Xu Xiao laughed hysterically, the sound echoing through the room as he spoke, his voice filled with mockery.
"Really? Then I should've gone after your second wife first," he sneered. "What a silly mistake I made."
Lingling, standing by the side with the child in her arms, merely looked at him. Her expression was calm, even cold, a quiet resignation in her gaze. She didn't cry, didn't show any emotion except a subtle, bitter acknowledgment.
"You were right," she said softly, her voice distant, almost detached. "You were right about Xu Xiao. He never truly loved me. Not really. He just used me to get to his younger brother."
Xu Yansheng's eyes softened, a flicker of pity crossing his face as he looked at her, but he remained silent. The child she carried, his nephew, had done nothing wrong—an innocent in all of this. And though his heart was heavy with the betrayal, he couldn't bring himself to harm the child, for it still had a place in the Xu family bloodline.
But as for Lingling—his first wife—his decision was clear. He would divorce her, but he would not kill her. Her life, however, would never be the same. She would be left to live with the consequences of her choices, and the future they once shared would remain shattered, her place in the Xu family forever altered.
Xu Xiao's gaze turned toward me, his eyes bloodshot, filled with an obsessive, crazed energy. His focus shifted to his younger sister, Xu Yunfei, standing nearby. His voice cracked as he yelled her name.
"Xu Yunfei!" he screamed, his voice hoarse and desperate. "I won't let you marry him! He doesn't deserve your love! I deserve you! You're my little sister—my flesh and blood. I love you more than anything! Marry me! Become my first wife! We can be a happy family, I promise!"
Xu Yunfei looked at her brother in horror, her eyes wide with disbelief. The words he spoke, the madness in his voice—it chilled her to her core.
She took a step back, her voice trembling as she tried to comprehend what he was saying. "You… you don't mean that, do you, brother?" she asked, her voice strained with disbelief. "What is wrong with you? You just stabbed our father… you admitted to committing adultery with our brother's first wife! You... you conceived a son with her, and now, you're telling me to marry you? You can't be serious—please, tell me you're not!"
Her words rang in the air like a death knell, the heavy weight of the situation settling in. The room fell into a suffocating silence as the enormity of Xu Xiao's words took hold. His sister's horror mirrored the shock in the eyes of everyone else in the room, her disbelief becoming their own.
Xu Yunfei looked at her father, who was lying on the floor, wounded by her brother's blade. His life was slipping away, and her mother was beside him, desperately trying to comfort him while the medics worked frantically to save him. Xu Yunfei's heart twisted with pain as her mother, too, seemed to anticipate the worst, her face full of sorrow as she desperately tried to save her husband.
Her brother, Xu Xiao, spoke again, his voice filled with an unsettling calm, almost too much for her to bear.
"I mean every word, sister. I love you. I desire you, and I have for quite a long time. I want you—just you. I want Mother to marry me as well."
His words hung in the air like a heavy cloud, and his mother, hearing this, looked at him with eyes full of sadness. For centuries, she had been trying to help him overcome his obsession with both her and his sister, but to no avail.
The room was filled with shock, whispers rippling through the onlookers, who were horrified by the scandal Xu Xiao had just unleashed.
With a final, desperate shout, Xu Xiao's voice rang out. "If you refuse me, sister, then I have no choice but to use force. Men! I order you to attack anyone who opposes your future patriarch's reign!" His voice was filled with crazy fury, the madness of his mind spilling out into the room like a dangerous wildfire.
Xu Yunfei's tears flowed freely as she looked at her brother, her voice trembling with disbelief. "Why, Big Brother? I respected you. I admired you. Yet you've betrayed me all this time. I was such a fool…"
Her words were cut short by a sob as the weight of her brother's actions crushed her heart. The tears streaked down her face as she, too, unleashed her blade. With a scream of rage and sorrow, she charged into the fray, striking down those who stood in her way, her heart filled with anguish.
I followed her lead, my own sword drawn. The air thickened with tension, and chaos erupted around us. The battle intensified as warriors from the Demigod and Divine realms released their power, clashing with the destructive force of the surrounding conflict. Buildings crumbled under the weight of the fury that rained down upon the city.
The clash of steel, the cries of battle, and the violent tremors shook the very foundations of the land, as if the world itself was coming undone in the wake of Xu Xiao's madness.
