From Today Onward, the Situ Family, Expelled

The Situ family.

On the former site of the Patriarch's mansion, which had been razed to the ground, the roar of machinery and clouds of dust intertwined as reconstruction work was already in full swing.

Situ Aoshi, the old Patriarch of the Situ family, was currently sitting comfortably within the First Elder's mansion.

The First Elder's mansion was, naturally, also adorned with carved beams and painted pillars, exuding the utmost luxury.

Those in high positions never knew the suffering of the common people.

Within the Situ family, there were, of course, not only members of the Situ bloodline, but also various people who had willingly come from the secular world to join the family.

Some of them wanted to learn about true qi, while others sought to become vassals of the Situ family.

Then there were the servants who had been born into the Situ family.

Although the outside world had long moved past feudalism, this place had not.

Inside the spacious main hall, the scent of fine wine and delicacies mingled with a faint, lingering fragrance of rouge.

Situ Aoshi held a bottle of Maotai delivered from the secular world in his left hand, occasionally taking a large gulp straight from the bottle. With his right hand, he toyed with the soft hands of a charming female dependent from the First Elder's household. The woman in his arms trembled in fear, not even daring to breathe loudly.

His gaze, like that of someone inspecting a colony of ants, swept disdainfully over the dense crowd of Situ family members kneeling below in the hall.

"A bunch of trash!"

He spat out a duck bone he had gnawed clean. The bone landed on the spotless floor with a crisp clatter, making a clansman in the front row shudder.

"Situ Hongyi is dead, and more than half the Elder Hall is dead. What else can you useless things do besides kneel and beg for mercy?"

Situ Aoshi's voice wasn't loud, but it struck everyone's heart like a heavy hammer.

He tore off another plump duck leg and took a vicious bite. Grease ran down the corner of his mouth, and the mix of brutality and enjoyment in his eyes was chilling.

"Keep kneeling. You can get up when you bring the person back."

The death of a Patriarch and the majority of the elders was, to him, nothing more than clearing out the deadwood, removing obstacles for his return to power.

Although this bit of loss had shaken the foundations of the Situ family.

But he, Situ Aoshi, had stepped into the realm no one had reached in hundreds of years—the Realm of Heaven and Man!

After breaking through, he felt the true qi within his body surging like a river, endless and unceasing.

The "qi" in this blessed heavenly grotto that had once made him incredibly comfortable now felt as thin as water and utterly tasteless when drawn into his lungs.

For hundreds of years, there had been no Heavenly Being within the Hidden Sects.

He was the only god in this world!

The so-called major families of the Hidden Sects were, in his eyes, nothing more than slightly larger ant nests that could be flattened with a single stomp.

However, Lin Mo had to die.

Along with that traitor Situ Yunshu, and that woman of the bastard Jiang Yunlu—they all had to die!

This concerned the face of the Situ family, and more importantly, it concerned the first display of his prestige after Situ Aoshi regained power.

He casually tossed the empty wine bottle, smashing it in front of a clansman. The bottle shattered, but the man didn't even dare to dodge.

Situ Aoshi tilted his head slightly, looking at the Third Elder standing silently by his side.

"Is the array prepared?"

The Third Elder, holding the Shadow-Burning Spear, nodded silently.

Situ Aoshi was incredibly proud, believing that everyone beneath the Realm of Heaven and Man was an ant.

But after hearing the Third Elder's description of Lin Mo's methods, he had to admit that the junior was very likely a monster who had also stepped one foot into the Realm of Heaven and Man.

Therefore, at a time like this, he had to use the clan-protecting grand array left behind by their ancestors.

As long as he fell into the array, they could gather the strength of everyone in the Situ family to fight Lin Mo.

Situ Aoshi didn't think he would lose, but with the combined power of the entire clan, he could definitely crush Lin Mo.

Since that was the case, there could be no mistakes.

"Very good."

Situ Aoshi stood up, and the dependent in his arms slumped to the ground as if granted a great pardon.

He paced to the front of the hall, looking down at the crowd of clansmen who were as quiet as winter cicadas.

"A wet-behind-the-ears brat actually dares to provoke the majesty of my Situ family. Truly reckless and seeking death."

"I do not believe I will lose, but I enjoy watching prey being ground into dust in despair."

He opened his arms as if embracing the entire Situ family.

"As long as he dares to step half a foot into my Situ family, the grand array will activate, and the power of all of you will be mine to use!"

"When that time comes, I will personally twist off his head and tell the entire Hidden Sect who the true ruler is!"

--System: Received. Now issuing a no-reward quest: Twist off the head!--

Ten minutes ago.

The ripples of the spatial channel slowly dissipated, and Lin Mo's figure stepped out from within.

Not far away, a familiar figure was giving a lecture.

It was precisely the middle-aged man who had been guarding the gate earlier.

He gripped the long mace in his hand tightly, his knuckles turning slightly white from the force, as he harshly scolded a group of young disciples around him: "Keep your eyes peeled! We are under martial law now. If there's any slip-up, the old Patriarch will skin you alive!"

Spittle flew from his mouth, but his voice revealed a weakness of being fierce on the outside but cowardly on the inside.

If it weren't for the fact that the Situ family was currently short on manpower, his life would probably have long been soaking in the water dungeon.

To be able to stand here and give lectures was already a massive stroke of luck.

Just then, out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of a figure wearing a school uniform, and his movements suddenly stiffened.

It was him!

Why had that evil star returned?

At this moment, Lin Mo was still in his clean and tidy student uniform, completely out of place with the grim atmosphere of the area.

However, the expression on his face was a thousand times colder than the last time they met.

It was a complete indifference, as if everything before his eyes was merely dust about to be wiped away.

The reason he hadn't wanted to commit too much slaughter initially wasn't because Lin Mo was kind.

He just hadn't wanted the worlds of Xie Yuling and Ning Qingcheng to be tainted with unnecessary bloodshed.

Especially Xie Yuling's.

Now, he didn't give a damn anymore.

The middle-aged man's voice trembled, and the hand pointing at Lin Mo shook like a dead leaf in the autumn wind. "Sound... quick, sound the alarm! Highest level!"

However, it was already too late.

Lin Mo didn't even spare them a second glance. He just casually rolled his neck, producing a series of crisp bone-cracking sounds.

He looked around, as if touring a scenic spot, and commented in a relaxed tone, "Situ family, I had originally planned to let you off, but you just didn't cherish the opportunity."

Before his voice faded, he slowly raised his hand.

The surrounding air instantly stagnated, and a large banner, so purple it was almost black, appeared out of thin air in his grasp.

The dense, dark purple energy on it began to overflow.

Everyone present felt a trace of chill, but they all remembered Lin Mo, and not a single person dared to step forward directly.

Fear seized everyone's hearts in an instant.

Looking at the pale faces of the crowd, Lin Mo finally smiled.

There was not a shred of warmth in that smile, only the pure joy of someone about to harvest lives.

"From today onward, the Situ family is erased."

The moment his words fell, he flicked his wrist and fiercely waved the Human Emperor Banner!

In an instant, countless vengeful spirits and malicious ghosts nurtured within the banner transformed into a black torrent made of countless twisted faces. With an endlessly shrill shriek, they poured out in full force!