Chapter 575

Yun Che's loud questions instantly stunned the seven aggressive family heads, as if they had suddenly choked on a fishbone. After a long moment, Xiao Xifeng glared and roared, "Yun Che! Does your Yun Family still have the nerve to bring up the past?! If Yun Canghai hadn't rashly gone to the Profound Sky Continent back then, how would the Demon Emperor Seal have been lost?!"

Yun Che sneered, "Everyone in the Illusory Demon Realm knows perfectly well why my grandfather went to the Profound Sky Continent! He didn't go for himself, or for the Yun Family, and certainly not to lose the Demon Emperor Seal! He went to rescue the Demon Emperor, who was trapped in the Profound Sky Continent! Xiao Xifeng, why do you dare not answer my question head-on? When the former Demon Emperor fell into the Profound Sky Continent and my grandfather led ten Yun Family Grand Elders to rescue him, what were your seven families doing?! Why didn't you go to rescue him? Answer me!!"

Yun Che's question made the seven family heads' hearts uncontrollably clench, for it was the sharpest possible question for them. When the former Demon Emperor fell into the Profound Sky Continent, everyone believed he had little chance of survival. Moreover, none of them had ever been to the Profound Sky Continent; rashly entering would likely mean no return. At the same time, the twelve Guardian Families had prospered for ten thousand years, secretly vying for supremacy. If their family's powerful cultivators were lost in the Profound Sky Continent, their family's influence would surely decline. So, they didn't dare, and deep down, they simply weren't willing to take such a great risk. Only Yun Canghai insisted he hadn't seen the former Demon Emperor's body and absolutely refused to believe he was dead, resolving to lead the family's ten strongest Grand Elders to the distant Profound Sky Continent.

Therefore, Yun Che's pointed question left them feeling a profound sense of unease.

Xiao Xifeng took a deep breath and said in a low, grave tone, "Ignorant child! The former Demon Emperor fell into the hands of the Four Sacred Grounds in the Profound Sky Continent back then. The Four Sacred Grounds are extremely powerful, and the Profound Sky Continent is their home ground. Rashly entering would only lead to more casualties! Even a rescue would require ample preparation and long-term planning..."

"Long-term planning? What a fine 'long-term planning'!" Yun Che scoffed. "What is the duty of a Guardian Family? It is to protect the Demon Emperor's lineage! And to protect the Demon Emperor's lineage well, the first and most fundamental duty is to protect the Demon Emperor himself! Since you knew the former Demon Emperor was in such grave danger, you should have known that every breath of delay would increase his peril! As a Guardian Family, what you absolutely must do is rescue the former Demon Emperor immediately, at all costs! Yet, when the former Demon Emperor was in such dire straits, you! You, the dignified head of the Xiao Family, a Guardian Family, actually uttered the words 'long-term planning'!"

Yun Che pointed an accusing finger at Xiao Xifeng, his face filled with rage: "I simply cannot understand how you, as a Guardian Family head, could have the gall to utter those words when faced with a calamity concerning the Demon Emperor's life! Ha... If you were to fall into the hands of a mortal enemy, facing imminent death, would your family also propose 'long-term planning'?! If your son fell into the claws of a ferocious beast, would you also 'deliberate'? If you saw your wife stripped naked and abducted by a pervert, would you also 'deliberate'?!"

"You!!" What kind of standing did Xiao Xifeng have! He was the head of a Guardian Family; only a handful of people in the entire Illusory Demon Realm could make him bow. When had he ever been publicly berated? Now, he was being pointed at and vehemently scolded by a junior like Yun Che, in front of all the assembled heroes. Beyond his fury, he was rendered speechless, his chest threatening to explode.

"Hmph!" Yun Che sneered, "What 'long-term planning'? What a ridiculous, shameless, and pathetic excuse! It's clearly because you feared facing danger in the Profound Sky Continent, feared your family's power being damaged, and would thus disregard the former Demon Emperor's life and safety! The Illusory Demon Realm has been stable for ten thousand years, growing increasingly prosperous, free from dangers or difficulties, making it hard to discern loyalty from treachery! A hundred years ago, when the great calamity struck, it was precisely the time for the twelve Guardian Families to repay the Demon Emperor's ten thousand years of benevolence and fulfill their duty as guardians! Yet, at that time, facing the former Demon Emperor's peril, the only ones who went to rescue him at all costs, even to the point of death... were our Yun Family! Only our Yun Family!!"

