Red Fire Town. The Long Family's main hall.
The Long Family was an estate single-handedly established by Long Haoshi when he first arrived in Red Fire Town. After thirty years of development, it had become one of the town's Four Great Clans.
The Patriarch of the Long Family, Long Haoshi, was seventy-five years old. His Cultivation had long since reached the Peak of Inner Strength Tenth Heaven, and he was the only Peak of Inner Strength Tenth Heaven Martial Artist in all of Red Fire Town.
Long Haoshi had five sons. The eldest was Long Yi, Long Ao's biological father; Long Ao was his only son. The second son was Long Li. The third was Long Jian, the father of Long Qianqian. The fourth was Long Lin, the father of Long Ziyou, Long An, Long Zheng, and Long Fang. And the fifth was Long Hua.
Of the five sons, only the eldest, Long Yi, had reached the Inner Strength Tenth Heaven Realm in his Cultivation and was the designated heir to the position of Patriarch.
For eleven months out of the year, Long Yi, Long Jian, Long Lin, and Long Hua were away from Red Fire Town, managing business in the distant Thundercloud City. Only the second son, Long Li, remained to oversee all of the Long Family's internal affairs.
Ten years ago, Long Ao was the Long Family's most brilliant genius. Both Long Haoshi and Long Yi were immensely proud to have such a grandson and son.
But ever since Long Ao failed to form the Endless Cycle ten years ago, and after the Long Family had exhausted all possible remedies to no avail, both Long Haoshi and Long Yi lost faith in him. This was especially true for Long Haoshi, who had not laid eyes on his grandson for eight whole years.
At this moment, the Long Family's main hall was filled with people.
In the seat of honor, without a doubt, sat the most powerful man in the Long Family: the Patriarch, Long Haoshi. In the first seat to his left was Long Li, who managed all of the family's affairs.
From the second seats onward, arrayed on both sides, sat Long Ying, Long Chen, Long Shi, Long Yi, Long Ziyou, Long Pinqiu, Dragon Peak, Long An, Long Zheng, Long Fang, and Long Meng.
All the disciples of the Long Family's third generation were gathered without exception. There were thirteen of them in total. Aside from Long Ao, who had not cultivated Inner Strength, the other twelve had all reached the Inner Strength Fourth Heaven Realm or higher.
From Long Haoshi at the head of the hall down to Long Meng, everyone was waiting for one person.
A person who was once a genius, but was now considered trash, yet had somehow managed to cultivate Inner Strength just last night.
That person was Long Ao.
Before the entrance to the Long Family's main hall.
Long Ao did not hesitate, stepping directly into the main hall. The moment he entered, all eyes fell upon him. Yet, Long Ao's expression remained unchanged. He walked straight up to Long Haoshi, offered a bow, and asked, "Grandfather, you sent for me?"
Seeming a little surprised, Long Haoshi nodded. "I hear you've cultivated Inner Strength. In that case, you will take part in this Ghost Hunt."
'A Ghost Hunt?'
"This morning, word came from Thundercloud City that the wanted criminal, Black Ghost, has arrived in Red Fire Town and is hiding on Red Fire Mountain. The other three great clans have just conferred with us. To give the younger generation a chance to gain some experience, we've decided that you may all participate in this Ghost Hunt."
'So that's what this is about.'
"I will follow Grandfather's arrangements."
"Grandfather, what about what happened to us? Old Qi launched a shameless sneak attack on us! He nearly killed us!"
Hearing no hint of blame for Old Qi in their grandfather's tone, Long An, Long Zheng, and Long Fang grew desperate. 'Were we just slapped for nothing?'
Long Ziyou also rose, bowed respectfully, and said in a cold voice, "Grandfather, you once decreed that infighting among Long Family disciples is forbidden. Today, Old Qi severely injured his three younger brothers. I hope Grandfather will see that justice is done for them."
Inside the hall, all the third-generation disciples looked at Long Ao with curiosity. They couldn't understand how this piece of trash had done it. Even if he had cultivated Inner Strength, how could he have possibly slapped the three of them until their faces were swollen like pigs' heads?
After all, Long An and Long Zheng had already reached Inner Strength Fifth Heaven. How could someone who had just begun to cultivate Inner Strength possibly be a match for them? Because of this, everyone assumed there was a ninety-nine percent chance Long Ao had only managed to beat them so badly because of a sneak attack.
"Long Ao, what exactly happened?"
Seeing that their grandfather was growing displeased, the four of them obediently sat back down. In the Long Family, Long Haoshi's authority was absolute. Never mind the third generation—even the second generation dared not breathe too loudly in the Patriarch's presence.
"Grandfather, I was merely giving them a taste of their own medicine."
With that one simple sentence, Long Ao said no more. But from this single explanation, everyone understood what he meant.
Ever since Long Ao had failed to form the Endless Cycle ten years ago, causing his Cultivation to regress to the Third Heaven and rendering him unable to cultivate Inner Strength, Long An and his two brothers had constantly been making trouble for him. This was a fact known to everyone in the Long Family.
A golden light glinted in Long Haoshi's eyes as he stared at his grandson without a word. The entire hall fell into a sudden silence, with no one daring to be the first to speak.
"Long Ao, regardless of the circumstances, you were still in the wrong. I must give the others a proper account of this."
Hearing that their grandfather was about to punish Long Ao, Long An and his siblings beamed with delight. As for the others, their expressions varied: some sneered, some watched with amusement, some were indifferent, and some were sympathetic.
"Tonight, you will clean the Martial Arts Pavilion. The rest of you, go back and get a good night's rest. We head for Red Fire Mountain first thing tomorrow morning."
"Yes, Grandfather."
Everyone rose, bowed respectfully, and then filed out of the hall. Long An and his siblings, however, were completely dumbfounded, their faces etched with disbelief.
'This is Grandfather's punishment for Old Qi?'
How was this a punishment? It was clearly a reward! The Long Family's Martial Arts Pavilion was not a place one could enter at will. Unless they had Long Haoshi's explicit permission, trespassers would be severely punished.
Long An and his siblings were no fools; they instantly understood their grandfather's intent. Old Qi had just cultivated Inner Strength and was at the crucial stage where he needed to practice Martial Arts. Ostensibly, their grandfather was punishing him by making him clean the Martial Arts Pavilion, but in reality, he was giving Old Qi the opportunity to cultivate the family's Martial Arts while he "cleaned."
Even if their hearts burned with a million complaints, Long An and the others didn't dare go and argue the point with their grandfather.
When Long Ao left the hall, he found that the others hadn't left. Instead, they were blocking the entrance, especially Long Ziyou and her brothers, who were glaring at him so murderously it looked as if they wanted to kill him on the spot.
"Long Ao, you win this round. But you'd better remember this. I'll get you back for it, sooner or later."
"I'll be waiting."
"Long Ao, there's no need to be so arrogant," Long Ziyou said. "In one month, we have the family's internal assessment. I expect you to challenge me then. If you don't, you will kneel and apologize to my brothers. Otherwise, things will not end well for you."
Everyone else gloated at Long Ziyou's words. What a joke. Long Ao challenging Long Ziyou at the family's internal assessment?
Was that even possible?
"Alright, we're all family here. There's no need for things to get like this. Everyone, disperse," said Long Ying, the top disciple of the third generation. His expression was grim as he waved his hand, signaling for the crowd to break up.