Background

When Meng Xi and Meng Wen, the two brothers, were mentioned, Meng Zhao noticed something.

Lü Zhong's expression was not very pleasant, carrying an indescribable sense of stifled grievance.

For an Innate Master to feel that way was quite rare.

Back then, Lü Zhong had been an old servant who attended Meng Zhao's grandfather. By rights, he had watched Meng Xi and Meng Wen grow up as well. Later, however, he began assisting Meng Zhengan and became part of the Meng Family's Second Branch.

Thus, compared with Meng Zhao, his feelings toward those two brothers were far more distant and shallow.

Moreover, Meng Jizu now held power. As Earl of Nan'an, he managed all affairs great and small within the Meng Family, and his two sons had risen with the tide.

Even if they did something out of line, it was difficult for Lü Zhong to deal with them.

Even if he relied on his seniority, they might not necessarily respect it.

Thinking of this, Meng Zhao's head began to ache. Meng Wen, the Second Brother, was manageable enough. He had intended to win Meng Zhao over, and now he understood the situation and knew how to act.

He had deliberately withdrawn the people he had planted in the Meng Family's Second Branch, intending to abandon that piece of the board.

But the eldest was different. Not only had he shown no sign of anything, Meng Zhao's attendance at last night's banquet might even have angered him.

Yet Meng Zhao could not directly raise his banner and oppose Meng Xi before his wings had fully grown. That would be like rubbing salt in the eyes of his eldest uncle, Meng Jizu, the Meng Family head.

That was why, although he appeared to be in the limelight, his situation was not particularly good either, and there was no shortage of troubling matters.

Still, matters had their order of urgency. Meng Zhao felt it was better to first resolve the looting of the manor and the ambush against him.

"Uncle Zhong, you said Sun Chuanshan owed the underground Black Gold Organization a huge sum of money. With the Sun Family's power and wealth, shouldn't something like this be unlikely to happen?

"And does this so-called underground Black Gold Organization really dare go to the Sun Family to demand repayment?"

Meng Zhao's doubts were perfectly natural. Sun Chuanshan's various performances had truly been rather pathetic.

They left him wondering whether the Sun Family really had the ability to lock arms with the Meng Family.

Lü Zhong smiled. Knowing that Meng Zhao had only just returned and was unfamiliar with many matters, he explained,

"Young Master, you do not know this. Although Sun Chuanshan is a grandson of the Sun Family head, he was born of a concubine.

"Furthermore, he lacked both talent and tenacity in martial arts, and his abilities were mediocre. Thus, the Sun Family did not value him, and the resources and money at his disposal were limited.

"It is perfectly normal for him to incur debts through gambling.

"And precisely because he was not favored in the Meng Family, even suffering some disdain, he did not dare tell his family about such matters.

"It makes sense that he tried to find a way to settle the debt on his own.

"As for this underground Black Gold Organization..."

At this point, Lü Zhong's expression turned solemn. After choosing his words, he warned Meng Zhao,

"Young Master, do not underestimate them. Though such organizations cannot be brought into the light, powerful patrons support them in secret, and their influence is immense. If you can avoid offending them, do so.

"And the organization from which Sun Chuanshan borrowed money—I investigated it carefully and suspect it has connections with people from the Demonic Path."

Meng Zhao was startled. He had been in this world for more than a year and had learned quite a bit about it from the mysterious man. After assuming Meng Zhao's identity, he had also consciously studied and learned about it.

Yet he had never heard anything about the Demonic Path.

Lü Yue's expression changed, and he said urgently,

"How could that be? One Palace, Three Paths, and the Five Evil Sects vanished many years ago.

"It was said that during the Mount Tai Alliance, the Great Ancestor Beitang Gong issued an extermination order and wiped them out completely.

"Godfather, do you mean they have continued to exist all this time and were never destroyed?"

Lü Zhong nodded and sighed softly.

