A Banquet Invitation

After the Song Family meeting, Song Tianqing was still rather confused.

He had once been a peripheral figure in the Song Family. Only now that he had become the Young Master of the Song Family was he qualified to enter its core of power.

Thus, when it came to Song Family secrets, he had known almost nothing.

Once they left the council hall, Song Tianqing followed behind Song Kangyuan and asked, "Father, what did the Ancestor mean?

Gao Kaiyuan is actually one of our Song Family? We've even had dealings with Demons?"

Song Kangyuan looked at Song Tianqing with faint disgust in his eyes.

Though Song Tianqing was his own biological son, the one he had crippled was the legitimate son Song Kangyuan had loved most.

But the Ancestor had personally declared that Song Tianqing was the Song Family's heir, so Song Kangyuan could only hold his nose and accept it.

At least the heir was still his son and had not been snatched away by another branch.

Though Song Kangyuan did not want to deal with Song Tianqing at the moment, he would have to learn these matters sooner or later.

"Come to my study. I'll tell you in detail about the origins of our Song Family."

After tossing out those words, Song Kangyuan turned and headed straight for the study.

Behind him, a flash of hatred appeared in Song Tianqing's eyes.

What right did those pieces of trash have to compare with him?

He was clearly already the finest disciple of the Song Family's younger generation. He had clearly already gained the Ancestor's recognition. Why did Song Kangyuan still treat him like this?

One day, he would make every member of the Song Family look up at him!

Han Zheng had spent the past few days cultivating obediently at the Martial Arts Academy.

He felt that his cultivation had once again fallen into a bottleneck.

More accurately, it was not a bottleneck. It was more like he could not feel any progress at all, as though he were wasting his time.

At least Houtian Realm cultivation had visible progress: how many Acupoints had been opened, how many meridians had been unblocked.

But cultivation in the Xiantian Mortal Transformation Realm was incomparably long and drawn out. A few days was simply not enough to see much progress.

Han Zheng rubbed his chin. He rather missed the feeling after killing Gao Kaiyuan, when he had so much Satiety to sacrifice and squander.

Moreover, time stood still while cultivating in the Gluttonous Crucible. He could devote himself wholeheartedly to cultivation and enter a state of self-forgetfulness, so he did not find it tedious.

Touching the Wild Goose Feather Saber at his side, Han Zheng suddenly felt the urge to charge into the Song Family and slaughter to his heart's content.

If he slaughtered the Song Family, especially if he killed the Song Family Ancestor, how much Vitality Essence would he gain?

But reason told him that this was courting death.

Killing Gao Kaiyuan had been striking while he was ill and taking his life. With Han Zheng's current cultivation, he was not confident of facing even a Xiantian Realm martial artist in their prime, much less the Song Family Ancestor, who had cultivated the Water-Fire Immortal Robe.

"Han Zheng, don't go home tonight. Come with me to Moon Drinking Pavilion for a banquet."

Just before class ended, Li Jingzhong suddenly kept Han Zheng behind.

"A banquet?"

Li Jingzhong said, "Lin Qing was noticed by the Cangshan Sword Sect and selected as a disciple. The person who came last time was an outer sect deacon from the Cangshan Sword Sect, who only gave Lin Qing's talent and bone structure a rough examination and found them passable.

This time, the visitor is a Transmission Elder from the Cangshan Sword Sect. He has already confirmed that Lin Qing can not only join the Cangshan Sword Sect, but can even enter the Inner Sect directly.

For some reason, Song Tianqing has also established ties with the Cangshan Sword Sect. After being examined by that Transmission Elder, he too was admitted into the Cangshan Sword Sect's Inner Sect.

For a small county town like Black Stone County to produce two disciples entering the Cangshan Sword Sect's Inner Sect is no easy feat. It can be considered a fine tale.

