The news spread all over Chania City within a matter of hours. The shocking news spread like wildfire, even across the borders of Chania City.
The headlines read out;
The True Genius of the Trueblood clan defeated two higher cultivators today.
The Genius of the Trueblood clan protects the dignity of his sister.
Socrates is no longer a Cultivator, he sacrificed his path of cultivation to defeat his enemies.
The Chania City forum was filled with different news and sometimes tweaked versions of what happened, but it all ended up on the same topic — that Socrates had killed Alee to protect his sister's dignity while sacrificing his path of cultivation.
Right now, the once true genius who had killed two higher cultivators was nothing more than a husk.
The city forum had never been this busy as a lot of people commented their opinions.
Brother Partelis;
"Socrates is the most foolish existence I've ever met. Now that he protected his sister's dignity and then what... He's going to suffer for the rest of his life."
Brother Seimantis;
"I support your statement, Brother Partelis. He didn't even think about if she was bullied once more... I feel no remorse for him at all, I only pity the House of Trueblood who had lost a one in a million genius."
Brother Partelis;
"If I'm the Patriarch of the House of Trueblood, I would've killed myself by now..."
Sister Ophelia;
"*Coughs *Coughs I can't believe you men are this mean. Thankfully, Socrates isn't like you all."
Sister Malalis;
"I support you, Sister Ophelia. They're not aware of the insult, shame, and stigma that comes with one betrothal being cancelled. If I'm Socrates, I'll choose this decision times without number."
Brother Partelis;
"Funny... What if I want to marry Amelia now and still betroth her and want to cancel it, what will Socrates do now? After all, he has lost all his years' worth of cultivation... hahaha."
Sister Ophelia & Malalis;
"Teeth clenching emojis This..."
Brother Seimantis;
"The most stupid part of it is that he just won the championship and was given the token of the Laurel Academy. How can he go there without being a Cultivator? He's nothing more than a useless husk now... And I'm sure the House of Ashur won't take this lying down. If they do, then they're nothing more than big fools... because this is the perfect opportunity to raze down the opposing house hahaha..."
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..
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(House of Ashur)
"Third Uncle... Give the order. Let me go raze down the House of Trueblood into debris. They dared to kill one of our own." A member of the House of Ashur cried out to the Patriarch angrily as he held tightly to his spear.
"Zorem, I know how you feel towards your brother. I also feel the same way, but we can't act rashly. The strength of the House of Trueblood is not inferior to ours and public opinion is on their side..." the Ashur Patriarch replied.
"Third Uncle... Do you know what people are calling us online?"
"Spineless... Weak... Disgusting clan..." The door opened and an Elder strolled inside followed by another Elder.
"We can't take this lying low... Zorem, gather the warriors at the Energy Condensation Realm and above. We have to visit the House of Trueblood." One of the Elders stroked his beard.
"And you, send a message to him." The other Elder commanded and the Patriarch nodded his head.
....
(House of Trueblood)
The House of Trueblood was relatively quiet, it was as if everyone had packed out of the manor. There was no single soul in the buildings, the court, or in the middle yard.
But in the front yard, they gathered.
Members of the family at the Energy Condensation Realm, the Elders of the family and the Patriarch. They all stood in the front yard of their manor waiting for the inevitable to occur...
And it didn't take long before they appeared.
The envoy of the House of Ashur led by the Patriarch himself and two Elders.
Aura was released as the aura from both sides clashed against each other like a meeting of the sea and ocean... Each aura wanting to swallow the other as a fearsome wind blew violently, ripping the floor before tearing away mid air.
The Patriarch of the House of Ashur stepped forward. The Patriarch of the House of Trueblood also did the same.
"The House of Trueblood has truly declined. Making a Mid Stage Apprentice a Patriarch... So inferior..." the Patriarch said and his fellow members burst into laughter.
"My cultivation might be lower than yours but it's far more solid than your puny strength. I can even beat you in a 1v1 duel. We don't need to prove anything, because there's already evidence backing those words." The Trueblood Patriarch replied venomously, hitting the nail on the head as the faces of the Ashur members contorted into frowns.
"Your unfilial son dared to kill our son... Do you know the gravity of that?" said one of the Ashur Elders.
