"Jin Ling, I am your biological father. No matter how great my mistakes, you cannot kill me!" the Jin family head said emotionally. "You want to be the patriarch, I'll let you be, but you can't kill me. You don't want the world to point fingers at your back and say you've murdered your father and mother, do you?"
"Jin family head, have you forgotten that my mother died of illness long ago?" Rebirth said coldly. "Also, you are not worthy of mentioning my mother!"
"Your stepmother is also your mother!"
"Are you joking?" Jin Ling asked softly. "Do you know how Jin Changshi treated me? Do you know how much poisoned food I've eaten? Do you know how many injuries I've suffered, how many assassination attempts I've endured?"
"I..."
"You don't know!" Rebirth's tone was full of indifference. When his golden core was shattered, his tendons severed, and he was thrown into the forbidden land, he had already despaired of this family. Now, he had relatives, but they had nothing to do with the Jin family. "You only know how much profit your suffering can bring!"
"No, everything I did was for the Jin family."
"You did it for yourself." Rebirth said slowly. "When I came out of the forbidden land, the first person who tried to kill me was your personal guard. Don't tell me your personal guard was following Jin Yao's orders."
The Jin family head's face changed slightly: "I gave the guard to Jin Yao long ago, so naturally he followed his orders."
"Lie, keep lying." Rebirth sneered. "I thought you had at least some genuine affection for Jin Yao. Now it seems I was wrong. You have no genuine affection for anyone, whether it's me, Jin Yao, or Jin Changshi. In your eyes, there is only power, only profit. Everyone else is just a pawn in your hand!"
"Jin Ling, I am your father!"
"You are Jin Ling's father, but not my father." Rebirth said slowly. "Jin Ling is already dead. When you personally shattered his golden core, he died. The person alive now is called Rebirth, and you have no connection to him!"
"You... you unfilial son, do you really intend to commit patricide?" The Jin family head was anxious, but he was poisoned, his cultivation gone, and his body weak, unable to resist. However, he had to stall for time until reinforcements arrived.
"Rebirth, make it quick." Xiao Man reminded Rebirth. If the Grand Elder got news and arrived, they wouldn't be a match. By the time things were settled, even if the Grand Elder came out, it would be too late to turn the tide. He couldn't possibly kill the sole heir of the Jin family!
"Guards, take the Jin family head... no, take Master Jin down and imprison him. He will be dealt with after everything else is concluded." With Rebirth's command, several guards rushed into the hall and dragged Master Jin out. If Xi Wen were here, he would surely recognize these as disciples of the Eight Directions Sword Sect.
"Yes."
"Fifth Elder, are you still going to resist?" Rebirth asked the Fifth Elder, whose face had changed several times, softly.
The Fifth Elder lowered his eyes: "I surrender."
The Fourth Elder curved his lips into a smile, rose, and bowed: "Greetings, Patriarch."
"Greetings, Patriarch!" everyone bowed. Rebirth, using his familiarity with the Jin family, had installed disciples of the Eight Directions Sword Sect into the Jin family. With Xiao Man's assistance, he had finally taken back what belonged to him!
"Even something as important as establishing a new patriarch no longer requires notifying this old man?" a voice echoed into the hall, unsettling everyone present.
Rebirth immediately stepped in front of Xiao Man. In the blink of an eye, the Grand Elder appeared at the doorway and, with a wave of his sleeve, flung away the two guards restraining the Jin family head.
"Grand Elder, save me!" The Jin family head saw the Grand Elder and acted as if he had seen a savior. "Jin Ling... no, this scoundrel is impersonating Jin Ling and wants to overthrow my Jin family. Grand Elder, quickly, kill him!"
Rebirth looked at the unsightly Jin family head with mockery. For the head of a family to be in such a state was truly hideous.
The Grand Elder's gaze fell on Rebirth's face. Then, a surge of spiritual energy wrapped around Rebirth's wrist. Rebirth did not resist, allowing the Grand Elder's spiritual energy to invade his body.
A moment later, the Grand Elder withdrew his spiritual energy: "Your golden core is shattered. Normally, you would be no different from a cripple. How did you recover your cultivation?"
"Does the Grand Elder not care why I seized power, nor about the Jin family, but only how I cultivated again?" Rebirth asked calmly.
"This old man is merely curious." The Grand Elder instantly appeared before Rebirth, his gaze sweeping over Xiao Man, who was being shielded by Rebirth. "It's you again."
Xiao Man's expression was composed, and she did not reply.
"Now that you've returned, are you going to kill your father?"
"I just want justice." Rebirth said calmly. "As the legitimate eldest son of the Jin family, I was persecuted without cause, my golden core shattered, my hands severed. Wanting justice should not be considered excessive, right?"
"Not excessive, but you are persecuting your own father..."
"Grand Elder, filial piety requires paternal love. If the father is cruel and merciless, and harms his own son, must the son still offer his neck to be slaughtered?" Rebirth remained unmoved. "If the Grand Elder intends to twist the truth about his actions, this junior has nothing more to say."
"He is your father."
"I am also his biological son. He knew I had done nothing wrong, and to please Jin Changshi and Jin Yao, he shattered my golden core, allowed Jin Yao to sever my hands, and threw me into the forbidden land. Does such conduct befit a father?" Rebirth scoffed. "Grand Elder, if you had such a father, what would you do?"
"Presumptuous!"
"Why is the Grand Elder angry? I'm just giving an example. After all, you don't have such a father." Rebirth's aura, that of a Nascent Soul stage expert, erupted, resisting the Grand Elder's pressure. "The one with such a father is me!"
A flicker of surprise flashed in the Grand Elder's eyes. He had thought that even if Rebirth's cultivation recovered, it would be merely superficial. He hadn't expected this pressure to be no weaker than his own. With time and careful nurturing, the Jin family might yet produce a Void Comprehending stage Great Cultivator.
"Great Elder, this villain is not my son. The appearance of Jin Ling is known to all members of the Jin family. This person is an imposter..."
"Enough." The Grand Elder waved his sleeve, sending the Jin family head tumbling to the ground. Foolish. At a time like this, he was still so blind. A Nascent Soul expert under thirty years old, this was simply monstrous. Even that monstrous talent from the Tian Xuan Sect took twenty years to enter the Nascent Soul stage. This eldest son's talent was no less than his!
"Grand Elder, he has malicious intentions and has returned for revenge..."
"Enough!" The Grand Elder interrupted the Jin family head. "The position of Jin family patriarch should go to the capable. Since you are not, let someone else take it."
"Grand Elder, I am the patriarch of the Jin family..."
"Not anymore. Jin Ling is now the new patriarch of the Jin family." The Grand Elder looked at the others unhurriedly. "Does anyone object?"