Zhong Kui, a member of the Xuanhuang Zhong Clan, was also the husband of Chen Hong's daughter, Chen Xiyuan, and the father of Chen Jianzun—in other words, Chen Hong's son-in-law.
Chen Xiyuan had a proud temperament. By the time she achieved success with the Seven Kill Qi Restraint Technique, she was already well into her thirties. Zhong Kui was even older, already in his forties. He had waited for her for many years, and they only had Chen Jianzun a few years after their marriage.
Otherwise, given that she was a few years older than Chen Xun, it wouldn't make sense that Chen Jianzun is only 13 now.
After awakening the Seven Kill Sword Martial Spirit, Chen Jianzun returned to the Chen Clan. Chen Hong doted on his grandson (more accurately, his great-grandson), yet also enforced strict discipline in his training.
Some years ago, Chen Xiyuan and Zhong Kui had a bit of a falling out—not over anything major. Zhong Kui was a carefree and easygoing man, while Chen Xiyuan had a strong-willed personality. Over time, many small arguments and frustrations had built up, eventually exploding over some trivial matter.
Chen Xiyuan returned to her parents' home to care for their son and didn't go back, not even after Chen Jianzun left last year to study abroad.
Being Chen Hong's beloved daughter, Chen Xiyuan's decision led to Chen Hong giving Zhong Kui the cold shoulder during their time at Red Forest Mountain in the Mo Yang Sect.
However, when Zhong Kui was struggling to choose a soul bone, Chen Hong still sent him a sound transmission saying, "That water-attribute soul bone suits Zun'er best." And so Zhong Kui eagerly picked that one—something he wouldn't have otherwise, as it wasn't useful to him personally.
Zhong Kui had arrived yesterday, a day later than Xue Tianming and the others, because he had gone home first.
Since he had gone to the Mo Yang Sect on behalf of his family and obtained a soul bone for his son, he also needed to report the matter to the clan head, his father.
Chen Hong, understanding his daughter's temperament, believed both sides shared fault in the disagreement. So, for this morning's ancestral ceremony, he arranged for Zhong Kui to participate alongside Chen Xiyuan as a member of the Chen clan's relatives.
"Mm." Zhong Kui cast a glance at Chen Jianzun below, then pointed toward his son's position with pride. "That's Jianzun—pardon the show-off."
He was in good spirits today. His father-in-law had included him in the clan ritual, and Chen Xiyuan hadn't objected.
Then, looking at the right-side pavilion across from him, he let out a long sigh.
"Your child's grown so much already. I remember Jianzun had excellent talent, with very high innate soul power. Back when he awakened the Seven Kill Sword martial spirit, you were a bit disappointed, weren't you?" said Xue Tianming.
"Yes, almost level 9. The Seven Kill Sword is not bad—at least it's not a mutated spirit," Zhong Kui said with emotion. "But he's a bit arrogant. The higher his talent, the more it might hold him back."
"That's youth for you! Which young person isn't overly ambitious?" Xue Tianming nodded. "Looks like Jianzun has a good chance this time."
"Not necessarily. I don't know about the others, but the two kids from old Xun's family are no worse than mine," Ma Zhibin butted in with his usual pot-stirring demeanor.
Xue Tianming glanced at him slyly and said teasingly, "Oh? You visited Chen Xun's house a few days ago, didn't you? Seems like something happened that I'm not aware of."
"Old Xue, what's with that look?" Ma Zhibin felt personally attacked.
"Heh, with a reaction like that, I'm reassured," Xue Tianming said with a cool smile.
Meanwhile, in the corner tower of the right-side second-floor corridor, a few old men were chatting nonsense.
"Old Qin, your grandson's in the first match, right? Not bad. Let's hope he can last a few more rounds against Miss Yanwu," Zhu Yanfeng said with a grin.
Qin Lüguang, puffing on a tobacco pipe, blew a smoke ring at Zhu Yanfeng and replied, "Are you praising or mocking, old Zhu?"
Zhu Yanfeng waved the smoke away and hollered, "Damn you, always smoking like a chimney! And you've got loads of top-quality Woodland Forest tobacco. Won't share a bit with me—how aren't you choked to death already?"
Qin Lüguang chuckled and said, "As long as I outlive you, that's good enough."
Zhu Yanfeng ignored the remark and turned to a white-haired, short-bearded elder nearby. "Old Zhao, your grandson's match is coming up soon, right?"
Zhao Deyun squinted and replied, "Mm, I think he's up against Young Master Xiaojun."
Ding Bingyuan joined in: "Young Master Xiaojun is only a Soul Master. Let's hope he goes easy and doesn't hit too hard."
Zhu Yanfeng commented lazily, "Old Ding, looks like you're struggling this year—poor crop yields, eh?"
Ding Bingyuan glared at him. "Without the stuff from my fields, could your piglets grow up strong?"
Zhu Yanfeng rolled his eyes. "You're missing the point—I'm saying if your corn, soy cakes, and cabbage don't grow well, my pigs suffer too!"
"Oh." Ding Bingyuan grumbled, showing off a slightly yellowed set of teeth. "Anyway, my kid's competing today."
"Wuxin's from my family! We agreed on that ages ago! What, your family's not in this year's draw?" Zhu Yanfeng teased.
Ding Bingyuan exploded. "Bullshit! I only agreed because I pitied your family! Wuxin's my granddaughter, no matter how you spin it—am I wrong?"
"Brother Ding, of course, no one's saying otherwise," Zhu Yanfeng quickly soothed, seeing the old man angry.
"Sigh, this year's not great. The older ones are aging out, and the younger ones haven't caught up yet," Ding Bingyuan sighed.
"But Wuxin awakened your family's Shangbao Soothing-Heart Rake. If she does well, your name will shine all the same," Zhu Yanfeng added flatteringly.
Not far away, Ma Zhaoyang nudged Cheng Nanxing, who had returned with Chen Hong, and asked, "Nanxing, I heard Elder Hong and the young clan leader visited your area recently. Was something major happening?"
Cheng Nanxing replied flatly, "Yes. We wiped out the Mo Yang Sect."
Though he didn't speak loudly, everyone present heard. The corner tower suddenly fell silent.
Everyone there was the head of a high-ranking family that had followed the Chen clan for centuries. Each handled major aspects of village logistics: the Zhu family ran the livestock farms, the Ding family oversaw farmland, the Xia family managed the bonsai gardens (a commercial venture), the Ma family operated the small pastures, and others managed tea plantations, fisheries, and more.
Traditionally, those overseeing the village's logistical operations were important figures within the Chen clan. Outsiders had no authority in these matters.
Everyone here understood the Chen clan's close ties with Douhun City well. Cheng Nanxing had no reason to fear word getting out—in fact, many of those present had once served in the Douhun Army Corps themselves.
Xia Yun furrowed his brow and asked, "It's starting again?"
Cheng Nanxing, understanding he was referring to the periodic punitive campaigns that had taken place over centuries in Douhun City, replied, "Yes. Nothing can be done. Over the past few decades, the continent has seen pockets of conflict but overall peace and stable development. The current balance of interests has become increasingly rigid."
"Each major Douhun arena is raking in gold every day, scattered across all the major cities. There's no shortage of envious eyes. Even with a 30% cut, it's not enough to satisfy them."
Everyone immediately turned their attention to him. Zhu Yanfeng asked, "So how did this battle go?"
"The battle went like this…" Cheng Nanxing began to explain the situation concisely.
(End of Chapter)