Lu Yin felt a wave of relief, but said, "This time may be a pity, but the sect master will definitely succeed next time."
Xia Shenfei spoke up, "Father will draw the broken saber while you, Yu Hao, have already passed the Sky Beyond the Sky trial. It’s time for our Shenwu Sky to rise up as well."
Lu Yin nodded. "Yes, it's time for Shenwu’s Sky to rise up and surpass the Celestial Frost Sect."
Xia Shenfei went stiff for a moment, and he reflexively glanced over towards Wu Yao and the other Semi-Progenitors. The greatest obstacle within the Celestial Frost Sect was not Bai Wangyuan, but Bai Xian'er. That woman was so cunning that she had even successfully plotted against the Lu family. In order to surpass the Celestial Frost Sect, they needed to first find a way to deal with Bai Xian'er. Unfortunately, there was too great a gap between them, which meant that Xia Shenfei was not qualified to even try to handle Bai Xian'er.
Additionally, as soon as the four ruling powers started fighting each other, the rear battlefield would be lost.
What a hassle!
While Xia Xing had indeed failed to draw the broken saber, he appeared fully confident. Everyone, both those from Shenwu’s Sky and all of their guests, fully believed that the sect master would succeed in fully drawing the blade during his next attempt, and this belief transformed Xia Xing's status in everyone's eyes.
In the past, he had simply been the sect master of Shenwu's Sky and the current generation’s patriarch of the Xia family. At the moment, he was suddenly regarded as a future Progenitor.
Since ancient times, even for groups like the four ruling powers, the Nong family, the Liu family, and even the Lu family, which had ruled supreme over all, the possibility of one of their patriarchs becoming a Progenitor was vanishingly small. It was not so much that patriarchs had a lower chance of becoming a Progenitor than other people, but rather that the chances of anyone becoming a Progenitor were already minuscule. On top of that, the patriarchs were tasked with overseeing the administration of their family. People subconsciously abandoned hope of becoming a Progenitor when they accepted the role of a family’s patriarch.
However, Xia Xing had broken this standard. As soon as he successfully drew the broken saber, Shenwu's Sky would do their best to raise him up to become a Progenitor.
"Congratulations, Father," Xia Shenfei called out to congratulate the sect master when he saw the older man approaching.
Xia Xing felt quite content at this moment. He had become accustomed to overseeing and managing the affairs of Shenwu's Sky at all times when he had merely been another clone, but he had just shown himself to be able to draw the broken saber. The manner in which all of Shenwu's Sky viewed the sect master had changed, especially Xia Ziheng. The Semi-Progenitor no longer looked down upon the sect master.
"How was your chat with Yu Hao?" Xia Xing asked.
Xia Shenfei answered in a respectful tone, "After the sacrifices have been offered to our ancestors, your child will swear an oath and complete a blood pact with Yu Hao to become sworn brothers who will live and die together."
Xia Xing glanced at Lu Yin and then started scolding his son, "Nonsense! Yu Hao is here to participate in the ceremony to honor our ancestors. You two are from different generations—there’s no need for you two to become sworn brothers."
While Xia Xing had declined Xua Shenfei’s request before the Saber Ritual had started, the stance taken was not as vehement as it had become. Xia Shenfei was a bit stunned at his father’s adamant position, but he did not dare to talk back.
Lu Yin and Xia Xing glanced at each other. Xia Xing's eyes were incredibly admiring at this moment, as Lu Yin would be the one to determine whether Xia Xing would be able to successfully draw the saber. It was a given that Xia Xing would do his absolute best to help Lu Yin remain hidden.
Lu Yin was lucky that he had replaced Xia Xing’s main body with the captured clone when he had. Otherwise, Lu Yin would have never been able to avoid being exposed by Xia Shenfei.
"Yu Hao, I'll leave this next matter to you. You can deal with those people however you wish," Xia Xing told Lu Yin while pointing over at Xia Zhitong and the other eleven people.
As soon as the sect master had spoken, everyone’s attention was diverted to a certain corner. Some people felt sympathy, others regret, and still others were upset. Regardless, no one expressed any negative reactions.
Xia Ziheng waved a hand, and Yu Chuan was led out from another direction.
As soon as Lu Yin saw the old man, he excitedly moved towards him. "Old man!"
Yu Chuan stared back at Lu Yin and reacted with equal excitement, "Little Hao!"
Lu Yin grabbed Yu Chuan’s arm to help the old man along, and then pointed to a certain corner. "Grandfather, those are the people who destroy our Yu family's reputation. That’s the woman who drove father mad!"
Yu Chuan looked at where “Yu Hao” indicated, and his eyes locked onto the group of people who were on their knees. As soon as the old man saw Xia Zhitong, his eyes were filled with powerful resentment and overflowing killing intent. This woman had turned his Yu family into a joke! She was the one who had driven his son mad and forced his grandson to his death! Yu Chuan knew that the Yu Hao standing beside him was an imposter. His grandson was already dead, forced into the ground by the woman kneeling before Yu Chuan.