102: The clan motto is like a god or a demon.

'When there are many people, all sorts of individuals emerge.'

'Some are super-aggressive and violent, some are born wicked, some are selfish and self-centered, and some are timid and afraid of trouble...'

'But most are still ordinary people, who weigh pros and cons, and are easily swayed by passion under instigation.'

Following the Grand Uncles towards the ancestral hall, and watching the uncles who were just a few generations removed from the same ancestor greet the Grand Uncles along the way before joining the crowd, Yang Dian suddenly had an idea.

'If I launched a drone now, would I be able to see people constantly leaving their homes, merging into the village's main road, and heading towards the ancestral hall?'

'Wouldn't that sight be spectacular?'

He arrived at the entrance of the ancestral hall, which was already teeming with people.

In the center of the clearing, a blazing bonfire competed with the morning sun.

The spiraling smoke seemed to ascend straight to the heavens.

Family members from the same household gathered, wondering why the elders had suddenly called a clan meeting when it wasn't a holiday or festival.

Some also stood by a three-meter-tall stone at the edge of the clearing, tapping and touching it, puzzled as to when such a large stone had appeared in front of the ancestral hall.

The children, however, were joyful.

Holding pinwheels and candy, they frolicked everywhere.

Yang Jiajia, who had been somewhat defiant after being angrily rebuked by Yang Jiale, grew increasingly timid.

She was likely accustomed to bullying the weak and fearing the strong.

When there were few people, she could still point fingers, relying on her so-called privileged family background.

Seeing the crowd, she became like a little white rabbit, appearing harmless.

Her docile demeanor attracted many unmarried young men from the clan, who secretly snuck glances at her.

Walking along the path cleared by the crowd towards the ancestral hall, Yang Dian noticed that many clan members had shifted their conversation to him.

"That one beside Third Uncle, isn't that Dian Zai, Yang Yong's son? Why is he standing with the Grand Uncles? And in the middle of them?"

"My nephew works in Changle. Last time he came back, he said he saw Dian Zai patrolling the streets in a Policeman uniform. But then he thought Dian Zai had only just graduated from high school this year, so it was impossible for him to be a Policeman, and assumed he'd seen wrong, so he didn't go up to greet him. Now, looking at his Aura, was he really specially recruited by the organization?"

"What if he's a Policeman? Being a Policeman at this age brings honor to our ancestors, but it's not enough to call a clan meeting for him, is it?"

"With this special recruitment and clan meeting, it might be because of that, right?"

"What 'that'?"

"Haven't you heard? If you haven't heard, I can't tell you. My son won't let me spread rumors."

"Hey, you old rascal..."

Amidst the commotion, Yang Dian followed the elders into the ancestral hall.

He had been to the village ancestral hall before.

But in this kind of setting, standing in the ancestral hall with the elders and lighting the first incense stick, it was truly his first time.

He waited in the ancestral hall for a while, and when the auspicious time arrived, everyone began to offer tributes, burn incense, and worship Goddess of the Sea and their ancestors.

After all the rituals were complete, Third Uncle led Yang Dian to the opera stage outside the ancestral hall.

The somewhat noisy environment gradually began to quiet down.

The elders were holding a clan meeting, worshipping Goddess of the Sea, and had called back many clan members who were away.

Undoubtedly, something significant was about to be announced.

But they never expected that Third Uncle, who was already over 90 and almost a hundred years old, would not rush to speak after bringing Yang Dian onto the stage.

Instead, he took off his upper garment, revealing his gaunt upper body, and tied a red cloth strip around his head.

"Blade!"

Amidst the powerful shout, Fifth Uncle walked onto the high platform, carrying a blade box.

Looking at the blade box, its patterns worn smooth by time, carrying an unspeakable sense of antiquity, some of the older people's eyes changed, and they instinctively widened them, straightening their bent and hunched backs.

"What's going on, why such a big deal?"

"They've even brought out the Demon-Slaying Blade left by our ancestors. Who are they preparing to fight to the death with?"

