Chapter Fifty: People from the Zhao Family?

Lounging on the lawn to admire the night view, feeling the gentle breeze brush against his face, Wu Shu found the moment deeply relaxing. He lay back on the grass, enjoying the exquisite tranquility in silence.

Before long, without realizing it, Wu Shu drifted off to sleep. When he eventually felt a slight numbness in his arm, accompanied by a familiar, lingering fragrance, he carefully opened his eyes.

For days, Zhao Fenxing had not been able to rest properly, but tonight she had fallen asleep completely unguarded, resting her head on Wu Shu's arm. It made Wu Shu think: with such a fair companion by his side tonight, what more could he possibly ask for?

At that moment, Wu Shu chose to close his eyes once more, continuing to immerse himself in the serene night.

However, no sooner had he closed his eyes than the Stele Spirit's voice echoed in his sea of consciousness: "Master, don't you think it's time to put the Primordial Night Demon Ancestor in his place?"

Over the past few days, Wu Shu had been completely absorbed in his cultivation. While enduring multiple rounds of heavenly lightning tribulations, his body had repeatedly been pushed to the brink of death. Having finally completed this arduous phase of training, he had not yet entered his sea of consciousness to check on the Night Demon Ancestor.

The fact that the Stele Spirit was now reminding him of this matter suggested that the Night Demon Ancestor had likely been struggling incessantly within his sea of consciousness during this period.

Entering his spiritual realm, Wu Shu saw that the Son of Saint Mountain, which suppressed the Night Demon Ancestor, clearly bore the marks of violent tremors. Instantly appearing at the foot of the mountain, Wu Shu said coldly, "Night Demon Ancestor, I took you for a clever man, but it turns out you are just as much of a fool."

As the patriarch of an ancient clan who had once commanded the winds and clouds, his soul body was now suppressed within a mere mortal's sea of consciousness, only to be mocked like this. The Night Demon Ancestor was consumed with fury. Yet, when Wu Shu's cultivation had entered a state of extreme weakness, the Night Demon Ancestor had exhausted every possible means without managing to breach the seals surrounding the Son of Saint Mountain.

The Night Demon Ancestor knew all too well that if his own strength failed to improve in a short period, escaping from Wu Shu's sea of consciousness would be as difficult as ascending to the heavens.

Furious though he was, the Night Demon Ancestor was no novice to the world. Having failed in his attempts to escape under such circumstances, he had no desire to suffer further physical torment. Feigning as though nothing had happened, he said smoothly, "Young Master Wu Shu, there must be some misunderstanding. Earlier, seeing that the Young Master was lacking in cultivation resources, even as a prisoner, this Ancestor took the initiative to offer spirit stones to support the Young Master."

Having said this, the Night Demon Ancestor's mind raced, and he quickly added, "And afterwards, seeing how the Young Master devoted himself to cultivation and repeatedly withstood the bombardment of heavenly lightning, every single strike terrified this Ancestor, truly making me fear that an peerless talent like the Young Master would perish thus."

Now that Wu Shu had not only suppressed the curse within his body but also successfully withstood the heavenly lightning, and given that the Night Demon Ancestor's recent escape attempts had all ended in failure, he reevaluated his stance.

From the Night Demon Ancestor's perspective, things had reached this point; former powerhouse status or not, one had to understand the ways of the world. Who was to say this ordeal might not turn out to be a rare and precious opportunity? Successfully suppressing the power of the curse was something the Night Demon Ancestor had yearned to achieve for countless years. Therefore, even though hearing Wu Shu's words left a bitter taste in his mouth, he forced himself to swallow his pride and shower Wu Shu with praise.

Wu Shu was genuinely surprised by this sudden and shameless flattery from the Night Demon Ancestor. Glancing around the perimeter of the Son of Saint Mountain, Wu Shu calmly remarked, "So, you're saying that in order to break the seal, you merely watched me walk into mortal danger and acted out of anxious concern?"

...

This...

Hearing Wu Shu put it that way, even the Night Demon Ancestor began to harbor doubts. If he didn't say these things, would Wu Shu believe them? Even simple-minded fellows like Wu Zuo and Wu You wouldn't believe that everything the Night Demon Ancestor did was out of a desire to help Wu Shu.

The Night Demon Ancestor's mind spun wildly as he desperately searched for something more to say.

While flattery wasn't something Wu Shu disliked hearing, he had no intention of losing his head over it. Cutting the Night Demon Ancestor off, Wu Shu said, "Night Demon Ancestor, some of what you said earlier is indeed true. If not for those three hundred thousand low-grade spirit stones of yours, I could never have reached the ninth level of the True Essence Realm in my earth-force cultivation, nor could I have used the curse's power to open up nine major acupoints within my body."

Deliberately clenching his fist right in front of the Night Demon Ancestor, Wu Shu continued, "More importantly, the experience of this training has not only propelled my strength forward by leaps and bounds, but it has also allowed me to forge a path to counter the curse itself. Perhaps this path will still require cumulative cultivation to fully expand, but I firmly believe that in the near future, the power of the curse will become a source of strength for the descendants of my Wu family."

Knowing that Wu Shu had survived the heavenly lightning of this cultivation session, and knowing that Wu Shu could suppress the curse within him, was one thing. Hearing Wu Shu state it so plainly with his own ears was quite another.

If the Night Demon Ancestor's previous words to Wu Shu had been merely hypocritical pleasantries, he was now, from the very bottom of his heart, seriously pondering how he ought to get along with Wu Shu from now on.

