Looking at the expressions of Qu Gao Yi and Ying Jiu, Yang Kai nodded secretly, thinking to himself that even if they were seriously injured, a Blood Warrior was still a Blood Warrior.
Looking around at everyone else, Yang Kai suddenly chuckled, “If any of you become my enemies in the future, this Young Lord will not show mercy!”
Zhou Feng nodded firmly, “As it should be!”
Yang Kai turned away and calmly walked out with Qu Gao Yi and Ying Jiu hurriedly cupping their fists to their brothers and sisters before following.
After today, when these Blood Warriors met again, perhaps they would be speaking with their fists and swords, paving the way forward of the Yang Family’s next generation with their own blood.
Everyone silently steeled themselves!
All of them understood.
Outside the hall, Feng Sheng still stood there, and only after Yang Kai walked out a dozen meters or so did he suddenly say, “Young Lord Kai, I will be bothering you with my two subordinates.”
Yang Kai waved his hand and said nothing, Qu Gao Yi and Ying Jiu both keeping pace a few steps behind.
……
All the Yang Family’s direct descendants had returned to the Central Capital and the family had given them nearly two months of preparation time. After selecting their respective Blood Warrior guardians, the Yang Family’s Inheritance War would soon begin.
As the news was announced, the atmosphere in the Central Capital became tense, the entire Great Han Dynasty abuzz with excitement as many of the world’s large and small forces marched in the direction of the capital in order to gain some benefits in this huge event.
There were even a lot of forces that had already arrived in the Central Capital and were waiting, hesitating about which Young Lord they should stand behind.
The Yang Family’s Young Lords had all been busy contacting the various juniors of the other seven families, trying their best to recruit more allies.
The Central Capital’s Eight Great Families, the Yang Family, Qiu Family, Liu Family, Huo Family, Kang Family, Gao Family, Ye Family and Meng Family.
Among them, the Kang Family, Gao Family, Ye Family, and Meng Family had all formally announced who they would ally with; only the remaining three had yet to express their views.
The Liu Family, needless to say, had acted according to Liu Qing Yao’s declaration; he would ally with any Yang Family Young Lord who bested him in combat. The Yang Family’s Eldest Brother Yang Wei had once gone to challenge him, but the result was unknown.
However, since Liu Qing Yao still had not made a clear statement about who he would form an alliance with, the result of their battle was fairly obvious.
Yang Wei had lost.
As for the Huo Family, the delinquent Huo Xing Chen was having fun all day, drinking and partying, showing absolutely no intention to participate in the Inheritance War, giving his father Huo Zheng a massive headache.
Huo Zheng also wanted his son to participate in the Inheritance War, but his disobedient son refused to take any action, frustrating him to no end. If the older generations had been allowed to participate in the Inheritance War, Huo Zheng would have already made a declaration.
Though, as an aside, the Yang Family’s Young Lords had heard that Huo Xing Chen and Yang Kai had some grievances, so many of them had gone looking for him to see if they could use this to persuade him to join them, but none of them had succeeded, instead, all of them found themselves dragged into the red light district, only to emerge a few days later, dizzy, and hungover, sighing as they shook their heads.
Qiu Family.
In his study, the Qiu Family Patriarch Qiu Shou Cheng sat atop his chair. He looked around thirty years old but in fact was over fifty; however, he was born with fair complexion and a tender face, his skin color was much paler than that of a woman, so he appeared much younger than he actually was.
In front of him were two people, a young man and a young woman.
The young woman was none other than the Qiu Family’s First Young Lady, Qiu Yi Meng, the young man the Qiu Family’s Young Lord Qiu Zi Ruo, the two are were half-blood siblings, each having a different mother.
As the Inheritance War was about to start, the Qiu Family naturally had to choose a team.
But Qiu Shou Cheng, like many others, didn’t know much about the various members of the Yang Family younger generation so although he had been collecting some intelligence about them, there was still too little for him to make a decision.
For the other seven great families, their main purpose in participating in the Inheritance War was to hone their junior’s skills, winning or losing had very little effect on their foundations, but if there was a choice, who didn’t want to win? So this matter still warranted some careful consideration.
Qiu Shou Cheng stroked the goatee on his chin and pondered silently for a long time before finally asking, “Meng’er, what are your thoughts on this Inheritance War?”
When he heard his father ask this, Qiu Zi Ruo’s face cramped slightly.
In the Qiu Family, although he was the first heir, but regardless of his personal strength or methods, neither was comparable to his half-blooded elder sister’s. If anything big happened in the family, his father would always consult with his elder sister while he would have to sit by and listen to learn from it.
For his entire life, it had always been so!
Qiu Yi Meng smiled lightly and replied, “According to the intelligence I’ve gathered, the Yang Family seems to have eight Young Masters who want to participate in the Inheritance War! Besides the fourth eldest Yang Xin Wu who has already died, from oldest to youngest, their names are, Yang Wei, Yang Zhao, Yang Tie, Yang Kang, Yang Shen, Yang Ying, Yang Quan and Yang Kai!
Qiu Shou Cheng nodded lightly, not interrupting, motioning her with his eyes to continue.
“The Second Brother Yang Zhao and Fifth Brother Yang Kang are blood related brothers while the Sixth Brother Yang Shen and Seventh Brother Yang Ying are also blood related. These two pairs probably won’t attack each other until the last possible moment, instead they are likely to support one another due to their blood ties.” Qiu Yi Meng’s thoughts turned rapidly, continuously speaking with as much precision as possible, “Furthermore, there are four people from the remaining seven families who have already declared their support for one of the Young Lords, Meng Family’s Meng Shan Yi has allied with the Eldest Brother Yang Wei, Ye Family’s Ye Xin Rou has chosen to support the Second Brother Yang Zhao, Gao Family’s Gao Rang Feng has allied with the Fifth Brother Yang Kang, and finally Kang Family’s Kang Zhan has declared his support for the Seventh Brother Yang Ying. The power of the seven families cannot be ignored as their support will play a large role in the final result of the Inheritance War.”
“Good, because the Yang Family is based in the Central Capital, they have no choice but to deal with the other seven families.” Qiu Shou Cheng nodded, very satisfied with his daughter’s intelligence gathering and thoughtful analysis, but remembering that she was his daughter at not his son, he couldn’t help feeling a bit regretful.
After glancing towards Qiu Zi Ruo briefly, Qiu Shou Cheng sighed quietly to himself.
“So, from a superficial perspective, Yang Zhao and Yang Kang currently have the edge because both brothers have secured one of the seven families as a support.”
“Hm, superficially?” Qiu Shou Cheng listened to his daughter’s tone and asked with a smile.
“In actual fact, this is not the case. Forget about the fact that they are ultimately still rivals, even if they were one force, I’m afraid that their position in this Inheritance War is far from secure. Over the years, for the Inheritance War, the participants from the seven families have never been too strong. The mainstay of the forces they sent out has been members of their younger generation. This is done to avoid breaking the balance and also to avoid causing too many casualties, a kind of unwritten rule, so in addition to the Yang Family Blood Warriors, the Eight Great Families won’t invest any manpower with cultivations greater than Immortal Ascension Boundary Fifth Stage.”
“As a result, the Yang Family Young Lords personal connections from their outside life experience are the more important factor. Those who made many friends and allies and can draw in support from them will have the advantage. Additionally, most of these Young Lord’s mothers are from first-class families. These families will definitely favour the Young Lords who share blood ties with them and will send out a substantial amount of support to try to protect them.”
Qiu Shou Cheng casts a glance at his daughter and couldn’t help smiling happily.
“Father, daughter doesn’t know who will be the ultimate victor in this Inheritance War, but I do know that the Yang Family Third Brother Yang Tie will be the first one eliminated!”
“Oh, why?”
“Because he doesn’t have a single Blood Warrior protecting him! During his outside life experience it seems he didn’t gain much, thus he didn’t have enough merits he could use to exchange with the Yang Family for a Blood Warrior. With no Blood Warriors guarding him and his personal strength not being outstanding… his future prospects are worrying. I am afraid he will be defeated on the first day.” Qiu Yi Meng spoke confidently, her tone never wavering, “The second one will definitely be the Eighth Brother Yang Quan. He doesn’t have the support of one of the seven families and his mother comes from a second-class force so he cannot count on much support from them.”
“Then, the third?” Qiu Shou Cheng grinned as he asked.
“Daughter doesn’t know,” Qiu Yi Meng smiled calmly, “It’s not easy to judge amongst the rest, Fifth Brother Yang Kang, Sixth Brother Yang Shen, Seventh Brother Yang Ying are all possibilities.”
“Hm?” Qiu Shou Cheng couldn’t help but frown, a hint of confusion appearing on his face as he stared at his daughter with some doubt.
Qiu Zi Ruo, who had stayed to the side and didn’t talk, suddenly laughed and said, “Elder Sister, the third person to be eliminated is clear, how come Elder Sister can’t see it?”
Qiu Yi Meng smiled as she glanced towards Qiu Zi Ruo. “Oh? What is little brother’s opinion?”
“It’s not my opinion,” Qiu Zi Ruo smiled faintly, “It’s just that it is obvious.”
“If you think so, talk about it.” Qiu Shou Cheng looked indifferent and nodded to his son.
“Yes!” Qiu Zi Ruo glanced at Elder Sister and said confidently, “The third person to be eliminated must be the youngest, Yang Kai!”
“Why so?” Qiu Yi Meng smiled indifferently, seemingly aware that he would say this.
“Similar to what Elder Sister said just now, this Yang Kai doesn’t have any blood related siblings to help him, nor does he have an ally amongst the seven families. Even if his mother’s family sends some people, at most that is only the help of a single first-class force, nothing to fear. On top of that, he is the youngest among the brothers, almost the same age as me, his personal methods are no doubt lacking, so the third to be eliminated must be him!”
Qiu Zi Ruo spoke with absolute certainty, like he was already witnessing the scene of Yang Kai’s defeat.
Qiu Yi Meng simply continued smiling though, not refuting her younger brother’s argument, instead turning to look at Qiu Shou Cheng and asking, “Does lord father think so as well?”
Qiu Shou Cheng paused for a moment before nodding slightly, “En, I have the same idea as your brother. In addition to the reason your brother has stated, according to the information I’ve gathered, after his return to the Central Capital, he has never been seen communicating with any of the seven families, all of his brothers have at least made some effort to win over their support, the only reason I can think of is that he has no confidence in himself and has simply given up on this times Inheritance War!”
Qiu Yi Meng firmly shook her head though, “Father, I must disagree with father here, on the contrary, I intend to have our Qiu Family support him instead!”
Qiu Zi Ruo gawked for a moment before turning to his sister, “Elder Sister, are you alright? How could you make such a poor decision?”
Qiu Shou Cheng also knit his brow as he said, “Meng’er, I know that you are acquainted with Yang Kai and have even traveled together with him for a time, but I have already received a message from Lu Liang about how he acted in the Lu Family. Because of the details Lu Liang reported, I am not too optimistic about him. If you want the Qiu Family to support him, you’ll have to give me a reason to do so, otherwise, it is impossible for me to promise you. Although winning or losing the Inheritance War will have no effect on my Qiu Family’s foundation, but there will inevitably be some losses along the way.”
“A reason? I can’t say it clearly, but Father, from when I was a child till now, when has my judgement ever disappointed you?”
Qiu Shou Cheng’s expression immediately became awkward, for what Qiu Yi Meng had said was true. His daughter had always excelled at seeing through others and her judgements had always been sound. Over the past few years, there were even sometimes when he would overlook something and she would be the one to remind him of it, even providing insight and advice which had been beneficial to him.
Qiu Yi Meng speaking so seriously forced Qiu Shou Cheng to re-examine his decision, slowly saying, “What does he have that is worth paying attention to?”
However, Qiu Yi Meng just slowly shook her head, “I really can’t say, but he is an amazing individual who can often do things which are seemingly impossible, giving people a sense that there is nothing he cannot accomplish.”
She wanted to tell me her father that the Beguiling Demon Queen from the Ash-Grey Cloud Evil Land had her heart captured by Yang Kai, but she obviously knew better than that.
The Ash-Grey Cloud Evil Land was, after all, the place where demons gathered, and Shan Qing Luo was one of the six Great Evil Kings, a force the Central Capital’s Eight Great Families had always been incompatible with. For this time’s Inheritance War, Shan Qing Luo providing him any assistance was unlikely.
But aside from the Demon Queen, Qiu Yi Meng didn’t know if Yang Kai had any other powerful allies.
“You evaluate him so highly?” Qiu Shou Cheng’s eyes narrowed slightly, his implied meaning obvious.
Qiu Zi Ruo also raised his brow and grinned lightly, “It seems like Elder Sister has finally met a man she favours. I didn’t expect there to be any man in this world who could enter your eyes.”
Both father and son were clearly hinting that Qiu Yi Meng had been taken with Yang Kai.
“I indeed have a good impression of him,” but to their shock, Qiu Yi Meng openly acknowledged their suspicions, “However, emotionally, I still feel no sense of attachment to him. That is because whenever I am around him, he always leads me by the nose. Making me the passive one!”
Qiu Shou Cheng’s brow furrowed as he was secretly shocked, “Is that boy really that good?”
About his daughter, even amongst the Central Capital’s older generation, none could force her into the passive role; she was always the one leading others by the nose, so this evaluation from her was quite remarkable, but her statement also made Qiu Shou Cheng glimpse some even more important information.
“He’s indeed quite strong!” Qiu Yi Meng smiled bitterly, remembering about Yang Kai’s attitude and approach to her, she couldn’t help gnashing her teeth.
