Elder Wei's words were not loud, but they fell like a final judgment—ironclad and irrefutable—echoing throughout the great hall that had sunk into a deathly silence.
"Little Kien, it is time to take back what belongs to us."
Tran Kien took a deep breath. The Primal Chaos Qi within his body was still circulating vigorously. He nodded to Elder Wei, then turned around, his calm gaze locking directly onto Lu Nhat Thiet upon the high dais. That gaze contained no arrogance of a victor, nor the gloating of an avenger. It held only a profound solemnity, the righteous demand of a descendant standing before the relic of his ancestors.
He did not speak a single word, merely walking forward in silence. Every step he took was incomparably firm. The one hundred azure-white spiritual energy cranes automatically parted to form a path, flapping their wings and circling around him. They created an invisible honor guard, breathtakingly beautiful yet brimming with absolute majesty. His imposing aura at this moment, despite his cultivation base merely being at the Qi Condensation stage, made it so that no one in the great hall dared to underestimate him.
Lu Nhat Thiet stood on the high dais, his face deathly pale. He looked back and forth between the approaching Tran Kien and the metal fragment in his own hands. He could not understand. Why? Why couldn't the guardian treasure of the Divine Weapon Pavilion, a legendary fragment of an Immortal Artifact, do anything to a mere introductory array formation? Why did it feel as though it was desperately trying to break free from his grasp to fly toward that little brat?
Hundreds of pairs of eyes in the great hall were fixated upon him. He could feel the bewilderment, the disdain, and even the schadenfreude within those gazes. The century-old prestige of the Divine Weapon Pavilion, the pride of his entire clan, was shattering into pieces right before his very eyes.
"No... impossible..." he muttered, his eyes filling with madness. "This is the property of my Divine Weapon Pavilion! Mine! No one is allowed to take it away!"
Greed and humiliation had completely clouded his reason. He let out a furious roar, mobilizing the entirety of his remaining Foundation Establishment spiritual power, intending to retract the metal fragment and flee.
But it was too late. When Tran Kien was only ten paces away from the high dais, he suddenly stopped. He did not charge forward. He merely extended his right hand, his palm facing the ancient metal fragment.
And he called out. Not with sound, but with the very flow of his Primal Chaos Qi, with the Lac Viet bloodline coursing through his veins. He used his divine intent to connect with the soul of the legacy.
Return!
In that instant, the bronze-colored metal fragment in Lu Nhat Thiet's hands suddenly vibrated violently, more fiercely than ever before. With a loud "BUZZ!", it erupted with a blinding halo of light.
"Agh!"
Lu Nhat Thiet let out a bloodcurdling scream. A tyrannical, irresistible power blasted out from the metal fragment, sending him flying backward. He slammed heavily into the wall, coughing up another mouthful of fresh blood before sliding to the ground, falling completely unconscious.
The ancient metal fragment, having escaped its restraints, did not fall. It hovered in mid-air for a moment, then, like an exhausted bird finally finding its nest, it slowly flew down, gently landing into Tran Kien's open palm.
Warm. That was Tran Kien's first sensation. A familiar warmth, like flesh and blood, like a wandering child finally returning home. He felt the joy and intimacy radiating from the fragment. The array patterns carved upon it glowed faintly, seemingly "whispering" to him. Tran Kien gripped the fragment tightly. At this moment, it was no longer an inanimate magical treasure. It was a part of him, a part of history, a part of the Lac Viet soul.
He withdrew the array formation. The one hundred spiritual energy cranes transformed into specks of azure-white light, drilling back into his body. The great hall returned to its original stillness; only the unconscious Lu Nhat Thiet and the utterly shocked gazes of everyone present remained.
Only then did Elder Wei slowly walk forward. He did not look at Lu Nhat Thiet, but rather at the fire-robed elder of the Divine Weapon Pavilion, who had been sitting silently without uttering a single word.
"Elder Lu," Elder Wei said, his voice placid. "The gamble has concluded. The century-old debt has been settled cleanly today. We should be able to leave now, correct?"
The fire-robed elder, one of the most powerful Grand Elders of the Divine Weapon Pavilion, slowly stood up. His complexion was extremely complex. He looked at Elder Wei, then at Tran Kien; his eyes held anger and unwillingness, but mostly, a profound dread.
"Just who exactly are you, Excellency?" he asked, his voice hoarse.
"I am merely an old man who watches over ancient tomes," Elder Wei replied. "I came here today solely to seek justice for a departed friend. Your Divine Weapon Pavilion relied on your strength to bully the weak, deceiving and seizing the relics of others. Suffering this outcome today is something you brought upon yourselves. If you still wish to preserve your last shred of face, then do not do anything foolish."
Elder Wei's words contained no killing intent, yet they carried a weight that made Elder Lu shudder. He knew that the old man before him was absolutely not a simple figure.
Elder Lu remained silent for a long time, then waved his hand, signaling the Divine Weapon Pavilion guards who were preparing to charge forward to stand down. "Let them go."
Elder Wei nodded, then turned to Tran Kien. "Let us go."
The two of them, one old and one young, under the complex gazes of hundreds of people, leisurely walked out of the great hall of the Divine Weapon Pavilion, just as they had arrived. It was only when their silhouettes disappeared behind the grand doors that the entire hall erupted like a boiling cauldron.
"Heavens! What just happened?"
"The Divine Weapon Pavilion... actually conceded?"
"Just who are that old geezer and that brat? The Lac Viet legacy... could it actually still exist?"
The handsome youth from the Azure Cloud Sect gazed in the direction the two had left, a bizarre gleam flashing in his eyes. He said nothing, merely silently memorizing Tran Kien's face. In another corner, the people from the Black Dragon Stronghold had quietly vanished at some unknown point. This earth-shattering news would definitely be transmitted back to Old Devil Black Dragon in the shortest time possible.
Tran Kien and Elder Wei walked through a narrow alley. The midday sun shone down, casting long shadows upon the ground.
"Elder Wei," Tran Kien couldn't help but ask, "are we really just leaving like this? I fear the Divine Weapon Pavilion will not let this matter go so easily."
"On the surface, they won't dare to do anything," Elder Wei replied, his tone calm. "Their reputation has been ruined; if they were to act openly, they would become the laughingstock of the entire world. But in the shadows..." He paused slightly, his gaze looking off into the distance. "In the shadows, venomous snakes never sleep. This Azure Province City is about to face a storm, my boy."
Tran Kien tightened his grip on the metal fragment in his hand. He knew that the spectacle at the Treasure Duel Assembly was merely the beginning. A new door had just opened, but at the same time, he had thrust himself into the center of a vortex that was far more dangerous and complex.