More Heads Offered Up

As the population on Wen territory continued to grow, Wen Tiancheng grew anxious. Although the granaries still held plenty of grain, the daily consumption was enormous.

His son was cultivating and had said he would not come out unless something urgent happened. Now Wen Tiancheng himself realized he had become somewhat dependent on his son for good ideas.

Wen Tiancheng paced back and forth in his room, his brow tightly furrowed and anxiety stirring in his heart.

Suddenly, a member of the Security Squad rushed over to report that people had come to challenge them. The elders had already gone to the sect gates.

"Hmph. We killed two, and now more have come to offer up their heads. They really aren't afraid of dying. Go notify Long'er and tell him to hurry to the sect gates." Wen Tiancheng gave the Public Order Team member his orders and hurried to the gates himself, asking for Wenlong to come quickly.

A large contingent of the Security Squad had already arrived at the Huaxia Sect's gates. They kept order to prevent the sect's disciples from causing trouble. There were quite a few challengers, too-over a hundred of them.

When Wen Tiancheng arrived, he saw the First Grand Elder negotiating with the other side. He said nothing and stood to one side to watch the show.

Had Wenlong been there, he would surely have said that loving a spectacle was not exclusive to modern people. Surely everyone in the Huaxia Nation loved a bit of excitement.

"Everyone, what guidance have you come to offer our Huaxia Sect, bringing such a force with you?" The First Grand Elder cupped his hands in greeting and addressed the visitors.

A burly man on the other side chuckled. "We wouldn't dare, we wouldn't dare. We heard that the newly founded Huaxia Sect was producing one outstanding talent after another, so we wanted our juniors to exchange a few moves with yours."

"As everyone knows, blades have no eyes. Our sect could hardly bear responsibility if any of you were injured." The First Grand Elder sneered inwardly. They knew the sect had only just been founded, yet they had come to challenge its disciples. Wasn't that blatant bullying?

"That's all right. We'll stop once the outcome is clear. If an accident happens, we can only blame our own inadequate training." The burly man shamelessly laughed it off.

Without betraying his thoughts, the First Grand Elder glanced behind him and saw Wen Tiancheng give a slight nod. He also spotted the masked Wenlong in the crowd.

Reassured, he said, "In that case, sign a life-and-death agreement. If anything goes wrong, each of us will accept our fate."

No sect had ever appeared within a thousand miles of this place. Now that someone had established one, who would willingly acknowledge its authority?

They had heard that the sect was newly founded. The youths they had brought had all trained in martial arts since childhood and possessed excellent skills. Wouldn't taking on a fresh apprentice be as easy as reaching out and grabbing him?

Kill a few people and utterly disgrace the sect-would they still have the nerve to keep it going? That was what the visitors had in mind.

They immediately agreed and sent out a youth carrying a large saber. He signed the life-and-death agreement with an air of careless arrogance.

"Shitou, step forward," the First Grand Elder called. Shitou glanced at Wenlong and saw him lightly draw a hand across his own throat.

Shitou understood at once: he was to strike to kill. He stepped forward with his black saber and signed the life-and-death agreement as well.

There were three black sabers. One had been given to Wen Tiancheng, one was carried by Wenlong himself, and the last was the one in Shitou's hand.

The two took their positions and exchanged greetings. At the cry of "Begin!", the other youth had barely taken a step before Shitou used his lightness skill and appeared before him in an instant, bringing his saber sweeping straight across.

The youth was horrified. He had never imagined Shitou could move so quickly and hastily raised his saber to block. But how could he possibly stop that blow? Shitou cleaved both him and his saber in two with a single stroke, spilling blood across the ground.

Before the crowd could even cry out, Shitou had already returned to his own side. Only then did the startled screams ring out, while the other side wailed in grief.

They had intended to come and flaunt their might, only to have their man killed in the first exchange. None of them could accept it. That youth had not even been given a chance to make a move.

After a long while, the same burly man spoke again. His earlier carefree smile was gone, replaced by a strained, awkward one. "An accident, an accident. We'll send out another youth to exchange a few moves."

So many people had witnessed it. Anyone with eyes could see that the masked youth had gone straight for the kill. Yet these people called it an accident and still refused to accept defeat. Stepping into the arena meant risking their lives, and they were still offering themselves up to die.

The onlookers despised their behavior. To those people, their pride mattered more than their lives.

The First Grand Elder responded coldly and pointed at the life-and-death agreement. "Please." He was simply telling them to sign it.

The next youth held a spear and radiated vigor, looking every bit a young hero.

"Daniu, step forward," the First Grand Elder said. Daniu came out at his call, not forgetting to glance at Wenlong. Once again, Wenlong lightly drew a hand across his throat.

Holding his long saber, Daniu said nothing and signed the life-and-death agreement on the platform.

After the two exchanged greetings, the cry came: "Begin!" The other youth had learned his lesson. His spear shot toward Daniu's chest with the force of racing thunder.

But Daniu was faster still. Holding his saber level in one hand, he dodged aside and advanced with the blade parallel to the spear. The spear thrust aimed at his chest had already been evaded by Shitou, but the youth did not realize it and never changed his move.

As Shitou dodged, he kept his blade level with the spear and went straight for his opponent's neck. The edge sliced clean through it, and the head had already fallen to the ground while the body, still clutching the spear, charged onward.

The people watching had already begun screaming in terror. Daniu's expression barely changed as he walked calmly back to his place.

The visitors were trembling with fear now. They had never expected that none of the youths they had brought could withstand even a single move from their opponents.

It was bitterly ironic. The people they had brought seemed like nothing more than clowns hopping about on a stage.

The burly leader forced himself to press on. "This time, let me experience your sect master's strength and see just how much he is worth." He no longer smiled or tried to pretend he was calm.

"Then please proceed." The First Grand Elder coldly pointed toward the platform where the life-and-death agreement lay. Wen Tiancheng stepped forward with his saber in hand.

Both men signed the life-and-death agreement, then cupped their hands toward each other as courtesy required. "Begin!" The burly man swung his saber and seized the initiative.

The last time Wen Tiancheng had been challenged, his opponents had seized the initiative in both bouts. His son had used him as a cautionary example to explain the disadvantages of letting an opponent act first to the clan's youths.

How could he dare be careless this time? At the sight of the incoming saber, he swiftly dodged aside. With a backhand slash, he severed his opponent's head from the back of the neck.

The Huaxia Sect's disciples were ecstatic. They had never imagined that not only were their senior brothers formidable, but their sect master was a peerless expert as well.

They could not help feeling proud, for they, too, were members of the sect.

They turned their fervent gazes toward the sect master, unable to keep themselves from admiring him. He was simply too powerful.

Once word of this incident spread, it would surely deter those who harbored restless ambitions.

The following day, the clan's principal managers gathered for another meeting in the Wen Meeting Hall.

Shitou reported on the Security Squad's recent situation and the results of its operations. Wen Tiancheng also explained the pressure the surging population had placed on their grain supplies.

No one spoke after that. They simply looked at Wenlong, waiting to hear his opinion.

Wenlong could not help shaking his head. Still, he said, "The problem can certainly be solved. But if you won't think of ways to handle things better yourselves, and the Wen clan relies on my ideas alone, it will never grow strong."

The clan members fell silent. Even Wen Tiancheng was thinking that he was not the only one relying on his son-the whole clan shared the same mindset.

Fortunately, I'm not the only one who isn't as clever as my son. The whole clan is less clever than he is. Instead, Wen Tiancheng felt the pressure lift. After all, he was not the only one who could not come up with a good solution.