Chapter 170: Chapter 169: The Annihilation Operation Begins

After the initial excitement, Fang Lingyuan quickly calmed himself. With a sharp glint in his eyes, he summoned his butler, Fang Zhong, and said in a deep voice,

"Fang Zhong, immediately summon the four Core Elders to the meeting hall in Songtao Pavilion. Be quick, and brook no delay!"

After giving the order, Fang Lingyuan took several deep breaths, struggling to calm his roiling emotions. He turned to Fang Han and said,

"Come. We’ll wait for them in the meeting hall. It is time for a decision."

The atmosphere in the Songtao Pavilion meeting hall was grim.

Summoned so suddenly by the Patriarch on the morning of the Lunar New Year, the four Core Elders—Fang Tu, Fang Yuan, Fang Mingde, and Fang Zhenshan—all felt their hearts clench, assuming the family had suffered some major, unforeseen catastrophe.

The four of them arrived almost on each other’s heels, their faces etched with haste and gravity.

"Patriarch, what has happened? Can it be that the Lin Family is making a move during the New Year’s festival?"

Guard Elder Fang Tu, ever the most impetuous, couldn’t help but speak the moment he stepped into the hall. His voice, laced with killing intent, boomed like a great bell.

Instructor Elder Fang Yuan was comparatively calmer, but even his grizzled eyebrows were slightly furrowed as he looked toward Fang Lingyuan, who was seated at the head of the hall.

The usual smile was gone from Foreign Affairs Elder Fang Mingde’s round, pudgy face, and his small eyes glinted sharply.

Law Enforcement Elder Fang Zhenshan remained as expressionless as ever, though his gaze was even sharper than usual.

Fang Lingyuan didn’t answer directly. Instead, his gaze swept over the four masters of the family before he spoke slowly.

"I have summoned you because there is a matter of great importance that concerns the fate of our family. It requires an immediate decision."

He paused, his gaze falling upon Fang Han, who stood silently to one side.

"Fang Han, explain your situation to the four Elders."

"Elders, I, the disciple Fang Han, successfully broke through to the Seventh Grade Realm last night."

Fang Han took a step forward and met the four Elders’ doubtful and probing gazes, speaking calmly.

The moment he finished speaking, a dead silence fell over the meeting hall.

The four Elders reacted exactly as Fang Lingyuan had. First came stun, followed by expressions of utter disbelief spreading across their faces.

"Seventh Grade? Fang Han, you... are you telling the truth?"

Elder Fang Yuan’s hand froze halfway through stroking his beard, his voice thick with disbelief.

It wasn’t that he was unwilling to believe it; the progress was just too fast, so fast that it defied all common sense.

Elder Fang Tu’s eyes bulged as he sized up Fang Han, as if trying to discern something from his very being.

Elder Mingde’s mouth hung slightly ajar.

The scar by the corner of Elder Zhen Shan’s eye twitched.

"There is no need for doubt," Fang Lingyuan announced, taking in their reactions. "I have just personally verified it. Fang Han’s current Cultivation is undeniably at the Seventh Grade!"

Hearing the Patriarch’s personal confirmation, all four Elders shuddered!

"Good lad! You’re a goddamn monster! One day! It only took one day! HAHAHA! The Fang Family is finally going to produce a true dragon!"

Elder Fang Tu slammed his hand on his thigh with a loud SMACK. His face instantly flushed with ecstatic joy, and he roared with laughter.

"Excellent! This is truly excellent! I’ve lived a long life, but I’ve never seen anyone with such breathtaking talent! Fang Han, you... you truly never cease to amaze us!"

Elder Fang Yuan let out a long breath, his eyes shining with excitement and relief as he nodded again and again.

The flesh on Elder Mingde’s face trembled with excitement. A shrewd light flickered in his small eyes as he began to rapidly calculate the prospects for the family’s commerce and expansion, now that they possessed two Seventh Grade Martial Artists.

Even the corners of the perpetually stoic Elder Zhen Shan’s lips twitched upward into a rare, almost imperceptible smile. His gaze, as he looked at Fang Han, now held an unprecedented degree of gravity and approval.

Once the initial shock and elation passed, without needing another word from Fang Han or Fang Lingyuan, Elder Fang Tu was the first to react. A vicious glint appeared in his eyes as he said, his voice brimming with killing intent,

"Patriarch! Now that Fang Han has broken through to the Seventh Grade, the Fang Family possesses two Seventh Grade combatants! What are we waiting for? It’s time to settle our accounts with those bastards from the Lin Family!"

"Indeed. The enmity between the Lin Family and our Fang Family runs deep; it is a feud to the death. Now that we hold an absolute advantage in strength, we must strike like lightning and eliminate this threat for good! If we delay and they learn of Fang Han’s breakthrough, there could be unforeseen complications."

After a moment of contemplation, Elder Fang Yuan also nodded slowly, his tone turning murderous.

"I agree! We should act sooner rather than later. With the New Year’s festival ongoing, the Lin Family’s guard may be down. This is a godsent opportunity!"

Fang Mingde immediately interjected, looking at Fang Lingyuan.

"Patriarch, a decision must be made on this matter at once!"

Fang Zhenshan was concise: "They must be killed."

The four Core Elders of the family reached an instant consensus. An air of iron-willed, bloody resolution filled the room.

Fang Lingyuan’s gaze swept over the others, finally settling on Fang Han. Seeing the young man’s calm expression and slight nod, the last wisp of hesitation in his heart dissipated.

"Good!"

A sharp light erupted in Fang Lingyuan’s eyes as he declared,

"Very well. Then let us discuss the details. We will annihilate the Lin Family in one fell swoop!"

The six of them then gathered close, lowered their voices, and began to plan in detail.

