Chapter 13 The Truth
That day, Wu Shaogan went hunting deep in the dense forest as usual. Because the place was relatively dangerous, he did not invite Zhong Cai to come with him, but only Xiang Lin accompanied him.
After Wu Shaogan finished hunting, he discovered other cultivators nearby.
Encountering cultivators during his training in the dense forest was quite common, and since the other party didn't approach, Wu Shaogan simply treated them as passersby.
But to his surprise, the man suddenly set himself on fire, and in the next instant, the old man with terrifying pressure appeared and struck him with two palms in succession!
The first palm strike shattered the protective armor, while the second palm strike, with its subtle and gentle force, penetrated directly into his Dao Palace, destroying his Sun-Shooting Bow.
His soul was shaken and damaged, and he immediately fell into a coma. Xiang Lin carried him back.
The moment the treasure robe was destroyed, the array above was activated. Ancestor Wu Baifeng noticed it and rushed over immediately, but the terrifying old man had already left.
Wu Baifeng chased after him all the way.
·
Wu Shaogan said, "At the time, I didn't recognize that the cultivator was a member of the Meng family, but I had met other members of the Meng family before, and thinking back, their appearances were somewhat similar. Then there was the self-immolation and the replacement incident, so naturally I made a guess."
“After I woke up, I asked Uncle He, and he tacitly agreed.”
Zhong Cai hesitated: "Did Manager He already know at the time?"
Wu Shaogan nodded: "Ancestor Wu Baifeng failed to catch up with the Meng family patriarch, but she did find some clues. Just as she was about to go to the Meng family to get an explanation, the Meng family, without saying anything, hinted that one of their patriarchs had died."
"The Meng family patriarch didn't kill me, but that patriarch even paid with his life. Even though I am a top-tier Heavenly Grade cultivator, I haven't fully grown up yet. This exchange of one life for one cripple seems to be enough to give the Wu family an explanation."
Zhong Cai held her breath, not believing the Meng family's explanation at all.
"There's something fishy about the death of that old ancestor of the Meng family. Was he already close to death, and then his remaining life was burned away because of the teleportation? And he still has the nerve to call it paying with his life!"
Wu Shaogan nodded again: "A-Cai is smart. If he were a promising patriarch of the Meng family, every extra year of lifespan would increase the chance of a breakthrough. How could the Meng family bear to waste his life? Among the three patriarchs of the Meng family, there is indeed one whose lifespan is about to end, with only a few years left to live. Moreover, he is only in the middle stage of the Fusion Realm and has no future to speak of."
Zhong Cai let out a sigh of relief and said in frustration, "But this isn't right! The Meng family only has two Fusion Realm cultivators left, just like the Wu family. It's not like it's a three-on-two situation where they're guaranteed to win. Besides, can the Meng family's lousy explanation even be considered an explanation? They crippled the Wu family's top genius! If the Wu family just lets this go, they'll be too spineless. How will they survive in the aristocratic circles afterward? Even if the two families don't go to war, they should at least skin the Meng family a few more times!"
"And what about the Meng family? Are the entire clan so short-sighted? It doesn't make sense! That Fusion Realm cultivator who won't live long could easily go to a dangerous place to accumulate more resources for the family. Why would he risk his life to deal with you? There's still a long way to go in terms of conflict of interest. How could the Meng family, so stupid, have developed into the leading power in Jinchang City?"
Seeing Zhong Cai so angry, Wu Shaogan pulled him close, patted his chest and back, and said, "Calm down, calm down." He then sighed, "Yes, it's unreasonable."
"The Meng and Wu families are so far apart, and both are large and powerful. Rather than doing something that could create a deadly feud between the two families, it would be better to have a member of the Meng family marry a woman who is close to me, or to marry an outstanding woman from the Meng family to me. After forming a marriage alliance, I will have a bright future, and the Meng family will also benefit. In the long run, it will be more advantageous."
Zhong Cai suddenly realized and exclaimed, "So, there's someone behind the Meng family?"
Wu Shaogan said helplessly, "Ancestor Wu Baifeng returned by taking the opportunity given by the Meng family. It's not that the Meng family was afraid of me; it's that someone used the Meng family to cripple me. The Meng family was willing to sacrifice that ancestor and another member of their clan to deal with me because that person's family background was far more powerful than the Meng family's, and the Meng family had to give them face."
Zhong Cai finally understood.
"Manager He is telling you this, probably on orders from above the Wu family. At the same time, he's also using this to warn you not to investigate further, and to leave it at that?"
Wu Shaogan nodded.
Zhong Cai's voice was deep: "And who is behind the Meng family?"
Wu Shaogan's lips curled into a mocking smile: "It's Dai Rong, the pride of the Dai family in Beitong City. Beitong City is a level four city, and the Dai family is a top-tier family with a Palace Building Realm expert."
“Dai Rong has a low-grade Heavenly aptitude, and the entire Dai family has high hopes for him. The Meng family has a proud daughter who married Dai Rong’s elder brother, Dai Zheng, so the Meng family naturally sides with Dai Rong. Dai Zheng dotes on his highly talented younger brother, so the Meng family daughter naturally has to be obedient to her brother-in-law and make the Meng family cooperate with his actions.”