Therefore, the Song Family is taking the lead. The Three Gangs of Black Stone County, County Magistrate Lin Wenzheng, Shopkeeper Chen of Shenghe Hall, and all the prominent figures in Black Stone County will attend the banquet. Naturally, that includes me as well.

Han Zheng, although your natural talent and bone structure are ordinary, your comprehension is outstanding. Especially when it comes to understanding martial arts, you are no worse than the disciples of those top great sects.

Come with me this time. If that Transmission Elder of the Cangshan Sword Sect takes a fancy to you and accepts you into the Cangshan Sword Sect, your future will surely be limitless."

"Thank you, Teacher."

Li Jingzhong had been an exceedingly qualified teacher, qualified enough that he was even helping his disciple find another place to go.

There was already little he could teach Han Zheng about the Xiantian Realm, much less the Profound Gang Realm that came afterward.

Only by joining a great sect could Han Zheng obtain more powerful cultivation methods, more resources, and better instruction.

Li Jingzhong could not bear to see someone as outstanding as Han Zheng waste away in a small county town.

That evening, Li Jingzhong brought Han Zheng to Moon Drinking Pavilion.

This restaurant was the largest in Black Stone County, and its owner was the East City Song Family.

The entire restaurant had five floors, lavish decorations, and lights that burned all night without going out.

Li Jingzhong had arrived rather early. Chen Baiqing was also there and came over to greet Li Jingzhong and Han Zheng.

At the same time, Li Jingzhong introduced Han Zheng to several prominent figures of Black Stone County who were present.

There was Lin Qing's father, Chief Clerk Lin, as well as Guo Mingyuan's father, Guo Kai, the current richest man in Black Stone County.

Guo Mingyuan had come with his father, likely with the same idea as Li Jingzhong: to promote his son before the Cangshan Sword Sect elder.

Guo Kai came over smiling and greeted Li Jingzhong, but Guo Mingyuan showed no intention of coming over. He did not even open his mouth to address Li Jingzhong as Academy Master.

The way he looked at Han Zheng was filled with resentment as well.

After all, Han Zheng was the only person who had ever defeated him at the Martial Arts Academy.

Before the match, Guo Mingyuan had been brimming with confidence. In the end, he had been defeated as easily as rotten wood collapsing before a gale. That was no ordinary humiliation.

After a while, the true big shots finally began arriving one after another, and Li Jingzhong quietly introduced each of them to Han Zheng.

Naturally, Jiang Tai came on behalf of the Three Harmonies Gang. Now that he was the true gang leader, he carried himself with far greater pomp.

After greeting everyone, Jiang Tai took a few extra looks at Han Zheng.

He always felt that Li Jingzhong's disciple looked familiar, as though he had seen him somewhere before.

After Jiang Tai came Qiu Tianying, the Sky Eagle Gang's leader. He was in his forties, lean and wiry, with a pair of ancient-looking, long hands whose thick knuckles twisted like gnarled tree roots.

Next came Pang Heihu, leader of the Black Tiger Gang. He was already past sixty, coarse-featured and wild in bearing, and he had brought along a young woman barely over twenty.

That young woman was Pang Heihu's only daughter, Pang Feiyan. She was tall and fairly attractive, but her brows and eyes were somewhat sharp, making her seem willful and difficult to provoke.

However, Pang Heihu was huge and brawny, as if Li Kui had been reborn. It was already no easy feat for his daughter to grow up looking like this.

Moreover, he had fathered her late in life and doted on her immensely.

He had Pang Feiyan greet some of the elders present, but she responded halfheartedly to all of them. Yet he did not scold her, merely smiling helplessly.

After waiting a while longer, the Song Family and Shen Family arrived together.

The Song Family had sent its head, Song Kangyuan, and Song Tianqing. The Song Family Ancestor, Song Xingfeng, had not come.

Song Xingfeng kept a low profile and rarely appeared in public, so everyone was accustomed to it.

When Song Tianqing arrived, he too shot Han Zheng a sinister look, but then revealed a disdainful smile.

