Chapter Twenty-Four: Reaching an Agreement

After the four of them returned to the Liu family, Uncle Liu accompanied Second Uncle Tang to pay their respects at Master Liu’s grave. Meanwhile, Tang’s father looked at Tang Wei with a stern expression. “The old clan chief called you in alone just now. Did something happen? You didn’t say a word on the way back. Wei, if there’s anything, you can tell your father.”

Tang Wei smiled and replied, “Dad, it’s nothing. That clan chief and I happen to walk the same path, though his cultivation is not high. He wants me to take some of his clansmen as disciples. I’m just considering whether it’s worth it.”

Her father nodded. “So that’s it. When we went in, I wondered why he kept looking at us! But, Wei, if you don’t want to take disciples, we can just go home tomorrow. There’s really no need to build a bamboo house.”

“I understand, Dad. Let me think it over. I’ll decide tomorrow—I need to give it some thought first.”

The next morning, Tang Wei had made up her mind. Since there were still cultivators on Earth, and now she’d encountered one with low cultivation, it was a good opportunity to inquire about the situation. Know your enemy and yourself—only then will you emerge victorious. If she wanted to protect her family, she had to be clear about the circumstances. As long as their tribe swore a solemn oath never to harm the Tang family, there was no harm in accepting a few more disciples.

She explained her plan to her father, then went alone to the tribe to request an audience with the old clan chief. As soon as she entered the village, she saw the old man leading a group to greet her in person, which confirmed her suspicions.

After exchanging greetings, Tang Wei asked to speak privately with the clan chief and helped him into the inner chamber where they had spoken the day before.

Tang Wei produced a crystalline sphere out of thin air. “Elder, I can roughly agree to what you asked yesterday, but there are things I must know first. This is a Karma Crystal. You should know, any vow sworn upon it by a cultivator will come true if violated. If you swear now that everything you say will be true, and if it is not, your entire clan will suffer calamity. I can tell you my questions first—you may choose whether to answer. Are you hiding here in these remote mountains because you have a formidable enemy? I must know, as I refuse to be drawn into danger without cause.”

When the clan chief saw such a precious artifact appear in her hands, he was already resolved: whatever the cost, their clan must cling to this girl’s support. Otherwise, their vengeance would never be realized, and they would remain forever hidden in these mountains.

Hearing her out, he swore immediately. “I, Shi Zaiwei, swear to the heavens: if I conceal anything from you today, may my entire clan suffer eternal calamity!”

“Very well, tell me your story,” Tang Wei prompted.

Shi Zaiwei turned and sat down, sinking into a moment of silence and memory.

After the Great Cataclysm among the cultivators of China, all those whose cultivation had reached the Golden Core stage and higher vanished without a trace. All ancient spiritual herbs on Earth were swept away. Techniques, pills, and recipes disappeared, leaving behind only a few low-level, poor-talent cultivators. No one knew what had truly happened; history simply called it the Great Cataclysm.

The lower-level techniques left behind were preserved, but after thousands of years of struggle, battles, and contention, much was lost again. Now, only four great cultivating families and four great sects remained. The four families were the Xuanyuan, Ouyang, Shi, and Chen families. The four sects were Kunlun, Kongtong, Shenshao, and Hundred Flowers Valley. Of the families, the Xuanyuan clan was the most prominent, the Chen family the weakest. Among the sects, Kunlun was the most powerful, but no one dared provoke Hundred Flowers Valley, for it was composed entirely of women. Their technique required remaining virgins for cultivation; after dual cultivation with others, both parties’ cultivation could rise by one to five levels, depending on their abilities. Most cultivators’ dual cultivation partners in the families and sects came from Hundred Flowers Valley.

Only low-level techniques were secretly passed down, insufficient to reach the Golden Core stage. Earth’s spiritual energy was lacking, and there were no medicinal herbs to assist. Since the Cataclysm, for thousands of years, no one had reached the Golden Core. Rarely, there might be one or two at the Fasting stage. Any family who produced such a cultivator would dominate Earth for four or five centuries.

