Chapter 11. Activation of the Four Deities (1)

"What? A meeting of the young masters?"

"Yes."

Yan Wei did not even look at Yan Zhiping. He was flipping through several documents, reading them quickly, a familiar sight.

"Originally, there was an annual meeting among the young masters of the seven major families. However, the year when mandatory attendance is required is once every five years. This year is one of those years."

Yan Zhiping's face showed a hint of confusion.

"Am I going?"

"Is there a problem?"

"No, no! There isn't."

Yan Wei handed over a folded piece of paper. Yan Zhiping received it respectfully.

"This is the permit for the meeting. It will be held in Hefei, Anhui Province, forty-five days from now. To arrive on time, you should leave at least fifteen days before the meeting."

For a master of lightness techniques, it could be traversed in just five days if they pushed themselves. However, they would need to cross the Yangtze River, and the terrain would be unfamiliar. Moreover, to attend the meeting in good condition, it would be appropriate to leave fifteen days in advance.

"The Blue Eagle Team will escort you. Have a safe trip."

Yan Zhiping's eyes widened.

"The Blue Eagle Team?"

"Not all of them. I will assign one squad, and the leader of the Blue Eagle Team will accompany you."

The Blue Eagle Team was an elite unit among the Yan family's military organizations. Although the number of members was not large due to the nature of the Yan family, each member was an outstanding master.

Sending such a unit, which was rarely deployed outside, indicated how important the meeting of the young masters was.

"Father..."

"Speak."

Yan Zhiping showed hesitation.

"Shouldn't my elder brother be sent to the meeting of the young masters?"

Yan Wei, who had been flipping through documents, raised his head to look at Yan Zhiping.

Yan Zhiping flinched.

He had seen his father's gaze countless times, but it was still terrifying. It was as transparent as the glass brought from the Western Regions.

'Brother... I'm still afraid of Father.'

He swallowed hard and waited for a long time.

"Your elder brother is in danger."

"Huh?"

What did he mean by his brother being in danger?

Yan Wei turned his posture towards Yan Zhiping.

"Have you not noticed that your elder brother has changed a lot recently?"

Yan Zhiping was taken aback.

His father, who usually spoke very little except about martial arts, studies, family rules, and etiquette, had never asked such a personal question before.

"He seems to have changed a bit."

"Not a bit."

"..."

"His personality and martial arts achievements are not the same as the Haozheng I have seen. It's as if he has become a different person."

Yan Zhiping also strongly felt the changes in Yan Haozheng.

Not only in martial arts but especially in personality. Recently, his brother seemed very mature.

"But what do you mean by saying he is in danger?"

"Of course, the young masters from the Nangong family will also attend the meeting."

"Oh!"

"Given Haozheng's current personality, he will not try to avoid trouble. Neither the trouble he can bear nor the trouble he cannot bear."

Yan Zhiping bit his lip.

He understood why his father wanted him to attend the meeting. In a way, his father was sending him to protect his brother.

"Father, could you... ask Brother for his opinion just once?"

"..."

"I beg you, Father."

Yan Wei's eyes deepened.

After staring at his second son for a moment, he nodded.

"I will."

"Thank you."

"Go now."

Yan Zhiping bowed and left the family head's room. Yan Wei, who had been watching the closed door, resumed flipping through the documents.

But only for a moment.

Yan Wei put down the documents and leaned back in his chair. His eyes, which were looking up at the sky, showed a hint of confusion.

"Change..."

* * *

Whoosh!

The heavy iron rod cutting through the air made a menacing sound.

"Huff, huff!"

His whole body ached. Not just his legs, but his waist, back, and shoulders were all sore.

The iron rod was as tall as Yan Haozheng and weighed nearly twenty kilograms. He had been swinging it from after dinner until well past midnight, and it was a miracle he hadn't collapsed.

Thud.

A drop of blood fell from his hand gripping the iron rod.

He couldn't push himself any further. Yan Haozheng thrust the iron rod forcefully.

Thud!

The tip of the rod struck the rock, causing it to tremble slightly.

A strong vibration traveled through his hand, wrist, elbow, and shoulder, making all the joints in his upper body creak. Without the strength to hold on, his blood-soaked hand slipped.

"Ugh."

Clang!

The iron rod fell to the ground.

Yan Haozheng, breathing heavily, looked at his hands with a troubled expression.

"Is this still my limit?"

Originally, the weapon Yan Haozheng practiced with was a sword.

However, his constitution did not suit the sword. He was better off fighting with bare hands using the meat palm technique.

After fighting and fighting, he finally found a weapon that suited him.

It was a massive axe attached to a six-foot pole. Although it weighed several dozen kilograms, it was a weapon that perfectly matched his temperament and martial arts.

Later, he even attached a chain to the axe, creating a storm that filled a radius of over ten meters.

'I can't even handle a mere iron rod properly.'

To use a long and heavy axe, one must be a master of staff techniques, spear techniques, and hand axes. Yet, he couldn't even swing an iron rod weighing less than twenty kilograms for a whole night.

He had felt this difficulty during his magic cultivation as well. The road ahead seemed quite treacherous.

Yan Haozheng picked up a hand axe he had left under a tree.

His palm, which was torn, stung. He fiddled with the axe a few times before throwing it at a fairly thick tree.

Whirr! Thud!

The axe embedded itself in the tree.

'The feeling is good.'

Yan Haozheng, leaning against the tree with the axe embedded, looked up at the sky.

'I know the path to becoming stronger. I will put in the effort required, no more, no less.'

