Inheritance

by Gore, A. P.

  Li Shua shuddered. It was too soon. There were two days remaining on the month’s timeline, and Wei’er had promised that he would be back by then. But if he didn’t come, how would they win this Devil Cicada Challenge?

  “Brother Wei, can you stop for a moment?” Sun Nuan shouted from behind, her voice ragged.

  Stopping in his tracks, he hid his irritation and then turned back. He was already late by half a day. He couldn’t wait anymore. Just when he was about to finish his array carvings, the Primordial Blood Palace had reacted and began sucking his blood. If it hadn’t been for Xue Qi’s Blood Replenishing Pill, he would have died without his body cultivation active. It was a scary thing, and he had vowed to keep a bunch of pills to replenish his blood with him at all times. Otherwise, he could be in a perilous condition anytime. This had exposed his secret to Xue Qi, but he’d had no other option but to trust her about it.

  “Hurry.” He suppressed a growl. She was too slow and lacked stamina. All he wanted was to run until his lungs give up and reach Old Martial City, but he couldn’t just leave her alone. So, he had planned to get to the nearest town, Ocean Wave Town, then part ways with her. The town was only a few miles away, and he wanted to reach it as quickly as possible.

  Stopping near a tree, he leaned against its trunk. Suddenly a strange fluctuation emerged from the trunk, and he jumped forward in panic.

  Looking at the tree, he found nothing, but he drew his sword and swung at the trunk.

  “Don’t!” Xue Qi floated out of his body and reached for the tree. A beam of faint white light shot from her globe and pierced the trunk. A few breaths later, a sapling with three leaves emerged from of the trunk.

  “That’s—” Wei’s mind flashed with a thought. “—Three Leaf Asoka Tree.” A strong wood qi fluctuation emerged from the small sapling, and it felt like his wood qi lotus grew a bit larger. This was a treasure. Three Leaf Asoka trees had an enormous amount of wood qi stored in them once they reached one hundred years of age, and it could be extracted by wood cultivators for cultivation.

  His gaze travelled around to see if Heavenly Chrysanthemums Tree growing somewhere. It was another special tree that bore fruits that could heal excellently. It normally grew around Three Leaf Asoka Tree. But there was none.

  Bummer.

  Thanks to Xue Qi’s inheritance, he had this information at the ready.

  “It is. I didn’t think the Mortal Realm would grow something precious like this in the wasteland.”

  “Sister Qi, is it good?” Nuan stepped forward, peering at the tree with curious eyes.

  “Girl, if you had an innate wood Spirit Root, this would be a blessing for you. But you don’t. So, I can’t give it to you or it will destroy your body.”

  Xue Qi and Nuan had grown closer after they concocted pills together, and Nuan even called her sister Qi.

  “Senior Fei, give it to me then,” Wei said.

  “This is not useful for you. Your Spirit Root is trash, and only girls can cultivate with it.”

  Wei snorted. “I know about my Spirit Root. You don’t have to be vicious. I have a friend who might have an innate wood Spirit Root.”

  “Impossible,” Xue Qi shouted, like she’d received an insult. “Such a heavenly genius wouldn’t be born in the wasteland of the Mortal Realm. Only the Martial Realm has a tiny chance to give birth to one.”

  Wei sneered. She looked down on the Mortal Realm, and he didn’t like it. “You can see for yourself when you meet her in the future. I’ll store it in my storage ring until then.” Wei reached for the sapling.

  “Are you nuts, kid? You can’t store it in a storage ring. No living thing can be stored in a storage ring.”

  “I know, but you’ve already plucked it from its host, so it won’t live for long.” The Three Leaf Asoka tree was like a parasite. In its initial years, it could only grow inside another tree. After reaching one hundred years of age and absorbing the host tree’s life, it would grow out of the host tree. But this forest was dense and there wasn’t enough room for the Three Leaf Asoka Tree to mature. Even dead, he might have some use for this tree in the future. He also wanted to try his improved Yin Yang Liquid on it and see if it could affect it.

  “Don’t bother yourself. I’ll take care of it.” The sapling shot inside the white sphere and vanished.

  Wei frowned but said nothing. Xue Qi had so many secrets. This was just one more, so he didn’t tarry further.