The Shi family's story began over a hundred years ago, when Shi Zaiwei was just a young man in his early twenties. No one knew when the rumor began circulating: the Shi family had a pill formula to reach the Golden Core, and as soon as the herbs matured, they could forge the pill and break through. Hearing this, all the cultivators surrounded the Shi estate, demanding the formula for everyone’s benefit. At the time, Shi Zaiwei’s grandfather was clan chief. The rumor was baseless, but how could the chief hand over what did not exist? The others accused the Shi family of hiding the formula and found an excuse to annihilate them.

Fortunately, Shi Zaiwei’s father sensed trouble and secretly led him and a handful of clansmen out through a hidden passage. That was how they survived.

For more than ten years, wherever they fled, cultivators pursued them. Half their number died on the run. The whole country was in chaos until the cultivators realized that the R Nation had taken advantage of the turmoil to invade their land. Only then did they unite against the external threat. The R people had found an ancient cave in China where they discovered the Five Elements Art, which they modified into their ninja techniques, causing the cultivators much trouble. After finally repelling the invaders, it was found that the Shi clan had vanished without a trace.

Shi Zaiwei found his old steward and led the remaining clansmen to hide among the Dai people, becoming a minority tribe. After years of investigation, he discovered that the source of the rumor had been the Chen family from Yunnan.

Once he knew, Shi Zaiwei was obsessed with revenge. But their escape had been so hasty they had brought little with them, not even their family’s techniques; he himself only remembered the first two levels. Now he was only at the third level of Qi Refining, and most of his kin had ceased cultivating. Revenge was a distant hope. Meeting Tang Wei, however, rekindled his dreams of vengeance.

Tang Wei realized that, with her treasures, sooner or later she would clash with the local cultivators. With her current low level, she couldn’t afford to draw attention. She would develop her strength quietly, and then have nothing to fear. The Shi family only wanted revenge; nurturing them would be to her advantage—the enemy of her enemy was her friend.

An agreement was struck. Shi Zaiwei assembled his entire clan to swear upon the Karma Crystal: none would ever harm the Tang family, and they would acknowledge the Tang family as their masters. If they broke the oath, they would be annihilated. In return, Tang Wei would select two disciples from the Shi clan, teach them sincerely, and allow them to pass the techniques on to their people. If she violated the oath, her cultivation would never advance again. After swearing, Shi Zaiwei brought forth all children aged ten to fifteen for Tang Wei to choose.

Tang Wei took out a Spirit Testing Sphere and explained its use, having them try it one by one. Most of the Shi clan had earth spiritual roots. In the end, she chose a ten-year-old boy named Shi Xiaohu, with dual earth and wood roots, and a fifteen-year-old girl named Shi Xiaolin, with earth and water roots. By chance, they were brother and sister, both quite talented. Shi Zaiwei had them formally acknowledge Tang Wei as their master on the spot.

As a gift, Tang Wei gave each of them a storage ring of over a hundred square meters—already the least valuable item in her collection, as she had nothing of lesser worth to offer. Shi Zaiwei, watching from the side, could only gasp in amazement. Back when his family was at its peak, the clan chief himself had only a storage pouch of a few square meters, and now, for a mere greeting gift, this young lady gave away a storage ring a hundred times larger. Witnessing such wealth, Shi Zaiwei became all the more determined to follow Tang Wei closely.

As she departed, Tang Wei casually tossed the Spirit Testing Sphere to Shi Zaiwei, making his hands tremble with excitement.

With the matter settled, Tang Wei returned home with Second Uncle Tang and her father. The Shi family members helping to build the bamboo house would arrive in a few days, bringing the two siblings with them. For now, Shi Zaiwei was busy instructing the brother and sister on the importance of respecting their master and the heavy responsibilities they now bore.