Xiao Hongye shook his head. "Sect Master, you may not know this, but the Xu Family and the Shangyang Family are both extremely strong. But just by looking at Xu Feihong and Shangyang Jiuli, I'm afraid Miss Xu Feihong won't be able to catch up to even half of Shangyang Jiuli's cultivation even after many years, "he explained in a low voice, as if he was confiding in her.
"I see that you're cold on the outside but kind on the inside, just like my younger brother who died young. That's why I'm giving you some advice. In the future, try to build a good relationship with Miss Jiuli. She's the undisputed number two genius of the Shangyang Family. Perhaps she'll be able to break through to Bind level in a few years. If you win her favor, you'll have a much better life in the future. "
"Oh?" Taoist Priest Bai Feng was startled. "Could it be that Miss Jiuli is about to break through to Seven-Vein Realm!?"
"I don't know if it's true, but ten years ago, Miss Shangyang Jiuli was already at Five-Vein Realm. She was known as the number one genius of the Shangyang Family. If not for that person who came later, no one would be able to break her record. Seven-Vein, I'm afraid she's not far away … "Xiao Hongye said softly.
"Seven-Vein and Five-Vein, I wonder what they are …?" Lu Sheng's heart skipped a beat. He knew that this might have touched on the Noble Families' classification of power, so he quickly asked.
"Isn't Sect Master Lu at least at Three-Vein Realm? How come you don't know this?" Xiao Hongye was stunned.
"I just stumbled upon it …" Lu Sheng shook his head.
"To stumble upon Three-Vein Realm, Sect Master Lu's family background … is indeed extraordinary!" Daoist Bai Feng exclaimed.
"Hehe, Director-General Bai Feng must be joking." Lu Sheng knew that they thought of him as a descendant of some Noble Family, but he didn't point it out. He also understood that he had fought to a draw with umbrella girl as an ordinary person. He had already transcended the realm of mortals. It was normal for the other party to misunderstand.
"Brother Lu, you may not know this, but Vein is the subdivision of the Bind level." Xiao Hongye explained, "The so-called Bind is the power of restraint. The Noble Families, under the light of the Divine Weapon, produce different levels of talent according to the degree of compatibility."
"Squire Xiao is right. A genius like Shangyang Jiuli who has such a high affinity is a rare sight," Taoist Bai Feng agreed. 'Although Noblemen are born at the level of Bind, they'll be able to master more inherited blood as they advance through cultivation. Normally, it would be considered pretty good if one could attain Dual Vein Mark after reaching adulthood. Most of the descendants of the aristocratic families only have the most basic single vein. "
"In other words, the level of Bind is divided into seven veins, and those with three veins and above are considered experts?" Lu Sheng pressed.
"Of course. Take Scarlet District's Deputy District Mistress the umbrella girl for example. Initially, we thought that the umbrella girl was at most Double-Vein Level. After all, she was a mere Anomaly that had evolved into a ghost. But unexpectedly … if Sect Master Lu hadn't exchanged blows with her, I'm afraid we would have been at a great disadvantage when we fought the umbrella girl in the future! "Taoist Bai Feng sighed ruefully.
"Indeed," Xiao Hongye agreed.
As the two of them chatted, they treated Lu Sheng purely as a descendant of an aristocratic family. This allowed him to unwittingly learn a lot of insider information about aristocratic families.
Bind was divided into seven veins, mainly due to the veins on the black membrane that would appear on the surface of one's body after attaining the level of Bind.
Moreover, they were different from the Northern Noble Family, Zhen Family. The entire population of Zhen Family was no more than a dozen people. The Nine Great Families of the Central Plains, on the other hand, were able to occupy the most prosperous and affluent lands in the Central Plains. Naturally, they were much more powerful.
Everything else aside, Shangyang Family alone had more than fifty family members on the surface. Among them, eight were at least Three-Vein Level and had a reputation outside.
The other eight families were about the same in terms of strength.
After the three of them chatted for a while in the pavilion, they began to talk about martial arts in the mortal world.
"What's the point of us cultivating martial arts in the mortal world? Even if we cultivate diligently for decades or centuries, we still won't be able to break through the black membrane at the level of Bind. The main thing is to use life-force skills to prolong life. That's the right path, "Taoist Bai Feng said, shaking his head.
"That's not necessarily the case. Apart from life-force skills, there are many martial arts in the mortal world that are worth learning. Just like when Sect Master Lu faced the umbrella girl, didn't he mainly rely on the martial arts of the mortal world? " Xiao Hongye retorted. He mistook Lu Sheng's powerful defense, stacked together with his inner force and hard body skills, for the black membrane at the level of Bind. As for the tyrannical inner Qi of Ultimate Crimson Nine Furies Skill, coupled with its terrifying explosive strength, he mistook it for ordinary martial arts.
Lu Sheng did not expose him, but merely sighed softly.
