The violent emotions churning in everyone’s chests made their teeth chatter. Like draft mules whipped toward an abyss, the crowd froze in their tracks, their hesitant footsteps pinned firmly to the ground.
On the other side of the courtyard, Feng Yilian’s fiery words had brought the attackers’ movements to a jarring halt, leaving stiff, stunned expressions across their faces.
Every single one of these elders had been pampered and flattered since childhood. When had a junior ever dared to curse them directly to their faces like this? Yet, had they really never considered the morality of their actions before launching this ambush? In the end, driven by selfish greed and clan interests, they had simply chosen to turn a blind eye.
Now that the arrow had left the bowstring, there was no turning back. Tonight’s operation had to be carried out to the bitter end. Liu Yin had to be captured. If he could not be taken alive, he had to be killed on the spot—otherwise, it would be the end of their clans.
exchanging cold, grim glances, the elders pressed forward and resumed their assault.
The Feng Family Head stood frozen in place, closing his eyes in deep shame as his facial muscles twitched under immense internal agony. His most brilliant nephew, Feng Yichu, and his only son, Feng Yilian, had both chosen to stand on the opposite side. Beyond his initial rage, he had tried to reflect on his choices, but he was already bound to the Patriarch’s throne, utterly powerless to stop this runaway train on his own.
Just like so many others trapped by their own greed.
As the legendary hero at the center of their scheme, Liu Yin listened to the true motive behind the atavist clans’ attack. He froze for a brief second before a mocking smirk curled on his lips, recalling the dark history of that distant thousand years ago.
“You are defiling your ancestors,” Liu Yin said, his voice cold as steel. “You are defiling the very spirit of this nation. If my fallen comrades were still alive today to see what you degenerates have become, they wouldn’t have even allowed you to be born.”
A raging storm of fury welled in his chest. He turned his gaze toward Wu Ying, who was still holding down the weeping Tao Ying. “Get her out of here!”
“You can’t fight! Liu Yin doesn’t need your help right now anyway!” Wu Ying shouted, pressing his tortoise shell over Tao Ying to keep her pinned like a helpless little turtle struggling on its back. Hearing Liu Yin’s command, Wu Ying instantly realized what the General was about to unleash. She snapped her shell back into place, hauled Tao Ying over her shoulder, and bolted at full speed.
The instant the two of them cleared the blast zone, a wave of low-frequency infrasound far beyond what the human body could endure erupted violently from Liu Yin’s core. The attackers instantly felt agonizing pain tear through their internal organs. Dizziness and violent nausea washed over them, completely stripping them of their combat capability in a matter of seconds.
“Damn… damn it…” One of the patriarchs spat out a mouthful of blood, cursing through gritted teeth. “Where the hell is the support team?!”
Further back, the reinforcement teams were stalling completely.
“What are you standing around for? Move!”
“Are you trying to defy the Family Head’s direct orders? Do you have any idea what the consequences will be?”
“Feng Yilian has lost his mind! Are you going to go crazy with him?!”
“Think about the brutal punishments waiting for you once this night is over!”
The elders leading each group stared in disbelief at the rebellious young members among them. These few rebels made the rest of the disciplined members hesitate, their steps shaky and unsure. It was clear that if they faced Liu Yin in this weak state, they would be nothing more than easy targets.
The elders lashed out with harsh, venomous words, trying to whip the youths back into line.
Yet no matter how harshly they threatened them, the young atavists refused to budge a single inch.
“How… how could you do this?!” A young voice finally broke out, trembling with anger and grief. “Don’t you people have a conscience?!”
“I… I will never raise my weapon against a national hero! Even if you beat me to death, I won’t do it!”
“Count me out!”
“I won’t do it either!”
“Me neither!”
“Count me in—I refuse!”
Voices broke out one after another, crisp, resolute, and filled with youthful conviction. Some even choked back tears, straining their throats to roar out those words with every ounce of strength in their lungs.
“Not only will I refuse, but I won’t let you do it either!”
“Today, over my dead body will any of you step past this line!”
Dozens of young faces—some furious, some wronged, some trembling with lingering fear—turned around with unwavering determination. They raised their weapons against their own elders, firmly blocking the path forward.
The older clan members stared at them with wide, disbelieving eyes, as if their long-held worldviews had shattered into pieces in a single instant.
They always believed that every member put the clan’s interests first, living carefully under strict family rules. But they forgot that the tighter and more controlling the environment, the more people need a strong figure—a real hero to look up to.
And who could be a better hero than the legendary, noble founding warriors of Hualan—their very own ancestors?
