Clan Building System: I'm not the Protagonist?!-Chapter 352- Updated*

Lin Xi turned her gaze towards the elder and in an instant, the temperature in the room started to fall.

"Elder Yuanshi," she said calmly, "are you perhaps tired of living?"

Cold sweat instantly soaked the elder’s back. He stumbled forward and bowed deeply.

"I–I’m sorry, Matriarch," he said hastily. "I spoke wrongly."

Lin Xi’s expression didn’t change.

"You spoke wrongly?" she repeated softly.

"No. Intention alone is already a grave crime."

She stood up from her seat and when she did, the hall fell into completely silent.

Lin Xi stepped forward, each footstep echoed clearly through the vast chamber, striking against the elders’ hearts like a hammer.

She came to a stop directly before him and then she said,"You are hereby stripped of your position as an elder of the Lin Family."

"From this moment on, you will serve as a servant in the Rosewood Garden under Senior Xiao Pei."

The elder’s face drained of all color.

"Matriarch Lin—please reconsider!"

Another elder hurriedly stepped forward, hands clasped, his voice tight with panic.

"Elder Yuanshi merely spoke without thinking. He has served the family faithfully for decades, surely this punishment is too severe!"

Another elder followed, bowing deeply.

"Matriarch, we beg you. If word spreads that an elder was reduced to servitude, it will shake the family’s morale!"

Lin Xi didn’t even look at them.

Her gaze remained fixed on Elder Yuanshi, who was trembling where he stood.

"Severe?" she echoed coldly.

She turned slowly, her eyes sweeping across the hall.

"Suggesting harm toward an ally of the Fang Family," she said evenly,

"speaking of kidnapping, coercion, and theft—"

Her voice dropped.

"—and you call that speaking without thinking?"

Silence crushed the hall once more as none of the elders could muster up the courage to speak back.

"If anyone believes this punishment is unjust," she continued calmly,

"you are welcome to join him."

Her gaze hardened, sharp as a blade.

"Step forward."

No one moved forward anymore, not a single elder dared to lift their head.

The only sound in the hall was Elder Yuanshi’s ragged breathing.

Lin Xi didn’t even look at him and turned to the guards.

"Remove him," she said.

Clap. Clap. Clap.

The sound suddenly echoed sharply through the great hall.

Before anyone could notice where the sound was from, a figure appeared out of thin air, appearing just before the Lin matriach seat.

It was none other than Lin Zhaoyue.

She walked forward and sat down, calmly, on the matriarch’s high seat.

"Great Aunt Lin Xi," she said evenly, her voice gentle and unruffled,

"I’m impressed by how you handled the situation."

Her gaze lifted slightly.

"But the Lin Family..." she continued, tone still calm,

"planning a revolt? How cute."

A faint smile touched her lips.

For a heartbeat, the hall went deathly still.

Then—

"What is the meaning of this?!"

An elder shot to his feet, face dark with disbelief.

"That is Matriarch Lin Xi’s seat!"

Another elder followed, voice sharp and indignant.

"Even if you are the Fang Family’s matriarch, this is the Lin Family’s council hall!"

Murmurs broke out instantly.

"This is too much—!"

"Has she no regard for protocol?"

"Lin Xi is still presiding!"

Before the noise could swell further, Lin Xi had already moved.

Without the slightest hesitation, she stepped forward and knelt.

"This lowly one greets the Matriarch," Lin Xi said respectfully, her head lowered.

The hall erupted.

"Matriarch Lin!"

"You—why are you kneeling?!"

"Have you forgotten your status?!"

Disbelief and shock appeared on every elders face.

Lin Zhaoyue glanced at her, then nodded faintly.

"Not bad, Great Aunt," she said lightly.

"I see you’ve made progress in your cultivation."

Lin Xi straightened slightly, still kneeling.

"Thank you, Matriarch," she replied.

"And... I’m relieved to know the rumors about you were false."

Lin Zhaoyue smiled, that familiar, gentle smile that sent chills down spines.

"Oh, please," she said softly.

"There’s no way I’d allow myself to be vulnerable."

Her eyes curved pleasantly.

"No way."

Lin Xi hesitated, then asked carefully,

"What brings you here, Matriarch?"

Lin Zhaoyue leaned back against the armrest, ignoring the question entirely.

Her gaze drifted lazily across the hall, sweeping over the angry elders as though they were little more than furnishings.

Only then did it settle on Lin Xi.

"Hmm," she hummed thoughtfully.

"How have you been maintaining your family?"

Her tone was mild and almost idle.

"Not a single one of them possesses even an ounce of respect in their bones. Are their knees so weak, they can’t kneel?"

Lin Xi swallowed when she heard those words, Lin Zhaoyue appeared no older than a woman in her thirties, youthful and composed.

Meanwhile the elders before her, every last one of them had lived for over a century.

Some were old enough to belong to the same generation as Lin Zhaoyue’s grandfather.

Lin Zhaoyue was deliberately provoking the elders.

The temperature suddenly dropped and an overwhelming bloodlust surged like a tidal wave.

Every elder’s face twisted in horror as their legs buckled.

Thud.

Thud.

Thud.

They crashed to their knees almost simultaneously, barely managing to keep consciousness.

Shock flashed across their faces and then fear.

Lin Zhaoyue’s gaze shifted to Lin Xi.

"Great Aunt," she said calmly. "You may rise."

Lin Xi stood up while Lin Zhaoyue continued.

"I intend to punish your elders. Is that acceptable to you?"

The words sounded like a question yet Lin Xi knew better.

For someone like Lin Zhaoyue who did not seek permission to do what she wants.

This right here was simply her way of saying: I’m going to do it and you can do nothing about it.

Lin Xi bowed her head slightly.

"As you see fit, Matriarch."

Lin Zhaoyue nodded once and the pressure surged.

The elders were slammed face-first into the floor, stone cracking faintly beneath them.

Blood spilled from mouths and noses as pained groans echoed through the hall.

Lin Zhaoyue smiled and then she raised her index finger.

In unison, every elder’s head lifted violently from the ground, necks straining as if seized by an invisible hand and then she curled her finger back.

Bang.

They crashed down head first, once again.