By the way, this is my Patreon! Please support it! With enough support, I'll upload more chapters each week (I plan to upload seven a day).
There are ten chapters available in advance!
https://patreon.com/Raven_Feather?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink
-----------------------------
Mo Kuan's face visibly darkened.
"Qing Yenglan—does your clan truly believe the Mo Clan is so pusillanimous?!" An intense green aura erupted from his body, suppressing the Young Master's aura. "If the Qing Clan wishes for war—then war we shall give you!"
The Young Master's brow furrowed slightly at Mo Kuan's aura—but he remained steadfast, smiling faintly.
"Hehe—birds of a feather truly flock together. The Ink Sword Sect's leader said something similar when I visited their sect mere hours ago." The Young Master tilted his head slightly, regarding Mo Kuan and the elders with mockery. "I wonder—do you know how that conversation ended?"
Mo Kuan's aura—and those of the elders pressing down on the Young Master—vanished abruptly. The Mo Clan's powerholders wore ashen faces.
One elder couldn't help but blurt out: "Has the Qing Clan formed an alliance with the Ink Sword Sect?!"
None were fools. Had the Ink Sword Sect decided to wage war against the Qing Clan, they would've seized the opportunity to eliminate someone as prominent as the Young Master—a youth who, despite his age, had strengthened the Qing Clan on multiple occasions.
Thus, his presence here meant only one thing.
'Either he escaped the Ink Sword Sect's experts—or they agreed to cooperate against us!'
Mo Kuan gritted his teeth. He knew the Ink Sword Sect was perfectly capable of such a decision. After all—they'd also conceived the idea of assassinating the Qing Clan prodigy and framing the other party.
Clearly, the Ink Sword Sect also wanted the Mo Clan removed from Ziyu City's power structure.
Moreover, Mo Kuan knew just how sinister the Ink Sword Sect could be.
As for the possibility that the Young Master had escaped the Ink Sword Sect's experts—that seemed unlikely. Though the Young Master was a Foundation Establishment cultivator, he was still too young—barely years past his breakthrough. It was improbable he possessed profound divine abilities enabling escape.
Thus, only the alliance possibility remained.
The Young Master's eyes sparkled with amusement as he watched Mo Kuan's eyes grow troubled—hundreds of thoughts clashing within his mind. He smiled and shook his head.
"We've formed no alliance—but I told them that if they attacked me or showed insufficient sincerity, I wouldn't hesitate to ally with you, Clan Mo." His smile was fresh and sincere.
Mo Kuan frowned. "So you came here to form an alliance with us—"
The Young Master interrupted.
"Not at all. I came to deliver the same message. Show sufficient sincerity—or the Qing Clan won't hesitate to form an alliance against the Mo Clan. No—even an alliance isn't necessary. They merely need to remain neutral. I wager they'd be quite willing to do that."
Mo Kuan's and the elders' faces contorted. Their pride was wounded by the Young Master's arrogance—but more so by what his words implied.
A clear threat against them.
Worst of all—the threat was both dangerous and simple to resolve. They merely needed to agree with the Ink Sword Sect not to ally with the Qing Clan—but…
'Would those bastards truly pass up such an opportunity? They also intended to pit our clan against the Qing Clan!'
Mo Kuan frowned. Trust between the Mo Clan and Ink Sword Sect had completely shattered since the ambush on Qing Xuanling! The Qing Clan knew this perfectly—and was exploiting it to threaten both forces!
It was clearly an intrigue visible to all—yet so effective neither side could counter it!
Mo Kuan was certain the Ink Sword Sect wouldn't agree to cooperate with the Mo Clan again. Nor was he willing to do so himself.
But allying with the Qing Clan was also out of the question. What if the Qing Clan and Ink Sword Sect had already reached an agreement—waiting for the Mo Clan to lower its guard before eliminating in one strike?
Sweat beaded Mo Kuan's brow. The situation was perilous. Forming an alliance with the Qing Clan risked being eliminated in one strike. The Qing Clan possessed the power to do so.
The only reason they hadn't was the Mo Clan's backing from a greater power—the Lan Clan. If they could hold out long enough, reinforcements would arrive. But they wouldn't survive three hours under attack from both forces…
Hundreds of scenarios flashed through Mo Kuan's mind—each extremely dangerous, each leading to massive losses for the Mo Clan. In the end, he could only sigh in defeat.
"…What do you want?"
The elders rose in protest—no longer as haughty as before.
"Clan Head—you'll truly submit…?!"
"Don't fall for such lowly threats, I beg you!"
"Don't be a fool, Clan Head—just kill this brat and—!"
Mo Kuan silenced them with a killing glare. "Silence—and stop sullying the Mo Clan's dignity! If I accept something—it's because we will do it! You have no right to criticize my decisions—especially before outsiders!"
The elders lowered their heads in humiliation. Their fists clenched so tightly it seemed as if the poison hidden in their hearts would ooze out of them.
The Young Master observed everything with amusement. The scene was rather ridiculous to him. What kind of clan could be so divided?
He sighed imperceptibly and stated his conditions immediately.
"The Qing Clan has no intention of being overly harsh with you—so we'll only request a few things." The Young Master's voice was clear and devoid of greed. "Ownership of three spirit stone mines, a set of Moon Venom Serpent armor, and a second-level celestial material."