"How could they have been destroyed?

"Wherever there is sunlight, shadows will always exist, and the brighter the sunlight, the deeper the shadows.

"Just like the division between yin and yang, black and white, day and night.

"It is merely that, at different stages, one side's strength waxes while the other's wanes.

"At present, the righteous path has suppressed the Demonic Path, so they hide themselves away and lie dormant in dark corners."

Seeing that Meng Zhao still looked puzzled, Lü Zhong explained,

"Young Master need not be confused. The so-called Demonic Path is a broad term.

"Generally speaking, however, it refers to One Palace, Three Paths, and the Five Evil Sects.

"The One Palace refers to the Heavenly Demon Palace. It is said to be an ancient power that has existed since distant antiquity, passed down from generation to generation and continuing to this day.

"In ancient times, experts from the Heavenly Demon Palace once emerged and contended for the Divine Continent with Xuanyuan, the human emperor. Though defeated, they earned honor in defeat.

"He was later known as the Weapon Master and the God of War, revered and worshipped by many.

"The Three Paths refer to the Supreme Evil Path, Hell Path, and Human Path, all of which have existed for a very long time.

"The Hell Path, for instance, seems to have originated in the medieval era and was an organization during the Great Xia Dynasty.

"The strongest expert of the Supreme Evil Path once fought the Martial Emperor with the Chaos Body during the Great Han Dynasty. After being injured, he fled far away, and no news of him was ever heard again.

"The Human Path also once caused earth-shaking events during the Imperial Song Dynasty and became known to all.

"As for the Five Evil Sects, they are Sinful Valley, Demon Venerable Hall, Evil Sin Gate, Nirvana Sect, and Yellow Springs Sect.

"Their momentum was somewhat weaker, and they were active in the last lingering glow of the medieval era, during the Great Ming Dynasty."

Seeing Meng Zhao deep in thought, Lü Zhong continued,

"Since the medieval era, the righteous and demonic paths have been said to have ten thousand sects crying out together, and quite a few remnants of the demonic path have remained.

"It was merely that during the century-plus of warfare after the Great Ming Dynasty's fall, this One Palace, Three Paths, and Five Evil Sects were the most famous and best known.

"So, Young Master, you must not think these are all the forces of the Demonic Path.

"To this old servant's knowledge, there is now an expert in southern Ning Prefecture who calls himself a Descendant of the Ancient Heartless Path. He has stirred up trouble, slaughtered more than three hundred members of a small family, and been placed on Great Yong's Heavenly Punishment Hall wanted list.

"If Young Master encounters such Demonic Cultivators in the future, avoid them if possible. Do not provoke them lightly."

Lü Zhong meant well, much like some parents whose greatest hope was not for their children to achieve great accomplishments or stand above others.

They merely hoped their children would live safely and happily.

Meng Zhao was no green youth. He understood Lü Zhong's good intentions and silently nodded to show that he understood.

Though he knew the old man cared so deeply only for the real Meng Zhao, he still felt somewhat moved.

But such emotion was dangerous.

Suppressing this shift in feeling, Meng Zhao finally understood why this underground Black Gold Organization had been so brazen, daring to chase after Sun Chuanshan for money.

If Sun Chuanshan had no money, what they wanted was probably his life.

Forget Sun Chuanshan—even his grandfather, the Sun Family head currently in charge, would likely have to weigh whether he could afford to provoke the powerful patrons behind these Black Gold Organizations.

To put it bluntly, whether the Meng Family or the Sun Family, they did possess strength.

But compared with these notorious forces whose foundations could not be seen through, they were simply no match.

Under such circumstances, it was quite normal for Sun Chuanshan to loot the Meng Family's Second Branch manor and scrape together money to repay his debt.

After all, compared with offending such an organization, it was better to provoke the Meng Family, which was already on bad terms with him and roughly equal in scale.

If Meng Zhao were in his place, he could do the same.