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Dumbfounded for a moment, he then plucked up the courage to reply, “If they could destroy our family heirloom War Bow, it must be a superior weapon, right?”

The corner of Minister Luo’s mouth lifted into a disdainful smile, “If this is the extent of your competence, I really have to question whether you have any right to teach others cultivation… Do you dare to repeat that?”

Faltering for a moment under the other’s intimidating presence, Elder Zhao could only mutter two words in a low voice, “I dare not.”

“I believe you are not that foolish,” Minister Luo spoke coldly, “As a martial master, you should have the insight to match. War Bows are not known for being sturdy; you have a family heirloom War Bow, are you not aware of this?”

Plainly said, the destruction of the War Bow just now doesn’t necessarily prove the attacker’s strength.

War Bows are not like swords or knives, not meant for close combat, but rather are precise weapons for long-range killing, which can be ruined by the slightest damage.

The Zhao Family’s shooters had pulled the War Bow almost to its full capacity moments ago. In such a state of tension, an attack on the bow’s arm wouldn’t need much force to cause damage.

In fact, bullets fired from five or six rushes away, after traveling five or six hundred meters, would not have much kinetic energy left.

Elder Zhao listened in silence; the other party was right. Actually, he understood this logic perfectly well, he was just pretending not to.

And the reason for his pretense? Wasn’t it obvious? He wanted to use the “superior weapon” as a lure, inviting these distinguished guests from Dongmu to take action.

Unfortunately, Minister Luo was not easily fooled. Though not an expert in archery, he was still an Innate Expert. He might not have eaten pork, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t seen a pig run.

Just then, someone cried out aloud, “Ninth Uncle… Ninth Uncle, how could you leave us like this!”

It turned out that a piece of the broken bow limb had pierced the shooter’s eye and directly damaged his brain. After rolling on the ground and twitching a few times, he breathed his last.

Hearing the crying of his Clan member, Elder Zhao clenched his teeth, pressed one knee to the ground, and knelt before Minister Luo, “The enemy is extremely cruel, I beg you, sir, to help us take revenge!”

Minister Luo spoke coldly, “You even dare to plot against me, what a bold move… Do I really look that foolish to you?”

His mention of “a plot” obviously referred to the previous so-called “superior weapon.” As an Innate Expert, he would never tolerate such an offense. In another setting, had he struck down the man for this, no one would have sympathized.

Of course, Elder Zhao also fully understood the gravity of his mistake and could only stiffly reply, “I did not give it sufficient thought, I am willing to offer an additional fifty jin of Xuan iron as patronage to you, sir.”

Minister Luo’s eyes narrowed slightly, speaking ominously, “Is my face worth merely fifty jin of Xuan iron?”

“That’s all our Zhao Family has in stock,” Elder Zhao lamented, “Even those fifty jin were a gift from a noble in the Imperial Capital.”

Another martial master from the Zhao Family developed his career in the Imperial Capital, serving as a bodyguard to a noble. His ties with the Clan had dwindled considerably, but Zhige Fortress would always be inseparable for him.

Being a bodyguard for a noble in the Imperial Capital comes with strict requirements; one must have a clean background. This “cleanliness” isn’t just about one’s close associates having no major skeletons in their closets but even more crucially, a bodyguard must have a family and maintain a reasonable degree of contact.

Put simply, if someone were an orphan, it would be nearly impossible for them to become a noble’s bodyguard—without a family to implicate, such a person is… not very reliable.

The relationship of that martial master from the Zhao Family with his Clan was exactly that kind of mutual dependence. If you were to speak of closeness, there really wasn’t much.

However, Elder Zhao believed that Minister Luo surely did not know these secrets. He thought to himself, even if you are an Innate Expert, our family member is in the Imperial Capital and serves a noble. The Xuan iron you are receiving, Minister Luo, is still a reward from a noble of the Imperial Capital.

So to say… we’re more or less even, let’s just cover the matter and be done with it.

Of course, his Xuan iron didn’t actually come as a reward from an Imperial Capital noble but rather, the Zhao Family Fortress had discovered a secret Xuan iron mine which they were currently mining discreetly; he absolutely could not afford to spread the word about it.

It was precisely because of that secret mine that he so readily handed over that piece of Xuan iron to Lang Zhen; otherwise, how could he let Lang Zhen get such a bargain?

Upon hearing this, Minister Luo’s face darkened again, “Are you using the noble from the Imperial Capital to pressure me? How audacious of you!”

“I truly did not mean that,” Elder Zhao cried out, “I’m just telling the truth. If you can’t trust me, then let’s forget it. Let’s end the matter here… Is that okay? I’ll go and apologize to those people from out of town!”

While he claimed as much, he was very clear in his heart that he couldn’t possibly go apologize. Moreover, he didn’t believe the outsiders had not shown enough interesting items to pique Minister Luo’s interest.

If the Zhao Family Fortress didn’t cooperate, he would like to see how Minister Luo could find a suitable pretext to act.

As expected, Minister Luo fell into contemplation, his expression alternating between cloudiness and clarity.

