Myriad Rivers to the Sea

Chapter 925: The Final Grace

The Eversong Clan estate was a sanctuary of peace and vibrant life. It floated in a secure sector of the cosmos and in a realm far away from the brutal front lines of the cosmic wars. Elegant silver trees lined the pristine walkways and the ambient Qi was calm and nourishing.But the scent of blood and ash had somehow managed to taint the crisp air of the courtyard.

Gongsun Ming stood on the jade steps of his pavilion. He possessed a commanding presence and the quiet strength of a man who had long ago mastered his own fate. But his expression was currently twisted with deep conflict. He looked down at the ruined figure kneeling at the bottom of the stairs.

The envoy from the Gongsun Clan was a pitiful sight. His grand robes were scorched and torn into rags. He was missing his left arm entirely and his spiritual foundation was leaking out of his shattered meridians. This was an elder that Ming remembered from his youth. The man used to walk with his chin raised to the heavens. Now his forehead was pressed desperately against the dirt.

Hua Eversong stood still next to her husband. She wore her elegant silk robes and her expression was as cold as a frozen lake.

"Ming." The broken envoy wheezed as blood dripped from his lips. "Please. The outer realms have fallen. The core areas are burning as well. The Silent Oblivion Sect is closing around the ancestral peak. We have absolutely nothing left."

Ming closed his eyes and the pain in the old man's voice tore at the nostalgic loyalty he still carried deep in his heart. This was his ‘family’ after all.

"We were fools." The envoy sobbed openly. "The Patriarch was a blind fool and Yue was arrogant. But the children are dying. The innocent branch families are being slaughtered. Please. Speak to the Worldkeeper. Beg him to call off his wrath that will surely push us into the abyss."

"You bring this upon yourselves." Hua stated coldly. She did not feel a single ounce of pity. "Your leaders thought they were too great for the shadow that sheltered them. You spat on the grace of the Zhan Clan."

"We will redo the oaths!" The envoy pleaded as he raised his tear stained face. "We will honor the agreements of old. We will sign whatever soul contracts they demand. We will serve them for ten thousand generations if they just spare us now."

Hua let out a short and musical laugh that held no humor.

"It is way too late for that," Hua said dismissively. "You cannot throw a torch into a dry forest and then promise to be careful with fire while the trees burn to ash. An arrow released from a bow cannot be pulled back. The Zhan Clan has made their decree before and now Zhan Tian himself has issued his own. Good luck trying to change his mind."

Ming looked at the pathetic state of the elder. He hated the arrogant Patriarch and he hated the foolish decisions that had led to this slaughter. But seeing the blood of his former family spilled so carelessly, finally broke a small piece of his resolve.

"I will go," Ming said quietly.

Hua turned her head sharply and her warm eyes flared with genuine anger. "Ming. Do not do this. You owe them absolutely nothing."

"I know I owe them nothing," Ming sighed heavily. "But I cannot just sit here and drink tea while the halls I ran through as a child are reduced to dust. I will go to the iron continent and I will beg Zhan Tian on their behalf. If he strikes me down for it, then so be it. At least my conscience will be clear."

Hua stared at her husband. She was incredibly unhappy with the decision but she saw the deep pain in his eyes. She understood the burden of his feelings. She loved him far too much to let him walk into the Worldkeeper's domain alone. They dismissed the envoy to return back.

Hua reached out and sent a direct Qi transmission to her daughter.

A moment later, the space in the courtyard rippled and Lian Gongsun stepped out of the void. The fearsome commander of the Veiled Lotus wore her dark dragon scale armor as normal.

"Your father is going to the iron continent to beg for the Gongsun Clan," Hua told her daughter flatly. "To save his face and his life, we are going with him. Let this be our final grace to the past."

Lian frowned deeply. She felt the exact same revulsion as her mother toward the dying clan. But she looked at the sorrow on her father's face and she relented. She loved him and she would not let him face the pressure of the Zhan Clan by himself.

"We will leave immediately," Lian said with a heavy sigh.

Far across on the iron continent, the atmosphere in Zhan Tian's private courtyard was significantly lighter. Li Yu stood in the center of the dark stone floor as he gripped Star Crusher with both hands. The pitch black staff rested heavily across his chest. He was not swinging it. He was focusing entirely on his Qi control.

Three swords drifted through the air around him. Gilded Calamity, Firmament's End and Whispering Frost moved in complex orbital patterns and so did their sheaths. Li Canghai walked slowly around the perimeter of the courtyard. The Li Clan expert was instructing his son in the auxiliary arts of the sword path.

Stolen novel; please report.

"You do not need to learn the intricate sword forms of our ancestors right now," Canghai explained calmly. "Your staff is your primary instrument of destruction. But the Li Clan has always utilized auxiliary flying swords to create pressure and destruction. You use the blades to control the flow around your opponent. You force them to dodge into the exact path of your heavy strike."

Li Yu nodded as he visualized the battlefield. He sent Whispering Frost darting forward in a feint while swinging the heavy staff in a wide arc.

"Exactly." Canghai smiled with pride. "You use the speed of the blades to blind them and the weight of the staff to break them."

Zhan Tian sat on the stone bench nearby. The Worldkeeper was currently drinking from a fresh jug of wine and scowling at the demonstration.

