Xi Shen looked around the Mu Clan and picked a direction that seemed to lead to the main hall.
As he walked along the concrete pathway he saw various people rushing by and heard noises coming from that general direction, confirming he was probably heading the right way.
Passing the various pavilions, Xi Shen came upon the Clan’s main building where Clan meetings occurred.
He saw from his position just outside the doors, several people sitting in chairs around the hall meaning they were in a meeting.
The crowd of people stopped a few meters away from the main building as they weren’t qualified to go near it when the upper echelons of the Clan were in a meeting.
“The Young Master is finally back! I hope he’ll be able to resolve this issue with Mu Sun. Ever since he took over, the Clan had gone to ruins, we’re completely divided!”
“It’s because of that Ming Clan youth’s fault, just because our Patriarch didn’t want to hand over the Young Miss he went ahead and schemed to have him imprisoned.”
“Hey, you better be careful how you speak. The Ming Clan is a behemoth the likes of which our little Clan can’t compare to.”
“Hmph! So? Does that mean we have to bend over backward for them? Our Young Master is a disciple of the prestigious Celestial Academy, even the Ming Clan has to give them face!”
“But even though our Young Master has always been talented from a young age, the number of talents equal to him in the Celestial Academy is numerous. Who knows if he made a name for himself in the Academy to the point the Ming Clan would take notice of him. He might still be in the Outer Academy struggling to make ends meet, didn’t you see his shabby clothes?”
‘These people don’t know about Mu Fan’s status as a Inner Disciple?' Xi Shen thought. 'From what Fang Chen and Fei Yin had told me, Chosens are well valued by the Orthodox Faction as a whole. Even the Ming Clan would hesitate to carry out such things against a Chosen’s family. Pressuring the Mu Clan was one thing, but threatening their family in order for them to join their Clan would cause red flags to pop up.’
As Xi Shen thought that he stepped forward and headed for the main building.
“Huh? Who are they?”
“Hey! You lot can’t enter the main hall, you're not allow…”
Before that person could finish his words, his mouth was covered by someone next to him.
“Shush! Can't you see that their robes match the design of the Young Master’s own? They're probably disciples from the Celestial Academy.”
“Hey, I’ve been thinking about something. Isn’t the Celestial Academy's robes color-coded and their Outer Disciples robes are gray? But these youths and the Young Master’s own are of a different color!”
When the people in the crowd heard that, their expressions change to shock looks.
“Then does that mean these youth and the Young Master are Inner Disciples of the Celestial Academy? The Young Master has reached the Sea Expansion Realm?!!”
“Wow! The Young Master reached the Sea Expansion Realm! Our Mu Clan has only produced a few Sea Expansion cultivators, to think our Young Master’s talent is so high to reach that stage at such a young age! Our Mu Clan will grow even stronger than the other Clans in our Moon Lake City!”
A ruckus of noise echoed out as the crowd began chattering excitedly upon realizing Mu Fan’s cultivation.
Yang Su and the rest, however, had on strange expressions. They can’t understand why these people were reacting like this after hearing Mu Fan had become a Sea Expansion Realm cultivator.
Xi Shen on the other hand wasn’t surprised at their reaction, after all, they were only a Foundation Realm level City.
The various Cities and Towns on the Maple Continent have different levels of cultivators living there.
In a Qi Condensation Realm City or Town, the most powerful cultivator would be in the Qi Condensation Realm.
For Mu Fan’s City, Moon Lake City, they were at most a Foundation Realm City.
Xi Shen knew of this simply from reading about it, and although the others might have known this, they might not have really thought about it that deeply. They were exposed to the Seven Major Clans and the Celestial Academy, the peak powers on the Maple Continent, so them finding this crowd's excitement over Mu Fan’s Sea Expansion Realm cultivation weird is understandable.
The standards they have been exposed to are the peak of the Maple Continent, where 14 and 15-year-olds like them are becoming Sea Expansion cultivators. But out here, people in the Sea Expansion Realm are seen as superhumans that can wipe out most low-level towns with ease. Not to mention Foundation Realm or Core Formation Realm Cultivators, those people would be revered as mighty deities to these people. This contrasting view of the cultivation world was caused by the difference in talent and lack of knowledge.
For a normal rouge cultivator who isn't a part of any institutions, they could spend up to 20 to 30 years cultivating and only just reached the 1st stage of the Foundation Realm. While disciples and members of the Major Academies and Clans will reach that level of cultivation in their mid to late teens. This would obviously result in mixed views of the cultivation world between people from the cultivation institutes and people in the outside world.
