Chapter 17: 017

Cangwu City, Lu Clan.

Although Lu Chunqiu deeply loathed the Wang Clan, when it came time for a true do-or-die struggle, he instead drew back. Hearing that the Wangs weren’t stopping after destroying the Thunderstone, he had indeed been furious beyond measure but quickly suppressed his rage. He told his clansmen: “If we fight the Wang Clan, first, it lets the Zheng Clan reap the spoils without lifting a finger. Second, it makes us a laughingstock before the Master-Disciple Lineage. This matter has already been reported; the Feng Clan and the Heavenly Dao Alliance will grant the Lu Clan justice.”

These words were spoken to the clan’s hot-tempered Elders, and to himself as well. Thunderstone could be destroyed and replaced with other things. As for the Deacon killed by the Wangs, he wasn’t even from the Lu Clan’s Direct Line Branch but a surname-changing adoptee. Lu Chunqiu had no deep feelings for such people.

The Wang Clan came with overwhelming aggression, but the Lu Clan prepared to swallow their anger and endure. Though still furious, the Wang Clan, seeing Lu Chunqiu’s intent clearly, gradually cooled down as well. “Azure Dye Sand” wasn’t without substitutes. As long as the Lu Clan conceded major benefits, why couldn’t this matter be settled? Yet when the two clans met to negotiate, the Lu Clan denied any involvement in the Azure Dye Sand vein’s destruction, once again provoking the Wangs’ ire.

It was universally witnessed that the Azure Dye Sand vein was destroyed by “Thunderfire Golden Pills.” This item originated from the Lu Clan; no one else dared to, nor would, refine it. It was never sold externally, used only for tribute offerings or by Lu Clan members themselves. If not the Lu Clan, could it be the Feng Clan deliberately orchestrating this? Furthermore, the Lu Clan had been in conflict with them right before the vein’s destruction. If not the Lu Clan, who else could it be?

While the two factions stalemated, back at the Chongyuan Sect, Su Xuanjing successfully broke through to the Golden Core Third Layer and emerged from seclusion. She learned of recent events from Hua Xiaozhu and, upon obtaining the “Great Tablet Shattering Hand,” began cultivating it. A mere Yellow-Tier technique was somewhat beneath Su Xuanjing’s notice. The sect possessed far more profound Daoist scriptures left by their Shizun. However, if it served an immediate purpose, practicing it was harmless.

Achieving complete Integration in a technique in such a short time, even a common Yellow-Tier one, was far from easy. Yet for Su Xuanjing, it wasn’t too difficult. Although she primarily cultivated the sword path, she also practiced the “Guizang Scripture,” a technique capable of deduction and divination. She only needed a rough resemblance to the real thing.

A few days later, Su Xuanjing set out with her disciple, Meng Bujue. Meng Bujue practiced the “Record of Secluded Dreams.” Though merely at the Foundation Establishment stage, when used in battle, her Daoist arts could assist Su Xuanjing, making the “Great Tablet Shattering Hand” appear even more authentic.

Like the Lu Clan, the Wangs were a 4th-Rate Clan, their strengths roughly on par, squarely at the baseline. Their clan possessed three Golden Core Daoists in total, with only the Patriarch at the Third Layer. The difference lay in their Foundation Establishment and Meridian Opening cultivators.

The techniques Su Xuanjing cultivated were superior to the Wang Clan’s. Being a sword cultivator skilled in Lightning Methods as well, infiltration and exfiltration weren’t difficult for her. But her goal this time wasn’t simply killing—it was framing the Lu Clan. She had to be meticulous. Capitalizing on the recent intense exchanges between the Wang and Lu Clans, Su Xuanjing intercepted a Wang Clan Golden Core Elder on a roadway.

This Elder was merely at the Golden Core First Layer, two minor realms below Su Xuanjing. Though highly alert, how could he guard against her? The word “Who—” barely escaped before the force-of-a-thousand-catapults blow of the Great Tablet Shattering Hand struck his chest, sending him flying backward. The two Wang Clan disciples accompanying the Elder were killed by Su Xuanjing before they even glimpsed her silhouette.

Within the Wang Clan, those who could cultivate to Golden Core could only be from the Direct Line Branch. Those so-called “clansmen” not of true Wang blood, even if talented, rarely received sufficient resources. Moreover, Golden Cores were pillars of the Wang Clan. Losing even one meant the Wangs could no longer maintain their 4th-Rate Clan status and would fall into the unranked.

