Seeing the newly repaired buildings and halls before him, Sword Saint Xing exclaimed with a smile, "We"re home!"It should have been the same Zhang Clan as before, but it did not seem that way to Zhang Xuan anymore.
A few days ago, when he came over, the only thought on his mind had been to teach the young prodigy a lesson and give the Zhang Clan a piece of his mind. However, when he learned that the young prodigy was actually him and the Zhang Clan that he had hated all along was actually his clan… Honestly, he still was not too sure how he should feel about the matter.
"If only I"d found you earlier, this mess wouldn"t have occurred…" Recalling the tragedy that he had witnessed when he returned to the Zhang Clan back then, Sword Saint Xing could not help but shake his head.
With Zhang Xuan"s current standing, no member of the Zhang Clan would dare oppose him anymore. However, due to the events before, it was inevitable that most members of the Zhang Clan would have some reservations or even bear hostility toward him.
"Isn"t this fine, too?" Sword Saint Meng harrumphed coldly. "Your Zhang Clan has grown arrogant over the years, acting all high and mighty just because of that number one Sage Clan t.i.tle. I have always despised that of the Zhang Clan! I"d say that our Xuan-er did well stirring them up a little; that will make them learn that the bloodline that they are so proud of is not even worth mentioning!"
Sword Saint Xing knew better than to argue with his hot-tempered wife at this moment, so he could only shake his head helplessly and concede defeat. "Yes, my dear. You are always right…"
With Sword Saint Xing at the lead, the group managed to proceed ahead without any impediment, and very soon, they arrived at the Zhang Clan"s Conference Hall.
This was where Zhang Xuan had clashed with the First Elder several days ago. The buildings that had been destroyed in that encounter had already been repaired, and they looked exactly the same as before, betraying no signs of the devastation that had occurred just a few days ago.
Noticing the doubtful look on Zhang Xuan"s face, Sword Saint Xing discreetly explained through zhenqi telepathy. "Your mother has rampaged in the Zhang Clan a few times in the past, destroying quite a number of buildings each time. For that, the Zhang Clan has specially employed a group of landscapers to conduct emergency repairs whenever required."
Hearing that his mother was actually a harbinger of destruction as well, Zhang Xuan"s face twitched slightly.
To be honest, the destruction that he caused was always circ.u.mstantial. Unlike his mother"s intentional actions, it was always due to a series of coincidences coming together in an unfortunate manner that resulted in tragedy for him.
"Welcoming the return of our deputy clan head and the young prodigy!"
As soon as they stepped into the hall, Zhang Xuan heard a voice echoing from within. Lifting his head, he saw the elders of the Zhang Clan standing within, waiting patiently for their arrival.
Sword Saint Xing nodded to acknowledge the greeting before walking straight to the main seat.
Under normal circ.u.mstances, with Yang s.h.i.+"s standing, he should have been accorded the highest seat in the room. However, due to him acknowledging Zhang Xuan as his senior, that put the Xingmeng Sword Saints a generation above him, so he could only make do with the seat at the very back.
Sword Saint Xing looked at the elders before him and said, "I believe that all of you should have heard by now that Zhang Xuan is the young prodigy of our Zhang Clan, who went missing twenty years ago. Since he has finally returned to our Zhang Clan, I"ll have to trouble you all to prepare the tributes and make arrangements for the acknowledgement ritual. Tomorrow morning, we"ll first pay respects to the ancestors before holding the inauguration ceremony!"
"Inauguration ceremony?"
"Clan head, do you mean to say that you intend to pa.s.s down the clan head position to the young prodigy tomorrow?"
"Isn"t that a little too fast?"
The elders were caught off guard by the sudden announcement.
With the return of the young prodigy, it was only a matter of time before Sword Saint Xing pa.s.sed down his position to him. However… this was a little too rushed!
Zhang Xuan had only just returned to the Zhang Clan, so he was unlikely to know anything about the current state of affairs surrounding it. Was he really in a good position to be making the final calls in the Zhang Clan? If anything, it seemed like he would only lead the Zhang Clan into a spiral of decline!
Someone from the crowd suddenly bellowed, "I oppose it!"
The gazes in the room swiftly turned toward the source of the objection, and following that, the First Elder Zhang Wuheng stepped out from the crowd.
Upon seeing that it was him, Sword Saint Xing frowned.
He had ordered Zhang Wuheng to return to the Zhang Clan to accept his punishment, but who could have thought that he would actually attend this Elder Conference?
"Speak! What"s the reason behind your objection?" Sword Saint Xing asked with narrowed eyes.
It had not been easy for him to get his son back, and he was planning on making up the twenty years of absence to his son. Yet, who could have thought that someone would oppose his decision at this point in time? This made him extremely displeased.
"Clan head, I don"t mean to be rude, but the position of clan head has always been inherited by the offspring with the purest bloodline. Zhang Xuan might be your son and the young prodigy of the Zhang Clan, but his Zhang Clan bloodline is already undetectable. Under such circ.u.mstances, I believe that he"s unqualified to inherit the position of clan head," Zhang Wuheng said calmly.
"His Zhang Clan bloodline is undetectable?"
"Does that mean that the blood of the Zhang Clan doesn"t run in his veins? First Elder, what does that mean?"
The other elders were taken aback by the news.
Back then, Zhang Wuchen had moved discreetly under Zhang Wuheng"s orders to test Zhang Xuan"s bloodline in the Blood Reservoir, so other than the two of them and the Xingmeng Sword Saints, no one else was aware of the matter.
