Strongest Family System

The Walker clan guard walked quickly through Celestial Brook City, his boots tapping the ground in time with his haste. He held a sealed bundle of letters in his arms, each bearing the Walker clan head's brash crimson stamp. The orders were clear: deliver without delay.

He did not question the weight of the message, but every step pressed a quiet unease into his chest.

By noon, he reached the Brook clan; the first of the letters reached the Brooks estate. The sprawling compound stood at the heart of Celestial Brook, white-walled and serene, with gardens blooming under the late summer sun.

In the great hall, Lady Seraphina Brooks, clan leader, sat alone with a set of clan records. She was tall and slender, her features as fine as porcelain, but her eyes as sharp as obsidian. When the guard was shown before her, he bowed and presented the sealed letter with both hands.

She broke the seal with one elegant flick of her nail. Her gaze scanned the content, each word etching deeper lines into her brow:

This year's Four-Clan Competition shall include the Osborn clan of the Magical City. A meeting will be held in the Walker clan's great hall tomorrow morning to finalize arrangements.

Her fingers tightened slightly on the parchment.

The Osborn clan?

Her eyes narrowed. Why this sudden change? The competitions had always been between the four great clans of Celestial Brook. Outsiders had never been considered, much less invited.

She laid the letter flat on the table and whispered, almost to herself, "Why now… And why them?"

The Brooks clan's ties to the Osborns were thin, more rumor than substance. She had heard of their small estate in the Magical City and their struggle for survival against surrounding forces. But nothing suggested they belonged among Celestial Brook's clans. Unless—

Her lips pressed into a fine line. Unless the Walkers see something, we do not.

"Summon my advisors," she ordered coldly. And communicate with our eyes in the Magical City. I want to know what storm is gathering around the Osborns."

Across Celestial Brook, other clans' reactions were similar to those played out.

The Clark clan head, a burly man with a short temper, read the same words and slammed the letter down hard enough to crack the table's lacquer. "Osborns? Trash from the city slums? This reeks of Walker schemes. Find out why they want outsiders at our sacred competition."

The Brown Clan, more cautious, pursed his lips and ordered two disciples to investigate quietly. "The Walkers do not act without design. If they bring strangers into our circle, there is danger in it for us all."

By sunset, rumors were already stirring along the market streets. Whispers of the Osborns. Of shadows moving near the Magical City. Of Walker's hands reaching beyond the city's walls.

The final letter reached Grey Shadow Hall, the marble steps of Grey Shadow Hall. There, Elder Veylan Lee received it in his private chamber. His hair was silver, his posture erect despite age, and his eyes—dark, narrow, and unblinking—absorbed the Walker clan's words with deliberate slowness.

When he set the letter down, the lines around his mouth had deepened.

"Osborns…" he murmured. "Why does Zilton Walker drag them into the light?"

He rang a small bell. Moments later, Lady Paige Lee entered. She was the second most powerful figure in the hall, a woman of calm presence and piercing aura, her cultivation at Soul Manifestation Level 7. Unlike Veylan, who handled strategic direction, she was in charge of the hall's daily affairs.

"You called for me, Elder?" She asked, bowing slightly.

Veylan gestured to the letter. "Read."

She scanned it swiftly, then her eyes sharpened, a faint crease forming between her brows. "So sudden. And unnecessary. Elder Veylan, the Four-Clan Competition has always been the pride of Celestial Brook. Why introduce outsiders now?"

"That," he said gravely, "is precisely what we must uncover. I want Elder Delvin to be informed immediately. He oversees the Magical City. He will know what the Osborns have been tangled in."

Lady Paige tilted her head slightly. "She thought in her mind you could have contacted him by yourself."

Then Elder Veylan's voice came again, asking what had happened. She came back to her senses and said, "I will contact him now." Elder Veylan nodded.

She reached into her storage ring and retrieved a communication stone, its surface shimmering faintly. Channeling her qi, she activated it.

Far away, in the Magical City, Elder Delvin was sorting through scrolls when the stone vibrated in his ring. He withdrew it, touched it lightly, and Lady Paige's voice was heard.

