Not long after the flying boat took off, before it had built up speed, it suddenly slowed down.
Another flying boat caught up and drew alongside. A young cultivator leapt into the air and landed aboard Wei Yuan's vessel.
The young cultivator entered the cabin, gave a salute to Cui Yu, and said, "Now that Cousin has returned home, why didn't you come to see me? If I hadn't found out early, I would have missed you yet again."
Cui Yu's expression darkened. "There is no acquaintance between us. There was no need to arrange a meeting."
"Cousin speaks amiss. As fellow members of the Cui family, when times are difficult for the clan, we must naturally shoulder great responsibilities. This is not merely about you and me, but about the entire Cui family. I have heard that in recent years Cousin has accomplished quite a bit, displaying real talent in drilling troops, preparing for war, and governing territory, earning frequent praise from the elders. That is why I would like to invite Cousin to return to the Cui family and lend me a helping hand."
Cui Yu raised his eyebrows. "To what end?"
"The clan elders recently decided to transfer to me the position of Domain Lord over a border territory. The frontier is fraught with unrest, and I require able hands to assist me. Cousin, you are the ideal choice. When I achieve a dharma idol in the future, I will naturally depart for other places—and wouldn't that land then belong to you?"
Fury flashed in Cui Yu's eyes. Coldly, he said, "Not interested."
The young cultivator replied, "I know Cousin is proud and aloof, but human strength has its limits, and a hair's breadth of difference in talent is still a difference. We are of the same generation and naturally of close blood, which is why I sought you out. Our past disputes were truly meaningless, and besides, the outcome has already been decided—why let spite rule you?
"What is more, ten years from now, newcomers in the family might emerge to prominence. If we do not seize the advantage now, we might well be replaced by them. Think over my words carefully, Cousin."
With that, the young cultivator took his leave. The flying boat accelerated once more, soaring into the high skies and flying at full speed toward the domain.
Only after the young cultivator had left did Cui Yu's face darken completely, and he spat, "He goes too far! What does he take himself for, parading in front of me with that patronizing air of seeking men of talent? Treating me like his underling?!"
"Who was that?" Wei Yuan asked.
Taking a deep breath to steady his emotions, Cui Yu answered, "Cui Tianlin. Same generation as me. He entered the Sword Palace, and his Dao Foundation is one of the Sword Palace's seven palace-guarding immortal swords."
Wei Yuan said, "Wanting to take you under his banner already seems a bit premature. Could it be..."
Cui Yu snorted. "No need to wonder—it was deliberate! He came just to humiliate me! His branch of the clan was originally weak, but now that they have him, they've begun snatching up everything. My father has already yielded a medicinal garden, four manors, and over a dozen properties, yet they still want more!"
Wei Yuan knew that internal clan struggles were no less fierce than imperial court politics, but he had not expected the younger generation to have reached the point of trying to force submission to each other's faces.
Cui Yu slammed his hand down on the armrest. "I refuse to believe it! Without an immortal foundation, does a man have no path of the Dao left to walk?"
Wei Yuan sighed inwardly, at a loss for how to console him. He could only say, "Having failed this time, he certainly won't let the matter rest. You must prepare early."
With a dark expression, Cui Yu said, "It will be nothing more than the old routine of issuing a formal challenge and fighting on the duel stage. If I don't dare accept, I'll lose all face, and I can forget about ever standing against him on equal terms again."
"Brother Cui, you also cultivate an immortal sword. How much of a gap is there really between you and the Sword Palace?"
Cui Yu said helplessly, "I was bestowed an immortal sword by the Patriarch as well, but my natural aptitudes are insufficient, so I cannot bring out the sword's full might. The Patriarch's immortal sword is not inferior in the slightest to the Sword Palace's palace-guarding swords; the failing lies with me."
"In that arena duel, are there limits on the types or number of magic treasures?"
Startled, Cui Yu replied, "There are no restrictions on that. But with the Sword Palace nurturing him, he holds more magic treasures than I do now, and of higher grade. Even if the elders of my branch bestow treasures on me, we would at best be evenly matched."
Wei Yuan said, "As long as there are no restrictions, that's enough. It's too late for this trip, but once the next training cohort finishes, I will accompany you back to the Cui family, and we'll go challenge him directly to a duel!"
Cui Yu gave a wry smile. "Do you think I'm you? This... to be honest, I have no confidence. The odds are heavily against me."
Wei Yuan laughed. "Rest easy. As long as all kinds of magical implements and magic treasures aren't restricted, we can't lose!"
Because the third cohort had graduated earlier than expected, the candidates for the Cui family's fourth cohort were not yet ready and would only be sent over in a few days.
