Lingtian saw that things were getting extremely unsavory and decided that he needed to do something ASAP. He tried to force away Loving Aunt in order to make space for him to escape down below, but the woman proved to be like a dog skin plaster, unwilling to let him go.
This frustrated the Clan Head to no end. He wished he could just bash this damned woman away, but she wasn't giving him the chance. Fyre seemed intent on making exhaust himself to death, and by the time her companions finished off the last of his reinforcements, he would be a sitting duck.
As such, Lingtian showed a shrewd expression and punched the ground, causing a huge shockwave and dustcloud to emerge. With the dust blocking the way, he charged towards the back, aiming to retreat with ease.
In his mind, he sneered, looking forward to showing these fuckers who they were dealing with once he got down and regrouped with the Ancestors.
Lingtian had only gotten three or so steps ahead when he saw, to his shock, a fist coming right for his abdomen. Ironically, it was due to the very dustcloud that he had conjured that the Clan Head he didn't see it until it was practically pressing against his skin. He was barely able to squeeze that side of his body in order to absorb some of the impact.
However, if this was an effective method to avoid injuries and damage, who would fear being hit by a car or a truck?
BANG!
Lingtian was sent flying through the air, out of the dustcloud and deeper into the ruined territory, crashing through a few buildings on his way.
When he eventually came to a stop, he could only cough out a thick mouthful of blood and trembled as he felt like his entire body was breaking down. As the strongest member of the Primal God Inheritance, his strength was no joke, but unfortunately for him, he wasn't a Dual Inheritance wielder.
As such, he lacked any recovery abilities past the enhanced recovery that came with the bloodline. He had taken a full on blow that was equal to his max strength head on and without really blocking it, so his internal injuries were even worse than those on the surface.
His ribs on that side were just gone, turned into bone shards that pierced all his delicate organs, not even his heart got spared. Lingtian even felt that his spine was partially cracked given the way it creaked as he tried to move.
Despite this, Lingtian did not falter as he rose to his feet shakily. As for pain, it was an old friend. Growing up in this toxic Lineage and attaining his current strength was a trial of pain and suffering, so he would not crumble under this.
Alas, Lingtian was not a protagonist, so despite having the willpower to stand, his broken body could not reciprocate his feelings as he fell to his knees and coughed out more blood with innards included.
Seeing this, Lingtian understood that it was very likely that he would die today. This caused him to immediately sober up as his thoughts became cold and filled with dread. He especially did not want to die without knowing what happened to his beloved son, Shangtian.
Lingtian raised his head up to see who had struck him and was shocked to find Loving Aunt sauntering over sexily, her lips curled up into a malevolent smirk.
"How…?" Lingtian asked with confusion.
Loving Aunt seemed to understand what he was asking as she snorted. "How did I sense you after you created a the dustcloud? Enough to strike you so accurately?"
She crouched near Lingtian and grabbed a fistful of his hair, bringing his face close to hers.
"Because, bitch, I have Control now."
Saying that, she tossed Lingtian down like he was garbage and stepped on his chest with a triumphant pose. Lingtian himself was dazed and filled with incomparable shock, unable to believe what he had just heard.
Fyre, this damnable woman, had attained Control? Impossible! Even the long lived Ancestors of his Lineage struggled to acquire it, and even he himself had yet to acquire it, so how could she possibly have it?
But then again, if she didn't how could she sense his location and with such precision?
Wait, her increase in strength!!
Seeing Lingtian's eyes widen with realization, Loving Aunt smiled playfully. "That's right, Ling bitch. It was all because of Control that a weak and helpless little woman like me was able to beat you. I have to thank your people for discovering it and releasing knowledge of it to the world, otherwise, how could such a scene occur?"
While cruelly rubbing it in with her words, Loving Aunt also ground the heel of her boots against Lingtian's injured ribs, causing him to scream in agony and spit blood all over the place.
The doomed Clan Head's eyes became desperate as he glared at Loving Aunt with fear and pleading.
"Fyre, please… for old time's sake…"
Loving Aunt seemed amused by this. "Lingtian, are you sure you want to let me go? You must probably want to kill me and my compatriots so much."
Lingtian was confused. What was this cowtited bitch on about now? Can't you see I'm begging for my life?
Seeing Lingtian's confusion, loving Aunts eyes curled into crescents full of sadistic enjoyment.
"Wanna know the funniest bit, Lingtian? This group attacking you have nothing to do with the Lucifer or Amaterasu Lineage."
"What?! Impossible! Then who…?" Lingtian exclaimed with shock, not understanding what was going on.
In his mind, this was a full frontal attack by the two Lineages. No one else could have the martial power to challenge them head-on like this.
"Heh heh, well perhaps saying that there is no connection whatsoever is also not entirely correct. After all, this entire attack was orchestrated by the prodigies of the Lucifer and Amaterasu Lineages, though they did it without any help from their families."
Lingtian's breath halted and his blood thinned. Boundless fear coursed through his body as he shuddered, just in the same way Shangtian did in the false alternative future timeline where Draco awakened his memories.
(Author's Note: April fools chap.)
