The peerless Qi Swords was building blocks of a Sky stance. Although Ye Wei was far from finishing the Zodiac Sword stance, Du Ji still had no way of defending himself against it.
“The Lu’s men are about to arrive, and you dare to aim your stance at me? You are out of your mind!” Panic flashed in Du Ji’s eyes while he watched the five Qi Sword rapidly coming towards him. ‘You will pay for this when they are here!’
Confronted by sharp edges, Du Ji’s pupils shrunk in sheer nervousness. He reacted quickly and channeled his Qi to defend himself. ‘Low-level Myst stance, Cyan Light Shield.’ His hands were flashing in the air drawing rune after rune, forming a defensive stance. Soon, the rune sequence glowed and transformed its shape; a large light shield appeared in front of his body.
The Du family was once one of Green Moon City’s Big Three. They had a total of four Myst stances, which they passed down through generations since their rise. Two of them were low-level Myst stances and the other two were mid-level. These stances were available only to the patriarch.
Du Ji, a five-star condensed prime Warrior, was in a relatively high position in the Du family. He was able to master both the low-level Myst stances that he could access such as the Scarlet Flame Fist and the defensive Cyan Light Shield.
He was renowned in the city, both as a very powerful cultivator and a master of the two Myst stances. Even if he was only a five-star condensed prime level, his shield was powerful enough to withstand a six-star condensed prime Warrior’s attack.
However, under the edge of Ye Wei’s Peerless Qi Swords, the stance that had stopped countless powerful cultivators, was no more protective than a piece of paper. Ye Wei’s Qi bolts penetrated the green shield effortlessly, dug into Du Ji’s arms, legs and his dantian while the shield was still completely intact.
Ye Wei was showing no mercy for someone who threatened to wiped his entire family from the face of the earth.
“Aaah!” the horrifying sound of Du Ji’s screams sent chills through everyone’s body. His arms, legs, and dantian were ripped, spilling blood all over while Du Ji fell to his knees. The ground beneath him was completely dyed in red.
“I thought we made a deal? You shouldn’t have agreed to my cousin’s suggestion if you are not strong enough to take just one blow?” Ye Wei calmy but sarcastically questioned Du Ji. He had to deal with Du Ji quickly before the Lu’s arrived. ‘He tried to hurt Ye Zhong. It’s only fair he tastes his own medicine!’
‘So, when the Lu’s come I can tell them he agreed to this…’ Ye Wei decided.
Du Ji heard Ye Wei’s words, but he was to weak to react. He finally dropped on the ground and fainted.
‘The Du’s were shocked. Judging from Du Ji’s injuries, they could see that their leader was unlikely to ever stand on his feet again.
This defeat just ruined any chances for Du Ji to continue cultivating. He would be casted aside because of his defeat. His cultivation would wither, and he would be a burden for his family from now on.
‘You deserve every bit of this suffering you will taste for the rest of your pitiful life!’ Ye Wei looked at the Du Ji who was paralyzed on the ground. ‘The moment you wanted to kill my cousin Zhong was the moment you should have been prepared to get killed yourself.’
‘The Ye family was left to the Du’s mercy three years ago.If it wasn’t for Master Yi, we would have been wiped out. However, we are no longer like we were at that time!’ Suddenly, a thunderous rumble sounded. It grew louder and louder as a shadowy figure approached. It was Lu Zhong, a ten-star condensed prime Warrior the Lu family sent to coordinate the search.
Lu Zhong thought that someone had found the Drakehead, so he rushed as if his life depended on it . He didn’t expect to see two troops standing off under the moonlight by a hill.
An angry cry resonated within the night, “My family sent you here to look for treasure not to fight each other!”
“Sir, you have to give us justice! The Ye’s disobeyed your commands! They were preventing us from entering the area! They also attacked Du Ji!” One of the Du’s Warriors stood forth and kneeled before Lu Zhong, “I don’t think Du Ji will live if he doesn’t get medical attention immediately” he cried as he pointed to his fallen leader.
Lu Zhong surveyed the scene. He could tell he was not at the Drakehead. All he could see was the Du’s in a pitiful state, kneeling before him. Seeing Ye Wei, his face ashened and his gaze was sharp as daggers.
“What the hell did you do to him?! He is here under my command!” Lu Zhong’s fierce roar froze the Ye’s in place and stopped their hearts. His presence oozed anger and crushed towards the Ye’s squad.
“If you do not give me a reasonable explanation for these bold and stupid acts, your family will cease to exist in a day’s time!” Lu Zhong’s eyes finally rested on the Ye cousins standing in front of their men.
‘That’s Ye Wei!’ Murmured Lu Feng, watching the scene unfold from the wilderness. The memory of the Runamaster’s exam suddenly appeared in his mind.
‘This kid is really talented. Maybe I still can recruit him afterall and fit him into my plan.’ Lu Feng’s revenge was always the first thought in his mind. The humiliation his mother suffered was not easily forgotten.
Lu family was influential inside and outside Qing state. Lu Feng knew everything these people were capable of, ‘I can’t stand against them alone. They are capable of sending returned prime Warriors here if they do find the place. However, maybe if this kid joins my side…’ Lu Feng was thinking, plotting. He was afraid his family’s men would find the Drakehead soon. He needed powerful reinforcement to distract and send people away from the pond. He could not bear the thought of losing it.
