Chapter 86

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"Brother Shouzhe, it seems your plan has made the Liu and Zhao families desperate." Liu Yuanrui's expression was extremely serious. "For the two elders to come together, it’s likely they have no good intentions. We need to prepare early."

"I underestimated them, not expecting the Liu and Zhao families to be so deranged. They even dare to cause trouble after failing to annex the land." Liu Ruolei was equally tense and regretful. "If I had known, I should have written a letter to invite our family elder to visit. With Elder Mang here, we wouldn’t have to fear them."

Over time, she had truly recognized Wang Shouzhe as her future brother-in-law and considered him one of her own.

After this marriage alliance, the Liu and Wang families would certainly return to the intimate state they were in a hundred years ago.

"It’s fine, with Elder Mang here, they won’t gain any advantage this time." Wang Shouzhe smiled calmly.

Liu Ruolei had only seen the surface of the work-for-relief program, thinking it was just Wang Shouzhe disrupting their land annexation plan, a move that pleased many.

What she didn’t know was how much resources and hope the Liu and Zhao families had invested in this plan. Without going into details, just the estates they used as collateral for loans were worth nearly six thousand gold pieces in total. How could they get them back?

At the time, "Zhong Luoxian" and "Dantai Heyu" had "entertained" the Zhao family after the Liu family, using the same act on both families to complete their plans.

As Wang Shouzhe put it, "Why use a script I worked so hard on just once?"

"Elder Mang here..." Liu Ruolei’s expression became complex. "Brother Shouzhe, did you predict they would come to cause trouble?"

Liu Yuanrui also realized, "I see, with Brother Shouzhe’s ability to plan the work-for-relief program, how could he not have been prepared for the Liu and Zhao families to cause trouble? Impressive, impressive. I see why Elder Mang would quietly come to sit in. We were worried for nothing."

"How could that be? Shouzhe still appreciates the concern of Yuanrui and Sister Ruolei." Wang Shouzhe bowed.

The Liu siblings also hurriedly returned the bow solemnly.

"The Liu and Zhao families still have a long way to go; they don’t have the right to make me go out to greet them." Wang Shouzhe sneered, then turned his gaze to Elder Mang. "Elder Mang, regarding the awakening of the ancestral bloodline, I would like to ask more. You mentioned that medium-grade potential is related to the bloodline awakening. But which comes first, the medium-grade potential or the bloodline awakening?"

"Every Xuanwu practitioner with lower-grade potential already has some manifestation of the ancestral Xuanwu bloodline. From lower-grade C to A, it’s just a matter of the degree of the Xuanwu bloodline potential." Elder Mang explained patiently. "If there are some special abilities in the bloodline, the Xuanwu potential must have already reached the medium grade. Even if it wasn’t originally, the awakening of special abilities in the bloodline will transform the Xuanwu potential to the medium grade."

"Your family’s young girl, Luoqiu, right? She must have awakened a warrior-type bloodline from one of the ancestors. However, there are many warrior-type bloodlines in human history, with various variants. Currently, her warrior bloodline is still very thin, making it hard to determine exactly what type it is. Once she reaches the Lingtai realm, her body will transform, and her bloodline will strengthen, making it clearer what type of warrior bloodline it is."

"I understand. Once the bloodline mutates, it will inevitably increase the Xuanwu bloodline potential." Wang Shouzhe nodded, feeling both happy for his family and Luoqiu, and a bit regretful that he himself had not experienced a bloodline mutation, awakening some ancient ancestor’s gene.

Indeed, what Elder Mang called a bloodline, Wang Shouzhe understood as genetic inheritance. Awakening the bloodline meant activating some dormant recessive genes in his body.

The sour feeling made Wang Shouzhe feel as if he had been stabbed in the heart.

"Actually, not only the girl named Luoqiu, but also the young insect master, must have awakened an ancient bloodline. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to communicate with the insect race on a spiritual level." Elder Mang added, "Therefore, the girl’s potential in the future should not be underestimated."

Uh...

Wang Shouzhe felt another stab in the heart.

Wait.

