40: Old Ancestor Brother

The cold wind swirled dead leaves, creating a rustling sound on the bluestone.

Su Zining lowered her head and walked out from the side door of the Resource Hall.

She gripped the thin cloth bag in her hand so tightly that her palms began to sweat.

Ten Spirit Stones.

This was her entire month's worth of cultivation resources as a direct descendant of the Ninth Branch Lineage.

It was not even enough to keep the small Spirit Gathering Array left by her father running for three days.

"One week..."

Su Zining murmured to herself, her voice scattered by the wind.

In one week, her status as a direct descendant would be stripped.

Her courtyard would be reclaimed.

Her parents' memorial tablets would be moved out of the Ancestral Hall.

Every word felt like a red-hot branding iron, seared deeply into her heart.

She looked up toward the towering, magnificent Mission Hall in the distance.

A flash of determination crossed her eyes.

That was her last saving grace.

Family rules stated that as long as one completed a "Red Grade" or higher Family mission, they would receive a large amount of Merit Points and could even make a reasonable request to the Family.

Although the mortality rate for Red Grade missions was as high as seventy percent.

Although she was currently only at the first level of the Qi Sea Realm, taking such a mission was no different from seeking death.

But she had no choice.

For the peace of her parents after death, and to preserve that last bit of dignity.

She was willing to risk her life.

Su Zining tightened her old clothes and walked step by step through the cold wind toward the Mission Hall... Inside the Mission Hall, the noise was deafening.

The area in front of the massive mission board was crowded with Su Family disciples who had come to accept missions.

"Have you heard? Because of the Old Ancestor's wedding, the Family has doubled all mission rewards for these few days!"

"Of course! Our Su Family is now the overlord of the Sacred Ruins Continent; how could they not be generous?"

"I want to take that mission to search for Spirit Medicine at the old site of the Myriad Spirits Sect. It's a bit far, but at least it's safe..."

Everyone was discussing animatedly, their faces brimming with the pride and joy of being members of the Su Family.

Su Zining was like an outsider, silently weaving through the crowd to the furthest corner of the board.

There, a few mission slips as red as blood were posted.

[Red Grade Mission: Head to the Black Swamp, hunt the second-stage Peak Yao Beast "Poison Fire Crocodile," and retrieve its Inner Core.]

[Red Grade Mission: Venture deep into the Nether Mine to investigate the cause of the miners' disappearances; suspected to be the work of evil spirits.]

...Every mission carried a heavy scent of blood.

Su Zining's gaze swept over these missions before finally settling on the "Nether Mine" mission.

This mission did not require too much direct combat power; instead, it required keen perception and luck.

Luck.

That was the only thing she could gamble on now.

She took a deep breath and reached out a trembling hand to tear down that mission slip.

"Oh, isn't this Su Zining?"

A piercing voice suddenly rang out beside her ear.

Su Zining's hand froze.

Several branch Family disciples dressed in fine silk surrounded her, mocking smiles on their faces.

"What? A first level Qi Sea waste wants to take a Red Grade mission?"

"Do you want to die outside just to save your dead parents some coffin money?"

"Hahaha! I think she's gone crazy for money!"

Their laughter was grating.

Su Zining bit her lip and ignored them.

She snatched the mission slip and turned to go to the counter to register.

As long as it was registered, the mission would be considered accepted.

However.

A hand reached out and clamped down directly on her wrist.

"Let go!"

Su Zining looked up sharply, staring intently at the silk-clad youth who had stopped her.

"Let go?"

The youth sneered, applying pressure with his fingers until Su Zining's wrist throbbed with pain.

"I've taken a fancy to this mission too."

"A waste like you taking it is just a waste. Why don't you give it to me?"

As he spoke, he reached out to grab the mission slip.

"No!"

Su Zining found strength from somewhere and gripped the mission slip tightly, refusing to let go.

This was her life!

No one could take it away!

"Refusing a polite offer, I see!"

A flash of cruelty appeared in the youth's eyes as he raised his other hand and swung it toward Su Zining's face.

The wind from his palm whistled.

If this slap landed, Su Zining's face would likely be ruined.

Su Zining closed her eyes in despair.

She did not dodge.

Because she could not dodge it.

But she still gripped that piece of paper tightly, her knuckles turning white.

