A Name That Resounded Through Li City

In the Central Land World, the swiftest path for commoners to change their fate was to break through in martial arts. For nobles, kings, and marquises to preserve their glory, they likewise needed generation after generation of powerful warriors.

Each year, the Prefectural Sect Martial Academy's Grand Competition was a major event that drew the attention of every faction in Li City. Just getting into Nanmeng Martial Academy was enough to make someone stand out!

And that was nothing compared to a special recruitment drive by the Sect—an opportunity that came to Li City perhaps once in a decade.

A few days ago, when Wu Yuan took the Prefectural Sect Martial Academy's assessment, all sorts of rumors had already begun circulating. Now that the Prefect's Mansion had confirmed the news, it spread like the wind!

"Special recruitment? What does that mean?"

"Normally, to enter Cloud Martial Hall, you have to go through the Martial Academy Grand Competition. Special recruitment means your talent is so high that you can skip the regular competition and enter Cloud Martial Hall directly!"

"The Wu Clan is going to rise!"

Once the Li City Wu Clan received the definite news from officials of the Prefect's Mansion, the whole clan erupted into unprecedented celebration, as if they were celebrating all three major festivals at once. The gloom left by the manor's breach and the deaths of so many clansmen was swept away.

A powerful martial artist could change the fate of an entire household or lineage with a single word!

Eastern Li City.

A sprawling estate, only two hundred meters from the Prefect's Mansion, had a new signboard: "Wu Manor"!

Wu Yuan, his mother Wan Qin, his younger sister Wu Yijun, Clan Chief Wu Qiming, Wu Dongyao, Wu Long, Sixth Master Wu, and the others had all gathered there.

Gu Ji was there as well, now dressed as a steward.

Besides the Wu Clan, the guests included Prefect Jiang Dongque, the Prefectural Commandant, and several other high-ranking officials from Li City.

"Prefect Jiang, according to the regulations, a medium-sized estate would have been enough," Wu Yuan said, shaking his head.

"Haha, the Sect's laws also say that if no suitable medium-sized estate is available, you may move into a large one." Jiang Dongque smiled warmly. "Young Master Wu has been specially recruited into the Sect. In a few years, once you've made progress in martial arts, the rules will require you to move into a large estate anyway. Better to do it now and save the trouble."

"Very well. Then I thank you, Prefect," Wu Yuan said with a smile.

He did not refuse Jiang Dongque's kindness again.

Hengyun Sect had built many large, medium-sized, and small estates in prefectural and county cities, providing homes for its members' families. They were assigned according to rank.

The larger the estate, the closer it was to the garrison barracks and the Prefect's Mansion, reflecting the status of its owner.

It also meant greater security!

When someone left their post, they had to vacate the estate. Guan Zishan of Dongye County, for instance, had retired and returned to his hometown, and most of his family had moved back to Dongye County as well.

Of course, those who performed great service might earn the right to live there permanently.

But that was extremely difficult!

The two sides chatted for a while longer. Then the Prefect, the Prefectural Commandant, and the others tactfully took their leave, giving the Wu Clan room to talk among themselves.

"When I passed the Xiucai exam, there were over a hundred of us that year. The Prefect came to encourage us, but I never even spoke to him alone," Wu Dongyao said with a sigh. "Yet Wu Yuan has the Prefect coming to his door to congratulate him and show his goodwill!"

"Special recruitment is different," Wu Long said solemnly. "With Wu Yuan's talent, he has a chance of becoming a First-class Expert one day."

A Prefect served a four-year term.

In a whole prefecture, there were usually only one or two First-class Experts.

In the Central Land World, scholars could take the imperial examinations and might rise to become prefectural governors, whose status rivaled that of First-class Experts.

But when all was said and done, the fearsome power of martial artists let individual might rise above the strength of the masses.

Literature was an aid; martial arts were the core!

