A Rift Between Them

They ate and drank until dusk. Then Li Gan and the others left Dongchen Restaurant, planning to spend the night at a nearby inn and return to the Divine Sword Sect the next day.

"Young Master."

Just as he stepped out of the restaurant, a young servant in blue came up to him. "Master wants you to come home."

"Tell him I don't plan on going back."

Li Gan shook his head.

With that, he left.

The young servant didn't know what to do, so he hurried back to Li Mansion.

"You little bastard! You've been away from home for over three years with no word, and now you're back in Baibi City but still won't come home. Do you expect me to go and fetch you myself?"

Inside Li Mansion, Second Master Li Donglin heard the servant's report and immediately slammed the table in a fury.

"Master, don't be angry. Gan is just being willful for a little while."

A woman came in and spoke gently.

"How is this just being willful for a little while? It's been over three years. I think his heart's completely gone wild. He thinks I can't keep him in line anymore."

Li Donglin said angrily.

He had been delighted when he first learned his son had turned up in Baibi City.

After all, he had been worried for over three years.

But now he was furious.

He had always thought he'd paid plenty of attention to this son of his. He'd arranged for tutors to guide him through his studies and prepare him for the examinations, so that he could enter officialdom one day.

Yet his son had been utterly useless at studying. Instead, he liked nothing but martial drills and weapons, refusing to follow his arrangements and acting as rebellious as could be.

"Old Xu, bring some men and come with me to drag him back."

Li Donglin suddenly stood and spoke to the steward waiting by the door.

"Master, why don't you have a proper talk with Gan first?"

The woman hurriedly tried to dissuade him.

"Madam, I know you mean well by him, but he won't appreciate it. After three years of running wild, he needs a good lesson."

Li Donglin waved her off, adopting the air of the head of the household.

Seeing this, the woman said no more.

After Li Donglin left with his men, a cold glint flickered in her eyes.

Li Gan was the legitimate eldest son and first in line to inherit the family estate.

That meant her own son would have to stand aside.

Only if Li Gan was driven away could her son inherit everything Li Donglin had, including his connections in official circles.

At the inn.

Li Gan had just settled down to cultivate when he heard a commotion outside.

Before long, the door was shoved open, and Li Donglin barged in with a group of servants.

"Li Gan. Come home with me."

Seeing Li Gan standing there, Li Donglin had been about to fly into a rage, but his tone softened.

It had been more than three years since they'd last seen each other. His son, who had caused him so much worry, looked much taller and more robust now.

He couldn't help recalling the words Li Gan's mother had left him on her deathbed, asking him to take good care of their son.

"From the moment I left the Li Family, I had no intention of going back. I won't fight Li Kun for the family estate, either."

Li Gan said calmly.

Li Kun was the former Li Gan's half-brother. Four years ago, he had passed the examinations to become a licentiate and was even taken in as a Named Disciple by the great scholar Chu Xun. If nothing went wrong, passing the provincial and palace examinations should pose little difficulty for him.

To the scholarly Li Family, the former Li Gan had been a good-for-nothing, a heap of mud that could never be shaped.

But in truth, the former Li Gan's hatred of books had been entirely the result of his formidable stepmother's schemes. In the end, they had driven him to become fiercely defiant, and he had clashed with his father, Li Donglin, time and again.

Those were the former Li Gan's affairs. They had nothing to do with him.

"You unfilial son! Are you trying to be the death of me?"

At Li Gan's words, the last trace of guilt Li Donglin had felt was instantly swallowed by rage. "All these years, your stepmother has been deeply worried about your safety. Kun has already passed the provincial examination. There's no way he'd fight you for the family estate. It seems I've indulged you far too much. From today on, I'm going to discipline you properly."

He waved a hand. "Tie this unfilial son up and take him back!"

At their master's command, several servants charged at Li Gan like a pack of wolves.

They weren't Ranked Martial Artists, but they had trained before, and their burly, hulking frames made them look formidable.

As the servants rushed him, Li Gan merely flicked his hand. They went sprawling, tumbling over one another in a heap.

"Father, this is the last time I'll call you that. From now on, don't try to force your ideas on me. I'm the one who decides how to live my life."

Li Gan said indifferently.

Then he reached out and grabbed. The Treasure Sword on the table shot through the air into his hand. He moved in a flash, darting out of the room.

Before long, the sound of hoofbeats rang out. Li Gan had ridden away from the inn.

Li Donglin's face darkened. He had clearly cared about his son so much—how had things come to this? Why wouldn't he even come home? How had it come to this?

The Inner Disciples who had come over after hearing the commotion were astonished. They, too, had gathered that Junior Brother Li seemed to have fallen out with his family.

"Young heroes, might I ask if you came here with my son?"

Seeing the Inner Disciples, Li Donglin hurried forward and asked.

"'Young heroes' is too kind. We're Inner Disciples of the Divine Sword Sect. Junior Brother Li is with us on an Escort Mission."

Liu Hui, one of the Inner Disciples, quickly replied.

Since Li Donglin was Junior Brother Li's father, he spoke with extra courtesy.

"The Divine Sword Sect?"

Li Donglin was stunned.

As a Martial Dao Faction renowned across three provinces and twelve commanderies, the Divine Sword Sect was known to everyone in Baibi City.

"My son, Li Gan, is an Inner Disciple of the Divine Sword Sect?"

He couldn't help asking.

"Yes."

Liu Hui nodded.

He was curious. How could Junior Brother Li's family know nothing about this?

Li Donglin's feelings were complicated. He knew perfectly well how much an Inner Disciple of the Divine Sword Sect was worth.

He remembered hiring a Martial Master in the city to examine Li Gan's bones. The man had said his natural aptitude was very ordinary and that even if he took the martial path, he had little hope of success.

A major Martial Dao Faction like the Divine Sword Sect demanded exceptional natural aptitude from its disciples. How could his son have qualified as an Inner Disciple?

Could that Martial Master have made a mistake?

With his thoughts in turmoil, Li Donglin returned to Li Mansion.

The woman came out to meet him. "Master, was Gan still unwilling to come home?"

In truth, she was delighted.

If Li Gan refused to come home, the rift between father and son would only deepen, until it became impossible to mend.

"He..."

Li Donglin shook his head. "Madam, he's become an Inner Disciple of the Divine Sword Sect."

The woman froze, her face full of shock. "An Inner Disciple of the Divine Sword Sect? How is that possible? Didn't a Martial Master examine his bones and say his natural aptitude was very ordinary?"

"I'm puzzled, too. But the several Inner Disciples of the Divine Sword Sect who came with him have already confirmed it."

Li Donglin said.

In truth, he was quite pleased.

His son had disobeyed him and refused to follow the path of the civil examinations he'd chosen for him.

But becoming an Inner Disciple of the Divine Sword Sect—this path was clearly better.

The Li Family was a family of scholars, but that didn't mean it had never considered training martial artists of its own.

For a family to truly grow powerful and prosper, the best path was to pursue the martial way.

The road to becoming a civil official through the examinations was far too narrow.

Once chaos struck, a family of scholars like theirs would struggle to defend itself. In the blink of an eye, it could lose all its power, its household destroyed and its lineage wiped out.

But pursuing the martial way was incredibly difficult.

The natural aptitude needed for martial arts was the first hurdle.

What was more, the resources of the martial path were monopolized and controlled by powerful Martial Dao Factions.

If the Li Family could produce a powerful martial artist who was also a disciple of a major Martial Dao Faction like the Divine Sword Sect, it would be like opening a brand-new gate onto a broad road to prosperity for the Li Family.