Chapter 26 - Learning The Past
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Seeing Jiu Vermillion walk up to him. Arthur couldn't help but smile.
"Father."
Seeing Arthur about to bow. Jiu Vermillion waved his hand, "Forget it, forget it. Come, it's about time to have lunch. You two kids come as well."
"Yay!"
Arthur, the two kids, and Jiu Vermillion enjoyed a tasty meal.
The two kids also left the two of them afterwards. As sons of a high-ranking Elder, of course they knew their manners. Although they wanted to play with their big brother Arthur, now was not the right time to do so.
"Father, I heard that Elder Bo and those kids have been here for quite some time now?" Arthur asked. It was indeed rare for an Elder to spend so much time here.
Normally, they would be secluded in some hidden place not too far for news from the city to come to them.
Only if there are some major affairs in the family, or sometimes, if there are unexpected beast swarms attacking the city, would they ever come here.
Jiu Vermillion replied, "It's because there is a major event that would soon be held. An event that would decide the fate of our family." He looked meaningfully at Arthur.
Confused, Arthur asked, "What major event?"
"A martial competition," Jiu Vermillion began to explain, "Every disciple within the Vermillion Family, from even the lowest servants, to the core disciples, would all fight."
Arthur was shocked.
Count everyone from the servants up to the core disciples. Then, in total, it would be an astonishing number of a bit more than 1,500.
Such a large amount of contestants, it would surely take a very long time to finish.
However, this wasn't an unbelievable concept. Martial competition is not a rare sight, in truth, it happens almost every month here in this city.
Although the number of participants there would only amount to less than a quarter of this soon-to-be held martial competition.
Hence, with the exemption of the once-a-decade White Alyssum Grand Martial Tournament. This should be the second most numbered contestant participating in a competition.
This fact alone should be more than enough to discern the significance of this competition.
However, in Arthur's opinion, the higher-ups of the Vermillion Family, specifically all the Elders and the Patriarch, might be overreacting a bit.
So what if the family is declining?
At most, they will lose the thousand-year honor that their ancestors built up, some of their money, and a few of their lands.
At this time, Jiu Vermillion continued: "After the victor is decided, then that person will receive the full benefits of the family. In other words, his status is even more than that of a normal Patriarch."
This time, Arthur was now absolutely bewildered.
He couldn't believe what he was hearing right now.
This is more than just the family overreacting, this is too absurd!
This idea would have many implications for the family in the future!
Arthur couldn't help but feel unhappy about this.
"Father, I'm a bit confused. Although our family is indeed prideful, and we would not let our glory be allayed. This... isn't this too unreasonable?"
Jiu Vermillion could tell how Arthur was feeling right now. He knew that his son was rather benevolent and would not let others suffer unjustly.
This course of action might indeed result in some severe repercussions towards the disciples and the others alike.
After all, the reward for the victor is, basically, everything the family has.
That's why he even invited the servants to come and participate in this event. After the conclusion, if there were some unsatisfactory remarks from them,
Then the one to blame was themselves for having insufficient ability.
Jiu Vermillion's face was very dim, the aura he was releasing startled Arthur.
"I suppose it is now the right time to tell you this secret," Jiu Vermillion sighed, his face returning back to normal, "Arthur, what I am about to tell you must absolutely not be informed to others, especially the members of our family."
Jiu Vermillion's tone went up an octave when he said his last few words.
"The decline of our family... it's not as easy as you think."
'I suppose it is bad timing if I say now that I do not have a single clue why our family declined in the first place...' Arthur secretly said to himself.
"As you already know, 200 years ago, the Patriarch of that time gathered elites from the various families, leading them to a high-ranked spiritual forest and take control over it..."
At this point, the nearby Arthur could feel an indescribable emotion surge throughout Jiu Vermillion.
"However, they never returned! The Patriarch, along with those powerful elite martial artists... most likely died! Upon hearing the news, all those families who followed the previous patriarch vented their rage and grief towards our Vermillion Family. Hence, the first internal war occurred within the city.
"If just a few major pillars of our family went missing, then we could still even completely fend off the attacks of every martial artists' families of the city. Unfortunately, one hand is enough to count the powerful figures that remained here. As a result, they were completely overwhelmed by the joint force attack of the other families, hence, they also died."
Arthur, listening to this story, was utterly shocked and speechless. Even as a scion of the Vermillion Family, he never really pried about anything nor could he care. He was just a desperate mortal up until a few weeks ago and wouldn't unnecessarily poke his nose at any point.
Many questions popped into his head. Of course, anyone suddenly hearing such a tragic family story would have many thoughts popping up. Arthur was no exception.
Jiu Vermillion, seeing this, couldn't help but chuckle, "Alright, child. That's why you must always be grateful for the City Mayor. If not for him, we would also be lying below with the previous patriarch."
Jiu Vermillion laughed.
"Yes, Father. I understand," Arthur nodded solemnly.
"Mn. For now, focus on your training, but don't push yourself! I have a lot of faith in you!"
A hand suddenly clasped Arthur's shoulders. Then, Arthur replied, "That's only natural, Father."
Arthur chuckled.
"Oh, I forgot to ask. Have you made a breakthrough?"
Seeing the hopeful gaze of his father, Arthur only shook his head and sighed, "Not yet. But, I feel that soon I will be able to. I don't exactly know when however."
Jiu Vermillion's eyes gleamed for a second and he said with a laugh, "That's more than enough! Come, I have some things I want to give you."
In a hidden corner of the Patriarch's Hall, several mid-sized sacks lay in place there. Each of them is filled with herbs, pills, and even medicines.
Arthur's eyes brightened and he meekly asked, "Father... this..?"
"It's all yours."
Arthur felt his body brimming with excitement and immediately, he reached out his arms towards Jiu Vermillion's waist and hugged him tight.
In the eyes of Jiu Vermillion, it was just an expected reaction from his excited son. However, in Arthur's perspective, this many herbs and pills is the key to further concocting advanced pills.
So not only would his cultivation improve, his soul would also be tempered as he concoct pills.
But for the current Arthur, he was unaware of the many marvelous advantages his body held.
"I will definitely beat all of my fellow disciples up, Father."
Jiu Vermillion chuckled, "Mn. Sure, I believe in you."
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