The unknown Silver Gong Xu

A terrifying pressure descended from the sky, enveloping everyone. Even Lina lowered her head, trembling and afraid to speak.

The little white fox huddled in Mu Nanzhi's arms, its furry body trembling.

Mu Nanzhi frowned repeatedly, feeling uncomfortable, and turned to hide behind Xu Qi'an.

Xu Qi'an frowned at the strong pressure. If he remembered correctly, Lina had said that her father was a peak third-rank figure in the Battle of Shanhai Pass twenty years ago.

Having removed the eight Demon-Sealing Nails, Xu Qi'an is now at the Great Perfection of the Third Rank. In terms of cultivation level, he is not much different from Lina's father, but in a real fight, he has a greater chance of winning.

"Hidden presence?"

Long Tu scrutinized Xu Qi'an.

He couldn't sense even the slightest fluctuation of energy from the young man before him. What was even more bizarre was that this young man had no protective divine light—no copper skin or iron bones.

The young man before him looked like an ordinary person, but how could an ordinary person withstand his intimidating presence?

"Greetings, Clan Chief Longtu."

Xu Qi'an didn't understand the Southern Frontier dialect at all until Long Tu looked over. He clasped his hands in a fist and said:

"I am Lingyin's elder brother. I hope Chief Longtu can be lenient in this matter."

He spoke Great Feng Mandarin, so there was no worry that the clan leader, whose muscles were more exaggerated than King Kong's, wouldn't understand him, because even Lina and the clan's elites (patrolmen) could speak Great Feng Mandarin, so there was no reason why the clan leader wouldn't.

Long Tu gave Xu Qi'an a deep look, suppressing his terrifying aura, his voice deep and authoritative:

"Lina, you brought her back because you wanted me and the elders to accept her."

"Then let's proceed officially and convene the elders for a meeting."

Although Lina was intelligent from a young age, she was also willful, doing whatever came to mind without considering the consequences.

Although Long Tu was furious that she had taken a girl from the Central Plains as her disciple, he did not find it surprising or absurd.

Long Tu glanced at Xu Lingyin, then turned and walked out.

"Father, you're going yourself!" Lina said happily.

Long Tu didn't turn his head and continued walking forward, saying in a deep voice:

"I'm going to the Heavenly Gu Clan later; Granny Heavenly Gu sent me a message to inform me."

"But before that, deal with your problem first."

As soon as he finished speaking, he walked out of the courtyard.

"Father, I'll go with you." Lina called out, summoning a female slave to entertain Xu Qi'an and the others, and then she happily chased after them.

Along the way, most of the able-bodied men of the Li Gu tribe were not at the main camp; they must have gone out hunting. As long as a force was sent to bypass the external spies and launch a direct surprise attack here, the Li Gu tribe's stronghold could be destroyed in a short time. Xu Qi'an silently "deployed his troops" in his mind.

But he soon realized he was overthinking it, because there was no point in doing so.

Since the young and strong are not at the main camp, even if this place is destroyed, it will not be able to deal a heavy blow to the Li Gu tribe. According to what we just saw on the plains, the entire Li Gu tribe is a soldier. Even the old women are nimble and can scale walls and roofs. They are not the weak, old women and children who can be slaughtered at will.

Another point is that the Li Gu tribe seems to be very poor. They're not exactly destitute, but they don't have anything of value anyway, so if they're destroyed, they're destroyed.

A short while later, Xu Qi'an's ears twitched as he heard hurried footsteps.

He took a sip of the tea, which was clearly aged and had been sold from the Central Plains, put down the porcelain cup, and smiled:

"Lina is back."

As soon as she finished speaking, Lina stormed back, her clothes tattered and torn, as if she had just been in a fight.

"Master, your clothes are torn."

Xu Lingyin pointed at her skirt, as if she had made a great discovery.

"I just got into a fight with the elders."

Lina stood with her hands on her hips, still looking angry.

