Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 585: Chapter 500 Cui Xia Valley, Martial Artists Gather_2

”Marquis Jing’an Mansion!” Pei Du exclaimed in surprise as he looked at Wu Zheng and others.

Though he had never heard of Wu Zheng’s name, the fame of Marquis Jing’an had spread throughout Da Rong.

Previously, Yang Zhenshan was famous throughout the world for his military exploits, and since the battle at Zhengyang Gate in the Capital City, Yang Zhenshan had become known worldwide as an Innate Martial Artist.

Jianghu Martial Artists might not pay attention to military commanders, but they would definitely not ignore an Innate Martial Artist.

After his surprise, Pei Du looked at the people behind Wu Zheng, and the more he looked, the more solemn his expression became.

Wu Zheng brought not many people, only a little over thirty, but these thirty or so were guards from the Yang family, each of them a Postnatal Fifth Layer Martial Artist or above.

More importantly, they were filled with an aura of stern killing intent, different from the murderous aura of Jianghu Martial Artists.

Anyone with a bit of discernment could tell they were the elite of the army.

”It turns out they are soldiers under Marquis Jing’an; I have been rude!” Pei Du said as he clasped his fists in a salute.

Wu Zheng, not being arrogant, returned the gesture: ”West Building Sword Sect, Wu has long admired the great name! Mr. Pei!”

”Haha~~” Pei Du dismounted, laughed loudly and said, ”Brother Wu, if you don’t mind, you could travel together with Brother Pei!”

Wu Zheng had a faint smile in his eyes, ”Traveling together is fine, but finding the Star Origin Fruit Tree will not be easy!”

”Ah!” Pei Du was taken aback, ”Brother Wu doesn’t know?”

”What?” Wu Zheng asked.

”That Star Origin Fruit Tree is just ten miles within the valley!” he said, looking towards the valley and pointing, ”It should be right behind that mountain!”

Wu Zheng was stunned. Right behind that mountain?

Is there really a Star Origin Fruit Tree?

”How did Brother Pei come to know of this?”

”This matter has already spread throughout Xiangyuan Prefecture, otherwise I would not have come in person!” Pei Du said nonchalantly.

Wu Zheng frowned, the exact location had even been leaked!

He did not suspect Pei Du of deceiving him, as there was no point.

Regarding why Pei Du would tell him, with so many people present in Cui Xia Valley, one only needed to inquire a little to learn about it, there was no need to hide anything.

”Is this true?” Wu Zheng still wanted to confirm.

Pei Du shrugged, ”Although Brother Pei has not seen it with my own eyes, there should be no mistake!”

Wu Zheng slightly nodded, then turned to the guards behind him and said, ”Some of you return to the Capital City and report to the Marquis!”

”Yes!” Five guards immediately took the command, then rode towards the Capital City.

Pei Du watched the departing guards, his eyes sparkling.

”Tsks tsk, I had heard that Marquis Jing’an had many brave warriors under him. Seeing them today, it’s indeed as the reputation suggests!”

Although he could not discern the exact cultivation of Wu Zheng and others, he could tell these people were battle-hardened elites.

Wu Zheng ignored him, then instructed, ”You guys go check it out!”

Then, twenty guards entered into the valley, leaving only seven or eight people by the official road watching the horses.

Pei Du also had his men enter the valley, while he himself made himself comfortable and started chatting idly with Wu Zheng.

The distance of ten miles was not far, but the valley was overgrown with wild grass, making it very troublesome to traverse.

The group of guards took nearly two hours to return.

”How is it?” Wu Zheng asked.

”There indeed is a Star Origin Fruit Tree, but it has already been taken under control by the Secret Martial Guards!” one guard replied.

”Secret Martial Guards?” Wu Zheng’s expression shifted slightly, ”Do you know who is present?”

The guard shook his head, ”There are thousands of knights there; to avoid misunderstandings, we did not approach closer to inquire!”

The knights were the military troops of the Secret Martial Guards, divided into northern, southern, eastern, and western garrisons, each garrison having its contingent of knights, which only the garrison commanders could mobilize.

Since there were thousands of knights here, it must be the commander of the Eastern Garrison, Yan Bo, who was present.

Wu Zheng looked up at the sky; there was still some time before it would be dark. He thought for a moment and said, ”You all stay here, I’ll go over and take a look!”

”I will accompany Brother Wu!” Pei Du found an opportunity and chimed in.

Wu Zheng did not refuse, tidied up a bit, and then entered the valley.

Once inside the valley, moving through the dense forest, the deeper they went, the more solemn Wu Zheng’s expression became.

Because the valley hid a large number of martial artists, initially he could only see over a hundred martial artists near the entrance, but after entering deeper, he saw another dozen groups.

And when he arrived at the location of the Star Origin Fruit Tree, he even gasped in shock.