The elders erupted again immediately.
"Impossible!"
"You aim to milk the Mo Clan dry, damn brat!"
"How dare you speak in such a calm tone! You must have a blacker soul than this old fox here!"
This time, Mo Kuan didn't silence the elders—instead, he also fixed the Young Master with a killing intent. "You know we cannot fulfill this. The Mo Clan currently possesses only six spirit stone mines. We'd lose a significant portion of our income."
The Young Master's smile widened. "We're aware of that—but rest easy. We don't expect you to hand these over freely. The Qing Clan isn't in the habit of receiving things gratis. Instead—we intend to fight for everything we've requested!"
"So how about this—in two months, we hold a combat tournament between the youngest generation of both forces! One leagues for each cultivation stage—each clan sending five participants per league!"
Mo Kuan's killing intent subsided slightly—but he remained reluctant to accept. "You make it sound quite pleasant—but the Mo Clan gains nothing from this. This isn't something I can accept."
The Young Master's eyes curved into crescents. "Don't worry—you do gain something! The Ink Sword Sect has already agreed to donate resources similar to what I requested to the winners of each league! Of course—the Qing Clan, as the aggrieved party, will offer nothing~"
Mo Kuan's mouth opened and closed—taken aback. He'd never expected the Ink Sword Sect to accept such outrageous conditions!
Instinctively, he wanted to refuse—sensing something amiss. But another emotion—one he hadn't felt before—prevented refusal.
Greed.
What if the Mo Clan won all three leagues? They might elevate their strength several tiers—perhaps even reach the unfathomable power of the Qing Clan, whose limits they'd never managed to discern!
The answer had been predetermined from the start.
"…The Mo Clan accepts."
The Young Master's smile deepened.
'Another fish has taken the bait!'
---------------------------------
The Young Master returned to the Qing Clan with a satisfied smile. This time, he'd truly secured something substantial. The gains if the clan won this mini-tournament would be immense. He'd proposed something similar to the Ink Sword Sect—and they'd also accepted.
Thus, if the Qing Clan won all leagues, they'd gain at least six spirit stone mines. Worth noting—the Qing Clan currently possessed only two mines.
Spirit mines were extremely difficult to acquire—so even with the Qing Clan's rapid, stable ascent, they still couldn't match clans established over three thousand years in Ziyun City.
But this time—if the Young Master's plan succeeded—the clan's spirit stone mines would quadruple! The gains would be immense!
'Although in the end I couldn't clear up my suspicions at all...'
The Young Master sighed with concern. The primary reason he'd been sent to negotiate with the Mo Clan and Ink Sword Sect was his exceptional insight into people—tasked with discovering which of the two forces had initially proposed allying to attack the Qing Clan.
Though this might seem unimportant now—after all, both forces had clearly demonstrated hostility toward the Qing Clan—Third Elder Qing Xuyun, the clan's strategist, suspected something far deeper and darker lurked beneath it all.
Primarily—the appearance of Zi Moyan and the Art of Holy Praise. Zi Moyan himself mattered little—but the Art of Holy Praise was a technique lost millennia ago. There was no reason for such a thing to be in the hands of such a weak, foolish demonic cultivator.
Especially when the Art of Holy Praise held the potential to inflict massive losses on the Qing Clan if cultivated to its peak.
Thus, according to Qing Xuyun's predictions, Zi Moyan's appearance in that mortal village had been the first step in a plan to annihilate the Qing Clan in one strike. But did either the Ink Sword Sect or Mo Clan possess the power to execute such a scheme?
None of the elders believed so. Otherwise—they would've done it centuries ago.
Thus, only one possibility remained.
A great power—likely belonging to the demonic path—was instigating events from the shadows. Most terrifyingly, this power likely had agents throughout the city and even within the three forces—silently gathering intelligence.
Thus, it was critically important to determine whether this great power had first contacted the Mo Clan or the Ink Sword Sect. Without even discovering that—it would be impossible to track them, let alone defend against this hidden force.
The Young Master sighed heavily. Things had grown far too complicated since news of the secret realm emerged. He wasn't foolish enough to believe this sudden turbulence was unrelated to that news.
But he truly hadn't expected something like this to happen so abruptly. He'd believed the Qing Clan would enjoy several more decades of peace following that massive assault twenty years ago—especially after the tremendous strength Qing Huan had displayed then.
All his efforts had focused on breaking the Qing Clan's stagnant, obsolete mentality. He'd even achieved several small successes with various individuals. He'd truly managed to dismantle the notion that knowledge monopolization was beneficial among several talented clan members.
The Young Master believed that had been one of his greatest achievements in recent years. Thanks to that—places like the battle rings and the soon-to-open Hidden University could even be proposed before the elders.
But now—it seemed this calm, steady approach must change. Otherwise, the Qing Clan would be dragged under by the deep, powerful waves battering the world.
'It seems I'll need to officially bring Wentian, Xuanling, and those four youths under my wing sooner than planned. My destiny has been somewhat lackluster lately…'
The Young Master walked slowly toward the Green Heaven Palace, deeply pondering various matters—most of which would determine the Qing Clan's future…