"Clan Chief, I'll be staying at home for a while longer, but after I return from Nanmeng Prefecture, I'll set off for the Sect Headquarters," Wu Yuan said softly. "This estate is vast, and my mother's experience is limited. I'll need you to look after things. The banquets the Prefect and the others are holding over the next couple of days—I'd like you to accompany me."

"Wu Yuan, you can rest assured." Seeing Wu Yuan finally make his intentions clear, Wu Qiming replied solemnly, "I'll keep a close eye on your mother's health, and I'll make sure Yijun gets a good education."

Wu Yuan smiled.

He trusted Wu Qiming to be a clever man. Some things did not need to be said aloud.

The weak needed the support of their lineage, but for the strongest martial artists, their lineage could become a burden.

By bringing Wu Qiming to the banquet, Wu Yuan was making a statement.

Most of the authority that had originally belonged to Wan Qin would now be handed to Wu Qiming.

In the future, Wu Qiming would act in Li City on Wu Yuan's behalf. It was easy to foresee that the Wu Clan's influence would expand rapidly.

For one thing, with Wu Yuan's backing, as long as he stayed alive and continued to rise in status within the Sect, no local office in Li City would dare make things too difficult for the Wu Clan.

That alone would save the Wu Clan's businesses a great deal of money and trouble.

All Wu Qiming had to do was take good care of Wan Qin and Wu Yijun!

"Brother, the courtyards here are so huge—much bigger than the Clan Chief's!" Wu Yijun came bounding out of the estate, bouncing with excitement.

"Haha." Everyone in the Wu Clan couldn't help laughing.

The Wu Clan Ancestral Residence was comparable to a medium-sized estate in eastern Li City.

But in terms of value? It was worth less than even a small estate!

And compared with a large estate in the east of the city, there was no comparison at all.

Being able to live here meant joining Li City's ranks of top-tier nobles!

Wu Yuan arranged the various parts of the estate.

The outer courtyards were left mostly to the Wu Clan to manage, while the inner residence would be where Wan Qin and Wu Yijun lived.

"Mother, I asked the Clan Chief to handle these matters. Are you unhappy with that?" Wu Yuan asked.

"How could I be unhappy?" Wan Qin shook her head with a sigh. "Just today, more than a hundred invitations have arrived, all from wealthy and powerful families. I'm just an ignorant woman. How could I handle that? I can't even remember all the names."

"Having the Clan Chief deal with them is a very good arrangement," Wan Qin said with a smile. "Besides, the Clan Chief and the family have helped us a great deal over the years. We mustn't forget our roots."

Wu Yuan nodded slightly.

As he rose, he would need people to rely on.

Better to trust his own clansmen than outsiders!

"Mother, you and Yijun should get familiar with the place. If there's anything you want, just tell the stewards. I'll take the Clan Chief to a banquet," Wu Yuan said, rising.

To celebrate Wu Yuan's special recruitment, Prefect Jiang Dongque had arranged a grand banquet at the Prefect's Mansion and invited him as the guest of honor.

This marked the Wu Clan's true entry into Li City's upper circles.

It was deep into the night before the guests finally departed.

At the gates of the Prefect's Mansion,

Jiang Dongque watched the Wu Clan's carriage recede into the distance and turn around the corner before his smile finally faded.

"My lord, Wu Yuan may have been specially recruited, but he's only a Martial Master for now. At most, he'll become a Second-class Expert one day," the Clerk beside him said, puzzled. "How would that affect us? Why go to such lengths?"

"Four or five months ago, he was still an Eighth-Rank Warrior," Jiang Dongque said calmly. "And he's only fourteen this year!"

The Clerk fell silent.

What shocked them most about Wu Yuan was his terrifying rate of progress.

"His strength may not have much impact on me, but who can say what he'll accomplish in the future?" Jiang Dongque said. "If he becomes a First-class Expert and later chooses to return to his hometown, he might become a Grand General or a Guard General!"

"That wouldn't benefit me, but what about my Jiang Clan?"

The Clerk nodded, though he still thought Jiang Dongque was making too much of it.

