Chapter 321: The Head Of The Luo Clan
There was a murderous gleam in Ken's eyes as he stared at the lady. She might look as elegant and dainty as a lotus blossom, but, he knew she was as vile as a demon.
“Cut me a break here. After all, I'm your uncle, Yan!” begged Ken, knowing he couldn't escape her!
“Oh? Do you think I'm such a sweet child who will blindly obey you?” Yan studied him closely, and her eyes were full of apathy as she thought back a few years, to the loss of her father. Although she was young, it was a significant blow to her. Glaring at her uncle, she cruelly dismissed his begging.
“Bryson was the one who orchestrated your father's death! I—I had no part in the matter!” stammered Ken.
Nodding, Yan said, “That's true. It would have been impossible for you to murder my father since he was superior to you. But, I have to find the truth to what happened to my father. Therefore, I won't let you go!”
Immediately, Ken's face paled, and he frowned. There was an ominous yet sneaky flash in his eyes as he said, “What? Well, if you don't let me leave, then… Then, you can go to perdition!”
Ken was the most attractive man from the Luo Clan, and his fair-faced skin looked as pure as jade, contradicting that he was forty years old. Right now, however, deep lines twisted Ken's face so much, which gave him a stern appearance. He looked like a different man entirely. Suddenly, three boxes gleaming with an iron radiance appeared in his hand.
“Thunder Kill Halberd!”
When Ken's eldest son, Andrew, fought Zen, he had used this halberd's less formidable counterpart, the Thunder Rob Halberd to attempt to assassinate Zen. Now, here was Andrew's father, facing off against Zen's sister with the Thunder Kill Halberd!
A hundred or so years ago, an ancestor in the Luo Clan had the great fortune of procuring the Thunder Kill Halberd, a sort of hidden mechanical armament. There were only three rounds of halberds in total. Because of how precious it was, the members of the Luo Clan never used it, and Ken wouldn't have drawn the Thunder Kill Halberd if he didn't need to.
Even though the Thunder Rob Halberd was an imitation of the Thunder Kill Halberd, it performed excellently, pointing to how powerful the Thunder Kill Halberd was.
“Chink! Chink! Chink!”
A metallic sound came, and dragon-like lightning exploded from boxes, transforming into halberds. They shot at Yan, immediately penetrating her body. Ken scowled at her, and within his heart, he was shouting, 'Ha! These halberds are in you now and will shatter you from your core! You'll be destroyed, from the inside out!'
An acrid stench of flesh smoldering filled the air as Ken eyeballed Yan and imagined how the lightning in her was raging, burning her as it ripped her apart. He was sure that Yan would be demolished at any moment now!
But, after standing there, watching for a long time, nothing happened, and the stink of lightning was entirely gone! Yan looked unharmed.
'What? This makes no sense!' thought Ken, perplexed at what went wrong.
As Ken watched intensely, he had been imagining so many possible outcomes, from Yan being rent in two to her exploding and pieces of Yan flinging throughout the area. But, even considering the possibility of her using her powers to defend against the onslaught, Ken never envisioned she would be unscathed!
Ken's jaw dropped, and he stood in complete silence, unable to wrap his head around the idea that the halberds were absorbed into Yan, and yet, she remained unaffected!
“Uncle Ken, this way please. There are many people waiting for you in the Martial Arts Hall,” said Yan as she waved her hand dismissively.
In the Martial Arts Hall.
Although the Luo Clan had declined, with their property having been appropriated and divided amongst other clans, and the once prolific income had dwindled, still the numbers of the family members were substantial and all the children of the Luo Clan had already gathered in the Martial Arts Hall.
As a matter of fact, there were approximately seven or eight hundred people present at today's gathering.
The crowd cast disparaging eyes at Bryson as he lay expiringly on the Martial Arts Hall platform. He used to be cruel, and people shuddered when they saw him. And after Ken was sent to the hall by Yan, he huddled himself up not far away from Bryson, shivering.
What happened today, was pivotal in the Luo Clan's future, everyone knew it!
A dreamlike, magical moment unfolded before them. Although many of the spectators had been hoping Bryson would be knocked off his pedestal, it was unimaginable that that day had come so fast!
Zen had just returned, but, his overwhelming might had manifested the fantasy into actuality!