"Elder Wuchen, why don"t you report the results of your investigation to everyone here?" Zhang Wuheng gestured grandly.
"Yes, First Elder!" Zhang Wuchen walked to the front of the crowd before continuing. "When Zhang Xuan was in our Zhang Clan a few days ago, I had a hunch that he could be the young prodigy, so I secretly took him into the Blood Reservoir to test his bloodline. However…"
Very soon, Zhang Wuchen went through the details of what he had seen in the Blood Reservoir.
"This…"
"Without the Zhang Clan bloodline, he can"t even be considered a member of the Zhang Clan! How can such a person be our clan head?"
…
A huge uproar broke out amid the crowd after hearing the ins and outs of the matter.
They had tested the bloodline of the young prodigy when he was born, and the sheer purity of his bloodline shocked the entire clan. It was in view of this that they had unanimously nominated him to be their clan head despite his young age. However, when he returned twenty years later, there was not the slightest drop of the Zhang Clan bloodline in his veins. How could they still accept him as their clan head?
"The Zhang Clan bloodline is the very symbol of authority in our Zhang Clan. Since our clan head has already verified the matter, I don"t doubt that Zhang Xuan is indeed an offspring of our Zhang Clan… However, if he has lost his Zhang Clan bloodline, I"m afraid that it would be contrary to the teachings of our ancestors to make him our clan head!"
Zhang Wuheng clasped his fist and bowed deeply. "I am opposing this for the sake of our Zhang Clan! Clan head, I beseech you to reconsider your decision!"
"You…" Sword Saint Xing"s complexion turned incomparably awful after hearing Zhang Wuheng"s words.
After all the trouble that he had gone through to find his son, he had thought that everything would swiftly fall back into place. Yet, who could have thought that Zhang Wuheng would be able to stop him so easily?
The reason that Zhang Wuheng had given was simple but powerful. There was indeed a rule in the Zhang Clan"s teachings stating that only offspring who had achieved a certain level of purity in their bloodline would be qualified to become the clan head.
Considering how his son did not have the slightest bit of the Zhang Clan bloodline running through his veins, there was no legitimacy to him becoming the clan head.
"What do you propose then?" Sword Saint Xing spat coldly as he stared piercingly at Zhang Wuheng.
"What I propose is very simple. We"ll nominate the offspring whose bloodline has reached the mark to become our next clan head!" Zhang Wuheng replied with a grand wave of his hand.
"Even my bloodline hasn"t reached the level of purity required to become the clan head! Who else in the clan could possibly have met the mark?" Sword Saint Xing narrowed his eyes coldly.
It was apparent that Zhang Wuheng was intentionally making things difficult for them.
He currently possessed the purest bloodline in the Zhang Clan, with the exception of his son twenty years ago, but still, he had not reached the level of purity required to be inaugurated as a true clan head. Given so, who else could possibly meet the mark?
Clearly, Zhang Wuheng was cooking up this fuss just to stop Zhang Xuan from becoming the next clan head!
"Clan head, just because your bloodline hasn"t reached the required level of purity doesn"t mean that no one else"s has! I have already found someone in the clan whose bloodline purity reaches the mark and, perhaps, far exceeds it even!" Zhang Wuheng burst into hearty laughter as he raised his hand and gestured. "Come in!"
Hu!
Following which, a figure slowly walked into the hall.
"I have already tested his bloodline, and I am certain that it meets the mark required to become the clan head. In fact, in terms of sheer purity, he"s on par with even the young prodigy back then. If he isn"t qualified to become the clan head, no one else is!"
Zhang Wuheng raised his hand and shrouded the figure with his energy. Following which, a brilliant burst of light shone from the figure.
"What formidable purity this is…"
Everyone in the hall narrowed their eyes in astonishment.
Even amid the blinding light, they could feel that the energy harnessed in the other party"s bloodline far exceeded theirs, almost as if the searing sun.
Even Sword Saint Xing could not help but frown upon seeing this.
He could sense that the other party"s bloodline was far stronger than his, such that they were not even on the same level as one another.
"His bloodline has exceeded every single one of us here, and I believe none of you should have any doubt that he has already met the mark required to become the clan head. I presume that none of you will have any objections to him becoming the clan head, right?" Zhang Wuheng gazed at the astounded crowd and laughed triumphantly.
But at this moment, Zhang Xuan suddenly spoke up. "Come here."
Upon seeing Zhang Xuan interjecting at this critical moment, Zhang Wuheng lashed out furiously. "Zhang Xuan, you might be the young prodigy, but without the slightest droplet of our Zhang Clan bloodline in your veins, I"m afraid that you don"t have a say here. Our Zhang Clan is currently in the midst of nominating our next clan head, so I"ll have to ask an outsider like you to hold your tongue…"
But before he could finish his words, the figure who had just walked in hurriedly strode over to Zhang Xuan and kneeled to the floor.
"Zhang Jiuxiao pays respect to teacher!"
The figure who had just entered the hall was none other than Zhang Jiuxiao!
"Un, rise!"
Zhang Xuan reached out to fondle Zhang Jiuxiao"s head lightly before turning an amused gaze toward Zhang Wuheng. With an impa.s.sive voice, he asked, "First Elder, can you repeat what you said earlier? I"m afraid that I didn"t catch your words clearly."