Breaking Clan's Yang Wudi

South of Nuoding City, beyond the Heaven Dou Empire's border, lay the Star Luo Empire.

Lin Yuan walked along the main road for five days. Starry Guga healed him with starlight every day, and the wound on his back had mostly closed, leaving only a few pale red scars.

The three Gugas followed behind him, hopping along.

At dusk on the fifth day, a village appeared beside the road.

It was small, with a dozen or so households living in mud-brick houses, smoke rising from their chimneys. But a crowd had gathered at the entrance. Some were crying; others were shouting.

Lin Yuan walked over.

Three Soul Masters stood at the village entrance. Their leader was a one-eyed man with two Soul Rings, one white and one yellow—a Soul Grandmaster. He had his foot planted on an old farmer's hand. The farmer lay face down on the ground, blood seeping between his fingers.

"I told you, one Gold Soul Coin from every household," the one-eyed man said flatly. "Three households have paid. Twelve to go."

"My lord, we really don't have any money left." The farmer's voice trembled.

The one-eyed man pressed down harder.

The farmer's scream exploded through the village entrance. His finger bones cracked like dry twigs snapping.

The two Soul Masters behind the man laughed. One summoned a Bamboo Martial Soul, the other a Dog Martial Soul. The Soul Master with the Bamboo Martial Soul swept his gaze over the villagers and stopped at a young woman.

"She'll do. If you can't pay, we'll take her instead."

The woman stepped back, her face deathly pale.

Lin Yuan stood behind the crowd and watched it all.

"Should we do something, Guga?"

"Hit them."

Lin Yuan flashed forward and kicked the one-eyed man in the chest. Before the man could react, he flew backward and slammed into a mud wall.

Eight vines burst from the earth around Starry Guga, wrapping around the ankles of the Soul Masters with the Bamboo and Dog Martial Souls.

"Who's there?!"

Dark Gold Guga was already in front of the Soul Master with the Bamboo Martial Soul. Dark-gold claw shadows fanned outward. The bamboo broke into six pieces, and the man flew into a mud wall, bringing half of it down. He lay on the ground. His white Soul Ring flickered twice, then went out.

Vines bound the Soul Master with the Dog Martial Soul like a wrapped rice dumpling. Guga smashed a fist into his head. The man gave a muffled grunt and went still.

The one-eyed man crawled out of the wrecked wall, his mouth full of blood.

"You... who are you?"

Lin Yuan walked up to him and smashed his throat with a punch. The one-eyed man's eyes widened, and he fell onto his back.

Blood spattered across the mud wall and trickled down its cracks.

Starry Guga extended its vines and dragged the three bodies to the wasteland outside the village. The earth opened; the vines rolled the bodies in and buried them.

The villagers stood frozen. Still lying on the ground, the old farmer forgot the pain in his hand.

Lin Yuan turned and walked out of the village without looking back.

The three Gugas followed in silence. Even Guga, usually the rowdiest, kept its head down as it walked.

That was how this world worked. The weak were meat for the strong. Without strength, all you could do was endure being bullied. He wouldn't go through that a second time.

He walked faster over the rest of the journey.

Ten days later, Dragonhide City in the Star Luo Empire.

Lin Yuan stood at the end of the main road and looked up at the unfamiliar city. Its walls towered above him, and the guards' armor gleamed coldly. The Star Luo Empire respected strength above all else. Background meant nothing; only fists mattered. That made it all the more important to find someone reliable to stand with. Not someone to depend on, but a partner.

Lin Yuan made inquiries in the city. The Breaking Clan was no great power in the Star Luo Empire. Its chief, Yang Wudi, possessed the Soul Breaking Spear Martial Soul, and his clansmen excelled at refining medicine. But because they refused to submit to a major sect, Spirit Hall had hunted them down, killing or wounding nearly half the clan. Now they hid in Dragonhide City, scraping by on medicine sales. The Speed Clan was worse off. Their Martial Soul, the Sharp-Tailed Swift, was extremely fast but had almost no offensive power. Its members were so poor they could barely afford food, surviving entirely on help from the other three clans.

Lin Yuan spent the night at an inn, tossing and turning. He kept thinking about how to broach the subject the next day. Before dawn, he went to the Breaking Clan's compound.

The Breaking Clan's compound was an unremarkable courtyard on the western outskirts of Dragonhide City. There was no signboard and no guard, only a few medicinal herbs planted by the wall, half-dried in the sun.

Lin Yuan knocked on the door.

A lean middle-aged man with sharp eyes opened it. He looked Lin Yuan over, then glanced at the three little creatures behind him, none of them reaching his knees.

"Who are you looking for?"

"Chief Yang Wudi."

"What for?"

"To discuss a business deal."

The middle-aged man was silent for a moment, then stepped aside.

"Come in."

Medicinal ingredients filled the courtyard. The bitter scent of herbs hung in the air, mingling with the smell of soil warmed by the sun. Several clansmen crouched on the ground sorting herbs. Their clothes were patch upon patch, but their eyes held no despair, only quiet stubbornness. They glanced up when Lin Yuan entered, then lowered their heads and went back to work.

Yang Wudi sat in the main hall, holding a medicinal herb to his nose. He was in his fifties, with graying hair and wrinkles carved into his face like knife marks.

He set down the herb and looked up at Lin Yuan, his gaze sharp enough to see through him.

"You said you wanted to discuss business?"

"Yes." Lin Yuan got straight to the point. "I want to open milk tea shops with your clan."

Yang Wudi's brow twitched. "Milk tea?"

"A drink," Lin Yuan said. "I opened several milk tea shops in the Heaven Dou Empire. They brought in over a hundred Gold Soul Coins a day. Now that I'm in the Star Luo Empire, I want to start again."

Yang Wudi frowned.

"If they were doing so well in the Heaven Dou Empire, why come to the Star Luo Empire?"

"Someone got jealous," Lin Yuan said. "He brought men to ambush me and demanded the recipe. I had no choice but to come here. I learned my lesson: I need a partner. The Breaking Clan has the strength to solve that problem."

Yang Wudi looked at him. A seven-year-old child, still wounded from an ambush, stood before him talking business.

"Aren't you afraid I'll detain you and force you to hand over the recipe?"

Lin Yuan met his gaze.

"No."

"Why?"

"I don't think you'd take someone else's property by force. If you were that sort of man, your clan wouldn't be living like this."

Yang Wudi's expression changed.

He studied Lin Yuan for a long time, then slowly nodded.

"What's your name?"

"Lin Yuan."

"Lin Yuan." Yang Wudi repeated the name.

"Chief Yang," Lin Yuan said, "I also need to work with the Speed Clan. My new way of doing business requires deliveries, and no one can match their speed. Could you introduce me to Chief Bai He?"

Yang Wudi looked at him and nodded.

"I can. Come with me."

He stood and only then noticed the three little creatures behind Lin Yuan, none of them reaching his knees. They had stayed in the corner without making a sound. Three little fellows.

"What are those things? Soul Beasts?"

"Summoned by my Martial Soul."

Yang Wudi paused. A Martial Soul that summoned living beings outside the body? He stared at the three Gugas for a few seconds, asked nothing more, and strode out of the courtyard.