  “Let’s hurry. I don’t have time to waste.” Pushing his wood qi into his legs, he activated his Basic Movement Art and took off like an arrow. Since reaching layer four of the qi Foundation Realm, he’d achieved fifty miles per hour speed, and with the qi channels mentioned in the martial skill, he’d successfully learned the first level of his Basic Movement Art. Although he hadn’t quite reached initial completion of level one, he’d still gained twenty-five percent increased speed. Now he could run at seventy-five miles per hour speed easily and maintain his qi supply for more than an hour. If only Nuan could use her movement martial skill endlessly, they would have reached Ocean Wave Town hours ago.

  “Brother Wei, please wait for me!” Nuan shouted from behind, so he slowed to keep pace with her. It took them another hour to reach Ocean Wave Town. “Brother Wei, keep this with you. It might come in your use someday.” She handed him a golden emblem.

  “Sister Nuan, we will part here. Go back to the imperial city. I’ll visit you soon to get those books from you. Can you do this favor for me?” She nodded and walked toward other side of the town. Seeing her slender figure walking away, he had a complex emotions stirring his heart. Calamity was coming for the Sun clan, and he wished Nuan could save herself from it.

  Chapter 80

  Devil Cicada Challenge

  Li Shua clenched his fingers, but he couldn’t do anything when faced with the official scroll Dan Kuang had presented. It was a fierce punch in his face, and he had no choice but to accept it.

  “Patriarch Shua, this is the official permission from the North Providence’s main office, granting the Du clan rights to issue a Devil Cicada Challenge against the Li clan.” Dan Kuang smirked, and Du Tenjua sneered who was standing next to Dan Kuang.

  Li Shua glanced at the brown scroll and its official seal and then at Dan Kuang sitting in a chair in the Li clan’s main hall. It had been twenty-eighth days, and there was no news of Wei’er. What should he do?

  He sighed dejectedly. “City Lord Dan. I accept the challenge. We will meet the Du clan at the Tigun Martial Ground in two days.” He had to accept this challenge. There was no other way.

  Du Tenjua chuckled, the wooden chair under his ass shifting a little. “Li Shua, if you think I’ll give you more time, you’ve gone senile. I’m challenging today, so get your ass to the Tigun Martial Ground in three hours.”

  Li Shua’s meridians shook with rage. If this bastard’s cultivation wasn’t four layers higher than his, he would have slapped him to death. But he had to be wary because of his cultivation base. Du Tenjua had broken through to layer five of the Bone Baptization Realm in one month, and that made him nervous.

  “City Lord Dan, we need time to prepare. Our warriors are outside of the city, and they won’t be back until tomorrow.” Somehow, he had to stall for time until Wei’er returned.

  Dan Kuang shook his head. “Patriarch Shua, you are making things impossible for me. How many favorable conditions do you want? Do you want my life? How about it?”

  What a hypocrite.

  “City Lord Dan, this is not a favor, but a request. We need two days to prepare. I hope you will consider our request,” Li Shua said. Although City Lord was a high-ranking position, that didn’t mean he could bully a clan.

  “Patriarch Shua, I’ve already given you a month.” Dan Kuang tapped the arm of the wooden chair. “I’m sorry, but I have to follow the will of the heavens and get this competition done so my Old Martial City can go back to being peaceful and flourish once again.”

  “What does thi
s have to do with Old Martial City?” The fourth elder came forward and asked, his face turning grim.

  “Li Shua, you haven’t disciplined your clan a bit,” Du Tenjua said. “They lack manners. So what, you’ve reached Bone Baptization Realm. Your clan is far from being a Tier 4 clan and you can’t speak to a city lord like this.” Du Tenjua feigned anger, and that pissed Li Shua off.

  “Brother Du, don’t be angry. Let them ask. It’s my job to answer citizens of my Old Martial City.” Dan Kuang smiled like a bastard. “Junior, since your clan killed the Du clan’s elder by trickery, my people are under duress. They can’t even sleep at night. They fear the Li clan will go crazy and attack them anytime. Many people have come to my office to break their property lease and asking for refunds as they want to leave the city because of the Li clan’s evil deeds.”

