Chapter 87: Damn capitalism!
Xie Meiling’s shining black eyes gazed into Xie Qing’s confident face, who casually smiled, holding her hand.
At some point, her gaze on her son differed from ordinary motherly love. However, Xie Meiling still did not realize this, brushing it off as ordinary motherly love.
Perhaps deep down in her mind, the thought stood, but she deliberately ignored it to avoid breaking the current relationships and creating unnecessary awkwardness.
Moreover, her main barrier was taboo. Incest was condemned among the aristocracy, although cultivators saw it as normal, as it even allowed the preservation of blood purity in some places.
Among mortals, incest could lead to mutations or diseases, as well as weakness, but cultivators were different and more resilient. Therefore, they did not have such problems. Xie Meiling was lost in thought.
While Xie Qing was spending his time traveling in the Western Continent, a cold war broke out on the Northern Continent. The Xie family was being suppressed from all sides by enemies who wanted to eliminate the competition and thus create advantageous positions for themselves and make more money.
However, the Xie family gained a patron at some point, a mysterious group of people led by a cultivator at the peak of Core Formation who was able to silence the dissatisfied rich who had failed.
Since then, although the pressure on the Xie family continued, they were able to take a breather and not worry about their safety, at least temporarily.
Meanwhile, an arena was being prepared for competitions and family heirs were being summoned. At one point, Xie Hui even thought that he could use the situation to his advantage, but…
“No,” came a rough elderly voice.
“What?”
Xie Hui sat at a round table with several other elders, including the chief elder, who responded to the man’s proposal.
“Why, Chief Elder? I think it is quite logical to temporarily transfer control of the family to me, as no one else is better suited in the current situation,” said Xie Hui, adding, “We also need to postpone the inheritance competition because of the family’s unstable situation!”
“Again, young master, the answer is just one word – ‘no,’ do you understand?” replied the chief elder, looking indifferently at Xie Hui and explaining, seeing the man’s dissatisfaction: “If you are interested, the answer to the question is simple – we do not want to change traditions.”
“Chief Elder, the situation is different from what it was until recently! This is a matter of preserving the status of the Xie family!” retorted Xie Hui.
“I understand and fully realize all this. However, I have sworn to uphold the family’s traditions, and we have no right to violate them,” the elder firmly disagreed: “This is my final decision, as well as the decision of the elders. And for now, I ask you to leave us.”
“You…”
Xie Hui was angry and unhappy with the situation. He gritted his teeth and snorted, getting up from his seat and knocking over the chair he was sitting on.
The elders watched him leave, and when he left the room, they just sighed and shook their heads.
It was clear to them that Xie Hui was trying to take control of the family, but even if the elders supported him, they had sworn before the Heavens to uphold the family’s traditions and not violate them.
Supporting Xie Hui instead of the rightful heir Xie Qing was already partially considered a violation of tradition, but they had not given their oath on this matter – this was the only thing saving Xie Hui from an awkward situation.
“Damn!”
Meanwhile, Xie Hui himself was passionately breaking furniture in his room, as if he had found the most beautiful woman waiting for him naked on his bed.
“Damn! Damn! Damn!”
The sound of breaking glass echoed in his room, and Xie Hui’s face turned red with embarrassment and anger.
“These two-faced bastards! What kind of preservation of traditions is this? They just don’t want to give power into my hands, afraid that in the end, they will also suffer!”
The head of the family. On the one hand, it seemed like a distinguished title, but in the Xie family, his power was limited, and his free time was even less.
The Council of Elders was a form of influential power that kept the head of the family from making strange decisions.
A simple and functional system that seemed correct on the surface, but in reality, it was just a way to cover their backs!
“Damn elders. They know that I will deal with them as soon as I become the head of the family, so they are afraid,” thought Xie Hui, frowning and sitting on a broken cabinet. The elders were a danger to his position, and although he shamelessly used their position to gain some power for himself, Xie Hui would not hesitate to get rid of them at the first opportunity.
Looking at the cloudy sky, Xie Hui darkened.
“The letter will be delivered to these two in a week, and from then on, two months will be counted until they arrive here. I must mobilize all my forces and crush these two, whether quietly or in an honest battle!”
Xie Hui licked his chapped lips, which had already begun to crack. He looked at his hands with an inscrutable expression.