“Love really will make a person stupid,” Qiu Zi Ruo shook his head slowly, as if was an old man extolling the lessons of life.
“Father,” Qiu Yi Meng ignored her half-brother’s opinion of herself, neither confirming or denying his charge, simply smiling as he continued, “Let’s not talk about my opinion of him, but rather yours. You’ve judged that he will be the third one eliminated, but isn’t that because of the information you obtained yourself and because of the opinion Lu Liang gave in his letter?”
“Not bad.” Qiu Shou Cheng stroked his goatee calmly as he nodded, “Lu Liang didn’t make too many comments in his letter, instead just explaining about what happened during his stay at the Lu Family, but even so I can clearly feel Lu Liang’s contempt for him from his words.”
“And if all that was simply a disguise?”
Qiu Shou Cheng expression suddenly became serious, “If that’s the case then he hides his depths far too well, even fooling that old fox Lu Liang.”
Qiu Yi Meng smiled and stood up from her chair, after taking a few steps, she turned back and said, “In fact, I was still hesitating about whether to tie our Qiu Family to him, at least until today, but now I’ve made up my mind, and I feel even more so that my judgment is not wrong.”
“And why is that?”
“Precisely because of his inaction! When he visited the Lu Family, he took no action, after returning to the Central Capital he is still sitting back! In the Lu Family, he never tried to win over Lu Liang, and even after returning to the Central Capital he didn’t make any overtures to the other seven families, but I traveled with him for quite some time so one thing I know for certain is that he is not the kind of person who is content with mediocrity. He is a man of great ambitions and he either doesn’t do something, or does it to the very best of his abilities. He will never give an enemy an opportunity to breathe! His inaction now just goes to show that he is already convinced of his victory!”
As Qiu Yi Meng spoke her brow also furrowed slightly as she slowly shook her head, “I really don’t know where his confidence comes from, but he definitely has it!”
“Elder Sister, isn’t all this just your own guesses and feelings? You haven’t told us anything about what kind of help or means he has!”
Qiu Shou Cheng also frowned. “That’s right, Meng’er, you said before that you were hesitating about aligning yourself with him, do you have any other candidate in mind?”
Listening to this, Qiu Yi Meng suddenly realized that all her efforts had been in vain.
Her father was still not optimistic about Yang Kai! Otherwise he wouldn’t have asked her this question.
“Good, in addition to Yang Kai, I have two other candidates, one is the Eldest Brother Yang Wei, and the other is the Second Brother Yang Zhao. Yang Zhao doesn’t require any explanation; he himself is a talented and strong individual who is also the current Yang Family Patriarch’s son. His chance for success is high. As for Yang Wei, as the eldest of his brothers and the only Immortal Ascension Boundary of the Yang Family younger generation, he also has a decent chance at winning.” Speaking till her, Qiu Yi Meng suddenly smiled bitterly, “But now, both of them have already secured an ally amongst the seven families, if my Qiu Family were to support one of them, I’m afraid that wouldn’t do us much good.”
“En, if we did so, even if they were to win, it won’t result in much benefit for our Qiu Family,” Qiu Shou Cheng said sullenly, suddenly turning his head and looked at his son, “Zi Ruo, what do you think?”
Upon hearing this, Qiu Zi Ruo was secretly ecstatic, knowing that his opportunity had finally come.
This was the first time the Qiu Shou Cheng had taken the initiative to ask him for his own opinion and about such an important matter like the Inheritance War at that, the deeper meaning of this was something Qiu Zi Ruo naturally understood.
“Father, according to your son’s point of view, since we must participate in the Inheritance War, then we should find a Yang Family Young Lord who does not already have an ally amongst the seven families, so that after we achieve victory, our Qiu Family can be the only ones to reap the benefits!” Qiu Zi Ruo wasn’t a stupid person, listening to his elder half-sister talk about it for so long, naturally he had formulated some ideas of his own, “My thoughts are that we should ally ourselves with the Sixth Brother Yang Shen, with his brother, the Seventh Brother Yang Ying already allied with the Kang Family, plus our Qiu Family, such a team would at least be comparable to the Yang Zhao and Yang Kang brothers’ alliance.”
Qiu Shou Cheng smiled and nodded.
Knowing this was a sign of approval; Qiu Zi Ruo knew that what he had proposed was also what his father was thinking, allowing him to breathe a little easier, his excitement showing as a faint blush upon his face.
Witnessing this, Qiu Yi Meng shook her head and sighed.
Even if her performance was superior, in the end she was still a woman, incapable of inheriting the Qiu Family in the future. Her fate was only to be a chess piece used for marriage in order to bring more benefits to the Qiu Family.
The room suddenly fell quiet as Qiu Shou Cheng’s fingers tapped on his chair, wrinkling his brow in contemplation as he weighed the various gains and losses of his next decision.
After a while, his expression became firm, opening his mouth once more, “Good, for this Inheritance War…”
“Father!” Qiu Yi Meng quickly interrupted.
“Hmm?” Qiu Shou Cheng’s brow wrinkled, staring at his daughter with a slight look of disappointment.
“Father, for this Inheritance War, your daughter request permission to bring a team to support Yang Kai!” Qiu Yi Meng grits her teeth and spoke her mind. Although she knew this would make her father unhappy, Qiu Yi Meng still felt that her judgment was definitely not wrong.
Hearing what she said, Qiu Zi Ruo couldn’t help but chuckle.
Staring at his treasured daughter for a while, Qiu Shou Cheng faintly asked, “Do you insist on this?”
“Yes! Your daughter has never once asked you for anything, but this time I must insist on doing this; therefore, please grant your permission.”
“Good, I will transfer the family’s Autumn Rain Hall to you,” Qiu Shou Cheng offhandedly said.
“Many thanks…” Qiu Yi Meng smiled bitterly.
The Autumn Rain Hall wasn’t an important division of the Qiu Family, the number of members it had was small and their individual strengths also wasn’t great, so her father transferring control of it to her was obviously in preparation the Autumn Rain Hall to be completely sacrificed. In fact, Qiu Yi Meng felt that if she hadn’t spoken out so determinedly, she wouldn’t have received any help at all.
[If that’s how you feel, then I’ll let time prove who is right and who is wrong, and just who is more suitable to inherit the Qiu Family!]
Qiu Yi Meng’s eyes suddenly became firm, a hint of ruthlessness hidden with them.
“Draw back,” Qiu Shou Cheng waved, making Qiu Yi Meng retire.
As she left the study, a soft conversation between her father and younger brother took place, and though the voices still reached her ear, Qiu Yi Meng didn’t have any interest in listening.
That same night, the back courtyard of the Clear Sky Tavern, the Bamboo Knot Gang headquarters.
Yang Kai looked at a stack of silver coins in front of him dully.
Behind him stood two towering men. The two of them had stood there quietly for a long time, not saying a word since they had arrived, but their faces were both pale as paper as the veins on their foreheads would throb every now and then. Once in a while, a cold sweat would drip down their faces as they apparently endured tremendous pain, their clothes stained a light red in various places, just like a patchwork of embroidered flower buds.
At their feet was a small pool of blood.
The Bamboo Knot Gang Sect Master Pang Chi and deputy Sect Master Mu Nan Dou carefully stood side by side, measuring the two men who seemed to be on their dying breath, trying to determine why Yang Kai would bring such people around with him.
“Over the past few days, with the combined strength of our two factions we have already annexed two small forces, causing the strength of the Bamboo Knot Gang to soar. We have also collected a lot of materials and money. Young Master Kai, this is an inventory of our gains, everything is recorded within!” Pang Chi respectfully took out a book and placed it in front of Yang Kai.
“No need,” Yang Kai shook his head, “Exchange all these silvers for materials, but the quality must be higher now, everything should be Heaven Grade and above, the higher the grade the better, in addition, how many other forces in the North City District can be eaten?”
“If Brother Mu’s intelligence is accurate, there are still five that can be annexed.” Pang Chi replied.
“Good, each of you bring one of them and subdue those five forces as quickly as possible.” Yang Kai pointed to the two men standing behind him.
“Take… take them?” Pang Chi and Mu Nan Dou suddenly looked dumbfounded as the stared at the bloody figures behind Yang Kai.
What could these two men do? Pang Chi and Mu Nan Dou hadn’t dared speak too loudly before for fear that they may harm these two men, so listening to Yang Kai tell them to bring them out to subdue these small forces obviously perplexed them.
Inside the Bamboo Knot Gang’s main hall, Pang Chi and Mu Nan Dou hesitantly looked at the two people behind Yang Kai.
“Do you have a problem?” One of the seemingly dying people suddenly coldly snorted, an overwhelming Divine Sense pressure filling the air.
Feeling the power of this Divine Sense, Pang Chi and Mu Nan Dou’s expressions immediately changed, realizing that these two men, even if half-dead, were unfathomable masters.
The extraordinary strength of these two Divine Senses would be enough to sweep away the small forces in the entire North City District.
Quickly collecting themselves, the two gang leaders hastily shook their heads, “Subordinate doesn’t dare!”
“Go!” Yang Kai casually waved his hand.
Before they could see the movement of the two towering figures behind Yang Kai, Pang Chi and Mu Nan Dou found themselves wrapped in an irresistible force and disappeared from the hall, leaving behind only a faint bloody smell in the air.
After Qu Gao Yi and Ying Jiu disappeared, Yang Kai grinned.
It had been five days since these two had begun following him.
The two Blood Warriors were seriously injured and should be spending their time recuperating in bed, but Yang Kai had completely ignored their physical conditions and even seemed eager for them to die as soon as possible, taking them with him wherever he went.
Over the past five days, Yang Kai didn’t talk to them or give them any instructions.
But what made Yang Kai happy was that he didn’t feel any annoyance or unwillingness from either Qu Gao Yi or Ying Jiu.
Right now, the two could exert less than thirty percent of their full strength, but that was already more than enough to sweep up the small forces in the Central Capital’s North City District.
If there was time, Yang Kai had wanted to let Pang Chi and Mu Nan Dou slowly annex these small forces themselves, but the Inheritance War was about to start, therefore, he couldn’t afford to wait so long.
Left with no other choice, he decided to dispatch the two Blood Warriors in order to expedite the process.
Standing up, Yang Kai walked out of the main hall and signaled to one of the Bamboo Knot Gang’s executives, “Take me to your warehouse.”
“Yes!”
The Bamboo Knot Gang had already swallowed up two small forces and purchased a lot of Alchemy and Artifact Refining materials at the request of Yang Kai, all of which was now stored in their warehouse.
Yang Kai entered for a moment before just as casually walking out, his Black Book space now filled with many more good things.
In addition to the large amount of materials sent to him five days ago by Yang Zhen and the Elder Hall, Yang Kai’s current stockpile was already quite significant.
The efficiency of the Elder Hall was quite high, it only took them one day to convert all of Yang Kai’s remaining merits into materials and deliver them to the Yang Family Fourth Master’s residence.
When they saw the two rich piles of delivered goods, both Yang Kai and his father couldn’t help feeling shocked.
Everything that was sent was above Heaven Grade, and one-tenth of them were actually Mysterious Grade, half for Alchemy, half for Artifact Refining!
Fortunately, the Yang Family had a solid foundation; otherwise, it wouldn’t have been able to produce so much material in such a short time.
Yang Ying Feng didn’t understand how Yang Kai could have so many remaining merits after acquiring two Blood Warriors.
Yang Kai did not expect to receive so much either.
It was quite a while before the father and son due came to their senses. Now, all of these things had been swept away into the Black Book space.
“Inform Pang Chi to continue to collect materials. When there is enough, have them shipped to War City,” Yang Kai said offhandedly before walking off.
War City! A city built by the Yang Family specifically to host the Inheritance War, located only a hundred kilometers or so from the Central Capital.
“Yes!” The Bamboo Knot Gang’s executive responded vigorously.
After Yang Kai left, the man felt a little confused. Why did the Young Lord want to see the warehouse? It seemed like he just walked in and walked out without taking anything.
Curious, he quickly looked inside, but what he saw almost caused his soul to leave his body, a cold sweat immediately dripping down his forehead.
All the materials originally placed in the warehouse had disappeared, like they were never there.
[This… how did… what… but…]
Three days later, the Yang Family presented offerings to Heaven and their ancestors.
A majestic stage with a perfectly smooth floor covered in a majestic red carpet. The Offering Sacrifices To The Heavens Stage had two magnificent stone pillars atop it that seemed to ascend straight into the sky. On the stone pillars were various lifelike carvings of dragons and phoenixes that appeared to swim through the Nine Heavens.
The sky was blue with not a cloud in sight for ten thousand kilometers, the wind blowing through caused the Yang Family’s blood red banners to flutter gently.
Nearly a thousand Yang Family cultivators, dressed in black uniforms, gathered around the huge ceremonial altar.
These thousand cultivators inhaled and exhaled as one, almost as if this stretch of Heaven and Earth was breathing.
Just below the altar stood the eight Yang Family Young Lords, all of them wearing their finest robes, their appearances meticulously put together, arranged in order from oldest to youngest, staring up at the ceremonial stage.
Suddenly from somewhere behind them, a voice called out, “Qiu Family Patriarch, Qiu Shou Cheng!”
“Ye Family Patriarch, Ye Kuang Ren!”
“Meng Family Patriarch, Meng Xiping!”
……
Just like a few decades ago, the Yang Family Inheritance War was the largest and most lively event in the Central Capital. The other seven families would naturally not miss its commencement, all of the various Patriarchs showing up personally.
Yang Family disciples would meet these distinguished guests and bring them to their arranged positions to sit, carefully serving them tea as they waited.