  The fourth elder’s face sank. Even Li Shua couldn’t believe this shameless follow would blame this mess on them. Wasn’t it Du Su who had attacked them first?

  “City Lord, it was—”

  Dan Kuang slapped the fourth elder hard, sending him flying backward. The fourth elder crashed into a chair behind him and spat a mouthful of blood. Dan Kuang glared at him. “Impudent fool. I gave you face, and you’re trying to talk against me? Are you rebelling against the State of Zin?” He turned his fierce gaze on Li Shua. “Li Shua, bring your clan to the Tigun Martial Ground tomorrow morning, or I’ll send guards to execute you all.”

  The city lord’s killing intent stabbed at Li Shua, and it was like he was drowning in a sea of pressure. Dan Kuang had a much higher cultivation base, and Li Shua hadn’t gotten firm control of his own power yet, so he didn’t know how to push against it. He could only endure.

  Was his Li clan going to end up like this? What would he tell his ancestors?

  Chapter 81

  Mysterious elders

  Li Shua walked through the Tigun Martial Ground’s decorated stone archway. Even after hundreds of years, it looked majestic. It was huge enough to let an elephant pass beneath it. Walking over the rough ground at the entrance, he soon reached the martial stage, paved with the toughest stone found in Old Martial City’s vicinity. The half-mile-long and wide martial stage was used in the yearly martial competitions, so it was surrounded by thousands of stones carved in a box shape.

  But today was different. It wasn’t just a martial competition, but a Devil Cicada Challenge between two powerful clans, so thousands of people had come in the early morning to grab the closest spots to the martial stage. Surprisingly, the Du clan was already here, and they only had twelve people. Were they so sure of their victory that they didn’t bring their other clan members?

  Li Shua looked over his shoulder at the Li clan members walking behind him. He had only brought nine people, excluding him. A Devil Cicada Challenge was a ten vs ten martial competition event, and these were life and death matches. One could decimate a whole clan by killing their opponents. If a clan’s top cultivators died, the clan wouldn’t survive. If they lost today and died, the Li clan would vanish by tomorrow morning. The Du clan wouldn’t let them off the hook.

  This was the truth of cultivation world. After spending years in battles, everyone in the Li clan knew about it.

  “Li Shua, you are here. I thought you’d run away and cower.” Du Tenjua chuckled. “But where’s that brat Li Wei? He bragged about killing my whole clan, and now he is hiding somewhere?”

  “It has nothing to do with you. We are here. Let’s start.” Li Shua’s gaze moved over the twelve people sitting behind Du Tenjua. Two of them were at the peak of the Foundation Realm, and the others were all layer six or seven of the Foundation Realm. Compared to the Li clan, they had immense advantage.

  Suddenly he shivered, something inside him detecting intense danger when his gaze landed on two people. One was an old man with a mole on his left cheek, and he gave off intense pressure that he couldn’t read. That person was beyond the Bone Baptization Realm. The second person was a handsome youth that also gave off immense pressure, but Li Shua could read his cultivation base. He was in layer nine of the Bone Baptization Realm.

  His heart skipped a few beats. Since when did the Du clan have access to cultivators this powerful?

  Seeing those two cultivators, Li Shua lost all hope of winning this challenge. Now he wished Wei’er didn’t come. He might face more trouble if he showed up here.

  “Are you feeling the pressure, Li Shua?” An evil chuckle slipped from Du Tenjua’s mouth.

  “External cultivators are not permitted in a Devil Cicada Challenge,” Li Shua said, but his voice lacked confidence.

  “There are no external cultivators in my camp. Everyone is from the Du clan.”

  “Impossible. Those two are not part of the Du clan.” Li Shua pointed, but avoided looking at them.

  “They joined my clan as guest elders yesterday. I have nomination letters right here.” Du Tenjua pulled a scroll out. It bore a seal of approval from Dan Kuang.

  Rage filled Li Shua’s mind, but he couldn’t explode in front of those mysterious people. That bastard Dan Kuang was behind this. Even if Li Shua died today, he would become a ghost and haunt that bastard.

  “Du Tenjua, you despicable bastard.” Master Wu stepped forward and glared at the Du patriarch.

