Vol. 1 - Chapter 187 - Speculation

"Pojing, continue."

Shi Chenghong’s expression remained calm and unreadable, neither approving nor rejecting what had been said. He simply gestured for Shi Pojing to go on.

With the patriarch’s support, Shi Pojing stepped forward and continued in a steady tone, “That Chaotic Burial Mountain is nothing more than a remote patch of desolate land, and the Chen family’s strength there is pitiful at best. They only have one Innate Realm cultivator.

“But this time, the ones we sent were Potian and Podi—two Innate Realm cultivators of the clan, carrying both the family’s Divine Stone and the Wind Spirit Bird. Yet even now, there’s been no word from the Wind Spirit Bird. What does that tell you? Surely, you’re not all blind to the meaning behind that?”

One of the clan members immediately spoke up in rebuttal. “What does that prove? The Chen family has an incense totem. Maybe that lone Innate Realm cultivator drew on its power to strike.”

“If their totem really possessed that kind of power,” Shi Pojing said coldly, “why would they have been acting so timid all this time? Even when Potian and the others went scouting before, they didn’t dare make a move. It was only when our brothers were about to leave that they acted, and that was likely a desperate move forced upon them. Clearly, their totem doesn’t have much divine power.”

Several of the gathered clan members exchanged glances, thinking it over carefully. The more they thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed.

If the Chen family truly had real strength, they wouldn’t have been holed up in the backwater of Chaotic Burial Mountain for all these years. And even with the help of their totem, it was hard to imagine them being able to take down two Innate Realm cultivators who were carrying the Divine Stone.

Seeing the hesitation spreading through the crowd, Shi Pojing pressed on. “Besides, the business with those two brothers from Mei Mountain last time was also suspicious. By the clan’s own report, one of the Chen family’s people had to use a self-harming battle technique just to fend them off, and in the end, they still handed over their resources without a fight.”

“If they truly had absolute strength, would they have given up such hard-won spoils?”

Shi Chenghong spoke then, his tone still unreadable. “So you think Potian and Podi’s deaths weren’t the work of the Chen family?”

Shi Pojing nodded. “That’s right. To easily kill two of our Innate Realm cultivators carrying the Divine Stone… only the other three great clans of Yong’an City would have the strength for that. Not to mention, the Wind Spirit Bird is one of the clan’s most secret assets—common martial artists wouldn’t even notice it, much less be able to intercept it.

“Only someone familiar with its methods could have prepared in advance. I believe there’s a high probability that one of the other three great clans was behind this.”

The more the clan members thought about it, the more uneasy they became. Outwardly, the four great clans of Yong’an City maintained a facade of peace, but beneath that surface, they had always been vying for supremacy.

After all, Yong’an wasn’t that large, and the territories of the clans had long since been carved up. If any family tried to expand, even slightly, it would inevitably encroach on someone else’s domain.

Another clansman frowned. “But if the other clans were involved, which one? The family has been keeping tabs on the other three, and none of them have shown any movement recently. We haven’t even detected any of their Innate Realm cultivators leaving their territories.”

“Don’t be naïve,” someone else scoffed. “Just because we have the Mei Mountain brothers reporting to us doesn’t mean the other clans don’t have hidden forces of their own.”

“But with Potian and Podi’s strength, could just two or three Innate Realm cultivators really take them down?”

Shi Pojing’s cold laugh cut through the murmuring. “Who said they were Innate Realm cultivators?”

The room fell silent.

Not Innate Realm cultivators? Could he mean Qi Manifestation Realm? But how could that be? None of the three other clans were known to have someone at that level.

Seeing their confusion, Shi Pojing added flatly, “Not publicly, no. But don’t forget—the Xie family still has one.”

“Xie Yanmo? Wasn’t he supposed to come out of seclusion next month?”

Shi Pojing’s sneer deepened. “And who exactly confirmed that? That was just the Xie family’s own statement. But what if he already broke through to the Inner Gang Realm? Think about it—if someone in our clan were about to break through, would we announce it? They claim he’s in seclusion, but who really knows if that’s true?”

This time, no one immediately refuted him. If a Qi Manifestation Realm cultivator really had made the move, the whole situation suddenly made far more sense.

Killing two Innate Realm cultivators carrying the Divine Stone? Silencing the Wind Spirit Bird? For someone at the Qi Manifestation Realm, that would be child’s play.

Shi Pojing could tell the others were rattled, but he kept his expression composed. If it hadn’t been for his ambition to rise further within the clan, he wouldn’t have wasted his time analyzing any of this.

Still, to cover himself, he added one last comment. “Of course, it’s all just speculation for now. Without concrete evidence, it shouldn’t be taken as fact.”

Even so, no one voiced objections anymore.

At this point, it was hard not to believe that the Chen family wasn’t involved at all. With their measly strength, even backed by the Zhou family, they wouldn’t dare provoke the Shi clan like this. Let alone deliver a killing blow.

And if they had that kind of power, why would they choose to act in that desolate mountain rather than on the return trip, where suspicion could have been diverted?

Someone spoke up from the crowd. “Isn’t this easy to verify? Xie Yanmo is a master swordsman—all his techniques are sword-based. Once we recover the bodies, we’ll know by the wounds.”

Shi Chenghong finally spoke again. “I’ve already sent Yuan Yu.”

At that name, the murmurs died at once. Yuan Yu was one of the family’s strongest martial cultivators, late-stage Innate Realm, and an elder uncle within the clan. With him on the task, mistakes were unlikely.

But even with that assurance, another silence fell over the ancestral hall.

If this really was the Chen family’s doing, the Shi clan didn’t need to hesitate. The Chen family had made the first move, and they could strike back immediately. Even if the Zhou family stepped in later, the Shi clan would hold the moral high ground.

But if this involved one of the other three great clans, the whole picture became far murkier. On the surface, the four clans remained cooperative—but if the Shi family made a move now, the others might use the chaos as an excuse to get involved. And once that happened, strength alone would determine who had the final say.

And right now, among the four clans, the Xie family was the strongest—especially if Xie Yanmo had already broken through to the Qi Manifestation Realm.

If things came to a head, the Xie family might just emerge the ultimate victor. With this reasoning, more and more members of the clan began to believe that Xie Yanmo was behind it all.

As for the motive? Naturally, the Xie family wasn’t satisfied with the current arrangement anymore. They wanted more—more power, more territory, more resources. And unfortunately for the Shi clan, they just happened to be standing in the way.

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