The Song Household's formation hall had fallen into disrepair over the years. Ever since their ancestor's death, its central hub had suffered recurring problems, which had grown especially severe over the past two years.
If this continued, the Song Household would lose the income from its formation hall, and the lineage's standing would plummet a thousand fathoms. It might even disappear from Canglan City.
"Just luck!"
Liu Wuxie did not want to reveal too much, so he gave an ambiguous answer. Song Tianhao was a calculating old fox. He knew his son's abilities very well. Few people could win his admiration. Without genuine ability, no one could have Song Ling eagerly trailing after him and calling him big brother.
"Father, our central hub has always had problems. Why not let Brother Liu inspect it? Maybe he can repair it."
Song Ling jumped forward and reminded his father to let Liu Wuxie examine the Song Household's formation hub.
Liu Wuxie's face darkened with exasperation. The other Song Household elders slapped their foreheads. The formation hub was the very foundation of the Song Household's standing. Even their own disciples could not enter it. Only a few core elders took part in its maintenance.
"Young master, absolutely not! Our formation hub is a core secret of the Song Household. How could we let an outsider pry into it?"
The Song Household's first elder immediately stepped forward to object. They would resolve their formation problems themselves. How could they rely on an outsider, especially a live-in son-in-law who had always borne the label of trash?
The other elders nodded in agreement. They believed the first elder was right. The secrets of the Song Household's formation hub must never be divulged.
"Then repair it yourselves! How many years has it been? The hub's problems keep getting worse, yet I haven't seen you come up with any good solutions. A wonderful opportunity is right in front of you, and you're going to watch it slip away? Will you only abandon these narrow-minded prejudices when the Song Household has fallen completely?"
Song Ling curled his lips. His words left many elders lowering their heads in thought. Song Tianhao raised his eyebrows. The words were rough, but the reasoning was sound. Once that day arrived, everything would be too late.
"Still, absolutely not. We cannot let an outsider enter our formation hub."
The first elder flatly refused to let Liu Wuxie enter the formation hub.
"We cannot take the young master's one-sided account at face value. This man is trash. How could he possibly understand how to operate formations?"
The second elder stepped forward, his tone dripping with mockery. Everyone knew Liu Wuxie's name.
Liu Wuxie's eyes turned cold. From beginning to end, he had not said a single word about repairing the formation, yet these men had taken turns insulting him.
"Patriarch Song, I have other matters to attend to. Farewell!"
For Song Ling's sake, Liu Wuxie suppressed his anger. Did they really think he feared them? Having broken through to the Second Layer of Innate, he might not lose even to someone in the Spirit Cleansing Realm when using his Ghost Pupil Technique.
Without waiting for their reply, he swept his sleeve and headed outside, unwilling to stay another minute.
"Brother, wait for me."
Knowing Liu Wuxie was truly angry, Song Ling hurried after him with an ingratiating smile. He had never expected the first and second elders' prejudice against Liu Wuxie to run so deep.
Crack, crack, crack...
Violent cracking sounded in the distance. A building collapsed with a crash, and countless martial artists fled from inside, alarming the entire formation hall.
"This is bad! The formation hall is collapsing! Run!"
People scattered in all directions. The Song Household's formation hall occupied an enormous area, spanning dozens of li. If all these buildings collapsed, the Song Household would suffer devastating losses that might take decades to recover from.
Screams!
Cries of alarm!
The crowd descended into chaos, and people were trampled. The Song Household's leaders exchanged glances, seeing terror in one another's eyes as they gasped for breath.
"The Song Household is finished!"
The youngest elder let out a low cry. Without the formation hall, the Song Household would never recover from this blow.
"The formation hub has shattered completely! Patriarch, think of something! What should we do?"
The first elder panicked, urging the patriarch to find a solution. The formation hub connected the sprawling buildings; tugging a single hair would move the entire body. If the hub was destroyed, the entire formation hall would cease to exist.
The Song Household's disciples stepped forward to maintain order, but their efforts had no effect. The collapses were growing worse and had already spread to this area. Song Tianhao, too, lost his composure.
They had studied the formation hub's problems for decades without finding a solution. Now that most of it had already been destroyed, they were even less able to stop it. They could only watch helplessly as the buildings collapsed.
"Brother, I'm begging you. Please help our Song Household. You must have a way, don't you?"
Song Ling was on the verge of kneeling, pleading with Liu Wuxie to help the Song Household and save the formation hall.
"It's not that I won't help. It's already too late to act now. At most, I can lock down the formation to slow the collapse, then look for a way to repair it."
He shook his head. If they had stopped it earlier, there would still have been a sliver of hope. Now, even he had no solution.
Song Tianhao overheard their conversation and turned his gaze toward Liu Wuxie.
"Young Master Liu, do you truly have a way to stop the formation from continuing to collapse?"
Like a desperately ill man seeking any doctor, Song Tianhao was at a complete loss. He could only treat a dead horse as though it were still alive. He did not expect Liu Wuxie to actually repair the formation hub.
"I have a way to stop it, but... why should I help you?"
Liu Wuxie scoffed. He showed Song Ling consideration, but that did not mean he would do the same for his father. The two could not be lumped together. Song Tianhao's expression instantly turned exceedingly ugly, as did those of the first elder and the others.
"Brat, you dare insult our patriarch?"
The second elder jumped forward, ready to attack Liu Wuxie. He was already seething. The destruction of the Song Household's formation meant losing their source of income. With his temper already blazing, Liu Wuxie's words infuriated him.
"Insult?" Liu Wuxie shook his head. "You aren't even worthy of my insults."
