A Blood Feud Was Hard to Resolve

Inside the main hall deep within the Wu Clan Ancestral Residence.

"Haha, good! Excellent!" Several days had passed, and Wu Qiming still bore his injuries, but he had recovered considerably and could now get out of bed and walk around freely.

The moment he received news about Wu Yuan,

Wu Qiming was overcome with excitement. He immediately summoned the Wu Clan's senior members to share the good news.

"I knew you were making rapid progress, Wu Yuan, but I only dared hope you'd enter Cloud Martial Hall next year and earn the sect's favor in time." Wu Qiming had rarely been so unrestrained. He sighed, "Who could have imagined you'd be specially recruited so soon?"

"To be honest, I'm still a little short of the standard for special recruitment. It was Senior Gao Yu who took a liking to me," Wu Yuan replied modestly.

He had worked out this explanation in advance.

He wasn't afraid of being assassinated or abducted, but he didn't want to invite trouble. He would follow Gao Yu's instructions and do his best to keep his talent hidden.

Special recruitment came in different tiers. Some barely met the requirements, while others had talent so astonishing it defied description!

"Haha, he's a Sect Protector! How exalted is his position? The fact that he noticed you says everything!" Sixth Master Wu was even more excited. He raised his wine cup and declared, "Even someone who barely qualifies for special recruitment is far more capable than those Cloud Martial Hall disciples."

"Exactly!"

Wu Dongyao smiled, his bearing refined and distinguished. "The last time Li City had a specially recruited disciple was more than twenty years ago!"

Special recruitment was extremely rare in the Hengyun Sect.

On average, the sect only specially recruited two or three disciples a year. Across all the prefectures, that meant one might come along only once every twenty or thirty years.

"Brother, you're amazing!" Wu Yijun, his younger sister, excitedly held up a chicken leg at the table. "But this chicken leg tastes even better."

"Hahaha!"

The Wu Clan's senior members in the hall all burst into laughter.

Wan Qin, who rarely spoke and sat off to one side, smiled too.

Even surrounded by the clan's senior members, she wasn't the least bit intimidated. If anything, she felt proud.

All because she had raised such a good son.

"Dear, did you see? Yuan'er has really grown up." Wan Qin looked at Wu Yuan, chatting and laughing with Wu Qiming, Wu Long, and the others, and thought silently.

All those years of raising him had led to this day.

"Mother is happy, and the clan leader and the others are happy too." Wu Yuan felt a warmth in his heart and couldn't stop smiling.

Since fully regaining consciousness and inheriting his predecessor's memories, he had felt himself becoming more and more a part of this world as time passed.

Part of this family, part of this clan!

There was always a reason to cultivate.

I hope I can keep my family and clan members smiling as brightly as they are today. Wu Yuan thought.

Suddenly,

"Clan Leader." Steward Fang hurried in, looking somewhat flustered. "Dean Zhang of the Prefectural Sect Martial Academy is here!"

The hall fell silent. Wu Dongyao, Wu Long, Sixth Master Wu, and the others all looked toward Clan Leader Wu Qiming.

The Martial Academy's dean?

"Clan Leader, let's withdraw first," Sixth Master Wu offered. To the Wu Clan, the Martial Academy's dean was an enormously important figure.

"No need. Keep eating." Wu Qiming shook his head. "Steward Fang, take Dean Zhang to the study. Wu Yuan, come with me to meet him."

"Understood." Wu Yuan stood.

In the study, Wu Yuan and Wu Qiming soon received Zhang Da. After exchanging the expected courtesies, they sat down.

"Dean Zhang, what brings you here so suddenly?" Wu Qiming asked with a smile.

"Haha, Clan Leader Wu, you're too formal. Wu Yuan is a disciple of our academy, a remarkably talented one at that, and he's earned the favor of Protector Gao. What a joyous occasion!" Zhang Da said cheerfully. "As the dean, of course I had to come congratulate him."

"If you hadn't gone out of your way to guide him, Wu Yuan might never have caught Protector Gao's attention," Wu Qiming replied with a smile.

Zhang Da's eyelid twitched.

There was a barb in those words!

"I didn't think things through last time," Zhang Da said with a sigh. "I considered only Li City's honor, not the sect's greater interests. And I misjudged Wu Yuan's martial talent."

"Still, Wu Yuan's special recruitment is a great occasion for the Prefectural Sect Martial Academy too. It's an honor for the academy."

"So today, after a unanimous discussion, the academy's teachers decided to award Wu Yuan five thousand taels of silver. We hope he'll keep up the good work after entering Cloud Martial Hall." As he spoke,

he took out a stack of banknotes.

Each was a hundred-tael note bearing the words "Starry Group."

"This..." Wu Qiming was startled at first, but then he understood Zhang Da's intent.

He thought five thousand taels was enough, and looked toward Wu Yuan.

Wu Qiming knew very well that he had to respect Wu Yuan's opinion. He could no longer treat him like a junior.

"Dean Zhang,"

Wu Yuan said with a smile, "do you know who was responsible for the destruction of the Fierce Tiger Gang?"

"I don't. The sect is investigating it now." Zhang Da shook his head, puzzled as to why Wu Yuan had brought it up.

