Reverend Insanity-Blood Venerable Ascension (New Version)

"The glory of the great He An clan!"

"Salute the great Gu Masters of our clan!"

"Mom, look! There's Dad marching! He looks so incredible and heroic!"

"Look at those cursed bastards from the Feng Zhi clan! They look like they've been beaten until they lost the will to live!"

Chen Wei, marching at the forefront of the elite Rank 2 Gu Masters of the clan, maintained a solemn expression as he listened to the animated cheers of admiration and joy, along with occasional roars of anger vented at their enemies.

Most of the people—even those who had recently buried loved ones who died in the battle—lined the clan's avenue, now richly decorated for this parade. The event was not only a way to glorify the marching Gu Masters but also to honor those who had died for the clan.

This sentiment was evident in the Gu Masters around him, as he saw none who weren't marching with pride on their faces, chests puffed out, and chins held high, as if this were the greatest glory one could achieve in life—which, for many of them, it likely was.

Meanwhile, the elders, including Chen Wei himself and even the clan leader, wore solemn expressions befitting the dignified bearing expected of those in their positions. They led the lines of marching Gu Masters amidst the crowd's thunderous cheers.

From the corner of his eye, Chen Wei caught sight of others within the parade who were anything but joyous. Instead, they bore empty, regretful expressions, appearing like walking corpses. These were, of course, the enemy Gu Masters—particularly those from the Feng Zhi clan—now paraded alongside them, bound in heavy chains after being stripped of all their Gu.

A kind-hearted person might pity them, but Chen Wei was far from sympathetic. Neither were the celebrants lining the avenue. The only reason they refrained from hurling objects or further humiliating these enemies was to avoid disrupting the warriors' triumph—or worse, accidentally hitting one of them.

Before long, Chen Wei finished his march and found himself standing before Wang Cao, the old leader of the clan and grandfather of Wang Mei. Officially, Wang Cao was still the clan's unquestionable and absolute leader, even though his son, Wang Xi, was often referred to as the clan leader in practice due to Wang Cao's declining health following the assassination attempt on his life.

Despite this, Wang Xi would only officially and unquestionably inherit the position upon his father's death, as passing the title while Wang Cao was still alive would violate the clan's traditions of filial respect, though not its laws.

To Chen Wei, this arrangement seemed illogical since Wang Xi already acted as the clan leader in practice. All official matters of the clan were handled by him, and major decisions were his to make. However, he still lacked the official title and didn't assume the position of vice-leader either, as doing so would also tarnish his reputation for being "unfilial" to Wang Cao.

Regardless, it was for this reason that the elderly clan leader was responsible for receiving the clan's warriors, offering his congratulations, and bestowing honorary titles. Despite his frail health, Wang Cao performed this duty diligently, his face glowing with pride as he personally congratulated each elder or notable Gu Master.

To Chen Wei, his words focused on praising his talent and expressing relief that his granddaughter was in good hands—words Chen Wei accepted with dignified composure, whether sincere or not.

What followed was more parades, which Chen Wei, as a clan elder, did not actively participate in. However, since the festivities lasted all day, he observed several alongside Wang Mei and his family, excluding Chen Wang, who was absent from the clan.

Also throughout the day, there were numerous acts of humiliation toward the surrendered enemies. They were stripped of their Gu Master insignias, forced to march in chains for the entire day, and made to kneel before the clan's Gu Masters. Finally, they were compelled to kowtow before the clan's banner—nothing like the modern flags Chen Wei might have expected from his world, but instead a white cloth bearing the characters "He An"—and were forced to declare their defeat and submission, even the proud Rank 4 Gu Master leader of the Feng Zhi clan bowing to this humiliating display.

---

A few days later

Chen Wei massaged his temples to alleviate the headache that had been causing a dull throb after spending the last few hours reading a bunch Letter Gu, one of them having an extensive report from his grandfather. The letter detailed the situation on the frontlines and at the lake where the battle had taken place, where Chen Wang had remained as the elder in charge over the past few days, still not having returned to the clan.

On top of that, there was an even larger stack of Letters Gu from the logistics, healing, and combat Gu Masters under his jurisdiction as an elder. This workload forced him to stay up late reading and responding to them, while Wang Mei slept soundly nearby. He could only sigh in envy.

'I miss the version of myself that believed life in a cultivation world would just be about cultivating, fighting, face-slapping, and collecting jade beauties without effort...' he thought, chuckling softly to himself before returning to writing orders to address the reports from his "subordinates," even though he felt overwhelmed.

The reason he was feeling so overburdened could largely be attributed to his inexperience as a new elder. He was still learning how to handle most of these logistical and administrative problems. This hadn't been a significant issue until now because much of his tenure as an elder had focused on guarding the frontlines and fighting in the war.

However, with the war essentially over in all but name, the clan's priorities had shifted. This meant elders like him were forced back into administrative work. Unfortunately for Chen Wei, the reorganization and re-establishment of supply lines and frontlines, which were usually handled gradually after a war, now needed to be expedited due to the upcoming wolf tide set to arrive in just a few months.

'With all the elders working diligently, we'll probably finish these preparations on time,' he thought, letting out a loud sigh after finishing his last letter. 'But it's not guaranteed, especially with the large number of enemy Gu Masters we've taken as prisoners...'

Leaning back, he rested his head against the chair and closed his eyes, rubbing them lightly to ease the discomfort of staying up late under the light.

He is thinking how this entire situation had unfolded just as his grandfather had predicted. The higher-ups of the Feng Zhi clan, who had either escaped or remained behind after seeing their leader's imprisonment, immediately began seeking negotiations. Their goal was to avoid even more precarious conditions with the impending wolf tide.

