As the crowd grew more restless, many turned their heads including those Young lords who were easily influenced by the atmosphere and had paused their fight for a moment.
"Lord!" A woman rushed forward!
Ten's of warriors flanked her on either side as she arrived in front of Shou Xin, her gaze melancholic as she knew not whether to cry for Shou Xin who appeared blinded, or shout in joy that he was alive!
She instead chose to do a fist palm salute, the other warriors all doing the same in unison.
Shou Xin waved his sleeves.
"No need," He said evenly, "Set up the betting, will you? It should be a good chance to redistribute the wealth around."
"Ah," Yui Luo said quickly, "Yes, Lord! Now that you have returned, we will follow you and give back to the people the opportunity for great wealth!"
Shou Xin nodded and glanced over at the Young lords who were now staring at him with battle thirsty eyes.
"You are all invited to stay within the Shou Residence and compete there, fairly and under the protection of the Shou Clan. Should any of you attempt anything strange…" Shou Xin slowly stood up, his Sword Aura bursting from his eyes like sharp blades seeking a victim, "...then, we will have words."
"Who do you think you are! A mere Shou Clan of Sea Spring dares to try and threaten the young lords of the various clans!? Do you believe yourself to be the only clan in Sea Spring?!" A Young Lord whose aura was at the peak of Second Chain stepped forward shouting furiously!
Shou Xin directly ignored him and looked to the owner of the Spirit Leaf he was currently smoking.
"Come to the Shou Residence with the same amount you gave me today, you will be paid well."
"You dare?!"
The young lord rushed forward!
Shou Xin calmly turned his empty gaze towards the youth.
"Cuh!"
In the instant the youth arrived in front of Shou Xin, his eyes bulged and he looked down.
A sword had been plunged into his body, or rather, he had charged into the blade unknowingly.
"My Gu Clan will not let this rest!" He took several steps back, holding his stomach wound which was not fatal, due to his internal strength being great.
Shou Xin watched him leaving, and smiled, the youth froze on the spot, his body shaking and blood spurting from his mouth!
"You-!" The youth turned back, his face pale as he realized what happened.
When he ran into Shou Xin's blade, he didn't notice, but it was coated with his Sanguine Sword Qi, which once it entered his body entered his Inner Sea once he began to use it to stop the bleeding, and then rampaged.
His foundation… was shattered.
"From this day forward, the Gu Clan is banned from entering Sea Spring, should anyone see one of them, report it to the Shou Clan and be rewarded!" Yui Luo took the initiative to grab the attention of the people who were naturally willing to do so.
"Are you simply going to let him act so arrogantly?!" The Gu youth shouted!
Yet, the young lords and ladies only looked back at him coldly.
"The Gu clan's future is bleak. A skill less youth like you dared to attack only to run into his sword." One of the young lords said.
"If this is the best the clans of Sea Spring have to offer, then it's useless to have stopped here to compete." Other foreign young lords spoke as well, they were unimpressed.
However, it was not just the Gu youth who they looked down upon, but Shou Xin as well.
"I challenge the Head of the Shou Clan to a duel!" The youth who had spoke down to the Gu Disciple shouted as he raised his sword by the sheath, signifying a deathless challenge.
Had he grabbed it by the hilt, it signified a 'Bimu', a death battle.
"My name is the Silver Blade, Juon Kang!" He said coldly, "Do you dare?"
Shou Xin glanced at him up and down, his face expressionless and his gaze empty, "To challenge me, pay the fee and buy at least ten gold serpents worth of goods in town."
Shou Xin could not care less about Juon Kang his peers who were all watching and wanting to test themselves.
Hearing his words, the people felt touched, but the young prodigies felt insulted.
"Why must we spend money in order to challenge?" Juon Kang's willfully said he drew his sword, "Fight me!"
He charged forward the short distance between himself and Shou Xin.
Yet, the instant he reached a certain distance, his instincts screamed and his pupils shrank!
In an breath, he changed direction and stopped, cold sweat trickling down his neck.
What was that? He thought incredulously as he felt his entire body heat up in shame.