With that, he turned to leave. What the hell did the Song Household's survival have to do with him? These people were all so arrogant, looking down on him, unaware that he could not even be bothered to give them a proper glance.
A thunderous crash came from the distance as another building collapsed. It housed the Song Household's most profitable large formation, with a daily turnover of hundreds of thousands of gold coins.
"Brat, you insulted our Song Household, and now you think you can just walk away? What do you take this place for?"
The second elder darted forward and blocked Liu Wuxie, releasing a dense killing aura.
"You want to kill me?"
Liu Wuxie's eyes narrowed, and a dense killing aura bore straight down on the second elder. Song Ling was scared out of his wits. Others might not know Liu Wuxie's true strength, but he knew it very well. Liu Wuxie had slaughtered Fifth Layer of Innate cultivators as easily as pigs and dogs.
The second elder was merely in the Innate Fifth Stage Realm. One hand would be enough if Liu Wuxie wanted to kill him.
"I won't kill you. I'll only teach you a lesson for not knowing the height of heaven or the depth of earth."
His belly full of anger, he needed an outlet. Without another word, he brought his palm crushing down at Liu Wuxie with incredible speed. By the time Song Ling tried to stop him, it was already too late.
"Father, hurry and make the second elder stop! Only Brother Liu can save our Song Household!"
Song Ling's face was pleading as he begged his father to intervene at once. The Song Household's survival rested entirely on Liu Wuxie. With the formation hall about to be destroyed, he was so anxious he nearly cried.
The collapsing buildings sent dust billowing into the sky. No one knew what was happening here. Outside, everything was already in chaos, filled with cries and shouts. Terrifying rumbles came from underground. The hub could not hold on much longer.
"You're courting death!"
Overwhelming killing intent erupted from Liu Wuxie's eyes. Having offended the Wan Household and Tian Household, he did not care about offending one more Song Household. The short blade in his hand suddenly left its sheath, turning into a flash of cold light. Its astonishing presence came crushing down through the air.
"Brother Liu, please show mercy!"
With a thud, Song Ling suddenly dropped to his knees. If the second elder died, the Song Household would be completely finished. They would inevitably become Liu Wuxie's enemies, fighting until one side was dead.
Blade Qi swept across, mercilessly tearing apart the wave formed by the second elder's palm. Liu Wuxie had already slain nine Innate Fifth Stage Realm cultivators inside the formation.
Song Tianhao's eyes narrowed as he realized something was wrong. This blade strike was flawless. Even he could find no opening. His Spirit Cleansing Realm power swept out, and endless fierce winds surged toward the second elder, protecting him from harm.
Swish!
Even so, the blade Qi easily tore through the defense erected by a Spirit Cleansing Realm cultivator. The blade's edge appeared roughly an inch from the second elder's neck. One step farther, and blood would spill on the spot.
"If Song Ling hadn't knelt to plead for your life, you would already be dead."
He withdrew his blade, having pulled back his strength at the final instant. The second elder escaped with his life. Drenched in sweat from terror, he shook like chaff in a sieve. At that moment, he had believed he would certainly die.
Everyone present wore a terrified expression. Even Song Tianhao's face was filled with disbelief.
A mighty Spirit Cleansing Realm cultivator had intervened, yet still could not stop Liu Wuxie from killing. It drove them mad. What on earth had happened? The second elder was a fifth-layer Xiantian Realm cultivator!
"Just a little while ago, Brother Liu killed nine Innate Fifth Stage Realm cultivators with a single slash, without even the effort of blowing away dust."
Song Ling stood up, not daring to conceal it any longer. He gave a bitter smile tinged with helplessness. Liu Wuxie had already revealed his Innate presence. There was no hiding it anymore.
"What!"
As though struck by lightning, Song Tianhao's lips trembled uncontrollably. Killing nine Innate Fifth Stage Realm experts with one slash-surely only someone at the Innate Ninth Stage could accomplish that.
Bitterness filled the first elder's mouth. He was only at the Innate Sixth Stage. Even he could not kill an Innate Fifth Stage Realm cultivator with a single slash. He had been mocking Liu Wuxie just moments ago. Thinking back, they were the ones who deserved mockery.
Ignoring everyone, Liu Wuxie turned and headed outside. The place seemed to be struck by a powerful earthquake, with countless cracks spreading in every direction.
"Young Master Liu, please stay."
How could Song Tianhao fail to see that his son had not lied? Liu Wuxie had truly changed. Perhaps he really could repair the formation hall's hub and save the Song Household.
"Is there something else, Patriarch Song?"
He turned around with a mocking smile. This time, no one dared speak. They quietly looked toward their patriarch.
"On behalf of the Song Household, I apologize to Young Master Liu for what happened just now. Please, for my son's sake, help our Song Household."
With that, he bent at the waist and bowed, lowering his head almost to the ground. This was the deep bow a junior offered a senior. The Song Household's elders wanted to stop him, but the words reached their lips and would not come out.
"What do I gain from helping your Song Household?"
Liu Wuxie smiled coldly. Without the second elder's earlier actions, if they had discussed it properly, he might have helped for Song Ling's sake. Now, things had changed.
Song Ling had pleaded for him to spare the second elder, and that favor had been repaid. His relationship with Song Ling extended only that far. They were merely ordinary friends.
"As long as Young Master Liu agrees to stop the formation hall's destruction, I can tell you something earth-shattering. It concerns the very survival of your Xu Household."
Song Tianhao stamped his foot. For the Song Household's sake, he could only reveal that matter. Originally, he had not intended to disclose it.