"That kid finally figured it out!"
As soon as Li Yaotie had a little strength, he started hammering iron. As the Li Family's third young master, he'd had countless pretty girls from Zhien Village stroll around outside his shop in the scorching heat over the years, but Li Yaotie had never even spared them a glance.
Li Xiang had even wondered if the kid had no interest in carrying on the family line. He'd already planned to have Li Dalong teach him a thing or two.
But now Li Xiang finally understood.
Li Yaotie wasn't uninterested in women. His taste was just different from ordinary people's!
Just look at the woman Li Yaotie was spying on now. Look at those bulging muscles and that square, sturdy face. If she'd passed by Jingyang Ridge, would there even have been a story about Wu Song fighting a tiger?
[Your descendant Li Yaotie was passing by the family home when he saw a woman lifting a thousand-jin boulder and uprooting a drooping willow with her bare hands. He was struck by the thought that he and this woman were the true match made in heaven, a perfect pair of talent and beauty.]
"Go after her!"
Li Xiang wore the smile of a proud father. "This kid's never been around girls. I'll have the Purple Thunder Heavenly Sun Python give him some pointers later..."
"Hey, miss, be my wife!"
Li Xiang hadn't even figured out how to teach him when he saw Li Yaotie leap out from behind a tree, the little words above his head coming into view. His expression gradually froze.
What the hell kind of way was that to introduce yourself to someone???
[Your descendant Li Yaotie was rejected by Bai Rourou once again, but he only grew bolder with each setback and charged straight into adversity!]
[Li Yaotie gained the trait: Never Say Die!]
[The more setbacks he faced, the more determined he became. He would keep charging even after hitting a brick wall. When faced with difficult problems, his comprehension, combat power, vitality, and other attributes increased by 10%.]
"Holy shit, a god-tier trait!"
Li Xiang's descendants had gained traits time and again, but this was still the strongest one he'd ever seen: a 10% increase to all attributes!
Even so, despite gaining the trait,
Li Xiang still thought his descendant Li Yaotie was a big, dumb ox. His methods of pursuing Bai Rourou were especially clumsy.
He'd heard that Bai Rourou had just moved to Zhien Village and was building a house. He'd told her to share a bed with him, scaring the six-foot-tall brawny woman into drawing her blade on the spot. Bai Rourou mistook him for a lecher with peculiar tastes, but he remained unmoved. He followed her twenty-four hours a day, becoming a model flower protector.
When Bai Rourou went to buy groceries, he had a flash of inspiration and carried the market vendor and several hundred jin of vegetables back to her new home...
"Are you trying to hammer Bai Rourou into shape like a piece of iron? Melt the goddess's heart with love?"
Li Xiang had already gathered the Li Family members to talk things over with Li Yaotie.
But Li Yaotie seemed to have his own ideas. His understanding of courtship appeared to belong to another dimension.
What surprised Li Xiang, though, was this:
Xu Cuihua hadn't gotten along with Li Yaozu's ex-wife before. She'd even refused to give Qu Xiaoxiao more than a passing glance. Yet now, when Xu Cuihua went to check out Li Yaotie's future wife, she was unexpectedly delighted.
Li Dalong had only one comment: "Wide hips. She'll bear children well."
As for Li Yaoqing and Li Yaowen, the two sisters had also gotten a good first impression of Bai Rourou.
The days that followed passed with the whole Li Family busy helping Li Yaotie pursue a wife while going about their daily business.
When spring arrived,
just as the Li Family was celebrating, a major event cast a pall over everyone's faces. Li Xiang, watching the screen, furrowed his brow as well.
On the road leading to Zhien Village,
Chen Chuang, who had been trading with the Li Family for years, came fleeing with a large group of people...!
There were about thirty of them, and several Chen Family members were so badly injured that the sight was shocking.
"It was the Wang and Hu Families!"
Chen Chuang looked utterly dejected, but his expression still held a deep hatred for the two families. "Our feud with the Hu Family has grown worse over the years, but it was always just minor skirmishes. Three days ago, our two ancestors went to Taiqing City on business. They..."
