A Sound Beating

Drenched in cold sweat, the Feather Emperor gave his assurances again and again before setting off to handle the matter.

After the Feather Emperor left, two princes who had just caught wind of the news and hurried over remained in the hall with Ancestor Qingtian.

The First Prince, Qing Ji, was also the current crown prince.

The Second Prince, Qing Yun, followed silently at the crown prince's side, seeming to have no presence at all.

But Ancestor Qingtian looked first at the Second Prince, Qing Yun.

Under the ancestor's gaze, Qing Yun's body trembled slightly, and his face turned somewhat pale.

"Why are you panicking?"

Ancestor Qingtian frowned slightly.

Qing Yun hurriedly prostrated himself on the ground and said in a trembling voice, "Ancestor, your heavenly might is boundless. This junior is terrified."

Seeing what a coward Qing Yun was being, Qing Ji shook his head slightly, then cupped his hands toward Ancestor Qingtian. "Ancestor, my younger brother really is a bit of a disappointment, but he's quite good at getting things done. Please don't hold it against him."

Ancestor Qingtian simply watched Qing Yun for a while before withdrawing his gaze.

"Cultivate diligently."

With those words, Ancestor Qingtian left the hall and headed toward the imperial treasury.

Although he could send his subordinates to fetch resources from the treasury and deliver them to the Lu Clan, the matter was too important for him to feel entirely at ease. It would be better to handle it personally.

Only after the ancestor left did Qing Yun, still prostrate on the ground, breathe a small sigh of relief.

Beside him, Qing Ji gave him a kick and curled his lip. "Look at you. You're pathetic."

"Still, this trip wasn't a waste. The Lu Clan... it looks like I, the crown prince, ought to learn more about them. If I get the chance, maybe I can even make Father step down early and have a turn myself."

The more Qing Ji thought about it, the more excited he became. He hurried out of the hall to personally find out what major events had happened recently.

With that, Qing Yun was the only one left in the hall.

By now, not a trace of his earlier cowardice remained on his face. In its place was a gloomy look.

"Go on and act arrogant for a while longer. One day, I'll trample every last one of you underfoot."

Outside White Cloud City.

Fear of the unknown had left Qing Zhe caught between advancing and retreating.

With no other choice, he could only wait where he was for his father's reinforcements.

After a long wait, they finally arrived.

Three whole Spirit Concentration Realm experts!

Even within the Azure Feather Dynasty, that was no weak force. His father really did think highly of him.

With these three Spirit Concentration Realm experts helping him, dealing with a mere White Cloud City would be as easy as turning over his hand.

"Generals, White Cloud City is just ahead."

Beaming with joy, Qing Zhe went forward to welcome them, then pointed the three men toward White Cloud City.

To his surprise, the three generals who had come to support him suddenly spoke in unison. "Your Highness Ninth Prince, forgive the offense."

"Huh?"

Qing Zhe was somewhat bewildered, but the next moment, the three generals suddenly attacked him.

"By the Feather Emperor's command, give His Highness Ninth Prince a sound beating!"

"Ow!"

In an instant, screams swept across the desolate plain.

Chi Chen and the other Azure Feather Guards stared at one another, dumbfounded.

Should they intervene?

Of course not. Hadn't they heard that this was the Feather Emperor's command?

But hadn't His Highness Ninth Prince called for help? Why was His Majesty the Feather Emperor attacking his own son?

Suddenly, Chi Chen's heart jolted as he thought of a possibility.

"Could it be?!"

"No, impossible. This must be a coincidence."

"How could the mighty Azure Feather Dynasty ally itself with a force made up of chickens and dogs like that?"

Chi Chen had never been willing to believe what Lu Guangyao had said back then, but now he found that the thought seemed impossible to shake from his mind.

After an unknown amount of time, the screams gradually died down.

Qing Zhe lay on the ground with nothing left to live for, not a single uninjured spot on his body.

Most infuriating of all, to make sure Qing Zhe remained conscious enough to feel the pain, the three had actually treated his injuries as they beat him.

When they saw he was about to faint from the pain, they hurriedly stuffed a pill into his mouth.

"Your Highness Ninth Prince, please don't blame us. These were all His Majesty the Feather Emperor's orders. We were only following them."

The three generals who had come from afar bowed to Qing Zhe, their faces full of apology.