"This is ridiculous," Zhan Tian berated them loudly. "You are filling the boy's head with cowardly tactics. Controlling space with flying needles? Just focus on the body! If the enemy moves, you step forward and hit them. If they move again, you hit them harder. There is no need for all this floating metal."

"Tactics win wars, Father," Canghai replied politely without breaking his instruction.

"Brute force wins wars," Zhan Tian corrected him with a loud snort. "Tactics just decide who gets to clean up the mess."

Before the friendly argument could escalate further, a clan messenger rushed into the courtyard. The young disciple bowed deeply to the Worldkeeper and the Supreme Commander who was currently reading a ledger on the porch.

"Lord Zhan," the messenger announced quickly. "An envoy has arrived at the outer gates. It is Gongsun Ming, Hua Eversong and General Lian. They are requesting an audience."

Tielan closed her ledger with a sharp snap. The casual atmosphere in the courtyard vanished instantly.

"Bring them to the main guest area," Zhan Tian commanded as he set his wine jug down. The jovial grandfather disappeared and the warlord returned. He had been expecting someone from the Gongsun Clan but not these three.

The four members of the family walked together through the dark iron halls of the fortress. They entered a grand receiving room paved with smooth black stone. A few moments later, the heavy doors opened and the three guests were escorted inside.

Gongsun Ming stepped forward and he looked incredibly exhausted. Hua Eversong and Lian walked closely behind him. They kept their expressions completely neutral but the tension radiating from them was palpable.

Ming looked at the Worldkeeper, the two experts standing behind him and the young man behind them. He took a deep breath to steady his thoughts. He gathered his robes and prepared to drop to his knees. It was an incredibly significant gesture for a man of his standing and cultivation to kneel in front of another but he was prepared to surrender his pride entirely.

Before his knees could even touch the stone floor a gentle but absolute wave of Qi swept under him. Tielan stepped forward with her hand raised and she completely halted his descent. A moment later, Hua and Lian both reached out and grabbed Ming by the arms to pull him back to his feet.

"You do not need to do that, Ming," Tielan said softly. Her voice carried respect.

Tielan knew the truth about these three because she had talked to Lian about it before. She knew that Ming and Hua had abandoned the Gongsun Clan long ago because they recognized the rot. She knew that Lian had spent her entire life building an army in the shadows specifically to protect Li Yu and for his own use once he needed them. Tielan had already informed her father of Lian's incredible devotion over the past few days.

Ming stood back up but he kept his head bowed.

"Lord Zhan," Ming spoke with a heavy voice. "I know the Gongsun Clan does not deserve your mercy. I know their arrogance has caused immense disrespect. But the innocent blood is flowing like rivers. I came here to beg for a final shred of grace. Leave them to their fate but do not be the one to end it all."

Zhan Tian stood there and his fierce eyes locked onto the exhausted man.

"You do not need to beg like that in my halls," Zhan Tian stated. His voice was heavy and unyielding. "Because no matter what is said today, I plan to teach the Gongsun a final lesson. I will not call off my own personal attack."

Ming flinched as if he had been physically struck.

"They did not just insult my daughter," Zhan Tian continued with a terrifying coldness. "They broke an oath that my father made on their behalf generations ago. They spat on the grace of my own bloodline. I will not let this dishonor to my father go unpunished."

Tielan closed her eyes. The moment she heard those specific words, she knew there was absolutely no turning back.

If Zhan Tian had claimed this vengeance was for the disrespect shown to the Zhan Clan or for the danger posed to Li Yu, there might have been a tiny sliver of negotiation. Because of the incredible loyalty Lian had shown in the shadows, Zhan Tian might have been persuaded to leave a remnant of the Gongsun alive as a favor to her.

But Zhan Tian had purposefully invoked his father. He invoked a generation of honor that predated all of them. In the strict and absolute hierarchy of their lineages, invoking the ancestors meant the decree was final. There was no returning from that judgment.

Hua and Lian understood the exact same thing. They recognized the absolute finality in the Worldkeeper's voice. The Gongsun Clan was already dead. The discussion of their survival was entirely over.

"However," Zhan Tian said as the terrifying pressure in the room suddenly evaporated.

The Worldkeeper shifted his gaze away from Ming and focused entirely on Lian. His fierce eyes softened slightly into a look of approval.

"Forget about the Gongsun family," Zhan Tian announced casually. "They are dust in the wind. We have much more important matters to discuss regarding the future of our own bloodlines."

Zhan Tian looked at Tielan and Canghai before turning back to Ming and Hua.

"You three came here expecting wrath," Zhan Tian said. "But I have been reviewing the intelligence reports since I returned from the dark zone. Tielan has informed me of everything that has happened in my absence. I know and understand it all." He said cryptically but everyone in the room understood besides Li Yu.

Lian stood perfectly still and her heart hammered against her dragon scale armor.

"She honored the oath that my father made all on her own, taking on all the burdens that it actually instilled." Zhan Tian praised her. His voice echoed with immense respect. "She sacrificed her position, her comfort and her time. I have a very soft spot for soldiers and for those who do their duty without asking for glory. She should be honored."

Zhan Tian pointed a massive finger at Li Yu and then pointed at Lian.

"I say we engage Li Yu and Lian right here and now," Zhan Tian declared with a booming smile. "We should join our families officially."

The grand receiving room fell into absolute silence.