Zhong Cai remained silent, her face grim, and asked, "Then why did Dai Rong—was it also out of jealousy?"
Wu Shaogan lowered his eyes, nodded slightly, and then shook his head slightly.
"There may be jealousy, but it's not entirely because of my talent."
Zhong Cai looked at Wu Shaogan.
Wu Shaogan gave a sarcastic smile: "For Hua Siyue."
Zhong Cai was stunned: "Hua Siyue...who is that?" His expression suddenly became somewhat complicated. "Could it be some kind of jealousy drama?"
Wu Shaogan said, "Not entirely." He succinctly stated, "Dai Rong wants to marry Hua Siyue, while Hua Siyue is interested in marrying me."
Zhong Cai's lips twitched: "Fine, it's a level higher than jealousy, the hatred of having your wife stolen. But I've never heard you mention that before?"
Wu Shaogan's lips twitched slightly: "I politely declined, so there's nothing more to say." He then explained, "Hua Siyue is the only daughter of the City Lord of Raoyu City. Dai Rong wants to marry her mainly for the benefits the City Lord's Mansion can offer him."
Therefore, physical attraction is secondary; the primary conflict is over interests.
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On the Flying Star Continent, the cities in each state and prefecture are governed independently, and affairs are handled through consultation among the various top powers within each city. In states where a Tongtian Realm expert serves as the state lord, the state lord can appoint a prefectural prince as his assistant. At the same time, the state lord or prefectural prince will also appoint subordinates as city lords in various cities, responsible for collecting taxes.
Any faction with experts at the Fusion Realm or above must register with the City Lord's Mansion and pay taxes annually based on the number and strength of their experts. This also allows them to establish connections with the City Lord's Mansion, giving them a greater opportunity to advance and acquire more resources compared to factions that are not eligible to register or do not register at all. For example, if a prince learns of the appearance of a secret realm or ruin in a certain area, he often allocates a certain number of entry slots based on registration and tax payment.
Therefore, the personal strength of the city lords varied, and although they did not participate in local affairs, they still held a very high status.
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Raoyu City is also a level four city.
Hua Qingfeng was assigned to Raoyu City decades ago, and his only wife in the household was Yu Xiaoxiao.
Both husband and wife are cultivators at the Suspended Illumination Realm, with low-grade Heavenly aptitude, and they are only a little over a hundred years old. To be able to take on tax responsibilities at such a young age, they must have powerful backers behind them, perhaps even relatives of a county prince or a prefectural lord.
The higher one's spiritual level, the harder it is to have offspring; it is usually extremely difficult after consecration.
So it wasn't until more than 20 years ago that the couple had a daughter, whose aptitude reached the middle level of the Heavenly Grade, which they naturally cherished.
Hua Siyue did not disappoint her parents. With the help of abundant resources, her cultivation speed was extremely fast. She reached the Palace Opening stage at the age of twelve or thirteen, and by the age of fifteen, she was already the famous Fairy Siyue, with her strength reaching the second level of the Palace Opening stage. She was also extremely beautiful.
She traveled extensively, often appearing in quite dangerous training grounds, demonstrating remarkable abilities. At this age, she naturally attracted many outstanding men who pursued and flattered her. However, given her status and qualifications, ordinary men dared not approach her.
·
Looking across the area spanning hundreds of thousands of miles, there are more than a dozen level four or five cities with a population of several hundred million. There are very few cultivators with the talent to reach the Heavenly Rank. The older ones have already gone to more distant places. There are only a handful of people of marriageable age, and they must be unmarried, which further reduces the number of them.
At that time, only Dai Rong, nineteen years old from the Dai family of Beitong City, and Li Yujiang, seventeen years old from the Li family of Huyue City, were of the lowest rank of Heavenly Grade, which matched Hua Siyue's age. Wu Shaogan was only eight years old at the time and had been silent for many years.
Li Yujiang had just established his palace and was focused on cultivation, showing no intention of showing affection to Hua Siyue. However, Dai Rong fell in love with Hua Siyue at first sight during a training exercise, and after learning about her background, he became even more determined to have her.
Unfortunately, although Hua Siyue became friends with him, she did not reciprocate his affections.
Several years have passed in the blink of an eye, and Wu Shaogan has risen to fame.
When he appeared before the world at the age of twelve, he already possessed the strength of the ninth level of the Palace Opening Realm, but he was still accumulating his strength and was not in a hurry to advance to the Enlightenment Realm. Moreover, he was incomparably handsome and had an extraordinary demeanor. As he grew older, his aura became even more imposing, making him the object of affection for many favored young ladies.
After Wu Shaogan turned seventeen, his foundation was already very solid, and he could break through to enlightenment at any time.
It was at this time that Hua Siyue took the initiative to show him affection, inviting him to become her husband and cultivate together with her. At the same time, her husband would receive preferential treatment from the city lord's mansion and have more ways to improve his strength.
For cultivators, a mere seven-year age difference is nothing, but Wu Shaogan was not interested in Hua Siyue's suggestion.
