Chapter 58: Li Wuyou, Who Alarmed Li Xingge
After returning to the clan, the Grand Elder summoned several elders to discuss who should take the post of County Lieutenant.
The decision to seize the office of County Lieutenant was one the Grand Elder had reached only after deep deliberation.
The County Lieutenant commanded all the troops of the entire county and was responsible for public order, tax collection, and other important affairs.
The Li Clan had now already faintly become Baihe County’s foremost great family, yet it still lacked an official identity on the open stage. If it could seize the post of County Lieutenant, then it would truly have hands and eyes that reached everywhere, holding power in both the open and hidden worlds.
After much discussion, the final choice fell upon the Grand Elder’s grandson, Li Xingcong, to take the post of County Lieutenant.
This was not favoritism on the Grand Elder’s part, but rather because of Li Xingcong’s special identity. He was not only the grandson of the Li Clan’s Grand Elder, but also the son-in-law of the Zheng family. With the support of those two identities, Li Xingcong would sit on the office of County Lieutenant as steadily as Mount Tai.
After obtaining Li Xingge’s approval, the Li Clan immediately sent people to the prefectural offices to grease the proper channels.
The Li Clan had been passed down for more than two hundred years, so it naturally had some connections in the prefectural offices. Though those people did not hold especially high positions, their words at least carried weight.
The next day,
news spread from the county yamen.
County Lieutenant Song Tianyang had colluded with adviser Song Tao, deceiving those above and below them alike while embezzling on a massive scale. After the matter was exposed, the two men committed suicide out of fear of punishment.
Soon afterward, County Magistrate Gu Zhiting submitted a memorial recommending Li Xingcong, a talented young member of Baihe County’s prestigious Qingfeng Li Clan, for the post of County Lieutenant. After the prefectural offices gave the matter their “careful consideration,” Li Xingcong took office.
At that point, the Li Clan had become powerful in both the open and hidden spheres.
As for the name of the Qingfeng Li Clan and that of the youthful prodigy Li Xingge, after the destruction of the four great families, they had already reached an unprecedented height and were now spreading rapidly into the surrounding counties.
......
On this day,
inside the Family Head’s study,
Li Xingge sat facing the Grand Elder.
“Grand Elder, I have arranged three Spirit-Gathering Arrays in the back mountain. Cultivating within them allows one to achieve twice the result with half the effort. However, the Spirit-Gathering Arrays require a certain amount of time to gather the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, so they may only be activated once every so often. Those permitted to enter the Spirit-Gathering Arrays for cultivation must either be upper ranks of my Li Clan or true geniuses of the clan. We must make certain they are used to their greatest value.”
Li Xingge instructed.
The Grand Elder, meanwhile, was already completely stunned.
Naturally, he knew what Spirit-Gathering Arrays were.
Rumor had it that one reason the great families of the prefectural city flourished generation after generation was because they possessed Spirit-Gathering Arrays within their clans. Spirit-Gathering Arrays could accelerate a cultivator’s cultivation speed and quickly raise his strength. That was part of the foundation of a great prefectural family.
After all, if one side cultivated for a single day and gained the same result as the other side would in two, then one step of difference would become step after step of difference.
Yet only formation masters could set up Spirit-Gathering Arrays. Formation masters themselves were already scarce, and the cost of constructing even a single Spirit-Gathering Array was enormous. For ordinary Qi-Blood Realm families, such a thing was scarcely more than a fantasy.
And now the Family Head was telling him that the Li Clan not only had Spirit-Gathering Arrays, but three of them at once?
At times like these, the Grand Elder truly wondered whether he was dreaming.
“Please rest assured, Family Head. I will definitely ensure that the Spirit-Gathering Arrays are put to their fullest use.”
“How is the Clan Martial Pavilion coming along?”
Li Xingge suddenly asked.
“It has already been completed. The Clan Martial Pavilion has seven levels in total. The first through third floors store Yellow-Grade low-, mid-, and high-level cultivation arts and martial techniques respectively, while the fourth floor and above store Profound-Grade cultivation arts and martial techniques. All the cultivation arts and martial techniques seized in the previous campaign have already been sorted, classified, and stored within the Clan Martial Pavilion.”
The Grand Elder reported.
Li Xingge gave a thoughtful hum, then took out the pile of Mid Profound-Grade cultivation arts and martial techniques granted by the System and handed them all to the Grand Elder.
The moment the Grand Elder looked at them, his scalp went numb.
“These will become part of my Li Clan’s foundation from this day on. No one below the core upper ranks may cultivate them. If they are leaked to outsiders, kill without mercy!”
Li Xingge said sternly.
The Grand Elder came back to himself and answered in a trembling voice, “Yes.”
Li Xingge thought for another moment and then said slowly, “Appoint Fourth Elder Li Xuanzong as the elder of the Clan Martial Pavilion. He is to guard the pavilion, and there must be no mistakes.”
Then he took out the one hundred Body Tempering Pills granted by the System and handed them all to the Grand Elder, ordering him to distribute them among the clan’s Physical Body Realm cultivators to increase their strength.
After arranging everything, Li Xingge suddenly thought of the little girl he had brought home.
This was the legendary Daughter of Fortune.
Ever since taking her in, the Li Clan’s fortune had begun increasing at astonishing speed. Without her, the Li Clan could never have advanced to a Level 2 family so quickly.
Because of that, he asked, “How is that girl Wuyou doing?”
This useful tool was one he had to keep firmly in his grasp.
The Grand Elder shook his head somewhat helplessly.
“That little girl does not blend in very well. Since she was brought into the clan, she has not spoken a single word to any of the clansmen.”
Hearing this, Li Xingge could not help feeling a headache coming on.
