Longevity: Comprehending the Heart Method

After such a great battle, the area outside Baiyun Peak was in utter ruins.

Song Changsheng and his party hovered in mid-air, coldly watching Du Huating and the others. The atmosphere was tense.

Du Huating looked at Song Changsheng, who had clearly emerged as the leader, and was filled with a multitude of emotions. ’This is no longer the same wet-behind-the-ears kid who once hid behind Wang Wanzhou for protection.’

’He has now grown into the greatest threat to the four-family alliance.’

”Song! You demanded so many concessions, and this is how you repay us? Why did you let those people break through? Is this what the Song Clan calls credibility?”

No one had expected Li Siyang to be the first one to snap, and he immediately directed his accusations at the Song Clan.

Song Changsheng looked at him as if he were a circus clown. Faced with this hysterical outburst, his expression remained apathetic as he said coldly, ”The credibility of my Song Clan is not for you to judge.”

”Before you question me, perhaps you should get one thing straight. You were the ones who came to us, begging for rescue. We, in turn, acted with the utmost sincerity. And what was the result? What did you do?”

”You were just a stone’s throw away, yet you held your forces back, waiting for us to cripple each other so you could swoop in and pick up the pieces.”

”You violated the agreement first. It would have been perfectly reasonable for us to simply retreat. But we didn’t. We took down five of their Foundation Establishment Cultivators all on our own.”

”The Song and Wang Families have already done more than enough. As for you, cowering inside your Array... what right and what reason could you possibly have to criticize us?”

As his words fell, Song Changsheng’s aura and gaze turned exceptionally dangerous. Meeting that pair of starkly clear eyes, Li Siyang felt an involuntary chill creep up his spine.

Du Huating sighed and discreetly moved to stand in front of Li Siyang. ”Fellow Daoist Li has just suffered a terrible ordeal; his reaction is a bit extreme. I ask that Young Clan Leader Song be magnanimous and not stoop to his level.”

”We were indeed in the wrong. To express our apologies, how about your side takes sixty percent of the loot from these five?”

Qu Jinsheng, who had been trying his best to remain inconspicuous, could no longer hold back upon hearing this. He blurted out, ”Senior Brother, you can’t!”

The moment the words left his mouth, he felt a bone-piercing chill. He turned his head and met Song Changsheng’s eyes, which were brimming with killing intent.

If there was one person from the Song Clan Qu Jinsheng feared facing above all others, it was undoubtedly Song Changsheng. They had crossed paths twice. The first time was in the Moon Viewing Mountain Range. A then-fledgling Song Changsheng had captured Chang Tianhua right in front of him, causing him to lose all face.

Back then, his heart was filled with nothing but hatred for Song Changsheng, and he wanted nothing more than to kill him.

Their second meeting was during the struggle for the Red Cloud Iron Ore Vein. Song Changsheng had just broken through to Foundation Establishment, and Qu Jinsheng had joined forces with someone from the Lieyang Sect to deal with him. The result: one of them died, and the other was grievously wounded.

From that moment on, all he felt toward Song Changsheng was pure terror.

Locking eyes with Song Changsheng, Qu Jinsheng felt a phantom ache in his severed arm. The words he wanted to say caught in his throat, and he immediately shrank back, lowering his head, not daring to speak further.

Seeing his junior brother’s reaction, Du Huating sighed deeply. ’It’s no wonder the Earth Fire Sect was defeated!’

Seeing Qu Jinsheng utterly cowed, a flash of contempt crossed Song Changsheng’s eyes. He said nonchalantly, ”We accept Elder Du’s sincere offer. I’ll take these three. The remaining two are yours.”

Song Changsheng pointed, unceremoniously claiming the corpses of the Foundation Establishment Great Perfection cultivator and the two Late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators for his side.

Li Siyang, Qiu Tianyang, and the others immediately glared at him with fury.

Everyone knew these men were the survivors of vanquished Foundation Establishment Families from the north. They had plundered their way here and were certain to be carrying vast amounts of resources and treasures.

Each one represented an enormous fortune. They themselves had previously killed two of these marauders and recovered one body; the resources inside that man’s Qiankun Bag had been enough to tempt even Du Huating.

The four-family alliance had suffered disastrous losses this time and was counting on these spoils of war to recover their strength.

Yet with just a few words, Song Changsheng had laid claim to the bodies of the three strongest Foundation Establishment Cultivators. This was more than they could accept.

”Your Song Clan suffered virtually no losses in this battle,” Qiu Tianyang said coolly. ”For you to do this, Young Clan Leader Song, seems a little too greedy.”

Song Changsheng raised an eyebrow, feigning surprise. ”Clan Leader Qiu, since when are the spoils of war divided based on losses? Is that a new precedent you’re setting?”

”Tell you what, I’ve thought of a good way to divide these spoils. One that is guaranteed to leave you all completely convinced.”

”And what method is that?” Qiu Tianyang suddenly had a bad feeling.

”Simple. The Human Race has always revered the strong. Naturally, the distribution of spoils should also be decided by strength. So, how about we have a little fight right now?” Song Changsheng said, looking at Qiu Tianyang with a broad smile.

The corner of Qiu Tianyang’s mouth twitched. ’His side had eight Foundation Establishment Cultivators left, and the Song and Wang Families also had exactly eight. On the surface, it seemed fair enough.’

’But could the calculation really be that simple?’

’They had Song Changsheng and Song Xianyun, two powerhouses at the level of Foundation Establishment Great Perfection. In contrast, his own side had only Du Huating, who barely counted as half of one, and everyone else was injured. How could they possibly fight?’

’Qiu Tianyang even suspected that Song Changsheng wanted to use this as an excuse to wipe out their four-family alliance in one fell swoop.’

When you don’t have the bigger fist, you can’t afford to talk tough.

Du Huating shook his head. ”There’s no need for all that trouble. We will do as Young Clan Leader Song says.”

”I want these people, too,” Song Changsheng said, pressing his advantage as he pointed to the Qi Cultivators who had surrendered.