Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 1071: Chapter 735: Scapegoat (Part 2)

After a moment, the personal follower ran back, "Master, the Sun family hasn’t shown any sign of activity!"

"It’s over!" Yu Xiaoning’s heart sank.

Without the Sun family stepping in, how can the Yu family face the two thousand Red Flame Army soldiers?

And why is the Sun family not stepping in?

Yu Xiaoning took a deep breath, hatred filling his eyes.

"You may withdraw for now!"

"Yes!"

The black-clad personal follower withdrew, and Yu Xiaoning pondered for a moment, then turned toward the inner courtyard. Moments later, he left the Yu family hurriedly with a woman and two youths.

Just two hours after Yu Xiaoning left the Yu family, two thousand soldiers in fiery red armor stormed into Longxi Town.

In the sky, Lan Peng was already engaged in a fierce battle with an old man dressed in green, both Heavenly Gang stage martial artists shaking the clouds above.

As the two thousand Red Flame Army soldiers charged into Longxi Town, they slaughtered the Yu family’s kin like tigers in a lamb pen.

In the surrounding mountains, silhouettes watched the scene unfold below at Longxi Town.

Chen Zhongshu stood under a tree, narrowing his eyes at the soldiers in crimson armor.

"The Yu family is about to be annihilated!"

He murmured to himself in a low voice, "So ruthless! Haha~~"

As an old eunuch who has weathered countless storms in the Da Rong Court for decades, he has seen many scenes, yet the present spectacle still intrigues him.

"Master, they went in!" said a man dressed in gray beside him.

Chen Zhongshu looked up just in time to see a group of Red Flame Army soldiers rush into a shop.

After a bout of fighting, that group of soldiers left the shop again.

Much later, as the skirmish within Longxi Town gradually subsided, another group of Red Flame Army soldiers entered the shop to search its contents.

"Let’s go!"

Only then did Chen Zhongshu lead his people away.

...

On Lingxi Mountain.

Lv Hua stood beside Yang Zhenshan, recounting the Red Flame Army’s assault on the Yu family.

"The two thousand Red Flame Army soldiers wiped out the Yu family clan that had crossed the boundary within a day. On the second day, they breached the line and stormed into Longxi Town. The Yu family had one martial artist at the Heavenly Gang stage, and four at the Earth Evil stage. Only the direct descendant, Yu Xiaoning, is missing; the others were slain on the spot!"

"After ransacking Longxi Town, the Red Flame Army retreated back to Ancient County territory. However, they are still stationed in the mountains and have not returned!"

Yang Zhenshan leaned on the chair back, gently tapping his fingers on the table.

"The Sun family showed no one?"

"No! We didn’t see any Sun family members from start to finish!"

Yang Zhenshan’s lip curled slightly, "It seems the Yu family was just a scapegoat!"

Lv Hua showed a puzzled expression, "A scapegoat? Isn’t the Yu family the Sun family’s tool?"

Yang Zhenshan shook his head, "I used to think the Yu family was the Sun family’s tool, but now it appears the Yu family has been nothing but a pawn from start to finish!"

"Previously, we only considered the struggle between the Sun family and the Lu family, neglecting the Three Sects above them."

"If the Lu family got support from Illusion Moon Sect, then which sect backs the Sun family? Is it Xuanqing Sect or Wuxiang Sect?"

"Which one is actually not the crucial point; the key is the Three Sects use families as tools, and the families have no choice but to obey. But the Sun family isn’t willing to fight the Lu family to the death, so they pushed out the Yu family as the scapegoat instead!"

"Though it seems the Yu family wiped out many Martial Arts Families in Ancient County, there was no direct confrontation between the Sun family and the Lu family; what does this signify?"

"It signifies that the Sun family and the Lu family reached an understanding long ago; even Sun Qingrui and Lu Fusheng’s battle in the county was prearranged!"

"Superficially, it looks like the Sun family is trying to suppress the Lu family, but in reality, there is no real conflict of interest between them!"