Wei Yuan estimated that this cohort would likely contain considerably more elders. The elders paid far more than the youths and had no qualms about the Great Bright Demon-Subduing Sword. Thus, in addition to the Great Bright Demon-Subduing Sword, Wei Yuan had meticulously prepared a new Dao Foundation for them this time: the Ten Directions Glazed Golden Fire.
However, after testing it numerous times in Ten Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains, the flame's temperature remained a bit too high. Naturally, the higher the temperature, the greater the difficulty of cultivation. By the standards of the world beyond the heavens, fire was fire, but a few hundred degrees made for a Mortal Tier Dao Foundation, whereas tens of thousands of degrees was an immortal foundation like the True Fire of the Sun.
Therefore, as soon as he returned to the domain, Wei Yuan sought out Yu Zhizhuo to consult him on the issue of flame temperature. When it came to the properties of matter, Yu Zhizhuo was indeed a rare genius; he grasped the concept instantly. He immediately brought over a jar of strong liquor, purified it directly with Dao power, and ignited it. Sure enough, the flame's temperature dropped drastically, and its properties were clear and straightforward, not difficult to comprehend.
Wei Yuan was thoroughly impressed, and thus the breadth of human Dao Foundations was broadened once more.
Just then, word arrived from Bianning Commandery: the commandery governor, Xu Xi, had arrived to assume office.
Wei Yuan set out immediately for Bianning Commandery, simultaneously ordering his men to bring one hundred thousand jin of grain and erect porridge sheds at the border between Ningxi and Bianning Commandery, preparing to distribute food.
At the Bianning Commandery office, the newly appointed Commandery Governor Xu Xi had assembled all the officials of the commandery, high and low, and was flying into a rage.
"So many displaced refugees in the commandery—how are they to be settled?! Relief, porridge distribution! Where are we supposed to get so much grain? There isn't a single grain of rice left in the granaries right now! What is to be done about these refugees? Lord Sun!"
Sun Chao'en hastily rose and bowed. "This subordinate is here!"
Xu Xi had a fair, clean-shaven face save for two neatly groomed thin moustaches. With cold eyes, he said, "Gathering so many displaced people right before I took office—are you trying to give me a show of strength?"
Startled, Sun Chao'en dropped to his knees with a thud and stammered, "This subordinate would never dare!"
The gathered officials looked on, some shocked, others faintly contemptuous.
As vice prefect, Sun Chao'en held an office second only to one and above all others in the commandery; if anything happened to the governor, the vice prefect could act in his stead. In theory, they were separated by merely half a rank, and there was no need whatsoever to perform a full kneeling kowtow. Yet at the slightest intimidation from Xu Xi, Sun Chao'en had immediately dropped to his knees—truly without a single hard bone in his entire body.
Even Xu Xi had not expected this. Taken aback for a moment, he said, "Lord Sun, please rise quickly. I was merely inquiring, with no other intent."
"Thank you, Your Excellency." Only then did Sun Chao'en rise trembling and return to his seat, daring only to rest half a cheek on the chair.
With this, Xu Xi found it awkward to press his temper further. His tone softened slightly as he said, "Food distribution cannot continue, but neither can it cease abruptly. What should be done? Let us deliberate on a plan!"
An official proposed, "We could adopt a gradual reduction strategy: reduce the daily porridge portion by ten percent each day, halting it completely after ten days. Finding no food, the refugees will naturally move on elsewhere."
Sun Chao'en interjected, "The gradual reduction strategy is fine, but far too slow. Every additional day of porridge distribution burns through tens of thousands of jin of grain. This subordinate suggests halving it every day!"
Xu Xi pondered briefly and said, "Halving it is a bit too fast; let us reduce it by thirty percent daily instead. Furthermore, order the soldiers to remain vigilant. If any displaced people cause trouble, punish them without mercy!"
"Lord Xu balances grace and severity—truly brilliant!" Sun Chao'en was the first to flatter him shamelessly.
Xu Xi stroked his moustache and smiled. It seemed these Western Regions were not as terrifying as rumors made them out to be. On his very first day in office, hadn't he already brought the whole officialdom under his heel, thoroughly submissive?
When the meeting concluded, the officials dispersed. Several glanced furtively, clearly harboring grievances in their chests.
Upon his arrival, Xu Xi had berated them mercilessly, painting everything they had done in the past as utterly foolish. Even if these officials had rarely done good deeds before, being denounced like this naturally left them disgruntled.
In the afternoon, the porridge sheds opened as usual, though long lines had formed outside long before, with many people lining up before dawn.
