Edgar Alstreim wanted to intervene, telling his daughter Claire that there was no need to go that far as it would be needlessly provoking them. He felt that just having them be punished would be a dream come true, but he felt his blood boil at the mention of Julianna!

Now, he truly wanted to see them kowtow and beg for forgiveness!

"Don't go too far..." Grand Elder Valdrey Alstreim uttered as his expression turned into a frown.

When a person gives an inch, people tend to take a yard.

However, Grand Elder Elise Alstreim quickly moved towards Edgar Alstreim. The expressions of many people stiffened, and their essence energy revolved, ready to erupt. However, looking at her stop at a respectful distance, they calmed down.

Grand Elder Elise Alstreim stared at Edgar Alstreim for a while before her eyes narrowed, "The suffering you must have gone through should be greater than mine, but because you were Weiss's- that person's enemy, I didn't sympathize with you at that time..."

She dropped her knees and knelt in the air as her head aligned, "Edgar Alstreim..."

Her body trembled, "I beg for your forgiveness, and I'm deeply regretful for the loss of your wife, Julianna. It was my fault, and I plead that you may show us a path to live."

Edgar Alstreim's fists shook as he looked at the woman kowtowing in front of him. He possessed enormous killing intent against these people in the past, and even just a while ago, but since it was made known that they weren't directly responsible, he was able to control himself from launching an attack like a madman.

Even though he knew it wouldn't cause them injury, it would still serve to lessen the burden and pain in his heart. Still, he took a step forward, and his hand swung in an arc.

*PahhH!~*

The sound of a slap sharply echoed as Grand Elder Elise Alstreim's expression shook after her head swiveled towards the right. However, she didn't fight back or scream but lowered her head again, obediently and calmly.

"I plead guilty..."

"!!!"

Grand Elder Valdrey Alstreim and Patriarch Eldric Alstreim had their heads almost blown out in anger!

Grand Elder Valdrey Alstreim's entire body trembled when he saw his daughter Elise kneel. However, he truly couldn't take it when he saw her be slapped! Not even he, her father, had slapped her!

Patriarch Eldric Alstreim possessed dense killing intent in his eyes! No one slaps his mother!

They were practically spitting flames in their eyes!

However, they didn't lash out or move. If they did, Elise Alstreim's dignity, which was sacrificed, would be in vain.

That's why, as they controlled themselves, blood dripped from their lips as they suppressed their own cultivations. They had slightly injured themselves as their raging energy had nowhere to go.

Edgar Alstreim coldly looked at her without any fear in his eyes, nor with any joy or relief. However, his eyes seem to be grieving. He turned back and returned to his position a few tens of meters back.

*Clack~~*

Claire snapped her fingers, and her lips moved, "I declare that their sentences have been shortened by a hundred years each."

"If another person were to kneel, I would shorten it by two hundred years!"

She was like a Disciplinary Hall Elder, granting people amnesty.

"You!!!-"

*Whoosh!~*

While Grand Elder Valdrey Alstreim finally could no longer take this farce, he was about to explode and at least lash out with words, but Patriarch Eldric Alstreim rushed forward and knelt beside his mother.

Patriarch Eldric Alstreim took a deep breath and kowtowed, uttering something similar, but he took much more time as his body kept trembling in shame.

Edgar Alstreim nodded his head to Claire as soon as Patriarch Eldric Alstreim finished his part. He had no enmity with this person in any case but to have the Patriarch kneel to him; he felt that his grievances towards the indifference of the other family members who had stood and watched, doing nothing to help had cleared a bit.

But the dense killing intent the Patriarch projected had him worried for his family.

Claire noticed that and spoke.

"I won't forgive if you lay a hand on my family."

Patriarch Eldric Alstreim gritted his teeth and spoke, "Edgar Alstreim wen-

"Went too far? Do you really think so when Grand Elder Elise Alstreim is the sole reason Weiss Alstreim was unbridled, enabling him to kill my mother?" Claire coldly uttered.

"Despite your actions, you do not seem like repenting to me..."

...Patriarch Eldric Alstreim's pupils trembled. When he saw someone slap his mother, nothing mattered. But he now understood that he couldn't do anything about it.

"Fine, I swear on myself and the heavens that I would not harm Edgar Alstreim's or Claire Alstreim's family for this reason!"