"Is Indonesia in turmoil again?"

"The old man is over seventy, I never thought I'd see the Demon-Slaying Blade again. I wonder if it will be unsheathed today..."

The quiet clearing gradually became noisy, and the younger generation pricked up their ears, trying to catch a word or two from their elders, but they only grew more confused.

It wasn't until Fifth Uncle brought the blade box to Third Uncle, and Third Uncle opened the box to take out the long blade with a hemp-wrapped hilt, drawing it out with a "clang ~" that the entire clearing fell silent again, leaving only the crackling of the bonfire.

Perhaps it was an illusion.

Yang Dian always felt that the clan members below, whose stances and gazes were gradually unifying, were starting to change.

Although there was no sound in the clearing, the atmosphere felt even more fervent.

The scorching sunlight poured from the sky onto the earth, distorting and inverting the sky above the ancestral hall.

The ancestors seemed to truly stand in another sky, watching their descendants below.

Third Uncle, standing on the stage, drank the wine handed to him by Sixth Uncle and sprayed it onto the blade.

He held the long blade inverted, plunging its tip into the ground.

With a "clang" of impact, gravel flew from the ground, hitting Yang Dian's lower leg.

"Recite the clan rules!"

The younger generation was somewhat confused.

They had heard of clan rules and teachings, but couldn't quite remember them, always feeling they were somewhat distant.

The eyes of the older generation changed, and their already surprised gazes became even more astonished as they looked at each other.

The elders, leaning on their walking sticks, straightened their bodies and tremblingly began to speak:

"Respect Heaven and Earth, honor Goddess of the Sea; love the country, protect the clan; be filial to parents, protect siblings; help neighbors, respect teachers; be strict with oneself, be lenient with others..."

"Remember kindness for three generations, and a ten-generation feud can be avenged in a hundred generations!"

The voices were initially soft and not uniform, with only twenty or thirty old men speaking intermittently.

Then they grew louder, as the middle-aged generation followed the rhythm of their fathers, simple, honest, yet direct clan rules pouring from their mouths.

Finally, they became incredibly resonant.

It was as if something was Awakening in the Bloodline of the youth.

They joined their fathers' voices, clenching their fists in front of the ancestral hall and shouting out loud.

The last line, "A ten-generation feud can be avenged in a hundred generations," shouted in unison, startled flocks of birds from the back mountain, turning into a dark cloud that swept over the ancestral hall.

Clenching his fists, and meeting the gazes of the clan members, Yang Dian only felt his heart pounding and his blood burning.

Was this what it felt like to stand on stage, to be watched by others?

He was about to explode!

Third Uncle's gaze fell on Yang Dian at the opportune moment:

"Dian Zi, show us."

Yang Dian nodded, and his entire body's Qi and Blood surged out, transforming into a blood-red veil that undulated around him.

As the Qi and Blood surged, the space near Yang Dian also began to grow hot, distorting and deforming, as if an otherworldly monster was about to tear through space and step into reality.

Under the astonished, bewildered, and gasping gazes of the clan members.

Yang Dian used his core strength, channeled his power to his right foot, and stomped fiercely, leaving a deep footprint on the stage before leaping into the air, crossing a distance of over 30 meters, and arriving in front of the three-meter-tall boulder.

The blood-red veil surrounding his body converged on Yang Dian's raised right hand, instantly condensing into Dragon scales and a ferocious Dragon claw.

The tie holding his long hair broke, and starlight seemed to flicker within his black hair, swaying wildly in the air.

With a punch, the blood-red Dragon claw plunged into the boulder.

Qi and Blood surged out, and the boulder only lasted for an instant before shattering into a shower of flying stones, clattering onto the surrounding ground and the clan members who couldn't dodge in time.

The clan members, bruised and battered by the splashing gravel, seemed to feel no pain from their injuries.

They stared blankly at Yang Dian, who stood amidst the dust, his long hair flying behind him, his Aura wild.

At this moment.

In their eyes.

He was like a god or a demon.