Chapter 19: 019

The next day.

Wei Mingyi set out with Su Xuanjing.

She trusted the Sect Leader’s abilities, but carrying a Golden Body Talisman gave her a greater sense of security.

After Su Xuanjing killed that Wang Clan Golden Core Elder, the Wang Clan mustered their cultivators with the utmost haste and launched a lightning-fast strike against the Lu Clan in Cangwu City. The Wangs’ fury was genuine. Convinced the Lu Clan was responsible and believing the Lu Clan would be fully prepared, they spared no expense, retrieving even the Profound‑Tier artifact enshrined in their clan—a tool not of slaughter, but of self-concealment. The Wangs sought every possible edge to seize the initiative.

Meanwhile, in Cangwu City, Lu Chunqiu still hesitated. The Wang Clan had grudgingly agreed to negotiate with the Lu Clan, but their demands were exorbitant. If the Lu Clan agreed, after paying tribute to the Heavenly Dao Alliance and the Feng Clan, and compensating the Lu Clan—what would be left for the Lu disciples themselves?

“We might as well just tear off all pretenses,” one Lu Elder proposed a reckless plan. “If we kill one Wang Clan Golden Core, they’ll fall below 4th-Rate status. Then neither the Heavenly Dao Alliance nor the Feng Clan will protect them.”

Lu Chunqiu’s heart wavered at the Elder’s words, murderous intent clearly stirring. Yet he lacked absolute confidence in victory. One misstep would plunge the Lu Clan into dire peril. While he still hesitated, the Wangs suddenly attacked, catching the entire Lu Clan completely off guard. In the first clash alone, several cultivators of genuine Lu blood were annihilated.

The Lu Clan remained utterly unaware that the Wangs had already lost a Golden Core and hadn’t mounted any defense. The Wangs, expecting a bitter struggle, were elated to find the Lu Clan so unprepared, hoping to exploit this chance to kill Lu Clan Elders and balance the scales of power.

Ambushed without warning, Lu Chunqiu erupted in fury and naturally demanded an explanation. But by that point, with battle already joined, any negotiation was pointless. The Wangs needed to wipe out the Lu Clan swiftly, before higher powers could intervene.

In this territory, the three 4th-Rate Clans were like tigers crouching in the forest. Now two tigers clashed, the entire atmosphere of Cangwu City shifted instantly, filled with the sharp scent of impending battle. The Lu Clan wouldn’t take the beating passively. Once they rallied, Thunderfire Golden Pills rained down, followed by relentless booming, dust clouds billowing across the sky.

Daoists at both Meridian Opening and Golden Core stages were locked in merciless slaughter. Already missing one Golden Core, the Wangs set their sights on Lu Ba, one of the weaker Golden Cores. Unaware of the situation, the Lu Clan suspected a hidden Wang Golden Core and split their attention to guard against it. This distraction gave the Wangs the upper hand.

Roughly half a day passed, and Lu Ba fell to a Wang Clan Golden Core. Yet the Wang Golden Core didn’t emerge unscathed, simply due to being outnumbered.

By this time, Lu Chunqiu finally pieced it together. The fact that the other Wang Elder hadn’t shown meant they were likely already dead. Hence, the Wangs’ desperate ferocity!

The Wangs attacked Cangwu City because their Golden Core Elder died? Who did it? Who benefited from the Lu and Wang Clans fighting each other? The Zheng Clan? Whatever the answer, the Lu Clan could no longer retreat at this stage. Losing a Golden Core Elder meant the Lu Clan would fall from 4th-Rate status. Did they expect to bide their time and rise again? Nearly impossible. And this hatred must be poured entirely onto the Wang Clan!

Now, even if Heaven Alliance Stewards arrived, it was too late. Moreover, to get their revenge, those people absolutely could not be allowed to come.

Golden Core Daoists fought fiercely. Both clans were the weakest among the 4th-Rate Clans, their techniques unremarkable, their Magical Power unable to be freely unleashed. After about a day and night, the Lu Clan, leveraging their home-ground advantage, finally gained the upper hand. Flames flickered around Lu Chunqiu, their light surging fiercely, ferocity gleaming in his eyes. Finally, he spoke to the Wangs: “I told you long ago this had nothing to do with my Lu Clan. Now reduced to this state, is Your Excellency satisfied?”

The Wang Clan Patriarch, heavily wounded, stared expressionlessly at Lu Chunqiu. He sneered: “Dragging the Lu Clan down with us is a death I’d gladly welcome.” A mutually beneficial outcome was never possible in this vendetta. Staying passive meant being stripped of rank by the Heavenly Dao Alliance. With other clans eyeing them like tigers, rising again would be harder than ascending heaven—even a clansman favored by a great clan wouldn’t help. Offering aid made you kin; dragging them down meant you’d be severed. But by acting, they could drag their hated Lu Clan into the abyss. Why wouldn’t they?

