「Inner City.」

Within the Shen Family’s residential district, at the very heart of their clan estate, the assembly hall was magnificently decorated and brightly lit.

All the Shen Family’s Clan Elders had gathered. Even the family’s Ancestor, Shen Zhaoyi, who rarely made an appearance, had been invited and was now seated in the main seat.

Shen Zhaoyi was eighty-three years old, an advanced age, yet he showed no signs of frailty. His hair and beard were only half-white, his complexion was ruddy, and his eyes shone with vigor. His spirit and bearing seemed even greater than that of his sons standing before him, all of whom had just passed their sixtieth year.

As the Shen Family’s sole Organ Refining Realm Martial Artist, he was the one who supported the entire Shen Family, allowing them to establish a foothold in Linji City and become one of the Four Great Clans of the Inner City.

In this world, Martial Artists who cultivated the Martial Dao tempered their bodies. Their qi and blood were vigorous, and their lifespans were much longer than those of ordinary people.

For ordinary people, their qi and blood would begin to decline in their thirties or forties. Living to be sixty or seventy was considered a long life and was exceedingly rare.

The enhancement of qi and blood for a Skin Grinding Realm Martial Artist was limited, making them only slightly stronger than an ordinary person. A Muscle Strengthening Realm Martial Artist, on the other hand, would often not experience a decline in their qi and blood until after the age of forty. They would only begin to show signs of old age upon reaching sixty or seventy.

Upon reaching the Bone Forging Realm, there was a significant improvement. Their qi and blood would not decline until after they were fifty, and they could live to the ripe old age of eighty or ninety.

Stepping into the Bone Marrow Cleansing Realm was a qualitative leap. Sixty was their prime, their qi and blood would not decline until they were seventy, and they could easily live to be a hundred.

As for Organ Refining Realm Martial Artists, their qi and blood would not decline until they were ninety. They could even live to be one hundred and ten or one hundred and twenty.

Of course, this was all based on the premise of carefully preserving one’s Primordial Qi and not fighting with others. Most Martial Artists often fought when they were young, consuming their source of qi and blood, so their actual lifespans were often much shorter.

Shen Zhaoyi cultivated the Cultivation Techniques of the Frost and Snow Lineage from Celestial Phenomenon Peak of the Great Dao Sect. He had comprehended the First Layer of the Frost Snow Realm and had been immersed in this Realm for many years, with hopes of breaking through to the Second Layer Realm.

The Frost Snow Realm inherently had the characteristic of locking in Primordial Qi. Therefore, although he was over eighty years old, his strength was still at its peak.

He was also a few years younger than the Ancestors of the other three clans. In the contest of strength among the Ancestors of the Inner City’s Four Great Clans, this gave him a considerable advantage.

In fact, the entire Shen Family followed Shen Zhaoyi in cultivating the Skills of the Frost and Snow Lineage, which made them all appear younger than their age.

Shen Zhaoyi’s sons were all quite powerful. Shen Mingyuan had cultivated to the Bone Marrow Cleansing Realm, and the others had all reached Bone Forging Realm Perfection. For a time, the Shen Family had been a dominant force in the power struggles among the Inner City’s Four Great Clans.

However, by the third generation, Shen Zhiyuan’s generation, the family began to decline. The younger fourth generation was a case of the women outshining the men; all the young men lacked talent for the Martial Dao. Only the two women, Shen Qingyao and Shen Qingshuang, possessed strong martial talent, comparable to Shen Zhaoyi’s in his youth.

The hope for the Shen Family’s legacy now rested upon these two women, Shen Qingyao and Shen Qingshuang—a reality born of necessity.

In contrast, the younger generations of the Jiang, Qin, and Wang Families were teeming with talent.

The Jiang and Wang Families were especially powerful. The Jiang Family’s Ancestor was not only an Organ Refining Realm Martial Artist, but the City Lord, Jiang Botao, had also reached the Organ Refining Realm in his fifties. Their younger generation had also produced many geniuses.

Jiang Lang was even known as the number one martial artist of Linji City’s younger generation. At a young age, he had already cultivated to Bone Forging Realm Perfection. It was only a matter of time before he reached the Organ Refining Realm.

The Wang Family’s younger generation was also formidable. They had three disciples who had entered the Bone Forging Realm around the age of thirty, and quite a few who had reached the Muscle Strengthening Realm in their twenties.

Although the Qin Family was more conventional, they were a branch of a great clan from Su State City and had no need to worry about their family’s continuation.

The Shen Family was now clearly at a disadvantage among the Four Great Clans of the Inner City. If they did not handle the situation well, they would face the crisis of their family’s decline.

As a great clan of the Prefecture City, the Shen Family had naturally made plans long ago. Their goal was to cultivate Shen Qingyao and Shen Qingshuang into Organ Refining Realm powerhouses. Once that happened, all their crises would naturally be resolved.

Shen Zhaoyi could still protect the Shen Family for several more years, which should have been enough time. However, the other three clans would clearly not give them the time to grow powerful again and had been pressuring the Shen Family both openly and secretly.

This pressure came in the form of marriage alliances with the Shen Family. But these alliances were not on equal terms. On the surface, the three clans wanted their talented young disciples to marry Shen Qingyao and Shen Qingshuang. In reality, they were all plotting to make the Shen Family a subordinate vassal, swallow their assets, and strengthen themselves.

Previously, Shen Zhaoyi had always forcefully rejected their advances. But now, chaos was gradually brewing in Linji City. The Black Lotus Sect was stirring in the Great Wilderness Mountain Range, and external powers from other state cities were also showing signs of moving in.

On the surface, it seemed to be a crisis for Linji City, but who could guarantee that the other three clans wouldn’t take advantage of the chaos to make a move against the Shen Family?

They might not even wait for the external crisis to arrive; the other three clans had likely already made their moves.

Less than a year after Shen Qingshuang was appointed as the Chief of the South City Guard, many incidents had occurred in the South City District. This was especially true of the recent cases: the disappearance of Yan Jian, the disappearance of Zhou Hongjun, and the suspected murder of Zhou Xu, which Shen Qingshuang had just rushed over to report.

Yan Jian was a young prodigy cultivated by the Shen Family. His disappearance was likely the work of the other three clans, an attempt to curb the Shen Family’s efforts to nurture its younger generation.

The disappearance of Zhou Hongjun, on the other hand, was quite bizarre. It could be interpreted as a deliberate attempt by someone to use the opportunity to incite conflict between the Shen Family and the Wang Family.

As for the recent murder of Zhou Xu, it was even more baffling. According to the investigation results Shen Qingshuang reported, the attacker had instantly killed Zhou Xu—a man at Muscle Strengthening Realm Perfection—relying on nothing more than their Saber Momentum.