Learning of this, how could the Wang Clan Patriarch spare another thought for profit? Any mirth had vanished from him. Between them and the Lu Clan, it could only end in an unending blood feud. The Wang Clan no longer met the standards of a 4th-Rate Clan. Even with a clansman who’d advanced into a Prosperous Clan, the June Review would inevitably strip the Wang Clan of their rank. By then, the Heavenly Dao Alliance’s judgment would certainly favor the Lu Clan, who still held 4th-Rate status!

“The Great Tablet Shattering Hand—that beast Lu Chunqiu! On one hand, he negotiates peace with us; on the other hand, he strikes from the shadows! Utterly shameless, the worst of his kind!” Grieving for his fallen Golden Core Elder, the Wang Clan Patriarch gathered his people, his voice harsh. “We must launch an assault on the Lu Clan in the shortest possible time. The June Review results must not come out early!” Tier divisions were giant chasms. When a bottom-tier clan faced an upper-tier one, only bowing and scraping remained. As for the rights and wrongs of the matter, they held no meaning!

Chongyuan Sect.

After killing the Wang Clan Daoist, Su Xuanjing quietly returned to the sect. What remained was the two great clans’ internecine slaughter. The Wang Clan, having lost a Golden Core Daoist, had already fallen from 4th-Rate status. They would inevitably try to kill a Lu Clan Golden Core, dragging the Lüs down with them. This way, of the Feng Clan’s three subordinate 4th-Rate Clans, only the Zheng Clan would remain. Would the Zheng Clan absorb the territory and forces here? Regardless, the hand strangling the Chongyuan Sect had finally slackened.

“If our Shizun were still here, how would they dare bully us to this extent? Such circuitous maneuvering should not be the way of our kind. Whenever an obstacle stood before us, a single sword swing should have sufficed to cut it down.” Su Xuanjing sighed before the others. Years spent managing sect affairs, compromising everywhere, she had subtly felt her sword intent unable to unfurl. Prolonged, her sword heart would gather dust, the barriers only growing thicker. But with the Master-Disciple Lineage confined to this small corner, she could think of no better method.

“A-Xiao, your Qi Meridians—” Su Xuanjing’s gaze settled on Mo Xuanxiao, a flicker in her eyes. Originally, she thought twenty-eight meridians were Mo Xuanxiao’s limit, suppressed only because she lacked the external medicines needed for Foundation Establishment. Yet now, the twenty-ninth meridian was open.

Mo Xuanxiao glanced at Wei Mingyi. “Junior Sister found a Meridian Opening Pool. It’s helpful for unblocking the Qi Meridians.”

“Hmm?” Su Xuanjing’s gaze sharpened further. Not having inspected the Chongyuan Sect closely upon leaving seclusion, she hadn’t noticed the Meridian Opening Pool’s presence.

Wei Mingyi smiled faintly, saying nothing more. She shifted the topic: “Sect Leader, what about training in the Wild Domain?”

The two words “Wild Domain” brought somber expressions to everyone’s faces. Wei Mingyi knew what concerned them. She raised her brows and smiled again: “What if we had a place to establish ourselves there?”

Not only was Su Xuanjing’s face full of surprise, but even Wu Chongyun lifted her eyes to glance at Wei Mingyi. Pursing her lips slightly, she recalled Wei Mingyi asking her earlier how to rapidly improve her cultivation. Had she taken that answer to heart and gotten ideas? Yet the Wild Domain was far too dangerous for them to venture into. As Wu Chongyun pondered this, her brows furrowed together. She crooked a finger and unconsciously tapped the armrest of her wheelchair. But the next moment, Wei Mingyi grasped her hand. A warmth seeped in through her skin, slowly spreading to her limbs and throughout her body.

Wei Mingyi placed Wu Chongyun’s hand back onto her lap, sparing her from any painful knocking against the hard chair. Completing the action as if no one else were present, she spoke under Su Xuanjing’s shocked and stunned gaze: “But before that, we need to make some small preparations.”

“What preparations?” Su Xuanjing asked reflexively.

Wei Mingyi considered her request a small one: “I want Cangwu City.”

Su Xuanjing: “…” This… these were small preparations?