Chapter 31: Battle

“Fourth Uncle, but the Clan Chief…”

“Hmph, the Chen Clan is empty now, why bother with him? I’ll handle Joshua myself!”

The burly man spoke dismissively. The group stopped searching and quickly headed towards the Chen Clan’s Ancestral Hall.

Soon, they arrived outside the Ancestral Hall.

At this moment, the hall’s doors were wide open, and the situation inside was clear at a glance, making the last bit of caution in the burly man’s heart vanish.

When the burly man saw the Sophora Tree inside the hall, his gaze was instantly drawn to it.

Especially when he noticed the faint glow emanating from its branches and leaves, his eyes showed a hint of surprise and shock.

“Fourth Uncle, look, that tree is glowing!”

“I’m not blind!”

The burly man replied irritably.

He had long heard that the Chen Clan had a Sacred Tree, but he didn’t expect it to be true. It seemed the Chen Clan couldn’t take it with them when they left, leaving it for them to claim.

Being the first to discover it, he might even get a chance to study it.

The burly man smiled with joy and, without hesitation, walked towards the Ancestral Hall to take a closer look.

But after just a few steps, he noticed the glow on the Sophora Tree suddenly disappeared.

This made the burly man pause, unsure of what was happening.

Suddenly, his heart raced, and a strong sense of danger erupted in his mind.

Not good!

Above!

As the thought crossed his mind, the burly man instinctively rolled to the side, trying to evade the sudden danger.

But Oliver Chen’s premeditated attack wasn’t so easily dodged.

Just as the burly man was about to evade, Oliver’s punch, filled with his entire Qi and Blood, struck the burly man’s back, sending him flying.

Following Oliver’s move, warriors from the Chen Clan emerged from various hidden spots outside the hall, surrounding the nearby enemies.

Each warrior chose their own target, not overstepping their bounds.

The gap between the Body Tempering Realm and the Blood Condensation Realm was vast. Without sufficient numbers, it was hard to bridge this gap. The Chen Clan couldn’t afford to use a swarm tactic.

“Damn it, an ambush!”

“Ethan Chen, how dare you!”

A remaining Blood Condensation Realm warrior from the Li Clan shouted angrily, clearly furious at the Chen Clan’s despicable ambush.

But he was also decisive. Realizing he was ambushed, he immediately tried to shout for reinforcements.

Before he could gather his Qi and Blood, an attack came straight for his face.

Sensing his opponent was also in the Blood Condensation Realm, he gave up shouting and switched to defense.

“Mason Chen!”

Recognizing his attacker, he sneered, and the two began to grapple.

Though he didn’t shout, the sounds of their battle would soon attract other clan members. He wondered how the Chen Clan would handle it then!

On the other side, Oliver, who had landed a hit, showed no joy. The strange sensation from his punch indicated it wasn’t a human body.

When the burly man got up, Oliver saw he was wearing a patterned, hard inner armor.

Oliver’s punch, calculated for changes, hadn’t used full force, and much of its power was absorbed by the armor.

Even so, the burly man spat blood, clearly internally injured!

“It’s you, Oliver Chen!”

Seeing his attacker, the burly man’s eyes flared with anger and a hint of relief.

Luckily, he wore an inner armor made from Azure Python skin, or he would’ve been severely injured by that hit.

“Wait, you’re at the late-stage Blood Condensation Realm?”

The burly man finally noticed Oliver’s change, surprised.

If Oliver were only mid-stage, he wouldn’t have cared even if slightly injured. But a late-stage opponent was a different story.

Oliver didn’t speak, continuing his fierce assault on the burly man.

The Li Clan reinforcements would soon arrive, and he didn’t want to waste time.

Seeing Oliver’s attack, the burly man’s face hardened. He stopped talking and engaged in battle.

Their Qi and Blood surged, each punch carrying immense force, causing explosions in the air.

The sounds of battle quickly spread throughout the Chen Clan.

Elsewhere, three other teams were still searching carefully.

Hearing the commotion from the Ancestral Hall, they initially thought the burly man was demolishing something.

But as the noise grew louder, mixed with clan members’ screams, they realized something was wrong.

“Quick, go support!”

Joshua Li looked towards the Ancestral Hall, his face showing slight alarm, and commanded the others to hurry.

Though he hadn’t seen the exact situation, he could guess what was happening.

What surprised him was that the Chen Clan hadn’t fled but chose to ambush them.

This was unexpected.

Despite his Fourth Uncle’s dissatisfaction, he couldn’t ignore the family’s grand plan.

Rushing over, Joshua’s brow furrowed with concern.

He couldn’t understand why the Chen Clan didn’t use the secret passage but chose to fight. What gave them such confidence?

Did they think a sneak attack would make them a match for late-stage Blood Condensation Realm warriors?

Joshua couldn’t figure it out and sped up.

As he neared the Ancestral Hall, a sharp blade sound made him stop.

Looking up, he saw an old acquaintance.

“Elijah Chen!”

Both were mid-stage Blood Condensation Realm, and had often fought in clan battles, becoming quite familiar.

“Clan Chief, let’s take him down together!”

A nearby Blood Condensation Realm warrior suggested.

But Joshua shook his head:

“No, I’ll handle him. You go help the others.”

“Alright!”

Seeing Joshua’s serious expression, the warrior didn’t argue and continued towards the hall.

Elijah didn’t stop him, knowing his task was to keep Joshua here.

As the Li Clan’s Clan Chief, Joshua’s realm wasn’t high, but he often caused trouble for the Chen Clan in their struggles.

Joshua didn’t know Elijah’s thoughts but had his own.

With the battle underway, plans were useless. It all came down to clan strength.

The Li Clan had many Blood Condensation Realm warriors, and now an additional late-stage warrior. They seemed unbeatable.

Even if he was held here, what difference would it make?