Chương 28: A Slice of the Pie

Hu Lingsi was already having second thoughts about this fight. Clang! The Blue Bamboo Sword flashed. One of the Hu family's fifth level Qi Refining cultivators felt his neck split open. Blood sprayed as he crumpled, dead before he hit the ground. Zhang Huaijin had just claimed another life. His expression remained perfectly calm. Body, spiritual energy, and soul, three powers working as one. Invincible against anyone at his level. He would even dare to take on an eighth level Qi Refining cultivator.

Zhang Huaijin had been fighting two Hu family cultivators at once, both at the fifth level of Qi Refining. Neither could stand against him. Now one lay dead. The surviving Hu cultivator's face twisted in terror. Staring at Zhang Huaijin in his white robes, he couldn't believe what he was seeing. Since when did the Zhang family produce a monster like this? The Zhang family's remaining mid level cultivators saw Huaijin's savage display and their fighting spirit soared.

They pressed their attacks, striking whenever an opening appeared.

"Fall back! Everyone retreat!" Hu Lingsi had stopped caring about saving face. If they stayed any longer, more of his people would die. At his command, the Hu cultivators scrambled backward. Hu Lingsi activated his spirit artifact, forcing Zhang Lixian to give ground. The Hu family's seventh level Qi Refining cultivator was drenched in blood, barely holding himself together. Their sixth level cultivator wasn't doing much better.

Zhang Liliang kept him pinned down, hurling talismans that exploded close enough to force him into one clumsy dodge after another. Beyond them, two fourth level Hu cultivators were also badly wounded. Their eyes held nothing but despair.

"You think you can just run?" Zhang Lixian chased after Hu Lingsi, determined to finish him. Zhang Huaijin showed no mercy either. Under his control, the Blue Bamboo Sword cut through the air, leaving trails of afterimages as it relentlessly blocked every escape route. The Hu family broke completely. They fled into the distance in disarray. The Zhang cultivators pursued. Half an hour later, Zhang Huaijin killed the Hu family's fifth level Qi Refining cultivator. Of the two fourth level cultivators, one escaped.

The other was run down by four Zhang mid level cultivators and cut down. The remaining Hu cultivators got away. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. But every single one was badly wounded. To break free from Zhang Lixian, Hu Lingsi had even burned his own blood vitality, a desperate technique that shaved seven or eight years off his life. The Hu family had been devastated.

Their strength had fallen overnight to the very bottom of Langya County's twelve Qi Refining families. Meanwhile, the Zhang family's standing had quietly climbed to the middle ranks. The Zhangs had always been strong at the top levels. What they'd lacked was mid level fighters.

"Word about the Mystic Iron Ore deposit has probably spread by now," Zhang Lixian said.

"Leave two people here to guard it. Everyone else, we're heading back." Zhang Liliang glanced at the mine.

"Shouldn't we set up a formation?"

"No need. Now that the Hu family is beaten, the clans my father contacted should have arrived. What matters now is deciding who controls this mine." Zhang Lixian saw the situation clearly. This was the reality of the cultivation world. Try to hog something like this, and you wouldn't be able to protect it.

"Understood. I'll stay here with Brother Linyi," Zhang Liliang said. Foundation Establishment clans wouldn't bother with a tiny Mystic Iron mine, but it was still a fat prize. They couldn't let rogue cultivators swoop in and take advantage. Zhang Lixian nodded. Then he led the Zhang cultivators back toward Green Bamboo Mountain. Along the way, the Zhang cultivators stole glances at Zhang Huaijin's calm face. Their admiration was genuine.

After all, in this single battle, Zhang Huaijin had personally killed three Hu family cultivators. Add the fourth level one from before, and that made four. It was safe to say the Hu family hated Zhang Huaijin to the bone. If they ever found out he was also behind the deaths of two of their cultivators from an earlier incident, they'd probably vomit blood from rage. Zhang Huaijin himself felt nothing special about it. He hadn't even used his full strength.

If he had, even Hu Lingsi might not have been able to stop him. The Yin Yang Divine Needle, silent and invisible. At the Qi Refining stage, a soul art was an absolute killing move. The journey back was uneventful. When the Zhang cultivators arrived at Green Bamboo Mountain, they found people already waiting in the Welcome Pavilion outside. Three people sat inside. Zhang Chongwen sat at the head. The other two wore red and blue robes, one crimson, the other sky blue. Both were at the peak of the Qi Refining Realm.

Judging by the patterns on their robes, Zhang Huaijin guessed they were from the Miao and Yang families. The Miao and Yang clans had stood for nearly two hundred years. They were the most powerful Qi Refining families in Langya County, each with several peak level cultivators. But luck had never been on their side. In all that time, neither clan had produced a single Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator.

Years ago, the Miao family had poured their entire fortune into obtaining one Foundation Establishment Pill. They gave it to their most promising seed… but in the end, he failed to break through and died on the spot. The Yang family had it even worse. Thirty years ago, they also got their hands on a Foundation Establishment Pill. But a powerful rogue cultivator at the peak of Qi Refining Realm ambushed them on the road, killed three of their peak level cultivators, and stole the pill.

That rogue cultivator successfully broke through to Foundation Establishment Realm. The Yang family had no choice but to swallow their grief. The two families were like fellow sufferers. It showed just how brutal the path of cultivation could be. To reach the Foundation Establishment Realm, you needed the right timing, the right place, and the right people. Everything had to align. For a Qi Refining Realm family to rise to Foundation Establishment was even harder.

Of course, there were rare geniuses who could reach Foundation Establishment without a pill. But clearly, the Miao and Yang families didn't have that kind of luck. The Zhang family had good relations with the Miao clan. They were allies. Zhang Huaijin's older brother, Zhang Huanren, had married a woman from the Miao family. The Hu family, in turn, were close with the Yangs. The man in red was Miao Tianhong, the Miao clan's patriarch. The man in blue was Yang Jing, the Yang clan's patriarch.

Miao Tianhong's eyes held a trace of amusement. Yang Jing's eyes, however, flashed with frustration.

"Both of you, the Hu family brought this upon themselves," Zhang Chongwen said.

"But they've already paid a terrible price," Yang Jing replied.

"Can't they have a share of the mine?" Miao Tianhong held a teacup in his palm. Steam curled upward, carrying the scent of tea leaves. He frowned slightly.

"Patriarch Yang, from now on, the Hu family no longer has the right to claim a share of this mine. Surely you understand that?" Zhang Chongwen nodded in agreement.

"You've seen how the Hu family conducts themselves. They're a disgrace to our cultivation families. A Zhang family disciple discovered this mine, yet the Hu family broke the cultivator's code and laid hands on mortals. They deserve whatever they get." Miao Tianhong listened to Zhang Chongwen's words and nodded. Then, as if receiving some news, he added casually, "The Hu family is on the verge of annihilation. Do you really think they still have the right to a slice of this pie?"