The current Shangtian did not understand why this was so dangerous, but the future Shangtian who had long ascended to Clan Head and read the ancient clan texts, as well as Lingtian, the current Clan Head, understood the gravity of this.
Why?
The ancient clans texts told them directly that if there were any descendants with bloodline reaching atavism, they should not be allowed to pair up alone, but that it was imperative to have them pair up together. For if a bind forms between one set, the excluded Lineage would likely be wiped out from existence.
These were words passed down from none other than Pangu himself, so no one dared to take them lightly.
And now, Loving Aunt was telling him that this attack was orchestrated by them. The hidden meaning was obvious, they had long paired up, acquired knowledge of what was going on and built a special force for themselves with which to attack!
Looking at this small elite force which was wreaking havoc continually in the distance, Lingtian felt his willpower weaken as age seemed to creep up on the once ferocious and valiant man.
"Hehe, it's far too early for you to lose that last shred of hope, Lingtian. Don't you want to know what happened to your oh so precious offspring? When my darling nephew and his babe unlocked their power and trained, do you know what they did? They lured your dog son into a trap and captured him!'
The moment Loving Aunt revealed this, Lingtian exploded with Bloodline Energy as rage and hatred colored his features. From dispirited and almost dead inside to full of wrath and emotion, the change was so fast that most wouldn't have even blinked.
However, Loving Aunt would have been disappointed if he had done anything less, and simply punched Lingtian right in the face, sending his head crashing back into the earth and causing a small quake. She sneered and glared back at Lingtian whose'ead was bleeding in many places.
The blood ran into his eyes and colored them red, but his beast-like growls and attempts to lift his broken body to rip Loving Aunt apart did not stop.
"Awww, are you angry that your beloved son has been captured by us? Don't worry, we treat him very~ well. In fact, we're the ones who extend his pitiful life. You see, after the two tortured him brutally for seven days and nights, he became braindead, unable to exist the life capsule we put him in."
Hearing this, Lingtian's body convulsed even more as he roared like a beast wanting to do nothing more than use his teeth to rip Loving Aunt apart. She used her foot to stomp his already ruined chest into the ground with force, causing a small dustcloud explosion again.
"Now, he lives like a ghost in the machine, his only way of surviving is being kept alive by us while his mind and memories are kept intact by the AI of Boundless World. However, this is temporary."
Loving Aunt leaned over towards Lingtian. "You see, punishing you lot is only one of the reasons we came here. The second reason is to release all those you held captive for years in that shitty tower of yours. As for the third... it's to rescue the TRUE inheritor of Pangu!"
At the mention of this, Lingtian's struggle ceased as he displayed complete and utter shock. Nothing he had seen or heard today would cause him to be more flabbergasted than this revelation, learning that Loving Aunt knew of their Lineage's biggest secret.
Shangtian was not the true Inheritor of Pangu!
He had simply been a trash that was transplanted with Pangu's essence, causing him to become the young master of the Lineage.
However, the true inheritor had been a girl that was a bit younger than Shangtian, his cousin Ao Shuangtian!
Ever since then, they had suppressed her and kept her locked up in the lowest level of their underground estate, but did not dare kill her because of the ancient texts. They did not know if killing her would cause something to happen to them, but transferring bloodlines had done nothing so far, yet nobody wanted to take the chance.
Besides, even if they were cruel and had tortured her for her bloodline when at a tender age, she was still a blood member of their family, so they didn't go too far. This was why her family members were also imprisoned but not a single one had been killed.
But now, this secret was out and in the hands of their worst enemy!
What did they want?!
Loving Aunt sneered. "As you may have guessed but don't want to believe, we want to girl so that we can put your son through the extremely 'gentle' and 'loving' process of having his bloodline extracted and return it to its rightful owner."
Lingtian heard this and his heart sank. The bloodline extraction process was something that had traumatized him to this day, remembering the screams of that infantile girl from the operation room…
His wife, Shangtian's mother, had committed suicide not long after, unable to sleep or eat after hearing those screams in her mind every night. Lingtian himself only coped through sheer force of will and by doting on Shangtian excessively in order to placate his conscience.
Knowing that Shangtian would soon go through that… Lingtian feared for his son.
Loving Aunt, seeing that the Clan Head, had stopped his feeble resistance, seemed to get bored, and stood up.
"However, none of this had anything to do with you. The rule was to kill you all, and you, Lingtian, will die here, today, under my boot. Consider it karma for what you did to Lilith, you sick son of a bitch!"
Before Lingtian could say anything, Loving Aunt raised her leg and brought it down on Lingtian's head repeatedly, smashing his head into meat paste brutally and without a shred of kindness or remorse.
Once done, she summoned her Blue Water Adder and Dark Swamp Serpent familiars, and tossed them to Lingtian's corpse to gobble it up brutally. Meanwhile, she simply used a water arrow to wash the blood and brain matter off her boots before walking back towards the main manor.
By this time, the fight there had already come to an end and the various members of Umbra had rushed down to rescue the girl, as they couldn't afford to wait for Loving Aunt to finish her personal vendetta.
However, that was fine, as the battle down below was far more important.