In the short span of half an hour, the seven family’s Patriarchs had all arrived.
With a cyan flash, the Yang Family’s Patriarch, Yang Ying Hao, along with a few Grand Elders who had reached the Above Immortal Ascension Boundary, appeared on the ceremonial stage.
As soon as the host appeared, Qiu Shou Cheng and others rose up and cupped their fists.
Yang Ying Hao returned to the ceremony politely before shouting, “Today is the day my Yang Family presents offerings to the Heavens and worship our ancestors. Many thanks to our honoured guests for joining us this day, please be seated!”
Qiu Shou Cheng, Ye Kuang Ren, Meng Xi Ping, nodded slightly before once again sitting down.
Yang Kai’s eyes fixed on Yang Ying Hao. This person, if one went by generation, should be his uncle, his real age probably only a few years older than his father, the Yang Family Fourth Master.
But now, Yang Ying Hao’s hair had gone completely gray as if he had already entered his late years, even his face had many deep wrinkles adoring it.
Before the battle with the Ash-Grey Cloud Evil Land, he was not like this. At that time, he also had the appearance of a middle age man, maybe not young, but definitely not so old.
The reason for his rapid aging was because of an injury he had received at the hands of the Ash-Grey Cloud Evil Land battle by the Profound Yin Ghost King and the Annihilating Poison King. After returning to the family, he had taken advantage of the Yang Family’s life and death technique to steady his injuries at the cost of shortening his life expectancy to thirty years at most.
The Yang Family Patriarch’s role was crucial, so even though a life expectancy of thirty years wasn’t very long for someone of his cultivation realm, Yang Ying Hao didn’t hesitate to use this forbidden technique to stabilize himself.
His current condition wasn’t simply the result of his trauma, but also a result of him directly overdrawing his vitality.
As such, Yang Ying Hao became very old.
It was because he didn’t know how long he could live that the Yang Family had so anxiously recalled all the Yang Family Young Lords in order to launch the Inheritance War.
Yang Zhao and Yang Kang both looked at their aged father and felt deeply saddened in their hearts.
Yang Ying Hao, on the other hand, wore a light expression as he extolled the Inheritance War’s rules.
Essentially, there were no rules. The Yang Family would only provide Blood Warriors to the Young Lords and these Blood Warriors would have many restrictions imposed on them for the duration of the Inheritance War. Besides that, the Yang Family would not provide any Young Lord with any direct help.
No matter what kind of force or treachery was used, the one who survived until the end would be the winner of the Inheritance War.
“Do you understand?” Yang Ying Hao looked at the eight youths standing below and asked, each of them nodding firmly in response.
“Good, then bow to the Heavens, bow to the ancestors!” Yang Ying Hao waved his hand and shouted loudly.
All kinds of offerings had already been prepared in front of the solemn ceremonial platform, an incense burner released a gentle fragrance while a rare Sixth-Order Monster Beast was carried up, which Yang Ying Hao proceeded to kill, scattering its blood all over the stage.
Offering a blood sacrifice to the Heavens to worship the ancestors!
The ceremony was very elaborate, but Yang Family’s younger generation completed their tasks meticulously under the guidance of Yang Ying Hao.
Throughout the whole process, the other seven families elites also watched carefully, observing the performance of these eight youths, doing their best to determine whether the ally of their son or daughter was appropriate while also examining which of their enemies was formidable.
Finally, after paying respects to the Yang Family’s ancestors one last time, the ceremony was finally completed.
“Go now! From this point on, it is either you die or I die, put your all into it to achieve victory!” Yang Ying Hao shouted, “Go!”
At his command, a whistle rang out and eight exquisite Cloud Treading Colts arrived in front of the eight youths, each these Yang Family Young Lords swiftly riding their mounts.
The wind stopped and the air around the ceremonial stage suddenly seemed to stagnate, the breath of over a thousand people suddenly halting.
The eight youths glanced at each other and grinned confidently.
Here they were all brothers, but outside the Central Capital, they were enemies! There would be no mercy.
And so…
“Eldest Brother will take the lead!” Yang Wei quickly said, his Cloud Treading Colt sprinting away the moment his voice fell.
“Let’s go!” Yang Zhao chuckled.
Eight Cloud Treading Colts dashed towards the Yang Family’s dedicated gate, a cloud of dust billowing up in their wake.
“This old master is going to see the excitement!” Kang Family Patriarch Kang Rui snorted and with a wave of his hand, the pure True Qi wrapped him and his entourage up before they shot off like lightning.
“Good, we’ll go together!” Gao Family Patriarch Gao Mo Jin followed after.
“This old man will also come!” Not to be outdone, Huo Family Patriarch Huo Zheng also called out loudly.
In an instant, all the members of the seven families had disappeared.
“Hmph, no manners at all!” Yang Ying Hao coldly snorted, blaming these old men for not coming up to say hello to him at least.
All the way, eight Cloud Treading Colt rushed along the ground while seven groups of people flew through the sky, a moment later all of them arriving at the South city Gate.
Outside the South Gate, it seemed to be even more lively than at the Yang Family’s ancestor worshipping ceremony. Countless small forces stood around watching, all of them understanding that today was the beginning of the Inheritance War. It was only natural for them to arrive here early and wait for the various Yang Family Young Lords they had agreed to follow so they could travel to War City together.
Beyond the South Gate, a dense crowd of people spread out several kilometers, while there were many others secretly observing from afar.
“Which Young Lord is your Great Yang Valley going to follow?” Some people familiar with one another began asking.
“Of course it’s the Sixth Young Lord, Yang Shen!”
“Don’t go, you’ll definitely lose. Come with us Flying Cloud Manor to follow the Second Young Lord, Yang Zhao, the second Young Lord has more potential than the Sixth Young Lord.”
“Is that true?”
“Naturally it’s true, come come, I’ll tell you about it, I know a lot of inside information.” The two men hooked their shoulders and went off to discuss things in secret.
Small third-class forces like Great Yang Valley and Flying Cloud Manor normally had no way to socialize with the likes of the Yang Family, so before the start of Inheritance War, they had no way to see the Young Lords and could only wait here. They were even less clear about the strengths and weaknesses of these Young Lords, so most of them wanted to observe them for themselves or listen to friends who might know more before deciding who to follow.
In front of the South Gate, seven groups of people suddenly appeared, forcing all the cultivators clustered around back as if they were pushed by an invisible force.
After everyone regained their footing and looked forward, not only did they not feel angry, they instead showed signs of excitement.
Seven of the Eight Great Family’s Patriarchs had all appeared at once!
These great figures couldn’t be seen normally, so everyone who bared witness to them felt that the price they had paid to travel to the Central Capital was worth it.
For a time, many cultivators showed expressions of worship and admiration towards these seven men.
As for these seven Patriarchs, they too stared around at the gathered crowds with interest. What happened next outside the Central Capital was also a test of the charm of the Yang Family Young Lords; naturally they wanted to know which forces waiting at this South Gate would follow which Young Lords.
With a burst of noise, eight Cloud Treading Colts appeared one after another.
The Yang Family’s eight Young Lords participating in the Inheritance War appeared on the scene.
Meng Family’s Meng Shan Yi quickly urged his mount forward and greeted Yang Wei, cupping his fists with a smile, “Young Lord Wei.”
“En, I’ve kept you waiting!” Yang Wei replied calmly and nodded, the two had already announced their alliance so it wasn’t surprising to see them acting intimately here.
Ye Family’s Ye Xin Rou also walked forward, a faint blush appearing on her beautiful face. She was around twenty years old, her skin as pure as snow, her figure graceful, and a touch of shyness which adorned her face only added to her charm as she greeted, “Young Lord Zhao.”
Yang Zhao laughed and extended his hand to Ye Xin Rou, smiling warmly as he called out, “Come up!”
Ye Xin Rou nodded slightly, lightly taking Yang Zhao’s hand and in one move, leapt up and floated in front of Yang Zhao, sitting atop his Cloud Treading Colt.
Upon seeing this, the other six Patriarchs took a deep look at Ye Kuang Ren.
In front of so many eyes, a man and a woman not from the same family acting so closely, it appeared they weren’t just simply allies. Obviously there was something more going on.
Ye Kuang Ren remained indifferent, showing no intention of blaming his daughter for acting so boldly, seemingly well aware of this relationship.
At the same time, Gao Rang Feng and Yang Kang greeted each other while Kang Zhan and Yang Ying smiled at one another.
These four families had long ago expressed their stance, allying themselves with these four Young Lords.
This was a stage for young people.
“Old Qiu, hasn’t your Qiu Family chosen yet?” Huo Zheng looked over at Qiu Shou Cheng curiously. Glancing around, he once again confirmed that his delinquent son was nowhere to be seen. Thinking about how he was probably off on some romantic tryst, he suddenly felt a sense of helplessness so seeing Qiu Shou Cheng standing as well, he couldn’t help feeling some sympathy.
“How has my Qiu Family not already chosen?” Qiu Shou Cheng smiled slightly as he glanced to one side.
Huo Zheng directed his sight towards where Qiu Shou Cheng indicated and quickly discovered Qiu Zi Ruo standing together with the Sixth Brother Yang Shen. Yang Shen seemed all too happy to receive Qiu Zi Ruo while the latter responded politely.
Seeing Qiu Shou Cheng’s son here, Huo Zheng couldn’t help being surprised, “Hey, Old Qiu, for this time’s Inheritance War, is your son leading the Qiu Family team? What about Meng’er?”
The other six Patriarchs also looked at Qiu Shou Cheng in confusion, obviously puzzled by this picture.
Qiu Shou Cheng had one son and one daughter, but there was no small difference between the two. Qiu Yi Meng’s name already resounded throughout the Central Capital and even beyond, she was the second most famous member of the Central Capital’s younger generation. All of them felt that Qiu Yi Meng’s participation in this Inheritance War was a given, but to their surprise the one who appeared was Qiu Zi Ruo.
“My son is already old enough, it’s time for him to gain some experience.” Qiu Shou Cheng smiled casually. “The Inheritance War is a rare opportunity for him to grow!”
Huo Zheng spat disdainfully, releasing a half sneer half sigh, “Old Qiu, it’s not that I’m trying to speak badly of him. Heaven knows that compared to my little bastard of a son, your brat is no doubt better, but he’s still nothing special. From how I see it, you should hurry up and pass the Patriarch position to your daughter. If you really hand it over to your son, you Qiu Family will meet its end sooner rather than later!”
Qiu Shou Cheng coldly snorted, “How this old master handles things is none of your business!”
Huo Zheng simply rolled his eyes in response, “Stubborn old fool.”
In the field, five of the Eight Great Families had already expressed their attitudes and the people from the other gathered forces had who had been observing up until now could no longer hold themselves back. The next moment, a young man rushed forward and stood before Yang Wei, cupping his fists respectfully, “Third Sacred Sect’s Chief Disciple Xuan Li is willing to follow the First Young Lord!”
Yang Wei glanced at him and nodded gently, “Good!”
Xuan Li happily thanked Yang Wei before he quickly took up a spot behind him.
Following Third Sacred Sect’s lead, young people from all sizes of Sects came forward in a hurry to express their wish to join the Yang Family Young Lord they had chosen.
For a time, the scene was quite lively. From the gathered audience, the Eldest Brother Yang Wei and Second Brother Yang Zhao received the most help, whenever someone came up to one of them, Yang Wei would simply nod lightly while Yang Zhao would welcome them with a smile.
The two brothers had vastly different personalities so their way of doing things at this moment were also dissimilar.
In addition to the two of them, Fifth Brother Yang Kang, Sixth Brother Yang Shen, and Seventh Brother Yang Ying also gathered a number of supporters in a short period of time.
Only the third Brother Yang Tie, Eighth Brother Yang Quan and the youngest Yang Kai remained alone. They stood in front of the door without anyone bothering to ask about their situation.
The difference between the brothers in terms of their connections and charisma was identifiable at a glance.
Yang Tie and Yang Quan glanced at each other and exchanged a bitter smile, knowing they had no hope of winning this time’s Inheritance War.
“Brother Kai, don’t pay it any mind,” Yang Tie suddenly comforted Yang Kai in a soft voice.
“En,” Yang Quan nodded lightly, “You’re still better off than us; not only do you have two Blood Warriors, you also have support from your mother’s first-class force whereas we… haa!”
There was an indescribable despair and helplessness in their tone, one of them only had one Blood Warrior, the other had none.
“It’s fine,” Yang Kai slowly shook his head, seemingly without the slightest care, but his eyes were always fixed on the dozen or so Blood Warriors which stood nearby.
These Blood Warriors were selected by the Yang Family Young Lords to participate in the Inheritance War. Qu Gao Yi and Ying Jiu were also standing in the middle, pale as paper, anyone with discerning eyes could see that they were still heavily injured. Their vitality wavered as their Blood Force had obviously suffered a great loss. If they didn’t rest and receive treatment soon, it was quite possible that they would die.
But despite all that, the two of them still stood there, resolute and motionless.
It was only when Yang Kai cast his gaze on them did they straighten their backs slightly more.
However, Yang Kai wasn’t looking at them, but rather another man and woman!
Tu Feng, Tang Yu Xian!
Both of them reluctantly smiled towards Yang Kai. They didn’t want to oppose him, but Tu Feng and Tang Yu Xian were both selected by one of the Young Lords to participate in this Inheritance War, so they were destined to become enemies with Yang Kai regardless of their wills.
It was just that Yang Kai didn’t know for the time being which of his brothers they served.
When Yang Kai smiled back at them, both Tu Feng and Tang Yu Xian trembled lightly, feeling a cold chill run up their spine. Every time the Little Lord smiled like this it meant that he was up to something.
