Five days passed in the blink of an eye.
Over these five days, Chu Qingyun consumed some Lower Grade Primordial Stones to consolidate his cultivation.
While taking stock of the bundle he had gotten from Zhao Lan, Chu Qingyun received a pleasant surprise.
Inside the bundle, besides over two hundred Lower Grade Primordial Stones, there were actually three Middle Grade Primordial Stones!
Middle Grade Primordial Stones are white, and the Primordial Power they contain is more than ten times purer than that of Lower Grade Primordial Stones.
A single Middle Grade Primordial Stone was equivalent in value to one hundred Lower Grade Primordial Stones.
Although the Yuan Stone Ore Vein was abandoned and produced only a few Lower Grade Primordial Stones, even the most barren mining area would have some essence.
Soon, the day arrived for Zhao Yishui to come to Chu Family Village for the wedding procession.
On this day, the friends and relatives of Chu Qian's family in Chu Family Village were all beaming with joy.
After all, for someone from their village to marry the son of the Zhao Family Castle's Fortress Lord was a matter of great pride for them.
As for Chu Xiaocui's parents, they had been bustling about for the past two days.
They directed people to hang red banners and colorful decorations, making the home look very festive.
They had even invited nearly everyone from Chu Family Village, determined to make the wedding procession a lively and grand affair.
The wedding procession from Zhao Family Castle arrived at Chu Family Village around noon, accompanied by the festive sounds of music and drums.
The man at the lead wore a grand red robe and rode a tall horse. He was quite handsome.
He was Zhao Yishui, the son of the Zhao Family Castle's Fortress Lord and the groom for the day.
Behind Zhao Yishui, a dozen or so other young men followed on horseback.
Every one of them had a sharp glint in their eyes and a steady aura, clearly not ordinary people.
"Zhao Feilong, the wedding challenge in a bit will be up to you."
Zhao Yishui turned his head slightly and spoke to the man behind him.
The man laughed heartily and slapped his chest, assuring him, "Don't worry, Yishui. In Chu Family Village's younger generation, only that dead ghost Chu Meng was any good. I don't give a damn about the rest."
"Besides, even if I lose, we still have Huang. Yishui, just relax and wait to claim your beautiful bride."
Zhao Yishui nodded, then sighed with a touch of emotion. "With Zhao Huang as backup, I'm naturally not worried. It's a shame, though. We were supposed to have Zhao Lan, but that guy actually died in the Yuan Stone Ore Vein."
The younger generation of Zhao Family Castle originally had three great experts: Zhao Yishui, Zhao Huang, and Zhao Lan. All three were Level Four Martial Artists.
Nearby, a bald young man snorted. "Hmph, that idiot Zhao Lan. I told him countless times not to mess around with that shady business in the Yuan Stone Ore Vein."
"Play with fire, and you'll get burned. That guy must have picked a fight with the wrong person."
Zhao Yishui shook his head, his expression suddenly turning serious. "Don't forget the most important objective of this trip!"
"Picking up the bride is one thing, but more importantly, we need to display the might of our Zhao Family Castle and make Chu Family Village understand who's really in charge around here!"
The wedding procession was soon welcomed into the village, and the arena for the most important event, the challenge, had already been built.
"Haha, Zhao, you've finally arrived! I have been waiting for quite some time."
As the wedding procession arrived, Chu Qian went up to greet them with a hearty laugh.
The Zhao Family Castle's Fortress Lord, Zhao Zhiyi, would of course not come to Chu Family Village in person.
Therefore, the elder in charge of the procession was Zhao Zhiyi's younger brother, Zhao Yishui's uncle, Zhao Zhimo.
Zhao Zhimo, however, remained on his horse with no intention of dismounting.
He cupped his fist toward Chu Qian on the ground below and said, "Chu, lead the way."
The broad smile on Chu Qian's face instantly froze, leaving him looking extremely awkward.
'Lead the way?'
