After listening to the words of the acting clan leader of the Zhang family, a cruel smile appeared on Zhang Bei's face.
Zhang Bei's uncle, on the other hand, looked increasingly troubled and ran away in a hurry, not willing to plead for Zhang Bei.
Meanwhile, more than a dozen members of the Zhang family surrounded Zhang Bei.
The young man remained standing by the coffin, his eyes fixed on the deceased inside, lost in thought.
But Zhang Bei didn't care. He wanted to see who dared to stop him today.
If Zhang Bei hadn't been qualified before, he now possessed a weapon he had just forged.
He no longer cared about the members of the Zhang family.
"Haha! A fine acting clan leader of the Zhang family indeed!"
Zhang Bei laughed wildly.
After planting the ancient black-gold saber in the ground, Zhang Bei drew his gilded jade scepter.
At that moment, the dozen or so Zhang family members had already charged towards Zhang Bei.
Their eyes glowed with a fierce fervor. These were all core members of the Zhang family.
Each of them was a top-tier martial artist in the world!
Just as they were about to reach Zhang Bei, a golden light erupted.
“Bang!”
An overwhelming force instantly sent the dozen or so people flying back.
Some collided with the distant corridor, others crashed into pillars.
In a blink, all dozen of them were thrown into disarray.
"This, this is still the most useless person in the family?"
"Impossible! I remember Zhang Bei has been training since he was young, but he couldn't even master the Zhang family's footwork!"
"More than a dozen core members of the Zhang family, and they couldn't even get close?"
…
Everyone was speechless upon witnessing this scene.
The young man finally looked up and a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes as he looked at Zhang Bei.
"Anyone else?"
Zhang Bei, wielding his gilded jade scepter, was enveloped in a transparent golden light, looking like a celestial being descended.
He radiated an air of supreme dominance.
"What are you all standing around for? Seize this traitor!"
The acting clan leader hadn't expected that a dozen people wouldn't even be able to land a single blow.
"Don't you want freedom?"
Noticing the obvious fear among those around him, the acting clan leader roared.
Hearing this, the crowd hesitated no longer and rushed towards Zhang Bei.
At that moment, everyone noticed that a golden whip had extended from Zhang Bei's gilded jade scepter.
"Crack!"
The golden whip lashed out, instantly knocking down a large group.
Despite their combined assault, they were unable to get close. This stunned everyone present.
"Crack!"
Another whip cracked, sending another group sprawling.
The golden whip seemed to possess endless power. These people were completely unable to resist.
"Stop!"
The acting clan leader was furious.
In just a short time, Zhang Bei had injured so many people.
As the acting clan leader, he had to take action.
He aimed a gun at Zhang Bei.
"Acting clan leader? Have you lost your mind? The reaction speed of any Zhang family member could easily dodge your bullets."
Zhang Bei said disdainfully.
"Is that so? All I need is to force your position."
The acting clan leader sneered.
Zhang Bei knew that if the acting clan leader used the gun to force his position,
he would be forced to dodge bullets and be unable to attack, giving them a chance to exploit his weaknesses.
"Your plan is good, but you won't have the chance."
Zhang Bei replied with disdain.
As he spoke, a thin, golden whip silently arrived beside the acting clan leader.
The whip whipped out, knocking the gun from his hand. The acting clan leader immediately sensed something was wrong.
He jumped away from his spot. The thin golden whip was clearly visible where he had stood moments before.
The acting clan leader's face was flushed with embarrassment.
Before he could even speak, he felt a tightening around his neck.
Another golden whip had wrapped around his neck.
Villains die because they talk too much. Since this old man dared to threaten him with a gun,
Zhang Bei wasn't going to bother with him. And to be honest, the acting clan leader's martial skills and reflexes were truly impressive.
However, he didn't know that the gilded jade scepter could freely change its form, making it unpredictable.
"Old geezer, you stand so high, I have to strain my neck to talk to you!" Zhang Bei sneered.
As he spoke, he flicked the jade scepter, pulling the acting clan leader to his front.
"Release the clan leader!"
Everyone was dumbfounded when they saw the acting clan leader being captured.
"Clan leader? Isn't he just acting?" Zhang Bei said disdainfully.
Everyone was speechless. They didn't know what to say.
"Release him! I did this willingly."
The young man's voice suddenly came from behind Zhang Bei.