Lu Feng needed someone as talented as Ye Wei. Nevertheless, he knew since the Runemaster Union entry exam that Ye Wei still held a grudge for what happened three years ago.
“Ye Wei, you are a complete idiot to challenge Lu Zhong. He might be only a ten-star condensed prime Warrior, but he was known for his madness! He would even interrupt an elder if he heard something he didn’t agree with,” Lu Feng mumbled to himself. He was curious to see how this would unroll.
Lu Zhong’s sister, Lu Rong, was one of the elders and one of the strongest cultivators in the family. She was the reason Lu Zhong was bold, crazy but uncontested by the council of the well established family. She was also the person who vouched for him to be in charge of the operation around North Hill Bay, the area which the Lu’s intel told the council the Drakehead was likely to be.
Lu Rong wanted the council to trust her brother. Thus, if he was successful in locating the Drakehead, he would gain a better, more solid reputation.
‘This time I might be able to get him on my side. I will wait for a good opportunity to reveal myself and help him when he gets in trouble!’ Lu Feng concluded while he watched the Ye’s.
“Wipe out Ye family?!” Ye Wei’s eyes filled with burning rage. Nonetheless, he reminded himself that he must be patient for now. He must handle this situation without causing any casualties to occur. He could always make Lu Zhong pay for those disrespectful words once he became stronger.
“Mister, please be reasonable and listen to what I have to say before reacting hastefully. There is no reason for the Ye’s to slow the Lu’s operation down. We were trying to carry out the search carefully at our ancestor’s resting place! I promise you, the Du’s are trying to frame us on the spot.” Ye Wei said calmly.
“Is it so?” Lu Zhong gloomy face slowly turned towards Du Ji, who was laying on the ground in a pool of his own blood.
“This lone hill is my family’s burial ground. The Du’s always kept a grudge against my family due to some recent dispute. They took the chance to make a mess at our ancestor’s graves while they were up there, so we asked them down to talk it out peacefully!”
“There would be no way we let them on our sacred grounds just to watch them destroy everything as they do a rough job! Besides, he almost killed my cousin when my cousin was trying to reason with him. I was then lucky enough to stop him right before my innocent cousin would have lost his life!” Said Ye Wei, doing a great job to sound shakened.
Hearing Ye Wei’s speech, Ye Zhong’s face lit up. The situation wasn’t so bad presented the way his young cousin did. ‘Maybe our ancestral grounds won’t be tainted after all.’
Ye Zhong bowed before Lu Zhong saying “Please, Mister. We just wanted to do a thorough job the most respectful way, for the Lu family’s and for the Ye family’s honor. We had to stand against the Du’s and their unreasonable claims!”
“Please, give us justice!” The rest of the Ye’s joined in.
“The Du family clearly wants to take advantage of the Lu’s. You should remove the black sheep from the herd.” Ye Zhong was trying to sound as indignified as he could, playing along with Ye Wei’s speech. “You don’t want innocent blood on your family’s name right? You have to make an example or people like the Du’s will just bring shame and injustice to our doorsteps!”
“Nonsense!”
“We didn’t even touch the hill because you didn’t let us! Don’t let them fool you!” The Du’s replied, angered by the lies.
Lu Zhong cautiously looked over the two families’ squad standing opposite to each other. He sensed that something strange was going on and though one of the sides wanted to fool him, he did not have any useful evidence to make a fair decision.
Peeking from the side, Lu Feng was amused by this whole situation, ‘This Ye Wei is quite a character. Lu Zhong usually isn’t easily deceived.’
“I will not interfere with the dispute between you! Our task must be completed, so stop wasting my precious time! All of you, come up the hill with me to search this area once more!” Lu Zhong pondered for just a moment then gave his orders, “I want every inch of the bay area dug three feet deep!”
Lu Zhong decided to stay out of the argument, he did not care who was buried under the ground if it was not the Supreme who died around the region centuries ago.
“Yes! That’s a wise decision, Mister!” The Du’s were ecstatic. With the Lu’s backing their cause, they marched up the hill while scornfully looking down on the Ye’s.
Ye Wei, Ye Zhong and the rest were looking somber.
“This hill belongs to the Ye’s, our history and pride were buried on this hill!” Ye Wei said furiously, paused and ground his teeth after saying each word.
Lu Zhong cried out, “I do not care who is buried here. How dare you blocking my way?! He is interrupting a Lu family operation! Kill him!”
Du’s were waiting for this moment, excited to see the Ye family getting destroyed by the Lu’s.
The Ye squad’s eyes went bloodshot, Ye Wei in particular was ready to charge forth. Knowing that their ancestral burial grounds will be stepped on by the enemies, none of them could remain calm.
The Ye’s did not take a move, they all stood still and looked towards Ye Wei.
Although Ye Wei was seldom home, they were all aware that throughout the years Ye Wei had become the family’s soul, a person they all admired.
To everyone on the squad, Ye Wei was as influential as the Ye Patriarch.
Ye Wei extended his fingers, with his Qi Sword he drew a three feet wide line on the dirt between the Du’s and the hill. “Who crosses this line, will be dead!” He shouted.