Xue Ding’s words shook the old man as well as Xue Wu. The Wolf King’s methods were brutal, and he had accumulated power for a long period. The major human families in Seagaze—perhaps even the Eastern Sea in general—didn’t dare speak up despite their anger. Everyone would put safety over principles, turning a blind eye to everything unrelated.
Perhaps due to his fear of Zhang Buzhou, the Wolf King didn’t go to the extremes, either. He would occasionally suppress and take advantage of the various families, but he wouldn’t touch their foundations. Even so, he would still find various reasons to uproot a couple of families every year.
This was what made all the families cautious. How could these wily old foxes not know that this was the Wolf King trying to pull the carpet from underneath them? He had always been working to uproot human power little by little. Unfortunately, Zhang Buzhou had been in isolated cultivation in recent years, refusing to meet people or manage local affairs. This was how the authority gradually slipped into the Wolf King’s hands.
The old man uttered furiously, “Outrageous imagination, outrageous imagination!”
Xue Ding sneered. “How is this an outrageous imagination? The Wolf King isn’t our match as long as all the families are allied. It’s been so many years, can these old fellows still stand this?”
“Bastard! How dare you talk to elders like this, have you not learned even basic manners all these years away from home?”
Xue Ding said coldly, “What’s the use of manners when you don’t have any bravery?”
The old man was so angry that he was trembling. Xue Wu said, “Brother, this matter is highly important and needs to be considered at length. We cannot let emotions decide since our Xue family cannot shoulder the responsibility of the outcome.”
Xue Ding replied, “I’m not being reckless. Zhao Ye or Qianye as he is known right now, we’ve both experienced his power back then, and now we know his past experiences as well. Provoking the Wolf King must mean he has great confidence!”
“But what if he’s defeated?” the old man asked.
“There’s a risk to everything, the only difference is the odds. If we must wait for absolute safety before acting, what can we even do? What have our Xue family done all these years? What has human nobility ever done? The Wolf King never waited for the perfect opportunity to attack us.”
The elder was trembling. “Scoundrel, scoundrel!”
Xue Wu stood in complete silence. His refusal to speak was actually proof that he supported Xue Ding’s idea.
The old man slammed the table heavily. “You two have grown up and are ready to spread your wings, huh? Will the two of you reach this position without the Xue family!?”
Ignoring Xue Wu’s signal, Xue Ding sneered. “How large was the Xue family business thirty years ago? How much do we have left now? Everyone knows this fact. Managing the family to this state is your so-called old wisdom? I really wonder what face you people have to meet our ancestors!”
The old man slapped the table into pieces, roaring, “Scram! I don’t want to see you in the future.”
Xue Ding got up, bowed respectfully, and simply walked off.
After Xue Ding’s departure, the old man revealed an exhausted expression. “Were our past actions really wrong?”
Xue Wu consoled him, “The Wolf King was powerful back then, and no one could restrain him. Our Xue family was lacking in talents, so there was no choice but to hide our fangs for survival. Even if we had lost some properties and businesses, we will rise again one day as long as the family and its members remain.”
The old man nodded. “Now that’s more like it. Unfortunately, that kid is too impetuous. It would be great if he’s half as wise as you are.”
Xue Wu’s only response was silence. It was at this moment that a follower rushed into the room, saying, “Eldest Master, Third Master has rounded up some private troops and formed a coalition with the Zhu and Wang families to capture the Wolf King’s wanted criminal!”
The elder shot to his feet. “What!? When did this happen?”
“Third Master sealed all news, and you were in discussion all this time. I ran over to report this matter as soon as I found the opportunity. Third Master has left with his men just now.”
The old man’s face was ashen. “What a scoundrel, throwing away the Xue family’s safety just for the clan lord position! I must settle the score with him once he returns!”
The follower replied, “Should I send someone after Third Master?”
The old man slowly sat down while shaking his head. “It’s too late. It’s also useless even if you catch up to him, Old Third wants to break off!”
Xue Wu said, “I’ll go take a look.”
“You won’t be able to dissuade your third uncle, either.”
“I just want to see if I can save his life.”
Qianye was strolling around the merchant district of Seagaze City. The streets here were lined with large stores selling all kinds of goods; it could be said that the scale of business here was well beyond Southern Blue.
Qianye visited every company but found nothing really impressive. The things he wanted were no longer goods an ordinary merchant could supply.
His grade-nine Heartgrave was currently kept inside Andruil’s space. The gun Song Zining had supplied Qianye for day-to-day use was a grade-seven sniper rifle called Radiance. It was also the highest grade mass-produced weapon in the empire. With the support of the Wings of Inception, Radiance’s firepower would reach the peak of grade-seven and fairly close to grade eight. This kind of firepower was enough for all battlefields, barring those involving a divine champion.
