Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
A Chen clan member looked at the majestic Chang’an Fortress as hope welled up in him.
However, the long period of being vagrants had left many of them uncertain.
“After all, the Eastern Tang Dynasty is powerful. There are other sects making things hard for us besides the royal family…”
A young man whispered, “Let’s leave the border of Eastern Tang and go somewhere else, shall we?”
“It will be equally hard for us to leave Eastern Tang and have a foothold.” The old man beside him sighed. “At that time, it would be even more difficult to return to our homeland in the future.”
Just as all of them were discussing, they heard a clear voice. “Rumor has it that Dragon Ridge has always been desolate. Why did a new fortress appear out of nowhere?”
The voice came from a young girl around fourteen to fifteen years old.
Her eyes darted around, looking curiously at the distant Chang’an Fortress.
“Of course someone built it here…” The person who answered her suddenly stopped and contemplated.
The long-bearded middle-aged man, who was the leader, nodded slowly.
“Fourteenth Brother told me before that no roads exist in the barren mountains in Dragon Ridge.
“The road leading from the mountains to the White Cloud Abyss was newly paved by the Tang Dynasty army recently to attack Chang’an.”
As he said that, he looked at the distant fortress wall, which was about forty feet high and several kilometers long.
“In this wilderness, the path isn’t even accessible, yet they could even create such a large area of flat ground and find the masonry materials for building the fortress. How can ordinary people be able to do this?” The long-bearded middle-aged looked at his fellow clan members while speaking.
At this moment, everyone sunk into deep thought.
As people who had come to the fortress afterward, they wondered how such a fortress had been built from scratch.
“This place may not only allow the Chen clan to rise again in Eastern Tang but also to regain our former glory.” The long-bearded middle-aged man’s eyes lit up. “We can still stay safe and prosper as long as we can gain a foothold in this fortress.”
The other Chen clan members nodded one after another, and they followed the long-bearded middle-aged man to the fortress gate.
As they approached the fortress, they stopped.
A Chen clan member emerged. He was one of the three men who had been hunted down but were saved by Chang’an Fortress.
He walked toward the fortress gate and noticed that more people were standing on guard.
The guards did not make things difficult for them. After talking, one of them simply said, “All of you need to go to the Heavenly Pivot Hall to record your names and wait for Mister Black Cloud’s further decision.”
“My son is now in the fortress. Can I meet him?”
“You can. You may go into the fortress. We will notify him on your behalf.”
One guard led the group into the fortress and walked toward the center.
On the way, the young man from the Chen clan, who had stayed in the fortress, rushed over.
After he thanked the guard, he led his clan members to record their names.
“Feng’er, what are the backgrounds of the guards at the gate just now?” a clan elder asked the young man.
The young man answered, “Seventh Granduncle, they all belong to the Heavenly Pivot Hall. They handle the fortress’s state affairs and are assigned to the fortress gate to check on people entering and leaving the fortress.”
Upon seeing some confusion among his clan members, he explained, “The so-called Heavenly Pivot Hall is a state office, which is headed by Mister Black Cloud, a trusted aide of the Fortress Lord.”
The others nodded in understanding.
The young man added, “In addition to this, there is also another state office in the fortress, the Heavenly Punishment Hall, which is in charge of law and order. It is still in the initial stages, and it should not be long before it sends some people to the gate as well.”
The long-bearded middle-aged man asked, “Who can join the state office?”
“The vagrants settled here have become the people of the fortress. Some talents among them were selected to serve Chang’an.”
The young man answered, “Besides the commoners, there is a small Martial Dao sect here from Qinzhou Prefecture of Longbei County called the Cold Mountain Sect.
“It is said that some people of the Cold Mountain Sect made contributions to the fortress and thus received Mister Black Cloud’s recognition. Many disciples have been able to join the Heavenly Pivot Hall and the Heavenly Punishment Hall, with some of them holding top positions.”
“The Cold Mountain Sect?”
The Chen clan members were at a loss.
Their ancestral land was very far away from Longbei County, and few of their clan members had dealings in this area.
They were unfamiliar with Qinzhou Prefecture, let alone the Cold Mountain Sect.
However, they had come into contact with many other similar sects before.
“It would be good enough if locals like them could produce a fourth-realm cultivator, right?” an old man muttered.
The young man nodded. “Twelfth Granduncle is right. The person with the highest cultivation level in the Cold Mountain Sect is their sect master, who is a martial artist at the fourth realm, the Brave Officer realm.”
Some people around him were much more relaxed at the news.
“If even a sect presided over by a fourth-realm mighty figure can take on great responsibilities in the fortress, we will have a brilliant future here!”
The Chen clan had fallen and was forced to leave its home, and it only had a few experts and talents in the clan. It was at the lowest point in its history.
Nevertheless, a starving camel was still bigger than a horse.
There were several fourth-realm martial artists in this group of people here.
The long-bearded middle-aged man had reached the sixth realm of Martial Dao, the Marshal realm.
As one of the most prestigious families in Eastern Tang, the Chen clan had the Martial Dao as its foundation, and it had a long history of family teachings.
The forgotten teachings of Martial Dao passed down were incomparable to local sects like the Cold Mountain Sect.
In a nutshell, at the height of its peak, the Chen clan was on par with a Daoist sacred ground such as the Forgotten Truth Temple, let alone in Qinzhou Prefecture.
It was distressing to say that it had lost its power and became even inferior to the common folk.
But even if the Chen clan was, few could compare to it.
“After all, Chang’an Fortress is newly established, and everything is still in its initial stages. We’ve come at the right time to gain the upper hand.”
The Chen clan members were in high spirits.
Their exhaustion from being hunted down was gone.
The long-bearded middle-aged man frowned. “Getting carried away so soon? This is not a place where you can do as you wish.”
An old man beside him said with a smile, “You have misunderstood. Everyone has seen the miracle of this fortress. How could we be so arrogant as to reverse the roles and take over their land?
“But compared to the Cold Mountain Sect, our clan exceeds it in terms of actual strength and foundational potential.
“Everyone serves Chang’an. How can others compare to us?
“Even if there are sects that can compete with us, we will gain the upper hand. There will be a place for our clan at the top positions of Chang’an in the future.”
The other Chen clan members also raised their eyebrows, full of hope for a new life in the future.
Only the young man who had always been in the fortress looked embarrassed.
“Feng’er, is there anything special?” The long-bearded middle-aged man asked when he noticed the change in the young man.
The young man looked around and saw the warm faces of his clan and friends before he gulped.
Everyone gradually noticed that something was wrong. “What’s wrong?”
“Earlier, I sparred with a Cold Mountain Sect disciple…” The young man stumbled over his words and finally smiled bitterly. “And I lost.”