Zhao Tiancang, Please don’t fall
"By the way, I received some good stuff from the higher ups but I have kept forgetting to tell you. What about you? Did you get anything after shocking all the clans with your ostentatious performance?" A look of remembrance showed on Zhao Yufei's face as the two rushed toward the Clan's Main Hall.
"Nah, I didn't bother or anticipate any rewards from the clan. They wouldn't have mattered anyway." Zhao Wei replied in a nonchalant tone.
"You are truly… okay, you do you." Zhao Yufei sighed, confused by Zhao Wei's decision to be unconcerned by the boons offered by the clan.
He was the ultimate winner of the duels between the city's geniuses, his victory inarguably raising the Zhao Clan's prestige and reputation to the high heavens. That in itself could be considered a meritorious deed to the clan.
But was someone like Zhao Wei ever predictable? No.
The bastard really hated following the norm.
Zhao Yufei was still in the process of trying to understand what kind of deep thoughts were hidden in that hard head of his.
"What do you think is so urgent for the Clan Head to summon us directly?" Zhao Yufei decided to ask Zhao Wei as various speculations ran through her mind.
She knew that they were both sailing on the same boat of cluelessness but she just wanted to hear his opinions.
Zhao Wei responded with a 'I-don't-know-anything' face but he shared his thoughts.
"It certainly has something to do with the Genius Summit and our flashy performance. That's my pivotal guess."
"Or I might be wrong and the clan is about to wage a stupid war against the two other clans and we are just going to be used as sacrificial lambs. This second guess doesn't make any sense, I know." Zhao Wei smiled playfully.
"Oh boy, I don't want to be a child of war and die young. I haven't enjoyed my youth and life!" Zhao Yufei feigned a look of extreme fear, her beautiful face contorted into a scary one.
Zhao Wei found the scene to be quite comical.
"Don't you want to live and die for the clan? It would be an honor to uphold the banner of Zhao Clan." He released a light-hearted chuckle as he gave Zhao Yufei a humor-filled gaze.
"It would truly be an honor… fuck honor and meaningless sacrifice, excuse me for the foul language." Zhao Yufei's lips curved into an embarrassed smile due to spouting Wei-esque kind of words from her mouth. Her innocence was slowly being sullied by being in Zhao Wei's presence.
The female servant was terrified by the level of craziness stemming from the two famous disciples and she could never imagine them behaving like that, especially Zhao Yufei who looked like a pure lotus flower untouched by the world's degeneracy.
'Those two can really perfectly deceive the world. I better keep my mouth shut and never speak a word of what has happened. I will take everything to my grave. A servant's life is like a dry twig that can easily be snapped when on the wrong side of a disciple.' The female servant thought in fear as she sucked in a deep breath.
And when she saw the Main Hall becoming visible, she sighed in much-needed relief inside her mind.
She was soon going to be out of the hairs of the two dangerous fellas.
The female servant quickly led the two to the entrance of the Main Hall and since she knew she couldn't enter with them, she hastily excused herself.
The two huge silver doors had intricate designs etched on their metallic surfaces. Those mysterious designs were life-like drawings of an ancient tale of Dragons, Qilins, and other mythical divine beasts.
Zhao Wei looked at the door for a moment before taking a deep breath.
He then looked back at the slightly nervous Zhao Yufei and tried to pout his lips which absolutely worked in alleviating all of her worries.
"You look disgusting, stop it." Zhao Yufei suppressed her laughter as she replied in a hushed tone.
'Now or never.' Zhao Wei smiled to himself as his hands pushed the huge silver doors apart.
'Wow, they are looking at us like a group of COD campers brazenly waiting to snipe at our unlucky asses.' Zhao Wei's eyes quickly analyzed the spacious room and its inhabitants.
An unknown man of great stature sat freely on the top seat meant for the Clan Head but that didn't seem to cause any dissatisfaction and revolt from the nearby elders and ultimately, the Clan Head, Zhao Tiancang himself!
They all shared the same expression of fear, respect, and hope since the unknown man who had given them an impromptu visit was someone with a higher authority than the whole of Sun Feather City's three great clans combined.