A true hero gave strength, courage, and the kind of support a soul really needs, leaving a lasting light in their hearts.
“We will never allow you to hurt him!”
“Feng Yilian!” The senior elders of the Feng family were practically coughing up blood in rage. The strongest fighters had gone ahead to surround Liu Yin, while the remaining older generation had lower atavist purity. Facing elite high-purity geniuses like Chen Mo and Tang Qiaoqiao, they couldn’t break through by force. Out of options, they pulled out their phones, turned on the speakerphone, and prepared to bark orders at Feng Yilian over the line.
Feng Yilian looked down from the rooftop, a lazy, disdainful smile playing on his lips. “You ancient fossils.”
The elders’ eyes bulged, their fingers trembling uncontrollably as they pointed at the speakerphone. “You… you little brat! You’ll never become the Head of the Feng Family in your lifetime! You dare speak to us with such disrespect now? Once you inherit the family, won’t you turn into a tyrant who slaughters his own kin?! The clan will never agree to it! You can forget about ever becoming Patriarch!”
Although Feng Yilian’s father was the current Feng Family Head and Yilian possessed the highest atavist purity among the younger generation, strong opposition from the clan elders could indeed strip him of his succession rights. He had been proud and rebellious since childhood. If he lost the patriarch title and spent the rest of his life being ordered around and targeted by rival branches, how could he survive?
That was the harsh reality of these rigid, traditional clans. Without status, no matter how powerful you were, you were nothing more than a tool to be ordered around.
The elders of the Chen and Tang families immediately used the same tactic, barking threats at Tang Qiaoqiao and Chen Mo over their phones.
Tang Qiaoqiao spat on the ground without hesitation. “Bah! As if I ever gave a damn about being the heir!”
Chen Mo looked utterly disgusted, following suit. “Bah! As if I ever gave a damn about being the heir either!”
The elders’ faces turned completely pale green.
“Do you see this?!” The senior leaders of the stalled reinforcement teams quickly turned to scold the hesitant young members. “With atavist purity as high as theirs, they think they can act reckless! But what about you? None of you will have a good life after this!”
Seeing that the youths remained unmoved, an elder snapped viciously, “If you don’t care about yourselves, think about your parents and siblings! Do you really think you can just take responsibility for this on your own without dragging your families down?”
The young members were instantly struck in their weakest spot. Their eyes widened in horror. When they stood up to block the path, they had already prepared themselves to be punished harshly, but they couldn’t bear the thought of dragging their families into hell—especially since many of their parents were non-atavist squibs. The brutal clan punishments would leave their frail parents with lifelong disabilities.
“How… how can you be so shameless?!”
“You bastards!”
Furious shouts erupted, yet their legs began to tremble with hesitation.
At that moment, Feng Yilian’s voice rang out once again over the loudspeaker, calm and icy. “I obviously won’t become your Family Head. I, Feng Yilian, hereby announce my complete severance from the Feng Atavist Family. I am no longer a passenger on this rotting, sinking ship.”
The Feng family members froze in absolute shock, unable to process his words.
The members of the other major atavist families also stared in disbelief.
“You! You’re looking for death!” a Feng elder roared into the phone. “Do you have any idea what happens to defectors?!”
In traditional clans, leaving meant betrayal, and the punishment for betrayers was execution.
Feng Yilian let out a lazy, mocking chuckle, looking down on them like ants. “Old fools, did you fucking forget that the Atavist Management Regulations were officially amended? The days when atavist clans could slaughter their own kin at will are long fucking gone.”
The threatening elder froze on the spot.
Everyone else was equally stunned. Right… the Atavist Management Regulations had been updated! The era where atavist clans could treat human lives like dirt had ended months ago! Clan punishments? That was now classified as illegal confinement and torture—a serious crime punishable by law!
“Oh, right, you just threatened me, didn’t you? I’m so scared,” Feng Yilian added sarcastically. “I’ll have to report this directly to the Tribunal Division. If anything happens to me, you can wait for Director Qiu Fa to come knock on your door.”
The elder clutched his chest, stumbling back two steps as he literally spat out a mouthful of blood from sheer frustration.
“I finally realized something,” Feng Yilian continued, his eyes narrowing into cold slits as his voice turned sharp as daggers. “Since you ancient tumors of the old era refuse to reform and stay properly on the ship of the new era… then get the fuck off the ship!”
“Hell yeah! Get the fuck off!” Chen Mo shouted in excitement. “I hereby announce my severance from the Chen family too! I’m moving my household registration out first thing tomorrow morning!”