They knew Zen was the person who could turn the Luo Clan around. What shocked them the most though was Zen and Yan's exceptional strength.
There wasn't a doubt in anyone's mind that no one compared to Zen and Yan in C County. These two could undoubtedly lead the Luo Clan to prosperity, which would positively serve the children.
Suddenly, the spectators saw Bridger heading to the platform. He tottered with the help of two retainers.
Although Zen had defeated Bryson and was the expected head of the household, he couldn't just usurp Bryson's position by force. Instead, he needed a respected elder with high prestige to announce that Zen was the leader.
Zen's strength was obvious, but, he was merely a junior member in the family.
While the Luo Clan was an ordinary clan of the Burning Sky Empire, the regulations for the tribe were the same for the great families. And a person's position couldn't be determined by strength alone, it also depended on his influence and status.
After all, if Zen took over as the head of the Luo Clan by force alone, then what was the difference between him and Bryson?
It was just a short yet rigorous walk for the elder man to get to the platform. When Bridger finally got up on the platform, he paused, gasping for breath. Having endured many ups and downs during his life, Bridger didn't excite easily, and his usually empty, jaded stare was bright and brimming with enthusiasm. After he'd caught his breath, Bridger said in a husky, calm voice, “Zen, son of Mike, the former master of the Luo clan, is the proper member to succeed his father to the position as the head of the Luo clan. Bryson and Ken butchered, our former chief, Mike, taking his place, and for such are vile reptiles! What Zen has done brings what we lost back to our clan. From today on, Zen is the leader of the Luo clan! What do you say to this?”
“Zen's our chief as it should be!”
“Bryson's a worthless jerk whose cruelty left many of our family members living pitifully. Zen has proved to be the popular sentiment!”
“I support Zen!”
Now, there could be no objection.
The men had great insight and knew Zen's strength was far superior to anyone in C County. They also thought that a figure like him mightn't care about hoarding the treasures passed from generation to generation in the Luo Clan at all.
Actually, the family members should court Zen.
The idea crossed everyone's mind, including Bridger's. Bridger had seen many years and based on his experience and intuition he knew that as long as they had Zen leading them, the Luo Clan would have a successful future!
“Ahem!” Bridger cleared his throat, attracting the room's attention, then he went on to declare, “With no objections, I declare Zen as the head of the Luo Clan!”
When Bridger was done with the announcement, Zen stepped forward. Instead of a long, flowery speech, Zen just offered one sentence.
“I will make those who took Luo property compensate it double!”
Thunderous applause rose through the crowd!
That simple promise was enough to get everyone excited.
Having been under the absolute control of Bryson, and with other clans bullying them, they had to be a patient and friendly clan, for the sake of the common good, so, the clan had declined over time.
Now, not only did they not have to tolerate any bullying, they could make them pay for past treatment!
As the applause died, Zen turned to Bryson with a look of disgust and demanded, “Now, Uncle Bryson, you will tell me how my father died!”
“Hee-hee-hee,” chortled Bryson. Bryson's shoulders shook slightly, and he had a weasel-like sneer while he lay on the floor and spat out, “Why ask me? You already believe I killed your father, so, fine! I killed your father!”
Zen shook his head, flatly, and said, “No, my father was at the nature level, and you weren't strong enough! Therefore, there must have been someone else!”
“And you think that I'm going to tell you?” questioned Bryson. He had a wry grin and his eyes sparked with an odd gleam as he continued, “If you promise, before everyone here, not to kill me, then, perhaps, I could be persuaded to talk.”
Zen pursed his lips tightly as he slowly shook his head.
“If I'm going to die whether I tell you or not, why would I be stupid enough to tell you anything?” jeered Bryson.
Since Bryson refused to tell Zen the truth, Zen turned his eyes at Ken, hoping to get the answer. But before Ken said anything, Bryson warned, “Ken, if you tell him, he will kill you immediately. So keep your mouth shut until you die.”
Hearing what Bryson said, Ken kept his mouth shut tightly. It appeared he'd decided not to talk!
A chilly smile spread across Zen's face, “Do you really think I can't make you talk?”
As he spoke, a translucent sharp thorn appeared between his eyebrows and shot at Bryson.