Kneeling before what appeared to be a throne, Wang Dong kowtowed with his forehead placed directly into the ground.
There sitting before him was fragile old man. His arms and legs were like thin twigs that could break at any moment, meanwhile his head was covered in patched of peppered grey hair.
His clothing, which were only large enough to fit on young teens, hung loosely from his body, almost falling off completely. Yet his eyes shined with a dazzling brilliance.
Although this old man looked like he would die of natural causes at any moment, anyone who knew his identity wouldn't judge him based on his current appearance.
After all, who was foolish enough to underestimate the absolute leader of the Wang Family of Water Cloud City.
Someone who was in the seventh level of Qi refinement wasn't weak. No matter what his appearance said.
"What is going on Dong'er? You've never begged to me like this before." Wang Mu was surprised to see what his son was doing.
Under his care and protection, Wang Dong had always been pampered and well taken care of. Even his cultivation path had gone along steadily without any set back. Yet what might seem like a blessing to some was a headache to Wang Mu himself.
Because of how smoothly his life was going, Wang Dong never had the determination to advance his strength. And Wang Mu, knowing just how important power was in this world, felt like the family would be in danger if he inherited it.
That's why although in public Wang Dong would inherit the family leader position, Wang Mu considered handing the position to his son's half-brother instead. But this was only a last resort.
Despite being much weaker in strength, Wang Dong's talents was much greater. If only he would put in more effort, then he could easily surpass Wang Fan.
Yet that same lazy son was kneeling here before him begging to be allowed access to the Wang Family's secret training ground.
"You wish to access our family's holy ground? What's wrong, why are you so interested in training now?"
Wang Dong looked up from the ground toward his father with a strange look on his face.
His expression seemed to display a never before seen sense of embarrassment.
And the reason why was clear.
"Is this because of the loss you faced back in the dueling arena?"
Wang Dong didn't respond but his silence spoke wonders.
Wang Mu was never a fan of his lazy son, but he loved him too much to punish Wang Dong for his training negligence.
And that same kindness was what was keeping him from giving Wang Dong permission to do what he wished to do.
Although they called it a holy ground, the place where Wang Dong was asking to go wasn't a pleasant place. One wrong move and you could be killed in an instant. But there was no doubt it was the greatest training ground their family owned.
He himself had spent a single year there and the experience he gained helped propel him to his current state.
Yet the things he saw in the land was so terrifying that even with his current powers he dared not go back.
"You realize that no one can save you if you go there correct? If you make a single mistake, that's the end of you. There is no second try nor will there be a second chance. You'll be completely cut off from the rest of the world for who knows how long."
Wang Mu rested his cheek upon his fist calmly while sitting upon his throne. He wished to see how Wang Dong would react next.
Yet to his surprise, his son showed no fear.
Within his eyes was the desire for strength instead.
The family head was quite surprised. He couldn't imagine what could've caused such a change in Wang Dong. Although his loss must've injured his pride quite a bit, he changed too much just from a little bit of injured pride.
But for Wang Dong, it wasn't his pride that brought along this desire for power. It was fear.
When Xue Chang stood in front of him unfazed by an attack that even his father might not have took unscathed, he felt the genuine fear of death for once in his life.
He knew in his heart that if this child, which he didn't even consider a threat moments prior, wanted to, he could easily extinguish his life like a human blowing out a candle.
He had never felt so powerless before, and he hated it. In his mind, his life was never in any danger since harming him wasn't just offending him, but his entire family. As such very few people would dare harm him.
Yet the look in Xue Chang's eyes was different. His eyes showed that he really did disregard his background, and he wouldn't hesitate to end him.
This was the reason he wanted to train suddenly, not only to become stronger and avoid a situation like that again, but to also escape the city for a bit and avoid that monster.
Wang Mu evaluated his request for a few moments before his eyes, which shined so brilliantly before, dimmed a little bit in sadness.
Sighing sadly to himself, Wang Mu threw over a nameplate with the family's marking on it.
