Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Right in the middle of the city within the city stood a huge and quiet estate.
This large estate was the center of the entire Rong House, and it was passed down from one Clan Head to the next.
Currently, there was a middle-aged man around 40 years of age within the estate. He was smiling as he passed a box of tea leaves to Rong Jiexuan and said, “Uncle Xuan, I got someone to buy 150 grams of pu’er tea from Ziyou. I hope you will like it.”
Rong Jiexuan’s eyes instantly lit up. He took the box and opened it carefully. He sniffed the leaves and took in the faint fragrance of the tea. He exclaimed, “Clan Head, thank you for taking the effort!”
This man was the current Clan Head, Rong Yihuo.
He didn’t have the highest cultivation level in the entire clan, but he was definitely the best at strategizing.
Of course, he also attained the high position of being the Clan Head because he had powerful people backing him. Rong Jiexuan was one of his strongest supporters.
Rong Yihuo smiled faintly and said, “I’m more than happy to be able to do a little something for you, Uncle Xuan.”
Rong Jiexuan put the tea leaves away without holding back. He stroked his chin, picked up the teapot in his hand, and took a delicious mouthful of tea. “Clan Head, since you called my old bones to come all the way here, I’m sure your aim isn’t just to give me a box of tea, right?”
Rong Yihuo clapped and laughed. “That’s my Uncle Xuan alright. I can’t hide anything from you.”
“Tsk.” Rong Jiexuan snorted in annoyance. “Why bother pretending in front of me?”
Rong Yihuo didn’t look awkward or embarrassed. He was clearly used to interacting with Rong Jiexuan.
“Uncle Xuan, I heard that our clan has a new genius Spiritualist,” Rong Yihuo said in a low voice. “He’s not just a rare Spirit Gatherer, but he also has a rare and powerful gift in spellcasting that we only see once every thousand years.”
Rong Jiexuan nodded his head slowly and replied, “That’s right. I have indeed discovered this genius among us. Heh-heh, with such a descendant in the clan, it will be the clan’s good fortune if we groom him well.”
Rong Yihuo’s eyelid twitched a little. This was the first time Elder Jiexuan had given such high praise for someone.
He thought for a while before asking, “Uncle Xuan, since this person is so gifted, are you going to teach him yourself?”
Rong Jiexuan laughed and replied, “Why do I need anyone to teach him? Isn’t it enough for him to learn by himself?”
Rong Yihuo hesitated for a moment before responding. “I know what you mean to do. You want to recommend him to that master, right? But that master has a rule that anyone who wants to be his disciple has to reach at least Peak Stage Spiritualist Mentor level first. Otherwise, he won’t take him in.” He focused his gaze and said, “This boy has only just started his path to cultivate as a Spiritualist, so it’s going to take him a terribly long time to reach Peak Stage Spiritualist Mentor.”
“Ho-ho.” Rong Jiexuan gave a knowing smile and said, “Clan Head, forgive me for being direct, but you’ve underestimated his gift.”
“Oh?” Rong Yihuo’s eyes lit up. “Uncle Xuan, please go ahead and speak your mind.”
“This boy was born with a very powerful sort of Spirit Power, especially in the area of absorbing the Spirit Power of Heaven and Earth. He really has an indescribable advantage over other people.” Rong Jiexuan’s expression became grim as he said, “In that area, even I am not as good as he is.”
“What?” Rong Yihuo’s expression instantly changed.
He knew exactly what Rong Jiexuan meant by that.
All Spiritualists were born with Spirit Power and able to attract Spirit Power of Heaven and Earth to themselves, but everyone had a different constitution. Thus, they were naturally able to absorb this Spirit Power in varying degrees.
As they went up in cultivation level, their absorption levels also increased.
A Spiritualist who just started his cultivation journey was not able to initially absorb too much. When his level reached the Gifted level, the rate and strength of absorption of his Spirit Power increased by several times. It was even possible for it to become 10 times better than when he first started.
Rong Jiexuan was a Spiritualist Gifted Fighter of the clan. Yet, he admitted that he had lost to Rong Kaixuan in the area of absorbing the Spirit Power of Heaven and Earth even though Rong Kaixuan had only just started his cultivation journey.
If those words were heard by others, never mind the Rong clan, they would have likely shocked the entire county.
Rong Jiexuan smiled and said, “Clan Head, don’t you worry. With this incredible gift, I’m sure his cultivation speed is going to be equally shocking. Perhaps… Perhaps within 10 years, he can reach Peak Stage Spiritualist Mentor.”
“Ten years…” Rong Yihuo’s eyes were gleaming as he slowly nodded his head and replied, “Sure, I’ll give him 10 years then.” He changed the topic and said, “Rong Yitie and his son have been running rampant recently. Humph, even if his father is now a Peak Stage Gifted Fighter, he can’t just ignore the clan rules like that.”
Rong Jiexuan was shocked and said, “Clan Head, what you’re trying to say is…”
“I will personally warn those two that if they dare to pick on Rong Kaixuan again, then I’m going to use the rules of the clan against them and detain all of them,” Rong Yihuo said without any expression on his face.
Rong Jiexuan had an amused look. “Clan Head, aren’t you afraid of that old thing anymore?”
“Tsk.” Rong Yihuo coldly snorted. “Uncle Xuan, this is also my father’s wish. If he wants to come out and defend his children, then I will need you and my father to come out together and hold him back.”
Rong Jiexuan sighed quietly and said, “I came back to the house because I wanted to see the family get along well and prosper. I didn’t come back to be involved in your family squabbles.”
Rong Yiyao smiled gently and replied, “Uncle Xuan, you have wisdom that I don’t, and you can discern between what is right and wrong. For the sake of the future of the clan, you can make the call.”
