"Concubine?"
Du Xiong stared dumbfoundedly at Du Zundao, "Father, you want Caidie to be my concubine? But her grandfather is Liu Futong, a Venerable of our Zoroastrian Sect!"
Du Zundao saw through Du Xiongâs thoughts and chuckled, "What Venerable or not, if his granddaughter can be my sonâs concubine, heâs already quite honored. Donât worry, son, if you like Liu Caidie, she will be yours. But you must marry Han Lingâer, understand?"
Upon hearing Du Zundaoâs words, Du Xiong wiped his tears and said, "As long as I can have Caidie, making her a concubine is fine too."
Du Zundao glanced at his son, didnât he understand his mindset?
Love, affection, what does this little brat know? Heâs merely lusting after Liu Caidieâs body. Now that he can have Caidieâs body, he doesnât care if sheâs a concubine or otherwise, as long as she belongs to him.
So this little brat, love is nothing more than an excuse for debauchery.
Du Zundao felt disdain, so what is marriage? Marriage is merely a means for the strong to gain benefits. When a woman can no longer provide enough value, sheâs only worth as much as her body, then sheâs only fit to be a concubine!
At this moment, Du Xiong was no longer conflicted as he looked at Du Zundao, "Father, I understand. Then let Caidie be my concubine, and I will marry Lingâer."
Du Zundao nodded, "Itâs good if youâve figured it out."
Then Du Xiong looked at Du Zundao and said, "Father, can I marry Han Lingâer and Caidie together?"
Du Zundao frowned and said, "Marry the main wife first."
"Yes, Father, I will listen to you."
Du Xiong immediately agreed. After all, Caidie couldnât escape. By the time he married Caidie back as a concubine, he could do as he pleased with her. Thinking of this, a smile crept up on Du Xiongâs lips.
Seeing his son like this, Du Zundao looked down on him a bit. How could his son be so infatuated with matters between men and women, displaying signs of never achieving greatness?
Thinking about it, Du Zundao said, "Alright, leave now. Todayâs punishment is canceled. Tomorrow, you need to accompany me to the Ruins. Go back and rest well. Donât think about that Liu Caidie. Once we successfully obtain the Qiankun Great Method on this trip to the Ruins, then she will be just a concubine for you."
"Yes, Father, donât worry."
Du Xiong agreed immediately.
Watching Du Xiong leave, Du Zundao pondered. The trip to the Ruins was imperative, whether it was the gamble with Mr. Guan or the Qiankun Great Method concerning an escape route from Bright Peak. These were all necessary for Du Zundao.
This time, the courtâs three armies, plus the Six Great Sects attacking Bright Peak, would be an absolute disaster for Bright Peak.
They had no confidence in winning under such a powerful offensive, not even in escaping with their lives. In fact, the upper echelons of the Zoroastrian Sect all knew that they couldnât win this battle.
But could they surrender without a fight?
Of course not. Surrendering without a fight would dissipate the fighting spirit condensed by Han Sect Leader throughout the entire sect. Once this fighting spirit dissipates, it would be a fatal blow to the entire Zoroastrian Sect.
Simply put, the Zoroastrian Sect could continue to exist solely because of the lingering prestige from Han Shantongâs battle at Wending Mountain.
However, if the Zoroastrian Sectâs leaders fled in advance this time, then the morale within the sect would crumble. The personnel in the sectâs branches across various regions might also develop rebellious thoughts. Some elites in the Jianghu might lose their intention to join the sect upon witnessing its current state.
In other words, if the Zoroastrian Sect fled outright, the sectâs heroic image before the heroes and elites of the world would vanish.
This would not only affect internal cohesion but also impact the management of local branches, potentially causing significant turmoil in external investments and market perceptions of the sectâs longstanding authority.
It was conceivable that the Zoroastrian Sectâs status in Jianghu would inevitably plummet, something unacceptable to the sectâs senior management.
So, this battle couldnât be avoided, at least not openly.
Therefore, after meticulous planning by Mr. Duozhi Fox, they came to a solution: fight first to show the court and the world that they arenât a bunch of incompetents, then discreetly open a secret passage in Bright Peak and escape safely. Lastly, they would issue fierce threats that escalated the battle with the court to a life-and-death struggle, ensuring the Jianghuâs evaluation of the sect would be positive.
This is essentially an issue of repeated defeat and keeping high spirits as opposed to receiving a single defeat with despair.
The former is pessimistic, while the latter is positive, and people are willing to give opportunities to those with a positive and progressive spirit.
This was Mr. Guanâs strategy.
However, thereâs an awkward point: the secret passage above Bright Peak was constructed using Kunlun Mountain Stone by the master artisan Gongshu, integrating into the natural mountain formation.
To force it open would require moving an entire mountain, and such force is beyond even a Fourth Transition expert from the Melt God Realm.
Thus, as long as the passage is opened and they hide inside, safety is assured.
However, the problem arises: even a Melt God Realm expert struggles to move it, and itâs equally challenging for those in the sect.
Yet, one must admire the expert who set the secret passage back in the day, cleverly incorporating the Heaven and Earth Transposition force from the Qiankun Great Method, the cultivation technique of the sect leader. It allows the giant stone at the entrance to be subtly shifted.
This opens the secret passage, allowing the entire sect to escape.
This is why the Qiankun Great Method is considered the sect leaderâs cultivation technique, only teachable to the leader, because only they have the right to move the giant stone.
For this reason, Mr. Guan and the others are determined to seek out the Qiankun Great Method. Without it, nothing can be done.