Hua Siyue was neither angry nor did she press the matter.
However, Dai Rong still regarded Wu Shaogan as a stumbling block, and he never gave Wu Shaogan a friendly look whenever they met.
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Wu Shaogan said, "Conflicts of interest, relationship with the Meng family... all of these things match Dai Rong, so he must be the one plotting against me. However, the Meng family is not Dai Rong's subordinate after all, so he probably paid a lot of money to get the Meng family to do this. Alas, I knew he was narrow-minded and had no intention of getting involved in this entanglement. Seeing that he was hostile to me, I never went to Raoyu City again, but instead focused on breaking through in the family and achieving the Enlightenment Realm."
But obviously, avoiding it won't help.
Or rather, Dai Rong became even more intolerant after Wu Shaogan's successful breakthrough.
Zhong Cai took a deep breath and suppressed the rising anger.
"I still don't understand, what could such a scoundrel possibly have to hold back? Why only cripple you, and not—"
He couldn't bring himself to say what came next.
Wu Shaogan pondered for a moment and said, "I have thought about it carefully and I have a few guesses."
Zhong Cai looked at him.
Wu Shaogan said, "Firstly, if we cripple them but don't kill them, there's still a chance for them to recover. Given that the Meng family has sacrificed a Fusion Realm cultivator, it's barely justifiable for the Wu family to back down. But once they're killed, there's no room for maneuver. No matter what excuse we use, it won't be convincing. The Wu family will have to fight the Meng family to the death, or they'll lose all face."
"Even if the Meng family is willing to help the Dai family, their goal is to strengthen the Meng family. When the Wu family is fighting the Meng family to the death, would they really spare the Meng family's genius? It wouldn't be worth it for the Meng family."
Zhong Cai sneered and mocked, "The Meng family is cooperating, but not completely. Aren't they afraid the Dai family will be dissatisfied?"
Wu Shaogan patted his back reassuringly and said, "As families registered with the City Lord's Mansion, even if the Meng family doesn't cooperate, the Dai family can't slaughter them; they can only suppress them privately. Now that the Meng family has taken action, it's true that I can't hinder Dai Rong anymore. If the Dai family continues to suppress the Meng family, it will discourage the other subordinates. Besides, this kind of whitewashing and avoiding making a big fuss is also beneficial to the Dai family, as it can prevent Dai Rong from being exposed."
"He clearly has the talent of a top-tier expert, but he doesn't dare to fight me himself. Instead, he sends a powerful person to harm me. This is not a good reputation for Dai Rong. The Dai family has nurtured and indulged him in order to strengthen the family. If his reputation is ruined, it will be detrimental to his career advancement and even more so to the Dai family."
Zhong Cai silently cursed a few times.
Wu Shaogan added, "Secondly, perhaps Dai Rong also wants to see me fall into ruin, and maybe he even wants me to see him marry Hua Siyue in a grand and glorious manner, so that he can dispel the jealousy in his heart."
Zhong Cai silently cursed a few more times.
Wu Shaogan sat shoulder to shoulder with him, in a pretty good mood.
"Alright, alright, don't be angry. We have a long future ahead of us. The strongest in the Dai family is only at the Palace Building Realm. The Azure Roc you gave me also has that potential. We just need to nurture it properly. If I'm still alive, I'll take revenge myself. If I die, you take revenge for me."
Zhong Cai glared at him and said, "Stop talking about death all the time, it's bad luck!" He thought for a moment and said indignantly, "I'll refine more pills in the future and accumulate more pill essence to draw tokens. Maybe I can get a good thing to kill that Dai family's Palace-Building cultivator directly, then it'll save me trouble!"
Wu Shaogan nodded and said, "You're right." He couldn't help but joke, "When your alchemy skills become more advanced and the altar resources are better, you might even be able to draw out a treasure that can restore me."
Zhong Cai didn't refute, but muttered, "I was thinking of surprising you when I got the prize. I didn't dare tell you before because I was afraid of bad luck and getting only low-level prizes. But it seems like we're both doing pretty well now. Like you said, we still have a long time... Anyway, there's no harm in trying more."
Wu Shaogan realized that Zhong Cai was hiding this idea, and couldn't help but smile.
The hope is still slim, but... he is already very happy.
Wu Shaogan rested his chin on his hand and looked at Zhong Cai, saying with a smile, "Cai, don't work too hard for me."
Zhong Cai glanced at him sideways: "Working hard for you? You wish!"
·
There is indeed a chance to recover from a lost qualification, just like the Zhong family's Soul-Stabilizing Wood, which was originally able to repair earth-grade companion treasures, but its value was weakened with each generation after the death of the ancestor.
In a wider world, there may be many ways to repair one's aptitude—such as higher-grade elixirs, more exotic treasures, or other precious objects.
However, those treasures must be extremely difficult to obtain.
Especially since Wu Shaogan possesses top-tier Heavenly Grade aptitude, even the Soul-Stabilizing Wood at its peak couldn't help him recover. The Wu family probably couldn't afford anything truly useful.
That's why the Wu family decisively gave up on Wu Shaogan.
However, Zhong Cai will never give up on him.
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