She led Xu Qi'an and the others away from the courtyard, down the wide, flat road, to the open space outside the buildings.

Xu Qi'an glanced around and found that nearly a hundred people had gathered there.

They formed a circle, and inside the circle were six chairs, on which sat six elderly men.

Longtu did not sit; he stood in the circle, arms crossed, his tall figure standing proudly.

Xu Qi'an knew without a second thought that these six old men were the elders of the Power Gu Clan. This was quite different from what he had imagined. In Xu Qi'an's mind, the image of an elder should be someone with white hair and a cane.

They were nearing the end of their lives, their Qi and Blood waning, but they still held great prestige within their respective tribes.

At the same time, they are also synonymous with decay and stubbornness.

But today, the elders of the Li Gu tribe shattered Xu Qi'an's preconceived notions of what an "elder" should be.

They did have full heads of white hair, but they were not old; they had muscles comparable to bodybuilders and were as Qi and Blood as young people.

Seeing Lina bring the outsiders over, an elder sneered:

"Why are you running away? I hadn't even used my full strength yet, and I already made you flee in disarray."

Lina's eyebrows stood on end:

"Pah! I only went easy on you because you're such an old man, your bones are practically falling apart."

The elder, with his gray hair and exaggerated muscles, puffed out his chest and snorted:

"These muscles of mine aren't just for show."

The other five elders had already begun taking off their robes and throwing away their canes, ready to fight Lina.

"Elder, let's deal with Lina's secret teachings first."

A young woman with dark skin and delicate features called out.

"Azi is so smart."

The Grand Elder nodded, no longer pressing the matter of the duel.

This sentence immediately brought the surrounding members of the Power Gu Clan and elders back to the main topic.

Everyone looked serious, staring blankly at Lina and the outsider.

Seeing this, Mu Nanzhi and Bai Ji were somewhat frightened. This group of "simple and honest" Gu clan members suddenly became stern and indifferent.

Even when looking at her fellow clansman Lina, her gaze was icy. This made Mu Nanzhi realize even more the strictness of the Li Gu tribe's rules.

The Grand Elder asked in a deep voice:

Who is your disciple?

All eyes fell on Xu Qi'an, filled with hostility.

Among this group of outsiders were a six- or seven-year-old girl, a frail and pale woman, a fox, and a man.

It's obvious that the so-called apprentice is this man. The wisdom of the Li Gu tribe makes this deduction easy.

Women of the Gu clan who venture out are most easily deceived and seduced by wild men. In the heat of passion, they often betray the interests of their clan for the sake of so-called love.

Based on the wisdom of the Gu tribe, this is a very simple deduction.

"Hmph, how hateful! Men from the Central Plains deserve a terrible death."

"Let's cook it directly and share it."

"Lina, you've disappointed me so much. Grandma was originally planning to ask the clan chief for your hand in marriage."

"What's the point of proposing marriage? Even someone this pale-faced wouldn't find a husband. Humph, she secretly passed on the clan chief's Secret Method, and she even has the nerve to bring back some random man."

The crowd was in high spirits.

Lina waved:

"Lingyin, come here!"

The little one took his first steps forward on his short legs.

Lina pressed down on the little boy's head and shouted:

"Elder, this is my disciple."

The surrounding scolding and shouting suddenly stopped. The other elders seemed to have known all along. The First Elder glanced at Xu Lingyin:

"What level have you reached?"

Lina said, "I'm at the peak of the ninth rank. I could have advanced to the eighth rank long ago, but I held back."

The expressions of the surrounding clansmen softened. They had only taught the most basic secret techniques, which was relatively good, because they usually taught the secret techniques before the fourth rank to slaves with good aptitude, training them to become battle slaves.

The Grand Elder nodded slightly and said:

"Rules are rules. To privately teach Secret Method to outsiders, especially those from the Central Plains, is a grave offense. Even your father cannot protect you. Lina, the six of us have gathered here today to reach a conclusion."