His true cultivation was also extremely rare to find just anywhere.
Zhao Wei didn't know the man but he could come up with a reasonable guess within expectation about his true identity.
Even if the unknown man was restraining his breath from impacting his surroundings, Zhao Wei's perceptive eyes saw through his entire being.
Like a child who had been presented with a toy, Zhao Wei under the guise of calmness, started building up a list of information about the man: from his height, weight, inner strength, posture, weakness, and many more interesting points.
This was his first time seeing a Ninth Rank Martial expert in the flesh and his crazy mind had already begun to conjure up simulations and battle scenarios of their battle.
'Can I fight him?'
'Will I win?'
'He's really on a different level, stronger than anyone I have seen so far since I arrived at this new universe!'
'So this is a Ninth Ranker, someone that is painfully close to the Ascended Realm.'
"Haha, interesting. Very interesting. I didn't expect to meet someone like you in this little backwater city." The unknown man laughed wildly as he looked at Zhao Wei as if he was staring at an extremely precious gem.
"The reports from those two scouts were certainly on point. I presume you must be… Zhao Wei, right?" The man then flashed him a friendly smile.
"True. I am Zhao Wei. And you are?" Zhao Wei's neither servile nor arrogant as he asked about the man's identity even though he had a sure guess about it.
But the elders didn't see it that way. They felt Zhao Wei was just being disrespectful to someone of such an extremely high status. How can he casually address someone capable of making their clan disappear overnight like that?
They found it hard to contain their restlessness.
"Junior, show some respect to Master Ye!" The Clan Head, Zhao Tiancang, was the first to lash out in an angry voice and since he was in the presence of a Ninth Ranker, he didn't dare to use his cultivation pressure on Zhao Wei.
"Don't you know who Master Ye is?!"
The elders remained silent but anger and resentment could be seen in their frowning faces.
Zhao Wei was rendered speechless by their unnecessary reactions.
He knew that the clan wanted to ride on the coattails of someone as prominent as Lord Guanjun's subordinate and they didn't dare to cause him any dissatisfaction.
"Can you just shut up?!" Master Ye erupted with a pissed-off expression on his face. A heavy aura then started radiating off him and befell on the Clan Head and his council.
Zhao Tiancang found it hard to breathe and his body was almost immobilized by the overbearing aura from Master Ye regardless of his Peak Seventh Rank cultivation base. The same couldn't be said for the elders who were almost kneeling on the ground.
Luckily, Master Ye withdrew his pressure and gave them some breathing space.
"Hmph, this is no longer a conversation that you should put your noses in. Tame your mouths or I might accidentally kill all of you!"
'This man has a temper.' Zhao Wei thought with an amused glint in his eyes.
He and Zhao Yufei hadn't been subjected to Master Ye's overbearing inner strength so they didn't suffer like those elders.
"Sorry for not introducing myself. I am one of the subordinates of Lord Guanjun, the number one expert of Guanlu Province. And I am part of the Guanjun Corps." The man gave a cordial introduction.
"You can call me Master Ye or Ye Lingyun, whatever suits you best. I have been delegated with the duty of recruiting outstanding geniuses like you. The Lord needs promising seedlings like you two."
Ye Lingyun then smiled as he observed the two youths and seeing how calm and composed they were, he couldn't help but nod his head in appreciation.
"Commendable. Truly commendable. Even though that young one from the Xin Clan can't be found, you two have already passed the criteria."
Master Ye had previously gone to look for Xin Wuheng but he had been thoroughly disappointed to find him missing.
A bloody genius had just slipped between his fingers. How regrettable.
"Zhao Wei and Zhao Yufei, what do you think about leaving this shitty place and even getting the chance of learning under Lord Guanjun?" Ye Lingyun offered straightforwardly.
"I would be thankful for the Lord's magnanimity for giving me such a rare chance." Zhao Yufei, who had been silent all along, finally spoke up in a respectful voice while cupping her small fist.
Zhao Wei could see the hidden amusement inside her eyes even without turning his head to the side.
"Certainly, I would be grateful for the rare chance." Zhao Wei then mirrored her actions.
