Curse Reply: After choosing Nawa, the cursed spirit cursed me for being cruel.

Zenji Jikiji pushed aside the teacup beside him and pressed his fingers on the edge of the table.

One unpleasant thing after another has happened in the past two years.

First, the Gojo family snatched the top spot among the three major families, and now the Kamo family has produced a ruthless individual who is proficient in Crimson Blood Manipulation and is hailed as the strongest first-level mage. He is even losing his second place.

Even the matter of sending money to Shen'er has been brought up again. When he was in a dominant position in the clan, no one dared to mention it. Now the wind has changed, and those who were originally neutral are slowly leaning towards Shan's side.

Only a third of his supporters remained, and apart from a few neutrals, more than half of the remaining supporters stood behind his brother.

His situation will only become more difficult.

Just then, a green breeze brushed past me.

Duanmu Yan stood beside him and got straight to the point: "So, head of the Zen family, have you thought it through regarding that matter?"

Zenji Jikiji took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

The situation is not optimistic. He cannot allow that foolish younger brother to become the head of the family.

Once Shan seizes power, all his efforts over the years to change the family will be in vain.

He opened his eyes, looked at the young man in front of him, and nodded.

“Let’s talk. You help me stabilize the Zen family, and I’ll help you replace the council of elders.”

“That’s more like it. I already know about your family’s situation; you’re definitely in a weaker position right now,” Duanmu Yan said calmly.

Zenji Naohito snorted defiantly, "It's all that brat's fault from the Kamo family. If it weren't for him, many people would never have betrayed us."

“Loyalty that isn’t absolute is absolute disloyalty. If you choose the wrong side, you’ll be punished, won’t you?” Duanmu Yan stood up and walked behind the Zen monk Zhibi, his upper body disappearing into the shadow cast by the roof beams, making it impossible to see his expression.

Zenji Naohito glanced at him sideways: "You brat, you seem even more extreme than that Gojo clan member. You're willing to wipe out half of my clan with just a few words."

"I'm just offering a suggestion," Duanmu Yan said, spreading his hands. "Many of those on your brother's side are stubborn conservatives. Get rid of them, and your reforms can proceed smoothly, right?"

Zenji Jikiji looked down at the teacup in his hand, then with a flick of his fingers, the teacup shattered.

Duanmu Yan continued, "How exactly to proceed is up to you, the head of the family. I'm only responsible for clearing obstacles for you."

Zenji Naokijin remained silent for a long time. He seemed to be overwhelmed by those words, leaning back in his chair and looking much older.

"……Can."

Chapter 151 The Advantage Lies With Me

The main fighting force of the Zen family is divided into two parts: Bing and Qu Juli.

Bing's captain was his younger brother, Zenin Sen, the captain of the Kyujuru team was Zenin Shinichi, and the vice-captain was Zenin Nasurou.

At present, Bing's other two members have already sided with Ogi. The captain of the Kujuru team, Jinichi, has not expressed his opinion, but the vice captain, Chojuro, has taken sides very quickly and directly followed Ogi.

After hearing this, Duanmu Yan turned to look at Zenji Naoki, revealing an undisguised expression of disdain.

"What kind of expression is that, brat?" Zenji Naohito glared back.

Duanmu Yan composed himself, his tone indifferent, but one could still detect a hint of disdain: "Although I had anticipated that the Chanyuan family's situation wouldn't be good, it's really not good enough for you to be the head of the family, to be this bad."

Zenji Naokijin felt he must have committed some terrible sin in his past life to be sitting here being berated in front of him by a little brat the same age as his son. "You little brat..."

"Speaking of your son," Duanmu Yan interrupted him. "He can't possibly have sided with the enemy too, can he?"

Zenji Jikiji fell silent.

Duanmu Yan raised an eyebrow: "Hey, really? It's one thing to fail as the head of the family, but to fail as a father like this too?"

"Shut up." Zenji Naohito spat out the two words through gritted teeth, then sighed. "Naoya didn't choose either side. He said it didn't matter, he only stood on the side of the strong."

Duanmu Yan chuckled: "Then things become much simpler. Please gather your trusted followers."

Zenji Naoki raised his head, his brows furrowed: "It will irritate the fan."

“What I want is to provoke him.” Duanmu Yan stood up and patted Zenjou Naokiji on the shoulder. “Sometimes you’ll never know how bold a person can be until you provoke them. So I’ll leave the rest to you.”

As soon as he finished speaking, a green wind swirled up from beneath his feet, and he vanished from the room.

Zenji Naokijin stared at the spot where the wind had dissipated, remaining silent for a long time before muttering, "What an audacious brat. If it were you, you might truly be able to change the deeply ingrained rules of the sorcery world that have been in place for thousands of years."

After he finished speaking, he turned around and walked to the back of the room, where he took out an old-fashioned telephone from a cabinet.

He dialed the numbers one by one, notifying all his trusted confidants.

Tonight's meeting will only be attended by trusted confidants.

Five minutes later, Zen Temple Fan received the message.

He leaned against a pillar in the corridor, listened to his informant's report, and slowly smiled: "I didn't expect my good brother to actually give me the opportunity to take them all down. Of course I won't let it go. I'm not like you, so weak."

He stubbed out his cigarette on the wooden post. "You and all your supporters, I won't let a single one of you go. Hmph, and that brat Naoya too, I'll send you all to reunite, hahaha!"

……

As night fell, the main house became increasingly lively.