Perhaps it was because of all those unpleasant things she had suffered in the past.
If he could not cultivate in her a sense of belonging to the family, then if this Daughter of Fortune flew away in the future, the Li Clan would suffer a devastating loss.
Thinking of that, Li Xingge decided to go see her in person.
A short while later, under the guidance of one of the Li Clan maidservants, Li Xingge arrived before Li Wuyou’s small courtyard.
“Family Head, Miss Wuyou lives here.”
Li Xingge nodded, dismissed the maidservant, and stepped into the courtyard.
The moment he entered, he saw the small figure seated within the stone pavilion.
She wore a purple ru skirt, her hair tied in a ponytail. Resting her face in both hands, with her elbows propped on the stone table, she gazed toward the horizon, apparently lost in thought.
“Wuyou.”
Li Xingge called softly.
Inside the pavilion, the little girl’s body trembled. Then she quickly turned around with an expression of utter disbelief.
The moment she saw that it was Li Xingge, she rubbed her eyes with both hands. Once she had confirmed that she was not mistaken, she ran over at once and threw herself into his arms.
“Uncle.”
Li Wuyou called out in a sweet, clear voice.
She had thought Uncle had already forgotten about her.
Li Xingge stroked her smooth hair and then set her back down.
After being carefully looked after by the Li Clan for this stretch of time, little Wuyou’s complexion had almost fully recovered.
Her face was rosy, her skin fair, and her large watery eyes were deep and bright. Her long eyelashes fluttered as they blinked. Combined with the luxurious and delicate ru skirt she wore, she looked like some little princess in the imperial palace, dearly cherished by the emperor. There was no trace left of the sallow, skin-and-bones little beggar she had once been.
“I heard from the Grand Elder that you never speak to the clansmen. Is it because someone among them is bullying you?”
Li Xingge asked softly as he stroked her head.
Little Wuyou shook her head.
“Then why?”
“I do not want to talk. I do not want to be with them.”
Li Wuyou bit her lip as she answered.
Li Xingge could not help frowning.
Seeing that, Wuyou thought Li Xingge had become angry. Panic flickered in her eyes. Tugging nervously at the hem of her skirt, she seemed at a complete loss for what to do.
“Uncle, you have not come to see me in so long. Do you not want me anymore?”
Li Xingge’s body trembled.
That Daughter of Fortune he had lured home absolutely could not be allowed to run away.
So he hurriedly said, “Of course not. It is only that Uncle has been very busy. There are many bad people waiting for Uncle to face them.”
So Uncle did not stop liking her.
It was only that bad people were keeping him from coming to see her.
Then I will kill those bad people.
At that thought, little Wuyou clenched her fists tightly.
Her jewel-like pupils suddenly turned a strange crimson color.
A violent aura filled with killing intent began to spread from Li Wuyou’s body, making Li Xingge’s heart jolt in shock.
“Li Wuyou!”
Li Xingge immediately barked at her.
Little Wuyou’s body trembled, and that frightening aura receded like a withdrawing tide. Her pupils became clear once more.
Seeing that Li Wuyou had returned to normal, Li Xingge could not help letting out a long breath of relief.
Li Wuyou could no longer be allowed to live here alone.
If someone angered Li Wuyou one day, then something terrible would likely happen.
“Uncle, I want to cultivate. I want to help you!”
Li Wuyou suddenly said in a solemn tone.
“Cultivate? Help me?”
“That is right. If there are bad people who go against Uncle, I want to kill them!”
Li Wuyou said in a childish voice, yet the words spoken in that childish voice were enough to chill the heart.
“It is fine. Uncle’s enemies are Uncle’s to face. You only need to grow up properly and obediently.”
Li Xingge said with a smile.
In truth, Li Xingge did not want Li Wuyou to come into contact with cultivation. He only wished to keep her penned up and draw on her fortune for his own use.
He feared Li Wuyou.
Her talent was simply too terrifying.
A Daughter of Fortune was not some joke. Once she truly stepped onto the path of cultivation, she might very well slip beyond his control.
Yet Li Wuyou still shook her head.
In her small mind, only by killing all of Uncle’s enemies would Uncle have time to come and see her.
Li Wuyou’s stubbornness gave Li Xingge a splitting headache. Left with no better option, he could only nod in agreement.
He took Li Wuyou with him to the Clan Martial Pavilion.
The newly built Clan Martial Pavilion was more than ten zhang tall, a seven-story tower whose eaves curled upward, with carved dougong brackets, sculpted beams, and painted rafters.
Beneath the pavilion, ten Li Clan cultivators stood in two rows.
The moment they saw Li Xingge arrive, they all bowed together.
“Family Head!”
“Open the Clan Martial Pavilion!”
“Yes!”
The heavy pavilion doors were slowly pushed open.
Holding Li Wuyou by the hand, Li Xingge led her inside.
Within the Clan Martial Pavilion were already stored several hundred cultivation arts and martial techniques. In time, all of these would become part of the family’s foundation.
Li Xingge led Li Wuyou straight to the fourth floor.
The things stored there were all Profound-Grade cultivation arts and martial techniques.
“Wuyou, the first thing needed for cultivation is a cultivation art. These are the finest cultivation arts my Li Clan possesses. Go choose for yourself.”
Little Wuyou nodded.
At present, the Li Clan still did not have many Profound-Grade cultivation arts and martial techniques, and they were all placed in the most prominent location.
Yet Li Wuyou ignored them completely.
Instead, she went straight to an inconspicuous bookshelf, stood on tiptoe, and removed the only cultivation art placed there.
The moment Li Xingge saw the book in her hands, his pupils contracted violently.
《Bloodfiend True Art》!