43: Thunderous Fury, Establishing its Own Path

Li Dashan frowned slightly.

Li Qingfeng's expression was calm: “Please come in.”

Led by the Clan Chief of the Li Family, several Clan Elders whose hair and beards were white and who held extremely high seniority in the village cautiously entered.

They looked at Li Qingfeng, who was seated in the main position with extraordinary bearing, and no longer showed the slightest arrogance they once displayed toward Li Dashan. Their faces were plastered with humble and fawning smiles.

“Immortal Master Qingfeng! Congratulations on your glorious return to your hometown! You bring honor to your ancestors!”

Third Uncle-Grandpa tremblingly cupped his hands, maintaining an extremely low posture.

“Clan Elders, please take a seat.” Li Qingfeng's expression was indifferent as he pointed to the stone stools beside them.

How could the crowd dare to sit properly? They only dared to perch on the edge of the seats.

“Immortal Master Qingfeng! Your glorious return is a magnificent event unseen in our Li Family Clan for hundreds of years! You bring honor to your ancestors and glory to our lineage!”

The Old Clan Chief leaned on his Dragon Head Cane, his voice loud and filled with exaggerated excitement.

“Yes, yes! Immortal Master, you don't know, ever since you were taken away by the Immortal Sect, everyone in the clan has been anticipating your return day and night! The Ancestral Hall has already been renovated and expanded, and the Family Genealogy has been revised! Your branch has been recorded in the Family Genealogy, bringing fortune to your descendants!”

Another Clan Elder quickly chimed in, his tone fervent.

Li Qingfeng's expression was calm as he looked at these Clan Elders.

Li Dashan stood to the side, his lips moving as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he just silently watched his son.

Seeing that Li Qingfeng remained silent, the Old Clan Chief assumed he had tacitly agreed. His smile grew wider, and he stepped forward, saying:

“It’s just... it’s just that the Immortal Master was not home at the time, and your father dared not arbitrarily decide your status and rank in the Family Genealogy. Now that you have returned.”

“Perfect! We old ones came here precisely to ask the Immortal Master for instructions. Do you wish for your branch to be written into the Main Lineage, or... should we open a separate Place of Honor? Just one word from you, and the clan will immediately comply! We guarantee the Immortal Master will be satisfied!”

The words were cleverly phrased, appearing to ask for instructions, but actually carrying a hint of probing and a habitual posture of manipulation.

It was as if Li Qingfeng's glory had become a bargaining chip they could allocate and utilize.

Li Qingfeng slowly raised his eyes, his gaze like a knife's edge, falling upon the Old Clan Chief's smiling face.

The grievance and humiliation of his ancestors, contained in his father's phrase “Azure Origin, Heavenly Brightness; Profound Sight, Jade Clarity” four years ago, seemed to flash before his eyes.

The corner of his mouth curled into an arc.

“Oh?”

“Written into the Family Genealogy? Status and rank?”

He leaned forward slightly, his eyes fixed on the Clan Chief before him, asking word by word:

“May I ask the Clan Chief, if I, Li Qingfeng, agree today to be entered into this Ancestral Hall's Family Genealogy, to be ranked by seniority, and to have my name written down.”

“Then—”

“What seniority should my Family hold?”

“Should my branch, Li Qingfeng's branch, be treated as the Main Lineage and Direct Descendants within the Li Clan, or... should we be relegated to the status of a Minor Branch?”

As soon as these words were spoken, it was like a sudden clap of thunder!

The smiles on the faces of the Clan Elders instantly froze, the color draining away, leaving them utterly pale!

Cold sweat instantly soaked their backs! Li Qingfeng's gaze coldly pierced through all their petty schemes!

Li Qingfeng's calm questioning struck the Main Hall like an invisible bolt of thunder!

The Old Clan Chief's hand, gripping the cane, trembled violently. The Dragon Head Cane knocked “du du” against the ground, yet it couldn't conceal the stormy seas raging within him.

“Th-this... this...” Third Uncle-Grandpa's throat bobbed, his lips trembling. His eyes darted nervously toward the Old Clan Chief, then to the ground. He stammered for a long time, unable to piece together a single complete sentence.

