Night had fully fallen over the Fang family manor.
Moonlight filtered through drifting clouds, scattering faint silver lines across the ancient corridors. A cold wind slipped through the open courtyard, carrying with it an unease that refused to settle. Somewhere in the distance, a lantern creaked softly, its flame trembling as if sensing something unseen.
Inside a dimly lit chamber, a single candle burned.
Its yellow flame illuminated half the room, leaving the rest drowned in shadow. The light fell upon three figures.
Fang Qinxian sat calmly on a gently rocking chair, his posture relaxed—yet the weight of authority in the room clearly belonged to him. His eyes were half-closed, as though he were resting, but the faint pressure radiating from him made the air feel thick.
Beside the wall stood Wei Shun, upright and disciplined, hands folded respectfully. His gaze remained forward, but his senses were stretched tight, alert to even the slightest disturbance.
In front of them stood Fang Lin.
The candlelight traced sharp lines across his face, revealing neither fear nor pride—only composure. His flute rested quietly at his waist, untouched, yet somehow more threatening than a drawn blade.
For a moment, none of them spoke.
The silence was heavy, oppressive.
Then Fang Qinxian slowly opened his eyes.
"Fang Lin… you have changed far too much," Fang Qinxian said slowly.
"Your behavior, the way you speak, your confidence—everything about you feels different. As if you are no longer the Fang Lin I once knew."
Fang Lin's expression did not change, but inside his mind, a cold thought surfaced.
So you noticed…
It was inevitable. The old Fang Lin died long ago.
I am the one who owns this body now.
Before the thought could settle, a furious voice erupted inside his consciousness.
"What did you say?"
"Dead?"
"Do not forget—I am still inside this body!"
Fang Lin's brows knit together in irritation.
"Oh? You're awake now lingyi" he replied inwardly, his tone sharp.
"You disappear without warning and suddenly speak up when it suits you."
"And what did I say wrong? If you're still here, then why don't you control this body?"
"Don't tell me it's because your soul is weak."
The voice went silent.
Not a word followed—
as if someone had pressed down on Lingyi's very lifeline.
Fang Qinxian continued, unaware of the silent storm within Fang Lin.
"But I don't see this change as a problem," he said calmly.
"In fact, it's a good thing. Leaving the past behind and moving forward is what a cultivator should do."
His gaze sharpened slightly.
"Just don't let curiosity push you into making a wrong move."
Fang Lin met his eyes, his voice steady and respectful.
"Family Head," he said calmly,
"if I have truly done something wrong… then you may punish me."
The candle flame flickered.
Yet Fang Lin stood unmoved—
Fang Qinxian shook his head lightly.
"No, no. I'm not saying that you did something wrong," he said.
"What worries me is what you might do next."
His gaze hardened.
"After what I heard today, it seems your actions have drawn far too much attention.
People are watching you now—
and many of them are uncomfortable with the way you've changed."
Fang Lin replied calmly, without hesitation.
"Today, I only did what I believed was right."
Fang Qinxian studied him with a sharp, penetrating stare.
"Then allow me to ask you one thing."
His voice lowered slightly.
"You bound them in chains, yet you also gave them pills and spared their lives.
You could have released them without doing any of that."
"Instead, you brought them into the Fang family."
A brief pause followed.
"Why?"
The candlelight trembled, casting long shadows across the room—
as if even the silence was waiting for Fang Lin's answer.
Fang Lin met his gaze without flinching.
"Family Head," he said calmly,
"don't you want the Fang Family to stand at the very top… even above the Tian Family?"
For the first time, Fang Qinxian was shaken.
A ripple passed through his otherwise steady expression.
What is this boy saying?
This… this has been my wish my entire life.
To see the Fang Family rise above all others.
To one day become the patriarch of the entire clan.
Yet none of those thoughts showed on his face.
He straightened slightly, his tone returning to its usual calm authority.
"And what exactly do you mean by that?" Fang Qinxian asked.
"Who wouldn't want their family to grow stronger?"
But deep inside, a faint unease stirred.
Fang Lin spoke without raising his voice, as if discussing something ordinary.
"What I mean is this," he said evenly.
"If the Fang Family truly wants to rise, then we have only two paths."
He lifted a finger slightly.
"First—build strong relations with the most powerful families in the clan, so that when disaster comes, they are forced to lend us their strength."
Then his finger lowered.
"Second—apply pressure until those same families have no choice but to submit and merge with us."
The room grew noticeably colder.
Fang Lin's eyes sharpened, a faint glint of calculation flashing within them.
"And right now," he continued,
"there is only one family in this clan that can still stand against the Fang Family."
He paused.
"That family… is the Tian Family."
The words fell like a blade striking stone.
Wei Shun's breath caught unconsciously.
Fang Qinxian frowned slightly, confusion and unease mixing in his gaze.
"Then tell me," he said slowly,
"how do you plan to build relationships by chaining other families' young lords like prisoners?"
His voice hardened.
"And as for applying pressure—do you truly believe they will submit so easily?
If we push too far, they may unite with the Tian Family instead."
He shook his head.
"If that happens, the situation will only worsen for us."
The candle flame flickered, casting long shadows across the room.
Fang Qinxian's eyes never left Fang Lin.
"This path you are proposing," he continued,
"walks dangerously close to turning the entire clan against the Fang Family."
Silence followed.
Wei Shun lowered his gaze, unease tightening his chest.
Family head's right, Wei Shun thought grimly.
If this goes wrong… the entire clan could turn against us.
The realization sent a chill down his spine.
Fang Lin spoke evenly, his voice calm yet edged with cold certainty.
"If what you're saying were truly possible, they would have already done it."
He took a slow step forward, his eyes steady.
