"Bang!"
The table rattled as Guan Tian flew into a rage. What did he mean, the Spirit Jade Division becoming dogs for the Li family?
He had spoken vaguely, but he knew that everyone in the Li family would understand his meaning. He wanted the Li family to cooperate with the Wu Clan!
"You..."
But before Guan Tian could finish, the Li family members unleashed their spiritual power, lifting his phantom into the air, rendering him speechless. Everyone looked at Li Dalong.
"Cut the show," Li Dalong said.
Li Dalong sneered. "My Li family has been oppressed and hunted throughout Azure Cloud region for years," he said, "but we have never yielded!"
"We Li family members are few in number, six generations over a hundred years, but we have never produced a coward!"
"Give up on your attempts to persuade us to surrender. If you have any tricks up your sleeve, use them! I'll take them all on!"
"BOOM!"
As his words fell, Guan Tian's phantom vanished.
The Li family continued their feast as if nothing had happened, eating, drinking, and chatting, as if the recent interruption had been nothing more than an annoying fly.
As they ate, smiles appeared on the faces of the Li family members, their eyes gleaming with boundless fighting spirit.
...
Night fell.
Li Dalong entered the family's ancestral hall.
Upon entering, he immediately knelt on the ground and bowed before the ancestral tablet. "Ancestor," he said, "this child was truly reckless today."
"I understand that perhaps cooperating with the Wu Clan would be the best choice. The Wu Clan is powerful, and they have many other divisions that could join the battle at any time."
"I should choose the stronger side. It's better to seek shelter under a big tree. That way, our Li family can thrive in these chaotic times."
"But..."
Li Wei was watching the scene in the game.
A notification window appeared before him.
[Special Event - Choosing Sides]
[The Spirit Jade Division, representing the Wu Clan, invites your family to become their allies. The Wu Clan is powerful, possessing vast territories and countless experts. Azure Cloud region is currently facing only three of their divisions, and more Wu Clan forces will join in the future.]
[Your family still has a choice: join the powerful Wu Clan and persuade the major forces of Azure Cloud region to do the same, or stand with the weaker side and resist stubbornly?]
"What kind of ridiculous choice is this?"
Li Wei let out a long sigh. From a purely gameplay perspective, joining the Wu Clan would indeed be the most advantageous choice.
Even in reality, countless people would willingly side with the powerful, becoming servants to three different masters.
"If I were faced with this choice, what would I do?"
Li Wei looked again at Li Dalong on the screen.
Li Dalong was still expressing his remorse.
"Ancestor," Li Dalong said, "this child doesn't know if I did the right thing today. I still have a chance, but I don't want to be a traitor. I don't want my descendants to remember me as someone who betrayed their people."
"They would say that this child, raised by the land of Azure Cloud region, crawled to the Wu Clan like a dog."
"....."
Li Wei also pondered for a long time, a smile gradually appearing on his face.
Then, he summoned the Thunder Flame Fury Python.
[The Li family must stand tall!]
At this moment, the Li family members were gathered together, and their emotions were complex. They all knew that their father's decision was wrong, at least in terms of their interests, but they hoped he would continue to make the "wrong" choice.
Then, they saw the ancestor's phantom appear in the ancestral hall, gently stroking Li Dalong's head.
The Thunder Flame Fury Python relayed the ancestor's words. This was the most accurate and complete message it had ever delivered!
Smiles appeared on everyone's faces.
The ancestor was still as strong as ever!
"Fuck the Wu Clan!"
The ancestor was cursing, and the Thunder Flame Fury Python roared.
Hearing these words, under the night sky, all the Li family descendants knelt and bowed towards the ancestral hall.
"Fuck the Wu Clan!"
All the Li family descendants, echoing their ancestor's curse, roared towards the heavens, like a pack of beasts receiving a divine command!
[Your descendants unanimously cheer for your choice. Congratulations, you have acquired 1000 incense merit points!]
[Your family, facing the oppression of the Wu Clan, shows no cowardice. They fear no danger. Acquired trait: Unyielding Spirit.]
[Willpower increased by 10%. When facing the Wu Clan, combat power increased by 10%.]
"Um..."
Just as the Li family members and Li Wei, in front of the screen, were filled with excitement, Huang Xiujin, who seemed somewhat out of place among the crowd, suddenly raised his hand.
Under everyone's gaze, he cleared his throat and said, "When I was with Mr. Yu Xian before, he mentioned leaving a gift for you. Now seems like the right time to give it to you."
"Hmm?"
...
Inside the Li family's main hall, spirit lanterns illuminated the room brightly.
Huang Xiujin, who had left with Yu Xian, had regained his lifespan and even received Yu Xian's inheritance.
But the Li family didn't blame him. Huang Xiujin also roughly understood Yu Xian's purpose and cooperated with him. Besides... that bastard Yu Xian had threatened Huang Xiujin with the lives of Li Kuangtu and Qingyu.
At this moment, a black spirit stone projected a holographic image. It was a mountain, the mountain where the Giant Rock Spirit Jade Tribe once lived!
"The place where the Giant Rock Spirit Jade Tribe lived is quite peculiar," Huang Xiujin explained. "Hundreds of mountains stretch across the area, with stone beasts living there, something not found elsewhere."
"When I was with Mr. Yu Xian," Huang Xiujin continued, "he said that one of the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion's goals this time was to instigate a war between the Azure Cloud region and the Wu Clan. There were also many smaller objectives that would benefit the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion."
"The Heavenly Secrets Pavilion investigated the Giant Rock Spirit Jade Tribe's territory many years ago. They suspect that the formation of the stone beasts is related to an innate spiritual object located beneath the hundred mountains, one that can grant sentience to stone beasts."
---
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