He turned to Shou Xin, examining him, yet he was the same white hair and empty eyes.
"What a great Juon Kang! Too scared to enter his range!" The Gu Disciple which had received some discrete help up, shouted manically as he vanished from the port.
Juon Kang looked away for a split second to find the Gu Disciple, but he was gone and when he looked back, Shou Xin too had vanished, leaving him no choice but to be a laughing stock.
---
"What is the situation?"
"The Grandmaster has been training us in the Talentless Sword Art, our weekly outings for materials from the villages have also borne fruit and many of their youths have chosen to come here to our Shou Clan," Yui Luo paused a moment her voice lowering, "...those bosses from the underground have also begun to move and are gathering their forces for an offensive against us. Though, that will likely end now that you have returned."
"Grandmaster?" It left a bitter taste in his mouth, "We will talk more in the pagoda."
Yui Luo nodded and quietly fell back into step just behind him whilst the rest of the Shou Disciples walked two steps behind her.
As they arrived at the gate, the guards were not fool enough to stop them as they saw Yui Luo, and glanced at once another, realizing that only one person could walk ahead of her in all of Sea Spring Province.
"Welcome, Patriarch!"
Cupping their fists, they bowed.
Shou Xin nodded and walked through the now much more magnificent gate, glancing at Yui Luo who looked a bit embarrassed.
"With all the money, we splurged just a bit." Seeing her on the defensive, the guards felt a shock and quickly decided to forget it all.
Better not to know too many sides of a superior lest one bite you.
Once they'd reached the training grounds which were just below the pagoda which was… much larger.
Made out of heavy stone bricks and with a plaque at the top which read, "Mind Heart Pagoda."
(Author's Note: Shou Xin's name, in means Longevity Heart-Mind, taking only 'Xin', the Shou Disciples have made it his pagoda alone.)
It's eaves were long and green, the aura which rolled of it was simple, yet had very good feng shui.
It appeared to be six stories and towered at over twenty meters tall, dwarfing everything around it.
The nearest thing around it would be the training ground which, though still relatively far, could easily be seen from the top alongside the rest of the residence.
Before it, Liu Gang stood alone, his fists cupped and his back bent.
"Welcome home, Master!" His shouting voice reverberated through this area of the residence which had been decorated with trees and a small pond as though a Pagoda out in the wild.
"Not bad." Shou Xin said lightly, "Your cultivation is reaching the bottleneck already."
"Yes!" Liu Gang raised his head happily.
"You will need to do better, lest he try and overthrow you in the future, also assassins." Shou Xin glanced back at Yui Luo who had already dismissed everyone else to their tasks.
"I've been training but it just isn't working!" Yui Luo complained.
Shou Xin calmly looked away and back at the top of the Heart Mind Pagoda where he could vaguely feel a familiar presence.
"Follow."
"Yes, Master." Seeing his serious continence the two became solemn.
The first floor of the Heart Mind Pagoda was similar to a simple hall to receive guests, fitted out with a few chairs and tables as well as a eatery hidden away in the back though it did not offer fresh food, only tea's.
The second floor looked to be a sort of library which had been filled with books found in the noble residences, all sorts of records placed in here.
The third and fourth floors were much the same with large libraries, though the fourth floor was empty.
On the fifth floor there laid a dormitory sort of place, which multiple beds lining the rounded walls.
Finally, the sixth floor.
It's luxury was certain as the bed was a luxurious mess, the curtains were a mess of pretentiousness alongside the tables, chairs and even the rug was so utterly irritating that one wondered who had the idea to make a room like this.
"Vienna." Shou Xin spoke coldly, "I will conquer Sea Spring."
"In my name." Vienna played with his fingernails.
Shou Xin unsheathed a sword off the wall and threw it at him, forcing Vienna to look up at him.
Liu Gang and Yui Luo starred as though they'd seen something unreal, the Master and Grandmaster were fighting!
Vienna glared at him and threw it back.
"Don't you know swords are dangerous?"
"That's why I threw it."
"You know what I need."
"I know what you want."
"Then?"
"Let's break a deal."