Chapter 37: The Five Great Clans

The attention of everyone in the room was drawn to the little girl who had just entered.

With only a glance, the three of them found themselves inwardly astonished.

Compared to Dong Jiangling’s robe, which was almost devoid of spiritual power, the little girl’s robe radiated with surging magical energy.

At the very least, it was a high-grade robe, and possibly even a second-tier magical garment.

It was clear that this already surpassed anything they had previously encountered.

And the instant the little girl stopped before him, Li Ji’an sensed an invisible force enveloping him.

“No wonder Aunt Yao thinks of you day and night. You are indeed quite handsome—perhaps even better looking than my father,” Yao Yao pretended to be an adult, walking back and forth before Li Ji’an with her hands behind her back.

“Hey, your name is Li Chang’an, right? Tell me, why won’t you accept my Aunt Yao?” She had been smiling just a moment before, but in the next instant, her face changed, and she questioned him indignantly.

“Tong Yaoyao!” Zhao Shuyao could no longer restrain herself, her eyes blazing with anger.

“Aunt Yao, please don’t be angry. I’m only trying to help you,” seeing that Zhao Shuyao was truly upset, Tong Yaoyao immediately became playful again, clinging to Zhao Shuyao’s arm and acting spoiled.

“Uncle Shi, please take her away,” Zhao Shuyao was genuinely angry this time, showing no mercy even as Tong Yaoyao tried to sweet-talk her.

Before she finished speaking, a thin, elderly man appeared silently behind them.

“Little mistress, let’s go. Your mother trusts Aunt Yao the most. Be careful, or Aunt Yao won’t speak up for you in the future,” the old man said kindly.

Tong Yaoyao made a face at him. “Hmph! Aunt Yao loves me best. She would never stop helping me. Right, Aunt Yao?”

“Leave immediately!”

“Aunt Yao, I promise I won’t say another word. I just want to see you with your—”

“If you won’t leave, then I will!” Zhao Shuyao truly couldn’t bear to stay any longer.

“Alright, alright, I’m going, I’m going. Aunt Yao, please don’t be angry!” Tong Yaoyao finally gave in, let go of Zhao Shuyao’s arm, and turned to follow the old man out.

But she glared at Li Ji’an three times as she left, and just before she walked out the door, she threatened, “Li, if you dare make my Aunt Yao sad, when I grow up, I won’t let you off! Hmph!”

This little episode made the atmosphere, which had just begun to ease, stiffen and grow awkward once again.

Dong Jiangling seemed relatively unbothered, having seen much in his life. He had long since seen through such things.

Zhang Tiezhu, however, was rather dense when it came to matters of the heart, and after all these years, he had little experience of such situations. He looked a bit bewildered.

He was especially affected because, earlier that day, he could still recall vividly the way the young mistress had spoken to Li Ji’an before they left the clan.

But soon, he had an epiphany. No wonder Zhao Shuyao had suddenly started writing to him frequently over the past few years, sharing stories about her life… It turned out she had just been using him as a sounding board for her feelings.

“Whew—” After a long, awkward silence, Zhao Shuyao could no longer sit still.

She took a deep breath, understanding that some matters simply could not be left unspoken.

“Brother Li, I’m sorry.”

Li Ji’an waved his hand. “It’s nothing. Children speak without malice.”

“No, I mean… I was willful those years. I… I was wrong!”

Li Ji’an smiled freely. “Some mistakes carry consequences that can never be forgiven, but some mistakes—can be.”

The reason he had once felt disappointed in Zhao Shuyao was because he had expectations of her—mostly due to his relationship with Zhao Yunsheng, regarding her as a junior and hoping she would no longer act recklessly as she had in her youth. Now that he was middle-aged, he no longer harbored such hopes, so forgiveness was no longer an issue.

After uttering the words “I was wrong,” Zhao Shuyao bowed deeply, as if a great weight had been lifted from her heart. Many things she had held onto suddenly eased.

Back then, the reason she had wanted to return and live an ordinary life with Li Ji’an was not only because she understood how hard cultivation was, but also because she had despaired of her own spiritual roots, and at that time, she faced a choice.