As I killed one of Xu Xiao's women, my blade driving through her head, I glanced around and saw Xu Yunfei and her elder brother, Xu Yansheng, locked in battle with Xu Xiao. Though Xu Xiao stood in the Divine Realm, he was matched by their combined strength in the Demigod Realm. Together, they fought with a fierce determination, pushing back the chaos.
Elsewhere, I caught sight of Nagni, her hood still drawn low, silently aiding in the destruction of Xu Xiao's forces. She moved with deadly precision, her actions smooth and efficient. Lingxue, her Ice Phoenix wings unfurled, was a vision of ice and fury, slashing through enemies and freezing them in place. Her movements were elegant, yet deadly.
Luo Xianling fought with the ferocity of a tsunami, her form shifting like a natural force, unstoppable and wild. Even Madam Yuelin, a mortal, was holding her ground beside us. She fought with surprising skill, her methods unique—defending herself against those with cultivation, despite her lack of power.
Liraine, Shuyin, and Sura were in the thick of the battle as well, their movements fluid, each of them bringing their own brand of strength to the fight.
It was chaos and mayhem as mortals were escorted out of the city, the stronghold of the Xu family, for their safety. Meanwhile, the cultivators from the Divine Realm and Demigod Realm fought fiercely, their clash echoing throughout the city, as the battle raged on, causing destruction in its wake.
It became a bloody battle, one that raged on for three straight days.
"Sister!" Xu Xiao's voice echoed through the carnage. "I can't let you be taken by Shen Wuyin. I deserve you—your body, your soul! You were meant to bear my children, not his! I will have you, sister—willing or unwilling! I'll take you as mine, do you hear me?"
His words, filled with madness, pierced the air like a sharp blade. I had known this would happen eventually. His obsession had always been there, simmering beneath the surface, but now it was fully unleashed. The wedding had been the catalyst, the final nudge that broke him. He had killed his other siblings, his family members—anyone who stood in his way—believing that Xu Yunfei belonged to him.
I watched from the chaos as he fought, his every move fueled by that same obsessive madness. And as he slaughtered his family, I did the same, taking down anyone who sided with him—his allies, his wives, even his children—each one falling to my blade without mercy.
This battle was no longer just a war of territory or power—it was a battle for control, for a twisted claim over the very soul of the one he loved. But it was too late for him. He had crossed a line that could never be uncrossed, and his fate had been sealed by his own obsession.
His mother appeared before him, her face filled with a mixture of sorrow and desperation. She reached out to him, her voice pleading.
"Xu Xiao, please, you don't have to do this. This fight... it's not the way. Your father... he would forgive you. He's always loved you, but he only believed that you were unfit to be the patriarch. That's why he made Xu Yansheng his heir, but he never wanted this for you, never wanted you to spiral into this madness."
Her words hung in the air, but Xu Xiao's expression remained cold, a sneer twisting his lips. He wasn't listening.
"Forgive me?" Xu Xiao's voice was laced with bitterness. "He made his choice long ago. He chose Yansheng over me, and that's all that matters. Do you think I've forgotten? I've spent years in his shadow, years being told I wasn't worthy. And now, after everything, you ask me to forgive him?" His voice rose with fury.
His mother's eyes filled with tears, but she stood firm, desperate to reach him.
"No," he said, his voice chilling. "I will be the patriarch, and nothing, not even you, will stop me. If you won't stand by me, then stay out of my way."
His mother stood motionless, the weight of his rejection crashing down on her. She reached out once more, but she knew, deep down, that it was too late. Her son had made his choice. And now, nothing would stand in his way.
"When this is done," Xu Xiao said, his voice low and dangerous, "if that old man is still breathing, I'll finish the job myself. But once this is all over, I'll make you my wife, just like my sister. You'll bear me my children, and you will understand. I'll convince you, or I'll force you to submit to my way of things. You'll understand that you can no longer deny me, not for what I desire—the title that should have been mine, and the two of you, my mother and my sister, will bow to me as I command."
His words were like poison, dripping from his lips, each syllable a promise of control, of domination. The mother who had once nurtured him, who had tried to protect him, was now nothing more than a pawn in his twisted vision of power. His eyes burned with ambition, and the weight of his desire for the throne had consumed everything else.