"And you!!" Yun Che pointed an accusing finger forward, his voice trembling: "As Guardian Families, yet for your own lives, for your family's interests, you actually disregarded the Demon Emperor's life and death! And you grandiosely declared 'long-term planning'! As if that weren't enough, after the former Demon Emperor died, my grandfather died, and my Yun Family's ten Grand Elders died, you not only felt no shame, offered no atonement, showed no remorse, but you conspired to malign my Yun Family's heroes, spread rumors throughout the Illusory Demon Realm, damaged my Yun Family's reputation, and pressured the newly enthroned Little Demon Empress to impose harsh penalties on my Yun Family! You made my Yun Family, which had demonstrated utmost loyalty and suffered the tragic loss of its patriarch, endure severe punishment and decline greatly for a hundred years... Even to this day, you are still conspiring to expel my Yun Family from the Guardian Families! With your vile actions and shameless countenances, how can you be worthy of the name 'Guardian Family'!"

Yun Che's words struck like thunder, every word thundering with indignation, fiercely resonating within the hearts and souls of everyone present. All sounds in the grand hall faded. Everyone stared dumbfounded at Yun Che, listening to his impassioned rebuke, their hearts long stirred.

"Che'er... Well spoken!" Yun Qinghong clenched his hands tightly. He didn't speak, silently observing his son, who filled him with ever-growing pride, almost to the point of disbelief.

All seven family heads' expressions turned incredibly grim. Though Yun Che seemed overwhelmed by emotion, every single word he uttered was like a venomous barb, piercing directly to their core. Jiufang Kui, the head of the Jiufang Family, spoke sharply, "Silence! Yun Che, how dare you verbally slander us, the Guardian Families! The place where the former Demon Emperor fell back then was the Profound Sky Continent! Not merely some ordinary perilous region! None of our twelve Guardian Families had ever set foot in the Profound Sky Continent! Yun Canghai's reckless intrusion not only failed to save the former Demon Emperor but also resulted in his own demise there. It was an utterly foolish act..."

"Shut your foul mouth!!" Before Jiufang Kui could finish speaking, Yun Che angrily cut him off: "My grandfather foolish? If my grandfather was foolish, then why was he conferred the title of Demon King, and not you, Jiufang Kui? Was the former Demon Emperor also foolish?!"

Jiufang Kui opened his mouth, utterly at a loss for words.

"If my grandfather was foolish, then why was our Yun Family the most prosperous a century ago, not your Jiufang Family!!"

"If my grandfather was foolish, why was he the strongest of his generation back then? Why was he famed throughout the realm, revered by every powerful figure in Demon Imperial City? Why was he the only Demon King in the history of the Illusory Demon Realm!! And yet, none of this concerns your Jiufang Family, your Grand Patriarch, or you, Jiufang Kui! If my grandfather was foolish, then wouldn't you, Jiufang Kui, be worse than the lowest of simpletons?!"

"You... you..." Jiufang Kui's face cycled between green and white.

"Whether my grandfather was a foolish person, anyone who knew him, or even heard rumors about him, knows perfectly well!" Yun Che's voice softened, his gaze slightly wavering: "My grandfather was not foolish. He was more righteous than anyone, and more intelligent. He knew perfectly well what the consequences would be if he led the ten strongest Grand Elders of our family to the Profound Sky Continent... It was highly probable that he himself might perish there, and the ten Grand Elders would perish there. If that happened, the Yun Family would lose its eleven strongest pillars... all eleven High Emperors! The Yun Family, which once surpassed all twelve families in strength, would plummet to its weakest state overnight."

"Yet, my grandfather still chose to do so! And he did so without hesitation, without a second thought! No one in my Yun Family objected, and not one of the ten Grand Elders recoiled! Because our Yun Family is a Guardian Family, and protecting the Demon Emperor is our Yun Family's highest mission! In my grandfather's belief, the Demon Emperor's life was far more important than his own life. In our Yun Family's belief, the safety of the Demon Emperor's lineage far surpasses the safety of our Yun clan! This is our Yun Family's mission, and it is also our Yun Family's loyalty and pride!!"

"But what did the loyalty of our Yun Family's fallen heroes earn us?!" Yun Che's gaze, directed at the seven families, was burning with hatred: "It earned us the slander and suppression from your families, who completely disregarded the former Demon Emperor's dire situation! Today, you even conspire to expel my Yun Family! While the Demon Emperor's lineage faced such a grave disaster, your families remained completely unharmed, without losing a single soldier! Our Yun Family ancestors' loyalty and sacrifice to the Demon Emperor's lineage were even labeled 'foolish'!"

"Which families are truly unworthy of the 'Guardian' name! Which families should be expelled! Ha... Are the eyes of the world completely blind, unable to discern even this most obvious truth?!"

