Wang Yu sat upon the throne in silent contemplation, the jade scroll resting on his lap like the blade of a guillotine. His eyes, sharp and calculating, traced every detail within the intelligence report. As he closed the scroll, a shadow flickered across his gaze.
That member of the Feng Clan, he arrived long before me, he thought, fingers tapping idly against the armrest. He likely brought his Fourth Heaven Guards with him an elite escort of their main branch. Yet he never once approached the borderlands.
His mind raced, narrowing down the possibilities.
Only two explanations make sense. Either one, he's unbearably arrogant, believing himself to be some celestial being too far above border disputes to sully his hands. But that's unlikely. Anyone who carries the ancient bloodline of the Feng Clan wouldn't dare show such foolish disregard in this age of delicate balances
Two- the only reasonable conclusion is,he's wary. Of someone.
Wang Yu's gaze darkened.
He had received the order in secret directly from the patriarch himself: Assassinate the guest from the Feng Clan.
A command veiled in silence, never passed through the clan's usual channels.
It was unprecedented.
Never in the recorded history of the Fifth Heaven had one Ancient Saint Clan sanctioned the killing of another's bloodline through formal command and from a patriarch, no less.
His eyes narrowed further, suspicion blooming like frost in his veins.
Could it be that the Feng Clan somehow caught wind of the assassination plot?
But he quickly dismissed it. How? The command came from the patriarch's own mouth, in a sealed chamber protected by clan soul seals.
Then, a dangerous glint sparked in his pupils. His breath hitched. His gaze shrank, pupils tightening like a serpent's.
What if it's not the Feng Clan member who's being hunted
What if
I'm the target?
A chill slithered down his spine.
But why?
And yet, as if summoned by the question, an answer arrived like a blade to the heart.
The patriarch has three sons. I am the son of the third. My father's talent is lackluster, a blemish in the clan's prestigious lineage. Even my talent is only modest, barely enough to carry the weight of my father's hopes.
But Second Uncle he is the most gifted of them all. And recently, my father and First Uncle have formed an alliance within the clan. A political axis that might threaten Second Uncle's bid for succession.
A bitter smirk crept onto Wang Yu's face.
Of course
To secure Second Uncle's path to become heir, the patriarch would first weaken my father and First Uncle. And what better way than to kill the successor my father has staked everything on? Me.
My death would shatter my father's ambitions. Break the alliance. Remove a piece from the board.
His hands clenched into fists.
Good very good, Grandfather.
You truly are worthy of being the patriarch of the Wang Clan. So cold. So calculating. For the sake of your chosen heir, you're willing to sacrifice your own blood.
Have the Feng and Wang clans already struck a secret deal…?
His jaw tightened. The air around him grew heavy. His face darkened as grim thoughts swirled like a rising storm.
I can't touch Grandfather not with my current strength. And I can't kill that Feng Clan envoy either. If I do Grandfather may hand me over to them himself. A sacrificial lamb to preserve the peace.
I have no choice I must endure this stalemate for now.
His gaze turned icy. A frigid resolve crystallized in his heart.
"When I become strong enough" he whispered, each word like a blade being drawn. "I will make every single one of you bastards pay a hundredfold."