"Ah! It hurts! It hurts so much!"
"Grandpa, your grandson is in so much pain! You have to stand up for me!"
In the Wan Family Main Hall, Wan Yong, who looked like an orangutan, lay on a stretcher, clutching his chest with a pitiful expression as he screamed in pain. Gritting his teeth, he complained to the white-haired old man seated in the grand chair:
"That damned Lin Yi is nothing but a country bumpkin from some backwater place. He thinks he's something just because he has a little strength. At the Martial Academy Grand Competition, he showed no mercy and deliberately beat your grandson badly."
"Then afterward, he humiliated me even more, saying I was a good-for-nothing who couldn't last three breaths against him."
"Grandpa, he wasn't just insulting me. He was insulting our entire Wan Family! He was insulting you, Grandpa!"
"Grandpa! You have to avenge me this time. Kill Lin Yi! Let me vent all this anger!"
"What!"
Bam!
As soon as Wan Yong finished speaking, Third Master Wan, the most hot-tempered of them all, with his rugged features and dark skin, looking just like a black bear, flew into a rage. He slammed his hand on the table, sprang to his feet, and glared at Wan Yong as he shouted:
"Yong'er, did that country boy named Lin Yi really say that? He really dared to humiliate you like this?"
"Yes!"
Seeing this, Wan Yong's eyes lit up. He nodded repeatedly from the stretcher:
"Third Uncle! That damned Lin Yi really did humiliate me like that. Every word your nephew says is true!"
"If Third Uncle doesn't believe me, you can ask around. If I've told even one lie, I'll accept whatever punishment you give me!"
"You're asking for death!"
Third Master Wan was thoroughly enraged. His already ferocious face grew even more savage, like an angry black bear, as he roared:
"That damned country bumpkin dares to humiliate a member of the Wan Family like this? I'll go kill him right now!"
With that, Third Master Wan immediately headed for the door.
"Third Brother, come back!"
Seeing this, First Master Wan, Wan Hai, who had been silent until then, barked at him:
"Father is right here, and he hasn't given any orders yet. Why are you in such a hurry? Are you trying to rebel?"
"Big Brother!"
At his words, Third Master Wan turned around helplessly, anger and frustration showing on his dark face:
"Isn't this for the sake of our Wan Family's reputation? If a direct descendant of the Wan Family gets beaten by Lin Yi today and we do nothing, how will our family ever be able to show its face in Dongshan Prefecture again?"
"Besides, Yong'er is your own son! He's been beaten into this state, and you don't feel any heartache?"
"Of course I feel for Yong'er, seeing him like this."
Wan Hai looked at Wan Yong, a flash of anger and concern in his eyes:
"But Father has always been the one to make decisions for the Wan Family. He hasn't spoken yet, so no one is to act rashly—not me, and not you!"
"I..."
"Enough!"
Just as Third Master Wan was about to explain himself, Wan Family Head Wan Hu, who had been sitting calmly in the grand chair at the head of the hall, finally spoke:
"We'll certainly deal with what happened to Yong'er, but the reckless approach Third Brother suggested won't work."
"Eldest, tell us what you have in mind."
"Yes, Father!"
Wan Hai nodded respectfully. He thought for a moment before finally speaking:
"What happened between Yong'er and Lin Yi is neither a big matter nor a small one."
"Looked at one way, it's just a quarrel between two juniors. Yong'er took a beating and got hurt, but his life and foundation are unharmed. We can give him some treasures to help him recover at home, and he'll be back on his feet. It's nothing serious."
"But looked at another way, during this fight, Lin Yi deliberately injured our Wan Family's Qilin Child in front of a crowd. Afterward, he spoke viciously and deliberately humiliated Yong'er, angering him into unconsciousness. Yong'er lost face, and our whole family was disgraced."
"What Lin Yi did was practically a provocation against the Wan Family! He slapped our family in the face! He must be killed as a warning to others!"
