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Chapter 21: Frog In The Well
Chapter 21: Frog In The Well
Chapter 21: Frog In The Well
Chapter 21: Frog In The Well
Bai Clan
Bai Fanyu raised his wine cup with a smile. “Esteemed Envoy.”
The other upper ranking members of the Bai Clan followed suit in offering their toasts. That elderly envoy had been constantly eyeing the women who were gracefully dancing below, so he was a bit late in lifting his cup in the same manner. “No need to be overly courteous,” he said.
After downing the cup, Bai Fanyu said, “Esteemed Envoy, tomorrow is the official Transcendence Ceremony, and we, the Bai Clan, invited the 3 Regions neighboring the Ruyang Region. The Lin’an Region’s Guo Clan, the Yecheng Region’s Zhao Clan, and the Gaoyang Region’s Gao Clan are all coming here to attend this grand occasion, which might not even appear once in hundreds of years. I sincerely wish that the Esteemed Envoy will do us the honor of participating in the ritual of the Transcendence Ceremony with us!”
The elderly envoy let out an ambiguous smile as he said, “Naturally, when a genius breaks through to the Transcendent realm, it deserves congratulating! But… this time, His Excellency the Prince’s conferral of rewards is different from the old rules.”
When the people of the Bai Clan heard this, they all wore happy expressions. They thought that since Bai Xiuyu broke through to the Xiantian realm at such an age, he had earned the Prince’s regard and would be granted with even more rewards.
Bai Fanyu noticed the elderly envoy’s expression so he didn’t celebrate too early. He glanced at Bai Xiuyu, who was by his side, and calmed his thoughts.
Bai Xiuyu said in a serious voice, “May I dare ask Esteemed Envoy, how will this time be different from the old rules?”
The elderly envoy was careful in collecting himself momentarily. When addressing a Xiantian transcendent, it was important to show a necessary level of respect. “Sir Bai, His Excellency the Prince passed down his decree, saying that the Bai Clan’s conferred land wouldn’t change, but the rewards befitting of a Xiantian will still be granted in accordance with the old rules. Slaves, maids, gold, silk, and spiritual medicines will all be rewarded in full.”
Bai Xiuyu was the son of Bai Fanyu, but while the elderly envoy could still be somewhat arrogant towards Bai Fanyu, he had to refer to Bai Xiuyu as someone superior to him. He knew that this young Xiantian realm martial artist was the core of the Bai Clan, so he was also the only person in the entire Bai Clan who could act irreverently towards him.
The banquet became absolutely silent as the expressions of the people from the Bai Clan changed greatly. Among their expressions was anger and astonishment. They simply couldn’t comprehend this treatment.
“Why is this so?” Bai Fanyu asked urgently.
The elderly envoy shook his head and said, “Even as the envoy, I cannot hope to understand the meaning behind the will of the edict of His Excellency the Prince. When I met with His Excellency briefly, he only told me his command, and I did not dare to ask more.”
Bai Fanyu saw the reserved expression of the elder and sneered inwardly. He turned around and gave several words of instruction to his servants, who went off to fulfill his orders.
When the elderly envoy saw this act, he didn’t say anything and just lightly stroked his beard.
After a short while, a servant entered, carrying a tray. Bai Fanyu lifted the cloth covering the tray, and immediately, dazzling golden rays of light were cast throughout the palace hall.
“Esteemed Envoy came so far, all the way from Youyang City. It must have been a tiresome journey, so we wanted to offer our humble regards. Something like this cannot even be considered a tribute, but we hope that you will kindly accept our offering,” Bai Fanyu said.
In his seat, Bai Xiuyu’s body became surrounded with clear qi, revolving in a complete revolution. It was actually the Shangqing Qi!
TL: Reminder that this Shangqing Qi secret method is one of those passed down to every clan. Xu Disheng originally received a copy from Xu Qinying, but he didn’t end up cultivating it because it wasn’t useful to him.
It was no wonder that he could transcend to the Xiantian realm in just 19 years. He wasn’t just simply cultivating Martial Techniques. Instead, he was using this secret qi cultivation method.
With clear qi roiling around his body, his mood was clearly not as tranquil as his expression implied. But with Bai Fanyu here serving as the Patriarch, he did not open his mouth to interrupt. He just closely eyed the elderly envoy, not saying a word.
The elderly envoy looked at the gold upon the tray and said with a smile, “The Bai Clan is much too kind.” He then continued in a quiet voice, “The reason why Sir Bai was not conferred any titles or land this time is for two reasons.”
“I’d love to hear the details.”
“First, those presiding over the neighboring several Regions all have Xiantians, and we weren’t sure whether the Bai Clan was willing to migrate far away,” the envoy explained.
“Our Bai Clan is aware of this. The Ruyang Region is where our Bai Clan originated, so we aren’t really that willing to migrate elsewhere. However, the Xu Clan which presides over this Region… does not have a Xiantian,” Bai Xiuyu finally said, unable to contain himself any longer.