"Those families never allied with the Tian Family for one simple reason—they fear becoming slaves to it. Once their resources are absorbed, there would be no return. Even if they survived, they would never again be what they are now."
His lips curved faintly, not quite a smile.
"And even if they wanted to side with Tian, the Tian Family wouldn't accept them easily. Not for a direct confrontation with the Fang Family."
He paused, letting the weight of his words settle.
"Such a clash would weaken the Tian Family too much… and that would give the surrounding clans the perfect chance to step into Tianjian Clan's territory."
Fang Lin continued, his tone still calm, yet carrying an unmistakable edge.
"And that…" he said slowly, "is something our Patriarch would never allow."
He lifted his gaze, meeting Fang Qinxian's eyes directly.
"A weakened Tian Family doesn't just threaten balance—it invites chaos. Once outsiders step in, Tianjian Clan itself would begin to fracture. That is a future no Patriarch would ever choose."
The candlelight flickered.
Fang Lin's voice dropped lower.
"Which is why Tian cannot move recklessly. And why the other families are trapped between fear and greed."
Fang Qinxian fell silent.
For the first time, he wasn't looking at Fang Lin as a reckless youth—but as someone standing several steps ahead.
This way of thinking…
This isn't the mindset of a hot-blooded junior, he realized. It's the vision of someone weighing clans, balance, and consequences.
A faint heaviness settled in his chest.
Wei Shun looked at Fang Lin in quiet disbelief, his mind racing. I have never seen a young master think like this… he thought. What I expected of him is nothing compared to this. And… it has to be this way.
Fang Qinxian's gaze sharpened, reading the subtle tension in the room. "So… Fang Lin," he said calmly, yet with a weight behind his words, "what is your plan? What do you intend to do?"
Fang Lin's eyes met his, steady and unshakable, carrying the clarity of someone who had already walked far ahead in thought—beyond fear, beyond hesitation.
Fang Lin said calmly, his voice low but edged with certainty:
"I know this very well. The other families do not want to see the Fang family grow. If we try to build relationships with them openly, they will refuse—not because they cannot benefit, but because of their pride.
In their eyes, accepting cooperation would mean admitting defeat. People would say they bowed to the Fang family."
He paused for a moment, his gaze steady.
"That alone makes my first path impossible."
Then his eyes sharpened, a colder light surfacing within them.
"So only the second option remains—the one that could work."
Hearing this, the same thought echoed in the minds of Fang Qinxian and Wei Shun:
"Was there really another path… one that could have worked?"
The sharp light in Fang Qinxian's eyes deepened. His gaze locked onto Fang Lin as he spoke in a heavy, pressuring tone,
"Fang Lin, what are you trying to say? Are you telling me that you had a second option that could have worked—but now it won't?"
Yet not even the slightest ripple appeared on Fang Lin's face.
He stood there calmly, as if the people before him—or the consequences waiting ahead—meant nothing at all.
A thought passed silently through his mind:
"It seems things are unfolding exactly as I predicted."
Behind that composed expression,
something far more dangerous was taking shape—
something Fang Qinxian could not fully grasp,
and something that left even Wei Shun unsettled.
Fang Lin asked in his usual calm, composed manner,
"Can you tell me what message the guard who just came was carrying?"
Fang Qinxian replied with a hint of confusion,
"He only conveyed this—that tomorrow all the families of the Tianjian Clan are to gather at the Tian Court, where a judgment will be passed regarding the incident you caused today."
A faint smile appeared on Fang Lin's lips.
"Don't you understand yet?" he said softly. "This is exactly the reason why the second option can no longer work."
Fang Qinxian's brows furrowed.
"What do you mean by that?"
Fang Lin's eyes darkened slightly as he continued, his voice steady but sharp:
"It means the Tian family does not want the other families—like the Lin family or any others—to fall under the Fang family's pressure and be forcibly absorbed. That is why they are summoning everyone tomorrow."
He paused, letting the weight of his words sink in.
"This gathering is a declaration. It shows that the Tian family rules the entire clan, and that no one can break that order. Their sudden announcement is not impulsive—it's strategy. By making their judgment public and immediate, they keep all families in check, balanced against one another, never allowing any single power to rise too fast."
Wei Shun asked respectfully, careful not to overstep before the family head. Turning slightly toward Fang Lin, he said,
"Young Master Fang Lin, why does the Tian family insist on keeping all the families in balance? If they wished, they could easily pull the declining Lin family to their side—just as they did with the Chu family and the Mu family."
Fang Lin replied calmly, his tone steady and coldly rational,
"You're right—but that would only happen if they actually needed the Lin family. In their eyes, their own power is already more than enough."
A faint, almost indifferent expression crossed his face as he continued,
"To them, the Lin family is nothing more than expendable. A cannon fodder to be thrown into conflicts with other clans, or sacrificed in the name of clan security. They won't nurture them… they'll only use them."
After that, both of their faces stiffened, as if all hope had been drained from them. The atmosphere in the room grew heavy, almost suffocating.
Then Fang Lin stepped forward. He placed his hand on Wei Shun's shoulder, and a devilish smile slowly formed on his lips.
"But you don't need to worry," Fang Lin said calmly,
"the second option can still work… it just needs a few adjustments."
His voice was composed, yet the cold confidence hidden within it sent an invisible chill through the room.
Fang Qinxian, whose expression had been filled with concern just moments ago, suddenly lit up. A spark returned to his eyes.
"You're saying…," he asked carefully,
"there is still a plan that can truly work?"
At that moment, not only Fang Qinxian but even Wei Shun realized it clearly—
Fang Lin wasn't merely thinking ahead; he was already several steps beyond them.