[I really don’t want to be enemies with him!] Tu Feng and Tang Yu Xian both thought to themselves, filled with bitterness. Although their strength still greatly surpassed his, Tu Feng and Tang Yu Xian didn’t know why, but they both couldn’t help feeling pressure from this Little Lord of theirs.
As time passed, the various gathered forces divided themselves between the five Yang Family Young Lords who everyone felt had hopes of winning.
Seeing this, Yang Tie and Yang Quan’s expression became dimmer and dimmer.
The Patriarchs of the seven family were all commenting on the Yang Family’s children, but Qiu Shou Cheng was particularly amazed.
Since listening to his daughter’s evaluation of Yang Kai that night, Qiu Shou Cheng had decided to pay a little attention to him today, but despite the fact that none of the smaller forces rallied to his side, the thick look of confidence which filled his eyes never wavered.
This scene secretly surprised Qiu Shou Chen.
The brief exchange between Yang Kai and Tu Feng and Tang Yu Xian also didn’t escape his observation, only confusing Qiu Shou Cheng more.
An unsupported child from the Yang Family was equal to a tiger without fangs. Like this, just what kind of stir could he cause during this Inheritance War? Also, in such an embarrassing situation, he didn’t show the slightest unease. From beginning to end, he seemed like an island of calm in a raging storm, as if he was absolutely assured of himself even now.
Moreover, the two Blood Warriors who were Immortal Ascension Boundary Eighth Stage masters, why did it seem like they were afraid of him?
Qiu Shou Cheng couldn’t help marvelling slightly at all this, his evaluation of Yang Kai improving slightly.
Perhaps he really had some skill, but… it definitely wasn’t enough to win this battle.
His results could easily be seen from the current situation, he didn’t have the qualifications to strive for victory in this Inheritance War.
Once all the smaller forces had chosen their respective sides, the Yang Family’s Young Lords prepared to leave for War City.
Just as Yang Wei gripped his reins and was preparing to lead his team off though, a leisurely sound of horse’s hooves rang out from behind him.
Outside the South Gate, the crowd fell silent for a moment as the sound of grew louder and louder.
Turning in the direction of the disturbance, everyone looked over and saw a single Cloud Treading Colt trotting towards them, a young man wearing a big grin on his face sitting atop its back, holding his folded arms before him arrogantly. A strange light filled his eyes as he swept his gaze over the crowd, pausing only when a beautiful woman landed in his sight.
No matter which woman it was, when this young man’s eyes landed on them, they couldn’t help feeling as if their dresses were being torn open, causing them to shiver in fright.
Huo Family Patriarch Huo Zheng old face suddenly became extremely awkward.
Because the youth who had appeared was none other than his no-good son, Huo Xing Chen.
With only a short distance separating them, Yang Kai and Huo Xing Chen glanced at each other, the latter showing a hint of disdain and provocation, the edges of his mouth rising slightly.
That night, Huo Xing Chen had led the Profound Light Gang to attack Bamboo Knot Gang, but when Yang Kai arrived, he had taken Huo Xing Chen hostage and later blackmailed him out of a large sum of money, which had resulted in him handing over the Profound Light Gang. Now that they had met once again, Huo Xing Chen naturally wouldn’t give him any face.
“Did this Young Lord arrive late?” Huo Xing Chen paused in front of everyone, grinning pompously, sweeping his eyes around once more before nodding. “Good good, fortunately it seems I’ve arrived in time!”
Before the Yang Family Young Lords returned home, there were three members of the younger generation whose names resounded the loudest in the Central Capital.
The first and most famous was Liu Qing Yao, the second was Qiu Yi Meng, and the third is Huo Xing Chen.
The first two were famous throughout the Central Capital whereas the last one was notorious. Everyone in Central Capital knew that the Huo Family’s only Young Lord was arrogant and unrestrained. Any beautiful girl, young or old, when she saw him from far away, would immediately rush to avoid his eyes lest she be taken away.
Every family in the Central Capital that had a pretty young daughter had shown her a portrait of Huo Xing Chen’s face so that she would remember his appearance.
In a way, Huo Xing Chen’s name was even better known than Liu Qing Yao and Qiu Yi Meng. He had even earned the nickname ‘Central Capital Wolf’!
Wherever Huo Xing Chen, the Central Capital Wolf, appeared, the winds whirled and the ground shook. Even the Central Capital’s crying children would become silent at the mention of the Central Capital Wolf’s name!
At this moment, the Central Capital Wolf sat on the back of his Cloud Treading Colt as he pompously stared around, hands clasped before his chest, not showing any intention of dismounting to greet any of the many Elders gathered around him, causing many of the other families’ Patriarchs to glance at each other and shake their heads.
“Where did you go last night?” Huo Zheng let out a sigh of frustration as he asked.
“Secluded retreat,” Huo Xing Chen casually replied.
To this response, Huo Zheng was so angry that smoke nearly burst from his ears, “Little bastard! What the hell is that lipstick on your face about then!?”
Outside the South Gate, there was a sudden burst of laughter.
Huo Xing Chen however didn’t mind these chuckles, instead just sneering as he swept his eyes over the crowd, immediately causing the laughter to stop.
Even though the Central Capital Wolf’s reputation couldn’t be worse, he was still the Young Lord of one of the Eight Great Families! He wasn’t someone these people could laugh at.
Not to mention, he was the only successor to the Huo Family, making it even more unwise to provoke him. If one were to laugh at him again now, they would have to worry that this Young Lord Huo would remember their appearance.
Huo Zheng shook his head helplessly, his face filled with barely controlled rage, coldly snorting as he asked, “Since you’re not fooling around in the Red Light district, what are you doing here?”
Huo Xing Chen smiled and said, “Hahaha, didn’t you say that the Yang Family Inheritance War was a rare opportunity to gain experience? Your son has thought about it and came to the conclusion that the Huo Family can’t just sit on the sidelines of such a major event, or else others might start saying my Huo Family has no real men!”
Hearing these words, Huo Zheng couldn’t help smiling, his previous displeasure and anger already thrown to the wind, hurriedly asking, “You mean… you want to participate in the Inheritance War?”
“Your son was indeed thinking so, after all, I should try to live up to your expectations!” Huo Xing Chen replied in a dignified manner.
Huo Zheng was overjoyed, slapping his thigh happily, “Good good good! You finally understand, finally! It’s not too late! Good, come down, come down!”
As he spoke, Huo Zheng rushed forward, diligently helping his son down from the back of his Cloud Treading Colt.
He didn’t feel the slightest embarrassment at his overly doting approach, instead just smiling brightly as he acted.
Of course Huo Zheng would be deliriously happy. No matter how he tried to persuade Huo Xing Chen, his son was never willing to participate in the Inheritance War. Compared with the Inheritance War, he was more willing to go out drinking.
This attitude had caused Huo Zheng to think that the Huo Family would have nothing to do with this times Inheritance War, leaving him quite depressed.
But now, to his great surprise, on the day the Inheritance War truly commenced, his delinquent son had actually taken the initiative to participate all by himself, how could Huo Zheng not be happy?
“Take a look!” Huo Zheng smiled, waving his hand and pointing towards several nearby youths, “These are the eight Yang Family Young Lords! Son, choose one you want to support, after you do, Father promises you he’ll let the Star Hall accompany you!”
“Do you mean it?” Huo Xing Chen’s brow rose, his face suddenly becoming wretched.
“Naturally I mean what I say, in the presence of so many of your Elders, will this old master make jokes with you?” Huo Zheng said seriously.
“Hahaha, good! I like it!” Huo Xing Chen laughed as he licked his lips ominously.
The voices of the father and son were heard by everyone present, even the breathing of many of the Yang Family Young Lords also became slightly rough.
Star Hall! Within the Huo Family, it was their special forces.
It was completely made up of women, and the women inside were not only beautiful, but also quite strong. More importantly, because they were women, the Secret Arts and Martial Skills they practiced were more focused on precision and swiftness, so over the years they had mainly been responsible for assassination.
If such a force were to land in their hands, it would become a big boost. If it became an enemy’s support, it would definitely give them a severe headache.
So when these Yang Family children heard Huo Zheng mention the Star Hall, both they and Huo Xing Chen were full of interest.
Huo Xing Chen’s expression was casual as he glanced around at all the Yang Family’s children. With the exception of Yang Wei who maintained his stoic expression, everyone else smiled and cupped their fists.
Obviously they all wanted to win his favor so he would choose to stand with them.
Huo Zheng however just maintained his smile, not giving anyone any clue as to who he would ultimately choose.
After a moment of silence, Huo Xing Chen’s gaze landed on Yang Kai, his expression immediately becoming wicked as a taunting grin appeared on his face, nodding firmly, “You!”
Yang Kai’s brow twitched as he looked at Huo Xing Chen, his face filling with confusion.
He had never expected Huo Xing Chen would choose him. This was completely unreasonable, after all, the two of them had some not small grievances between them. As long as he was a normal person, he would choose others and then make every effort to suppress him to achieve the purpose of revenge, but now he had actually chosen to support Yang Kai; simply incomprehensible.
“Who?” Huo Zheng also looked awkward.
“Young Lord Kai!” Huo Xing Chen replied with a smile.
The seven Patriarchs all frowned slightly while Qiu Shou Cheng became even more puzzled.
“Hey, give me control of the Star Hall now,” Huo Xing Chen said excitedly, “The Star Hall and my name match; they should be taken care of by me. You’re already quite old; you shouldn’t hold them back now lest those beauties end up alone when you croak!”
Huo Zheng’s old face cramped as he opened his mouth a few times, seemingly wanting to curse viciously but doing his best to hold back since he was currently in public, after a long time, angrily muttering, “Little bastard! I won’t allow you to do this!”
Huo Xing Chen suddenly wore an amazed expression, “Are your words just farts? You just said that after I make a choice you’d give me the Star Hall yet now you’re refusing to follow through, do you not want face anymore?”
All of the other Patriarchs gathered nearby felt their self-restraint being test as all of them couldn’t help feeling the impulse to laugh at this good show playing out before them, each of them either staring up or down, pretending to be deaf as they wore big grins on their faces.
Huo Zheng roared furiously, “I told you to make a choice and then I’d give you the Star Hall, but you… you… if you had chosen someone good then so be it but you actually choose this…”
Yang Kai expression immediately sank as he stared towards Huo Zheng, smiling ominously.
Huo Zheng quickly collected himself, releasing a dry cough, not pursuing this topic any further, instead just shaking his head and saying, “No, it’s not good. Choose someone else!”
“As a man, how can I not uphold my word? This is a decision about a future ally not a concubine, how can I change my mind now?” Huo Xing Chen spoke righteously, waving his hand in a big motion, “Say no more, I’ve decided!”
“You… you unfilial son!” Huo Zheng shouted indignantly, the veins in his neck throbbing as his face became beet red, even his True Qi fluctuating somewhat unsteadily.
“Hey, dad, you seem angry. Do you want to hit me?” Huo Xing Chen said with an entirely fake naive expression, seemingly doing his best to provoke his father even more, almost as if he wanted him to die from anger.
The other Patriarchs had seen enough by this point, some of them trying to mediate the situation.
Gao Mo Dao spoke first, “Old Huo, forget it, your son has his own thoughts, why try to block him so desperately?”
Meng Xi Ping also added, “That’s right, just let it go, it’s nothing important.”
Huo Zheng coldly snorted in response, “Nothing important? That’s the strength my Huo Family carefully cultivated! Do you all not take the forces your families’ have raised seriously?”
All the other Patriarchs laughed awkwardly at this rebuttal, saying no more.
“Huo Zheng!” Yang Ying Hao, who had arrived at the South Gate at some point and had witnessed at least some of the farce which had taken place just now, finally couldn’t contain himself anymore and shouted, “The Inheritance War is the grand event by which my Yang Family chooses its next Patriarch. It is also the stage for the younger generation to prove themselves, Xing Chen has made his choice, you shouldn’t involve yourself more than necessary.”
At Yang Ying Hao’s words, Huo Zheng couldn’t help but frown.
Huo Xing Chen smiled and said, “It seems the Yang Family’s Patriarch is wise, unlike my confused old man!”
“If you dare act presumptuously again, this Old Man swears he’ll kill you today!” Huo Zheng furiously roared.
“Fine, fine, you’re not as young as you used to be, you should just go home, retire from your position, and leave the Huo Family to me.” Huo Xing Chen waved his hand impatiently.
“Disobedient brat!” Huo Zheng ground his teeth in frustration, “Whatever you choose to do is your freedom, I won’t stop you, but if you think this old man will give you command of the Star Hall, you’re dreaming!”
After making this declaration, Huo Zheng turned around and stormed off.
Huo Xing Chen didn’t pay him any attention, instead turning to Yang Kai and grinning meaningfully, “Young Lord Kai, it seems that we’ll be fighting together as brothers in arms!”
Yang Kai just stared back at him indifferently.
Outside the South Gate, things finally subsided.
The Eight Young Lords rode their Cloud Treading Colts and headed to War City!
Tu Feng and Tang Yu Xian looked at Yang Kai awkwardly for a moment before nodding slightly, turning around and following behind Yang Kang as he gradually rode off into the distance.
Yang Kai saw this scene and couldn’t help grinning maliciously, signaling to Qu Gao Yi and Ying Jiu casually, “Let’s go.”
“Yes!” The two loudly shouted.
Huo Xing Chen rode up to Yang Kai’s side and looked at him curiously, glancing back at Qu Gao Yi and Ying Jiu a few times before letting out a laugh, “Interesting, interesting! Not a single force willing to support you, two half-dead Blood Warriors, don’t you think you situation isn’t that optimistic?”
