The Question

Wu Fang refused to believe such a baseless rumor.

But Chen Zui looked entirely at ease, with no sense that he had said anything startling. "Isn't the ancestor of your household Sword Venerable Rongshan Jian of Thunderclap Manor?"

He actually knew?!

"No, how did you know? I didn't give away any obvious clues, did I?" Wu Fang had spent more than ten years with the Rogue Cultivator Alliance without anyone noticing. How had entering the Radiant Dawn Tower Secret Realm suddenly made his origins so transparent?

"He guessed." Chen Zui pointed bluntly at Wen Xu.

Wen Xu: ...There's no need to tell him everything. Still, it's fine. I'll teach Chen Zui when we get back. No great problem.

Feeling Wu Fang's startled, suspicious gaze settle on him, Wen Xu said, "I met Manor Lord Lou of Thunderclap Manor at the Five Sects Assembly." Though Manor Lord Lou had been the only venerable figure from Thunderclap Manor to attend, Senior Brother Zheng Jin had been more than happy to introduce the great figures and rising talents of the various sects. That was how Wen Xu had learned a little about them.

"Your surname is Wu. Although I've never met Rongshan Jian, I've heard descriptions of him." Wen Xu paused for a breath. "Together with what you told us of your origins, I ventured a guess. If I've offended you, I hope you'll forgive me, Fellow Daoist Wu."

Wu Fang: ...I should have chosen an alias. But his mother had given him this name. He truly couldn't bear to cast it aside and travel the world under another.

"Then..." Wu Fang turned his gaze back to Chen Zui. "Where did this rumor that my ancestor gave up the blade to study the sword come from? Don't tell me it spread at the