"Go now, but take care of yourself. I don't want the guilt of sending my own child to his death to haunt me."
With another kowtow, Wang Dong thanked his father one last time before departing.
And as Wang Mu watched his son leave the premises, he couldn't he,l but mutter to himself.
"Now how should I deal with those fools who dare to go against my family?"
________
Wu Jie's advancements was quite a big deal. Water Cloud City now had not one, but two level nine cultivators guarding the city. This increase in military strength made it so Zhou Wei had a lot more leeway to take actions in the field rather than staying in the city protecting the streets.
With all of the village attacks on the city skirmishes going on, more man power was needed to investigate what was happening. And now Zhao Wei could take to the field himself.
Wu Jie, as a body cultivator, might've been a better option to explore the outskirts, as his body was more nimble and flexible than Zhao Wei's; But he had just made a breakthrough and needed time to consolidate his power.
As such, immediately after feasting in celebration for the break through, Zhao Wei got back to work.
"Dad really doesn't know when to take a break does he?"
"Rather than not wanting to take a break, I think he just feels a lot of responsibility for this city after living in it for a few years."
Wu Jie rubbed the top of Xue Chang's head, messing his hair up while speaking to the sulking child.
But while Tian Kai and Tian Hai were helping Xue Mei our with the housework, Wu Jie was squeezing his hands into a fist softly.
"But who would've thought moonlit jade would have such a wondrous effect."
Back when Wu Jie had his breakthrough and met up with Xue Chang, he had already noticed something strange. His cultivation had actually already been consolidated quite a bit.
What should have taken him a week or two of work would only take three days now at most.
Xue Chang had told him the story of what was happening and about what he did. So Wu Jie put one and one together and figured out Xue Chang's actions were the reason why his powers had progressed so smoothly.
"Still though, I feel like I'm taking advantage of my nephew. I don't like it."
"Well not really uncle, after all I would feel guilty if I did nothing."
While Xue Chang explained the situation to his uncle, he never did tell him the reason why the spiritual force in the city borders was so low.
It would've been much too awkward to talk about it. He just worked around it and explained that he discovered the phenomenon early and wanted to help fix it.
"Ahh it has been so long since I've seen you Chang'er, tell me a bit on how things have been going-"
And while bending over toward Xue Chang, he quietly whispered, "especially on what's been happening in the guild."
Xue Chang happily went on a rant about his time at the guild and everything he experienced. From fighting the bear to discovering the earth fire.
But he purposefully glossed over his interactions in the village and his experiences inside of them.
Just the memory of the events caused a smoldering flame to ignite in his heart, and he didn't want to worry his uncle too much about this.
But Wu Jie was no fool. He immediately took notice that Xue Chang was avoiding talking about some things but he didn't dig too deeply into it.
And finally he finished with telling Wu Jie about the battle Lou Lan had against Wang Dong.
"Wang Family huh? They're quite the troublesome bunch. Is everything okay so far?"
Xue Chang nodded, "While I don't think he will take this defeat lying down, as of right now they haven't done anything to us."
Suddenly a light flashed across Xue Chang's eyes as he remembered something.
"Uncle I have a favor to ask!"
"Is it making a weapon or robe again?"
Xue Chang nodded his head vigorously, happy that his intentions were understood.
"I just got out of seclusion- sigh- what do you want?"
A tired expression could be seen on Wu Jie's face as he looked at his sworn nephew.
Xue Chang held out a sheet of paper with some odd scribbles on it. Looking down at the parchment, Wu Jie curiously glanced over the information on it.
"Something like this..."
"Is it possible?"
Xue Chang looked over at Wu Jie expectantly, hoping for some good news.
Wu Jie was a physician first and foremost. His specialty did not lay in crafting but in healing instead. Yet things were about to change.
Wu Jie smirked as he said, "I need some time and better materials, but this isn't IMPOSSIBLE."
"So does that mean?"
"Yes, I'll do my best."
"!!!"
Today Wu Jie agreed to a task that would leave his name in history as the greatest blacksmith ever.
Yet he was a physician.