If the Wu family ancestor had urged Di Hongtian to take over the master’s position in another way, he might still have been able to decline. However, he could not refuse it when done with such grat.i.tude.
After Di Hongtian nodded in agreement, the Wu family ancestor immediately announced, "From now on, Di Hongtian will become our family master. I hope all of you will help him protect the whole family."
Then he waved his hand and said, "Hongtian, Meier, Lingfeng, and Changkong will stay and the others will be dismissed.”
After all the guest elders had left, the family ancestor turned to the four people in the great hall with a relieved expression.
Only they regarded the Wu family ancestor as one of them.
"Lingfeng, are you genuinely convinced?" the Wu family ancestor asked again.
"Ancestor, I . . . " Wu Lingfeng was going to explain, but was interrupted by the ancestor. “I had the same experience as you,” the ancestor said, “so I surely know what you are thinking.”
"But I want to tell you that taking over the master’s position is a responsibility instead of an honor.”
His eyes slowly swept over the four as he said, "You should be aware of the current situation of our Wu family. Any carelessness could bring great disaster in an instant."
The four nodded with convinced expressions.
"All the trouble resulted from Hongtian, so he will naturally take over the responsibility,” the Wu family ancestor said as he looked at Di Hongtian.
Di Hongtian was solemn again and nodded immediately without any hesitation.
The family ancestor showed a smile and turned to Wu Lingfeng and Wu Changkong, saying, “Lingfeng is not impetuous and he has contributed a lot to the family. However, now the world of martial arts is full of ups and downs. Strong force is needed to protect the whole family, but your strength is not enough."
"Lingfeng, I hope that you can more focus on cultivation instead of other trifles in the future."
Wu Lingfeng looked a little solemn and bowed respectfully.
"Changkong, you are too addicted to cultivation and lack social experience. So you will be a good general instead of a marshal," the Wu family ancestor said with a smile.
Compared to Wu Lingfeng, he still preferred the character of Wu Changkong as a matter of fact.
Wu Changkong smiled to accept the comment by the family ancestor without any dissatisfaction.
"You two are very good disciples of mine and I hope you will never let me down." With these words, the Wu family ancestor waved his hand to motion for them to leave.
Only Di Hongtian and Wu Meier remained in the hall.
"Hongtian, I am also gambling by handing over the master’s position to you. The Wu family will either become prosperous or start declining because of you. . . ” Once he finished these words, the Wu family ancestor’s body suddenly shook, and sways of blackness scrambled over his face like waving tentacles.
“Ancestor!”
“Grandpa. . . ”
Both of them were suddenly shocked and rushed to the ancestor to support him.
"Hey, such a moment is coming!" The Wu family ancestor shook his head. He fumbled out a yellowed scroll and handed it to Di Hongtian, saying, “I don’t have too much time. Hongtian, just listen."
"It’s a map I found in a collection of rare herbal medicines. Follow the map and you should be able to find a kind of medicinal treasure, which may help you a lot to solve your problem of practicing the Xuanyuan Dragon martial art within a certain period.”
"Lingyu fruit only matures after forty-nine years. According to the map and my calculation, it will mature within two months."
"Once you take the Lingyu fruit, you will. . . " The Wu family ancestor gasped and a swarm of blackness gathered on his face like numerous dancing demons, which was extremely terrible, ". . . will . . . extend your life . . . for you . . . to get more time . . . to revenge. Just find . . . the dragon sword. . . "
The family ancestor suddenly became stiff and his eyesight quickly unfocused after being slightly concentrated.
At that moment, Di Hongtian felt the barrier in the body of Wu family ancestor suddenly crack, like a broken mountain, and collapse instantly.
"Grandpa. . . !" Wu Meier cried over the body of the ancestor, heartbroken.
“Ancestor!” Di Hongtian felt so sorrowful that his eyes turned red.
Since the destruction of the Shenjian Villa, he had lost all his relatives. Although he had witnessed the death of many people, it wasn’t enough to stir up his inner emotions. The Wu family ancestor would be the first intimate who died in front of him and he also felt the sadness for the first time. He felt . . . very bad!
"What? The ancestor handed over the master’s position to Hongtian?"
Some disciples of the Wu family had learned the decision by the ancestor from several guest elders. They headed for the great hall and the other disciples along the way had also learned the news.
"Why did the ancestor make such a decision?”
Soon, they saw Wu Lingfeng and Wu Changkong coming out of the hall.
"Eldest brother!" The disciples arrived and surrounded Wu Lingfeng.
"Eldest brother, what is going on here? How come the ancestor handed over the master’s position to Hongtian?”
"Yeah, although Fifth Brother is also good, he is an outsider after all."
"To choose someone as the family master, they should be the best candidate. . . ”
"The ancestor’s decision is too hasty. . . "
Several close disciples surrounded Wu Lingfeng and spoke with a sigh of relief. Compared to the guest elders, they talked more directly to complain about this injustice against him.
"Shut up. The ancestor must have had reasons to do so. How dare you!" Wu Changkong screamed to scold them. But at this moment, he suddenly heard the sorrowful cries from the hall.
His face changed. After a moment of shock, he ran to the hall immediately with deep grief in his eyes.
Three days later, all the Wu family disciples were all in white and standing in front of a new grave.
Di Hongtian gazed at the grave without any words. Wu Meier’s eyes were red and swollen with some teardrops in the corners of her eyes. The two stood in the forefront, and behind them were all the Wu family disciples such as Wu Lingfeng and Wu Changkong. Several guest elders stood aside at a distance.
Ancestor, I promise you that I will try my best to protect the Wu family so long as I am alive. . . Di Hongtian thought to himself.
Seven days after the death of the Wu family ancestor, Di Hongtian, the new master, called all the family members together in the great hall for the first time.
But the first order he issued left everyone dumbfounded.
"I, the master of the family, order the eldest brother to take my place to deal with all the issues while I am absent.”
Even Wu Lingfeng seemed to be greatly surprised by his decision.
“Fifth. . . Master, are you going to leave?" Wu Lingfeng asked.
Di Hongtian nodded and said, "I will be away for at least two months, so all the affairs of the family will be put on your shoulder, Eldest Brother."
"Well. . ." Wu Lingfeng hesitated for a while, and immediately nodded, saying, "Since it’s the order by our family master, I will definitely obey."