In less than ten minutes, about twenty people came in one after another. They were all middle and senior managers of the Zen Temple family, and most of them were young.

Surprisingly, Zenji Naoya was also lounging in the corner, half-lying down haphazardly, and yawning.

As for who sent him, nobody knows, but he came anyway, and nobody said anything more.

Everyone looked at Zenji Naokijin, who was sitting in the main seat, with puzzled expressions.

One of the younger men spoke first: "Patriarch, what important matter has brought us all here at this hour?"

Someone nearby immediately chimed in, "Is the fan doing something again?"

"They've been really arrogant these past few days. My men have been bullied by them several times on the training field."

"I heard that the vice-captain of the Kyuju-ryu squad also stood there. What is Captain Shinichi thinking?"

Zenji Naokijin slapped the table, his heavy hand making the teacup bounce: "Quiet."

The noise in the room stopped. He looked at his followers and got straight to the point: "I called you here today because I'm preparing to take action against the Zen Temple Fan."

After a brief silence, several people sat up straight at the same time.

"Master, you've finally made up your mind to get rid of this scourge!"

“That’s great. There shouldn’t be two voices in a family.”

"If it weren't for Shan's constant interference, the patriarch's reforms could have been implemented long ago."

Just then, the expression on the face of one of the people near the door changed drastically.

He suddenly stood up and opened the door. Outside the courtyard wall, a dark red barrier had somehow enveloped the patriarch's residence and the surrounding area for hundreds of meters.

In the distance, torches stretched out in a continuous line, and hundreds of people were marching towards them, their footsteps making the ground tremble slightly.

Zen-in Zen stood at the front of the line, hands behind his back. He looked at the terrified face of the person who opened the door and let out a smug, cold laugh: "Brother, you made your decision too late. I've been thinking about killing you for years."

A young member of the Zhibi tribe stepped forward, pointed at them, and shouted sternly, "You've set up a barrier in the heart of your clan's territory—are you plotting a rebellion?!"

The Zen monk tilted his head and pulled his hand out from behind his back. "Ah, yes. But... we can't call it treason."

He slowly drew his long sword from his waist, the blade reflecting a chilling glint in the dark red glow of the barrier, pointing directly at his elder brother in the main seat. "Only the strong are worthy of being the head of the family. Isn't this the rule of our Zen family for thousands of years? Failure is called rebellion, but success is not."

The Giovanni sighed. He glanced up at the vast army behind the fan, the torches crackling, and in the firelight, he saw faces he recognized.

The vast majority of them were elite members of the Zen family, and the leader was the vice-captain, Zen Master Shoulang.

The Jibi man's gaze lingered on him for a moment, then passed over him and swept into the deeper part of the line.

"Isn't Shen Yi here?"

Zenjiro stood at the front of the line with his arms crossed and nodded: "Ah, the captain said he wasn't feeling well today, so he went to bed early... former head of the family."

The Zhibi man didn't care about the title. He shifted his gaze from Nagatoshi and swept it over the hundreds of faces.

The firelight stretched his shadow long and heavy, casting it motionless on the paper door behind him.

"I'll give you one more chance. Those who leave now will be forgiven for their past actions."

He was met with a burst of laughter.

Zen Temple Fan laughed the loudest. He patted his shoulder with the back of his knife, his eyes crinkling with laughter: "At this point, brother, you must be joking, right?"

He pointed behind him to several hundred men, all neatly arranged in a uniform battle formation. "The forces surrounding us are three hundred to thirty, so the advantage is on our side!"

Chapter 152 Not a Single One Left Behind

The Jibi man remained silent for a long time, his gaze sweeping over every familiar face, over his old subordinates who used to sit around his table drinking and chatting.

Now they stand opposite each other, knives in hand, without the slightest hesitation in their eyes.

He confirmed it one last time: none of these people were worth keeping.

His whole body seemed to have had its last supporting skeleton removed.

"So... I'm really that incompetent."

"Unfortunately, by the time you realize this..." Zen-in-fan raised his sword, its blade gleaming like a sinister grin in the torchlight, "it's too late. Attack! Leave no one alive!"

As soon as the words were spoken, a formation of several hundred people surged forward.

The dozens of people in the room tensed up simultaneously, swords drawn, fists clenched, and their positions instantly shifted into a defensive formation. Outside the courtyard wall, the footsteps of the group shook the roof tiles.

Only one old man remained still. He huddled in the deepest part of the room, his back against the wall, his cloudy eyes staring at the ceiling.

Zenjiro was at the forefront. If he could kill Naobi himself, the captain's position would be his.

The Naoki didn't look at him again. He simply closed his eyes, his voice weary: "Sigh, then I'll leave it to you."

The moment the words fell, the barrier above shattered, and fragments of light fell like scattered rays of light.

Before anyone could even look up, an overwhelming surge of scorching magical power poured down from above, trapping the entire patriarch's mansion and the surrounding hundreds of meters of space in an invisible furnace.

"Domain Expansion - Fiery Prison Binds All Evil".

The ground exploded, and golden flames erupted from every crack in the floor tiles, instantly turning the interior of the barrier into a sea of ​​fire. It didn't burn the wooden pillars or the doors, but only entangled people.

They crawled up the rebels' ankles as if they were alive, wrapped around their wrists, strangled their necks, and pulled them off the ground one by one, suspending them in mid-air.

Hundreds of people were nailed to their deaths in the same second, their screams mingling with the roar of flames.

"This is...this is a domain...it's top-tier!"