Besides Wang Luoqiu and Wang Luojing, Wang Lici, that brat, probably isn’t simple either. The elder had also mentioned that she might have awakened some kind of spiritual talent.

Well, Wang Shouzhe’s heart was stabbed a third time.

No!

The situation seems a bit off.

Wang Shouzhe’s brows furrowed. Logically, for a ninth-grade minor family, the bloodline should already be quite diluted. It’s already very lucky to have one special bloodline appear.

But now, three have appeared in the young generation of the Wang family!

Could it be that the ancestors’ genes are too strong, manifesting concentratedly in this generation?

That’s probably not right either. Wang Lici, Wang Luoqiu, and Wang Luojing, though sisters or nieces, have different parents, and even different grandparents and great-grandparents.

Moreover, there are many young men in the family. If it were due to the ancestors, why would the bloodline only manifest in a few girls?

There must be some connection, a connection unique to the three of them.

A cheat sheet? Dried fish? That’s probably impossible.

Wang Shouzhe fell into deep thought. There are too few clues to draw a conclusion. After this, he would gather the three girls and ask them questions to see if he can find any common points.

If he can find the connection, maybe he, Wang Shouzhe, can also benefit.

......

At the same time.

A large group of people was marching grandly toward the Wang family’s main residence.

There were elite clan members and fierce family guards. But the most eye-catching were the two carriages.

The two carriages were luxuriously made, with dragon and phoenix carvings on the carriages, pulled by four pure black horses each.

Fine horses are expensive, and their maintenance is even more costly. They need to eat well and have dedicated attendants to take care of them.

Most importantly, fine horses are more suitable for riding than for pulling carriages. Wang Shouzhe himself owned a black horse, used specifically for riding.

Indeed, these two carriages were the vehicles of the Liu and Zhao family elders. Unlike Elder Longyan, who rarely went out, the two elders of the Liu and Zhao families would come out to tour and show off their family’s prestige every year.

To ordinary people, this might seem very impressive and full of prestige.

But in the eyes of families with a longer history and stronger cultural heritage, this was undoubtedly the compensation psychology of nouveau riche who had once been inferior. They wouldn’t say anything openly, but they would surely sneer at it in private.

It’s no wonder, as the backgrounds of these two elders were not impressive. One was from a collateral branch of a major family in the Longzuo County city, and the other had been a wandering cultivator for a long time, achieving the Lingtai realm by chance, whether by luck or other means.

But even after enduring great hardships to reach the Lingtai realm, they had no place to survive in the core area of Longzuo County, where powerful families were numerous.

They were unwilling to still need to rely on powerful families or forces to survive after such a difficult ascent to the Lingtai realm.

When they followed Elder Zhouxuan south to open up new human territories, it was to establish a territory and a family, hoping to free their descendants from their humble origins.

This was not wrong. Many wandering cultivators or those from lower backgrounds who achieved the Lingtai realm would have similar thoughts and plans.

The mistake was that they betrayed their master. Especially after Elder Zhouxuan gave them the promised territory, they still chose to betray!

In the distance, some curious commoners were following from afar. People are curious and like to join in the excitement, all wanting to see what was happening today.

The Liu and Zhao families did not drive away the onlookers but instead sent some spies to stir up the crowd. This made the number of onlookers grow, including various types of people such as traveling merchants, wandering cultivators, and scholars.

Clearly, they wanted the "commoners" of Ping’an Town to know who the true masters of the town were. The popularity the Wang family gained from the work-for-relief program would be nothing in the face of absolute power. They also wanted to use others’ voices to spread the fame of "suppressing the Wang family."

Liu Shengye, the head of the Liu family.

Zhao Jinxian, the head of the Zhao family.

They each rode a tall horse, arriving at the Wang family’s main residence gate, surrounded by family guards and clan members, looking spirited and confident.

When Elder Zhouxuan chose the location for the main residence, he must have chosen the best spot. On the left was the picturesque Zhuiwei Lake, and on the right were the peaks of the Liuping Mountain range, surrounding and protecting the residence. The terrain was high, with excellent feng shui and a strategic defensive position.