"If you find out, please inform the Wu Clan. We'll reward that expert handsomely." Wu Yuan's expression was solemn. "He did our clan a great service."

"A great service?" Zhang Da's eyes lit up. "Could the Wu Clan have a lead on this expert?"

Wu Yuan continued as if he hadn't heard the question. "The Fierce Tiger Gang first demanded that our clan raise this year's tribute by five thousand taels. Then they destroyed the Wu Clan's estate south of the city, killed several of our people, and dragged our clan leader to their stronghold! It was only because this mysterious expert wiped out the Fierce Tiger Gang that our clan leader was able to return!"

"Look at the clan leader's injuries. He sustained them at the Fierce Tiger Gang's stronghold."

"Dean, tell me: shouldn't the Wu Clan thank this expert?" Wu Yuan stared hard at Zhang Da.

His gaze made Zhang Da feel vaguely uncomfortable.

But Zhang Da was no fool. In only a few seconds, he understood what Wu Yuan meant and sighed inwardly for Xu Shouyi.

Wu Yuan's meaning was clear.

The Wu Clan would remember its debt to that mysterious expert, but it wouldn't forget its grudge against Xu Manor. You, Zhang Da, wanted to settle the feud?

Then raise your offer!

"Has the Wu Clan suffered such a calamity? You really should thank that mysterious expert." Zhang Da's face filled with sympathy. "It wasn't easy for Wu Yuan to achieve so much while cultivating under such difficult circumstances. The academy should offer another five thousand taels in support!"

Zhang Da took out another stack of banknotes.

Wu Yuan and Wu Qiming exchanged a glance and nodded slightly.

"Haha, then we thank you, Dean Zhang, for your generous support of Wu Yuan." Wu Qiming picked up the thread. "Has your tea gone cold? Shall I have someone top it up?"

Dean Zhang glanced at the steaming tea.

There was no room for more.

He was being shown the door.

"Haha, there's no need. I just remembered I have something to take care of at home, so I'll be on my way." Zhang Da got to his feet.

"I'm unwell and can't see you out. I hope you'll understand, Dean Zhang." Wu Qiming's face was full of apology.

"Dean Zhang, I'll escort you out." Steward Fang appeared at just the right moment.

Soon,

Wu Yuan and Wu Qiming watched Zhang Da leave.

"Wu Yuan, isn't ten thousand taels a bit much?" Wu Qiming asked, frowning. "He is the Martial Academy's dean, after all."

"Clan Leader, I know what I'm doing." Wu Yuan smiled.

Wu Qiming nodded slightly. He was still concerned, but didn't press the matter.

"Wu Yuan, take this ten thousand taels." Wu Qiming pointed to the banknotes on the table.

"No need." Wu Yuan shook his head. "Protector Gao has already promised that once I join the sect, I'll have a steady supply of all kinds of cultivation resources. I don't need silver. Besides, after I leave, I won't be able to help the clan until I graduate, so the clan needs the money more."

Would he need money after entering Cloud Martial Hall? Wu Yuan didn't know.

But at least for now,

he had no need for these ten thousand taels.

"Fine. You've been specially recruited into the sect, a single step that sends you soaring to the heavens. I won't argue with you," Wu Qiming said with a nod.

"Dean Zhang came to settle the feud because he's afraid I'll take revenge in the future," Wu Yuan said quietly. "Xu Manor will probably hear the news a little later. Will they come to make peace?"

"No!"

"Dean Zhang came to make peace because our feud hasn't yet become a matter of life and death, and silver can settle it." Wu Qiming shook his head at once. "The Xu Clan? Unless Xu Shouyi truly thinks everyone in the Wu Clan is a fool."

"Otherwise, they won't come to make peace over a blood feud."

"Even if we agreed to settle things for a small price, they wouldn't believe us. They'd fear we were simply biding our time before taking revenge."

"To truly quell our anger, the price would have to be something like Xu Shouyi killing Xu Yuanjie to atone. Would Xu Shouyi be willing to do that?" Wu Qiming said with a sigh.

"Kill his own son?" Wu Yuan nodded slightly.

A whole group of Wu Clan members had died! The clan leader himself had nearly been killed.

What kind of grudge was that? How could mere silver settle it so easily?

Someone from the Xu Clan had to die—and that person had to be someone of sufficiently high standing—to truly quench the Wu Clan's fury!

"It's all right."

"As long as we're careful, with things so tense, Xu Shouyi is only a Garrison General, not an all-powerful figure. He shouldn't dare order a direct killing," Wu Qiming said. "Once you join the sect, everything will be settled."

Wu Yuan nodded slightly.

Revenge? He was strong enough now, but the Fierce Tiger Gang had only just been wiped out. If he struck again, he'd draw far too much attention.

The risk of exposing himself was too high.

For now, he could only let Xu Shouyi live a little longer.

"Damn it!"

"Damn it!" One of the halls in Xu Manor was in shambles. Xu Shouyi, usually so composed, had eyes blazing with fury. "Damn Zhang Da! He actually refused to see me?"

"What on earth happened at the Martial Academy today?"

"Gao Yu, a protector of the Finance and Engineering Hall—why would he suddenly come to Li City? How did I not hear about it in advance?"

"Wu Yuan can't be allowed to live!" An icy chill glinted in Xu Shouyi's eyes.