Second Patriarch: Rise Of The Liu Clan

23 years ago, a massive war broke out between Yutian Country and Hiqui Sect. In the flames of war many heroes were born and stories made. The greatest of these heroes was the 'Demon General', Liu King. He joined the army at 15, quickly becoming the brightest star of Yutian Country's younger generation. By fighting through countless bloody battles and prevailing time and time again, he became a general at the age of 20, an unprecedented feat.

A few years after Liu King became a general the war ended and he left the army. Despite abandoning the military in an attempt to create his own clan, he remained famous. Many predicted that he would become one of the most powerful men in the nation if given 40 or 50 years to cultivate, but tragedy struck before then. While exploring a so-called 'forbidden zone', Liu King went missing. After nearly a year of waiting the government gave up hope and a monument to Liu King was erected in the capital's military graveyard. Shortly after this his family gave up hope and held a funeral themselves.

Liu King may have been gone, but his family clan and legacy lived on. Still, with his death the things he had left behind were in dire straits. Liu King had managed to amass quite a bit of wealth and power in a short time, hoping to form a family clan that would last for generations, but with his disappearance his dream began falling apart. All but one of the elders he had recruited abandoned his family, and others began l.u.s.ting over what he'd left behind. These evildoers schemed against his family, threatening to take everything from them. If they succeeded Liu King's family would be doomed to a life of suffering, or possibly even an early death.

Luckily help came when times were darkest. Two years after Liu King went missing someone else appeared to lead the Liu Clan to safety: Zhu Chao. Zhu Chao annihilated the minor families who had schemed against the Liu Clan, staining their houses in blood and sparing no one. After the slaughter Zhu Chao introduced himself to Liu King's family- Liu Zhu and Liu Xuan, his two sons, and his wife Liu Xingyu. Zhu Chao said that Liu King had saved him from the jaws of death, and after hearing about what happened he rushed here as soon as he could in order to pay him back and sever the karma between them.

Soon after Zhu Chao became the Liu Clan's Grand Elder, a temporary leader. He would help train Liu Zhu and Liu Xuan in order to make one of them into a suitable patriarch for the family, one who could strike fear into others and keep the Liu Clan safe like Liu King had. Zhu Chao said that he had something important to tend to, but that he could wait until Liu Zhu, the younger son, became 20 years old. If by this time neither son were fit to become the clan's patriarch, he would help the Liu family gather what they could and flee to a safer place where they could live a quiet life.

Liu Xuan, aged 10 at the time, immediately begun to cultivate. Meanwhile Liu Zhu, 7 years old, studied academics, politics, and smithing until he became 10. Several years passed after this, and the two sons grew up while the clan recovered, returning to its former state.

Liu Xuan focused his attention towards woman and wine, spending most of his time drinking and flirting. He wasn't a bad person, but he never could focus on cultivating or studying, and certainly wasn't a suitable candidate to become the Liu Clan's next patriarch. Still, he was far more talented than his younger brother, Liu Zhu, and so there wasn't a clear front-runner for who would become the clan's second patriarch. The days went on with this stalemate as Liu Xuan enjoyed his days and Liu Zhu tried his hardest, until one eventful day when Liu Zhu came upon a massive chance. This chance was one that could completely change his fate and finally allow him to succeed his father and become the family's second patriarch, if used correctly...