“I have already killed several of my brothers, even secretly killing my brother from my father. I will not hesitate, even if it is my sister,” he thought. His heart had long cooled towards family relations. He didn’t care about blood; he only wanted to climb to the top of the corpses, even if they belonged to his relatives.
Not only was the Xie family immersed in an atmosphere of preparation. The Huang family was also in the same situation, but everything was much easier for them.
“Brother Jing, I do not want to fight for the right to inherit, but I will have to enter this battle because of certain circumstances,” said a middle-aged man with a tired and sad voice, raising a glass of wine: “To your health!”
“To your health, Brother Li!”
Huang Jing raised his glass of wine and clinked it with his older brother. There was a friendly smile on his face.
In the Huang family, Huang Jing held a high position, and if it were not for the fact that the competition for the right to inherit was a tradition, he would have been given the status of head of the family without any problems after the current head of the family handed over the reins.
He was respected by his brothers, and his status in the family was as strong as a mountain.
He was a member of the powerful Sect of the Resting Eagle, was a disciple of the main court, and was third in strength and contribution. His name was known to everyone, and the disciples called him the “Fate Killer.” He was feared and respected.
In the Huang family, three brothers were fighting for the inheritance – Huang Jing, Huang Li, and Huang Bei.
The latter was the strongest rival. However, now everything depended on Xie Qing. If he could become a Soul Nascent cultivator, then it would only be a matter of time before he won.
Days passed unnoticed. Xie Qing found himself in front of the gates of the Nine Pills Sect. Even from here, he could feel the smell of herbs and the powerful flow of Qi.
Compared to what Xie Qing had expected, the Nine Pills Sect did not look as ancient and majestic, but rather a strict place with symmetrically arranged buildings.
The tallest building was only fifty meters high, as higher was not allowed. The gates were high and strong, made of expensive and sturdy spiritual stone.
Ten cultivators guarded the entrance. However, only two of them were visible. The rest were following the movements of Xie Qing and Xie Meiling.
“Greetings,” greeted Xie Qing, and seeing caution on their faces, he took out his disciple token and handed it to them: “I am from the Heavenly Sword Sect, and I have come to visit the Nine Pills Sect and buy some medicine.”
“Oh…”
As soon as Xie Qing mentioned his affiliation with the Heavenly Sword Sect, the wrinkles on the faces of the two guards immediately smoothed out, and they began to behave much more respectfully.
The four great sects represented the power of the cultivation world, and if you were a member of such a sect, no one would dare to treat you rudely or with the slightest disrespect.
After checking the token’s authenticity with a special device, it was returned to its rightful owner.
“Here. I will accompany you to help you register. This is a mandatory measure for all guests, please understand.”
“Of course.”
Xie Qing nodded, and Xie Meiling also had no problem with this. This was a common practice, and usually, guests had to find out where to register on their own.
However, since Xie Qing’s status was from a great sect, the guard volunteered to personally accompany him. On the one hand, this was a way to express respect, and on the other hand, to make sure that the young man did not cause any trouble.
Xie Qing’s cultivation level in the token was updated, and everyone could see that he was a Core Formation cultivator. The stage was not specified, and no one could see your exact information until you allowed it.
Xie Qing did not particularly care about this, but Xu Mei insisted that he not openly disclose this information to avoid problems.
The guard turned out to be talkative. As soon as Xie Qing showed his good intentions, coupled with the young man’s charisma, it was easy to become friends.
Of course, the guard only shared publicly available information. No matter how pleasant Xie Qing seemed, he was still a stranger.
In any case, Xie Qing was only interested in information about the surrounding area, and he could always learn about any secrets from Xu Mei. Soon, with the help of the responsive guard, they were registered without waiting in line and received a temporary token.
“Young Master Xie, this token will serve as your identification in the sect. If anyone asks about your status, just show the token, and no one will bother you,” the guard said and then pointed to a tall pavilion: “This is the guest pavilion, where you can get a room for a daily fee. Please note that with the current token, you can stay for a maximum of three days, but you can extend your stay at any time for 10 Spiritual Stones.”
“Oh…”
Xie Qing smiled crookedly, hearing the guard’s words. The only thing he thought at that moment was, “Damn capitalism!”