'If Zhao Zhimo, Zhao Yishui, and the others stay on horseback while I lead the way, wouldn't that make me, the bride's father, look like a stable hand?'
For a moment, Chu Qian was stuck, not knowing whether to move forward or stay put.
Fortunately, at that moment, someone in the crowd stepped in to defuse the situation.
"People from Zhao Family Castle! If you want to marry a girl from our Chu Family Village, you'll have to beat our young men first!"
"That's right! If you can't win the wedding challenge, don't even think about taking the bride today."
The surrounding crowd jeered and laughed along.
Chu Qian, seemingly having found a way out of his predicament, forced a smile and said, "Yes, yes, yes! First, the challenge! Let's start with the wedding challenge."
At this, the people from Zhao Family Castle all revealed strange, knowing smiles.
The wedding challenge—that was the most important part of their visit today.
"Fine. A wedding challenge it is. Chu, you're the host. You call the shots."
"Zhao Feilong, go and 'play' with our brothers from Chu Family Village. Remember, don't kill anyone. Wouldn't want to hurt the harmony."
Zhao Zhimo said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes, deliberately emphasizing the word "harmony."
Without dismounting, Zhao Feilong leaped from his horse's back and landed steadily on the arena platform.
"People of Chu Family Village, who's coming up to the arena?"
"Don't worry. I, Zhao Feilong, will be sure to leave you with your lives."
Zhao Feilong shouted from the arena, his face a mask of wild arrogance.
The members of the Zhao Family Castle contingent, still on their horses, all smiled and nodded.
Zhao Feilong's actions were indeed perfectly in line with the purpose of their trip, much to their satisfaction.
The people of Chu Family Village, on the other hand, all looked rather grim.
Everyone knew that the so-called wedding challenge was just something for the young people to have fun with, purely for entertainment. But the Zhao Family Castle seemed intent on playing for real...
Caught in the middle, no one was more awkward and uncomfortable than Chu Qian.
'I can't afford to offend the Zhao Family Castle. If I do, won't my daughter be mistreated after she marries into their family?'
'But Chu Family Village is where I've lived my whole life; I can't neglect my own people either.'
"Ahem. Chu Si, why don't you go up and 'play' a bit with the man from Zhao Family Castle."
Chu Qian said to a young man beside him.
The young man's name was Chu Si. He was Chu Xiaocui's cousin. Although he had awakened his Martial Soul two years ago, his talent was poor, and he had never broken through, remaining a Level One Martial Artist.
"Alright, Second Uncle. I'll go have a friendly match with our brother from Zhao Family Castle."
Smiling, Chu Si stepped onto the arena.
"Brother Feilong, we'll be family from now on. For my cousin's sake, please go easy on me in a moment, haha."
Chu Si said with a smile, cupping his fist.
Zhao Feilong shot him a disdainful glance and said, "Fine. For my future sister-in-law's sake, I'll let you leave the arena on your feet."
Hearing this, many people from Chu Family Village showed looks of anger.
Zhao Feilong clearly had no respect for Chu Family Village.
Chu Si's expression changed as well.
'But I'm already up here. Retreat isn't an option.'
"Zhao, my apologies."
"Fire Fox Cannon!"
As Chu Si spoke, he thrust a palm forward.
A crimson energy gathered in his Palm Heart, and after two breaths' time, it shot fiercely toward Zhao Feilong.
'A Level One Martial Artist... too weak.'
Zhao Feilong shook his head. Without even using the power of his Martial Soul, he enveloped his hand in Primordial Power and caught Chu Si's Soul Technique, the Fire Fox Cannon.
BANG!
With a hard squeeze, Zhao Feilong crushed the Fire Fox Cannon, causing it to explode without doing him any harm.
"Zhao, you are impressive. I admit defeat."
After saying this, Chu Si turned to leave the arena.
However, a vicious glint flashed in Zhao Feilong's eyes. "Giving up just like that? It's not nearly enough fun..."