"However, Lin Yi is, after all, Zhao Hai Hong's man. Zhao Hai Hong was once a Dharma Transmission Elder of the Tianshan Sect, where he spent many years cultivating his connections and gathering disciples. He has countless students and contacts."
"Our Wan Family doesn't fear him, but unless absolutely necessary, we'd be better off not making an enemy of him."
"So, in my view, we should teach Lin Yi a harsh lesson, leave him bedridden for three to five months, and set his cultivation back. That will show him that our Wan Family cannot be bullied!"
"Oh, Eldest, is that your solution?"
Wan Family Head Wan Hu asked calmly, his expressionless face giving nothing away. Then he turned to Second Master Wan and asked again:
"Second Brother, what do you think?"
"Father, Big Brother makes sense. I agree with him."
Second Master Wan replied respectfully. Then he, First Master Wan, Third Master Wan, and Wan Yong all looked at Wan Hu, waiting for his final decision.
In the grand chair, Wan Hu heard Second Master Wan's answer and first took a deep breath, closing his eyes. But in the next instant, he snapped them open and roared:
"Foolish!"
"What a pack of foolish idiots! If the Wan Family falls into the hands of a bunch of fools like you, how am I supposed to close my eyes in peace? When I reach the afterlife, how will I have the face to meet the Wan Family's ancestors?"
As Wan Hu roared, an imposing aura burst from his aged face. He seemed like a tiger in its twilight years suddenly springing up in fury, and the air around them turned icy:
"All these years, how many times have I taught you this? When you encounter an enemy, either don't provoke him in the first place, or, once you do, cut the grass and dig out the roots. Leave no trouble behind!"
"Lin Yi has excellent aptitude. The moment he entered Dongshan Martial Academy, he was already making all the academy's geniuses bow their heads."
"After just one month of cultivation, he even defeated Wang Yue, and only Lin Tianqing was better than him."
"I won't even say whether that's because his talent is truly astonishing and he improved so much in a mere month, or whether he was hiding his strength before, only to make a stunning debut at this competition."
"But at just fourteen years old, with a background in a Commandery City, he's already reached this level. Once he joins the Tianshan Sect and receives its careful cultivation, reaching Third-Rank Martial Arts will be easy, and he'll have a good chance of reaching Martial Arts Second Rank."
"Now, faced with such a terrifying enemy, you neither want to pay the price to settle your grievances and turn him into an ally, nor do you want to cut the grass and dig out the roots, eradicating the threat while it's still in its cradle. Instead, you want to teach him a lesson and hinder his cultivation, making him resent the Wan Family from now on. Tell me, what are you if not a pack of good-for-nothing fools?"
"Yes, yes, yes! Father's reprimand is absolutely right!"
Seeing Wan Hu roar at them like a furious tiger, the three Wan Family masters in the hall couldn't help feeling fear rise from the depths of their hearts. They hurriedly admitted their mistakes.
A moment later, Third Master Wan, the most hot-tempered and simple-minded of them all, suddenly spoke:
"Father! So, according to you, we can choose to kill Lin Yi this time?"
"If that's the case, Father, give me the task. I guarantee that within three days, that brat will die without a sound, and even Zhao Hai Hong won't be able to find out."
"Fool!"
Hearing this, Wan Hu couldn't hold back again. He angrily berated him:
"You useless thing! Your little tricks can't even fool me, and you think you can fool Zhao Hai Hong?"
"The methods of a Tianshan Sect Dharma Transmission Elder are beyond anything you can imagine. Forget you—even I would have a hard time killing someone in front of him without a sound."
"And even if you managed to hide it from Zhao Hai Hong this time, do you think you could hide it from the Tianshan Sect?"
"You must understand that Lin Yi's talent is extraordinary. If he's been hiding his strength all along, then it's one thing for him to be pretending to be a super-genius."
"But if he really has progressed this quickly, I suspect his monstrous talent might even rival the unparalleled prodigies of Tianshan Pavilion!"