"Good! Then I unofficially welcome you to the Guanjun Corps!" Ye Lingyun laughed in happiness since he knew the Lord was in dire need of extremely talented individuals.
Zhao Tiancang's face turned green with envy and unwillingness.
How can people from the side branch family be chosen over the main family? Just how? Just how was their luck so damn good?!
Zhao Tiancang believed his stepson wasn't that bad either compared to the two, after all, Zhao Linglong had reached the Sixth Rank at only 18 years of age.
Zhao Tiancang was truly unwilling.
"M-master Ye, may I say something?" Zhao Tiancang mustered up enough courage and politely addressed the overbearing man.
Ye Lingyun immediately gave him a death glare but then it disappeared and morphed into amusement after a few moments.
"Go on." Ye Lingyun gave his permission.
Zhao Tiancang felt happy inside as immense hope began building up inside his heart. The elders also felt that Zhao Linglong deserved this rare chance.
His stepson had a chance.
Zhao Tiancang composed himself before starting.
"We have another genius on par-"
"That's heresy to compare trash to a genius. I don't want to hear about trash anymore. My report doesn't recognize whatever you are recommending! If such trash wasn't recognized by the scouts, then why should I waste my time to reconsider?!" Ye Lingyun scoffed with a disdainful smile on his face.
Zhao Tiancang's heart cracked and he nearly dropped to the ground due to sudden weakness.
Zhao Yufei had her mouth slightly opened in surprise at the unexpected reply.
Zhao Wei put on a poker face.
"Zhao Wei and Zhao Yufei demonstrate some of your skills to me before we leave in two days." Ye Lingyun shifted his attention to the two, his voice warm and friendly unlike when he had been talking with the Zhao elders.
'Chameleon incarnate.' Zhao Wei chuckled in his mind.
'It's great that I will be giving Sun Feather City my last goodbyes.'
'Zhao Tiancang, please don't fall.'
***
Enjoy!
For more advanced chapters and extra support (Patreon.com/OneArmedImmortal)
Zhao Tiancang, Please don’t fall
"By the way, I received some good stuff from the higher ups but I have kept forgetting to tell you. What about you? Did you get anything after shocking all the clans with your ostentatious performance?" A look of remembrance showed on Zhao Yufei's face as the two rushed toward the Clan's Main Hall.
"Nah, I didn't bother or anticipate any rewards from the clan. They wouldn't have mattered anyway." Zhao Wei replied in a nonchalant tone.
"You are truly… okay, you do you." Zhao Yufei sighed, confused by Zhao Wei's decision to be unconcerned by the boons offered by the clan.
He was the ultimate winner of the duels between the city's geniuses, his victory inarguably raising the Zhao Clan's prestige and reputation to the high heavens. That in itself could be considered a meritorious deed to the clan.
But was someone like Zhao Wei ever predictable? No.
The bastard really hated following the norm.
Zhao Yufei was still in the process of trying to understand what kind of deep thoughts were hidden in that hard head of his.
"What do you think is so urgent for the Clan Head to summon us directly?" Zhao Yufei decided to ask Zhao Wei as various speculations ran through her mind.
She knew that they were both sailing on the same boat of cluelessness but she just wanted to hear his opinions.
Zhao Wei responded with a 'I-don't-know-anything' face but he shared his thoughts.
"It certainly has something to do with the Genius Summit and our flashy performance. That's my pivotal guess."
"Or I might be wrong and the clan is about to wage a stupid war against the two other clans and we are just going to be used as sacrificial lambs. This second guess doesn't make any sense, I know." Zhao Wei smiled playfully.
"Oh boy, I don't want to be a child of war and die young. I haven't enjoyed my youth and life!" Zhao Yufei feigned a look of extreme fear, her beautiful face contorted into a scary one.
Zhao Wei found the scene to be quite comical.
"Don't you want to live and die for the clan? It would be an honor to uphold the banner of Zhao Clan." He released a light-hearted chuckle as he gave Zhao Yufei a humor-filled gaze.
