Beginning of Change
Xue Bai knew that while if he tried to get as close as possible to Huo Long extremely fast, it wouldn't cause any suspicions now. But after Huo Long would pick up his master, Feng Huang would instantly know that Xue Bai was up to something.
So he decided to bring the protagonist over to the Dukedom. Though a week was long, and they could become friends in that span of time. If Huo Long came to the Dukedom, they could socialize longer.
While Xue Bai was still thinking about future moves, the father-son duo were still in shock.
"Father, did the Young Duke just invite me to the Dukedom, or am I just hearing things?" Huo Long was the first to react.
"No, you heard right. The Young Duke did invite you. But why? is he planning something?" Huo Ming responded.
Huo Long looked thoughtful for a moment but then spoke, "No, Father, it shouldn't be anything like that. If the Young Duke wanted to do something to me, he could do it with a snap of his fingers. Inviting me to the Dukedom just to kill me would be pointless."
Huo Ming smacked Huo Long's head after hearing that, "I wasn't implying that, you fool. What I meant is that if he wanted to recruit you early. Your Uncle Chen was recruited later in life, but maybe the Young Duke saw your potential and wanted to attach you to the Dukedom early on."
Huo Long held his head in pain but didn't dare cry. He had been smacked more times these past two days than in the past year. And crying would only make it worse, so he had learned to hold it in.
Huo Ming ignored his son and continued, "Xiao Long, you must take this chance well. The Young Duke is a chosen child of the heavens. Whether you cling to this chance well or not will determine our clan's fate."
Huo Long though he was still in pain, nodded at this. While the Huo Clan was currently peaceful, he knew that there still were enemies lurking in the dark who wanted their downfall. That was the reason Huo Long wanted to grow so fast. He wanted to help his father shoulder the burden of the clan.
Back to Xue Bai, he was walking around the Huo Clan exploring. Currently, every member of the clan knew who he was, so he didn't bother to call the Wang Twins for protection. As who in their right mind would try and attack him knowing that he was Duke Xue's son?
After walking for a while, he made it to the practice field for the younger generation. Since most children didn't bother learning how to fight until they awakened their Martial Veins, everybody on the field was, at the youngest, a teenager.
But their practicing disappointed Xue Bai as he saw that most of the teenagers on the field weren't even trying and seemed only to be there just to pretend. Some of them even were sitting down on the dirt and watching others.
"So you can see it too, Young Duke?" A voice suddenly can from Xue Bai, causing him to turn around.
"Oh, it's you, commander." Xue Bai spoke. Huo Chen had some time ago snuck up on Xue Bai,
"And how can I not see it? Most of them aren't even trying to practice, and some seem to be there just to make up numbers. With your clan's situation, I had assumed they would be practicing with as much energy as the soldiers back home."
"You know, Young Duke?" Huo Chen didn't think Xue Bai would learn about his clan before coming.
"I read a report about your clan before we left. When you were kicked from your fief and moved to the Imperial Capital, the Marquis Xia Clan and Marquis Huang Clan suppressed you at every chance. And they were also the biggest voice behind your banishment to Frontier City." Xue Bai answered.
Actually, Xue Bai hadn't read a report and only mentioned what happened in the game. But how could he say that? So he instead told a little white lie. Huo Chen even seemed to be moved from that, so it was a good lie at that.
"It's because we haven't told them yet. Much of the younger generations have already begun to be angry with our clan's founder. After all, they didn't see his rise and only heard of him as the reason they were kicked out of Imperial Capital. If we tell them that his defeated opponents were after us, they will lose any respect that they still had." Huo Chen explained.
"Commander, can I speak bluntly for a moment?" Xue Bai asked, and after receiving a nod, he continued, "That's the dumbest reason I've ever heard. So you want a group of kids to respect an old man who abandoned his clan just because of his talents? And to accomplish that, you are willing to lull them into thinking that their situation is safe. Even though you could be wiped out any day?"
Huo Chen, hearing Xue Bai wanted to argue, but he couldn't. Everything that Xue Bai said was true. So he only sat through the lecture and waited for Xue Bai to finish.
"The only reason the Huang and Xia Clans haven't wiped your clan out is because of you and your affiliation to my father. But you won't be able to break through to the Domain Lord Realm in your life and will be stuck with only 250 years of lifespan. They could wait you out, and after you, who would protect your clan? Maybe Huo Long, but he currently is like a young tiger surrounded by adult wolves. They won't let him grow peacefully or even grow at all. The second they see his potential, they'll kill him. You know that better than I do."
pαпdα-ňᴏνêι·сóМ It was after hearing that Huo Chen was visibly shaken. That was what he was planning to do with Huo Long, and though he knew Huo Long would have a hard life, he didn't think that his nephew was such a high-profile target for enemies. So after weighing his choices, he clenched his teeth and turned to leave.
"Young Duke, give me a moment. I will like to speak to my cousin about this." And after saying this, he flew off.
Xue Bau didn't say anything and let him leave. In the game, besides Huo Long, no one in the clan served any purpose. Hell, none of them were even named beside Huo Long and Huo Ming.
And though the chances were slim, maybe by telling them about the danger that surrounded them, it could stop that from happening and give Huo Long some capable relatives.
After watching the practice field for a little longer, Xue Bai stood up to leave. He had accomplished his goal by staying here, so staying any longer served no purpose.
And sure enough, as he continued to walk throughout the Huo Clan, a loud bell noise echoed
throughout the Mansion. And though Xue Bai had never heard that sound before, it should be a clan meeting alarm from its urgency. So he found the nearest Huo Clan members and followed the crowd.
After following them for a few minutes, Xue Bai was led to the Main Hall. There he saw on the elevated stand Huo Ming sitting on the main chair with a solemn look on his face. Huo Chen stood beside him with an equally serious face.
On a side note, the Wang Twins were also there, but they had annoyed looks on their faces. Huo Chen had probably forced them from their cultivation to come here.
Thinking that he should also be at the top, Xue Bai pushed his way through the crowd and walked over to the Wang Twins.
Seeing Xue Bai walk over to them, the Twins asked him what they had been thinking this whole time, "Young Duke, what did Commander Chen call his entire clan here for? Is it so important that even we should come?"
However, Xue Bai didn't answer them directly and only vaguely said, "He took my advice."
And just after Xue Bai spoke, Huo Ming finally started to speak.
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter