Loyal Heart Roaming the Skies

The grand ancestral ceremony of the Lian family caused a great uproar.

Not only did Jiang Wuyong lose face, but the intense response from Lian Que also brought shame to the Lian family.

Spectators from all over left one after another, spreading rumors and gossip.

But these were not things that Jiang Wang needed to consider.

At this moment, Jiang Wang was in the most luxurious restaurant in Nan Yao City, talking with Chong Xuan Sheng.

"You offended the Fourteenth Prince so severely, won't it have any impact on you?" Jiang Wang asked.

This time, he owed a great favor to Chong Xuan Sheng. Chong Xuan Sheng's gains and losses were the only things he considered.

"There will definitely be an impact, but overall, the benefits outweigh the drawbacks," Chong Xuan Sheng carefully analyzed for him. "The current Emperor has a total of seventeen sons and nine daughters. The Crown Prince has already been deposed and is still imprisoned in the palace. The Second Prince is the Crown Prince. Apart from them, the Third Princess, Ninth Prince, and Eleventh Prince have the qualifications to contend for the throne."

"For families like ours, we won't get involved in the struggle for the throne. It's not worth it. No matter who ascends the throne, they won't mistreat our Chong Xuan family. So, I don't need to give face to the other princes and princesses, and the family won't say anything either. Spreading the news will only prove that the Chong Xuan family is loyal to the Emperor and has no intention of participating in the struggle for power."

He listened quietly and nodded, "You've thought it through."

After speaking, he picked up the long sword on his knee and stood up, "Let's leave later. Lian Que wants me to find him. He has something to say to me."

"That ugly blacksmith boy?" Jiang Wang looked at him helplessly, meaning, please don't say that about Lian Que. Also, are you really much stronger?

"Go, go," Chong Xuan Sheng waved his hand nonchalantly.

When Jiang Wang reached the door, Chong Xuan Sheng hesitated and said, "Um, apologize to him for me."

Lian Que was forced to prove his innocence by attempting suicide. The Lian family was mainly responsible, but Chong Xuan Sheng's sarcastic remarks played a significant role.

From the bottom of his heart, he did respect such a resolute person.

Of course, as the future head of the Chong Xuan family (self-proclaimed), it was impossible for him to personally apologize. Unless there were benefits involved.

...

As one of the ten outstanding young members of the Lian family, Lian Que naturally had his own businesses in Nan Yao City.

Like this wine tavern.

Barrels of strong liquor were placed in the hall, and bowls of it were scooped for the guests. There were only a few private rooms on the second floor for meetings.

Including this wine tavern, these businesses were mainly used for the family's expenses.

But it wasn't much, because Lian Que had never been interested in power and wealth.

He went to the Tianfu Secret Realm to become stronger, and becoming stronger was for forging better weapons, that's all.

Originally, after driving away Jiang Wuyong, Jiang Wang was ready to leave directly with Chong Xuan Sheng. But he couldn't resist Lian Que's retention, and after the cooperation between the high-level members of the Lian family and Jiang Wuyong was exposed, there was also a desire to reconcile with the Chong Xuan family. Therefore, they stayed temporarily.

Chong Xuan Sheng wouldn't put on a life-or-death posture just because he had a bad impression of these people. He had basically achieved all his goals on this trip to Nan Yao City, so there was no need to hold a grudge.

If you wanted to achieve great things, you couldn't let personal likes and dislikes decide. If you didn't step on certain steps, there were plenty of people who wanted to push you down. Those competitors would be delighted to see you suffer.

After Jiang Wang and Chong Xuan Sheng communicated, they came to the wine tavern.

When they entered the private room, Lian Que had been waiting for a long time.

Besides forging weapons, he wasn't a meticulous person, but he still asked first, "Is your hand okay?"

"Just a few minor injuries," Jiang Wang smiled. His hand was wrapped in several layers of gauze, but it didn't affect his movements. "When you forge weapons, you must have suffered these kinds of injuries a lot."

"Yes," Lian Que sighed, reaching out his hand for Jiang Wang to see. His hand was covered in countless scars and calluses.

Jiang Wang also had calluses on his hand, but they were mainly concentrated on the part where he gripped the sword, the knuckles. There were no scars like Lian Que's hand.

"I have a friend who lost his eyes a few years ago when forging weapons. The fire exploded because the temperature wasn't controlled properly. He couldn't dodge it because he was too exhausted. It's not that his eyes were blinded, if they were, there would still be a chance to treat them by going to Dong Wang Valley or somewhere else and spending more money. Both of his eyes were gone."

"You have a deep relationship with him, right?"

"Yes, he was my only friend."

"How is he now?"

"He couldn't bear the blow and committed suicide that day," Lian Que said calmly.The profession of a weapon smith is indeed not easy. It is both laborious and dangerous, and easily attracts covetousness. The divine weapons forged by them often become famous throughout the world, while the weapon smiths themselves remain unknown.