A dragon did not dwell with snakes. He was about to join the Cangshan Sword Sect's Inner Sect, so why should he waste energy competing with a Martial Arts Academy disciple?

In the Houtian Realm, the resources everyone possessed were not all that different, so it was normal for him to lose to Han Zheng once.

But once they reached the Xiantian Realm, the resources they could possess would be as different as heaven and earth, and their statuses would likewise be worlds apart.

By then, he would not even need to make a move. One word from him would be enough to crush Han Zheng to death.

Han Zheng did not know what Song Tianqing was thinking. He only felt that these people all seemed to have something wrong with their heads.

Wasn't it just that he had defeated them? Did they have to glare at him as though he had cuckolded them?

The Shen Family had sent the Shen Family Ancestor, Shen Chengshan, along with Shen Family direct descendant Shen Conghai.

Shen Conghai was not very famous, but his older biological brother, Shen Congyun, was the pride of the Shen Family.

As a youth, he had entered the Tiangang Sect, a great sect of Shannan Dao. He had risen from an Outer Sect Disciple to an Inner Sect disciple, then become the personal disciple of the sect master. Now, he could even be called the foremost figure of the Tiangang Sect's younger generation.

Accompanying the two families was also an old man with white hair and beard, who looked to be seventy or eighty years old.

Though this old man was advanced in years, Han Zheng could still sense an extremely powerful force of vitality and blood from him.

The aura around him felt the same as Yuan Longshan had felt to Han Zheng back then. This Transmission Elder had likely also been a Profound Gang Realm existence at the peak of his strength.

The various great sects would almost always arrange an elder's position for martial artists whose cultivation had stagnated but whose seniority was high.

Li Jingzhong had said on the way here that the true Transmission Elders of the Cangshan Sword Sect would not personally descend the mountain to recruit disciples.

Moreover, they were not called Transmission Elders, but Chief of the Transmission Hall.

Thus, this visitor was likely only a member of the Cangshan Sword Sect's Transmission Hall who had been given an elder's position due to his seniority.

Black Stone County's people had merely been calling him Transmission Elder all along to show their respect.

Even so, his identity, status, and strength in his prime were beyond comparison with the people of this small county town.

Upon seeing him enter, everyone present hurriedly stood up.

With a smile, Song Kangyuan introduced him, "This is Elder Qian Songyuan, a Transmission Elder of the Cangshan Sword Sect. It has been a long time since Black Stone County saw a great figure of Elder Qian's stature."

Everyone hurriedly cupped their hands and respectfully greeted Qian Songyuan.

Qian Songyuan waved a hand kindly. "You are all too polite. I originally intended to return to the Cangshan Sword Sect after accepting the disciples, but Family Head Song's invitation was too sincere, so I have troubled everyone in Black Stone County."

"Not a trouble at all!"

"To meet Elder Qian is a blessing accumulated over three lifetimes!"

Everyone present showered him with praise.

At that moment, two more people came upstairs. One wore a saber at his waist and the black-and-red official uniform of a constable chief—he was Zhang Tianyang.

The other was a middle-aged man in his forties wearing a green scholar's robe. He was Lin Wenzheng, the County Magistrate of Black Stone County.

This was Han Zheng's first time seeing Black Stone County's County Magistrate.

This man did not have a good reputation. He was a typical mediocre, incompetent official—a wine sack and rice bag.

Yet his appearance was quite good. He could be called upright and refined, looking every bit like a talented scholar.

However, he reeked of alcohol at the moment, and his eyes were somewhat unfocused. Clearly, he had come only after drinking.

The Song Family had certainly notified him beforehand about the evening banquet, yet Lin Wenzheng had still arrived drunk as a skunk. This County Magistrate was truly one of a kind.

Thanks to Alliance Leader Most Dazzling Dream of Life for the reward of 10,000 Qidian coins (^ω^)