Bai Fanyu glanced at him, but didn’t say anything.
The elderly envoy chuckled and stroked his beard. “The second reason, well, that would have something to do with the Xu Clan. I heard from a guard in Youyang Palace that this matter is related to that event 10 years ago where one of the Xu Clan’s children joined the Dao Palace. However, the other details regarding this matter are a closely guarded secret, so I don’t dare to say more.”
“Could it be that this child from the Xu Clan broke through to the Xiantian realm? How could this be!? At that time he was just five years old… by now, he would only be 15 years old!”
“In recent years, I haven’t heard of there being anyone who broke through to the Xiantian realm within the Youyang Dao Palace,” the elderly envoy said.
“Dao Palace? So is this supposed to mean that if someone enters the Dao Palace, they can just break all of the old rules of conferral? This is too unfair to our Bai Clan!” Bai Xiuyu seethed, his tone becoming angry. In the end, he was still young. Although his talent was exceptional and he had transcended to the Xiantian realm, he was still unable to fully control his mood.
“Shut your mouth!” Bai Fanyu turned around and said angrily. He hastily turned back around to look at the elderly envoy to examine his expression. Sure enough, his face had turned serious.
“Sir Bai, I still ask that you watch your tongue, in order to avoid bringing any unwanted disasters upon yourself,” the elderly envoy said eventually, gently chiding him. It was unclear what he was thinking, as his face returned to normal.
Bai Xiuyu was also aware that he misspoke, so he immediately offered his apologies, but the envoy didn’t say anything.
After 3 rounds of alcohol, the elderly envoy said, “I’m feeling a bit tired. What time is the ceremony tomorrow?”
Bai Fanyu was sizing up his words and body language. He saw that the elderly envoy was always looking at the dancing women down below, so he had a good estimate of his state of mind. “Esteemed Envoy, the ceremony starts tomorrow at 9 in the morning. Since you are tired, I will ask our servants to bring you to your resting quarters,” he said, turning around to give out orders. “Send those dancers in the lower hall to the Esteemed Envoy’s quarters.”
“As you command, Patriarch.”
Night fell in Jiangdu City, and in the Bai Clan Patriarch’s study…
“Father, what is the meaning of Dao Palace this, Dao Palace that?! Just what kind of existence is this Dao Palace?” Bai Xiuyu couldn’t control his mood, and his expression was ugly.
“One time, there was a Xiantian martial artist who was conferred a Region, and he spoke nonsense and slandered the Dao Palace. The next day, his entire clan was mysteriously wiped out, and His Excellency the Prince issued an order, taking back the fiefdom and eliminating their name. You tell me, what kind of existence do you think the Dao Palace is?” Bai Fanyu said furiously. “Even the Prince himself is a disciple of the Dao Palace! You seriously misspoke today!”
“But now that I’m at the Xiantian realm, His Excellency should view me with extreme importance. Without a fiefdom, it doesn’t match up to my identity as a Xiantian realm martial artist!” Bai Xiuyu was full of resentment. “Besides, now that I successfully cultivated the secret cultivation method, Shangqing Qi, my fighting strength at this time is unparalleled. Although the old ancestor of the Guo Clan, Guo Nansu, has been at the Xiantian realm for 10 years, he is only a Xiantian through Martial Techniques, so even he might not be my match! Just what pretext does the Xu Clan think they have to rule over this Region? I can eliminate the Xu Clan with just the flip of my hand, so why do I have to continue to suffer this humiliation beneath someone else’s rule?”
“This matter of you successfully cultivating the secret Shangqing Qi still should not be told to others at this time. But right now, you have no choice but to reveal it. Once I pass these cultivation books onto you, and we report this matter to Youyang City, the Prince should look upon you with importance. We should ask the Prince to reissue his edict and confer us a fiefdom,” Bai Fanyu replied.
“We can only proceed like this. But Father, there’s one thing. About the Xu Clan’s Xu Qingcheng…” Bai Xiuyu said.
Bai Fanyu snorted and said, “Okay. Tomorrow at the ceremony, Father will assist you in asking the Xu Clan for her hand.”
“Thank you, Father.” Bai Xiuyu was now at the Xiantian realm, but he still continued to treat Bai Fanyu in a respectful manner.
Before Bai Xiuyu broke through to the Transcendent realm, he already adored Xu Qingcheng.
Just like him, she also had Grade 5 Dao Channels. She was beautiful, possessed an extraordinary aptitude, and was given countless resources by the Xu Clan to assist with her cultivation. Her progress was extremely rapid just like him, and she also cultivated the secret Shangqing Qi.
But Xu Qingcheng had always been rather indifferent towards him. When he went to the Xu Clan several times, he had hardly been able to see her.
Now that he had finally taken a step forward and entered the Xiantian realm, whenever he thought about that sharp and bright girl in a white dress, he felt a pressing desire for her. He could envision that girl in his embrace, and he could imagine her proud gaze becoming submissive right before his eyes. He could only fantasize about how great of a satisfaction that would bring him.