Chapter 476: Two Invitations
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
For millenias, only a mere few have ever claimed the power and strength of the Dharmakaya. Indeed, even the famous Su Wuming had been suspended in Half-Step Dharmakaya for many years, his breakthrough yet to be seen. Whether he would achieve immortality one day was hard to tell. And yet here was an ignorant young fool haughtily boasting of his aspirations to achieve Dharmakaya!
None of the champions from the Ranking List of Young Masters had ever grazed the realization of their dream of achieving the highly coveted Dharmakaya. Only two or three prodigies in the course of history had ever made such a glorious achievement, while the rest could only pa.s.s the threshold of the Exterior Scenery.
Neither He Jiu nor w.a.n.g Siyuan, both who had cleaved through the earlier levels of the Exterior with a single bold move, would dare make such a boastful claim!
The members of the Su family only felt an incoming surge of aloofness and arrogance. Only Su Ziyue looked upon Meng Qi with s.h.i.+ning eyes in adoring reverence. In her eyes, a blossoming young maiden, her Second Brother had shunned the common and mundane path that the sons and scions of n.o.ble families would most expectedly tread, embracing the comfort and luxury of wealth afforded by their birthright. Instead, he had announced the decline of common young n.o.bles and trampled on their beliefs of fame and pleasure like filthy soot on the ground. He was a true hero indeed!
This was indeed the Killing Blade!
The reason he was number one on the Ranking List of Young Masters!
Duke Su Li frowned after hearing Meng Qi’s proclamation. “Ridiculous! Of course your mother still rests in the same place she was buried!”
He thought Meng Qi was berating the Su family for moving his mother’s grave to an inauspicious location.
“It has been ages since I last set foot here. I no longer remember the way through the pa.s.sages of this residence,” Meng Qi replied calmly. He would have invited unwanted attention and suspicion if he had evaded the issue. Still, there was the convenient excuse of his long absence at hand.
Su Li glanced at the young man next to him, “Zihua, take your younger brother. Let him pay his respects to our ancestors.”
The young man was about 20 years old. He resembled Su Li, but he was taller. However, he did look gloomier, and appeared to be habitually silent.
“Yes, Father.” Su Zihua’s voice was gentle and as smooth as jade.
He nodded lightly, leading Meng Qi out of the mansion.
Before leaving the courtyard, Meng Qi faintly overheard Ke Weilan sneering. “He didn’t think of wors.h.i.+pping the ancestors after returning home. He wanted to sweep his concubine mother’s grave. What a great child of the Su family…”
“Her hostility is most apparent…” Meng Qi nodded in thought.
Su Zihua said little the entire time as he led Meng Qi out of the mansion and into a horse carriage. They traveled out of the city and went to the graveyard on foot.
“This is the place…” Su Zihua said, pointing at the only grave around.
They were standing at the edge of the graveyard and the grave was the only thing around, exactly as the horse-faced man had said. Contrary to his expectations, the weeds around the grave had been cleared by the servants.
Seeing the word ‘Tang s.h.i.+’ on the gravestone, Meng Qi sighed and cleared his mind of distracting thoughts. He solemnly wors.h.i.+pped the mother of the body he was occupying. It was thanks to her that he was able to capture his master’s attention. Otherwise, he would’ve died in his Samsara tasks since he didn’t have any guidance and couldn’t improve his Kung Fu fast enough.
“Your son has succeeded in his cultivation and is famed throughout the land. You can rest in peace now…” He bowed and then bowed again, his green robe never moving and his mind completely clear.
He felt Su Zihua walk to a spot behind him and bow as well.
“Be careful of Fifth Uncle.” Su Zihua stared at the grave, his voice so quiet that it was as if he was speaking to himself.
“Fifth Uncle? Su Yue, the Golden Eye Arrester?” Meng Qi didn’t turn his head as he slowly stood up, straightening his body. “You don’t mean Ke Weilan?”
Su Zihua looked stunned to hear Meng Qi address an elder by name. Meng Qi was truly domineering!
He controlled his expression and his lips curled into a smirk. “Her? You’d keep your guard against her without me even mentioning it.”
“She has long gone mad. If not for the fact that your background hasn’t been exposed in the past few years, and that Father has been trying his best to hide this from her, I fear she would’ve already done something crazy. But you don’t have to worry about her when you’re in Luoyang.”