"Elder Delvin," she said with measured courtesy. "Elder Veylan requests your presence in Celestial Brook immediately."

Delvin's brows lifted. He bowed slightly. "Understood." The link is cut.

Without hesitation, he summoned Elder Rene to his side.

"I am leaving for Celestial Brook city," Delvin said curtly. "Handle matters here."

Rene blinked. "Is something wrong, Elder Delvin?"

Delvin cut him off with a sharp wave of his hand. "No questions. Just do your part."

Within the hour, Delvin's figure streaked across the skies, leaving the Magical City behind.

Half an hour later, he had arrived at Celestial Brook city, and the great doors of Grey Shadow Hall opened to welcome him. Guards and disciples alike bowed low as he passed, their eyes wide at his uncharacteristic urgency. Normally composed and deliberate, Delvin moved now like a storm compressed into human form.

Whispers followed him through the corridors, but none dared block his way. He went straight to Veylan's chamber and knocked.

"Enter," came the voice.

He stepped inside and bowed deeply to Elder Veylan and Lady Paige.

"Elder Delvin," Veylan said, voice calm but edged with steel. "Tell us what storm brews in the Magical City. Why have the Osborns suddenly become the Walkers' concern?"

For a moment, Delvin hesitated. Grey Shadow Hall did not normally involve itself in clan disputes—it oversaw, it enforced balance, but it rarely interfered. To speak now felt like dragging hidden fire into the open.

But he straightened and began.

"In the past weeks, the Magical City has not been still. You may not have heard, but the small Osborn clan has changed its fate. They entered the competition among the three city clans. Against expectation… They won."

Both Veylan and Paige went still.

Delvin's voice lowered. "That victory drew blood. The James clan struck back with all their power. They even received help from a Walker elder, who interfered with balance. But the attack failed. The James clan was annihilated, their elder slain. All by a single person."

Lady Paige leaned forward. "Whose?"

Delvin's eyes tightened. "A mysterious man. His cultivation—Soul Manifestation Level 5, peak stage. He cut through the James clan's assault as though it were paper. The Osborns survived only because of him."

Silence fell like a dropped blade.

Lady Paige's hands, resting on her knees, curled slightly. "Why? Why would such a man defend the Osborns?"

Delvin shook his head. "I have investigated. I found no clue. No name, no trace. Only this: the mysterious man seemed to act for Robert Osborn, the young heir. Some connection binds them, though none can say what."

Elder Veylan's eyes narrowed to slits. He rose from his chair and walked slowly to the window, gazing out at the city spread below. His voice, low and cold, vibrated through the chamber.

"So. That is the shadow behind them. A peak Soul Manifestation cultivator hiding in the wings, cutting down anyone who dares to strike. No wonder Zilton Walker shifts the board."

Lady Paige frowned. "You think Zilton seeks to draw them into the competition to kill them?"

"To kill," Veylan said, "or to trap. Either way, he forces the Osborns into light where shadows cannot protect them."

Delvin lowered his gaze. "It may be dangerous to let such a plan unfold unchecked. If that mysterious man truly stands behind Robert, then the Four-Clan Competition could become something far bloodier than a display of strength."

The chamber grew still. The weight of possibility pressed against them all.

Lady Paige finally broke the silence. Her voice was quiet, but it carried a tremor. "And what if the Osborns are not pawns at all? What if they are the beginning of something greater?"

Veylan's eyes flickered at that, unreadable. "Then tomorrow's meeting will decide more than the competition."

Elder Veyaln said to Elder Delvin Stay here for tonight. Once tomorrow's meeting is over, I will let you know the details of the completion, and then you can inform the Osborn clan.

Delvin exhaled slowly, but unease twisted in his chest. He had seen the mysterious man's eyes that day—calm, ancient, and merciless. If that power moved again, no clan scheme might be enough to contain it.

The torches along the chamber wall sputtered suddenly, casting their shadows in strange shapes.

And in that shifting light, three elders of Grey Shadow Hall understood one truth: the storm had already begun.