Chapter 66: Rebirth: I Am the Villain (Part 4)

The Ancient Clan's Elder Council held twelve powerful elders, each a Nirvana Realm Venerable.
The Ancient Clan's existence relied on them, perpetuating the Holy Clan's glory.
Gu Yixian kept his eyes closed. Except for Gu Hou, the other ten elders and the current patriarch of the Ancient Clan, Gu Cang, all stared at him.
Some looked angry, some calm, some gloating.
Gu Yixian had wielded the power of punishment for centuries, always extremely careful, never revealing the slightest flaw.
Now, however, he had done such a thing.
"Gu Yixian, do you know your crime? You have brought such a formidable enemy upon our Ancient Clan!"
Gu Yixian didn't even blink, completely ignoring their words, infuriating some of the elders above.
Just then, a voice suddenly came from outside the door.
"Gu Yixian's grandson, Gu Chen, requests an audience."
The elders murmured amongst themselves.
"Gu Chen? The Third Elder's grandson, a genius with some renown within the clan. What's he doing here?"
"Hmph, all of this is because of Gu Chen. If it weren't for him, how could my Gu Clan have offended a genius possessing a sacred artifact?"
"Let him in."
Su Chen pushed open the door and, led by Gu Hou, entered the Elder Council. Looking at the assembled elders, he couldn't help but mutter to himself,
'Indeed, even a starved camel is bigger than a horse.'
The Gu Clan may have declined, but it still boasts twelve Nirvana Realm experts and possesses a sacred artifact, deterring any troublemakers.
"Gu Chen, do you know your crime?"
"This matter arose because of you, resulting in heavy casualties among my Gu clan members, offending numerous forces, and causing endless trouble."
Su Chen lowered his head and said, "Clan member Gu Chen knows his mistake. This matter was all caused by me alone, and has nothing to do with Grandpa."
A person on the stage chuckled, "Indeed filial."
Su Chen remained silent, then raised his head and said, "However, I discovered something on Lin Zhan and am willing to hand it over to the clan."
Gu Yixian opened his eyes, and everyone on the stage turned their gazes to Su Chen.
After a moment, the tall figure in the center said calmly, "What is it?"
Su Chen took out an 'ancient' jade slip. The jade slip was taken by a large hand, and ten elders surrounded the clan leader, all curious about the information within the jade slip.
"The method of forging the sword body? This actually records a method for cultivating an acquired martial body?"
An elder's tone was utterly shocked.
Martial bodies are divided into innate and acquired. Innate bodies are naturally nurtured, while acquired bodies can be cultivated.
Innate martial bodies are rare, and acquired martial bodies are even rarer. Methods that can transform mortals into martial beings are all top-tier methods; even in their heyday, let alone in their decline, the ancient clans didn't possess them.
"How is this possible?"
An elder also expressed disbelief.
How could a method of this level fall into the hands of a junior?
Gu Cang said in a deep voice, "How can we verify the authenticity of such a method? And where did you obtain it?"
Su Chen remained calm and slowly said, "This is a method possessed by Lin Zhan, and one of Lin Zhan's secrets. Whether the clan leader believes it or not, an investigation will reveal the truth."
Gu Cang glanced at the other elders in the clan, who all nodded, before continuing, "If this item is genuine, you are a hero of our ancient clan, and this matter will be considered closed."
They all knew that if they could master a method to transform ordinary people into geniuses with special physiques, the ancient clan would become incredibly powerful, perhaps even able to restore the glory of their ancestral holy clan.
Gu Yixian glanced at Su Chen, and the two walked out of the Elders' Hall together.
After a long while, Gu Yixian slowly asked, "Chen'er... is the method you presented genuine?"
Su Chen nodded.
The method was genuine, no problem.
In his previous life, Su Chen had personally mastered it and even perfected it.
It's just... apart from Su Chen's mastery of the Sword Control Body in his previous life, no one else had ever succeeded.
The success rate was ridiculously low.
As for Lin Zhan, he perfectly fit all the characteristics of suddenly developing a special physique and then becoming famous. Su Chen wasn't worried that the ancient clan would investigate in the Southern Region.
As Su Chen had expected, a month later, the method was proven genuine, and Gu Yixian continued to wield the power of punishment; everything seemed as if nothing had happened.
Su Chen continued to act as the young master of the ancient clan.
Time flew by, and a year passed.
Su Chen opened his eyes; Lin Yue'er's voice rang out outside the cave.
"My lord, the ancient clan's grand competition for the younger generation begins in a week."
Su Chen recalled that the ancient clan held a grand competition for the younger generation every so often, with the young prodigies participating.
Based on their strength, the prodigies were ranked within the ancient clan.
The higher the ranking, the richer the resources received. Su Chen was ranked fourth within the clan, neither high nor low.
"This time, I must secure first place in the ancient clan's ranking!"
Su Chen's heart was resolute.
He was under immense pressure. While the ancient clan was considered quite good in the Northern Region, outside this world, among the myriad races of the outer realms, they wouldn't even have the right to a table at the corner.
Perhaps only a saint could move freely in the outer realms.
To avoid being used as a cannon fodder by Lin Zhan, Su Chen could only cultivate frantically, determined to kill Lin Zhan the next time they met.
Soon, the day arrived for the Ancient Clan's Youth Grand Competition.
Su Chen also met the other geniuses of the Ancient Clan—three men and one woman, all possessing special physiques.
Su Chen sized them up, and they, in turn, sized him up.
The other so-called geniuses of the Ancient Clan were insignificant in their eyes.
Only the five of them were true opponents!
Su Chen hadn't expended any effort along the way, not even a warm-up, easily suppressing the others.
He quickly faced one of the remaining four.
Gu Zi'ang
Possessing the Thunder Tribulation Physique, he was a muscular man with his hair standing on end, his body wreathed in lightning.
"Gu Chen, you might as well admit defeat!"
Gu Zi'ang was incredibly arrogant. He was older than Su Chen, had a higher cultivation level, and a deeper foundation.
Su Chen's expression changed: "Sorry, you stole my line."
Gu Zi'ang made his move. A dense storm of lightning erupted from the sky, conjuring a thunder roc that spread its wings, swung its arm, and charged directly at Su Chen.
"Gu Chen, perhaps in a few more years, you'll be qualified to fight me, but not now!"
Su Chen was speechless. Yin-Yang particles surged forth, his Qian Yuan Body unfolded, and he simply clenched his fist and threw a punch at the thunder roc.
Lei Peng was instantly blasted apart by the force of the punch. The impact wasn't limited to the initial strike; it slammed into Gu Zi'ang, blasting him from the sky to the ground. The battle platform, crafted from special materials, was even cratered.
Su Chen landed beside Gu Zi'ang.
Gu Zi'ang struggled to speak, "What kind of martial art is this?"
Su Chen calmly replied, "Just an ordinary punch."
Gu Zi'ang laughed loudly, "Good name!"
Then he immediately fell unconscious.
This made Su Chen ponder deeply.
This really was just an ordinary punch!
...