In truth, he was even more tempted than Elder Zhao had imagined. Last night’s display of lights had indeed shocked him, but the long-range attack capabilities the other party revealed today enticed him even more.

As an Innate Expert, not only did he possess exceptional vision, but his sensitivity to qi far exceeded that of others. He was very certain that the steel pellets shot from the thin iron tube by the enemy were not only swift but also… devoid of any Inner Qi!

A weapon capable of long-range harm without the need for Inner Qi—this thing was simply a heaven-defying existence.

Strictly speaking, such a weapon was of no use to Minister Luo; as an Innate Expert, he truly had no need for it.

However, he was very clear about what this thing meant to ordinary people.

No matter the power, ordinary people always make up the majority. If they could master the method of making this weapon, it would allow ordinary people to have the potential to kill Martial Artists and even martial masters.

If it could be equipped in large quantities, this weapon’s concentrated fire might even pose a threat to Innate Experts.

Anyway, any force that obtained this weapon would see their combat power surge instantaneously, and this plane had no shortage of ordinary people.

Thus, the real value of this weapon couldn’t be measured in gold.

Minister Luo had secretly made up his mind to seize it and see if he could analyze its principles for replication.

But rushing forward so eagerly could easily raise the Zhao Family’s suspicions—aren’t you a little too enthusiastic?

So Minister Luo expressed outrage while waiting for the other party to raise their price, to avoid arousing suspicion.

In fact, even if Elder Zhao hadn’t raised the price by fifty jin of Xuan iron, he would have found an excuse to make a move.

Now, the Zhao Family was threatening him with the Imperial Capital nobility. Although he appeared very angry on the surface, he was overjoyed inside—you’ve really handed me the perfect excuse, plus a bonus of fifty jin of Xuan iron.

To speak the truth, Minister Luo really didn’t take the Imperial Capital’s nobility seriously.

No matter how grandiose your wealth, what can you do to me, an Innate Expert? At worst, I’ll just avoid going to the Imperial Capital in the future.

But now, Elder Zhao had openly expressed his wish to no longer play the game and was considering reconciliation with the opponent; this made Minister Luo realize he couldn’t prolong the confrontation and needed to act quickly.

So he straightened his expression and said gravely, “Apologize to the outsider? You haven’t made any mistakes. If you apologize now, how will you face the fathers and villagers of Zhige County… are the Zhao Family planning to leave Zhige County?”

I knew you wouldn’t give up! Elder Zhao felt smug inside, but his face was full of worry.

Immediately after, he let out a deep sigh, smiled bitterly, and said, “Am I without fault? My biggest mistake is that I can’t beat them… alas, weakness is a sin indeed.”

“You’re right, weakness is a sin, and it’s good that you understand that,” said Minister Luo coldly, then waved his hand, “Alright, if you don’t have the courage, then forget it. Since I’m here, if I do nothing, I’d be ashamed… I’ll do it myself.”

His volunteering was somewhat unexpected to others. To most, the best option under such circumstances would be to incite the villagers of the Zhao Family to launch one or two attacks against the opponent and probe their bottom line.

Who would join the fight personally? Are you hoping for fewer casualties?

Yet was Minister Luo not aware of this? He was simply worried the Zhao Family might not withstand the attack, and if that weapon fell into their hands and someone detected something fishy, it would be harder for him to make his claim.

—Indeed, he was here to help, and the terms of payment and division of spoils had been agreed upon. He couldn’t just openly snatch the things that the Zhao Family had fought for.

This was why he announced he would join the fight himself.

But Elder Zhao wasn’t surprised; he just assumed that the other party was interested in the “legacy of the Immortal” and couldn’t restrain their greed when they saw his side about to withdraw.

He couldn’t help but silently praise himself: What good is an Innate Expert if they still fall for my scheming?

Then he couldn’t resist lamenting, “People die for wealth as birds die for food—ancients have never deceived me.”

Seeing that Elder Zhao offered no objection, Minister Luo snorted and commanded, “You four, go with me… be careful of that fellow’s weapon.”

The four martial masters behind him responded in unison and suddenly accelerated, dashing forward like arrows.

The four knew that the opponent possessed a long-range attack weapon, but… so what?

Such a device required aiming, and as long as they were fast enough, they could surely dodge.

If the opponent had over a dozen similar weapons that could cause area-of-effect damage like a War Bow, they would be more cautious.

But with just merely one… who are you trying to scare?

In fact, they weren’t even worried about facing Sharpshooters because doesn’t shooting arrows need to be done one by one? By the time you wound one person, the other three would have already charged up to you!

A distance of less than two miles was nothing to martial masters—just a few movements away.

Moreover, behind them, wasn’t there an Innate Expert providing support? There was really nothing to worry about.

“Damn! Four martial masters?” Lang Zhen narrowed his eyes when he saw their figures, then raised his voice, “The one with the pale face is mine!”

“The one with the dark face is for me and my brother!” In a critical moment, Elder Deng’s decision was very decisive.

(Third update, calling for monthly votes.)