Chapter 54 : Chapter 54
Chapter 54: A Chance to Leap Through the Dragon Gate
Zheng Cangfeng spoke with a face full of pride, while Zheng Lingjun beside him also straightened his back with visible honor.
An Innate Realm cultivator was an existence that stood above the common world. Once one stepped into the Innate Realm, one gained a lifespan of six hundred years. If one cultivated to Great Perfection in that realm, one could live as long as eight hundred years!
After hearing Zheng Cangfeng’s words, Li Xingge could not help drawing in a breath of cold air.
He had never expected the Dongjiang Zheng Clan’s background to be so terrifying!
Within such a tiny shallow pool, a great dragon had actually been hidden.
No wonder the Dongjiang Zheng Clan’s position in Baihe County was as steady as Mount Tai!
At the same time, he inwardly rejoiced. Fortunately, the Dongjiang Zheng Clan was a friend rather than an enemy. If he had made an enemy of them, he had no idea how much trouble he would now be facing.
“It is only a pity that my Zheng family’s Innate ancestor passed away more than five hundred years ago.”
Zheng Cangfeng said with some gloom.
If that ancestor had not died, then with his help, perhaps Zheng Cangfeng himself might also have had the hope of advancing into the Innate Realm.
Li Xingge quietly relaxed a little.
Zheng Cangfeng continued, “After our ancestor passed away, an elder of the Lingxu Sect who had long borne some enmity toward him began suppressing my Zheng family. In only a few decades, our Zheng family could no longer maintain a foothold within Lingxu Sect. After much drifting, we finally came to Baihe County and settled here.”
So that is how it was.
Li Xingge finally understood inwardly.
“Nephew, I have not told you all this for any other purpose. I merely feel that with your aptitude, it is truly too great a pity for you to remain in this little Li Clan. If you had sufficient resources poured into your cultivation, you would certainly walk much farther!”
Zheng Cangfeng looked at Li Xingge with unmistakable regret in his eyes.
If Li Xingge had enjoyed adequate resources from childhood onward, then perhaps by now he would have already become someone whom Zheng Cangfeng himself could only look up to.
“Senior, your meaning is...?”
Li Xingge probed carefully.
Zheng Cangfeng did not answer directly.
Instead, he said, “Some days ago, the descendant of a former friend of my Zheng family’s ancestor broke through into the Innate Realm and became an elder of the Lingxu Sect. Remembering the ties between his line and ours, he sent a spirit-sound message and granted one member of my Zheng family a quota to enter the Lingxu Sect. It is only a pity that most of my Zheng family’s descendants are of mediocre aptitude. Even if they entered the Lingxu Sect, they likely would not achieve much.”
Of course, the mediocrity he spoke of was only relative to the standards of the Lingxu Sect.
“So, I wish to give that quota to you. With your aptitude, once you join the Lingxu Sect, you will be like a dragon returning to the sea, like a bird entering the deep forest.”
Zheng Cangfeng said with visible excitement.
As for the outside rumors claiming that Li Xingge possessed only eighth-grade talent, Zheng Cangfeng ignored them outright.
What a joke. Had anyone ever seen an eighth-grade talent break through to Minor Accomplishment in the Qi-Blood Realm at the age of seventeen? Not even seventh-grade talent could necessarily accomplish that.
He had expected Li Xingge to be overjoyed and eagerly accept at once.
Never had he imagined that Li Xingge would merely shake his head calmly, as though entering one of Yangzhou’s top sects held not the slightest attraction for him.
How could that be possible?
Even the heirs of great commandery clans fought desperately for the chance to enter Lingxu Sect and cultivate.
Now that such a heaven-given opportunity had been placed right before Li Xingge, he was actually refusing it?
“Nephew, do you perhaps not yet understand what kind of existence the Lingxu Sect is?”
Zheng Cangfeng asked again, disbelief written across his face.
Li Xingge shook his head and said calmly, “Senior, you have already explained it very clearly just now. The Lingxu Sect is very powerful, and while this junior does yearn for it, my heart lies with the family. I only wish to fulfill the will of my ancestors and carry the Qingfeng Li Clan to greatness. I appreciate your kindness, Senior, but I cannot accept it.”