The other Clan Elders opened their mouths, making “uh” sounds in their throats. Their eyes darted away, and beads of sweat rolled down their foreheads, hitting the bluestone slab floor and spreading into small, dark water stains.

Stammering and incoherent, the prestige they once held, acting superior and dictating matters in the village, was completely gone, leaving only the fear and distress of facing the crushing weight of absolute power.

“Hmph!” A cold snort escaped Li Qingfeng's nostrils, sounding like the clash of metal, causing the hearts of the Clan Elders to tremble.

His stern gaze swept over the group of pale-faced, sweating old men. His eyes were so cold they lacked any warmth, as if he were looking at pieces of rotten wood.

He slowly stood up. His tall figure brought an invisible sense of oppression. Although the Aura/Pressure of a Qi Refining Cultivator was not deliberately released, it was enough to make these mortal old men feel difficulty breathing and their legs turn soft.

“What? Can't speak now?” Li Qingfeng's voice wasn't loud, but every word was like a heavy hammer, pounding in the spacious Main Hall.

“Then I'll ask a different question of you Clan Elders.”

He took a step forward. This step seemed to crush the invisible Clan Shackles that had bound Li Family Village for hundreds of years.

“Back then!” Li Qingfeng's voice suddenly rose, pointing directly to the core issue.

“My Grandfather Qingyuan Gong, in order to repay the kindness of saving his life, willingly gave up his original surname 'Qing' and married into my Great-grandfather's Family, changing his surname to Li. From then on, he became the Son-in-law who marries into the family, as you call him! Your ancestors looked down on him.”

“Relying on your so-called etiquette and clan rules, you couldn't tolerate him, couldn't allow his Bloodline to be recorded in the Ancestral Hall's Family Genealogy? Just because he wasn't a 'Li' surname direct descendant?!”

“Why, when my Grandfather Li Jianghe was working hard, sweating, and contributing effort for the clan, did you still cling to those 'rules'?

Allowing our branch to become rootless duckweed, without even a proper seniority ranking in the Family Genealogy?! Only able to be relegated to the Lowest Ranks of the Minor Branches, or even... having our names be nothing more than symbols?!”

“Tell me! Why?!”

Li Qingfeng's voice was like a thunderclap, echoing in the Main Hall, shaking dust down from the rafters.

The humiliation and resentment accumulated over generations of the Family, stemming from the depths of their Bloodline, transformed at this moment into soaring Sharpness, mercilessly stabbing at those rotten “rules” and hypocritical “etiquette”!

The Old Clan Chief was forced back repeatedly by his words, stumbling on his feet. If not for the support of his cane, he would have collapsed onto the ground.

His face was ashen white as paper, his lips trembling, unable to utter a single syllable.

A timid Clan Elder nearby was so frightened his legs gave way, and he nearly lost control of his bladder.

“Since back then,” Li Qingfeng's voice suddenly turned cold:

“Your fathers could 'strictly adhere' to the clan rules, shutting my ancestors and father out, treating them as nothing...”

He suddenly turned around, his icy gaze sweeping over all the Clan Elders. Every word carried the Weight of a Thousand Jun:

“Then why today!”

“Why is it that today, now that I, Li Qingfeng, have returned, having fortunately achieved some minor success in the Immortal Sect, you suddenly feel that the shackles 'constrained by etiquette and clan rules' no longer exist?”

“And you can disregard the Rules of our Ancestors, rushing to invite the descendant of a son-in-law who married into the Family, the offspring of an Outsider Surname, back into your unattainable Family Genealogy?”

“And you even ask for my instructions on whether to write me into the Main Lineage or open a separate Place of Honor?”

“What shamelessness!”

The final accusation exploded like thunder from the Nine Heavens!

Li Qingfeng suddenly raised his hand. The Azure Jade Seal, representing the governance of qingxuan, appeared out of thin air in his palm. The Coiled Dragon Azure Seal instantly burst forth with brilliant azure light! A vast, majestic, and powerful Aura/Pressure erupted, filling the entire Main Hall!

“Plopping!” “Plopping!”

The Clan Elders could no longer withstand the dual pressure of this Immortal Might and the accusation. Their knees gave way, and one after another, they fell to their knees, burying their heads deeply, not even daring to breathe heavily.