At that exact moment, the Night Demon Ancestor made up his mind: even if Wu Shu were to try and drive him out of his sea of consciousness right now, he would refuse to leave. In the past, he had spent countless days and nights in the Demon Realm bitterly searching for a way to suppress the curse within his body, only to return empty-handed every single time. And yet, here he was, witnessing a miracle within the sea of consciousness of a young human junior.

Noticing that the Night Demon Ancestor had chosen silence in response to his words, Wu Shu issued a final warning: "Night Demon Ancestor, your merits outweigh your faults this time, so I will let this matter pass as if nothing happened."

Having warned the Night Demon Ancestor and casting a brief glance at Wu Zuo and Wu You, Wu Shu addressed the Stele Spirit: "Little Ling, the grand competition between the human and demon races is about to begin. I leave this place in your care."

Usually, the Stele Spirit was quite the chatterbox, but upon hearing Wu Shu's instructions, it immediately stepped forward and declared, "Boss, you can rest easy! As long as I, Wu Ling, am around, I will never let this so-called Ancestor or those two big brothers, Wu Zuo and Wu You, cause any trouble."

Though the Stele Spirit talked a lot on ordinary days, it had never yet failed to deliver when it came to important tasks.

Before he knew it, dawn had broken. The previous night, Wu Shu and Zhao Fenxing had lain together on the lawn, both in high spirits, until they eventually drifted off to sleep side by side. Although nothing untoward had happened between them throughout the night, Wu Shu felt as though the distance separating their hearts had grown just a little bit closer.

Even so, considering that Zhao Fenxing's background might be tied to the First-Word Sect, Wu Shu knew that the road ahead for the two of them was still long. He could only hope that their future path would hold more sweetness and fewer twists and turns.

Today was the day of the grand human-demon competition, and the venue was none other than the Beast-Trapping Palace in Dongsu City. Situated right at the heart of the city, the Beast-Trapping Palace had always been its most iconic landmark. According to historical records, it was over ten thousand years old. Long ago, when the spiritual energy of heaven and earth within the Kun State was rich and the land produced exceptional talents, countless wealthy merchants used to pass through Dongsu City. The beast-fighting matches held at the Beast-Trapping Palace were a midnight spectacle that those wealthy merchants never tired of watching.

Wu Xiang, the head of the Wu family, was well aware that Wu Shu was participating in the grand human-demon competition in Dongsu City today. As a direct descendant of the clan, Wu Shu's participation concerned not only the prestige of Dongsu City but also the honor of the entire Kun State.

Consequently, for Wu Shu's departure, the Wu family had mobilized its entire clan to see him off.

Yet, when the clansmen noticed that Wu Zhen, Wu Wen, Wu Jing, and the others were nowhere to be seen, a wave of puzzlement rippled through the crowd. Wu Shu was Wu Zhen's older brother, after all; if Wu Wen and the others couldn't make it, Wu Zhen at the very least should have been present.

Little did they know that the departure of Wu Zhen and the others was known only to Wu Xiang and the family elders. Just last night, an peerless expert had seen potential in their aptitudes and taken them away to be personally trained. As for the identity of this mysterious expert, even Wu Xiang had failed to discern his true appearance.

Since a powerful master was willing to contribute to the growth of the younger generation, regardless of who he was, judging by the formidable strength he displayed, the powerhouse clearly harbored no malicious intentions. After all, the young members of the Wu family possessed nothing worth exploiting—they lacked both vast fortunes and significant power.

However, the absence of Wu Neng among the gathering left Wu Xiang feeling rather displeased. Even though Wu Neng had previously relied on his status as the former clan head to act as he pleased within the family, Wu Shu had now made a triumphant return and was representing Dongsu City and the Kun State in the competition. At a time when Wu Shu's momentum was at its peak, his own eldest son lacked even the most basic sense of situational awareness.

After the clansmen had waited for quite some time, Wu Shu and Zhao Fenxing finally made their appearance. Seeing the massive spectacle the Wu family had put on to send him off genuinely astounded Wu Shu. With several hundred members of the Wu clan present, everyone was waiting here. He had to admit that his uncle Wu Xiang truly cared about saving face—a proper man for a formal occasion.

Approaching the crowd, Wu Shu calmly addressed Wu Xiang and the others, "Greetings, Clan Head, esteemed elders. I apologize for keeping you all waiting."

Wu Xiang stepped forward eagerly and said, "Shu'er, for today's human-demon competition, no matter what happens, your uncle and the entire Wu family will support you all the way!"

Wu Shu saw everything clearly, noting the grand and solemn manner in which his clansmen were showing their support today.

Yet, just as Wu Xiang's voice trailed off, a discordant voice rang out from nearby: "For a declining family that lacks any notable strength among its members and can't even scrape together a few spirit stones, how on earth do they plan to support this good-for-nothing during today's human-demon competition?"

As the head of the Wu family, Wu Xiang's own strength was not to be underestimated. At least within Dongsu City, he possessed the confidence to match wits with the heads of any other family. The moment the voice sounded, Wu Xiang turned his head with an air of unangered authority, his gaze fixing calmly upon the source of the sound.

The speaker was a young man clad in white robes. Upon catching sight of the azure jade pendant hanging from the youth's waist, Wu Xiang's brow furrowed deeply. Within the borders of the Kun State, anyone permitted to wear the Azure Cloud Jade Pendant belonged without exception to the Zhao family, one of the Eight Great Families of the Kun State. As one of the most powerful factions in the realm, the Zhao family was certainly not an entity the current Wu family could afford to offend.