Just as that palm was only an inch away from her cheek.

Buzz!

An indescribably terrifying aura descended without warning.

The air inside the entire Mission Hall instantly froze.

It was as if it had been filled with molten iron.

Everyone's movements were frozen in that moment.

The silk-clad youth maintained his slapping posture; the ferocity on his face had no time to fade, yet his eyes were instantly filled with terror.

He felt as if he were being watched by a primordial Vicious Beast.

His very Soul was trembling.

*Click.*

A soft sound.

It was not the sound of a slap landing on a face.

Instead, it was a slender, pale hand lightly resting on the youth's shoulder.

"The Su Family's rules."

A lazy, magnetic, yet majestic voice slowly echoed through the hall.

"When did they change to allow the casual bullying of one's own kin?"

Su Zining snapped her eyes open.

She saw a figure dressed in star robes with hands behind his back, standing in front of her at some unknown moment.

He was very tall.

His broad back was like a great mountain, shielding her from all the wind, rain, and malice.

Starlight flowed around him, making him look like a Nine Heavens God King.

"Old... Old Ancestor?!"

A wave of shocked cries erupted from the surrounding crowd.

*Thud! Thud!*

People all over the hall fell to their knees.

The silk-clad youth was so terrified that his legs gave way, and he collapsed onto the ground, his crotch instantly becoming wet.

"Old Ancestor, have mercy! Old Ancestor, have mercy!"

He kowtowed desperately, his forehead hitting the bluestone until blood flowed freely.

Su Xuanchen did not even spare that ant a single glance.

He turned around.

Those deep eyes fell upon the thinly-clad, disheveled girl behind him.

Their eyes met.

Su Zining froze completely.

That face.

That face she had seen countless times in her dreams, worshipped countless times before his portrait, and regarded as the only light in her darkness.

It was right before her eyes.

In the flesh.

Surprise and grievance instantly overwhelmed her reason.

"Old Ancestor Brother..."

Those three words escaped her lips purely as a subconscious reaction.

The voice was not loud.

But in the deathly silent hall, it was like a clap of thunder.

Hiss—!

The kneeling crowd collectively sucked in a breath of cold air.

Old Ancestor Brother?!

Has this girl gone mad?!

She actually dared to address the high and mighty Saint Old Ancestor like that?!

Su Zining also realized the moment she spoke, and her face instantly turned deathly pale.

It was over.

That was sacrilege!

That was gross disrespect!

"I... I didn't..."

She frantically tried to explain, her hands waving helplessly as she tried to kneel and beg for forgiveness.

"I'm sorry... Old Ancestor, please forgive me... I..."

"Zining deserves to die..."

Tears welled up uncontrollably, falling in large droplets onto the ground.

She was too afraid.

It wasn't death she feared.

It was the fear of seeing disgust in the eyes of the man she regarded as a deity.

However.

The expected thunderous wrath did not descend.

A warm, large hand lightly pressed onto the top of her head.

It ruffled her hair.

As if comforting a startled kitten.

"Old Ancestor Brother?"

Su Xuanchen mulled over the address, a playful smile curving the corners of his mouth.

"It is quite unique."

"It sounds much more pleasant than 'Old Ancestor' or 'Saint'."

Looking at the trembling little girl before him, the slight sense of utility he felt from the System mission actually faded significantly.

In its place was a faint sense of pity.

This was the Daughter of Destiny?

She was living quite miserably.

"Don't kneel anymore."

Su Xuanchen raised his finger slightly, and a gentle force supported Su Zining's knees as she tried to kneel.

"Tell me."

"Why call me brother?"

"The seniority in our lineage is separated by a vast distance."

Su Zining looked up at him through tear-filled eyes.

There was no blame in those eyes, only gentleness and curiosity.

This gave her courage.

"I..."

Su Zining sobbed, her voice faltering.

"After my parents died in battle... I only had one portrait of you..."

"Over these three years... every time I was bullied... every time I couldn't go on..."

"I would talk to the portrait..."

"I regarded you as... as my only Family..."

"In my dreams... you were my brother... you would protect me..."

By the end, her voice grew smaller and smaller, her cheeks turning so red they looked like they might drip blood.

It was too embarrassing.

