Reborn as the General's Useless Daughter-Chapter 249: The Ancient Ruins (Part-21)
Zora had once heard elders speak of supreme experts leaving behind remnants of spiritual will after death, fragments meant to guide or test future generations.
Such remnants, however, were usually passive, incapable of independent action.
What stood before her now clearly surpassed that explanation.
A disciple of Heaven’s Gate stared blankly, his voice trembling. "Am I... seeing things?"
His companion swallowed hard, his expression no better. "If you are, then we’re both blind."
Fear quietly crept into their hearts. If not for the overwhelming allure of the inheritance, many would have already turned and fled.
"I never liked impolite juniors," the man’s statue continued calmly, his stone gaze sweeping across the hall. "Let them leave."
As his words faded, the statue of the woman beside him spoke as well. Her voice was gentle yet carried an unquestionable authority, perfectly matching her elegant appearance. "Indeed. Respect is the most basic qualification."
The man turned slightly toward her, a faint smile touching his otherwise stern features. "Celia, what do you think?"
Then his eyes shifted again, landing squarely on Guinvere and Sigmund. This time, there was no ambiguity in his gaze, only cold displeasure.
In that moment, realization struck everyone like a hammer.
The reason Guinvere and Sigmund had no halos beneath their feet was not that they were chosen.
It was because they had been rejected.
The hall seemed to exhale all at once. The envy that had once surrounded Guinvere and Sigmund dissolved instantly, replaced by thinly veiled mockery and disdain. Faces that had once burned with jealousy now twisted into looks of schadenfreude.
The sudden reversal was brutal and far beyond what anyone had anticipated. The turn of events came so abruptly that even those who had seen countless twists in cultivation journeys were left momentarily dazed.
Elowen covered her lips with a light smile, her eyes glinting with quiet amusement.
Guinvere had always carried herself like the center of the world, proud and aloof wherever she went. To think that such a person would be declared unqualified for inheritance because of something as fundamental as attitude felt almost ironic.
Fate, it seemed, had a sharp sense of humor.
"The temperament of this ruin’s master is truly... distinctive," Marcus said, spreading his hands helplessly, though the curve of his lips betrayed his real thoughts. "Who would have guessed this would be the reason?"
He had long understood the distance between himself and the great families and had never harbored unrealistic ambitions. Still, he held little goodwill toward Guinvere or Sigmund, and seeing them stumble so spectacularly stirred a quiet satisfaction in his heart.
*Pfft*
Reesa, however, failed to hold back a laugh. She quickly covered her mouth, casting a nervous glance toward the towering statues, but the mirth in her eyes could not be hidden. If not for the overwhelming pressure of the relic’s owner, she would have laughed out loud without restraint.
This was simply too amusing.
Guinvere had always been dazzling and conspicuous, like a peacock spreading its feathers, commanding attention wherever she stood. Now, that same person was expelled from the ruins for being disrespectful. If there were stains in one’s life, this would surely be the most unforgettable one she could ever carry.
Even Zora felt a strange mixture of surprise and disbelief. She had never expected the situation to unfold this way. For a moment, she could only conclude that Guinvere and Sigmund were astonishingly unlucky.
If Guinvere had not repeatedly provoked her, if she had not spoken with such thinly veiled contempt toward the relic’s owner, perhaps none of this would have happened. Yet all the ridicule Guinvere had thrown earlier had now returned to her in the most literal way possible.
The statues had moved.
The master of the ruins had spoken.
And the two who mocked them had paid the price.
Even Zora found herself suppressing a faint, incredulous smile.
Guinvere’s composure was finally shattered.
She glared fiercely at Zora, her eyes burning with anger and humiliation. In all her years, she had never been subjected to such disgrace.
"This woman..." 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎
A wild thought flashed through her mind, that Zora had somehow foreseen everything and deliberately led her into this outcome.
But the thought collapsed as quickly as it arose. If Zora truly possessed such foresight, then she would be far more terrifying than Guinvere had ever imagined.
Faced with Guinvere’s fury, Zora could only shrug slightly, her expression innocent and unbothered. This time, it truly had nothing to do with her.
Sigmund’s face was just as unsightly. He had entered the ruins with ambition and anticipation, only to be expelled without even touching the threshold of the trial. The humiliation burned deeper than any wound.
"Leave," the relic’s master said flatly.
"Senior, we..." Sigmund blurted out, unwilling to accept the outcome, hoping to explain, to plead for a single chance.
However, the statue’s gaze swept over him and Guinvere with evident impatience. A massive stone hand lifted casually and waved through the air.
In the next instant, a fierce gust roared through the hall.
Before anyone could react, Guinvere and Sigmund vanished from sight, erased from the space as if they had never been there.
Silence followed the scene.
A heavy, suffocating silence.
Everyone’s eyes widened, their throats tightened, and instinctively, many swallowed hard. This was the true power of the relic’s master. No argument, no resistance, and certainly no room for defiance. A single gesture was enough to cast people away entirely.
Fear settled deep into everyone’s bones.
In front of such an existence, they were nothing more than dust.
Meanwhile, Prince Kael stared at the place where Guinvere had disappeared, a faint crease forming between his brows. No matter what, she was still the sister he had grown up with. Concern flickered briefly in his eyes before being carefully concealed.
Zora noticed the expression on Prince Kael’s face and could not help but curve her lips into a faint smile. Her tone was light, almost teasing, as she spoke, "There’s no need to worry so much about Guinvere. Didn’t the master of the relic simply say they were being sent out?"
"Darling, I was just..." his posture stiffened a bit, instinctively wanting to explain himself.
But then Zora lifted her hand slightly, cutting him off before he could finish. Her expression was calm, her gaze steady. "You don’t need to explain yourself. I understand. If you were too nonchalant about this, I would have actually been slightly disappointed in you instead."
She truly did mean that, too. After all, she understood the complicated emotions in Prince Kael’s heart.
Guinvere had known him for many years and had stood by him during difficult times. Anyone with even a shred of conscience would feel worry in such a moment. If Prince Kael had shown no reaction at all, it would have made her slightly worry. If he could just abandon and ignore the sister he grew up with, then who’s to say that he won’t do it to her, too?
Then again, regardless of Kael’s close relationship with Guinvere, from beginning to end, whenever she and Guinvere stood on opposing sides, Prince Kael had chosen her without hesitation.
That alone was enough to show where she stood in his heart.
Seeing that Zora did not misunderstand him, Prince Kael quietly let out a breath that he almost held a moment ago. "Thank you..." He whispered under his breath.
In a situation like this, there was no perfect way to handle everything, and her understanding was the greatest relief he could have hoped for.
However, right then, Zora’s eyes changed. They narrowed slightly, a glint of probing light flashing through them. Her voice softened, yet carried an unmistakable edge. "Kael, tell me something. If one day, your Guinvere truly tries to kill me, what would you do?"
"Eh?"
The question hung in the air for a moment, deceptively gentle yet sharp enough to cut.