“If you speak any more nonsense, I’ll kick you out!” Yang Kai glanced at him coldly.
Huo Xing Chen was startled, apparently not expecting Yang Kai’s attitude towards him to be so bad, but rather than being angry, he instead became even more interested, “Your other brothers were all kind and amiable, yet you dare act this way towards me. You really are interesting! This Young Master wants to see how you make it through the night!”
“You think I’m going to lose?” Yang Kai suddenly looked at him with a smile.
Huo Xing Chen choosing to ally with himself had greatly exceeded Yang Kai’s expectations and Yang Kai didn’t intend to count on him for any help but it wasn’t until now that he understood his true thoughts.
He simply wanted a front row seat!
“Why do you think this Young Master chose you?” Huo Xing Chen smirked, “This Young Master wants to see how a toothless, clawless tiger is defeated in this Inheritance War!”
“If so then I’m afraid you’re going to be disappointed,” Yang Kai grinned back at him fiercely, his eyes filled with confidence.
Huo Xing Chen snorted disdainfully, “I don’t deny that your personal strength is outstanding, but what can accomplish all alone?”
Turning back, Huo Xing Chen pointed at Gao Gao Yi and Ying Jiu and said, “You think those two can play any role? Maybe you’ve become senile just like my old man.”
Qu Gao Yi and Ying Jiu’s expression sank, both of them firmly declaring, “Even if we subordinates lose our lives, we swear we will not let anyone close to the Little Lord!”
Hearing Qu Gao Yi and Ying Jiu declare themselves subordinates, coupled with their respectful attitudes, Huo Xing Chen couldn’t help but frown, subconsciously feeling that something was a little wrong.
Were the Yang Family’s Blood Warriors ever so polite to someone who wasn’t yet their master?
“How about we make a bet?” Yang Kai suddenly looked at Huo Xing Chen and smiled deviously.
“What are we gambling on?” Huo Xing Chen suddenly became interested.
“We’ll gamble on whether or not I can survive this evening!”
Staring at Yang Kai, the Central Capital Wolf’s eyes narrowed slightly, his thoughts turning sharply.
“Afraid?” Yang Kai laughed, his expression ice cold, sarcastically muttering, “If you’re afraid there’s no need to follow me, if you’re not careful, you may lose your life tonight! I heard that you’re the only heir to the Huo Family, if you die in War City things probably won’t end peacefully!”
“Afraid?” Huo Xing Chen grinned ominously, “This Young Master doesn’t know the meaning of the word! If you dare gamble with me, I’ll make sure you regret it! Don’t you know this Young Master is most famous for three things? Eating, drinking, and gambling!”
As he spoke, a look of excitement flashed across his eyes.
“What are the stakes?” Huo Xing Chen asked.
Yang Kai glanced over Huo Xing Chen and quipped, “You’re dirt poor right now, what can you possibly offer up?”
Huo Xing Chen’s mouth twitched before scratching his head awkwardly, “Fair enough.”
“Then we’ll go with something small,” Yang Kai laughed deviously. “If you lose, I don’t want anything from you, instead you’ll have to run ten laps around War City naked!”
“Uh… this… doesn’t seem appropriate, Brother Kai…” Huo Xing Chen suddenly frowned, if he really were to streak ten laps around War City, would he have any face left at all?
“What’s wrong, you’re already infamous throughout the Central Capital, running ten laps in the nude shouldn’t be a problem for you, there’s no need to fear being itchy when you’re already covered in lice.” Yang Kai said dismissively, his expression filled with mockery.
Listening to Yang Kai’s persuasion, Huo Xing Chen couldn’t help feeling he was right, eventually nodding, “What you say is true, but in any case I don’t think I’ll lose. If you lose, what can you give me?”
Yang Kai whistled loudly and suddenly a loud eagle cry rang out above them!
Immediately, a golden light swooped down and a Golden Feather Eagle perched steadily atop Yang Kai’s shoulder, its sharp intelligent eyes shimmering as it glanced about.
“If I lose, I’ll give him to you!”
Huo Xing Chen suddenly felt excited; if Yang Kai had said he would give him some artifact or Precious treasure he may not have been interested, as the sole heir to the Huo Family, what treasure could he not acquire?
However, this Golden Feather Eagle was different. This was an exclusive Monster Beast of the Yang Family. Forget about it being a formidable Monster Beast, just its grand appearance was enough to make Huo Xing Chen very tempted.
When he went out in the future, if he could bring along this Golden Feather Eagle with him, wouldn’t that give a big boost to his face?
As a Young Lord who revelled in extravagance, such prospects were quite to his liking.
“Say it and mean it!” Huo Xing Chen was afraid that Yang Kai would back down, so he quickly agreed, staring towards the Golden Feather Eagle with a look of joy, muttering under his breath, “Little Eagle, seems your surname will change tonight!”
Yang Kai smiled and said nothing.
A hundred kilometers from the Central Capital, War City.
This was a city built by Yang Family, and although it wasn’t as prosperous as the Central Capital, it was still quite good. Usually, it was just another ordinary city, but every time the Inheritance War was held, it would transform into a battlefield.
War City had an octagonal shape with a large mansion at each of its corners, naturally these mansions were prepared for the eight Young Lords who would participate in this time’s Inheritance War.
It was possible they would be fighting here for quite some time.
Throughout the ages, it was unusual for one of the Yang Family Young Lords to achieve total victory in a short period of time. Most of the Inheritance Wars were long drawn out conflicts, normally taking anywhere from three to five years to determine the outcome.
According to Yang Family’s records, one of the Yang Family Young Lords a hundred years ago had won the Inheritance war after only half a year.
This kind of achievement was already enough to be arrogant about because the closer one came to victory, the more powerful their enemies would also be.
It was only when one had a considerable advantage that they could easily defeating their opponents.
As the brothers entered the city in turn, the whole of War City instantly boiled. There were quite a few people living here, but most had already left for fear they might be implicated in the Yang Family Inheritance War.
Those who remained were all daring people, many of whom were actually quite looking forward to Inheritance War.
After exchanging some final remarks, the brothers separated from each other and went to their respective compounds.
Yang Kai’s base was in the northwest corner. This location’s scenery wasn’t very good, relatively remote and deserted, but he didn’t care.
A group of only four people arrived at the northwest corner’s compound where two pretty servants stood waiting for them. Each of the eight mansions had some caretakers; these servants were sent by the Yang Family to take care of the daily needs of the Young Lord and their entourage. All of these people were ordinary mortals, so their presence wouldn’t have any effect on the outcome of the Inheritance War.
When Yang Kai arrived, the two elegantly dressed young girls bowed politely and shouted, “Greetings, Young Lord Kai!”
The tone these two spoke in was not enthusiastic but rather matter of fact; whether it was Yang Kai or Huo Xing Chen, both of them subtly found that the expressions of these two maids was faintly dispirited.
The reason was obviously because they were assigned to the base of a Young Lord who had no future, so the two girls unconsciously weren’t looking forward to it.
The servants in these mansions, although not participants in the Inheritance War, certainly hoped to follow one of the better Young Lords, not only so their own safety would be guarantee, but also in hopes that if the one who they served was satisfied with them, once that Young Lord inherited the Patriarch’s position they would also have a chance to rise.
Huo Xing Chen smiled at Yang Kai, seemingly taunting him that even the ordinary people thought he had no chance of success, once more feeling that things were becoming interesting.
Yang Kai remained indifferent, only nodding slightly to the two servants before leading Qu Gao Yi and Ying Jiu into the compound.
Behind him, Huo Xing Chen smiled and called out to the two young girls, “Young ladies, what are your names?”
Seeing the obscene expression on Huo Xing Chen’s face, the two girls couldn’t help being frightened, retreating a few steps as their faces paled.
Naturally these two had heard the Central Capital Wolf’s name, so both of them were secretly anxious about how they would escape from his poisonous hands, but a moment later, Yang Kai’s voice passed from inside the yard, “Don’t even think of laying hands on anyone in my mansion!”
Huo Xing Chen’s expression cramped as he called out bitterly, “Hey, Yang Kai, aren’t you being a bit too controlling?”
After shouting so, he quickly chased after the trio who went in before him and said with indignation, “There seems to be no other beauties here, what do you want me to do to pass the time?”
Yang Kai gave him a faint look and said, “There should be a brothel in War City, you can head there yourself if you’re not afraid of being captured!”
“Fine, fine,” Huo Xing Chen waved his hand and said reluctantly. He had chosen to support Yang Kai in full view of the public, so despite his motives he had now become enemies with almost everyone else in this city. Even he knew that now wasn’t the time to visit the local Red Light District.
“If you’re looking for a beautiful woman, would I suffice?” From inside the mansion’s front entrance, a woman’s voice suddenly called out.
Hearing this voice, Yang Kai couldn’t help gawking, while Huo Xing Chen almost instinctively shrank his neck and stared ahead miserably.
What he saw was a bright eyed, delicate, jade skinned young woman wearing a lavender dress, a pleasant smile on her face as she walked out from inside, her two arms crossed in front of her, emphasising her rich, snow white peaks. Laughing lightly at the two dumbfounded youths before her.
“Qiu Yi Meng?” Huo Xing Chen exclaimed.
“I was wondering who it was who was seeking for beautiful women! So it turns out it was Brother Huo!” Qiu Yi Meng looked at Huo Xing Chen with a warm friendly smile, the latter staring back at her bitterly. Silently cursing his back luck to actually be meeting her here before suddenly feeling surprised, staring at Qiu Yi Meng in shock as if a strange thought had just crossed his mind.
“How come you’re here?” Yang Kai’s brow wrinkled as he asked.
Today had been full of surprises, Huo Xing Chen had become his ally for no apparent reason and now even Qiu Yi Meng had come here.
“Hasn’t your Qiu Family decided to side with my Sixth Brother?” Yang Kai frowned.
Qiu Family’s Qiu Zi Ruo had joined up with Yang Shen outside the South City Gate and at the time, the Qiu Family Patriarch Qiu Shou Cheng was also on the scene. That display was clearly telling everyone that the Qiu Family was an ally of Yang Kai’s Sixth Brother.
Yang Kai didn’t understand why Qiu Yi Meng had appeared in his compound, and it looked as if she had actually been waiting for him.
“The Qiu Family is the Qiu Family, and I am I!” Qiu Yi Meng smiled brightly, tilting her head slightly as she turned her eyes upwards slightly towards Yang Kai, “Why, am I not welcome?”
“Beauty, you weren’t disowned by your family were you?” Huo Xing Chen blurted out a guess he had.
“What do you mean, explain it to me simply.” Yang Kai asked curiously, completely ignoring Huo Xing Chen’s outburst.
“I’m here to help you, isn’t this the Inheritance War? What’s so difficult to understand? From now on, we’re allies.” Qiu Yi Meng grinned, seeing Yang Kai in a state of confusion made her quite happy.
Huo Xing Chen’s thoughts spun for a moment before smiling wickedly, “Your old man is quite cunning isn’t he? He actually decided to place two bets instead of one.”
He was was obviously misunderstanding, thinking that the Qiu Family had decided to support both Yang Shen and Yang Kai; however, Huo Xing Chen also had many doubts. He didn’t understand what kind of magic Yang Kai had used to persuade the Qiu Family to take a chance on him. He had only come here to fool around at Yang Kai’s expense because he was looking for excitement, but the Qiu Family was definitely not like this.
“Like I said, the Qiu Family is the Qiu Family, I am I,” Qiu Yi Meng slowly shook her head, “Right now I’m not representing the Qiu Family, only myself.”
Yang Kai’s thoughts turned quickly, soon grasping the general situation, nodding lightly as he asked, “Understood, how many people did you bring with you?”
Qiu Yi Meng smiled wryly, “I was only allowed to bring the Autumn Rain Hall with me.”
Releasing his Divine Sense, Yang Kai instantly understood the strength and condition of all the cultivators inside the mansion, causing his brow to twitch slightly.
Huo Xing Chen beside him also let out a sneer, “The Autumn Rain Hall? The one that specializes in housing disabled cultivators? If I remember correctly it only has about twenty members, right?”
“En, it’s the hall specialized in taking care of our wounded!” Qiu Yi Meng gave Huo Xing Chen an annoyed glare.
Amongst the Qiu Family’s cultivators, anyone who had received a grave injury, suffered a decline in strength, and had no hope of ever recovering in the future was sent to the Autumn Rain Hall. There was only one or two Immortal Ascension Boundary experts in the entire hall, and their realms weren’t high.
Qiu Yi Meng along with these people simply weren’t enough to cope with the crisis that Yang Kai would be facing tonight.
“If they’ve come then so be it, having help is always better than having nothing.” Yang Kai looked at Qiu Yi Meng, smiled and nodded.
Qiu Yi Meng smiled back brilliantly and said, “I hope you don’t let me down!”
“What are you so optimistic about?” Huo Xing Chen shook his head slightly, wondering why these two didn’t seem the least bit concerned about this Inheritance War, crossing his arms and saying, “A helper with no power to use, two severely injured Blood Warriors, and a Young Lady who only brought a bunch of disabled people with her. It’s hopeless, Yang Kai, you might as well give up right now.”
Huo Xing Chen was clearly not optimistic about Yang Kai, “Doesn’t your mother come from the Dong Family? Why didn’t I see them with you at the South Gate? Don’t they care about you?”
Right now, if there was the support of a first-class family, the situation probably wouldn’t be so worrying.
“They’ll come,” Yang Kai grinned deviously, “Just not today!”
