On May 19, Jiang Wang personally waited outside Xia Mountain Villa to welcome a guest with an unfortunate appearance.
There were plenty of ugly people in the world, but aside from Lian Que, there was no other ugly man Jiang Wang would greet so warmly.
Earlier, when Lian Que had been vying to become head of the family, he had needed Jiang Wang to secretly put him in touch with Chongxuan Sheng. The two sides had cooperated behind the scenes, lending each other a hand.
Now Chongxuan Sheng was a step ahead, and Jiang Wang had made a name for himself throughout Qi State. There was no longer any need to hide their relationship.
His friendship with Jiang Wang was already a powerful bargaining chip for Lian Que.
The Lian Clan of Nanyao was a sacred land of weapon forging, and had ties with the owners of some famous weapons. But ties like those could wear thin, and they were no substitute for a regular source of strength.
Because "Qi State's weapons and armor are in Chiyang, and Chiyang's weapons are in Nanyao," the Lian Family had some connections in the Military Department. Nanyao's weapons and armor were the best in All-Under-Heaven, too, so the family was rolling in wealth.
But the Lian Family had no powerful experts to speak of. That was a fatal flaw they could not erase. Yin Guan, who was still at the Outer Tower Peak, had once threatened to wipe out the Lian Clan. That alone gave a glimpse of the family's strength.
Powerful experts hired with money were never as devoted as those raised by one's own family. And when you hired an expert you couldn't control, you had to worry about them taking over the nest. Sometimes it was easy to invite a