Just as Meng Qi wanted to question him further, Su Zihua had straightened his back and was already making his way back to the horse carriage. He had returned to his usual quiet self, unwilling to elaborate.
“Suffering an unmentionable illness, revealing an occasional touch of madness…” Meng Qi furrowed his brows as he stared at Su Zihua’s retreating figure.
They returned to the manor without so much as a word.
Inside the main hall, everyone was already seated in their respective places. However, it wasn’t Duke Su who occupied the main seat, but an elderly madam wielding a dragon-headed crutch.
She was none other than Su Li’s mother, Bai Jingluo, the first wife’s daughter of the Bai family in Luoyang. Her hair was still jet black and her face unmarred by any wrinkles. If not for her dignified clothing making her look like an elderly madam, no one would’ve guessed she was already in her eighties.
“Grandmother…” Su Zihua gave a submissive bow to her, eliciting a slight frown out of Old Madam Bai.
But she soon focused her gaze on Meng Qi.
He didn’t speak, but performed the etiquette necessary in front of an elder without acting servile or overbearing.
“Well done.” Old Madam Bai suddenly praised him. Like her appearance, her voice hadn’t seemed to be aged either. “There has never been anyone in the history of our family who has become the number one on the Ranking List of Young Masters. I can die in peace knowing that I have one such grandson. Our lineage lacks nothing against others!”
Compared to Su Li and Su Yue, Old Madam Bai seemed to have a stronger desire in having an amicable relations.h.i.+p with Meng Qi.
Just then, Ke Weilan lifted her head and put on a dissatisfied expression. “If he had been born successfully, my child might have been stronger than him. He would’ve carried the blood of both the Su and Ke families. Even his apt.i.tude would’ve been better…”
Though her tone was serene, Meng Qi felt gooseb.u.mps all over.
It was difficult to determine who was in the wrong in the incident back then as it was a total mess… Meng Qi raised his head and looked around the lavishly decorated main hall, finding it to be inexplicably a bit sinister. Powerful aristocratic families were as deep as the ocean and had no shortage of vile dealings.
In a solemn voice, Old Madam Bai said, “Weilan, let’s leave the past in the past. It was an accident. No one wanted it to happen…”
Meng Qi interrupted her with a drawn-out laugh. “Apt.i.tude?”
Everyone’s attention turned to him, wondering what he wanted to say this time.
“If we’re to talk about life experience, my mother’s brother was a heavenly genius who had merged his inside and outside at a young age. Right now, he’s already at the peak of the Exterior realm. The lineage of the Tang family is not at all beneath that of the Ke family.” Meng Qi was trying to speak up in defense of the Tang family.
Xuan Bei… Su Yue and the rest slightly narrowed their eyes.
Ke Weilan stood up, her eyes burning with hatred for the person in front of her. “How can the small, insignificant family of a wretched slave compare to my family?”
“Small and insignificant?” Meng Qi burst into laughter. “Most aristocratic families in Luoyang indulge in a life of luxury and have become frogs at the bottom of a well, oblivious to the heroes of the world. The new generations have replaced the old. Right now, which young person in the Ke family can be considered talented? Your family appears brilliant, but underneath your gilded exterior, you’re rotten on the inside!”
Ke Weilan’s face twisted in an ugly manner. “You dare belittle the current generation of our family’s masters?”
Meng Qi’s smile vanished and he placed his hands behind his back. “So what if I belittle them?” he said serenely.
“If I dare to say it, they can only accept it!”
His voice was sure and unflinching, causing Su Ziyu and the rest to return to their senses—this person was indeed number one on the Ranking List of Young Masters, the real deal! He was the strongest among the young generation. There wasn’t anything to be said about him becoming a perfect Half-step or Exterior master, as he was already in another realm. If the Ke family had a similarly talented young disciple, he would’ve long ascended to the ranking list!
More importantly, Su Ziyuan wasn’t even 20 years of age yet. To have achieved this realm and strength at his age wasn’t something even He Jiu, w.a.n.g Siyuan, and the rest could do in their times!
Ke Weilan’s eyes were burning with rage as she clenched her hands tightly. The airflow in the main hall suddenly became stale.
Meng Qi met her eyes, not feeling fear in the slightest. But he was also observing the reactions of Su Yue and the rest. Either way, there was no getting into the good books of the Ke family. He might as well use this incident to gain a better understanding of his enemies.
Su Li was about to remedy the situation using his status as master of the manor, but stopped when he saw Old Madam Bai shake her head at him.