Everyone knows that Jiang Mengxiong is the master of the Reverse Army Killing Generals technique, but how many people remember who forged the pair of finger guards for him?

Weapon smithing sects like the Lian Clan are relatively well-off, with both status and respect, and they are not lacking in strength. However, there are more common craftsmen who have low status and are willing to work hard.

This is also one of the reasons why Lian Que sacrificed himself and the higher-ups of the Lian Clan immediately yielded. Lian Que, who forged the famous weapon Chang Xiang Si, is no longer just an insignificant junior of the family to the Lian Clan, but one of the important factors in maintaining the position of the weapon smithing sect.

Even if they didn't understand before, they should have understood after this incident.

Jiang Wang fell silent for a moment.

Because Lian Que was not someone who needed comforting.

Lian Que's calloused hands rested on the table as he said, "The reason I asked you to stay is because there is something I want to discuss with you."

"Just tell me." Jiang Wang said.

"This matter starts with Lian Shao, do you remember him?"

That guy who mocked and ridiculed Lian Que in front of the sword furnace...

Jiang Wang nodded.

"I said before, he is actually a pitiful person." Lian Que said slowly, "And the reason is the life token you returned to me..."

Through Lian Que's narration, Jiang Wang learned about the hidden history of the Lian Clan.

When the Lian Clan's homeland was destroyed, the entire clan had to flee and migrate. Because the Lian Clan's weapon smithing techniques were already quite famous at that time, they encountered various pursuits and betrayals along the way.

In order to protect the clan and ensure that the clan's weapon forging secrets would not be leaked, and to prevent anyone from defecting...

The clan leader of the Lian Clan at that time decided to refine a life token for the entire clan and entrusted it to the loyal elders of the clan. If anyone betrayed the clan, they would be killed without mercy.

These elders usually ignored worldly affairs, but they controlled the power of life and death over the clan members.

This rule indeed protected the Lian Clan's heritage. It consolidated the power of the Lian Clan at that time and allowed them to settle down in the Qi Kingdom. From nothing, they established a prosperous city in Nan Yao and became one of the five major weapon smithing sects.

But after hundreds of years, this temporary measure became a stinking and outdated family rule.

Every newborn of the Lian Clan had to refine a life token before they even had their own will. Their life and death were already controlled by others.

The earliest elders were all loyal to the clan, but times changed and people moved on. There were always a few elders who were not convincing, and there were always a few scoundrels who became arrogant because of this.

Many people recognized the problem with this rule, but those who held power were unable to let go of their own authority.

Looking back from the present, a hundred years ago, there was a talented young member of the Lian Clan. Dissatisfied with having his life controlled from birth, he harbored rebellious thoughts. He silently worked for many years, colluding with various forces and setting up a big plan.

In the end, he attracted the attention of various forces to hunt down the Lian Clan.

If it weren't for the Qi Emperor's desire to wage a great war and urgently needing the Lian Clan's help in forging weapons to mobilize a large army for defense, the Lian Clan would have been wiped out in that disaster.

Even so, the Lian Clan's influence declined significantly after the disaster, and almost all of their industries were destroyed.

The Lian Clan rebuilt itself after the disaster.

But even after experiencing such a thing, the elders of the Lian Clan were still unwilling to give up their power over life and death.

They were used to being high and mighty, and they themselves had become part of the rule that had become stale and rotten.

However, since then, the Lian Clan has selected ten outstanding members of the clan in each generation, acknowledging their ability to control their own destiny, and returning their life tokens to them.

Lian Que is one of them.

The way to govern floods is to dredge rather than block. These ten people seem like a kind of honor, but in essence, it is just a vent.

Why did Lian Zhu Ping and Lian Lu Yue think that the personal honor of a member of the clan was not worth mentioning, and didn't even consider it? It was because in their minds, the members of the clan had no possibility of going against them.

They never imagined that Lian Que would oppose them.

This outdated and rotten rule has been going on in the Lian Clan for too long. It has been going on for so long that it seems innate, and few people think it is wrong.

And Lian Shao is one of the clan members who cannot control their own life tokens.

He is one of the majority who cannot determine their own life and death.

He had also tried his best to obtain one of the ten spots. But everyone else was also trying their best, and he fell short, living in a different world from those ten people.

Because he was born without the ability to control his own life, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't obtain it. That's why he was especially angry at Lian Que for giving his life token to Jiang Wang in the Tianfu Secret Realm.

To him, if he could have his own life token, he would never give it away again.

He was not resentful towards Lian Que.

He was angry at his own lack of freedom, and even more angry at Lian Que for not cherishing this freedom!

After saying all this slowly, a jar of wine was already empty.Lian Que held the wine jar upside down, giving it a shake, only two drops of wine fell out.

He put down the wine jar, finally sighing, "Born into the Lian family, one's life is controlled by others."