"It would truly be an honor… fuck honor and meaningless sacrifice, excuse me for the foul language." Zhao Yufei's lips curved into an embarrassed smile due to spouting Wei-esque kind of words from her mouth. Her innocence was slowly being sullied by being in Zhao Wei's presence.
The female servant was terrified by the level of craziness stemming from the two famous disciples and she could never imagine them behaving like that, especially Zhao Yufei who looked like a pure lotus flower untouched by the world's degeneracy.
'Those two can really perfectly deceive the world. I better keep my mouth shut and never speak a word of what has happened. I will take everything to my grave. A servant's life is like a dry twig that can easily be snapped when on the wrong side of a disciple.' The female servant thought in fear as she sucked in a deep breath.
And when she saw the Main Hall becoming visible, she sighed in much-needed relief inside her mind.
She was soon going to be out of the hairs of the two dangerous fellas.
The female servant quickly led the two to the entrance of the Main Hall and since she knew she couldn't enter with them, she hastily excused herself.
The two huge silver doors had intricate designs etched on their metallic surfaces. Those mysterious designs were life-like drawings of an ancient tale of Dragons, Qilins, and other mythical divine beasts.
Zhao Wei looked at the door for a moment before taking a deep breath.
He then looked back at the slightly nervous Zhao Yufei and tried to pout his lips which absolutely worked in alleviating all of her worries.
"You look disgusting, stop it." Zhao Yufei suppressed her laughter as she replied in a hushed tone.
'Now or never.' Zhao Wei smiled to himself as his hands pushed the huge silver doors apart.
'Wow, they are looking at us like a group of COD campers brazenly waiting to snipe at our unlucky asses.' Zhao Wei's eyes quickly analyzed the spacious room and its inhabitants.
An unknown man of great stature sat freely on the top seat meant for the Clan Head but that didn't seem to cause any dissatisfaction and revolt from the nearby elders and ultimately, the Clan Head, Zhao Tiancang himself!
They all shared the same expression of fear, respect, and hope since the unknown man who had given them an impromptu visit was someone with a higher authority than the whole of Sun Feather City's three great clans combined.
His true cultivation was also extremely rare to find just anywhere.
Zhao Wei didn't know the man but he could come up with a reasonable guess within expectation about his true identity.
Even if the unknown man was restraining his breath from impacting his surroundings, Zhao Wei's perceptive eyes saw through his entire being.
Like a child who had been presented with a toy, Zhao Wei under the guise of calmness, started building up a list of information about the man: from his height, weight, inner strength, posture, weakness, and many more interesting points.
This was his first time seeing a Ninth Rank Martial expert in the flesh and his crazy mind had already begun to conjure up simulations and battle scenarios of their battle.
'Can I fight him?'
'Will I win?'
'He's really on a different level, stronger than anyone I have seen so far since I arrived at this new universe!'
'So this is a Ninth Ranker, someone that is painfully close to the Ascended Realm.'
"Haha, interesting. Very interesting. I didn't expect to meet someone like you in this little backwater city." The unknown man laughed wildly as he looked at Zhao Wei as if he was staring at an extremely precious gem.
"The reports from those two scouts were certainly on point. I presume you must be… Zhao Wei, right?" The man then flashed him a friendly smile.
"True. I am Zhao Wei. And you are?" Zhao Wei's neither servile nor arrogant as he asked about the man's identity even though he had a sure guess about it.
But the elders didn't see it that way. They felt Zhao Wei was just being disrespectful to someone of such an extremely high status. How can he casually address someone capable of making their clan disappear overnight like that?
They found it hard to contain their restlessness.
"Junior, show some respect to Master Ye!" The Clan Head, Zhao Tiancang, was the first to lash out in an angry voice and since he was in the presence of a Ninth Ranker, he didn't dare to use his cultivation pressure on Zhao Wei.
"Don't you know who Master Ye is?!"
The elders remained silent but anger and resentment could be seen in their frowning faces.
Zhao Wei was rendered speechless by their unnecessary reactions.
He knew that the clan wanted to ride on the coattails of someone as prominent as Lord Guanjun's subordinate and they didn't dare to cause him any dissatisfaction.