To speak her most secret inner fantasy in front of the person himself.

As Su Xuanchen listened, the smile on his face gradually faded.

His heart stirred inexplicably.

A spiritual pillar.

It turned out that for this girl forgotten by the Family, he, the high and mighty Old Ancestor, was actually her only motivation to keep living.

Fate is truly a curious thing.

"I see."

Su Xuanchen nodded, his tone becoming very soft.

"Since you have called me brother."

"Then I will certainly take care of this matter."

His gaze shifted downward, falling onto the crumpled mission slip in Su Zining's hand.

"You want to go to the Nether Mine?"

Su Zining nodded subconsciously and then tightly shielded the mission slip, fearing it would be taken away.

"I need to earn Merit Points..."

"I need to save my parents' memorial tablets..."

"Nonsense."

Su Xuanchen reached out and unquestioningly pulled the paper from her hand.

*Rip.*

Spiritual Power surged.

That Red Grade mission slip instantly turned into a flurry of paper scraps.

"No!"

Su Zining cried out, reaching out to grab the scraps of paper, her eyes filled with despair.

"That was my mission... my memorial tablets..."

"Without a mission, I'll be kicked out..."

"Old Ancestor... I beg of you..."

She cried heart-wrenchingly.

Even facing the Old Ancestor, at this moment, the fear of losing her last hope overwhelmed everything else.

"Be quiet."

Su Xuanchen gave a light command.

The voice was not loud, but it carried a reassuring steadiness.

He caught Su Zining's flailing hands and forced her to look into his eyes.

"First level Qi Sea."

"Meridians are blocked, and Dantian is withered."

"With your current body, going there is just seeking death."

"If you die, who will look after your parents?"

Su Zining was stunned.

She stared blankly at Su Xuanchen, tears still flowing, but she forgot to cry.

"But... but I don't have time..."

"Who says you don't have time?"

Su Xuanchen released her hands and stood with his hands behind his back, a supreme confidence radiating from him.

"With me here, who dares to move your parents' memorial tablets?"

"Who dares to kick you out?"

He scanned the hall.

Those clansmen who were originally watching the spectacle now buried their heads low, not even daring to breathe.

Especially that fat deacon from the Resource Hall; if he were here right now, he would probably have wet himself from fear.

"Furthermore."

Su Xuanchen turned his head, his eyes burning as he stared at Su Zining.

"Su Zining."

"Who told you that you were a waste?"

Su Zining was startled and lowered her head bitterly.

"Everyone says so... I've cultivated for three years, and my cultivation has regressed instead of progressing..."

"That's because they are blind."

Su Xuanchen interrupted her bluntly.

"Your cultivation regression is not because your Aptitude is poor."

"Quite the opposite."

"It is because your Aptitude is too good—so good that even this Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi cannot satisfy your appetite!"

"Within your body hides a power that even Saints would envy."

"It is devouring your Spiritual Power to accumulate strength, waiting for the moment of Awakening."

Su Zining looked up sharply.

In those previously dead eyes, a light called "hope" kindled for the first time.

Unbelievable.

Shocking.

"Is it... true?"

"Old Ancestor... you aren't lying to me?"

The nightmare that had plagued her for three years, causing her to fall from the clouds into the mire and endure countless slights and humiliations.

In the Old Ancestor's words, it was actually... peerless Aptitude?

"I never lie."

Su Xuanchen reached out his hand, palm up, and held it out before her.

"Come with me."

"I can fix that little problem of yours."

"Not only can I fix it."

"I can also make sure that at the Family Competition in a week, you will trample every person who once bullied you under your feet."

"You will take back your lost dignity with interest."

Su Zining looked at that hand.

It was a hand capable of supporting her entire world.

She did not hesitate.

Trembling, she placed her small, cold, and scarred hand into his.

"I will go with you."

"Old Ancestor Brother."

Su Xuanchen gripped her hand tightly.

It was icy.

But it would soon become warm.

"Let's go."

Buzz!

A flash of starlight.

The two of them vanished from the hall into thin air.

Leaving behind only a crowd of dumbfounded people and the silk-clad youth still collapsed on the floor.

"It's over..."

The silk-clad youth's face was ashen as he slumped on the ground.

"Su Zining... is going to soar to the heavens."