As he spoke,
Chen Chuang let out a long sigh. "The two ancestors died fighting someone over a secret treasure. We, the Chen Family, hadn't even gotten the news yet, but the Hu and Wang Families learned of it before us. They had nothing left to fear, and last night..."
Such was the capriciousness of fate.
The trade between the Li Family and the Chen Family over the past few years had greatly benefited both sides. But with the deaths of the Chen Family's two ancestors, the Chen Family had become a lamb waiting to be slaughtered in Tianlin Town.
Likewise,
the Li Family could no longer do business with the Chen Family. All the Chen Family's enterprises in Tailin Town had already become someone else's spoils.
By now, the Hu and Wang Families were probably chuckling to themselves at home.
The Li Family in Zhien Village had once again fallen into isolation, without help from anyone!
"Ancestor, what should we do with the Chen Family survivors?"
Inside the Ancestral Hall,
Li Dalong was quite troubled over what to do with Chen Chuang and the others. After breaking through, he had once again shouldered the responsibility of leading the Li Family. Li Yaozu still wasn't quite up to the task of managing the clan.
"The Chen Family?"
Li Xiang rubbed the edge of his keyboard.
Among the surviving Chen Family members, nearly all were cultivators. Their strongest was a Chen Family ancestor at the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage; the other thirty-one were all Qi Refining cultivators.
But he couldn't think of taking them in just because they'd fallen on hard times.
Even with their clan destroyed and their businesses in other hands, the Chen Family was still one of the four great families of Tailin Town. How could they possibly submit to a Li Family from Zhien Village? In a world of cultivation, family interests came first.
Perhaps the Li Family had taken the Chen Family in for now, but what about later?
Perhaps the Chen Family members were deeply grateful to the Li Family now, but what about later? There were plenty of cases of the guest becoming the host.
"Ancestor, perhaps the question of whether to take the Chen Family in isn't what we should be considering right now."
As Li Xiang pondered, Li Yaowen's quiet voice rang through the hall.
"Hm?"
Everyone couldn't help turning to look. As time passed, the whole Li Family had come to recognize Li Yaowen's resourcefulness.
Li Xiang also paid close attention, wanting to hear what different idea his cleverest descendant had.
Li Yaowen said, "We've always been afraid to go to Tailin Town because we feared the four great families would join forces against us outsiders. But the situation has changed. One of the four families is gone, and the Chen Family can become our ally."
"Besides, we can claim we're helping the Chen Family reclaim its businesses as a pretext to go to Tailin Town and take revenge. At that point, even the Su Family probably won't get involved."
"People prefer to mind their own business. As long as there's a good enough reason, the Su Family won't weaken its strength over a feud within Tailin Town."
"This is our opportunity. And now, we..."
"Are not without the strength to fight!"
The moment she finished speaking, the Ancestral Hall fell so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
They had been choking down their hatred for the Hu and Wang Families for far too long!
Li Dalong's four children still remembered the day their father had appeared at the door covered in blood. They still remembered his anguished cries from his sickbed. It was the first time in their lives they had felt such profound fear. They had even wondered what their family would do if Li Dalong died.
And that was why they had kept cultivating, step by step, until now!
The Hu and Wang Families had never respected the Li Family, which had risen from the countryside.
The Hu Family's third elder had once arrived at the Li Family with an arrogant air, treating them all like ants, as if he could do whatever he wanted on this land. The Wang Family had coveted their Black Iron Mine, brazenly killed their friends, and then come to their land as if nothing had happened, hoping to do business with them...
"Fuck the Hu and Wang Families! We have to take them down!" Li Yaotie's temper flared.
"Impudent!"
Li Dalong glared at his third son. "This is the ancestral hall. How dare you speak so outrageously? The ancestor doesn't want to hear such vulgar language!"
"Yes, Father." Li Yaotie feared nothing and no one, except his father's whip.
