Path of the Sect Leader

Chapter 121: The Qin Clan Splits in Four

If something was going to become a regular, formal event, it had to be done properly—solemn, rigorous, with clear rules. Luckily, they had the established framework of the Black River Market’s arena matches as a ready-made template. So Chu Qin Sect simply followed suit and formalized their own internal evaluation tournament, naming it the Chu Qin Martial Assembly.

To prepare, Qi Xiu personally traveled to Artifact-and-Talisman City and hired a Foundation Building formation master specializing in construction. Work soon began on a dedicated martial arena for the sect.

Apart from He Yu—who was already confirmed for the Black River tournament—Qi Xiu himself, and the two old men Yu Deno and Mo Guinnong, every single member of Chu Qin Sect, young and old, was required to participate in the assembly. It would serve the dual purpose of selecting talent for the upcoming Black River matches and acting as a regular assessment of the disciples’ progress in cultivation.

The dozen or so disciples were divided into two age groups.

The younger group—Li Tan, Zhao Yao, Qin Siguo, and Yu Shang—were there purely for evaluation. No elimination bracket for them.

The older group—Qin Weiyu, Mo Jianxin, Zhan Yuan, Zhang Shishi, Pan Rong, Yu Jing, Shen Chang, Ming Jiu, Wei Minniang, and Bai Muhan—would compete to produce two victors who would represent the sect at Black River Market.

The arena itself was protected by specialized arrays: one to contain spells and prevent collateral damage to spectators, another to detect lethal intent and automatically halt a match if someone’s life was truly at stake. Still, arrays were inanimate things—never as reliable as a living supervisor. Fortunately, Bai Xiaosheng, with his high cultivation, was more than capable of overseeing the matches.

“Everything is ready,” Wei Minniang reported. As the chief steward of Immortal Grove Hollow, she had personally supervised the entire construction. The finished arena bore her unmistakable aesthetic: no garish colors, no harsh right angles. Clean, flowing lines. Soft, muted tones. The decorative motif repeated everywhere was the delicate, heart-shaped leaf pattern of the Blackheart Lotus. When the water-element mist array was active, looking down from above, the fighting platform resembled a lotus pod quietly resting in the center of a rippling pond—serene, almost gentle. It looked more suited to poetry recitals or scholarly debates than to bloodshed.

Speak of the devil—right after Wei Minniang finished speaking, Yu Deno came hurrying in to report: the Qin family members had returned from Qi Yun City, and they had brought an unexpected guest.

Chu Youyan.

More than ten years ago, this Foundation Building cultivator had essentially rescued the remnants of Chu Qin Sect from their ruined mountain. Time had treated him well. His bearing was as impressive as ever, and his aura suggested he had advanced further in cultivation.

He was invited to the seat of honor. Bai Xiaosheng sat respectfully to his left as company. The three Qin family members stood below the hall. Qin Ji’s face was deathly pale; his whole body trembled uncontrollably.

“Hahaha, Friend Qi! It has been many years.” Chu Youyan stepped forward and personally helped up Qi Xiu, who had immediately dropped to his knees in greeting the moment Chu Youyan entered. His laughter was warm, his tone far more affable than the cold detachment Qi Xiu remembered from their first meeting. “Not only have you managed to keep this little sect alive and thriving, your own cultivation has advanced impressively. Truly worth celebrating.”

“I can never repay the great kindness Senior showed Chu Qin Sect back then,” Qi Xiu said earnestly. “And now you have gone out of your way, traveling thousands of miles just to escort them home. How can I possibly feel at ease?”

While speaking, he gave Yu Deno a subtle glance. The old man understood immediately and presented a tray bearing a second-grade magical treasure looted from the Wang family long ago. Chu Youyan accepted it with a smile.

“I won’t stay long and impose on you,” Chu Youyan said, already preparing to leave. “I’m just passing through on my way to deliver return gifts from the Qi Yun Chu Clan to the various sects. Time is short.”

He casually handed Qi Xiu a second-grade flying sword as a reciprocal gift, then turned to go. At the doorway, he paused and pointed back at Qin Ji.

“That blockhead from your Qin family has some nerve. A mere mortal daring to rush toward an Ancestor like that. You’d better educate him properly.”

With those parting words, he transformed into a streak of light and flew away.

The moment Chu Youyan disappeared, Qin Ji collapsed. His legs gave out completely; he dropped to his knees with a thud and slumped to the floor like a pile of mud. The aggressive bluster he had shown when he stormed into Qi Xiu’s hall a few days earlier was nowhere to be seen.