"Can you just shut up?!" Master Ye erupted with a pissed-off expression on his face. A heavy aura then started radiating off him and befell on the Clan Head and his council.
Zhao Tiancang found it hard to breathe and his body was almost immobilized by the overbearing aura from Master Ye regardless of his Peak Seventh Rank cultivation base. The same couldn't be said for the elders who were almost kneeling on the ground.
Luckily, Master Ye withdrew his pressure and gave them some breathing space.
"Hmph, this is no longer a conversation that you should put your noses in. Tame your mouths or I might accidentally kill all of you!"
'This man has a temper.' Zhao Wei thought with an amused glint in his eyes.
He and Zhao Yufei hadn't been subjected to Master Ye's overbearing inner strength so they didn't suffer like those elders.
"Sorry for not introducing myself. I am one of the subordinates of Lord Guanjun, the number one expert of Guanlu Province. And I am part of the Guanjun Corps." The man gave a cordial introduction.
"You can call me Master Ye or Ye Lingyun, whatever suits you best. I have been delegated with the duty of recruiting outstanding geniuses like you. The Lord needs promising seedlings like you two."
Ye Lingyun then smiled as he observed the two youths and seeing how calm and composed they were, he couldn't help but nod his head in appreciation.
"Commendable. Truly commendable. Even though that young one from the Xin Clan can't be found, you two have already passed the criteria."
Master Ye had previously gone to look for Xin Wuheng but he had been thoroughly disappointed to find him missing.
A bloody genius had just slipped between his fingers. How regrettable.
"Zhao Wei and Zhao Yufei, what do you think about leaving this shitty place and even getting the chance of learning under Lord Guanjun?" Ye Lingyun offered straightforwardly.
"I would be thankful for the Lord's magnanimity for giving me such a rare chance." Zhao Yufei, who had been silent all along, finally spoke up in a respectful voice while cupping her small fist.
Zhao Wei could see the hidden amusement inside her eyes even without turning his head to the side.
"Certainly, I would be grateful for the rare chance." Zhao Wei then mirrored her actions.
"Good! Then I unofficially welcome you to the Guanjun Corps!" Ye Lingyun laughed in happiness since he knew the Lord was in dire need of extremely talented individuals.
Zhao Tiancang's face turned green with envy and unwillingness.
How can people from the side branch family be chosen over the main family? Just how? Just how was their luck so damn good?!
Zhao Tiancang believed his stepson wasn't that bad either compared to the two, after all, Zhao Linglong had reached the Sixth Rank at only 18 years of age.
Zhao Tiancang was truly unwilling.
"M-master Ye, may I say something?" Zhao Tiancang mustered up enough courage and politely addressed the overbearing man.
Ye Lingyun immediately gave him a death glare but then it disappeared and morphed into amusement after a few moments.
"Go on." Ye Lingyun gave his permission.
Zhao Tiancang felt happy inside as immense hope began building up inside his heart. The elders also felt that Zhao Linglong deserved this rare chance.
His stepson had a chance.
Zhao Tiancang composed himself before starting.
"We have another genius on par-"
"That's heresy to compare trash to a genius. I don't want to hear about trash anymore. My report doesn't recognize whatever you are recommending! If such trash wasn't recognized by the scouts, then why should I waste my time to reconsider?!" Ye Lingyun scoffed with a disdainful smile on his face.
Zhao Tiancang's heart cracked and he nearly dropped to the ground due to sudden weakness.
Zhao Yufei had her mouth slightly opened in surprise at the unexpected reply.
Zhao Wei put on a poker face.
"Zhao Wei and Zhao Yufei demonstrate some of your skills to me before we leave in two days." Ye Lingyun shifted his attention to the two, his voice warm and friendly unlike when he had been talking with the Zhao elders.
'Chameleon incarnate.' Zhao Wei chuckled in his mind.
'It's great that I will be giving Sun Feather City my last goodbyes.'
'Zhao Tiancang, please don't fall.'
***
Enjoy!
For more advanced chapters and extra support (Patreon.com/OneArmedImmortal)