After barely an hour, with less than half the line served, the porridge depot shut its gates. The refugees instantly erupted into an uproar, but there truly was no porridge left inside. Moreover, dozens of burly soldiers had been added to the guards; swinging staves and clubs, they beat and scattered the refugees. Those who received no porridge dispersed and rushed toward the other distribution sites.
As night fell, the new commandery governor Xu Xi hosted a banquet. Those invited were all confidants he had brought with him; a large number of the commandery's original officials, Sun Chao'en included, were excluded from the guest list.
Learning of this, Sun Chao'en showed no anger; instead, he sent over a selection of chickens, ducks, fish, and meats. This made Xu Xi nod in quiet approval, thinking that Vice Prefect Sun knew his place well enough.
On the second day, the porridge depots opened half an hour later than usual. Within just two quarters of an hour, they announced that the porridge was gone and that people should return early tomorrow.
This time, five hundred government troops were stationed directly around the depot, every one of them exuding hostility. Seeing the refugees grow unruly, the commanding officer grew furious and barked an order. The soldiers swung their heavy staves, beating over a hundred refugees bloody in an instant.
A voice suddenly rang out from among the displaced crowd: "The soldiers are murdering people!"
The cry was shrill and heart-wrenching.
From within the throng of refugees, a blade thrust out suddenly, burying itself deep in the officer's belly! The officer stared in stunned disbelief at the sword in his gut, trying to find his killer, but before his eyes was an ocean of refugees, and it was impossible to tell who had struck.
Seeing their officer stabbed, the soldiers, long accustomed to throwing their weight around, immediately discarded their long staves, drew their swords and sabers, and began hacking into the crowd, cutting down dozens of refugees in the blink of an eye.
Another roar rose from the crowd: "We're dead either way—fight these bastards to the death!"
Those among the displaced who could survive the trek beyond the pass were already strong, and people in the Western Regions tended to be hot-tempered. At this moment, they threw caution to the winds; seeing weapons being passed into their hands, they took them and charged forward.
Surrounded on all sides by ten thousand refugees, the several hundred soldiers were slaughtered in moments. Even then, many refugees were still bewildered—where had the blades in their hands come from?
Just then, someone kicked open the depot gates, revealing over a thousand jin of rice piled upon carts by the back door. Suddenly, someone leapt onto a cart and shouted, "The corrupt officials are stealing even the grain meant to save our lives! We have no way to live anyway—let's fight them to the finish!"
"Follow me!" Several burly refugees roared, striding forward in the lead toward the governor's manor.
The remaining refugees hesitated, but voices beside them urged, "We killed soldiers! We won't survive anyway, so we might as well make a stand!"
Thus, the ten thousand refugees turned into a torrential flood, surging relentlessly toward the governor's manor.
Similar scenes unfolded across the city. Many military officers fled once they saw things turning sour. Then, at every porridge depot, the refugees uncovered carts laden with grain, fanning their fury into an inferno as they marched on the governor's manor.
The officers who managed to escape cursed their rotten luck. They had only been temporarily assigned to guard the depots, and the depot officials had skimmed off part of the grain to share profits with them. This was an established practice of many years, yet disaster had struck on this day of all days.
The converging streams of refugees were like a mudslide, arriving at the governor's manor in no time. Government troops hurried up to block them, but unseen arrows shot out from the shadows, picking off the officers one by one. With that, the soldiers scattered in panic.
Tens of thousands of refugees surrounded the governor's manor on all sides and forced open the heavy gates together. The sight of officials feasting inside fueled their rage even further.
Livid with anger, Xu Xi flew into midair and unleashed the terrifying pressure of a dharma idol cultivator, forcing tens of thousands of refugees to grovel on the ground instantly. In a chilling voice, he bellowed, "You dare rebel? Do you all value your heads so little?!"
His voice boomed like thunder, ringing clearly through the entire commandery seat.
The refugees were mere mortals; whether there were tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands, Xu Xi alone could slaughter them all at his leisure. Thus, facing tens of thousands by himself, he felt not a shred of fear.
Yet at that exact moment, a small black silhouette suddenly darted out from behind, appeared silently at Xu Xi's back, and with a single swat, drove him into the ground!
An hour later, Xu Xi slowly came to.
By now, the governor's manor looked as though it had suffered a natural catastrophe. Every valuable object had been looted clean, not even sparing the chamber pots in the rooms. As for the entire household—whether personal guards, stewards, maidservants, or elderly maids—not a single one remained. His eight wives and concubines had likewise vanished without a trace.
As for himself, he had been stripped completely bare, lying stark naked on the muddy ground.
Overwhelmed with shame and fury, Xu Xi spat out a mouthful of blood, screamed, "These scoundrels have pushed me too far!" and passed out once again.
Chapter 338