"Martial arts are indeed quite effective. But compared to the innate strength of a Noble Family, it's still too far off." He was lamenting from the bottom of his heart. How much effort and effort had he put into defending against the lowest level of Bind? Had it been any other ordinary person, they would have been torn apart by the umbrella girl in a single move without cultivating diligently for more than two hundred years.
Without sufficient inner force, they wouldn't even be able to break through the level of Bind.
"That's true … speaking of innate strength, if Zhen Family can hold on to Scarlet Dragon Tribulation this time, their strength will truly increase tremendously. Wielding two Divine Weapons … tsk tsk, a Noble Family descendant born with the power of Two-Vein. How terrifying, "Xiao Hongye exclaimed.
"If Zhen Family manages to make a comeback this time, they'll definitely find a chance to exact their revenge for being banished back then. Hehehe, when that time comes, there'll be a good show to watch, "Bai Feng laughed.
"Indeed. With Zhen Family's viciousness, there might really be a good show," Xiao Hongye laughed as well.
Lu Sheng's heart skipped a beat. Could the power of Noble Families come from Divine Weapons? Seizing new Divine Weapons could even enhance the innate strength of a Noble Family descendant at birth?
He looked at Xiao Hongye. From the beginning to the end, this person seemed to be intentionally or unintentionally leading the conversation in the direction he wanted to know.
On his fair, chubby smiling face, there was always an amiable and harmless look, as if he truly had good intentions towards him.
"Right, I haven't asked about Squire Xiao's background …" Lu Sheng could not help but ask in the end.
Right from the beginning, Taoist Bai Feng had not introduced Xiao Hongye's background. But for him to know so much inside information, it was clear that he was extraordinary.
"Old Brother Lu, you can't hold it in after all?" Xiao Hongye covered his mouth with his folding fan and burst into laughter.
"Old Brother, I'm just a lowly supervisor in Ashoka Manor. I can't compare to those two prideful Noble Families."
"Ashoka Manor?" Lu Sheng's heart skipped a beat.
Almost immediately, he thought of a name: Duke Ashoka.
The Liu Family sisters and Li Shunxi were all connected to Duke Ashoka. The Liu Family sisters were hunted, and Li Shunxi's family was exterminated. It was all Duke Ashoka's doing.
Now, Duke Ashoka was actually connected to a Noble Family. Lu Sheng had a rough idea of what this represented.
After some idle chatter and a meal, Lu Sheng left the Rearguard Commandery with his men. It was already ten to eleven o 'clock in the evening.
The Rearguard Commandery men had prepared an ox cart to send Lu Sheng and the rest back to the Crimson Whale.
The cart was silent until they reached the Crimson Whale, where Hong Mingzi led the way to welcome them.
More than half of the sect's upper echelons were gone, and the ruins of the Crimson Whale were mostly cleaned up. There were still people moving new items into the loft.
Faint cries could be heard from the deck of the ship. Those were the family members of the sect disciples who had died.
When Lu Sheng alighted from the ox cart, he could see white smoke rising from the deck. It was the smoke from burning braziers and burning paper money in remembrance of the dead.
"How is it, Junior Apprentice Brother?" Hong Mingzi asked.
"We've chosen Shangyang Family. It's confirmed. Shangyang Jiuli is already on her way to Scarlet District. All we have to do is wait for news, "Lu Sheng replied quickly.
"That's good … that's good!!" Hong Mingzi heaved a sigh of relief. The few Elders beside him also relaxed. Clearly, they had been tense all this while.
"Sect Master, I'm afraid we can't rest yet. Too many people have died in the sect, no less than a hundred. As for the compensation …" an Elder stepped forward.
"A hundred taels of silver per family. If it's too difficult, we can register it so that we can provide more help," Lu Sheng said casually.
"Alright!" The Elder nodded.
Lu Sheng reminded again. "We must not mistreat our brothers who have risked their lives for the sect."
His arrangement was considered very generous in the current circumstances.
If a member of a sect died, it would be considered good enough for the family to compensate with a few taels of silver. Who would throw out hundreds of thousands of silver notes in one go like this?
"Alright, Senior Apprentice Brother. Let's go back to the ship and discuss in detail," Lu Sheng suggested.
The rest followed him into a study on the fourth floor of the Crimson Whale ship.
Lu Sheng gave Hong Mingzi a rough account of what he had gained on this trip.
"We're not in a good position right now. Even if Shangyang Jiuli doesn't have any designs on us, it's only a matter of time before we're swapped with other Noble Families' forces," Hong Mingzi frowned.
"We don't have to worry about that for the time being. Shangyang Family is probably just here to occupy a bridgehead in the Northern Lands. They won't be able to allocate much of their strength here," Lu Sheng replied. He chose Shangyang Family mainly because Shangyang Jiuli was stronger. He would be able to hold the fort in a short period of time. