Eldest Brother, It's Been Hard on You! (1)

"Kneel!"

The cry of rage reverberated throughout the lakeside pavilion, startling those present. The wooden structure, the dishes on the table, and even the numerous symbols of shimmering light fiercely trembled under Wei Xuan's rage.

The silver light that burst from the minister's body morphed into a current of chaos, overturning the dishes, shattering the precious objects into numerous fragments. The wheelchair propped behind him slammed against the edge of the table, the young girl's body quivering from the rough impact.

The silver light coalesced into a long, winding river that radiated a terrifying aura of death and slaughter, hovering in the air behind Wei Xuan's back. The river glared at the standing youth, the current seething with an uncontrollable rage.

"Kneel!"

The minister's voice boomed a second time, the silver light emanating from his body increasing in intensity by the second. The atmosphere in the pavilion gradually became suffocating, though the young girl seated in the wheelchair was the only one finding it difficult to breathe.

The minister and youth stared at each other for several moments. Though one had released a copious amount of spiritual essence whilst the other had not, the tension was gradually scaling the slope of no return.

"I have no desire nor need that requires me to kneel."

The young man suddenly spoke, his voice unhurried and steady despite receiving the majority of Wei Xuan's wrath. His robes remained still as he spoke, disregarding the torrentuous current of spiritual essence distorting the atmosphere of the pavilion.

"You have no desire to kneel?" Wei Xuan asked in a quiet voice, his expression eerily calm as he gazed at the youth.

"Even the Son of Heaven whom they call emperor must kneel when they have committed a wrong. Do you think you are above the Son of Heaven, that you are Saint Sun or Monk Xuanzhong?"

The wooden beams of the pavilion released a simultaneous groan of agony at the cold words uttered by the minister. Seated in the wheelchair, An Fei desperately clutched at the armrests, her countenance warping into horror as she felt the earth fiercely tremble from Wei Xuan's anger, the vibrations deeply shaking her body to its core.

If this continued, she definitely wasn't going to emerge from this ordeal in one piece!

"The Son of Heaven, Saint Sun, or even Monk Xuanzhong, all must kneel when they have committed a wrong," Wei Chang Feng directed an unfathomable glance towards the girl seated in the wheelchair.

His eyes narrowed for a brief moment as they flickered with an unknown emotion, but the youth returned his gaze towards Wei Xuan's displeasured countenance.

"Since I do not seem to have committed a wrong, then I can only disrespect Father's words. May Father remain magnanimous and forgive this son."

"Hmph!" Wei Xuan coldly snorted, before the silver light expanding from his body increased in intensity a third time.

"If your father demands you to kneel, then you must kneel. The time has not changed to permit an unruly son to refute his father's judgement!"

The vibrations ravaged the interior of the pavilion, and the lake underneath began to boil with fury, corpses of fish surfacing as they were roasted alive within mere moments. Above, the young girl began to clutch her chest in pain, her heartbeat suppressed to the minimum by the vibrations rampaging throughout her body.

Finally, a dull indigo radiance emerged from the Eldest Young Master of Wei, gradually neutralizing the aggressive spiritual essence permeating the atmosphere. However, whilst the silver light emanating from Wei Xuan contained a distinct aura of death, the indigo radiance from Wei Chang Fang could only be described as cold.

Unbearably cold, as if rejecting the existence of everything around it.

The interference of both auras finally caused the pavilion to cease shaking, restoring the tension in the atmosphere to normal. Unfortunately, it was impossible for the dishes nor the fish to be recovered again.

As the environment gradually relaxed and was no longer eminent on slaughtering the world, a figure rapidly entered the pavilion. The First Madam of Wei quickly rushed to stand between the youth and adult minister, her arms extended to her sides.

"Enough. Do not cause a ruckus anymore, the servants are practically shedding their lifespan in fear."

Sheng Miaolan uttered in a fatigued voice, yet her tone did not permit any refusal. Much to her dismay, the two males of different generations completely ignored the woman, glaring at each other in silence.

"You've reached the initial stages of Core Formation, that's not too bad," Wei Xuan narrowed his eyes at his son.

"The Taiyi Sect must have invested a considerable proportion of its resources for you to achieve such a result before the age of thirty-five given your talent."

"Father speaks wise," Wei Chang Feng dutifully responded, his eyes sneaking another glance towards the girl seated on the wheelchair.

"However, I do not understand why Father remains angered towards your son."

"Can you truly say that?" the minister's aura seemed to deflate with disappointment upon the youth's words. Closing his eyes, Wei Xuan pondered for a moment before opening his mouth and speaking with a weary tone.

"How are you able of enact on killing one of your own kin and later claim innocence? How… are you just that capable that your siblings lives mean absolutely nothing for you?"

"To preserve the survival of the family, I have come to this decision! Only by this decision can the Wei Family truly survive!"

Pa!

A fair-skinned hand ruthlessly swept across the face of the Eldest Young Master of Wei, leaving behind a scarlet handprint that glared at the world. Before either Wei Xuan or An Fei could react, the First Madam had struck Wei Chang Feng twice more, berating in a harsh voice.

"Even to this stage, you do not repent?" Sheng Miaolan scolded, her plump chest heaving with anger.

"Mother had thought that once you returned home, you would have understood your faults. However!"

"Even before your father, you show no remorse. Even before your mother, you show no remorse. Even before your little sister, your sibling whom you attempted to kill numerous times, you show no remorse!"

"What are we to your eyes!?" the First Madam fiercely shook the shoulders of the Eldest Young Master, two streams of tears striking the wooden planks.

"What is family to you!? What have we done to deserve such indifference and animosity from you!? Has Taiyi Sect replaced us to become your new family?"

"That you would no longer gaze at your family with affection?" Sheng Miaolan asked the youth with his head lowered.

"Will Luo'er, Yan'er, and perhaps even Yue'er become your next targets? Or even your father and mother?"

"Wei Chang Feng, answer your mother!"

The shrill cry escaping Sheng Miaolan's throat caused the youth's body to jerk in surprise.

Nonetheless, his head remained lowered, the long hair obscuring the emotions flickering in his eyes.

When Wei Chang Feng finally raised his head, the youth's countenance had returned to that of an untouchable glacier.

"…Mother, your son still retains respect for the family," the Eldest Young Master of Wei calmly spoke without any inclination of pain from the handprints on his countenance.

"Chang Feng has not forgotten his roots, nor has he forgotten filial piety."

"However, the duty I must take as a member of Taiyi Sect surpasses both the bounds of family and that of filial piety!"

Wei Chang Feng coldly stated, the pair of hazel irises lucid and devoid of any delusions. The pair of eyes seemed capable of discerning a profound truth, yet seemed to be harboring a deep sorrow.

"…and what duty is that?" Wei Xuan inquired with a deep tone, his hands extended to comfort the shaking Sheng Miaolan.

"The Taiyi Sect is facing a massive crisis. The ideals of righteousness have given in to the corruption of depravity, and now is terrorizing its members and their families."

The youth directed a deep glare towards the seated young girl, his eyes not leaving her figure in the slightest. As both the minister and the First Madam stared at him in consternation, the youth raised his right index finger, pointing towards the sky.

"As of a eighteen months ago, an unknown figure has infiltrated the Taiyi Sect," Wei Chang Feng enunciated each word as he spoke.

"Within a few days, he had seized full control over the entire upper echelon of the sect, forcing Taiyi Sect under his reign."

"This figure has issued several orders since achieving power, and the first was to commence a skirmish onto the neighboring Violet Jade Palace."

The index finger traversed through space, attracting everyone's attention.

"The second was to gather a plethora of materials and medicinal herbs, and a great proportion of them possess a nefarious aura or effect!"

Time seemed to slow as the finger gained an irreversible momentum, and Wei Chang Feng's voice raised in volume.

"The third was that all females a physique with excessive Yin essence or suffering from cold deficiency, were to be apprehended and presented to that person!"

For the briefest of moments, not a single soul dared to utter a word as they glared speechlessly towards Wei Chang Feng. For the briefest of moments, the world seemed to have ground to a halt before An Fei, a snapshot of time.

"Audacious!"

Wei Xuan's bellow jolted the entire lakeside pavilion, and the water underneath burst into flames despite the cold temperatures of the vestiges of winter.

Forget about charred fish floating across the surface of the lake, there wasn't even a lake underneath the pavilion anymore.