Li Dashan stood aside, watching his son's straight, spear-like back, listening to the Thunderous Wrath, word by word, shed like blood, unleashed for his ancestors and father.

The man, who had always been tolerant and tenacious, instantly had red eyes. His chest heaved violently, and his tightly clenched fists trembled slightly.

The years of accumulated grievance and injustice were, at this moment, smashed in front of those Old Things by his son in the most direct and domineering manner!

Li Qingfeng retrieved the Jade Seal, and the suffocating pressure in the Main Hall eased slightly.

He didn't even look at the people kneeling on the ground. His voice returned to calmness, yet it carried an undeniable decisiveness.

“I tell you this!”

“My name is Li Qingfeng. Qing is the Qing of my Grandfather Qingyuan! Feng is the name my father, Li Dashan, gave me!”

“It has nothing to do with your Li Family's Family Genealogy that ranks people by seniority and qualifications!”

“As for major matters like the Ancestral Hall and being recorded in the Family Genealogy...”

The corner of his mouth curled into an arc of endless mockery:

“There is no need for you Clan Elders to trouble yourselves worrying about it.”

Li Qingfeng stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze cast toward the vast world outside the courtyard. His voice was bold and carried the radical spirit of forging a new future:

“Once I select the site for the New Town after the three villages merge, I will choose a place with excellent Feng Shui and Spiritual Qi convergence, and rebuild a larger, more magnificent Ancestral Hall for my Li Family—for the lineage of my Great-grandfather and Great-great-grandfather!”

“At that time, I will personally compile a new Family Genealogy! My Great-grandfather and Great-great-grandfather Qingyuan Gong shall be the Founding Ancestor! The names of my Grandfather Li Jianghe and my father Li Dashan shall be listed above! My brothers and I shall inherit their Incense! This is the Foundation of my Family and the Legacy of my Bloodline!”

He slowly turned around, his icy gaze sweeping one last time over the Clan Elders lying on the ground, their faces ashen:

“Wait until then. If you Clan Elders are still willing to come and offer sacrifices, it won't be too late to answer my question today!”

“Now!”

“I must go and select the Foundation for the New Town under the governance of qingxuan, for the People of the Three Villages.”

He turned his gaze toward his father, Li Dashan, his tone gentle:

“Father, see them out.”

Li Dashan took a deep breath, as if intending to exhale all the pent-up frustration accumulated over half a lifetime.

He straightened his back. His weather-beaten face was now filled with an unprecedented sense of vindication!

He looked at the Clan Elders who were once high and mighty but were now utterly distressed. He no longer showed any of the humility he once displayed toward them. His voice was loud and carried the force of a declaration:

“Uncles, please leave!”

The Clan Elders felt as if they had been granted a general amnesty. How could they dare to linger for even a moment?

Scrambling and crawling, supporting each other, they rushed out of the courtyard gate of the Li Family's New Residence in a desperate, fleeing panic.

The Dragon Head Cane, symbolizing the Clan Chief's authority, was dropped by the Old Clan Chief at the Threshold, and no one dared turn back to pick it up.

Inside the Main Hall, Madam Zhang was already covering her mouth, sobbing uncontrollably, filled with excitement, vindication, and immense pride for her son.

Li Qingshan, Li Qinglin, and Li Qinghe looked at their third brother/older brother, who was seated in the main position, calm in expression yet inherently majestic, and their eyes were filled with unprecedented pride and self-respect.

The corner of Li Qinghe's mouth curled up slightly, and he thought to himself:

“Third Brother's move is more satisfying than directly tearing down the old Ancestral Hall. To forge one's own Ancestral Hall and re-establish the Family Genealogy—this is the real way to pull the rug out from under them, cutting off the roots of those Old Fogeys!”

Li Dashan walked to the door, bent down to pick up the abandoned Dragon Head Cane, weighed it in his hand, and showed a complex yet relieved expression before casually tossing it into the woodpile in the corner.

Li Qingfeng stood up, his gaze sweeping over his Family:

“I'm going to select the site now.”

“Fenger (Third Brother), be careful!” his Family said with concern.

Li Qingfeng nodded slightly. His figure flickered, transforming into a Streak of Light, disappearing into the distant sky outside the courtyard. That Sharp Energy shot straight into the clouds.