She could become a spinster maid for her master’s family, who would then support her path in body cultivation.

But from then on, she would belong to that household, and barring exceptional circumstances, would never be allowed to marry.

As a former prodigy princess, she naturally felt unwilling to accept this fate. If her path in cultivation was at a dead end, it seemed better to live as a mortal than as a servant.

She also believed that Li Ji’an was destined to be like her, perhaps even possessing poorer spiritual roots.

At the time, she assumed Li Ji’an had also given up on cultivation, so she thought they might marry and spend their remaining years together as ordinary people.

But Li Ji’an’s reply wounded her pride once again, even leading to misunderstandings.

Now, ten years later, many things had become clear.

Indeed, time could resolve many matters.

In an instant, Zhao Shuyao felt a sense of relief.

Even her earlier concerns about growing old faded away, and she could now face them calmly.

The four of them could finally converse like old friends, sharing their insights and discussing the path of cultivation.

For the next three days, the four stayed at a nearby inn, reminiscing and waiting for Zhu Linxian.

Three days later, Dong Jiangling, anxious about his wife and daughter at home, could wait no longer.

“I’m afraid Linxian won’t be able to come,” Dong Jiangling finally voiced his desire to leave.

“If she’s been accepted into Biyun Sect, she probably won’t come at all…” Zhao Shuyao, knowing more about the sect, understood its status and influence in the entire Cangyun Prefecture.

“She wouldn’t look down on us, would she? Maybe she just doesn’t want to associate with us anymore?” Zhang Tiezhu was the most disappointed.

Such words wouldn’t help group unity, so Li Ji’an patted Zhang Tiezhu on the shoulder. “Once someone enters a sect, their fate is no longer their own. If we have the affinity, we will meet again.”

With that, he was ready to leave. He had just learned that Chen Zhaohu had returned from hunting, and he still had matters to discuss with him.

“Brother Li, Jiangling, wait.” Zhao Shuyao finally called out to the two of them.

She had planned to wait until all five were present to discuss this, as it concerned everyone. Besides, she was still hoping Zhu Linxian would come—if she truly joined Biyun Sect, things would be much easier.

“I have new clues about the family from the Celestial Dynasty that cultivates blood slaves. It’s very likely one of the five great clans of Cangyun Prefecture.” This time, she used martial sound transmission to keep her voice secret.

“The five great clans!” Li Ji’an and Dong Jiangling exchanged glances, grave expressions in their eyes.

Based on the information Zhao Shuyao had provided earlier, and the duel between the recruiting immortal master and another in the Storm Desert, Li Ji’an had guessed the family might be similar in strength to the Yan family, nothing too formidable.

But now, hearing Zhao Shuyao’s latest revelation, he was caught off guard.

For nearly a thousand years, the structure of Cangyun Prefecture had consisted of a single sect and five noble families. Though the five noble families lacked a true Core Formation master, they did possess “pseudo-core” masters, second only to true Core Formation cultivators, making them the leaders among all cultivation families in Cangyun.

So-called pseudo-cores are formed when a cultivator attempts Core Formation but, lacking sufficient spiritual power at the final stage, forms a solid core in the dantian that is inferior in quality. Though they barely scrape through the breakthrough, the core’s quality is poor, their power only fifty or sixty percent that of a true core, and their lifespan is also shortened by twenty percent.

Most importantly, their path to further cultivation is forever blocked.

Nevertheless, in today’s Cangyun Prefecture, even a pseudo-core master is an unattainable figure for most people.

“The five great clans… then why wouldn’t they send a Foundation Establishment elder to handle the matter, instead of a young cultivator at the late Qi Refining stage? And the clan member who tried to sabotage the blood slave plot was also only at late Qi Refining, not Foundation Establishment…”

“Is it because of the complex branches within the clan, with factions at odds, or because the pseudo-core masters themselves aren’t involved?” Zhao Shuyao didn’t know more specifics; her employer had merely guessed the sphere of influence of the person secretly buying information.

Fortunately, as far as she knew, the other side seemed to have abandoned their covert investigations several years ago.

At the very least, the intelligence agency controlled by Zhao Shuyao’s employer had not received further commissions from them since then.