What did she mean? How could she allow the two of them to get into a conflict? Realization suddenly dawned on the initially surprised Su Li. She was using the problem of the Ke family to force Ziyuan to return home!
There was a grandmaster in the Ke family who was one of the Eight Distinguished Super Arresters. He was a force to be reckoned with in Six Fan School. If Ziyuan offended them, he would be getting himself into a lot of trouble in the future to the point where he would find it hard to take any steps. Though Xuan Bei was strong, he couldn’t be protecting this Shaolin Temple defector at all times. This was especially true for matters like simply suppressing and making things difficult for Ziyuan. That would be easy for the Su family to protect him from, helping him regain his confidence from there.
Though their family couldn’t compare to the Ke family, they still had a Super Arrester at the very least. They had deep roots in the imperial guard faction and Six Fan School. Their influence could not be underestimated at all.
Was this an ally who would defend his apt.i.tude and talent, even at the price of offending the Ke family? Su Li narrowed his eyes and unconsciously glanced at his younger brother. He saw that Su Yue was still maintaining his smiling face but couldn’t guess what he was thinking.
If things went well, perhaps in ten years, the Su family would have a grandmaster of their own…
Just as they were filled with various thoughts, hesitations, and considerations, Ke Weilan took a step forward and a gale began condensing inside the main hall.
“I dare you to say it again!”
“Mother, Second Brother didn’t mean…” Su Ziyue instantly tried to explain.
Suddenly, she felt warmth on her shoulder as someone gently patted her. She turned her head and saw Second Brother wearing a peaceful smile. He did not appear worried at all.
“If you’re unhappy with that statement, I ask that you send a young master from the Ke family to challenge me,” Meng Qi said in a tight voice, meeting strength with strength.
Old Madam Bai’s mouth twitched as if she was smiling when she saw this scene.
Suddenly, a servant rushed into the hall and said, “Duke, Madam, there’s an invitation for Second… Second Young Master to go to a banquet.”
“Who is it from?” Su Li asked calmly.
“It’s from Minister of Revenue, Minister w.a.n.g,” the servant replied deferentially.
Su Li stood up with a jolt. “The Minister of Revenue, Minister w.a.n.g? The one who just recently entered the Political Affairs Hall?”
He hadn’t managed to change how he addressed Minister w.a.n.g in such a short time.
He was none other than the youngest grandmaster of the w.a.n.g family from Zhou County. Not only was he a pillar of the aristocratic families, he also had the trust of the emperor!
The imperial family was on guard against the w.a.n.g family from Zhou County, who were followers of the Saint, and was resentful of their local authority. But compared to the other aristocratic families, they found the w.a.n.g family to be more trustworthy.
“w.a.n.g Zai’s father? Is Brother w.a.n.g Zai also here in Luoyang?” Meng Qi was also a little stunned.
Before the servant could reply, another person came rus.h.i.+ng in. “Duke, Madam, Langya Duke’s Mansion has sent an invitation for Second… Second Young Master to attend a banquet.”
“Langya Duke’s Mansion?” Old Madam Bai couldn’t help murmuring to herself. The prime of her life happened in the same decade in which the Langya Duke, the old Master and a Half-step to Dharmakaya master, dominated the Political Affairs Hall. His grandeur remained fresh in her memories, to the point where she could even consider it as being imprinted on her mind.
Each aristocratic family in Luoyang had their own Dukes. It was only because w.a.n.g Zai’s father wasn’t a legitimate heir that he didn’t have such a t.i.tle. He had carved out a name and reputation for himself on his own.
When she looked at Meng Qi once again, she was seeing him with new eyes. Even without the protection of the Su family, there wasn’t any need for Su Ziyuan to fear the Ke family.
The w.a.n.g family from Zhou County and the Langya family seemed to favor him…
In the beginning, she had thought it was mere friends.h.i.+p between them. Who knew they would invite him over as soon as he arrived in the city? This demonstrated his importance to them!
Su Ziyuan had a clean background and extreme potential. If he was to marry into their family or become their Foreign Official, which family would reject him?
“What’s that little glutton doing…” Meng Qi felt like he couldn’t grasp what was going on but he could feel that those watching him became somewhat prudent even as they grappled with shock. Even Ke Weilan had suppressed her anger and looked on in astonishment.
Of course, he also felt envy and jealousy with a bit of reverence.