After a few exchanges, although Li Chang’an failed to kill the demoness from the Demon Sect, he managed to catch her off guard and inflict heavy injuries.
The demoness staggered back a few steps, her gaze fixed on Li Chang’an, a mixture of shock and suspicion in her eyes.
After catching her breath, she asked through gritted teeth, "Who in the world are you? Are you practicing some kind of Rejuvenation cultivation technique?"
Rejuvenation. She had heard that some in the Jianghu practiced similar cultivation techniques.
Thus, after suffering such a heavy blow, the demoness’s first thought was that Li Chang’an must be practicing a Rejuvenation cultivation technique.
Otherwise, based on his apparent age alone,
he couldn’t possibly possess the strength to contend with her, even if he had started cultivating in his mother’s womb.
Li Chang’an had no intention of explaining.
’This demoness’s Martial Arts Realm must be Postnatal,’ he deduced. ’She’s likely a rare expert even among those in that realm. Otherwise, she couldn’t have hung Cao Shu’s head on the city wall. I’m still young, and my strength is limited. I can’t kill her easily.’
At this thought, Li Chang’an decided against continuing the fight. He silently clutched the box containing Cao Shu’s head and turned to leave.
’Although I can’t defeat her easily, that’s only because I don’t want to reveal my trump cards. If she insists on making me an enemy, I’ll have no choice but to play my hand and see who comes out on top.’
Watching Li Chang’an’s back as he silently turned and departed, the demoness desperately wanted to stop him, but her instincts screamed at her not to make a rash move.
’Otherwise, I might get myself killed.’
Only after watching helplessly as Li Chang’an disappeared from sight...
...did the demoness, feeling utterly humiliated, bite her lip and mutter, "This Chun’an County is truly full of hidden masters. Cao Shu dies, and now his disciple appears. I’d like to see just how capable you really are!"
In recent years, the Li Yang Imperial Court had fallen into severe decline.
Many regions had long since broken away.
Currently, the Demon Sect and the Buddhist Sect were vying for actual control of the area around Chun’an County.
No, not just Chun’an County.
The allegiance of the entire Guangling Dao was at stake in the conflict between the two powers.
Her purpose in coming here today to eliminate the Martial Champion Scholar, Cao Shu, was precisely to win over the Mountain City Sun Family.
...
After retrieving Cao Shu’s head from Chunan County Town, Li Chang’an brought it back to the Champion Scholar’s Mansion. Inside, Cao Shu’s wives, concubines, and children were wailing in grief.
The steward, Li Guisan, however, was a clever man.
While the others were still wailing, he tentatively spoke up. "Young Master, now that the Master is dead and the two young masters are still so young, I’m afraid this Champion Scholar’s Mansion cannot be protected. What are your thoughts on this matter?"
He was testing Li Chang’an.
In fact, his implication was all but spoken aloud.
Li Guisan wanted Li Chang’an to take over the estate of the Champion Scholar’s Mansion.
After all, he had personally led Li Chang’an to the gate tower just a short while ago. He had even witnessed with his own eyes Li Chang’an fighting the demoness from the Demon Sect, and they had seemed evenly matched.
One must remember, even his own master had been no match for that witch.
But against Li Chang’an, she hadn’t gained any advantage in just a few moves. In the end, she had even tacitly allowed Li Chang’an to forcibly take back their master’s remains.
Li Guisan didn’t understand how Li Chang’an could be so powerful, nor did he grasp the implications of a five-year-old being a Postnatal Master.
But he knew how to read a situation, and more importantly, how to pursue good fortune and avoid calamity.
Li Chang’an understood the steward’s insinuation, but the idea repelled him. He shook his head and said, "I have no particular designs on it. As long as I’m here, that witch shouldn’t dare to make a move..."
He had only intended to give a vague, dismissive answer and then figure out his own next steps.
But he never expected the youths, women, and children who had just been wailing to suddenly approach him.
The woman at the front, his master’s wife Zhang Xiang, fell to her knees before him. "Chang’an," she said through sobs, "before he died, your master thought very highly of you. He even said you would be his successor... Now he is gone, and you willingly faced such immense danger to retrieve his remains from the clutches of that Demon Sect fiend. That alone is enough to prove your sincere devotion."
"They say a son should inherit his father’s work!"
"But Tianlong and Dilong lack the aptitude and cannot endure the hardships of martial arts training. They are incapable of inheriting this vast family estate."
"Though you may be an outsider by blood, you are his chief direct disciple, which makes you half a son! So I, your master’s wife, am begging you to accept this estate. Otherwise, I fear your master will not be able to rest in peace, even in Hell!"
Cao Tianlong and Cao Dilong were Cao Shu’s two sons.
One was fifteen, the other fourteen. They too knelt, kowtowing and pleading, "Brother Chang’an, we beg you, for our father’s sake, please inherit this family estate!"
Although the brothers Cao Tianlong and Cao Dilong could not endure the hardships of martial arts training, they were both intelligent men.
With Cao Shu dead, the Champion Scholar’s Mansion was facing a "when the tree falls, the monkeys scatter" situation.
Even if the Demon Sect no longer targeted them, their family, now without the protection of a Postnatal Master, would be like a fat sheep walking defenseless through the vast Jianghu. Anyone could come along and devour them whole.
Furthermore, after realizing both his sons were disappointments, Cao Shu had expressed his intention to pass the family estate on to a reliable disciple before his death.
Therefore, they now felt little compunction in asking Li Chang’an to take over.
Seeing the entire family wailing and begging him to accept the Martial Champion’s Mansion, Li Chang’an couldn’t help but let out a helpless, bitter smile.
Given his principles, he disdained doing something so predatory, akin to seizing the assets of a family with no heir.