The fight in Yun Ming's bedchamber was short, brutal, and silent. Yun Zhong was a brawler, all raw power and fury. Ye Xia was a scalpel, using her Qi Shield to deflect his wild blows and her precise knowledge of the Mountain Stream Style to redirect his force.
She didn't want to kill him. He was still her blood. But she had to subdue him.
As he charged again, she sidestepped, grabbed his arm, and used his own momentum to slam him into the wall. Before he could recover, she manifested her [Kai Blade Projection], the shimmering energy blade hovering just an inch from his throat.
"It's over, Uncle," she panted.
The door burst open. Yun Zhi, the Patriarch, stood there, supported by two guards, his face a mask of utter devastation. He had heard everything.
"Zhong… my son…" the old man whispered, his voice cracking.
Yun Zhong looked at his father, all the fight draining out of him, replaced by a bottomless shame. "Father… I… I did it for the family. For our strength."
"Strength?" Yun Zhi cried, tears streaming down his face. "You call poisoning your brother strength? You call allying with jackals strength? You have destroyed us from within!"
The scene was heartbreaking. The family's internal rot had been exposed in the most painful way possible.
Yun Zhong was taken away by the guards, disgraced and broken. Yun Ming, who had been feigning sleep, opened his eyes. They were clear and sad.
"You have saved my life, and you have saved the family from a terrible fate," he said to Ye Xia. "The debt we owe you is immeasurable."
Yun Zhi nodded, his body trembling with grief. "From this day forward, Ye Xia, you are not just a daughter of the Yun. You are my heir. You will lead this family into the future."
The weight of the declaration was immense. She had wanted their protection, their name. Now, they were giving her their legacy. The responsibility was terrifying.
As she left the room, the system notification chimed in her mind.
[Ding! Host has resolved a major internal conflict of a powerful faction. Influence significantly increased. System Level 9 unlocked.]
Power had a price. She had gained a family, but she had also inherited its wounds and its wars. And the greatest war was still to come.