Although Lingxu Sect held immense attraction for ordinary people, he was not an ordinary person.
He was a man with the Family System.
Everything he now possessed had been brought to him by the Family System and by the family itself.
If he left both the Family System and the family behind, then all he would have left was a plain and unremarkable eighth-grade talent.
Though eighth-grade talent was already incredible in a tiny place like Baihe County, if he entered Lingxu Sect, he would be no different from some nameless passerby.
A sect like that lacked for many things, but geniuses were certainly not among them.
Eighth-grade talent was only the threshold for entry into Lingxu Sect.
Once he confirmed that he had heard correctly, Zheng Cangfeng fell silent.
No matter how he thought about it, he still could not understand how Li Xingge could refuse such an opportunity—one that, in the eyes of outsiders, was nothing less than a carp leaping through the Dragon Gate.
Since Li Xingge had refused, Zheng Cangfeng would not force the matter. He merely found it a pity.
In his eyes, only entering Lingxu Sect for cultivation would truly do justice to Li Xingge’s talent.
Then once Li Xingge grew stronger, remembering this favor, he might in turn look after the Zheng family.
“In that case, if Nephew changes his mind within the next year, you may come find me at any time.”
Zheng Cangfeng said with some regret.
Li Xingge nodded and answered with a smile, “Many thanks, Senior, for thinking so highly of me.”
“Your Li Clan still has many matters to attend to today. Lingjun and I will not delay your time here any further. When you have the chance, remember to visit my Zheng family more often.”
Zheng Cangfeng said with a smile as he stroked his white beard.
“This junior certainly will.”
Li Xingge looked entirely sincere.
“Then, Nephew, we shall take our leave first!”
...
Watching the two men’s departing backs, the smile on Li Xingge’s face gradually faded away.
With his hands clasped behind him, his gaze bright as a torch, he stood high above and looked down over everything. The fierce wind blew past, lifting his long hair into the air behind him.
He greatly enjoyed this feeling of controlling all things, of standing so high that the cold could be felt in the heights.
By now, the Song, Yan, Shen, and Lu families had become little more than names that remained without substance.
Of Baihe County’s Nine Great Families, he had already destroyed five.
The Qingfeng Li Clan was on the verge of unifying Baihe County and holding the lives and deaths of several million people in its hands!
At this moment, Li Xingge was in the very height of his spirit.
...........
The background music for this moment ought to be:
The pear blossoms in the courtyard have withered again for another year.
I stand in the clear night while moonlight spills over the empty steps.
In dreams, flutes and pipes still play the old melodies.
When the dream breaks, tears stain a face powdered with rouge.
Little Chongshan, read again and again.
.........
A short while later.
“Family Head, the forces of the four great families have now completely collapsed and can no longer pose any threat to us. Our men are currently cleansing the remaining remnants.”
The Grand Elder, the Second Elder, and Chen Shuyao approached with excited expressions, their faces flushed with exhilaration.
Their robes were all stained with quite a bit of blood, clearly showing that none of them had spared their hands just now.
“You have done very well.”
Li Xingge gave a faint laugh and offered praise.
But in the next instant, an icy killing intent bloomed in his eyes.
“Although the elites of the four great families have already been mostly wiped out, we still cannot grow careless. If you do not cut the grass by the roots, the spring wind will bring it back to life. We must uproot them completely!”
“The four great families have all stood for over a century. There may still be hidden foundations within their clans. To be safe, Grand Elder, you, the Second Elder, and Family Head Chen will each lead a force to the Yan, Shen, and Lu families and exterminate them to the last!”
The three men cupped their fists in salute, each taking a force of men and killing their way toward the three family seats.
Where they went, there would be yet another storm of blood.
As for Li Xingge, he was preparing to go to the Song Clan himself.
After all, among those families, the Song Clan had the longest heritage and the greatest strength. It was entirely possible that they still had some hidden trump card.