Tang Qiaoqiao raised her chin proudly. “Count me in! I’ve had more than enough of this trash family! Who cares about staying in a rotten place like this? Teacher Wen and Zhang Simiao were ruined by you bastards!”
Chen Mo couldn’t help but snort. “…Did you really have to bring up Teacher Wen at a moment like this?”
Anyone who knew her knew she was acting out of conscience, but outsiders would think she was turning against her family purely out of unrequited love!
Even before Jing Pei’s appearance, Feng Yilian had always been the undisputed leader of the younger generation. Even after being grounded at home for a semester by the Feng family, he still commanded immense respect and admiration among his peers. His words possessed an undeniable power to ignite people’s hearts.
In a flash, the hesitant young people who were afraid of dragging their families down found new strength—stronger and fiercer than before. AA bright fire lit up their eyes, making the threatening elders naturally take a step back in fear.
At this very moment, the invisible cages that had bound them since childhood crumbled to dust. The obstacles before them vanished, revealing an open sky, a vast horizon, and freedom well within their reach.
“If you want to pass,” the young atavists roared in unison, “you’ll have to knock us down first!”
Inside the presidential office, Madam President sat alone in her leather chair after Qiu Fa had departed.
She leaned back with her eyes closed, her mind racing as she tried to calm her turbulent thoughts.
Throughout her career, she had taken a lot of risks. From a logical point of view, gambling was clearly a bad idea—how could anyone give control to something as unpredictable as luck?
Yet, certain moments in history could never be meticulously planned, simply because human nature was far too complex and unpredictable.
Taking risks was just part of being a leader.
“I have one more piece of intelligence,” the information broker’s voice had teased over the phone before she hung up earlier. “I wonder if Madam President is interested?”
“How much?” she had replied without a second thought.
“I love working with decisive clients like you,” the broker chuckled, instantly transmitting a document to the President’s secure email inbox.
When the President opened the email, she was surprised to find a simple list of names.
[Feng Yilian, Phoenix, 90% purity, promising future. Tang Qiaoqiao, Rabbit Demon, 67% purity, promising future. Chen Mo, Plymouth Rock Chicken, 70% purity, promising future. Liu Jiaxing… promising future. Chen Peilan… promising future. Su Yijia… promising future. …promising future.]
The list looked so brief and careless that it almost felt like a prank.
The President was furious and deeply disappointed after finding out about the clans’ secret plan against Liu Yin. At first, she stared at the list for a few minutes, confused and unsure what it really meant.
She knew she could easily look up these names on her government database within seconds. The broker couldn’t have sold her this information just to make a quick buck off a gullible client.
She stared at the list, analyzing every detail, until the underlying message suddenly clicked in her mind.
She immediately dialed the broker’s number, and the call was answered right away.
“Is this list supposed to be the turning point for tonight’s crisis?” the President asked softly. “You marked every single person on this list as having a ‘promising future’.”
Looking at the list alone revealed nothing, but connecting it to the atavist clans’ despicable ambush created an entirely different picture.
The traditional atavist clans had no future left. Tonight’s treasonous ambush would completely destroy any remaining trust and respect from the government. From this night onward, surveillance and restrictions placed upon them would reach unprecedented heights. Their comfortable days were officially over.
Yet the information broker had handed her a list of young clan members, declaring that their futures were promising.
The President instantly recalled the 57 anonymous votes cast during the 8.20 Conference.
In the suffocating, gloomy air of the office, a faint scent of fresh hope seemed to waft in. Starry lights pierced through the darkness, illuminating a path forward.
“Stripping away corrupt flesh allows a diseased body to fully recover,” the President whispered to herself. “Striking down a sun that no longer shines frees up space for a new sun to rise.”
The information broker let out a sly, characteristic chuckle. “I didn’t say a word, Madam President.”
The President had decided to take a chance, making the long wait through the night painfully tense. Luckily, as a national leader, her patience was much stronger than that of ordinary people.
After what felt like an eternity, the red telephone on her desk rang crisply.
She picked it up immediately and heard the voice on the other end report, “Madam President, the situation has turned around! Led by Feng Yilian, Chen Mo, and Tang Qiaoqiao, rebellions have broken out among the younger generation across all major atavist families. They are currently shielding General Liu Yin with their lives.”
Even with her formidable composure, warmth welled in the President’s eyes. She let out a long, relieved breath, clenching her fist tightly. “Good! Our Hualan indeed has a promising future.”
The decaying atavist clans would be cast aside into the dust of history, while a new generation was already sprouting from the soil.
The sun of the future had risen tonight.
“Execute the operation,” she commanded into the phone, her voice firm and resolute. “I want tomorrow morning to be as peaceful as ever.”