Rong Jiexuan thought for a while and replied, “Fine, but I have a request.”
Rong Yihuo was excited by his reply and quickly said, “No matter what you ask of me, I won’t refuse.”
“I want you to hold back for the moment,” Rong Jiexuan said. “Since they don’t like Kaixuan and want to go up against him, then let them be for the moment.”
Rong Yihuo was momentarily stunned. There was a questioning look on his face.
Rong Jiexuan slowly explained himself. “When it comes to being a disciple to my master, fights and killing is inevitable. If Kaixuan manages to make it to that stage, he will have to learn to fight. So, instead of protecting him until that time comes, why don’t we let him slowly get used to this way of life from now?”
His words were calm and quiet. Even his tone of voice was flat.
Rong Yihuo felt a fear creep over his heart.
This Elder was infamous when he was younger, and even his father had to admit that.
After Rong Jiexuan returned to the clan, he had been hiding himself in the Hall of Spiritualists. He enjoyed drinking tea every day and led a leisurely and carefree life. It seemed as though the fighting spirit and murderous air he used to have were wiped out by his peaceful days in the house.
He suddenly realized that the murderous air deep within this old man had never dissipated.
Rong Yihuo stopped his train of thought and coughed gently. “Uncle Xuan, isn’t it a bit too dangerous to do that? After all, Kaixuan’s gift is one in a million.”
“Dangerous?” Rong Jiexuan’s lips twitched. “Whatever dangers he faces now is within our control. Besides, if he can’t even take this little bit of danger, even if he manages to become Master’s disciple, he’s still going to die.”
Rong Yihuo remained still for a while before he finally nodded.
He had a moment of silence in his heart for what was about to befall Rong Yitie and his family.
Uncle Xuan had come up with a good idea. He was going to let this family be Rong Kaixuan’s grindstone.
If Rong Kaixuan turned out to be weak and useless, so be it. If he turned out to be promising and was able to overcome these challenges, what sort of fate awaited Rong Yitie and his family?
****
“Elder Brother, it’s really driving me crazy.”
In another large house in this city within a city, Rong Kaixin violently flung the jade in his hand out.
The white jade hit the wall and smashed to pieces all over the ground. His eyes didn’t even bother to look in that direction. Instead, he furiously yelled, “I’m going to kill him!”
Rong Kaijie looked coldly at him and asked, “Do you think you can kill him by just sitting here and being angry?”
Rong Kaixin hadn’t thought of that. His eyes lit up as he said, “Elder Brother, if you fight him, I’m sure you can kill him.”
“Tsk, he’s an Elementary Stage Spiritualist who just started his cultivation journey while I’m a Peak Stage Spiritualist who might hit Spiritualist Mentor level anytime now. Do you really expect me to fight him?” Rong Kaijie snorted and asked, “Do you think the elders of the family would allow that to happen?”
Rong Kaixin hung his head and softly replied, “Elder Brother, what do we do? Do you mean we just have to quietly suffer?”
Rong Kajie’s eyes turned cold as he replied, “I wanted to wait a while longer, but this fellow actually dared to seduce Lady Wang. This idiot doesn’t know what’s good for him at all.”
Rong Kaixin was dumbfounded. His gaze was becoming very strange. He thought that Rong Kaixuan was definitely asking to die.
Lady Wang’s status was not ordinary in the first place, plus she was simply gorgeous. Rong Kaijie had already decided that she was his and his alone. Even though Lady Wang had never responded to any of his advances, there was nobody better than Rong Kaijie among his entire generation. Thus, he had never been too worried about any competition.
Now, there was Rong Kaixuan, who had come out from nowhere and attracted her attention, which had certainly ruffled Rong Kaijie’s feathers. It would have been weird if Rong Kaijie was able to hold his anger in.
Rong Kaijie pulled out four talismans and passed them to his brother. “Kaixin, these are for you. Take these and go to Rong Jieming’s house to challenge Rong Kaixuan to a duel.” The murderous intent in his eyes was clear. “Since your cultivation level is only at Middle Stage Martial Artist, nobody will blame you for trying to challenge someone of the same generation as yourself who is cultivating as both a Martial Artist and a Spiritualist.”
Rong Kaixin carefully took the talismans from his brother and asked in surprise, “Elder Brother, what are these?”
“Ha, that fellow is a Spirit Gatherer, isn’t he? I want him to die at the hands of Spirit Body Fighters,” Rong Kaijie slowly and clearly replied.
“Oh my, these are Spirit Body Fighter Sealing Talismans?” Rong Kaixin was overjoyed.
“That’s right. Rong Kaixuan’s constitution is excellent, but he hasn’t had much time to train himself. With four Spirit Body Fighters to help you, it’s enough to kill him.”
“Kill him?” Rong Kaixin was slightly taken aback and looked a little uneasy.
Even though he was saying earlier that he wanted to kill Rong Kaixuan, he knew that if he really ended up killing a fellow member of the family, even if his grandfather stood up for him, there was no guarantee that he would come out unscathed.
Rong Kaijie stared coldly at his brother. “You idiot, you just need to be a little fiercer in battle and say that you slipped and accidentally ended up killing him. With Grandpa behind you, do you think anyone would really want you to pay for this with your life?”
Rong Kaixin clenched his teeth and replied, “Got it, I know what to do.”
There was finally a smile on Rong Kaijie’s face. “Even though I’ve used my contributions to the clan to write off the punishment that you and Father were supposed to go through in the Water Prison, you’d better not go out this month at all and train hard at home. After one month, ha, you know what to do.”
“Got it, I understand.”