Chapter 29 A Clear State of Mind, Excitement Among the Branch Family Members!

Chapter 29: Chapter 29: A Clear State of Mind, Excitement Among the Branch Family Members!

Seeing Adrian Mercer approach, Kieran Locke was so terrified that he nearly lost his soul.

He desperately wanted to escape, but with all four limbs crippled, he could only drag his body across the cold floor with great difficulty, leaving a long trail of blood behind him.

As he struggled forward, he wept and begged for mercy.

"Adrian, I was wrong! Everything I did today was wrong! I’ll even give Elara Wycliffe back to Ethan!"

"Please don’t kill me! If you let me return to the Aldercrest Order, I’ll make sure my father doesn’t hold today’s events against you. I’ll even ask him to personally accept you as a True Disciple and teach you the Order’s Profound Rank cultivation methods!"

Kieran made one promise after another, desperately hoping to save his life.

Adrian remained unmoved.

His expression was filled with contempt as he walked toward Kieran without hesitation.

Then, under Kieran’s terrified gaze...

Swish!

The sword rose, and the blade fell.

In an instant, the sharp sword pierced Kieran’s chest and struck his heart.

Pain twisted Kieran’s face. His body convulsed several times before he stopped breathing.

Adrian had killed him.

Looking at Kieran’s corpse, Adrian pulled the sword from his chest. The bright red blood coating the blade made the entire scene feel strangely unreal.

For a moment, he simply stood there, staring at the weapon in his hand.

Before Adrian could fully recover his senses, Julian Mercer’s calm voice sounded beside him.

"Well done. Now, what about this woman? Do you intend to let her go, or will you kill her as well?"

Adrian froze and instinctively turned toward Elara Wycliffe.

The moment Elara met his gaze, terror overwhelmed her.

She had never expected that after Conrad Pierce and Kieran Locke died, she would become the next person facing death.

A desperate desire to survive surged from the depths of her heart.

She could no longer care about dignity or pride. Looking at Adrian with tear-filled eyes, she spoke in the gentlest voice she could manage.

"Adrian, the annulment was all Kieran’s fault! He forced me to do it. He threatened the Wycliffe Family and said he would destroy us if I refused to marry him. I truly had no choice!"

She hurriedly continued, trying to convince him.

"Now that Kieran is dead, I don’t have to annul the engagement anymore. If you give me another chance, I can still marry Ethan. We can hold the wedding tomorrow!"

Tears glistened in her eyes. Her dark hair fell loosely around her shoulders, and her delicate body trembled as she knelt on the ground.

She looked utterly pitiful.

Yet when Adrian heard her words, the last trace of confusion in his eyes vanished.

"Things have already come this far, and you still treat the dignity of the Mercer Family like a child’s game?"

His expression turned cold.

"You wanted to annul the engagement, so you came here and humiliated Ethan in front of everyone. Now that Kieran is dead, you suddenly want to marry him again?"

Adrian tightened his grip on the sword.

"You disgusting woman. You make me sick!"

Remembering how Elara had entered the Mercer Family residence hand in hand with Kieran, Adrian’s anger surged once more. He raised his sword and advanced to kill her.

Seeing that pleading was useless, Elara’s pitiful expression instantly disappeared.

Her face twisted into something vicious.

She quickly surveyed the surroundings. Since nobody seemed to be moving to stop her, a cold sneer appeared on her lips.

Her limbs were intact, and she had reached the fifth layer of the Meridian Opening Realm.

How could she possibly allow herself to be killed by Adrian, a man she had once believed was a cripple?

A plan immediately formed in her mind.

She would capture Adrian and use him as a hostage. With the Mercer Family forced to protect him, she might still escape alive.

As the distance between them narrowed, Elara secretly moved her right hand behind her back and began circulating her inner energy.

She intended to seize Adrian before anyone could react.

However, her little scheme was completely exposed beneath Julian’s Divine Sense.

Seeing her movements, Julian condensed Pure Yang Primordial Energy at his fingertips and flicked his finger.

A swift attack shot through the air.