Zhang Bei turned his head and looked at the young man. He saw that he had a serious expression.
"Alright! But I still need to be sure!" Zhang Bei nodded and said, looking at the young man.
The young man didn't say anything else.
"Now can you tell me? What is going on? If your answer isn't satisfactory,
I will cut your head off."
Zhang Bei looked at the acting clan leader with murderous intent.
The acting clan leader was angry, but seeing the killing intent in Zhang Bei's eyes, he trembled.
He saw Zhang Bei's determination. If he didn't speak, he would surely die.
"This is the process for accepting the position of clan leader, but his is different!" The acting clan leader said helplessly.
Then the acting clan leader explained everything.
It turned out that besides the Celestial Staff, the Zhang family's heirlooms included a pair of Double-Sound Rings and a bronze bell.
However, as time passed, the Double-Sound Rings disappeared without a trace, and the bronze bell remained in the Zhang family's ancestral hall.
But after the Celestial Staff disappeared with the old clan leader, the bronze bell also vanished.
The Celestial Staff was the only key to unlocking the mechanism of the Zhang family's ancestral hall.
Only those who held the Celestial Staff could enter the ancestral hall and receive the Celestial Mandate, becoming the clan leader.
The previous clan leader also received the Celestial Mandate at the old clan leader's behest.
The old clan leader had originally intended for the previous clan leader to lead the Zhang family.
But later, something happened. The son of the previous clan leader married outside the family.
This caused the old clan leader to become disheartened. Just as a rebellion broke out within the Zhang family, the old clan leader hid the Celestial Staff.
Without the Celestial Staff, the Zhang family pinned all their hopes on the Holy Infant.
For a thousand years, there had been a legend in the Zhang family that when the Holy Infant was born, it would be their salvation.
This was because although the members of the Zhang family lived long lives, they suffered from a strange ailment, a loss of soul.
Only those who held the Celestial Staff and received the Celestial Mandate would receive an antidote.
This antidote would be delivered through the water connected to the Zhang family's ancestral hall.
Without the antidote, the members of the Zhang family would slowly lose their memories.
They had pinned all their hopes on the young man, thinking he was the Holy Infant.
But after the scam was exposed, the Zhang family fell into unprecedented crisis.
This explained the tragic events of the past.
Now, only if a new clan leader received the Celestial Mandate would the antidote be bestowed, and they could regain their freedom.
"But isn't that right? Since we Zhang family members have this disease, why are those expelled from the family fine?"
Zhang Bei asked with some doubt.
"Outsiders with impure bloodlines will not have this disease."
Zhang Bei asked, "Why is it the young man this time? Just because he has the Celestial Staff?"
"No! This time, he's not going to receive the Celestial Mandate, but the Absolute Mandate!" The acting clan leader hesitated before answering.
Zhang Bei asked in confusion, "What is the Absolute Mandate?"
"The Absolute Mandate is, is to bear the Celestial Mandate of the entire family on his shoulders.
Then we won't be plagued by the disease, and we will gain freedom. We can go wherever we want.
We won't be locked up in this Zhang family ancestral land like prisoners anymore."
The acting clan leader finally revealed their goal.
"What will happen to him?" Zhang Bei's face darkened.
The acting clan leader said, "If he can't bear it, he will die. He sacrifices himself to gain freedom for the entire family."
"You really have a good plan. We're not going to make the young man clan leader."
Zhang Bei was instantly furious.
But the young man shook his head and said, "No! I will be clan leader!"
"Haha! He wants to find his origins, so he must accept this condition to find out!"
The acting clan leader was overjoyed to hear the young man's words.
But Zhang Bei was not happy. He didn't want the young man to get hurt.
However, Zhang Bei knew that the young man was clearly aware of the secret.
Yet, he still accepted the condition without hesitation.
"Zhang Bei! Since you haven't committed any serious crimes, release me.
I take back what I said earlier. You are still a member of our Zhang family."
The acting clan leader hurriedly said, seeing that Zhang Bei seemed to be wavering.
Zhang Bei looked coldly at the acting clan leader and asked:
"You'll be free, no longer under the control of the clan leader, right?
Then what use is there for him to be clan leader?"
The acting clan leader's face froze. That was indeed a problem. The future clan leader would be a clan leader in name only.
The future of the Zhang family itself was in question.
So even if Zhang Bei didn't release him, he was powerless.
…