The previously rarely visited valley had turned into a marketplace.

The Star Origin Fruit Tree was surrounded by knights from the Secret Martial Guards, who had cleared a space to set up camp, directly enclosing the Star Origin Fruit Tree within.

And around there were numerous Martial Artists, either in groups of seven or eight, or even as large as twenty or thirty gathered together.

Scattered all around, there were about thirty to forty groups!

”Brother Wu, look over there.” Pei Du pointed towards a group of about ten people on the hillside, saying.

Wu Zheng looked over, ”What about them?”

”That’s Jing Changyuan, the young manor master of Lingxiu Villa, this guy is a lunatic, be careful when you encounter him!” said Pei Du.

Wu Zheng saw a robustly built man standing under a large tree, dressed in a white robe, appearing quite scholarly.

A lunatic?

He seems quite normal though?

Of course, appearances can be deceiving, especially with those from the worldly society; it’s best not to judge a person’s character by their appearance.

”Over there, Jiuhua Island’s Jin Baiyu...”

”Shen Nong from the Shen family, I didn’t expect him to be interested in Spirit Fruits; I thought he only knew how to forge!”

”Hey, Duan Si’niang from Miao Yu Sect is still as beautiful!”

Pei Du, spotting familiar figures, kept teasing.

Wu Zheng listened on the side, memorizing quite a number of people.

He had heard about these Sects, but when it came to recognizing people, he could not recognize many.

Of course, this does not mean he is inferior to Pei Du, it’s just that everyone has their specialties.

There were also many familiar faces around him, most of whom were nobles from the Capital City.

Thus, he was familiar with the subordinates of many nobles in the Capital City, whereas Pei Du was acquainted with Martial Arts Masters from various schools in the worldly society.

After briefly observing, Wu Zheng and his guards also found an empty spot to temporarily settle down.

...

In the Marquis Jing’an Mansion in the Capital City.

Yang Zhenshan received another message sent by Wu Zheng.

When he found out that there were Martial Artists from dozens of forces in Cui Xia Valley, the corners of his mouth twitched slightly.

Indeed, one should not underestimate the greed of Martial Artists for Spirit Fruits; even though many do not know the effects of the Star Origin Fruit, it does not stop them from flocking to Cui Xia Valley.

In Da Rong, Spirit Fruits are extremely rare, aside from various legends and rumors, the majority of Martial Artists have never seen Spirit Fruit.

Not to mention ordinary Martial Artists, even those at the Postnatal Eighth Layer or Ninth Layer, even Half-step Innate Martial Artists, may not have seen Spirit Fruits.

Previously, the appearance of a Jade Dew Spirit Peach on the golden list of Mountain River Tower made several Half-step Innate experts unable to resist taking action, illustrating the allure of Spirit Fruits to Martial Artists.

And now that a Star Origin Fruit Tree has appeared, it naturally will attract the attention of countless forces.

In reality, though, most of these people are just joining in the excitement, and it would be impossible for them to get a share.

When it comes to Spirit Plants, only Innate Martial Artists are eligible to sit at the table and have a say, others do not even have the right to speak.

In the study, Yang Zhenshan thought for a moment and had someone call Luo Jingsong over.

”Your servant greets the Marquis!”

Luo Jingsong entered the study, his face showing happiness as he greeted Yang Zhenshan with a fist salute.

Seeing the joy he couldn’t hide on his face, Yang Zhenshan smiled and asked: ”Looks like you’ve had a breakthrough?”

”Thanks to the Marquis’s blessing, your servant just condensed the Innate True Qi yesterday!” Luo Jingsong gratefully looked at Yang Zhenshan.

Indeed, it was thanks to Yang Zhenshan’s blessing!

Since following Yang Zhenshan, his cultivation had been progressively advancing.

Yes, progressively.

For a Postnatal Ninth Layer Martial Artist, any minute advancement in cultivation is extremely difficult.

Many Postnatal Ninth Layer Martial Artists might not see any progress for decades.

And for a Postnatal Martial Artist, gradual progress is indeed very rare; although it’s not noticeable in daily practice, every few months, upon careful reflection, one would realize significant improvement in cultivation.

Luo Jingsong had been at the Postnatal Ninth Layer for over four years before following Yang Zhenshan, and he felt he probably would never be able to condense the Innate True Qi in his lifetime.

However, since he began following Yang Zhenshan, his cultivation saw noticeable improvement.

At first, he found nothing strange, but as time went on, he increasingly noticed differences.

He guessed that it might be related to the drinks and guidance given by Yang Zhenshan.

Indeed this was the case, over the past two years, he had drunk a lot of Spiritual Spring Water, and Yang Zhenshan had personally guided him, especially on condensing the Innate True Qi, Yang Zhenshan would instruct him periodically.

Thus, he was able to condense Innate True Qi yesterday and break through to Half-step Innate.