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“Master Du’s grand presence truly brings glory to the Cloud-ascending Pavilion. I have long heard of your chivalry, and now that we meet, your reputation does not precede you.” Mi Hai thoroughly inspected Du Sha, taking in the whole-hearted aura that exuded from him. He knew in that moment that the martial artist before him possessed an incomparably concentrated and powerful spirit.

The disparity between the Fierce Realms often turned out to be greater than that between Mortal Realms. After all, in the Mortal Realm, one only needed to devote oneself to hard work and training to catch up with others’ progress, but once in the Fierce Realm,

The strength of one’s spirit more or less determined their achievement within the Fierce Realm. Throughout history, the top martial artists were consistently characterized by possessing extraordinarily focused spirits. The Du Sha standing before him, who relied on a fragment of the Red Cloud Skill, was capable of solidifying his spirit to this extent, a fact that greatly impressed Mi Hai.

The stoic and powerful figure before him did not react to Mi Hai’s flattery and merely asked, “How much does Sect Head Mi believe I am worth?”

In recent times, he had swallowed his pride and traveled to every hill and clan in Xiling. However, due to the Du Family of Red Cloud Village’s exceptionally secluded lifestyle, dependent only on themselves, pursuing his food procurement plan was extremely challenging. An outbreak of disease occurred at the most inopportune time, which directly fermented resentment among the Du Clan themselves.

The senior members of the clan, unable to overlook Du Sha freely distributing their food to commoners, stripped him of his position as clan chief. Therefore, he was now visiting the Cloud-ascending Pavilion not as the patriarch of the Du Family but in his own name.

He intended to sell himself!

“What is this, Brother Du?” Mi Hai laughed, knowingly.

Du Sha remained expressionless, responding simply, “I want to pledge myself to the Mi Clan for a hundred years, in exchange for food.”

Even though the current circumstances in Red Cloud Mountain had not reached their worst yet, he knew that as long as the floods did not recede, they would soon be driven to desperation by hunger. He decided to take the initiative instead of waiting. At least this way, they could negotiate for a better price and hold the power of choice in their hands.

‘Oh?” Mi Hai’s eyes sparkled, full of amusement. “The extent to which Brother Du is willing to go for the people of Xiling is truly surprising.”

Although this was his first time meeting Du Sha, he had heard of the strong nature of this proud man. He especially disliked the haughty people of esteemed families and today, in desperation, was offering himself to the people he despised the most.

Du Sha seemed to deny it with a shake of his head, calmly saying, “Mi Sect Head, please make your offer.”

Hearing this, Mi Hai laughed again, “Master Du wishes to pledge himself for a hundred years, but isn’t willing to name his price. Does he intend to shop around for the best offer?”

Yes.” Du Sha nodded, admitting, “Whether it’s the Tang or the Mi Clan, or even any of the nine great families of Xiling, I will pledge my hundred years to whoever offers the most.”

This was perhaps the first time that Mi Hai had seen such candidness. The speaker did not even bother with subtleties, laying out his intentions before him like a painting.

However, Du Sha was a martial artist after all. In negotiations, the person who reveals their bottom line first suffers.

I suggest that Brother Du explore other homes first, and visit the Mi Clan last.” Mi Hai said casually. “Please leave.”

Confronted with such a straightforward martial artist, Mi Hai naturally didn’t waste time on pointless formalities. He had already seen that

Du Sha was as stubborn as a rock. He would only move towards the target he had decided upon, like a huge stone rolling down a mountain. He wouldn’t rejoice over your friendliness nor would he harbour resentment over your coldness. He, just like a real stone, would advance only towards his target.

Since sweet-talking and buttering up Du Sha would be of no use, there was no need for him to waste his effort. Completely unaffected, Du Sha ascended through the void, turning into a thin white line that darted towards the sky.

October 1

Tang Luo paced back and forth hands behind his back in the courtyard, an activity he had been doing for the entire morning.

He was slightly baffled. ‘Didn’t my reputation as a noble from Xiling mean anything? In almost two months, not a single notable figure from Xiling has come to seek help. It’s like the whole world has forgotten about me.’

Were these people all fools? Even if they thought his youth made him incapable of solving the livelihood problem of 1.6 million people, they should remember that he was the heir to the Tang Clan’s Sect Head. Couldn’t he persuade the Tang Clan to join their camp?

Walking absentmindedly, he found himself at the entrance of the mansion. Stepping out, he would reach a cliff cloaked in swirling white clouds, but this didn t excite him in the least. Counting the days, at least a quarter of Xiling’s citizens would have depleted their food reserves. This implied that if the issue with the people’s food wasn’t solved quickly, Red Cloud Mountain could face an uprising.

During any famine, the first to suffer are often children and women, because they are perceived as the weakest. In such extreme disaster situations, the rationality of individuals is replaced by animalistic instincts. Some people, muddled by hunger, would target the weaker ones.

He wasn’t willing to wait till such a time to clean up the mess.

“If the mountain doesn’t come to me, then I’ll go to the mountain!” His eyes filled with a cold determination, Tang Luo made up his mind. He called over a steward and ordered, “Call for the manager of the Flower Inn to meet me in the front hall. Also, send someone to the Wind Media Department to gather updates about the conditions on Red Cloud Mountain in recent days. Also, prepare hemp ropes, the more, the better. The longer, the better.”

As someone who was freshly promoted by the Chief Manager, Xu Fei felt waveringly anxious. He understood the first few orders, but the last part left him slightly baffled. He mustered the courage to ask, “Young Master, how much hemp rope will we need?”

The more, the better’ was rather vague. What quantified as ‘more’? He might consider a hundred to be substantial, but Tang Luo might demand a thousand. He had to clear up this vague instruction.

Only after finding the steward puzzled did he realise how ambiguous his instruction had been.

The frazzled Tang Luo shook his head, explaining, “What I mean is, gather all the hemp ropes that you can find in the mansion’s storeroom and stack them in the south storeroom. Is my command clear now?”

Understood, I am on my way.” With a clear idea of what was required, Xu Fei turned to rush out of the mansion. He crossed paths with the returning Chief Manager and hurriedly exchanged greetings, “Good day, Chief Manager.” Chang Fu nodded at Xu Fei and stepped into the mansion. He saw Tang Luo, who was lost deep in thought, pacing back and forth in the courtyard and recalled Tang Sen’s instruction.

The housekeeper approached and respectfully said, “Young Master, in the past few days, I have noticed you pacing around the courtyard. Are you worried about the people of Red Cloud Mountain?”

“Is it that obvious?” Tang Luo laughed dryly. He had assumed he was doing a good job at pretending to be calm, but he was unexpectedly seen through by the old housekeeper.

Chang Fu wore a warm smile. “Among the younger generation in Xiling, no one can surpass Young Master in civil or martial skills. Your insights on the rituals have altered Tang Clan’s future. In domestic and foreign affairs alike, you are invincible. Perhaps the only thing that could concern Young Master is the well­being of the people of Xiling.”

Tang Luo shook his head, sighing, “Uncle Fu, you flatter. If I truly am as praiseworthy as you say, why haven’t any reputed individuals visited me in these recent days?”