By now, Qing Zhe could no longer speak, but with tenacious vitality, he struggled to raise his middle finger at the three of them before passing out.

"Generals."

Chi Chen stepped forward and saluted the three.

"I am Chi Chen, a squad captain of the Azure Feather Guard. Might I ask if you three generals know anything about why His Majesty the Feather Emperor would act against His Highness Ninth Prince?"

Chi Chen's manner was respectful. The three generals exchanged glances, a touch of helplessness in their eyes.

The man at their head stepped forward and said, "To be honest, the orders we originally received really were to help His Highness Ninth Prince wipe out the rebel forces in White Cloud City."

"But just now, His Majesty the Feather Emperor suddenly changed his orders."

"The Lu Clan of White Cloud City has formed an alliance with the Azure Feather Dynasty. Our two sides are allies now."

As soon as he said this, everyone around them was shocked.

Chi Chen's eyes went wide, his eyeballs nearly popping out of their sockets.

"So it really was true."

"Then what do we do now?"

The leading general motioned for the Azure Feather Guards beside him to lift Qing Zhe, then said, "Now we're taking His Highness Ninth Prince to the Lu Clan to beg forgiveness."

Meanwhile, in the Lu Clan.

During this period, Lu Qingshan had been working at a feverish pace as clan leader.

The Lu Clan was currently short-handed, so they could only recruit large numbers of Rogue Cultivators as temporary replacements. But these Rogue Cultivators were accustomed to doing as they pleased and refused to submit to discipline, leaving him somewhat exhausted in body and mind.

Sure enough, everything was difficult at the start.

"Clan Leader, the clan members have been actively answering the call of the breeding plan lately. Even Old Chun, who's nearly fifty, has taken several more concubines."

Second Elder Lu Mutong reported the situation to Lu Qingshan with a smile.

Lu Qingshan nodded in satisfaction.

"You've done well, Second Elder. You should know that the breeding plan in your hands is the most important part of our Lu Clan's affairs right now. It will have a major impact on whether our Lu Clan can quickly return to its former glory."

"As long as you do it well, you'll be the Lu Clan's greatest contributor. Your contribution will be indispensable!"

Hearing this, Lu Mutong's expression turned solemn. He said earnestly, "Don't worry, Clan Leader. I'll make the Lineage surpass a thousand members as quickly as possible."

"Good!"

But then Lu Mutong suddenly smiled, his grin somewhat lecherous. "Clan Leader, I hear you've been hiding a beauty in a golden house lately. If you can't hold yourself back, you can come to me. There's no need to sneak around."

Hiding a beauty in a golden house?

Lu Qingshan was momentarily taken aback, then realized that Lu Mutong was probably talking about Qing Xu.

"You're certainly well informed. How about you establish the intelligence organization in the First Elder's place?"

Lu Qingshan gave a soft snort as he looked at Lu Mutong.

Hearing this, Lu Mutong hurriedly waved his hands. "Clan Leader, come on, I was only joking."

The intelligence organization was definitely out of the question.

He had recently learned just how frustrated First Elder Lu Guangyao had been, fretting every day over setting up the intelligence organization and running to Ancestor Tianyan whenever he had a moment.

The breeding plan was already keeping him busy enough. How could he have the attention to spare for anything else?

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Lu Mutong hurried away, afraid that the clan leader really would assign him something else.

Watching Lu Mutong's departing figure, Lu Qingshan was silent for a moment before suddenly sighing.

At that moment, he could not help recalling a graceful figure.

"Time really does fly. It's already been more than twenty years."

Lu Qingshan shook his head with a smile, though there was some bitterness in it.

"It's all in the past."

Then Lu Qingshan buried himself in clan affairs once more.

Before long, Third Elder Lu Chen also came to report his work to Lu Qingshan.

"Clan Leader, there are a few promising youngsters in the clan who are barely good enough to join the clan guard, but there are so few of them that they aren't much use. So I took it upon myself to recruit some outsiders to make up the numbers."

"Once our Lu Clan grows stronger, we can dismiss those outsiders."

Hearing Lu Chen's arrangements, Lu Qingshan nodded slightly and smiled. "You did well. For our Lu Clan as it stands, that really is the best approach."

Seeing that he had Lu Qingshan's approval, Lu Chen broke into a grin.