  “Master Wu, what are you doing here?” Du Tanuja’s face darkened.

  “You invited a Marrow Cleansing Realm expert to fight for you. But you forgot that external elders must fight at the end. That’s in the rulebook.”

  “Master Wu, why are you supporting the Li clan?” The arrogance faded from Du Tenjua’s voice, and he appeared taken aback by the sudden arrival of master Wu.

  “So, what if I am? Are you planning to go against me, an Array Apprentice?” Master Wu pulled a golden token from his clothes. The token bore an Array Apprentice word marked with the official one-star seal of the Array Master’s Guild.

  The Array Master’s Guild conducted tests for array cultivators and rewarded them with official seals. Although not entirely necessary, it proved one’s cultivation in arrays, and many clients only trusted official array masters. Although it was only a recognition, they treated all array cultivators as family, and if anyone dared to go against one of them, they would retaliate using full force.

  Li Shua saw a light at the end of the dark tunnel. Maybe they could get out of this predicament without Wei’er showing up. Wei’er had formed a relationship with master Wu, and he was grateful for it now.

  Du Tenjua’s face turned grim, and he glanced at the two new elders the Du clan had invited.

  The old man with the mole chuckled. “It’s just an Array Apprentice, and it’s not like you’re fighting him. Ignore him. As long as you don’t harm him, the Array Master’s Guild won’t do anything to you.”

  Du Tenjua’s face recovered its color, but Li Shua felt like the ground below his feet was slipping away. Was there no redemption for his Li clan?

  Chapter 82

  Du Muan’s ruthlessness

  Li Shua studied his people, wondering who to send first. After the mysterious elder interrupted master Wu, he’d had nothing more to say, so Li Shua had no other choice but to go ahead with challenge. Now he had to choose one of those present from the Li clan for the first match.

  “Li Tun, you go first,” Li Shua said to a brawny youth.

  Li Tun jumped onto the martial stage and cupped his hands toward Li Shua.

  Li Shua nodded, trying to push away the pressure from his mind that had settled after he signed the life and death contract of the challenge.

  A tall youth from the Du clan jumped onto the stage, holding a long shiny sword in one hand. “Li Tun, you’ll die at my hands today.”

  Just a glance, and Li Shua knew his cultivation. Du Muan had layer six Foundation Realm cultivation, and Li Tun had layer four Foundation Realm cultivation. He was the fourth elder’s son, and a very promising one, so the Li clan had been grooming him to be a future pillar of the clan. The only ray of
hope was that Li Tun had defeated him many times before.

  “Du Muan, talk with your weapon. I’ve beaten you many times, and today won’t be any different.” Li Tun drew his sword, and a thin thread of fire enveloped it. He was going all out from the start. That was good.

  “Li Tun, you used some tricks before to beat me, but not today.” A pill appeared in his hand, and he pushed it into his mouth. “Today I’ll prove to you that I’m better than you, and your trash skills don’t matter in front of sheer power.”

  Li Shua frowned.

  “That was a Qi Enhancement Pill, and a top-grade one,” the fourth elder from Li clan shouted.

  Li Shua clenched a fist, but he couldn’t do anything. That pill was a special pill that allowed one to increase their cultivation layer temporarily in the Foundation Realm, and it had a minimal side effect on the host’s body. Qi Expansion Pills had the same effect and cost less, but it left a cultivator weak for many days, so cultivators preferred Qi Enhancement Pills. But it was so expensive that normal clans couldn’t afford it. How did the Du clan get a precious pill like that? And if a mere junior could use it, that meant the Du clan must have brought many of these pills. Was it related to those mysterious elders?

  The pressure on his heart doubled, and he hoped Li Tun could survive this.

  Du Muan’s aura surged, and his body exuded a fierce pressure as his cultivation base jumped to layer eight of the Foundation Realm.

  Li Tun’s face turned grim. Layer eight was late Foundation Realm, and Li Tun’s layer four aura could never match it.

  “Take my sword.” Du Muan charged with a smirk, a thin film of water coating his sword. “Tidal Roar Sword.” Immense pressure exuded from his sword, and Li Tun’s face turned serious.