Fang Lingyuan said, "The success of this operation hinges on secrecy and surprise. Aside from the six of us, no one is to be told until the very last moment. The Martial Artists participating in the attack will be briefed on their mission only two hours prior to its start..."

They made their arrangements.

Elder Fang Tu was tasked with selecting the Martial Artists for the assault and arranging surveillance on the Lin Family, paying special attention to the movements of Lin Yaotian and their three other Core Elders.

Elder Fang Yuan would take inventory of the Weapons in the family armory and the Elixirs for healing and restoring Inner Qi, ensuring they had ample supplies for the operation.

Elder Mingde was to compile a list of clansmen skilled in commerce and accounting, preparing to quickly assume control of the Lin Family’s assets following their victory.

Elder Zhen Shan was responsible for devising a meticulous plan of attack, including assault routes, personnel assignments, contingency plans, and an exit strategy, all to ensure a single, decisive strike that left no loose ends.

As the key to this battle, Fang Han’s main task was to get himself into peak condition. He would join forces with Fang Lingyuan to kill Lin Yaotian, the Lin Family’s Seventh Grade Martial Artist.

"We move on the night three days from now... A fire arrow will be the signal. We will attack as one!"

Fang Lingyuan concluded, his voice low and brimming with killing intent.

With the plan set, the four Elders accepted their assignments and departed in haste to begin their secret preparations.

The festive ease was gone from their faces, replaced by the grim gravity and suppressed excitement of a great battle to come.

Fang Lingyuan said to Fang Han, "After this battle, the heavens above Liangshui City... are about to change. Fang Han, let the Lin Family be the first stepping stone to your fame. Go now, and prepare yourself."

"Yes, Patriarch."

Fang Han exited the meeting hall, his eyes cold as ice. ’In three days, the Lin Family will be destroyed!’

...

The night was as thick and dark as undiluted ink.

Liangshui City was still steeped in the lingering atmosphere of the New Year’s festival. Most families had long since extinguished their lights and gone to bed. Only a few scattered lanterns swayed in the cold wind, casting dim, yellow halos of light.

Yet, beneath this tranquility, a cold killing intent was silently gathering, like a dormant viper slowly baring its fangs.

The lights of the Lin Mansion were much sparser than usual.

A full year of conflict and struggle had left the Lin Family exhausted. With the New Year’s festival just having passed, their defenses were inevitably more relaxed than on an ordinary day.

The patrolling guards were still at their posts, but their steps had unconsciously slowed, and the sound of yawns could occasionally be heard on the cold wind.

They did not notice that in the shadows around the estate’s perimeter, ghostly figures were closing in without a sound.

They were clad in dark, tight-fitting clothes and carried sharp blades. Their eyes were as keen as a falcon’s. Though their auras were restrained, they radiated an iron-blooded chill.

These were the elite Martial Artists of the Fang Family, handpicked and led by Guard Elder Fang Tu. They had already completed their silent encirclement of the Lin Mansion.

Fang Lingyuan stood before them all, dressed in dark, close-fitting attire. His face was stern, his gaze electric as it swept across the dimly lit Lin Mansion.

He slowly raised his right hand. Behind him, every Fang Family Martial Artist held their breath.

WHOOSH—!

An arrow, its head soaked in oil, was lit and shot forth. It tore through the night sky with a piercing shriek, like a falling, blood-red star, before plunging violently into the Lin Mansion!

"Kill!"

Fang Lingyuan’s voice was not loud, but it was as hard and piercing as a shard of ice, instantly reaching everyone present.

The instant the word left his lips, he led the charge himself, lunging toward the Lin Mansion’s main gate like a black bolt of lightning.

His long saber left its sheath, trailing a brilliant flash of light as he brought it down viciously on the closed gate.

BOOM!

His single strike split the heavy wooden gate nearly in two, sending splinters flying everywhere!

"Follow the Patriarch! Avenge our fallen clansmen!"

Elder Fang Tu roared like a tiger unleashed from its cage. He led the Fang Family Martial Artists through the shattered gate, a torrent of bodies flooding into the Lin Mansion.

At three other points, Elders Fang Yuan, Fang Mingde, and Fang Zhenshan each led dozens of men over low walls at previously scouted weak points, leaping into the Lin Family compound.

In an instant, battle cries erupted from within the Lin Mansion. The clang of Weapons, enraged roars, and bloodcurdling screams shattered the lingering warmth of the festival.

The Lin Family Martial Artists, jolted from their initial panic, scrambled to meet the attack.

But they had never imagined the Fang Family would launch such a decisive, all-out assault just after the New Year’s festival.

Many Lin Family Martial Artists had just been jolted from their sleep. They grabbed their Weapons, still in disarray, only to be cut down by the ferocious Fang Family elites.

From the very start, the battle was completely one-sided.

Fang Han’s figure moved like a phantom, weaving rapidly through the chaotic fray.

His Wind Shadow Step, at the Great Success Realm, was on full display. His speed was beyond imagination. A Lin Family Martial Artist would often see nothing but a blur before a pale cyan sword light flashed across their throat or through their heart.

SQUELCH! "Aaargh!"

With every flash of the Cyan Blade Sword, a Lin Family Martial Artist fell.

Whether they were Martial Artists below the Inner Qi Realm or at the Ninth Grade Internal Qi Realm, none could withstand a single blow from him.

Wherever his sword light passed, Weapons shattered and flesh flew.

His expression was serene, his eyes like ice. There was no joy or sorrow in his heart, only precise, efficient killing.

Like a tireless killing machine, he rapidly cleared a path wherever he went, greatly relieving the pressure on the other Fang Family Martial Artists.

"You little bastard from the Fang Family, die!"

A roar, filled with venomous hatred and rage, came from the side.