Feng Hua, in particular, reached out directly to Chen Wei, seeking to negotiate more favorable terms—especially regarding the freedom of marriage choices. After consulting his grandfather via Letter Gu, Chen Wei agreed to the main points but included numerous caveats in the minor details.

Most of these caveats were conditions the other elders would never accept, as they either weren't beneficial to the clan or them and some others were because they were not beneficial to Chen Wei himself. Feng Hua, however, promptly responded, agreeing to the terms.

'The wolf tide this year, fortunately, will be relatively weak due to natural factors, amplified by the abundance of corpses in the forest for the wolves to feed on, also space for them to hunt and grow' Chen Wei thought, his expression not showing relief like an ordinary Gu Master might. Instead, his face displayed mild concern. 'But that means the next tide will likely be the largest this mountain has ever seen, which will cause many casualties within the clan...'

Ultimately, this was the bigger picture he had to consider as an elder. Events were not isolated occurrences; he had to think about their long-term effects on the clan.

Despite this, unlike many others who might panic, Chen Wei was only mildly concerned. Even if the clan suffered heavy losses, he had full confidence that it would not fall. Since by the time of the next beast tide, the He An clan would have at least two Rank 4 Gu Masters capable of fighting.

'In fact, the clan might have those two Rank 4 Gu Masters even before this wolf tide,' he thought with calm assurance, knowing that this Gu Master was not himself—but his grandfather.

This is apparent when observed from the outside, as it is common knowledge among the elders that Chen Wang was only one step away from reaching Rank 4, merely taking his time to prepare as much as possible to ensure a successful breakthrough at the most opportune moment.

However, Chen Wei recently learned during a conversation with his grandfather and father that this was merely a façade. Chen Wang lacked the confidence to achieve a successful breakthrough to Rank 4 due to his advanced age and the residual aftereffects of a life filled with grueling battles that had finally taken their toll on him in his old age.

So, contrary to what many elders and even the clan leader believed, Chen Wang, who was practically at the threshold of Rank 4, could not even think about taking the final step.

But to Chen Wang's great relief, one of the two Rank 4 Gu worms that Chen Wei was able to refine upon reaching the temple in the middle of the island was the Rank 4 Water Aperture Gu. This single-use Gu allowed a Gu Master to transform the walls of their aperture into something as weak as water, enabling a Peak Rank 3 Gu Master to achieve their breakthrough with minimal effort.

Of course it had a proportional negative effect: with the aperture walls now turned to water, they could no longer be nourished, leaving the user permanently stuck in the Initial Stage. However, since Chen Wang did not believe he could continue advancing steadily in his cultivation anyway, this significant drawback seemed irrelevant to him.

This Gu, along with the Rank 5 Water Dragon Gu, another Rank 4 Gu called Turn Mermaid Gu—also single-use—and three Rank 3 Gu worms, caused unanimous agreement among the elders—even those who were somewhat allied with Chen Wang. Without a word spoken, they all conspired to suppress the Chen family into relinquishing a significant share of these benefits.

The primary focus, of course, was the Water Aperture Gu, as any elder who possessed it could advance to Rank 4 as long as they reached Peak Rank 3. Even the clan leader desired it, as the Gu could enable his own advancement to Rank 5. But Chen Wang refused to part with it, even if it meant his death.

Thus, they were forced to grit their teeth and abandon their hopes, redirecting their focus to the other Gu worms—only to encounter the stubborn resistance of Chen Wei. He seemed unwilling to give up any Gu worm, even under suppression or attacks on his reputation. There was little they could do about it, as any Gu obtained in this inheritance could not be forcibly taken without dire consequences.

'But being stubborn beyond endurance is not something sustainable in this world...' Chen Wei sighed softly, in the end he had to relent for the sake of his grandfather's plan. The plan was already difficult and risky enough without adding the burden of suppression, so sacrifices were necessary. '...Sometimes you have to take one step back to take three steps forward later, right?'

Of course, he didn't give up the Rank 5 Gu, nor did his grandfather want him to. Instead, he relinquished the single-use Turn Mermaid Gu, which was relatively useless to him since he cultivated the Blood Path, as well as all three Rank 3 Gu worms. Without hesitation, he allowed the elders and the clan leader to decide among themselves who would claim the Gu worms. This caused the previous silent, unanimous agreement to suppress the Chen family to collapse entirely as they fought like rabid animals over the benefits.

'Grandfather wouldn't send this information through a Letter Gu, which could be inspected and reveal its contents, so I wonder if he's already advanced to Rank 4 and reached out to the Xiong Mao clan?' This thought naturally came to him as he began pondering the matter further.

Before he could delve deeper into this line of thought, he heard light footsteps approaching him. Moments later, he felt thin, delicate arms wrap around his head, pressing his face into two soft mounds with a pleasant floral scent filling his nose. His right hand instinctively moved to gently caress the protruding belly in front of him.

"Did I wake you with my noise or the light?" Chen Wei asked, not bothering to lift his head, feeling so exhausted that he believed he could fall asleep just like this.

"No, I was waiting for you to come to bed, but I fell asleep. When I woke up and didn't see you next to me, I came to check if you were done..." Wang Mei replied softly, stroking his hair. "Now that you're finished, let's go to bed. You know I don't like sleeping alone... earlier was already a big concession!"

Hearing this, he nodded slightly without lifting his head, burying it deeper into her chest and murmuring, "It definitely gotten bigger..."

In an instant, he felt a flick on his forehead from Wang Mei, who seemed to catch the tone of his voice, realizing he wasn't referring to her belly, which he had been gently caressing. Smiling faintly, he followed her to their bed, collapsing and falling asleep immediately.