Xi Shen walked up the stairs of the main building and entered one of its doors. However, the sight he came upon made his and the other’s expression turned strange.
At the end of the large hall, where the Clan Head chair was, Mu Fan was raining down slaps on a middle-aged man.
“Bastard!! Where’s my father?!! I left the clan to make a name for us and I hear that you conspired with outside forces to have my father abdicate his position as Clan Head! Where is he you bastard?!! Come-on come-on, spit it out!! Unless he’s dead there’s no way I’ll stand to see someone else in this chair!! Wait, you didn’t kill him did you?!!”
Mu Fan’s eyes suddenly grew large and he swung out his hand again.
*Smack!*
“Bastard! You better not have hurt my father or else I’ll lop off your head!!”
*Smack!* *Smack!*
While this scene was playing out, the elders in chairs around the hall were watching on silently.
Some had on relief expressions as Mu Sun got slapped senseless, while some had on angry expressions.
From this, one could tell some of the elders had joined hands to have Mu Sun become the Clan Leader, and they weren't happy with what was happening.
Mu Sun having been slapped to the point that he was starting to see stars, became enraged at the fact he was being humiliated to this degree.
He bellowed out furiously, “You brat, you dare to treat your uncle this way!! I’ll…?!!”
He had wanted to call upon his 3rd Stage Foundation Realm cultivation but became dumbfounded when he can’t even sense it. It was completely sealed up by Mu Fan.
*Smack!!*
“What the hell are you yelling for?!! And which uncle? I don’t see any uncle here?” Mu Fan turn his head to the left and right in an exaggerated manner before he look back to his uncle in his hold and said, “All I see is a bastard who was willing to back-stab his brother for power. You have no right to talk about respect for family when you betrayed yours! Ahh, it’s so frustrating!”
*Smack*! *Smack!*
“I do everything so our Clan can thrive! I sent my earnings to father so he can build up the Clan financially!”
*Smack!*
“I bought numerous martial arts techniques and cultivation methods so our Clan can grow stronger!”
*Smack!* *Smack!*
“But in the midst of all this, when our clan is supposed to be united, you join hands with an outsider to scheme against my father! The whole Clan is now divided! How can we move forward if all we ever do is fight amongst ourselves, huh?!! *Smack!!* Answer me!!!”
*Smack!* *Smack!* *Smack!*
“Are any of you bastards even thinking about the Clan while carrying out your pitiful schemes?!!”
Mu Fan’s gaze roam around the hall and some of the elders had ashamed looks on here faces.
Mu Fan then looked back down at his uncle who had gone limped.
He was extremely angry as well as anxious and worried all the while coming here.
From a young age, the future of the Clan had been pushed upon his shoulders because of his talents, and even though some would consider it a burden, Mu Fan saw it as a key motivation. Motivation he used to push himself constantly during his cultivation sessions. He had worked to the bone non-stop since entering the Celestial Academy all so his family back home could live comfortable lives.
But while in seclusion he heard that his father was forced to abdicate his position and some perverted lecherer from the Ming Clan was eyeing his sister, oh how furious and enraged he was!
*Smack!*
Mu Fan gave his uncle a final smack sending him crashing down the small stairs.
Mu Fan then slummed done in the Clan Head's chair exhausted, not from fatigue of the body, but his mind. His hands were red from all the slapping he had down to his uncle as well.
After watching in silence Xi Shen walked forward, passing Mu Sun’s unconscious body.
Who is this youth in plain clothes and bare feet?
Was the question that plagued all the elders' minds. They found it extremely strange for this youth to be bare feet, but the thing was his feet were spotless from any dirt. His handsome appearance and the demeanor he exude didn’t fit the way he was dressed either.
He resembled an Emperor trying to disguise himself as a slave, the contrast was just too much for it to be noticed by these old men.
Walking passed Mu Sun, Xi Shen saw his face was bruised, bloody, and battered, having swollen up to resemble a pig’s head.
Looking away from Mu Sun, Xi Shen turned to Mu Fan and said, “It looks like my presence wasn’t needed, seeing as you have everything under control.”
“Huh?” said Mu Fan, seeming to have just remembered that Xi Shen was here.
*******
Word Count: 1751
See ya!! ~waves gb~
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