Qi Xiu watched Chu Youyan’s figure vanish into the distance. He didn’t spare Qin Ji so much as a glance. Instead, he beckoned Qin Weiyu and Qin Siguo closer and asked them to explain exactly what had happened.

Qin Weiyu, nearly thirty years old, still struggled to give a clear account. It was the much younger Qin Siguo who proved more articulate, calmly filling in the gaps.

The gist of it was this:

Ever since Qin Ji learned that Chu Zhen still remembered the existence of the Qin family, he became obsessed with the idea of leveraging the Chu Clan’s influence. His ultimate goal was to force Chu Qin Sect to stipulate that the next Sect Leader must be chosen from among the Qin family’s cultivators. He even fantasized about ousting Qi Xiu right now and installing the easily manipulated, perpetually bewildered Qin Weiyu in his place.

What he failed to grasp was that the Chu Clan’s celebration of their Nascent Soul Ancestor’s milestone was a once-in-a-millennium grand occasion. No one had time to bother with an insignificant mortal like him. When his repeated attempts to seek an audience were ignored, Qin Ji panicked. Taking advantage of the huge gathering of cultivators, he tried to force his way to Chu Zhen himself to badmouth Qi Xiu.

Predictably, he failed. Worse, he disrupted the order of the ceremony and thoroughly offended the Chu Clan. In the end, he was brought back under escort—by Chu Youyan himself.

After hearing the full story, Qi Xiu, Bai Xiaosheng, Yu Deno, and the others all wore expressions of thinly veiled contempt.

A mortal Foundation Establishment cultivator wanting to barge up to a Nascent Soul Ancestor and speak to him directly? Qin Ji truly had more guts than brains.

“In that case,” Qi Xiu said quietly, taking his seat again, “we should discuss how to handle this person. Since the Chu Clan went out of their way to send him back with that pointed remark, we cannot afford to do nothing.”

He summoned Zhang Shishi and the others into the hall. In full view of the three Qin family members, they openly discussed and decided on the punishment.

Qin Ji would naturally be stripped of his position as territorial lord. Out of consideration for the past relationship between his wife, Lady Zhao, and Zhao Liangde, his life would be spared. He would be confined to his residence for the rest of his days, never allowed to step outside again.

The Qin family had grown too large and too cohesive. That kind of tight-knit bloc was no longer acceptable—not only to the other families, but also to Qi Xiu, Zhang Shishi, and the rest of the leadership. They had long been waiting for the right opportunity. Now it had arrived.

Qin Weiyu’s branch would be separated entirely and relocated to Black River Peak and Black River Market. The market was expanding rapidly; many menial tasks were already handled by mortals. As the ruling sect, there was no issue with placing more mortal households inside. Qin Weiyu’s branch wasn’t large. They could be comfortably accommodated. From now on, they would be known as the Black River Qin Clan.

Qin Siguo’s branch would likewise be moved in its entirety, but to the vicinity of Immortal Grove Hollow’s mountain gate. They would become the Immortal Grove Qin Clan.

Qin Ji’s own branch—the largest—was to be split in two.

One part would relocate to the lower-left corner of Immortal Grove Hollow’s “入”-shaped valley, becoming the Left Mountain Qin Clan.

The remaining people would be moved to the lower-right corner, becoming the Right Mountain Qin Clan. The position of mortal territorial lord would pass to an elder from this branch named Qin Ping’an.

The residential areas of the other families would be rearranged to physically separate the four new Qin branches. Each family would also appoint its own mortal household head, artificially reinforcing the division.

Yu Jing, as the steward in charge of Immortal Grove Hollow’s mortal affairs, was given full authority to carry out the relocation and supervise Qin Ji’s house arrest.

With the Qin family situation finally resolved, Qi Xiu felt a weight lift from his shoulders. He turned his attention back to the upcoming internal tournament, selected an auspicious date, finalized the match pairings, and officially opened the first-ever Chu Qin Sect Martial Assembly.

The opening matches were the four youngest disciples. Since the purpose was primarily evaluation rather than competition, they skipped the lottery and simply arranged six straightforward two-on-two bouts. The winner of the group would receive a small, exquisite first-grade flying sword as a prize.

For these evaluation matches, external tools—magical treasures, talismans, and the like—were forbidden. Victory depended solely on understanding and application of techniques, movement skills, and fundamental principles. It was the fairest possible test.