment before casually withdrawing them.

"Your hands aren't shaking anymore?"

Chen Xuan looked at her.

"You pressed it, it doesn't shake."

Su Chang'an scoffed lightly, but her gaze lingered on the back of his hand for a moment.

Chen Xuan glanced back at the shattered ancestral tablet, then whispered:

"From today onwards, this place will no longer be my shackles."