Chapter 183: Starfire Chosen Stars

[CrownFall City.]

[Starfire Family’s Hall.]

​At that moment, every single member of the main and branch family lines were gathered inside the grand hall, standing along both sides of the polished marble aisle, staring in heavy, expectant silence toward the elevated dais at the far end of the room.

​BAM!!

​The massive double doors swung wide open, drawing every single pair of eyes toward the tall, solitary figure entering the hall with swift, long strides.

​"Greetings, Father!!"

​Luna yelled, her voice echoing clearly off the high vaulted ceilings as she dropped cleanly onto one knee and bowed her head low in respect.

​All nine of her siblings stood grouped along the right side of the hall, silently observing her arrival with mixed expressions of awe, confusion, and subtle envy.

​Arranged along the left side were the prominent branch families, her father’s secondary wives, uncles, cousins, and the most trusted high-ranking retainers of the estate.

​Standing on the raised marble stage built at the head of the luxuriously decorated hall was the current head of the Starfire family—Harrison Starfire. An SSS-RANK Awakened possessing a 100% Energy Purity rating, he was widely feared and revered across the country as the absolute Greatest Swordsman.

​Harrison was a man of striking presence, boasting long, flowing silver hair and piercing crimson eyes. Although he had fathered eleven children—with his eldest currently thirty-one years old—his physical appearance remained frozen in his early twenties despite his true age of fifty-five.

​He wore high-grade casual attire, a heavy coat trimmed with white beast-fur resting comfortably over his broad shoulders, his cold red gaze focused entirely on his daughter below.

​"You stated previously that you would not be returning to the main estate so soon... Why are you here? And why did you go to the extreme length of emergency-summoning the entire family assembly?" He stared down at her, his voice heavy with authority:

​"Furthermore, you utilized the priceless family heirloom artifact to instantly teleport directly into Crownfall City... You had better possess a thoroughly valid reason for taking such drastic measures." He said, the sheer pressure of his passive aura expanding across every corner of the grand hall.

​Luna remained completely silent beneath the oppressive weight. She was undeniably powerful in her own right—strong enough to hold her ground and exchange blows across several intense rounds against her father in a spar—but if he ever truly harbored genuine intent to kill her, she wouldn’t last a single second. The primary reason she held far more political influence and operational authority than any of her siblings was simple: she was the undisputed strongest among his bloodline, maintaining an flawless 100% success rate across every high-risk task assigned to her. She was not merely a favored child, but the family’s premier asset.

​No matter how furious her father might be regarding the sudden consumption of the spatial artifact, he would never recklessly eliminate or permanently demote his most valuable piece.

​With that absolute confidence settled in her mind, she slowly raised her head and met his crimson gaze directly:

​"It concerns Asher, Father."

​The simple name dropped into the room like a silencing warhead, instantly plunging the massive hall into dead, suffocating silence. Every single person present blinked in complete shock, staring at her with looks of utter bewilderment and disbelief.

​Was that useless waste actually the sole reason she had activated a divine-tier emergency artifact?

​Asher was known throughout the territory as a complete defect—an incompetent disappointment who couldn’t even manage to breach C-Rank by the age of twenty. Every single soul carrying the Starfire name knew his pathetic standing by heart... So why would someone as pragmatic as Luna convene the full family council over a useless outcast?

​"Speak," Harrison commanded, his intense red eyes narrowing slightly as he locked onto her.

​"He has advanced to SSS-RANK."

​"....?!"

​The unbelievable declaration froze every heart in the room, but before anyone could process the statement, Luna pressed on without hesitation:

​"He has not only advanced his personal rank, but he has officially established himself as the Fifth Ancient Family."

​"What?" Harrison asked, his composed demeanor fracturing into complete, dumbfounded shock.

​Luna would never dare utter a lie or fabricate a joke of this magnitude before the full family assembly... But how was such a absurd transformation even physically possible?!

​"You must be mistaken, Big Sister... How could a talentless waste suddenly advance all the way to SSS-RANK, let alone elevate an entire house to the status of an Ancient Family?!" Marcus, the second-eldest son of the Starfire line, quickly interjected, stepping forward with a disbelieving laugh.

​"Do you truly believe I would make up something like this?!" Luna snapped, her gaze whipping toward him with lethal sharp intensity.

​Marcus visibly trembled under her terrifying glare, taking a frantic step backward: "I... I would never imply that, Big Sister!" He blurted out, dropping his eyes.

​’Our Starfire bloodline has built its foundation and expanded its power for over three hundred long years, yet we have still not breached the threshold to become one of the true Ancient Families... How on earth did that powerless child accomplish such a miraculous feat overnight?’ Harrison thought, a deep, ominous frown carving into his features.

​"What else?" He demanded, his voice dropping an octave.

​"He... He explicitly claimed that he is not Asher."

​"....?!"

​Her second revelation stunned the room even further, leaving the assembled elders, siblings, and retainers completely speechless and utterly baffled.

​"Explain everything."

​Luna gave a firm nod and proceeded to recount every single detail of her encounter: from the baffling blood-lineage verification test, to his possession of multiple Mythic-Tier weapons and armor, to Juliana’s current state, and finally to Asher’s cold, absolute declaration to seize full control over the entirety of Vaeloria. Every sentence that left her lips struck the listening family like a physical blow. After several minutes of precise, uninterrupted narration, Luna concluded her report with a low bow:

​"That is everything, Father."

​Harrison stood completely motionless on the raised stage, his mind racing in chaotic circles. He couldn’t discern whether Asher was fabricating a bold lie regarding his true identity... Because if he truly was his son, how could his blood have altered so drastically?

​Every core member of the main family had been physically present in the birthing chamber the day Asher was brought into the world. It was right after his birth that the high priest of their house examined his core, declaring him utterly useless, then his mother flee the estate, leaving him behind... His three current wives were living proof that he was the exact same individual who had grown up in miserable obscurity—yet how had he suddenly unlocked such god-like strength and unimaginable resources?

​’No!! Impossible! This simply cannot be possible!!’ Harrison thought, his sharp red eyes wide open in genuine, uncharacteristic shock.