“What do you mean?” This time it was Qiu Yi Meng’s turn to be stunned. From Yang Kai’s smile, she smelled a hint of conspiracy, but as intelligent as she was, she still couldn’t figure what kind of snake oil Yang Kai was selling.
“All of you can attend to your own business, today there’ll be nothing for you to worry about. Men will block the enemy and earth will block the water.” Yang Kai casually said, leading Qu Gao Yi and Ying Jiu into the mansion.
“Why you…” Qiu Yi Meng followed a few steps, but seeing Yang Kai striding away, not even glancing back, she suddenly couldn’t help feeling annoyed, angrily stomping her foot a few times as she ground her teeth.
She was even more certain now that Yang Kai was plotting something, but simply refused to explain anything to her at all, causing Qiu Yi Meng to feel a sense of frustration.
Every time she was facing Yang Kai, she was led around by her nose, always unable to gain the upper hand, she simply couldn’t grasp what he was thinking or what he would do next.
[As sly as a fox!] Qiu Yi Meng silently cursed to herself.
Standing bitterly in the same place for a while, Qiu Yi Meng eventually snorted once before heading off to arrange her Autumn Rain Hall’s defense. Although there were no masters in the Autumn Rain Hall, it was still possible for them to lay down some traps around the perimeter.
————————————————————————————–
War City. Grand Origin Restaurant.
The restaurant was in full swing, customers coming and going, keeping the waiters constantly busy.
Before the Inheritance War began, a lot of people had already gathered inside War City. This was the battlefield of the Yang Family, naturally there were some who had come here early to await the arrival of the Yang Family Young Lords.
At a table by a window, a young fatty, around twenty six years old sat drinking wine and eating delicious food.
To his left and right there were two old men who say there staring off into the distance, like they had been stunned and were in a daze. The two old men seemed unremarkable, motionless, squinting like they were half asleep, but their seemingly unfocused eyes were actually constantly observing the guests inside the restaurant.
The crowd in the restaurant was constant chatting, many of the patrons who had drunk too much were telling tales of what had happened outside the Central Capital’s South Gate today.
The two old and one young man sat there listening to these words, after a long time, one of the old men said, “Young Master, if what they say is true, then Young Lord Kai’s future is worrying.”
With only Huo Xing Chen, who couldn’t mobilize any power from the Huo Family, supporting him, Yang Kai essentially was on his own.
“En,” The other old man also nodded slightly, “Are we really not going to his compound to help now?”
“I also want to head there.” The young man with a slightly fat body grumbled angrily, his expression quite helpless, “But that little brat sent me a letter two days ago telling me specifically not to intervene today but instead to just sit back and observe the situation.”
“Don’t intervene?” The old man who spoke first asked in confusion, “Does that mean Young Lord Kai thinks that without any additional strength, he can cope with the impending danger? My Dong Family is bound by marriage with the Fourth Master and Young Master and Young Lord Kai are cousins. Now that he is facing difficulties, we should render him assistance, should we not?”
The young man was none other than the Dong Family’s Dong Qing Han, and the two old men were the Wind and Cloud Dual Guards who had been following him all this time.
Dong Qing Han shook his head lightly, “Only the Heavens know what that smelly brat is up to. I also heard that the two Blood Warriors with him are seriously wounded and currently can’t use even half of their full strength. I also wanted to rush over to meet with him, but since he specifically made a request for me to wait, I can only wait.”
The Wind Guard’s brow lightly furrowed, “The Yang Family’s Blood Warrior all posses incredible strength. This old master has also had some dealings with the two Blood Warriors beside Young Lord Kai, and I know for a fact that both of them are among the very best!”
Dong Qing Han suddenly became interested, smiling as he asked, “If you were to engage in a life or death battle with them, what would the result be?”
Wind and Cloud Dual Guards wore solemn expression as they responded, “Both of us old masters have lower cultivations than those two by a single minor realm. If they were at their peak, even if only one of them displayed their Mad Tyrant Blood Skill, killing us would be as easy as flipping their hand, but as of now… I’m confident that in a one on one, we’d be able to beat them easily.”
Dong Qing Han let out a sharp breath, his expression a mix of surprise and awe, nodding lightly, “The Yang Family really lives up to its reputation. With that Mad Tyrant Blood Skill at its disposal, who could possibly beat them?”
The Wind Guard calmly continued, “The Mad Tyrant Blood Skill is indeed a terrifying method, but because it requires the user to overdraw their vitality, most of the Yang Family’s Blood Warrior are generally not long-lived, this is also a sorrowful point for the Yang Family’s Blood Warrior Hall.”
The Cloud Guard also nodded sternly in approval.
“Forget it, let’s not discuss this any further, since that little brat doesn’t want me to intervene, he must have his own arrangements. We’ll wait here for a day and then go to his place tomorrow to ask him what this was all about.” Dong Qing Han spoke casually, seemingly not worried about whether Yang Kai would survive tonight or not.
The Wind and Cloud Dual Guards couldn’t help feeling surprised, not knowing what Young Lord Kai had said in the letter he had sent to their Young Master that had made him so confident about his success.
A different restaurant, third floor.
Another young man sat looking out the window in front of him. This youth was approximately twenty three years old with a handsome appearance. At the moment, like Dong Qing Han, he too was tasting a variety of delicacies, but unlike Dong Qing Han’s helpless expression, this youth was full of smiles, like he was the happiest person alive.
“Young Master, Lord Patriarch had said that we were to deliver these materials and people to that Yang Kai. Now that he has arrived in War City, should we not go see him now?” The youth’s guard quietly whispered.
However, the young man continued smiling as he replied, “Why should we head there? Didn’t you hear the people in the restaurant all saying that Yang Kai will be eliminated tonight? Although the things that I, Lu Song, have brought this time are not priceless, but they are still good things. If we were to send them to him now, wouldn’t that be like trying to beat a dog with a meat bun? What use would that be?”
“Young Master Song, you mean…” Although the guard felt that this was somewhat improper, he could only ask.
Lu Song was the heir to the Lu Family, the oldest son of Lu Liang. This time, on Lu Liang’s order, he had carried a large amount of gifts to the Central Capital in order to placate Yang Kai for the incident where he was attacked soon after leaving the Lu Family home.
Although what had transpired had nothing to do with the Lu Family, and later almost all of the Yang Family Young Lords suffered from similar assassination attempts on their way home, Lu Liang still had no choice but to pinch his nose and swallow this insult. Who let Yang Kai stay at his Lu Family for several days?
The innocent and guilty would both be swept up by disasters! As a big family, how could they not understand this point?
After they received word from Qiu Yi Meng, Lu Liang had immediately let his son leave for the Central Capital in order to plead their innocence.
Lu Song coldly snorted, “That Yang Kai is too despicable! Just because he happened to pass by my Lu Family and was later attacked, he took the opportunity to blackmail our Lu Family’s resources! You tell me, how can my Lu Family’s things be handed over to that bastard so cheaply?”
“What the Young Master said right.” The guard also took the opportunity to vent his anger, “This Yang Family Young Lord really is despicable, he actually made the Qiu Family’s First Young Lady send that letter to make it absolutely clear he wanted our Lu Family to offer him tribute!”
“That’s right, but looking at the current situation, I had no need to give these things to him. Right now he’s just a grasshopper after the autumn, who knows how many hours he has left? Hahaha, tonight we’ll get to watch a good show.” Lu Song smiled proudly, “If he loses, I won’t hand over a single silver to him.”
The guard frowned at that moment though and objected, “But Young Master Song, before we departed, the Patriarch said that no matter how that Yang Kai performed in the Inheritance War, these gifts must be sent to him.”
Lu Liang also knew that his son was somewhat arrogant and short-sighted, so he had given very specific instructions about what they were to do to the masters sent to guard him.
When Lu Song heard these words, he also frowned, showing a conflicted expression.
He naturally didn’t know that when word of Yang Kai being attacked shortly after leaving the Lu Family home, the Lu Family’s Grand Elder Lu Si had also returned from Hidden Cloud Peak.
A few months ago, Lu Si had gone to Hidden Cloud Peak, handed Yang Kai’s letter and jade slip to Xiao Fu Sheng, and Grandmaster Xiao had immediately refined that Mysterious Grade pill for him. After taking that pill and refining its medicinal effects, Lu Si’s meridians were completely healed and he at last truly became an Above Immortal Ascension Boundary powerhouse.
After returning to the Lu Family, Lu Si called Lu Liang and explained some secrets to him.
As for what the Grand Elder said to the Patriarch, no one else knew, but all of the Elders in the family could feel that after Lu Si’s return, Lu Liang’s opinion of Yang Kai had changed greatly. It was also because of this that he had so refreshingly ordered Lu Song to bring such a large amount of gifts to the Central Capital to offer Yang Kai.
Lu Song was unaware that all of these twists and turns had even taken place so to this day he still didn’t understand why his father had given such orders.
“If that Yang Kai is eliminated from the Inheritance War so quickly, what’s the point in giving him these things?” Lu Song said as he shook his head in annoyance, muttering under his breath, “It will be such a waste!”
The guard next to him eventually relented, “Young Master, how about we wait and see how that Yang Kai performs? In any case, Patriarch had only said that we must deliver him these things, he didn’t say when. If he can’t even last one day, then these materials will be useless to him and we’ll act according to Young Master’s plans. If he does manage to survive though, we should follow the Patriarch’s instructions and deliver these things to him.”
“Good, we’ll do that,” Lu Song nodded in approval, “If he were to lose on the first day of the Inheritance War, then he’ll definitely have no future in the Yang Family. Such a person, my Lu Family doesn’t need to fear.”
“It is just as the Young Master says!” The guard also nodded.
War City northwest corner, Yang Kai’s mansion.
In one of the rooms, Yang Kai was sitting lazily, a pretty maidservant serving him tea, after Yang Kai took a sip, he casually waved to dismiss her.
Before the maidservant left, her eyes glanced towards Qu Gao Yi and Ying Jiu in fear.
The conditions of the two Blood Warriors had gotten worse and worse over the past few days, especially after Yang Kai had sent them out to help subdue the North City district’s small forces. Their vitality drained quickly and their injuries noticeably worsened, even if they took the Yang Family’s special healing pills they would have little effect.
Their foundations had been compromised!
About this, both Yang Kai and they were very clear. So long as their foundations weren’t shaken, with their cultivation realm and inherent blood force, they would still have had a chance to recover.
At this moment, the two Blood Warriors were pale white and their bodies were constantly sweating. They were enduring severe pains all the time. The faces of the two men alternated between stern and fierce, blue veins throbbing on the foreheads like wriggling worms.
If any ordinary person saw this, they would naturally be terrified.
In spite of all this though, the two of them continued to stand there, straight and motionless.
Yang Kai looked up at them, his eyes filled with admiration.
He was also a very strong willed person, his temperament quite determined, but when he thought about himself enduring the same treatment as these two Blood Warriors, he felt that he wouldn’t be able to do better than them.
At the very least, watching a Young Lord who didn’t seem to see them as people but instead just wanted to squeeze whatever final value he could from them before their vitality passed, that alone would be something Yang Kai could never accept.
But the two Blood Warrior’s loyalty to the Yang Family made them feel no complaints. Not only did they not complain, even their expressions didn’t betray any bitterness, only steadfastly fulfilling their oath to serve Yang Kai without the slightest hint of displeasure.
Feeling Yang Kai’s gaze upon them, Qu Gao Yi and Ying Jiu did their best to straighten themselves up.
After a long time, Yang Kai let out a laugh, “Which of you is Qu Gao Yi?”
To be honest, Yang Kai really didn’t know who was who, because after he came back from the Blood Warrior Hall that day, he hadn’t exchange a single word with either of them.
When the two Blood Warriors heard this question, their expressions didn’t change in the slightest, the taller of the two who also had a broader stature quickly cupped his fists, “Subordinate is Qu Gao Yi!”
“Then you must be Ying Jiu?” Yang Kai looked at the other person.
Ying Jiu nodded lightly. Between the two Blood Warriors, Ying Jiu was more distinct, because although he was a man, his physique was slim and lean, the short mustache adoring his face giving him a particularly shrewd look. His personality was reticent and taciturn, in some ways he resembled Yang Kai’s Eldest Brother Yang Wei.
From the words of the Yang Family Fourth Master and Dong Su Zhu, Yang Kai already knew what fields these two Blood Warriors specialized in.
Qu Gao Yi was best at the rapid outbursts of power. He can completely expend his True Qi and Spiritual Energy in a short stick of incense worth of time. Once he entered a fight, he would unleash a torrent of attacks that wouldn’t give his opponent time to breathe. Within a stick of incense worth of time, he was basically invincible among those in the same realm.
In terms of instantaneous power, he was the strongest in the entire Blood Warrior Hall! Although he was an Immortal Ascension Boundary Eighth Stage, but over the years, the number of Peak Immortal Ascension masters he had defeated was a lot.
Even considering the entire Blood Warrior Hall, his strength was relatively high.
Ying Jiu was completely different as his specialties were speed and stealth, able to hide in the shadows and strike when least expected, he could often defeat his opponents before they even realized his presence.
There were rumors that the most difficult person to handle in the Bood Warrior Hall was not the Hall Master Feng Sheng nor the Deputy Hall Master Zhou Feng, but the shadow-like Ying Jiu.
Anyone stared at by him, even if he fled to the ends of the earth, could not escape his pursuit.
When these two worked together they complemented each other’s abilities perfectly, giving them a reputation as slaughterers amongst the Blood Warrior.