Only after his son settled down did Li Dalong bow to Li Xiang. "Please forgive us, Ancestor. Yaotie is still a child."
"Ancestor, just give the order. Dalong will wash both their families in blood!"
Little did he know,
Li Xiang didn't think Li Yaotie's words were vulgar at all.
Li Yaowen was right. This was a once-in-a-thousand-years opportunity. Otherwise, once the Hu and Wang Families acquired the Chen Family's businesses and grew stronger, revenge would become much harder!
The fingers resting on the keyboard tapped, making a crisp, forceful sound.
The Purple Thunder Heavenly Sun Python opened its scarlet eyes and roared toward the sky!
Li Dalong slowly rose to his feet and looked at his wife and children. He saw the fighting spirit in their eyes, and his expression grew serious.
"Fight a beautiful battle. Don't bring shame to the ancestor!"
Soon,
Li Dalong led the Li Family members out of the Ancestral Hall and went to meet the Chen Family.
When the Chen Family learned that the Li Family intended to avenge them,
the Chen Family's ancestor showed no joy. Instead, his expression grew grave.
"We're grateful for your kindness, but the Hu and Wang Families are powerful. We'll need to think this through carefully."
He seemed to have been beaten into submission.
Li Xiang, watching the scene, couldn't help rolling his eyes. Come on, your clan is about to be wiped out, and you're still being this cautious? Seriously?
The Chen Family's ancestor continued:
"It's not that I'm a coward. The Hu and Wang Families are stronger than you realize. Their destruction of my Chen Family has shown this old man their true strength."
"The Hu Family has been established in Tailin for generations, with five hundred years of history. It has five Foundation Establishment Ancestors alone."
"This time, one of their ancestors even came out of seclusion. He's at the False Core Stage!"
False Core!
The Li Family members' expressions changed. At the False Core Stage, one had already begun condensing true energy into a core. One only needed to take that final step to form a Golden Core and enter the Golden Core Stage. Even so, their strength was far beyond that of an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator.
"The Wang Family is no ordinary family either. Although they don't have an expert like that, their first and second elders are both at the Foundation Establishment peak. They still have six other Foundation Establishment cultivators, even after one was killed earlier. The clan also has a Clan Protection Spirit Artifact!"
A Spirit Artifact... With one in hand, even a Foundation Establishment cultivator at the peak would dare to fight a False Core expert!
The Chen Family's ancestor smiled bitterly. "As long as the green hills remain, there'll be no shortage of firewood."
"To speak frankly, from what I've seen, your Li Family has only just begun to rise. I've heard you have a monster capable of killing a Foundation Establishment Middle Stage cultivator, and that the two families don't want to waste their clan's strength on it, lest they fall behind the other families. That's why Zhien Village has been able to develop in peace."
"A cultivator's life spans a hundred years, and that's not a long time. Your Li Family should recuperate alongside my Chen Family and stand together against our common enemies. Once their experts die, we can return to Tailin Town. Why fight for the present at the expense of the future?"
In the end, he still thought the Li Family lacked a deep foundation!
But Li Dalong only smiled and shook his head at the Chen Family's ancestor.
"Senior, you make a good point. But my Li Family won't wait any longer."
The Li Family members left with their father.
Li Yaozu burst into laughter. "Hahaha, that's right. What we're fighting for isn't the present. It's life or death with them!"
"Let's kick their asses!"
"Third Brother, your language is getting dirtier and dirtier. Keep it up, and Rou Rou won't give you the time of day."
"What would you know? You're an alchemist. Rou Rou likes a man with a bit of grit. I'm going to see her right now and tell her I might die soon. Maybe... she'll have a child for me."
"Third Brother is shameless. When Rou Rou sees you, she'll wish you were ten miles away."
Watching Li Dalong and his wife and children walk away, the Chen Family's ancestor could only let out a long sigh.
How could he fail to see the Li Family's passion and courage?
He even admired their boldness a little.
But courage alone was nowhere near enough in this world. The true courage was knowing when to endure!
Before you continue