Chapter 3 Please Make the Decision for Us, Patriarch!

Chapter 3: Chapter 3: Please Make the Decision for Us, Patriarch!

The moment those words rang through the courtyard, every head turned toward the entrance.

A man stood there.

He wore a white robe stained with blood.

His black hair fell loosely over his shoulders, and his hands rested calmly behind his back.

His features were sharp and composed. There was nothing hurried about his posture.

Yet beneath that calm exterior was something far more frightening.

A faint murderous intent lingered around him.

For a few seconds, nobody moved.

Then someone recognized him.

The expression of the Grand Elder changed first.

His eyes widened.

The color drained from his face.

"Patriarch..."

His voice was barely audible.

The next moment, the courtyard erupted.

"It’s the Patriarch!"

"Patriarch Mercer has come out of seclusion!"

"I saw him six years ago. There’s no mistake!"

"Our Patriarch is alive!"

The Mercer Family members stared at the man standing at the entrance.

Julian Mercer.

Their Patriarch.

The man they had waited six years to see again.

The man many had already believed was dead.

The despair that had filled the courtyard only moments ago vanished.

People straightened.

Some nearly laughed from relief.

Others looked ready to cry.

"Please make the decision for us, Patriarch!"

"The Rourke Family came here intending to destroy us!"

"They want to erase everything our family has built over hundreds of years!"

"Patriarch, you have to stand up for us!"

The voices came one after another.

Julian listened without interrupting.

Many of the younger members had grown up hearing stories about him.

To them, he was almost a legend.

Six years ago, Julian had stood at the peak of the Heavenly Origin Realm and dominated every cultivator of the same realm in Wexford City.

It was his strength that had allowed the Mercer Family to secure its position among the four great families.

The other three were the Rourke Family, Bellamy Family, and Kessler Family.

Julian had been one of the city’s most feared young cultivators.

And now he was standing before them again.

Alive.

The Mercer Family finally had its backbone.

Across the courtyard, however, the mood was completely different.

The Rourke Family members stared at Julian in disbelief.

"Julian Mercer?"

"How is that possible?"

"Wasn’t he in seclusion for six years?"

"I thought he was dead!"

The confidence they had carried into the Mercer estate began to disappear.

One of the Rourke cultivators lowered his voice.

"What do we do?"

Another swallowed.

"He’s someone even the Rourke ancestor was cautious about."

"Can we really fight him?"

A third man looked toward Gideon.

"Should we retreat?"

"We haven’t actually destroyed the Mercer Family yet. If we leave now, perhaps we can compensate them with enough resources and settle this."

The men who had come prepared for a battle were already thinking about escape.

They were not cowards.

They simply knew who Julian Mercer was.

His reputation had spread throughout Wexford City years ago.

Even the current City Lord had once called him the most promising cultivator in the city, the person most likely to become the third Purple Mansion Realm expert Wexford had ever produced.

That was why his sudden return was so terrifying.

The question was no longer whether the Rourke Family could destroy the Mercer Family.

It was whether they could leave alive.

The three Marlow brothers were even more frightened.

They stared at Julian as though they had seen a ghost.

"Patriarch..."

Elias Marlow’s face had gone pale.

None of them had expected this.

They had believed Julian was either dead or permanently crippled.

That belief had been the reason they defected.

Now they regretted it.

If we had known he would come out of seclusion...

Why did we switch sides in front of everyone?

The three brothers exchanged uneasy glances.

They had backed themselves into a corner.

Elias tried to convince himself.

"We served the Mercer Family for years."

"If we explain ourselves properly, the Patriarch should forgive us..."

But even he didn’t sound convinced.

At the front of the Rourke group, Gideon stared at Julian.

His eyes were wide.

His face had lost its earlier confidence.

"Julian Mercer..."

He couldn’t believe it.

The man who had been treated as a dead man for six years was standing in front of him.

Alive.

And somehow...

Gideon couldn’t sense the slightest weakness from him.

That made his heart race.

He had already reached the Heavenly Origin Realm Perfected.

Yet facing Julian, he felt something he hadn’t experienced in years.

Fear.

Real fear.

Meanwhile, among the Mercer Family members, the Grand Elder stared at Julian.

His lips parted.

There were countless things he wanted to say.

Where had you been?

Were you injured?

How did you survive?

What happened during those six years?

But none of the questions came out.

Everything felt too unreal.

He was afraid that if he spoke, the figure before him would disappear.

Julian noticed his expression.

He walked over.

The Grand Elder’s eyes trembled.

Julian looked at him calmly.

"No need to worry."

His voice was quiet.

"Rest now. Leave the rest to me."

There was nothing dramatic about the words.

Yet they settled over the Grand Elder like warm sunlight after a long winter.

The tension in his body eased.

For the first time in years, he felt that he could finally put down the weight he had been carrying.

The surrounding Mercer members felt the same.

Their fear began to fade.

Their shoulders relaxed.

Their eyes regained their light.

Their Patriarch had returned.

That was enough.

Julian turned away from them.

His gaze settled on Gideon.

Their eyes met.

The courtyard went silent.

Julian’s expression was calm.

Gideon’s body trembled.

A thin layer of cold sweat appeared on his forehead.

His throat felt dry.

He swallowed.

For some reason, he suddenly wanted to step backward.

The plan he had brought with him no longer mattered.

The land.

The resources.

The Mercer Family.

None of it mattered.

He only wanted to leave alive.

"Patriarch... Patriarch Mercer."

His voice was no longer arrogant.

"This is actually a misunderstanding."

He forced a smile.

"Please, allow me to explain."

Julian looked at him.

"Explain?"

His voice carried no emotion.

Gideon opened his mouth.

Before he could say another word, Julian raised one hand.

A terrifying wave of Yuan Qi erupted.

It crossed the distance between them in an instant.

Gideon’s expression changed.

He didn’t even have time to defend himself.

Bang!

His body exploded.

Blood burst through the air.

A cloud of crimson mist spread across the courtyard.

Drops of blood fell onto the stone floor.

The entire world seemed to stop.

Nobody spoke.

Nobody moved.

Gideon Rourke...

Was dead.

One strike.

No struggle.

No exchange.

No chance to resist.

The Rourke Family members stood frozen.

Their faces turned pale.

Some stared at the blood on the ground.

Others stared at Julian.

Their Patriarch had just been killed with a casual attack.

The man who had entered the Mercer estate believing he could destroy the entire family had not even survived long enough to make a move.

The Mercer Family members were equally stunned.

Their mouths were open.

Nobody had expected this.

Gideon had been a genuine Heavenly Origin Realm Perfected cultivator.

Yet Julian had killed him with one casual strike.

Like crushing an insect.

A thought suddenly appeared in everyone’s mind.

Could the Patriarch have broken through?

Could he have reached the Purple Mansion Realm?

The possibility sent a wave of excitement through the Mercer Family.

Some clenched their fists.

Others stared at Julian with almost fanatical admiration.

After six years of silence, their Patriarch had returned.

And his first act had been to kill the enemy Patriarch with a single move.

Julian, however, showed no excitement.

He simply lowered his hand.

His expression remained indifferent.

He looked at the blood covering the ground.

Then he looked toward the terrified Rourke Family members.

"Your death..."

He paused.

"...is the best explanation you could have given me."

Silence.

The remaining Rourke cultivators stood rigid.

Not one dared to breathe too loudly.

The man who had walked into the courtyard was no longer the Patriarch they remembered.

He was something far more frightening.

And at that moment, every person in the Mercer Family understood one thing.

Their Patriarch had returned.