Previously, when the two of them were escorting the Yang Family’s Fourth Young Lord Yang Xin Wu they were besieged by a large number of Immortal Ascension Boundary masters. The enemy’s strength was even higher than group encountered by Yang Kai.
Qu Gao Yi and Ying Jiu put up a desperate fight but unfortunately Yang Xin Wu’s own strength wasn’t high so he had not managed to escape.
Yang Kai suddenly speaking to them confused Qu Gao Yi and Ying Jiu, both of them wondering what instructions he had to give, quickly composing themselves as they awaited their orders.
“Do you have any complaints about me?” To their surprise, Yang Kai didn’t give them new orders but actually asked such a question.
As he spoke, Yang Kai smiled and stared at the pair deeply.
Qu Gao Yi quickly replied, “Subordinate doesn’t dare.”
“Are you sure there’s nothing?” Yang Kai sneered lightly, “I want to hear the truth.”
Qu Gao Yi couldn’t help but look a little embarrassed as he glanced towards Ying Jiu, both of them not sure what to say.
Back at the Blood Warrior Hall, the two had listened to Tu Feng and Tang Yu Xian about how outstanding the Little Lord was and how he treated the Blood Warriors benevolently, and how later Yang Kai had agreed to use the two of them as in their moment of desperation.
With Tu Feng and Tang Yu Xian’s high praise and Yang Kai’s willingness to support them, Qu Gao Yi and Ying Jiu naturally felt incredibly grateful to him and secretly decided to assist Yang Kai in making a name for himself, even if they were to lose their lives they wouldn’t hesitate.
After accompanying him these days though, Yang Kai had never met eyes with them, his attitude towards them extremely cold, not even allowing them time to rest and recover.
The Blood Warriors had pledged undying loyalty to the Yang Family, but they were still only human! Them being willing to sacrifice themselves yet receiving such harsh treatment from Yang Kai would obviously make them feel uncomfortable.
“Speak freely,” Yang Kai took another sip from his cup as he stared at them seriously.
Qu Gao Yi eventually licked his cracked lips and said, “Ying Jiu and I had already given up on ourselves when the Little Lord extended his hand to us! It was the Little Lord who gave us a reason and a place to continue to serve, so regardless of how we have been treated we would never dare to complain to the Little Lord, we are just… slightly disappointed!”
The words he spoke were earnest and his expression firm, it was obviously his heartfelt opinion.
Yang Kai calmly incited, “Do you think that I am different from what Tu Feng described?”
Qu Gao Yi and even the unsociable Ying Jiu nodded lightly.
“Of course I treated you differently, because I didn’t want you to begin with!” Yang Kai stood up, “I wanted Tu Feng and Yu Xian. After all, we were already familiar with one another!”
The two Blood Warrior’s expressions dimmed slightly at these words.
“But the two of you have followed me for some time now so I think we are at least somewhat familiar with each other.” Yang Kai looked at the two and smiled, “At the very least, I understand what you really think.”
Qu Gao Yi and Ying Jiu faces brightened once more as they stared forward silently. Yang Kai saying this was equivalent to telling them that he wanted to open a dialogue with them, something the two of them very much hoped for.
“Your loyalty to the Yang Family and your gratitude towards me, are emotions that I no longer doubt!” Yang Kai raised his brow and grinned, “But if there is a day when I find myself in conflict with the Yang Family, what will you do? How would you choose? Would you stand by my side, or would you side with the Yang Family?”
The two men’s faces changed greatly as they looked at Yang Kai with amazement.
“Is the Little Lord making a joke?” Qu Gao Yi asked, frowning.
“I’m serious,” Yang Kai stared at him firmly and sharply.
Qu Gao Yi took a deep breath before replying, “Although I hope such a day never comes, but if it does, I and Ying Jiu will still follow the Little Lord!”
Ying Jiu also took the rare step of expressing himself, “Without the Little Lord, the two of us may have already wasted ourselves and retreated to the mountains, so our lives already belong to the Little Lord, if the Little Lord has need of us we will not hesitate to act.”
Listening to their responses, Yang Kai grinned meaningfully.
The reason why they had said this was firstly because Yang Kai was also a member of the Yang Family, so they didn’t believe such a situation would ever arise. Secondly, because saying so now wouldn’t create problems for them, even if such a day came, they could worry about it then.
But in any case, Yang Kai finally got the answer he wanted.
“I once told Yu Xian, those who know my secrets either become my people or become corpses!” Yang Kai’s grinned fiercely, “Now you are qualified to know so of my secrets.”
Qu Gao Yi and Ying Jiu glanced at each other before looking at Yang Kai with some surprise, not knowing what he was trying to say.
“Each of you take one of these pills.” Yang Kai reached into his sleeve and threw two pills out.
Qu Gao Yi and Ying Jiu reached out and thanked Yang Kai, but still felt puzzled.
Like Tu Feng and Tang Yu Xian many days ago, when the two Blood Warriors discovered that the pill Yang Kai gave them was only an Earth Grade Top-Rank healing pill they couldn’t help feeling confused. Even if it was a pill specifically for therapy, with such a low grade, what effect could it have?
Although they had their doubts, neither of them showed any signs on the surface.
“Time is tight, take this pill and refine it as quickly as possible, there’ll be a big role for you two to play in tonight’s show,” Yang Kai’s eyes were as deep as a well, his mouth slowly forming into a blade like sneer, “I can’t wait to see which of my brothers is the most impatient for me to exit the stage!”
“Yes!” The two Blood Warriors nodded firmly, both of them knew that tonight would not be peaceful so they didn’t dare to delay, but just as they were about to swallow the healing pills, Yang Kai’s expression suddenly became cold as he glanced towards the front of the mansion, grinning fiercely, “It’s not even night time yet but someone can’t wait any longer?”
Qu Gao Yi and Ying Jiu were both startled, immediately responding by releasing their Divine Sense, quickly noticing that a number of people had gathered outside the compound, slightly angry at this development yet at the same time astonished.
Because Yang Kai was aware of this group before they were!
The location where the three people were at the moment was quite deep inside the mansion. The distance to the main entrance around a thousand meters, so not the slightest sound from there could possibly be transmitted here.
Qu Gao Yi and Ying Jiu couldn’t understand how Yang Kai had discovered this group.
The number of people who had arrived weren’t many, their strength also not too great, but nevertheless there were still several Immortal Ascension masters among them.
“The two of us will send them off first,” Qu Gao Yi took the initiative to say.
“There’s no rush,” Yang Kai’s brow furrowed slightly, “Qiu Yi Meng is coming.”
Not long after he spoke, the Qiu Family’s First Young Lady’s voice rang out outside the room, “Yang Kai, someone’s come to meet with you.”
Yang Kai and the two Blood Warriors looked at each other blankly, all of them confused.
Opening the door, Yang Kai saw Qiu Yi Meng standing outside wearing a light smile. When the two Blood Warriors saw her their eyes brightened as they secretly praised Yang Kai, it seemed the Little Lord’s charm wasn’t small, even in such a desperate situation he had still won the assistance of such a beauty.
“Who is it?” Yang Kai asked suspiciously.
However, Qiu Yi Meng just slowly shook her head, “I don’t know, they’re led by a young man who asked to speak with you, but his attitude is a bit weird, do you want to meet them?”
“You don’t know where their origins?” Yang Kai was slightly surprised.
“He didn’t say, so how could I know?” Qiu Yi Meng stared back at him blankly.
“Is their leader a fatty?” Yang Kai suddenly thought of Dong Qing Han, but two days ago he had clearly told his cousin not to show up today. With his personality, Dong Qing Han would never ignore his request so recklessly.
“No, you’ll have to see for yourself.”
Yang Kai nodded and walked out; as Qu Gao Yi and Ying Jiu were about to follow, Yang Kai stopped them.
“Right now you have to heal yours wounds, there’s no need to follow me.”
“But…” Qu Gao Yi wanted to object but was quickly interrupted.
“With the strength of these people, there’s no way they can harm me,” Yang Kai said confidently as he walked off, leaving Qu Gao Yi and Ying Jiu behind looking at each other in confusion.
Yang Kai’s brief statement, if they analysed it carefully, actually contained some extraordinary information.
The Little Lord not only discovered this group of people before them, he also seemed to know what level of strength they possessed!
How did he know? His cultivation was only True Element Boundary Eighth Stage, not even reaching the Immortal Ascension Boundary, so he didn’t have the use of his Divine Sense yet.
With only his own perception, it was impossible for him to grasp such detailed information.
Moreover, even if he really did know what kind of strength this group of newcomers had, why did he say that there was no way they could harm him? This inexplicable confidence he exuded was what really confounded Qu Gao Yi and Ying Jiu.
The two of them were well aware that there were several Immortal Ascension Boundary masters in this group.
Looking at each other, Qu Gao Yi and Ying Jiu both saw the shock in each other’s eyes.
As Yang Kai walked, the Qui Family’s First Young Lady continued smiling lightly as she commented, “Looking at you, you don’t seem to be in a hurry.”
“What’s there to hurry for?” Yang Kai glanced over at her.
“You still want to play dumb with me?” Qiu Yi Meng’s smile disappeared as she grit her teeth, grabbing Yang Kai’s sleeve as she paused before saying, “Shouldn’t you make things clear to me?”
“Make what clear? I don’t know what you are talking about.” Yang Kai’s brow wrinkled.
“How many connections you have, what forces will come to your aid, and how are you going to survive the coming storm tonight?” Qiu Yi Meng bluntly asked because she knew that if she didn’t, Yang Kai would only return some casual pleasantries to her. Softening her tone slightly she continued, “Now I’m also your ally, although I can’t represent the Qiu Family and although I didn’t bring you much help, I’ve still come this far! Why do you still insist on shutting me out? Am I still not worthy of sincerely communicating with you?”
“Sincerely communicating?” Yang Kai smiled weirdly, staring up and down Qiu Yi Meng, a lasciviousness light flashing across his eyes, “How do you want to sincerely communicate with me?”
Seeing the aggressive light in his eyes and listening to his implied meaning, Qiu Yi Meng turned red and quickly calmed down, “Can you not confide in me? If you have any troubles, you can tell them to me, I can discuss things with you.”
“No need, I only speak with women about love, chatting about trivial things is too superficial, it’s not suitable to me.” Yang Kai shook his head and replied seriously.
“Why you… you… why is it when you face me you never speak seriously! Do you despise me that much!?” Qiu Yi Meng roared bitterly, her breath slightly ragged, stubbornly yelling, “Although I admit you’re amazing, by far the most outstanding member of our generation, but you don’t have to compare me with that Beguiling Demon Queen, I know I’m not her match!”
“I don’t despise you, it’s just that you’re too shrewd! Whenever I’m around you I have to act carefully,” Yang Kai glanced at her coldly.
Qiu Yi Meng was stunned, her long lashes fluttering a few times before she suddenly wore a big smile, “So I can bring you pressure, I always thought that it was only me who felt tense around you.”
“You think too little of yourself.”
“I don’t know why, but I feel a lot better all of a sudden,” Qiu Yi Meng smiled happily, seemingly thinking that being able to make Yang Kai cautious around her was a wonderful thing.
“I won’t tell you anything else, as for tonight, just wait.” Yang Kai grinned confidently.
“You really have made arrangements,” Qiu Yi Meng muttered, “Seems I worried about you for nothing.”
Knowing that she was just saying as such to poke fun at him, Yang Kai didn’t bother responding, instead turning around to walk off again.
Before Yang Kai had realized, Huo Xing Chen had appeared from somewhere, fanning himself with a folding fan, as he followed the pair he grinned and asked, “How come I heard movement outside?”
“Your hearing is quite sharp!” Qiu Yi Meng stared at him coldly.
Huo Xing Chen just grinned back meaningfully and said, “I always like watching lively scenes, especially the scenes where enemies meet. Tell me, who came looking for trouble with him?”
“They don’t look like they’re looking for trouble,” When the conversation shifted to business, Qiu Yi Meng’s look became serious, “Their leader’s attitude is very strange, it’s like he’s come to join you yet is unwilling to do so. There are also a number of people with him as well as a lot of big boxes.”
“Oh shit!” Huo Xing Chen cursed loudly, his eyes staring towards Yang Kai in disbelief, “In your sorry state there’s still someone who wants to join you? Are they blind or in love with you?”
“You shut up!” Qiu Yi Meng coldly shouted. Huo Xing Chen seemed to be a little afraid of this Young Lady Qiu so he quickly fanned himself and kept silent.
“Watch your back, this may be some kind of trick!” Qiu Yi Meng spoke openly to Yang Kai, “I don’t want to see you lose because of a moments carelessness.”
Qiu Yi Meng had all but defied her family in order to support Yang Kai, so if he were to be eliminated because of some half baked scheme, it would only prove that she was blind.
Outside the main entrance, a sturdy young man dressed in a black gown stood with his arms crossed in front of his chest. Behind him there were at least twenty more cultivators, four of whom had reached the Immortal Ascension realm, though the strongest was only at the Fourth Stage.
Although an Immortal Ascension Boundary Fourth Stage master wasn’t weak for a first-class family, they also weren’t anything outstanding.
What was more remarkable was the set of large scarlet boxes this group of people carried with them.
It was unknown what was inside these boxes, some of them appeared light, some very heavy, some of them even giving off a faint medicinal smell.
There were four such red boxes in total, all of them lined up neatly beside the gate.
The young man who appeared to be the group’s leader had firm determined eyes as well as a tranquil expression. All twenty of these people stood silently as they waited indifferently for Yang Kai to appear.
A short while later, Yang Kai, Huo Xing Chen, and Qiu Yi Meng emerged from the mansion together.