Yun Che's words struck fiercely at everyone's heartstrings... and at the eyes that had been inadvertently clouded by years of circulating rumors.

"Well said... So well said! Indeed, well said!!" Old Man Mu Feiyan's hands trembled. He tilted his head back, sighing, "Brother Yun, this is your grandson! With such a grandson, you must surely be smiling in the netherworld!"

"Young Patriarch..." Every member of the Yun Family had reddened eyes and flushed faces. Yun Che's words released a century's worth of suppressed grievances, resentment, and indignation, giving voice to the deeply suppressed emotions they could not utter, and proclaiming their Yun Family's honor and pride. They clenched their fists, their blood almost boiling, yet their eyes shimmered with unshed tears.

"Grand Patriarch... do you hear? The Young Patriarch is vindicating you, vindicating our Yun Family." The elders thought of Yun Canghai, who was buried in the Profound Sky Continent, and sorrow welled up in their hearts, and tears streamed down their faces.

Xiao Xifeng and Jiufang Kui, the two family heads, were utterly flayed by Yun Che's rebuke. Their faces were as grim as if they had swallowed excrement, and after a long silence, they couldn't muster a single word in rebuttal. The expressions of the other five family heads were equally grim. Today, they were not confronting Yun Che in isolation; the realm's powerful figures were observing. If they were thoroughly overshadowed by the Yun Family today, the tide of public opinion they had controlled for a century would undergo a complete reversal.

In their presence, Yun Che's age could only be described as 'youthful', but the venom of his tongue and the keenness of his rhetoric made them all tremble with apprehension. For the first time in their lives, they experienced what it meant to be "pierced to the heart by every word." Lin Guiyan, the head of the Lin Family, gritted his teeth and said sharply, "Yun Che! You keep espousing loyalty and tirelessly defending your Yun Family! It's so ludicrous it's laughable! Yun Canghai was indeed an extraordinary individual, but his actions a century ago were utterly foolish, a fact universally acknowledged! If he wasn't foolish, why did he take the Demon Emperor Seal to the Profound Sky Continent instead of returning it to the Little Demon Emperor before his departure?! Otherwise, the Demon Emperor Seal would not have been lost forever!"

"Laughable! Who's truly laughable?!" Yun Che sneered, his eyes cold: "The Demon Emperor Seal was entrusted to my grandfather by the former Demon Emperor for its protection! Entrusting such an important item to my grandfather showed boundless trust in him! And my grandfather, loyal to the Demon Emperor his entire life, would not betray that trust in the slightest! Without the former Demon Emperor's direct command, my grandfather would never have given it to anyone! Though the former Demon Emperor was trapped in the Profound Sky Continent at that time, my grandfather firmly believed he wasn't dead. Even with myriad dangers, even if it led to his own death, my grandfather would never privately hand over the Demon Emperor Seal to another... This is the trust and loyalty between a sovereign and his minister! And you, Lin Guiyan, actually find this ridiculous! Even if the former Demon Emperor were to live for ten thousand lifetimes, he would never entrust the Demon Emperor Seal to someone like you for safekeeping! What right do you have to criticize my grandfather!"

Lin Guiyan's expression darkened, followed by a disdainful sneer: "Such blind loyalty is nothing but a joke!"

Yun Che's eyes narrowed, staring coldly at Lin Guiyan: "Lin Guiyan! Do you know what true loyalty in this world means? I'll tell you... it's precisely what you call 'blind loyalty'! The only truly pure, unadulterated loyalty in this world is blind loyalty! Which emperor doesn't desire blind loyalty from his ministers! Which master doesn't desire blind loyalty from his subordinates! You're right, my grandfather was blindly loyal to the former Demon Emperor! He regarded the former Demon Emperor's trust as sacred! He considered the former Demon Emperor's command as more vital than his own life! Yet you, Lin Guiyan, who constantly speak of 'loyalty', are incapable of it. Not only are you incapable, but you feel no shame, and still dare to call it a joke!"

"All members of the Lin Family, pay close attention to what your family head just said. Be careful not to be overly loyal to him, otherwise, in his eyes, you'll simply be a joke... What a joke!"

"Yun... Che! You..." Lin Guiyan pointed a trembling finger at Yun Che.

"A person who dismisses 'blind loyalty' to the Demon Emperor as a joke, yet holds the position of a Guardian Family head—this is an absolute humiliation to the Guardian Families! My Yun Family feels ashamed to be counted among the Guardian Families with you! And such an individual actually has the audacity to criticize my grandfather... Hah, Lin Guiyan, forgive this junior for being so direct... You don't even qualify to lick my grandfather's toenails! Lin Family Head? Bah!"