There were plenty of First-class Experts in the Sect. How many of them could become Grand Generals or Guard Generals?

Jiang Dongque glanced at him and could not be bothered to explain further.

Gao Yu was a protector of the Finance and Engineering Hall, a man of great renown. He'd shown Wu Yuan such regard—could Wu Yuan really be an ordinary specially recruited disciple? Jiang Dongque thought.

He had used the Sect's resources for such a grand celebration. It hadn't cost him anything.

Why not?

The Garrison General's residence.

"General, nearly all the officials and major clans in the city attended," Liu Ye said, bowing slightly. "As you instructed, several of our commanders went to offer their congratulations as well."

"Good. I know. Go get some rest," Xu Shouyi said softly.

Liu Ye left.

"So Wu Yuan really was specially recruited. Jiang Dongque was so solemn about it—does he know something I don't?" Xu Shouyi thought, vexed. "Wu Yuan is a real threat."

The assassination attempt last time had been careful, so there was no way it had directly exposed his identity.

But Xu Shouyi knew Wu Yuan could probably guess it had been him!

"Hmph!"

"So what if you hate me?" Xu Shouyi's eyes turned cold. "No matter how talented you are, even if you become a First-class Expert one day, without evidence, you still won't be able to do anything to me."

In an unremarkable estate in southern Li City, many stern-faced men stood about, clearly well-trained.

In the main hall.

Whoosh! A short, burly man strode inside.

"Junior Brother."

The refined man in white robes turned around and smiled. "You're finally back."

"I spent the last few days searching villages and manors all around Li City, but I never found any trace of that mysterious spear fighter." The short, burly man picked up a kettle and gulped down water. "And according to the intelligence we bought from Stellar Tower and Seven Stars Tower, no martial expert like him has appeared anywhere in Nanmeng Prefecture."

"How did your search in the city go?" the short, burly man asked.

"Gao Yu came," the refined man in white robes replied.

"What?" The short, burly man was startled. "Why would he suddenly come to Li City? Could it be that Hengyun Sect has learned about the Chu River Token too?"

"It's possible!"

The refined man in white robes nodded. "But he may have come for something else. Today, Hengyun Sect specially recruited a disciple in Li City named Wu Yuan. He's only fourteen, yet already a Martial Master."

"A fourteen-year-old Martial Master?"

The short, burly man was unimpressed. "Decent talent. If he works hard, he might become a First-class Expert before he turns thirty."

The refined man in white robes nodded. He, too, hadn't thought much of Wu Yuan.

A First-class Expert?

More than one First-class Expert had died at the hands of the two brothers.

"Search for a while longer," the refined man in white robes said. "If you still find no clues, we'll return and report to our master."

Inside an unremarkable manor about twenty miles from Li City.

It looked perfectly ordinary from the outside. But who would have guessed that it was a stronghold the Great Jin Empire had planted inside Hengyun Sect?

"A specially recruited disciple? A fourteen-year-old Martial Master? A little prodigy, then," the Youth in Blood-Red Clothes murmured as he listened to his subordinate's report.

"Guo Liu, what would you do according to your rules?" the Youth in Blood-Red Clothes asked, turning to the deferential Middle-aged Man in Black Robe beside him.

"My lord!"

The Middle-aged Man in Black Robe smiled ruefully. "Our branch focuses on gathering intelligence. We're not strong in combat; we only have a few Third-class Warriors. For a specially recruited disciple like this, Hengyun Sect will surely protect him well. We usually just report the intelligence and wait for orders from above."

"Wait for orders?"

"If you wait for orders from above on everything, the Chu River will have flowed into the sea by the time they arrive!" The Youth in Blood-Red Clothes shook his head slightly. "Enough. Since I'm passing through, I'll take the opportunity to eliminate a Hengyun Sect prodigy and clear a few obstacles on the road to unifying the world under Great Jin."

"For the next few days, mobilize all your forces and do everything you can to find Wu Yuan's whereabouts."

"When the opportunity comes, I'll strike personally."