To enter the main residence, one had to either take the water route to the back garden or use the only road. Along this road, there were arrow towers and other defensive facilities, and checkpoints could be set up to build multiple lines of defense.

But now, the Wang family did not obstruct the Liu and Zhao family’s people at all. They entered as if in an empty place, reaching the Wang family’s main gate.

Under the tall walls of the main residence, there was a square paved with blue stones.

Liu Shengye reined in his horse, looking up at the Wang family’s gate, which read "Ping’an Wang Family" in large characters, and sneered, "Brother Jinxian, what virtue or ability does the Wang family have to occupy this feng shui treasure land?"

Zhao Jinxian stopped beside him. He was tall and muscular, clearly more skilled in martial arts than Liu Shengye. He said calmly, "As the saying goes, feng shui rotates. If the Wang family had humbly retreated to a corner, we would have given them some face out of respect for the old ancestors. Now that they dare to challenge us, well, that’s just asking for trouble. Brother Shengye, how do you want to handle this today?"

"Handle it, ha. We will visit according to proper etiquette to avoid any gossip about our two families being nouveau riche and not knowing the rules." Liu Shengye narrowed his eyes and waved his hand. "Someone, call the gate and present the visiting card."

Liu Yongzhou, a young member of the Liu family, immediately dismounted from a yellow horse, walked forward with a tiger-like gait, took out the visiting card, and loudly announced:

"The old ancestor of the Ping’an Liu family, accompanied by the family head Liu Shengye and clan members, comes to thank the Wang family for their kindness."

Zhao Dingtian, a young standout of the Zhao family, also stepped forward and announced:

"The old ancestor of the Ping’an Zhao family, accompanied by the family head Zhao Jinxian and clan members, comes to thank the Wang family for their kindness."

The two young talents had thick Xuan Qi, and their voices were powerful, the echoes lingering for a long time.

Though they said they were coming to thank the Wang family, their attitude of coming to demand an explanation was clear.

......

Behind the Liu and Zhao family’s group, more and more onlookers gathered, including some wealthy commoners, middle farmers, merchants, and wandering cultivators.

When such a brazen call to the gate sounded,

The onlookers were in an uproar. Some who psychologically supported the Liu and Zhao families were excited, their faces flushed, and they cheered loudly.

Many who had directly or indirectly benefited from the Wang family’s kindness looked worried.

Especially recently, the Wang family had launched a large-scale dredging and land-filling project, which had saved many commoner families from disaster. This good reputation had spread widely among the commoners of Ping’an Town, so many were psychologically inclined to support the Wang family and were worried for them.

Ping’an Town had a total population of only twenty thousand.

Any major event could quickly spread throughout the town. The commoners living and thriving here all knew that the Wang family was declining, and their family elder was struggling to hold on.

However, the majority of the onlookers were just curious onlookers, purely there for the spectacle, with no particular allegiance to any family.

Stirred by the Liu and Zhao families’ call to the gate and the incitement of some people with ulterior motives in the crowd, some onlookers began to shout.

"Come out, Ping’an Wang family, don’t be a cowardly turtle."

"Come out, Ping’an Wang family, if you have the guts to act, do you have the guts to face it?" "Wang Shouzhe, come out." "Wang Longyan, come out to welcome the two elders, Zhidao and Bojun!"

Many supporters of the Wang family glared at them angrily.

But what good did that do?

Suddenly!

The Wang family’s gate opened.

Under the escort of two family guards, a tall, handsome, and heroic young man in a tight-fitting outfit walked out. His expression was calm, and his steps were steady, like a rock.

He exuded an aura of authority without anger.

Once he stepped out, he didn’t come down the steps but looked down at the surroundings from above, his brows slightly furrowed.

"Who is making a commotion at the Wang family’s main residence?"

He didn’t shout.

His words were spoken in a normal tone but spread out like invisible waves.

Even the onlookers standing dozens of yards away heard a buzzing in their ears, their hearts pounding, and they were thrown into a panic.

Immediately!

All the noisy voices came to an abrupt stop, and the scene became so quiet that a pin could be heard dropping.

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