Just as Adrian and Elara were less than a meter apart, Elara’s expression turned fierce. A flash of triumph appeared in her eyes as she raised her hand and struck toward Adrian with her palm.

But before her attack could reach him, Julian’s Pure Yang Primordial Energy arrived.

It pierced Elara’s palm with absolute precision.

Bang!

Her entire right hand exploded into a cloud of crimson blood mist.

"AAAH! AAAAAH!"

Elara screamed in unbearable pain. Her formerly gentle voice became shrill and terrifying, resembling the cry of a vengeful spirit.

Adrian was initially stunned, but he quickly reacted.

Seizing the opportunity, he gripped his sword with both hands and thrust it forward.

Rip!

The sharp blade pierced Elara’s chest. Its bloodstained tip emerged from her back, passing completely through her body.

Elara’s pupils contracted.

Trembling, she reached out with her remaining hand, attempting to drag Adrian down with her.

But how could Adrian give her that chance?

He pulled the sword free without hesitation.

Elara’s body convulsed as blood poured from the wound in her chest. The strength drained from her limbs, and she collapsed heavily onto the floor.

A moment later, she stopped moving.

She was dead.

Adrian held the sword tightly and looked at the corpses of Kieran Locke and Elara Wycliffe.

The pair who had humiliated Ethan and threatened the Mercer Family had finally paid for their actions.

A feeling of vindication surged through Adrian’s chest.

He lifted his head and laughed heartily.

The emotions he had suppressed for so long finally found an outlet.

At that moment, a system notification appeared before Julian’s eyes.

[Ding~ Detected that the Child of Destiny, Ethan Mercer, has achieved a clear state of mind. Clan Fortune +100]

[Ding~ Crisis averted, fate defied, allowing the branch family to survive. Clan Fortune +200]

Julian’s expression showed that everything had gone as he expected.

When he had helped Adrian recover his fighting spirit, he had received a Clan Fortune reward from the system.

Afterward, he had suspected that helping Ethan regain his confidence and overcome his despair might produce a similar result.

The system notifications had now confirmed his guess.

Julian looked at Ethan, who had finally begun to release the resentment and humiliation he had carried for so long.

Ethan soon calmed himself and walked toward Julian. He dropped to his knees with a heavy thud.

"Thank you, Patriarch, for saving our family from this crisis!"

Julian nodded and gestured for him to rise.

"Get up. The main family and the branch family belong to the same bloodline. Why should you thank me so formally?"

After speaking, Julian looked around the hall.

The Mercer Family members were still shaken by everything that had happened. Fear and uncertainty remained on many faces. They knew that killing Kieran Locke would bring serious consequences, and some were already worrying about the Aldercrest Order’s retaliation.

Julian then glanced toward Edmund Mercer.

Edmund immediately understood his intention and stepped into the center of the hall.

Seeing their former Patriarch come forward to speak, the gathered Mercer Family members quickly fell silent.

Under everyone’s expectant gazes, Edmund slowly began.

"Before I left the main family, our Patriarch gave me his word. Once this matter was settled, all of us would be free to leave Briarford City and move to Wexford City, where we could live alongside the main Mercer Family."

He paused briefly, allowing his words to sink in.

"From this day forward, the main family and the branch family will no longer remain separated. We will share both prosperity and adversity, stand together through every hardship, and face the future as one family!"

Edmund’s passionate voice echoed throughout the hall.

The Mercer Family members, who had been overwhelmed by nervousness, froze for a moment.

Then they finally understood what he had said.

Their expressions gradually changed, and joy spread across their faces.

Hearts that had remained dormant for generations began beating with renewed hope.

They had dreamed of returning to the main family for as long as anyone could remember. Generation after generation had carried that wish, yet none had managed to fulfill it.

Now, that long-held dream was finally becoming reality.

From this day forward, they would no longer have to live apart from their relatives or carry the burden of their ancestors’ mistakes alone.

They could return to Wexford City, reunite with the main Mercer Family, and begin a new Chapter of their lives.

For the branch family, this was more than a change of residence.

It was a long-awaited return home.