"And the sect places immense importance on prodigies like that. Even if Lin Yi can only possibly match them, if anything happens to him, Zhao Hai Hong will use his connections, and the sect will undoubtedly investigate thoroughly."
"By then, even a First Rank Master caught up in this would be in serious trouble. As for a small family like ours, we'd be wiped out in the blink of an eye!"
As he spoke, a trace of deep fear flashed through Wan Hu's eyes.
Below him, the Wan Family masters—and even the gravely injured Wan Yong, lying on the ground—were shocked when they heard the words "Tianshan Pavilion":
"What! Th-that can't be, can it?"
"How could Lin Yi possibly be worthy of rivaling the prodigies of Tianshan Pavilion?"
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
Tianshan Pavilion was a place established by the Founding Patriarch of the Tianshan Sect specifically to cultivate Martial Dao geniuses.
Not only were there experts surpassing First Rank Masters stationed there for long periods to guide and teach the geniuses, but it also housed several exceptionally high-grade relics left behind by Martial Emperors.
Every one of those relics was countless times more precious than the Red Dragon Pool, and their effects were countless times greater. As a result, Tianshan Pavilion was extraordinarily effective at cultivating geniuses and had a tremendous reputation.
Not only did disciples under the Tianshan Sect's banner in the Eight Prefectures dream of cultivating there, but geniuses from Qingzhou beyond those prefectures—and even from Chuzhou and Youzhou beyond Qingzhou—wanted to enter as well.
The factions they belonged to would often pay a huge price to buy one or two places from the Tianshan Sect for the geniuses they favored.
From this, it was clear just how high the entry requirements for Tianshan Pavilion were and how fierce the competition was!
It could be said that every genius who entered Tianshan Pavilion was a truly peerless prodigy, with astonishing talent beyond belief!
But could an insignificant person like Lin Yi really have such talent?
"What's impossible about it?"
Seeing their disbelieving expressions, Wan Hu shouted and explained:
"The geniuses of Tianshan Pavilion are impressive, but they weren't born divine. They, too, were cultivated with abundant resources from a young age, and only then did they make their way there step by step."
"Lin Yi came from a Commandery City, or perhaps even a county town. He didn't have a single decent master growing up, yet he still reached this point by the age of fourteen."
"In my view, even if his talent falls short of the geniuses of Tianshan Pavilion, the gap isn't as great as you imagine."
"In that case, if he really wasn't hiding his strength and has genuinely progressed this quickly, then his talent is naturally on par with those Tianshan Pavilion prodigies."
"What! This, this..."
After hearing Wan Hu's analysis, Wan Yong and the others were left speechless.
At last, First Master Wan, Wan Hai, cautiously asked Wan Hu:
"Then, Father, since Lin Yi's talent is so terrifying and we can't kill him, how should we reconcile with him? Should we give him silver?"
"I heard Yong'er lost a five-thousand-tael wager to him. Since that's the case, we could give him the five thousand taels, then give him another three thousand on top. What do you think?"
"What do I think? I think you're a good-for-nothing! A hopeless, purebred idiot!"
Looking at his useless son, Wan Hu was so furious his face turned pale. He pointed at Wan Hai and cursed:
"Now that you know his talent, and you can't deal with him, you want to settle things with him—but you're still being stingy, offering him so little silver?"
"I, Wan Hu, have lived a brilliant life. How did I end up with a good-for-nothing like you for a son?"
"Add fifteen thousand taels to the five thousand, making a total of twenty thousand taels. Then go deliver the silver to Lin Yi right away! Get out! Move!"
"Yes, yes, yes! Father, I'll take care of it right away! Right away!"
Watching the furious Wan Hu, Wan Hai didn't dare utter a word. He wiped the cold sweat from his brow, then immediately got up and left to prepare the silver.
Seeing this, the others hurried out of the hall as well, afraid Wan Hu would take his anger out on them.
At last, inside the hall, Wan Hu watched his sons and grandsons flee in disarray. After a long silence, he could only let out a helpless sigh.
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