Lu Chunqiu’s fury was instantly ignited by the Wang Clan Patriarch’s words. Raising his hand, he gathered his Magical Power into a Great Tablet Shattering Hand and slammed it down ferociously! For him, although the Lu Clan had repelled the Wang forces and killed many, it was still a devastating, bitter loss. Of the Lu Clan’s three Golden Cores, only he remained in the end. Such a thing couldn’t be hidden from the Feng Clan. Very soon, the Lu Clan would be demoted. An unranked clan had no right to possess resources.

If he wished the clan to endure, perhaps only one path remained: to change their surname and merge with another clan, forming a Major Clan together. The Feng Clan would likely prefer this. But merge with whom? And who would lead? Lu Chunqiu’s heart was full of displeasure, his thoughts surging like a tide. Regardless, before merging with others, he must first inform the Lu Clan ancestors.

Lu Chunqiu ordered the remaining members to handle the aftermath and took the surviving Direct Line Branch of the Lu Clan to the ancestral land. But just as they approached, he keenly sensed an ominous aura. The guards protecting the ancestral land had been silently killed. Lu Chunqiu’s expression abruptly changed. He suddenly remembered that missing Wang Elder. Had he guessed wrong? The other wasn’t dead but had come to destroy the Lu Clan’s ancestral land and ancestral tablets?

This conjecture surfaced, and Lu Chunqiu trembled with rage, the Magical Power around him shaking violently. Transforming into a streak of light, he rushed into the ancestral land. Before he could even steady himself, several figures—some familiar, some strange—appeared in his vision. “Su Xuanjing?!” Lu Chunqiu roared in uncontrollable fury.

Su Xuanjing looked at Lu Chunqiu with a faint smile and calmly manifested a sword beam. She knew the Lu Clan excelled in refining Thunderfire Golden Pills. If hurled en masse, those things were exceptionally dangerous. Su Xuanjing and the others could disregard them, but Wei Mingyi and Meng Bujue’s cultivation were too low and might not withstand the blast. Yet here, in the Lu ancestral land, Lu Chunqiu had scruples and wouldn’t dare use such methods.

“Taking advantage of our peril! Do you think that without the Lu Clan, the Chongyuan Sect can stretch its limbs? The Master-Disciple Lineage? Heh.” Lu Chunqiu laughed coldly.

“That’s no concern for a name now recorded on the Yellow Springs register like yourself, Fellow Daoist Lu,” Su Xuanjing replied. Her sword beam split into several streaks. She hadn’t been in the Golden Core Third Layer as long as Lu Chunqiu, but her techniques were superior, her energy more profound, her Magical Power far from exhausted. Lu Chunqiu’s foundation was ordinary, and after a fierce battle earlier, how could he match her?

Wei Mingyi stood at the back, watching.

Right now, no Meridian Opening cultivator could serve as her opponent. As for the Golden Core level… she feared being obliterated by a stray shockwave.

“System, reclaim Cangwu City.” Wei Mingyi activated her Cheat Item. The panel before her displayed the vast map of Cangwu City. A gentle glow began spreading at a crawling pace, covering the land. Some areas progressed slightly faster, likely devoid of cultivators. Other areas, far from advancing, even regressed slightly. How was this acceptable?!

Rolling up her sleeves, Wei Mingyi jabbed furiously at her fingers, then rattled off a string of location names, dispatching the Assistant Master and Sect Leader Li Ciyun to handle them.

After roughly half a shichen, the slow golden light finally crawled across the entire map. Her cultivation was far too low; everyone except mortals was stronger than her, so the light’s expansion frequently stalled. This time was only achieved with the help of the Sect Leader and the others.

Since reclaiming land could be impeded by those of higher cultivation, could she use this function in the future to detect nearby powerful enemies?

A spark of inspiration flashed through Wei Mingyi’s mind. She believed she’d discovered a brilliant secondary use for the “Reclamation” function.

After another fifteen minutes, Su Xuanjing retrieved the Celestial Overseer Token from Lu Chunqiu’s corpse and passed it to Wei Mingyi.

Wei Mingyi cradled the Celestial Overseer Token in her palm, observing it. Before she could even speak, the token rapidly dissolved as if burning paper consumed by a golden flame.

Wei Mingyi: “…” She blinked, offering Su Xuanjing an innocent yet apologetic smile.

Su Xuanjing paid the loss no mind. She instructed seriously: “Take everything that can be taken. This trip mustn’t be in vain.”

Wei Mingyi nodded absently, her eyes fixed intently on a badge appearing in the System—a Reputation Badge.

This badge signified an income of one thousand Achievement Points per month. Her resources were finally becoming a little more substantial.

But when she clearly read the fine-print note, her face immediately fell.

Repeated Achievement Points couldn’t be converted into Talent Points. Only the initial acquisition counted.

Her ten monthly Talent Points had just flown away!