"The Lu family isn’t a Family yet, and even if they become one, it would pose no threat to the Sun family, so why would the Sun family bother with them?"

"As for whether the Sun family intends to meddle in Ancient County, they may have such thoughts, but certainly not heavily weighted ones."

Yang Zhenshan’s mind raced with speculations.

Despite not yet encountering these sects and families, he could see the Three Sects and Twelve Families are not monolithic entities.

Their interrelations are exceedingly complex, intertwined, mutually restraining, seeming to share common interests, yet their interactions involve inevitable plotting and scheming against one another.

Lv Hua also fell into deep thought, being quite clever himself, naturally grasping the point instantly.

"Then what ties exist among the Three Sects? Logically, they shouldn’t be able to maintain such a balanced state!"

Yang Zhenshan mused, "Perhaps there are factors unknown to us, like shared interests or a common enemy."

Lv Hua nodded slightly, saying, "So what do we do next?"

"Haha, what else can we do? Honestly cultivate, and if we’re lucky, the Red Flame Army might help us deal with the Xiang family, which is a nuisance, then we can seize the opportunity to make some moves, maybe claim a few more mountain tops. Otherwise, we’ll just abide peacefully on Lingxi Mountain!"

Yang Zhenshan chuckled.

For now, they are unnoticed little entities, except for the Xiang family, their old enemy, nothing bothers them, nor do any conflicts concern them.

"Should we expand our forces?" Lv Hua asked.

Yang Zhenshan glanced up at him, Lv Hua’s face covered by a mask, but his eyes revealed visible emotions.

He knew Lv Hua very well.

Lv Hua could be described as ruthless, using any means to achieve his goals, but he isn’t a purely evil person, and values loyalty and compassion.

This was evident in how he treated Wei Cen and others.

Wei Cen and others followed him loyally for a lifetime, even when Lv Hua disappeared for several years, they were willing to wait for him, showing that he is worthy of others’ trust.

Also, Lv Hua isn’t the kind of person to be content with sitting still, having left Da’an to join the Yang family partly because Da’an no longer had room for him to exercise his abilities, and partly from the desire to journey with Yang Zhenshan through the Stormy Sea Area seeking cultivation techniques to break through to Innate Realm.

Now they’ve come to the Sea of Spirit, Lv Hua’s restless heart began to stir again.

"What are you thinking?"

"The Martial Cultivation Workshops also have ordinary people, I plan to recruit some personnel from those workshops!"

"Additionally, we should nurture some forces here, Spirit Source Land personnel are not suitable for direct use here, but we can select some people to train!"

Lv Hua spoke softly.

Spirit Source Land is Yang Zhenshan’s biggest secret; although Spirit Source Land has many people, few outsiders know about those associated with it.

Actually, only Wang Lei, Li Chang, Lv Hua, and Chen Zhongshu knew about it around Yang Zhenshan.

And on Divine Wood Island, Da’an and Dajing, only the Yang family members themselves knew, outsiders only knew the Yang family had another settlement elsewhere, unaware of its exact location.

Yang Zhenshan mused while stroking his beard, "Then let’s nurture some, I’ll arrange a few helpers for you!"

Spirit Source Land personnel aren’t the best fit to come here, as more coming means greater risk of exposing Spirit Source Land.

But that doesn’t hinder Yang Zhenshan from arranging a few aides.

He was aware of Lv Hua’s prowess, with a background from Secret Martial Guards, Lv Hua was adept at nurturing spies.

Currently, his underlings are Divine Wood Navy soldiers, not true spies, still quite inexperienced in intelligence gathering.

Spies need careful cultivation as well, without at least three to five years of training, they aren’t fit for the role.

"I need Silver Coin and Spirit Stone!" Lv Hua said bluntly.

"Hmm, I understand." Yang Zhenshan nodded, knowing that whether nurturing personnel or recruiting people, Silver Coin and Spirit Stone are indispensable.

Regular martial artists can be recruited with Silver Coin, but those with slightly more power require Spirit Stone for recruitment.