"As the Patriarch, I presume you can differentiate right from wrong and won't indulge your personal feelings when dealing with this matter, Eldric..." Ancestor Dian Alstreim calmly uttered.

Patriarch Eldric Alstreim trembled as he kept his head lowered, "... Yes!"

Claire nodded her head as she could see that the loopholes have been fixed a bit with Ancestor Dian Alstreim putting in a word. Nevertheless, she wasn't afraid of the Patriarch as she knew that her son had some kind of mysterious technique to kill him if they were to be endangered.

The only thing was that she didn't want Davis to use that as she felt that it might affect his potential.

*Clack!~*

She snapped her fingers again as a sign of acknowledgment, "I declare that their sentences have been shortened by two hundred years each."

Looking at the two of them kowtowing and hearing Claire Alstreim's words, Grand Elder Valdrey Alstreim had his mouth agape with disbelief and a sense of surrealism. He couldn't help but abruptly recall the words Ancestor Dian Alstreim once uttered to him.

[Perhaps, the day of reckoning will come soon... At that time, one should do their best to earn forgiveness.]

His daughter Elise Alstreim had become tired to fight that she thinks of three thousand and five hundred years of imprisonment as nothing! His grandson Eldric Alstreim didn't hesitate to plead leniency for his mother!

Nora Alstreim's status was unknown, and he himself was hindered by Ancestor Dian Alstreim!

Judging by the flow, they were cornered, unable to even fight back or lash out in criticism!

'Was this Ancestor truly meant at that day...?'

His eyes trembled as he recognized that this was the day of reckoning to them!

If they all want to come out alive out of this, there was no way out other than to accept punishment. The other two understood this, and he felt that this was why they had gone far as to kowtow and beg for forgiveness despite the humiliation they should've felt.

However, deep in his heart, he was still prouder than his daughter or his grandson. He had kowtowed to his parents and the Third Ancestor as well as Ancestor Dian Alstreim but never had he ever needed to kowtow to another person in his lifetime of eight thousand years.

His body swayed, but his kneecaps struggled to accept this result as it kept him standing tall, refusing to bend!

Looking at the already two kowtowing figures, Claire savored every bit of it. She was unable to kill, but with this, she felt somewhat relieved of her hatred. She looked at the trembling Grand Elder Valdrey Alstreim and narrowed her eyes.

"What's wrong? One more pair of knees and a head that aligns with the feet, and I can effectively reduce another three hundred years for the both of you." Claire coldly uttered.

Grand Elder Valdrey Alstreim's expression froze!

Thre- Three- Three hundred years? For both?

If he knelt, they could effectively reduce the punishment period from three thousand five hundred years to two thousand three hundred years! Then divided into two, they would only have to spend a thousand hundred and fifty years in imprisonment!

Although it still seemed long, this was a whole lot better than the initial two thousand years that they each had to suffer for as they spent their time not doing anything!

Despite still feeling reluctant, when Grand Elder Valdrey Alstreim looked at his daughter's kneeling silhouette and the solitude she would experience in prison, his knees uncontrollably bent as his expression twisted!

His teeth were barred for display as he heavily clenched! His waist struggled to bend, but after half a minute, his head finally faced the ground! He had kowtowed towards Edgar Alstreim!

"I... plead... guilty..." He spat out these words one by one as he shivered.

His eyes were bloodshot.

"Mhm? If I recall correctly, I mentioned about begging for forgiveness?"

Grand Elder Valdrey Alstreim shook as he raised his head and stared at Claire. They coldly looked at each other before the former relented as he looked at Edgar Alstreim.

"I... It wasn't my intent to see your wife die. I apologize for making an unforgivable mistake and deeply... regret it!"

Grand Elder Valdrey Alstreim gasped as he seemed to age a bit. Admitting his wrongs were one thing but forced to kowtow and beg for forgiveness had exhausted him. Even though he knew that he was in the wrong, it didn't mean that he would necessarily ask for pardon.

That's why Claire forced them to kneel.

*Clack!~*

She arrogantly snapped her fingers for the third time, "I declare that their sentences have been shortened to a thousand hundred and fifty years each from the initial sentence period of two thousand years each!"

Grand Elder Valdrey Alstreim took a deep breath as his body slumped.

They had lost and further severely humbled like a dog!