1156: The last legacy (1) 1156: The last legacy (1) “Raising a banner of justice, they ca after us,” Xia Fang said with a scoff.
“They openly bad-mouthed us to anyone who would listen, claiming we had acted with impropriety by giving in to our greed when we robbed that rogue cultivator of the Celestial Light Hawthorn, which ultimately led to his wife’s death,” she added, her gaze turning darker.
“They declared that the consequences we suffered were nothing more than heavenly retribution, punishnt for our unjust actions that the heavens could no longer turn a blind eye to,” Xia Fang said.
“Then they dragged our founder into the conversation, accusing us of shaming him and ignoring his precepts.
They even went so far as to fabricate more lies to reinforce their claims.
But in truth, all that talk of us dishonoring our ancestor was nothing more than a ploy, one that was aid at ruining our reputation externally, especially in the eyes of the Silver Crane Sect, while also fostering insurrection within the clan.” “It was an ingenious plan,” Xia Fang admitted, bitterness seeping into her tone.
“Because of the damage we had suffered, the repeated failures that followed, and the Silver Crane Sect drawing a clear line against us, morale within the clan had sunk to an all-ti low.
With each passing year, as we failed to produce a Palace Realm expert, the negativity grew stronger.
It wasn’t long before cracks began to form within the clan itself,” she slowly explained.
“There were those within the clan who had already begun blaming the elder who discovered the Celestial Light Hawthorn, and that growing resentnt slowly spilled over to the clan’s hierarchy—the very ones who had voted to use it—forgetting all the benefits they had indirectly reaped when the clan rose to its golden era as a result of that choice,” Xia Fang said, her voice tinged with a hint of sha.
Because even she, not too long ago, had harbored the sa thoughts.
And while those feelings had dulled over the past century, it would be a lie to say that so part of her didn’t wish her clan had never laid hands on the Celestial Light Hawthorn that day.
In the end, it had brought more trouble than it was worth, given what they had lost.
Yang Qing, on the other hand, saw things differently.
Yes, the Xia clan’s current state—plunged into hardship and desperation—had certainly unearthed such bitter sentints.
But was that truly the only reason for them?
Clans, even though bound by the sa bloodline, were always rife with factional struggles.
In so cases, Yang Qing could argue that such internal conflicts were even worse than those found in sects.
Wherever resources were involved, especially precious resources, there would always be disputes over their distribution just like it was with power.
Because of how precious the Celestial Light Hawthorn was—and the fact that it could only be used on a select few—its distribution was bound to ruffle feathers and breed resentnt.
Perhaps so of the voices of discontent Xia Fang ntioned ca from those who had already harbored grudges.
Missing out on the Celestial Light Hawthorn while being forced to suffer the consequences of its acquisition—without ever having sampled its benefits—would only deepen that resentnt.
In such a case, internal strife was inevitable.
Not to ntion, the clan’s power dynamics had been completely upended, creating a pressing need to reestablish them.
That alone would beco another point of contention as different factions vied for dominance.
Add to that the presence of conniving retainers with agendas of their own, and it was a disaster just waiting to happen.
No wonder they decided to bide their ti, Yang Qing mused, thinking of how the three clans had chosen to wait, allowing the Xia clan to simr from within.
They had let the resentnt, frustration, and grudges stew—breeding further chaos and discord—so that when they finally acted, they wouldn’t need to sacrifice much to achieve their goals.
Discrediting the Xia clan in the eyes of the public was also a nice touch.
They had shown themselves to be both Insidious and ticulous.
“No wonder she’s so paranoid…
with enemies like that, how could you not be?” Yang Qing thought, as Xia Fang’s actions since their first eting flashed through his mind.
He quickly filed the thought away as she continued her story.
“I think part of the reason they discredited us—beyond just destroying our public image or sowing discord within our ranks—was to elevate their own image by making their actions seem justified.
They claid their assault was an act of filial piety toward both their founders and ours by purging the rot within our clan that had strayed too far from his wishes.
They just wanted to save face, those scoundrels,” Xia Fang scoffed before her expression turned solemn.
“But at the root of it, I think the main reason they did all that was to goad us into action.
By provoking us, they could gauge how many trump cards we had left and whether we possessed anything capable of reversing the situation,” she explained.
“Their plan worked,” she said flatly.
“So of the clan’s seniors reacted imdiately, forgetting that we were no longer the Xia Clan of old,” she added with a pained sigh.
“They took one of the four monarch-grade treasures we had left, thinking it would be enough to deal with the three clans,” Xia Fang said slowly.
“But in their haste, they not only forgot our weakened state, they also overlooked the status of those three families.
They may have once been our retainers, but their founders were our founder’s personal disciples.
And beyond their titles… they had all reached the Palace Realm,” she added, her voice heavy.
“Though I don’t know which stage they reached, I did hear that the Lai family’s founder managed to reach the sixth stage,” she swiftly added, just in case Yang Qing was curious.
Yang Qing nodded in appreciation for the consideration.
“What about your clan at the ti?” he asked curiously.
“When they broke through to the Palace Realm, we didn’t have anyone at that level,” Xia Fang admitted.
“The mbers with the greatest talent had already been sent to the Silver Crane Sect by our founder.” “Then how were they kept in check?”
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