After he finished speaking, he huddled together with the six elders and began talking in the Southern Frontier dialect.

Xu Qi'an couldn't understand, but he saw that Lina's face had turned extremely pale.

A few minutes later, the six elders concluded their discussion, and the eldest elder slowly shook his head:

"The Gu Clan has no precedent of accepting people from the Central Plains as disciples, nor have the other six tribes. Our Li Gu Clan cannot set such a precedent. Moreover, too many of our clansmen died under the swords of Central Plains masters during the Battle of Shanhai Pass."

"If our Li Gu tribe accepts a person from the Central Plains as a disciple, the other six tribes will surely be dissatisfied."

"Therefore, this little girl only has two paths: either stay with the Gu Clan as a war slave, or have her natal Gu destroyed."

"As for you, you shall be whipped ten thousand times and starved for six days."

After six days of starvation, Lina's expression slowly hardened.

"What did he say?" Xu Qi'an asked Lina beside him.

She said Lingyin could either stay with the Gu clan as a war slave or have her natal Gu destroyed.

Lina, with a serious expression, explained:

"War slaves usually don't live past thirty. Their natal Gu is intertwined with their life force; removing their natal Gu is a near-certain death."

"Isn't this still the elder I remember?" Xu Qi'an said.

What are you planning to do?

Although she thought Lina was unreliable, she decided to ask for her opinion first, since this was her territory.

"Actually, even if you hadn't come to Southern Frontier, I would have invited you to come in the future."

Lina, with a "I'm so clever" look on her face, said, "In our Power Gu tribe, rules are just rules; strength is the creed."

After saying this, she took a few steps forward, blocking the way of the six elders and her father, and said loudly:

"No, if you don't agree to me taking on disciples, then they can only return to the Central Plains. Lingyin will not stay in the clan as a war slave. Nor can her natal Gu be abolished."

"Hmph, that's not up to you."

An elder began removing his outer robe, indicating that he wanted to beat Lina up.

Lina, unfazed, pointed at Xu Qi'an and said:

"He's Lingyin's older brother. If you want to punish Lingyin, you should ask him for his consent first."

Having learned to use cunning against powerful figures and find powerful backers, Lina has made progress during her time in the Central Plains. When she heard that Xu Ningyan was going to the Southern Frontier and asked her to lead the way, she realized that the opportunity to help Lingyin gain the clan's approval had arrived.

Upon hearing this, the six elders frowned and looked at Xu Qi'an.

The surrounding members of the Li Gu tribe also turned their heads, their gazes—some friendly, some hostile, and some curious—focusing on him.

The Grand Elder frowned, staring at Xu Qi'an: "Who are you?"

Lina, really, always causing me trouble. There's no point in showing off in front of friends and family. Xu Qi'an took a few steps forward, a calm smile on his face:

"My name is Xu Qi'an, a silver gong of the Great Feng."

The Grand Elder slowly shook his head. "Never heard of it."

The nameless members of the Gu clan all looked away and stopped paying attention.

"Is there no internet in the village?" Xu Qi'an's expression stiffened, barely concealing his unease.

The Grand Elder said calmly, "Long Tu, throw this brat aside. For Lina's sake, spare his life."

After he finished speaking, he noticed that Long Tu did not move, his gaze fixed intently on the young man from the Central Plains, as if he were staring at an enemy who required his full concentration to deal with.

Immediately afterwards, the Grand Elder sensed a terrifying aura reviving from behind him.

An overwhelming pressure descended from the sky, enveloping the hearts of every member of the Power Gu Clan.

The elder suddenly turned around and saw a golden statue with a blazing ring of fire behind its head, bringing with it scorching heat.

Xu Qi'an slowly withdrew the sword finger from between his brows and smiled:

"You must recognize the Vajra Divine Skill, right?"

PS: Updated first, revised later.