He had to prevent the family's destruction. To do that, he needed to become stronger first.

But that alone was not enough.

'I can't keep waiting forever.'

Even if he regained his former martial arts skills in a year and a half, it would still be a problem.

Using all kinds of tactics and strategies against the Black Shadow Sect's martial power, he could prevent the family's destruction. However, there would be casualties, and his father or younger brother might be among them.

That... would be a truly unbearable situation.

'I need a contingency plan to protect the family, whether it's information or martial power.'

He needed to build enough strength that tactics and strategies would be unnecessary. Even with such strength, one could still be caught off guard.

'The problem is...'

Yan Haozheng's face crumpled.

"I don't know who they are."

After learning martial arts from his master, the first thing he did was to find the culprit.

Of course, he couldn't do it alone. So, he joined the Black Path, known for its superior information-gathering capabilities compared to the White Path, to track down the culprit.

However, he still didn't know who the culprit was.

"The only thing I'm sure of is that they're not from the Black Path."

The martial arts were clearly from the White Path. Although the origin was hard to trace, the characteristics of the true qi and the methods of exerting force were unmistakably those of the White Path.

"To deploy such a large number of high-level experts, it would have to be at least one of the Nine Great Sects or the Seven Major Families."

And most importantly.

"...There's a high probability of a traitor within the family."

It wasn't certain. There was no evidence, and his father was not someone who would tolerate a traitor.

But if there really was a traitor within the Yan family?

Yan Haozheng, who had been deep in thought, muttered.

"Fine, there's no need to worry about things I can't know right now. I must be a funny guy. I'm not usually this thoughtful."

It was because he had never died or returned before. And because the family he needed to protect was his.

'Anyway, I need to expand my information and martial power. To quietly build my strength without anyone knowing... '

Yan Haozheng's eyes sparkled.

'Is there no other way?'

Originally, he planned to approach after dealing with the family's affairs. But thinking about it, he realized he could use 'him' to achieve a two-fold benefit.

'Even if it doesn't provide substantial help, just borrowing his name would be a great help.'

Yan Haozheng stood up.

"Alright, I've decided."

"What have you decided?"

Yan Haozheng was startled.

He looked beyond the forest. At the entrance to the grove leading to his residence, Yan Wei was standing with his arms crossed.

"Father."

"Were you practicing?"

Yan Haozheng was inwardly flustered. He had been so deep in thought that he had inadvertently spoken out loud, and he wondered if his father had heard.

"When did you come?"

"I just arrived. I called, but you didn't answer."

'Phew.'

He let out a sigh of relief. From his father's expression, it seemed he hadn't heard what he said.

"Why did you come here?"

Yan Wei looked at Yan Haozheng's hands.

"Your hands are covered in blood."

"Ah, this? It's nothing."

"Did you swing it until your hands were in this condition?"

"It's nothing."

He shook his hands as if it was nothing. Despite the pain, his expression didn't change.

"Are you not practicing with the sword?"

"Yes."

"Our family has many excellent martial arts, but we lack martial arts books on staff and spear techniques."

"It's fine."

He knew high-level staff and spear techniques. Moreover, his true martial arts were not staff or spear techniques.

"It's not fine. You are the heir of the Yan family. You should practice martial arts that are appropriate for your position."

"Forcing myself to learn martial arts that don't suit me is not right."

"What?"

Yan Wei was quite surprised.

"Are you saying the sword doesn't suit you?"

"Yes."

"Why do you think so?"

"There's no need to think or consider. Martial arts are a study that is felt with the body before the mind. If I focus on my body and find a way to move more efficiently, I should follow that path."

"Are you saying staff techniques are the path for you?"

"More accurately, it's something else, but I need to master staff and spear techniques first."

"Mastering staff techniques... Are you thinking of using a crescent moon axe or a military battle axe?"

This time, it was Yan Haozheng's turn to be surprised.

'He's well-versed.'

Contemporary martial artists were experts in their own weapons but generally had low understanding of other weapons.

His father was different. From just a few words, he could recall heavy weapons, indicating deep expertise in weapons.

It was true that one should be able to use various weapons and still perform at their original level. It wasn't something one could say lightly without actually using them.

"I plan to learn various techniques. Anyway, why did you come here?"

Yan Wei knew his son was trying to change the subject.

He went along with it. Or perhaps he chose the more curious path.

"This year, the meeting of the young masters from the seven major families is a gathering of all of them."

Yan Haozheng's eyes sparkled.

'That's right.'

He couldn't remember many details, but he remembered the meeting of the young masters. He remembered attending it with his younger brother, but due to his low self-esteem, he didn't even speak to others.

He didn't even talk to his brother on the way there.

After a moment's pause, Yan Wei spoke again.

"I want Zhiping to attend the meeting, not you."

"Is that so?"

"Yes."

Yan Haozheng nodded.

"I understand."

Yan Wei's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Is that fine with you?"

"If that is Father's wish, I will accept it. I'm just worried that the Nangong family might target Zhiping. However, since it's a gathering of many people and not a personal matter, they won't do anything to damage their reputation."

"Are you sincere?"

"Of course. Please pay more attention to Zhiping before he goes. He might feel burdened going there because of his foolish elder brother."

Yan Wei, who had been staring at Yan Haozheng, shook his head.

"Let me ask again."

"Huh?"

"Do you not want to attend the meeting?"

Yan Haozheng said with a shudder.

"Of course not."

"..."

"Who would want to see a bunch of immature brats showing off? Just thinking about it makes me cringe."