As registration was drawing to a close, an unexpected incident occurred. All eyes in the clan turned to see a youth walking into the arena, braving the wind and snow.
Hearing that familiar voice, the parents’ faces lit up with joy. "Brother!" Feng Cheng and Feng Xin were about to shout out, but their parents, their expressions shifting drastically, quickly covered their mouths, leaving only muffled sounds.
Clan law could not be violated. On such a solemn and grand clan ceremony, if they were caught shouting by the clan’s enforcement team or the steward, they might be charged with breaking clan law. Their family, with little influence and few voices, couldn’t afford that.
They watched Feng Lin with worry. He hadn’t attended the ancestor worship ceremony—would the steward let him off?
Dozens of gazes converged on Feng Lin, filled with surprise and confusion.
It was simple! Feng Lin had been unknown before; they didn’t even recognize him. They just thought he was incredibly audacious. Judging by his appearance, he seemed to have just returned, missing the most important annual event of the clan—ancestor worship. That was a grave offense of violating clan law and disrespecting the ancestors. Instead of hiding or lying low, he had come back at such a sensitive time and even wanted to participate in the clan ranking tournament?
Given the steward’s temper, he definitely wouldn’t let him off lightly! Their looks at Feng Lin were a mix of mockery and pity, as if they could already see him being punished under clan law, in a miserable state.
The clan leader, as the head of the clan, naturally wouldn’t bother with such trivial matters. He sat on the high platform, watching coldly with an unpleasant expression. Beside him lounged a young man, lazily reclining in a chair. His face was handsome and eerie—despite being male, he possessed a captivating beauty.
"Huh?" He narrowed his eyes, glancing casually at Feng Lin. The next moment, he let out a soft exclamation, straightened up, and scrutinized Feng Lin from head to toe, his gaze turning intensely serious.
"What’s wrong, Young Master Feng?" the clan leader asked in surprise.
The eerie young man’s eyes grew lazy again, as if his earlier alertness had been an illusion. He chuckled lightly, "Nothing. Just came across something very interesting!" He slumped back into his chair, sitting without any decorum.
Such rudeness before the clan leader, yet those around him acted as if they hadn’t seen it, adopting an air of indifference. The clan leader himself didn’t seem to mind.
After all, in terms of status, this young man was far above him. Though older, he couldn’t control him!
It was clear that Young Master Feng had noticed something, but since he didn’t say, the clan leader didn’t press. For the first time, the clan leader turned his attention to Feng Lin, observing him carefully, beginning to take this unfamiliar clansman seriously.
At the center of everyone’s focus, Feng Lin remained composed. He walked straight to the elder presiding over the clan ranking tournament and said, "Feng Lin of the Feng clan. Registering for the clan ranking tournament!"
The elder was taken aback, sensing an unflappable aura from the youth that was hard to forget. He instinctively began to nod.
"Hold on! He cannot participate in the clan ranking tournament!" A stern voice rang out. The silver-haired, stern-faced steward had already led a group of fierce-looking clan enforcers, surrounding them menacingly. The elder’s hand trembled, and he didn’t record Feng Lin’s name.
"This is getting interesting! I knew the steward wouldn’t let him off!" "Missing the ancestor worship ceremony is no joke!" "This kid is in for it! The steward will punish him severely!"
Murmurs spread among the Feng clan members. The eerie young man beside the clan leader watched the scene with amusement.
Feng Lin, huh? What will you do next?
"Why?" Facing the steward’s obstruction, Feng Lin showed neither joy nor sorrow. As a cultivator, he had confidence within.
"You ask why? Ancestor worship is the clan’s top priority. As a clansman, missing it is a grave sin of neglecting the ancestors. According to clan law, you must be confined for a month!" Seeing him dare to question, the steward’s eyes sharpened as he scolded harshly.
As the enforcer of clan law, he despised rule-breakers like this. In his eyes, Feng Lin had become a stubborn troublemaker who needed severe punishment. Otherwise, if everyone acted like Feng Lin, what would become of clan law?
In public, he wouldn’t argue further with Feng Lin, lest he lower his own standing. He furrowed his brow, and an invisible pressure surged forward, instilling fear and quelling any thought of resistance.
A tangible, oppressive force, like a mountain bearing down, tried to force Feng Lin into submission.
"Spiritual gene?" Feng Lin’s expression shifted as he felt the solid mental pressure, a strange look crossing his face. No wonder the steward always carried an imposing air that inspired fear and kept people at a distance. So he had awakened a spiritual gene, capable of suppressing others’ minds.
Seeing through this underhanded trick, Feng Lin’s face remained calm. Before his maxed-out spiritual gene, this mental force was like a gentle breeze, utterly ineffective and laughable.
Feng Lin smiled lightly. "Ancestor worship is just a ritual to honor our forebears. I believe the best way to honor them is for descendants to continuously strengthen themselves and revive the ancestors’ glory. I’ve merely been in seclusion training these past days and lost track of time. How can that be called neglecting the ancestors? Accusations of breaking clan law are even more baseless!"
My mental pressure failed! The steward eyed Feng Lin with suspicion, as if seeing him for the first time. In just over three weeks, he sensed a dramatic change in the youth, unsettling him.
But in front of everyone, this kid kept talking back—where would that leave the steward’s authority?
"Seclusion training! You’re not even an interstellar cultivator, with vitality under 3. What’s the use of training? And you still spout nonsense!" The steward snorted repeatedly, his bias against Feng Lin still rooted in the past. "Go! Seize him! Lock him in the confinement room!" The steward waved his hand, and the enforcers behind him lunged forward like wolves.
The steward was done arguing. Before all the clansmen, he had to make an example of Feng Lin to show the consequences of breaking clan law.
Feng Lin glanced around and said calmly, "I’d like to see who dares?" A silver light flickered at his brow, and an invisible wave surged outward, sweeping through the area instantly.
The clan enforcers’ faces went blank, as if frozen by a spell, standing motionless. Their expressions remained fierce, but their eyes darted around, filled with panic and fear.
With just one look, the entire scene fell silent.