"Your son issued a death match when he knew he didn't have the strength to back it up... So naturally he caused his own death." A Trueblood Elder replied.
"Is that how it is?" The Ashur Elder's eyes shone as he stepped forward, releasing his aura which traveled vastly towards the Members of the Trueblood family. An aura which was laced with sharp killing instinct when the other Elder stepped forward and waved his hand, directing the aura backward with just a flip of his hand.
The two elders looked at each other with tension rising in their eyes.
"Stay your hand or else, if it is war you want, we will give it to you." The Elder announced, revealing that the House of Trueblood were not afraid of the Ashur House even a bit and were ready to go to war if that became the last resort.
"Who dares declare war on my friends?" A voice was heard and the House of Trueblood looked up to see newcomers. They arrived on a hoverboard which belonged to their house.
As they dropped to the ground... Seven of them, all at the Master ranks.
'House Baculum.' The Trueblood Patriarch gasped.
"What's the House of Baculum doing in my territory?" asked one of the Trueblood Elders.
"It's widely known that the House Baculum is in an alliance with the House of Ashur. Declaring war against them is the same as declaring war against us.
So you all have two choices here. Give us the two children or we will fight a war here and now and if we are to fight a war here, you all are going to be on the losing end." The leader of the troop that came from House Baculum announced and there was a heated argument.
The Patriarch didn't want to give up his brother's children but the clan safety was at stake. He did all his best to protect them but the Elders dragged them both out. Socrates was wrapped in bandages while his sister was covered in a black veil as she hugged tightly to her brother, helping him stand.
"I'm killing the boy right here... Right now... While we offer the lady as a gift to the House Baculum." Said the Patriarch of the House of Ashur as he took a step forward.
The Trueblood Patriarch wanted to stop him but he was held back by their clan elders.
"Don't act rashly or you'll put us all in trouble." One of the Elders cried out.
"What are you saying Elder Loin? Those are my brother's children..."
"We are all aware but you see our hands are tied. If we don't offer them to those predators, our clan won't last tomorrow." Elder Loin added.
"So my brother sacrificed his life for the honor of the clan... So we are going to sacrifice his two children too. I won't accept that." The Patriarch tried to break through the restraint of the Elder but it was to no avail... The Elder was a Grandmaster, a realm above him.
While the Elders wouldn't die or lose in this war, the other parties also had Grandmasters which would keep them occupied.
Then the battle would shift to the Masters... The number of the Master Realm cultivators in the other Houses was more than that of the whole Trueblood family combined.
Before the Elders would conclude their battle, the Trueblood clan would be no more.
If the Trueblood Family had refused the request of the House of Ashur, it would have resulted in war. If it was just the Ashur Family, then the Trueblood family had a chance but with the House of Baculum joining the fray... They didn't stand a chance at all.
The Patriarch of the Ashur stepped out as he used his energy to pull Socrates forward.
The hot scorching red energy fist grabbed Socrates as it pulled him towards his direction.
"The genius of the Trueblood House... You dared kill our own genius... You shall pay with your blood." The Patriarch announced as he prepared to squeeze his fist.
Squeezing his fist would cause the energy fist to squeeze itself and with Socrates in the midst of it, he would be crushed alongside the fist and turned into nothing but paste when a ferocious aura suddenly traveled down the area.
"Stay your hand..."
New silhouettes appeared as they dropped from the sky.
The five masters wore yellow and black outfits while there was a man in a white robe who was at the Grandmaster realm.
The man stepped forward releasing his aura, which dissipated the Patriarch's energy almost immediately.
"The boy is a student of the Laurel Academy. No harm can befall him." The Grandmaster announced and the Patriarch of the Ashur burst into laughter.
"Has the Laurel Academy gone so low to accept someone who has his meridians broken and can't cultivate?" The Patriarch arched his brow and the face of the Trueblood Patriarch turned ashen.
While he thought that someone had finally come to their rescue, it was all futile now since Socrates wasn't worth the value anymore.
Had it been he still had his cultivation intact, the clan would have gone to war ten times just to protect him. Now that the case is different, even the Laurel academy won't accept him anymore. There's no one to protect Socrates... His fate has already been decided.