As for melee weaponry, East Peak was a tried weapon that didn’t need further explanation. The only things that could move Qianye right now were airship weapons. Nonetheless, these things would usually require one to place an order with the shipyard. The companies in the city rarely worked in this field.
Qianye’s eyes twitched slightly as he walked out of the trade district and heard familiar footsteps. This person had already followed him through two streets and seemed fairly adept in stealth tracking. If it wasn’t for Qianye’s extremely sharp senses, it would’ve been difficult to sense this constant footstep behind him.
Now that he had already discovered that he was being followed, Qianye left the trade district and headed toward a more remote area. The current location wasn’t suitable for an attack, and Qianye wanted to see what kind of person was targeting him.
Moments later, Qianye walked into a dilapidated area of the city, where the narrow streets were lined with old, randomly constructed buildings. There was sewage flowing on the streets, and the putrid air here was positively nauseating.
Many pairs of eyes were observing him through the window cracks, most of them without good intentions. Some of the large, burly men sitting outside their houses sized him up from head to toe, fiddling with their knives while calculating the risk and rewards of attacking him.
The sound of a sobbing woman erupted in the distance, followed by that of more slapping and cursing. A muscular man soon crossed the street with a woman in tow. Midway, he turned to glare at Qianye, saying, “What are you looking at? Haven’t you seen someone hitting a woman? Keep looking and I’ll dig out your eyes!”
His cursing hadn’t even ended when Qianye arrived before him and delivered a fairly light kick.
The burly man shot out like a cannonball, smashing through several neighboring houses and into the next street. Only then did he fall down with a thud and lay motionless, his fate unknown.
The unfriendly gazes vanished in an instant, so did the men playing with their daggers.
Qianye didn’t spare the lady a second glance, either. He merely strode over her and continued on his way.
After Qianye had vanished, the lady clambered up and darted into one of the houses nearby.
There was a small plaza in the slums that used to be a wet market. At this moment, the peddlers were nowhere to be found, and only their wares were left strewn across the ground. The square was completely silent like a ghost town.
Qianye walked into the opening with a cold smile and stood there.
“Good! You’re quite bold!” A coarse voice rang out on the opposite end of the square. A middle-aged man in azure armor walked out in large strides and stood across from Qianye.
Soon afterward, countless servants and mercenaries rushed out from the alleyways, forming an airtight encirclement around the square. Hundreds of black muzzles took aim at Qianye.
The latter simply stood there with his hands behind his back. “Impressive lineup.”
The burly man struck the steel spear on the ground, almost shaking up the small plaza. “You’re that Qianye they’re talking about.”
“Indeed, I am."
“Very good, you know what you did. Now, the Wolf King wants you specifically, so follow us.”
Qianye replied indifferently, “And if I don’t want to go?”
“Then don’t blame us for being rude! Today our Xue, Zhu, and Wang families have come together in Seagaze City, you can forget about escaping!”
Qianye sneered. “That means your three families are intent on making an enemy out of me? Look at you, a human willing to work as the Wolf King’s dog.”
The burly man’s face turned red as he retorted in embarrassment, “What do you know? The Wolf King works for Zhang Buzhou. Heavenly Monarch Zhang is the leader of our human race, and we are loyal to him!”
Qianye broke into a laugh. “Man, you’ll have my respect if you can say that in front of the Wolf King.”
The burly man’s face turned red, and he was so furious that he couldn’t speak.
Another person stepped in to help. “Third Master Xue, what’s the point in talking to him? Our three families will have made a great contribution if we just capture and send him to the Wolf King!”
Third Master Xue raised his hand and was just about to issue the order when Xue Wu’s voice rang out. “Stop!”
The young man appeared on the roof of a small building. “Third Uncle, Eldest Uncle asks you to return immediately!”
Third Master Xue’s expression sank. “Big Brother is senile, how can you not understand? The person the Wolf King wants is right before our eyes. What can our Xue family do if we let him run and the Wolf King blames us? Little Wu, you should give me a hand since you’re here, otherwise, you can wait for the Wolf King to hunt you down!”
This threat was substantial. Xue Wu’s expression turned ugly, not knowing what to do.
Qianye spoke up at this moment, “Xue Wu, I’ll uproot the Xue family entirely if you make an enemy out of me. Besides, are you really willing to be the Wolf King’s dog?”
Xue Wu was livid and apparently quite conflicted.
Third Master Xue roared, “Attack!”
In the blink of an eye, countless bullets screamed toward Qianye amidst the rumbling gunshots. After opening fire, everyone tossed their guns, whipped out their swords, and darted toward Qianye. The experts of the three families had taken off first—a dozen images arrived near Qianye and slashed down!