The young man’s eyes swept over the trio but upon seeing Huo Xing Chen and Yang Kai, his expression became slightly confused. He couldn’t tell which one of these youths was Yang Kai.
Yang Kai was also quite confused; he had thought the one who had come was Dong Qing Han, but now, at first glance, he realized it wasn’t his cousin, but what was even more puzzling was that… he didn’t know who this person was!
It was unreasonable for someone who he didn’t know to come seeking an alliance at this moment.
Given the current state of this Inheritance War, as long someone had a little bit of sense, they would see think his hope of winning was almost zero, even his chances of lasting the first night weren’t good.
So this group of people appearing right now was somewhat intriguing.
But if they hadn’t come to join him, why would they have brought four large crates which clearly contained war material with them?
Shaking his head secretly, Yang Kai couldn’t quite understand.
Even without Qiu Yi Meng’s reminder though, how could Yang Kai act carelessly here?
Before he had the chance to speak though, Huo Xing Chen flipped opened his folding fan and waved if gently, smiling as he asked, “Which force’s disciple are you?”
As soon as he spoke, the leading youth immediately fixed his eyes on Huo Xing Chen, but seeing his playboy delinquent style, his brow couldn’t help but wrinkle, some coldness creeping into his expression as he asked, “Are you the Yang Family’s youngest Young Lord, Yang Kai?”
Huo Xing Chen’s appearance had instantly made him very disappointed, so his tone was naturally not too polite.
After hearing this man’s question, Huo Xing Chen’s face turned dark as he let out a dark laugh. “Judging by your cluelessness, you must be a bird-brained grunt that isn’t informed of anything. How about this Young Lord spare some time to give you some advice then?”
Without waiting for the other party to respond though, Huo Xing Cheng continued, “After tonight, this place will definitely change owners so listen up bird-brain. You’re free to go wherever you’d like, but you should first open your eyes and think for a moment, among the eight Yang Family Young Lords, picking this place to join is nothing less than hopeless.”
In front of Yang Kai’s mansion, Huo Xing Chen had taken the lead and made several rude comments. Not only did Yang Kai’s brow wrinkle, but the young man opposite was also unhappy, coldly snorting at this so called advice.
Huo Xing Chen was unaffected by the atmosphere though, grinning as he started to say something again, but before he could speak Yang Kai had already grabbed his clothes and tossed him aside.
Tumbling through the air a few times, Huo Xing Chen face planted on the floor. After standing up, he rubbed his nose awkwardly but not daring to have any complaints, simply glaring back at his attacker bitterly.
Seeing this scene, the young man couldn’t help turning his attention to Yang Kai, the cultivators who stood behind him also whispering amongst themselves.
“I’m the one you are looking for,” Yang Kai said indifferently as he swept his gaze over the crowd.
The lead youth looked a little stunned, his eyes quickly flashing a trace of disdain and insolence, staring towards Yang Kai in a provocative manner. Without bowing or cupping his fists, he flatly spoke, “Greetings Young Lord Kai!”
“Who are you?” Yang Kai also found this situation interesting. No wonder Qiu Yi Meng said that this person’s attitude was strange, there was indeed a problem with how he acted.
By all accounts, it looked like he had come here to form an alliance with him; he had brought a lot of cultivators and four large crates of materials, but his expression was clearly filled with unwillingness, almost like being here was some kind of punishment for him.
On top of all that, Yang Kai simply couldn’t remember where he had met this person.
“Xiang Tian Xiao!” The young man replied curtly.
“Xiang Tian Xiao?” Yang Kai’s brow furrowed, suddenly hearing his surname and thinking of something. A grin appearing on his face, he spoke in a dismissive tone, “Who is Xiang Chu to you?”
Xiang Chu, a Young Lord of the first-class Xiang Family, was someone Yang Kai had met at Tai Fang Mountain a few months ago; he was the next in line to inherit the Xiang Family.
At that time, Xiang Chu and Nan Sheng had joined forces to oppress Yang Kai, but at the last moment two Yang Family Blood Warriors had appeared. Yang Kai had secretly plucked two feathers from the Golden Feather Eagle and then pushed responsibility onto Nan Sheng, resulting in two of the Nan Family’s Ascension masters losing an arm as well as Nan Sheng losing two fingers.
The identities of the Xiang Chu and Nan Sheng weren’t low, so Yang Kai couldn’t kill them outright and was forced to let them go; however, he had told them before they left that within three months he expected to see their sincerity in the Central Capital.
Given this series of events, it was obvious that this Xiang Tian Xiao and Xiang Chu were related; as such, then the origins of these cultivators and materials could also be explained.
“He is my elder brother!” Xiang Tian Xiao responded faintly.
Sure enough, Yang Kai nodded slightly and grinned at the cultivators behind Xiang Tian Xiao, “This is the sincerity of your Xiang Family? Good, I’m very satisfied!”
However, Xiang Tian Xiao slowly shook his head and said, “You don’t have such big face yet. The cultivators here are the sincerity of my Xiang Family, and these four boxes of material are the sincerity of the Nan Family!”
“Very well! I don’t mind. Although these people’s strength is a little weak, together with this material they’ll be a little useful.” Yang Kai smiled care freely.
Between these two first-class families, one had sent manpower while the other had sent resources, such an arrangement was still acceptable. Yang Kai estimated that these two families greatly feared that their descendant’s attempt to kill a Yang Family Young Lord would cause the Yang Family to seek trouble with them, so they had choked back their tears and paid a hefty sum to resolve the issue peacefully.
Xiang Tian Xiao’s eyes overflowed with an angry light, his mouth forming into a disdainful sneer as he shot back, “Young Lord Kai’s tone is higher than the Heavens! Whatever your grudge with my big brother is, I have no mood to ask, but if you want my Xiang Family’s help in this Inheritance War, you’ll have to prove to me you have the skills first!”
“Hahah! You want to fight him?” Huo Xing Chen suddenly burst into laughter, staring at Xiang Tian Xiao with a look of pity. His eyes flashed a look of interest before slowly shaking his head, “Even if you’re the second Young Lord of the Xiang Family, I can’t say your chances of success are high, it’s really not a wise decision to play with him.”
To the side, Qiu Yi Meng also giggled and looked at Xiang Tian Xiao with a funny smile.
Both of them had exchanged blows with Yang Kai, but when Qiu Yi Meng and Yang Kai had fought, he was still only a True Element Boundary Third Stage cultivator. At that time, he was able to fight evenly against her while still concealing part of his strength. Now that Yang Kai had reached the True Element Eighth Stage, even though Qiu Yi Meng had successfully broken through to the Immortal Ascension Boundary First Stage, she didn’t dare think she could defeat Yang Kai.
As for Huo Xing Chen, the night’s experience still haunted him like a nightmare.
When all was said and done, he was still a direct descendant of one of the Eight Great Families, and the sole heir at that. Although he spent a lot of his time indulging in pleasure seeking, he had still cultivated diligently and taken countless Precious Treasures so his strength was by no means weak, on top of that he carried a number of excellent artifacts on him as well.
But even with this kind of foundation and background, he was still taken hostage by Yang Kai before he even had time to react; this alone was enough to understand Yang Kai’s tyrannical combat strength.
Huo Xing Chen didn’t believe this Second Young Lord had a chance of beating Yang Kai in a fight.
Amongst the younger generation, only the Liu Family’s genius Liu Qing Yao had any hope of fighting evenly with this freak Yang Kai, besides him there was no other who was his match.
Huo Xing Chen and Qiu Yi Meng’s expressions didn’t escape Xiang Tian Xiao observation, causing a faint curiosity in his heart.
With his eyesight, he could naturally see the strength of these two people. Although he didn’t recognize who these two were, but having such cultivation and bearing at such a young age, they were no doubt children of the Eight Great Families, yet these two, even if they didn’t say much, from their attitude and tone had made their opinions clear.
Was this Yang Kai really that powerful?
Staring at Yang Kai carefully, Xiang Tian Xiao secretly shook his head. He couldn’t see Yang Kai’s depths. As this Yang Family Young Lord stood there, he didn’t release the slightest bit of aura, his True Qi as calm as an ancient well, his Spiritual Essence also showed a similar degree of restraint. Such a degree of control either indicated he was extremely powerful, or had used some kind of artifact to conceal his strength.
Xiang Tian Xiao couldn’t tell whether this was his real ability or simply an illusion, if he wanted to understand his true strength, the only way was for him to fight.
But now that things had reached this point, Xiang Tian Xiao had no way to retreat, saying to Yang Kai, “If you really just relied on those two Blood Warriors to make my brother submit, then you’ll never convince me. If you want me to help you sincerely, you’ll have to defeat me yourself.”
Huo Xing Chen couldn’t help but sigh, walking over to Qiu Yi Meng and muttering with a sad face, “This kid can’t be saved!”
Qiu Yi Meng also nodded lightly, expressing her full agreement.
Listening to them, Xiang Tian Xiao suddenly felt irritated, even the four Immortal Ascension Boundary masters behind him looked at Huo Xing Chen with unfriendly eyes, seemingly thinking he should not despise their Second Young Lord.
Yang Kai’s eyes flashed a meaningful light as he frowned slightly, “It seems that your big brother didn’t tell you everything about that incident.”
From Xiang Tian Xiao’s words, Yang Kai quickly realized some issues.
“If your big brother didn’t tell you, then so be it, but didn’t your cousin Nan Sheng at least explain what happened?” Yang Kai grinned treacherously, revealing a lot of hidden meanings.
Qiu Yi Meng’s long eyelashes fluttered, quietly remembering some rumors she had heard before turning her gaze towards Xiang Tian Xiao, slowly revealing a sympathetic look.
Xiang Tian Xiao expression became firm, coldly snorting, “Things heard are unreliable, seeing is believing! If you have the confidence, fight with me, if you refuse, then I’ll leave here immediately, regardless, these people and these materials will remain and the accounts between you and my Xiang Family will be considered settled.”
Yang Kai shook his head slowly, “I don’t need a headless snake, I accept your challenge!”
Without this Xiang Family Second Young Lord to lead them, even if these cultivators remained they wouldn’t bring him benefit to Yang Kai. These people, at first glance, were obviously quite loyal to Xiang Tian Xiao.
Saying so, Yang Kai casually strode a few steps forward before calmly signaling to Xiang Tian Xiao to begin.
Such a contemptuous appearance only further angered Xiang Tian Xiao; however, he swiftly took a deep breath and suppressed his surging emotions, firmly pressing down the resentment in his heart.
In an instant, Xiang Tian Xiao’s breath became calm as he seriously stared at Yang Kai.
This rapid change improved Yang Kai’s impression of Xiang Tian Xiao greatly, the greatest mistake when facing an opponent was to become emotional. Therefore, when the cultivators faced enemies they considered strong, they would usually use words to try to stimulate each other and make their opponent take rash or impatient actions, thus increasing the chance that they would make a mistake that could be exploited.
Only by remaining calm could a cultivator exert their full strength, even possibly allowing them to display combat prowess above their usual limit .
Xiang Tian Xiao being able to instantly restrain his emotions showed that his strength and experience weren’t ordinary.
“Second Young Lord, be careful!” The Xiang Family cultivators hurriedly stepped back, the Immortal Ascension Boundary Fourth Stage master calling out as he retreated.
“I know!” Xiang Tian Xiao calmly shouted.
As he spoke, his hand turned and a long blue saber suddenly appeared in his hand.
Heaven Grade artifact!
When this saber appeared, Xiang Tian Xiao’s aura immediately changed, suddenly becoming wild and unhindered, overflowing with a strong sense of self-confidence, it was as if no matter who or what stood before him, he could slice it apart.
No words were exchanged or signals given, as soon as Xiang Tian Xiao summoned his artifact, he instantly held it up towards the Heavens, a fierce wind pressure swiftly engulfing the blade as he swung it down towards Yang Kai.
“Isn’t this considered a sneak attack?” Huo Xing Chen asked.
Qiu Yi Meng was too lazy to take respond to him. Yang Kai had already agreed to his challenge, what more needed to be said? Xiang Tian Xiao was obviously a straightforward person, so any further conversation was unnecessary.
Moreover, his strength was not low, a True Element Boundary Ninth Stage elite!
Her eyes quickly turning, Qiu Yi Meng wants to see how Yang Kai would resist this strike. Although she knew Yang Kai was very powerful, it had been a long time since she had fought against him, just how much Yang Kai since then was also of great interest to her.
As this storm like sword strike approached, Yang Kai simply stood in place, his expression completely indifferent, seemingly having no intention to dodge or avoid it, gently lifting a single hand and pushing it towards the falling blade.
A fierce True Qi burst forth as a large palm strike visible to the naked eye met the blade head on.
*Hong!*
A loud bang resounded as waves of energy splashed out.
The blade storm and the palm strike collided together and exploded, both perfectly offsetting one another.
Under the cover of the resulting dust cloud, Xiang Tian Xiao had at some point closed the gap between them, a wild True Qi bursting from his body as a blue radiance pulsed from his saber’s tip. This chilling brilliance was enough the make the heart of any who saw it jump.
This blue ball of light was as large as a plate and gave of a fierce, murderous, aura filled with the power of thunder and lightning.
Channeling this elemental lightning force, Xiang Tian Xiao’s speed seemed to be boosted greatly, only leaving behind a blurry afterimage as he stepped in.
Thunder Flash Saber!
This was Xiang Tian Xiao’s absolute killing strike, it had never failed him before, under this single attack he would often be able to rout his opponents.
The Xiang Family cultivators also showed a faint smile on their faces, full of expectations. All of them wanted to see how Yang Kai would suffer under this blow.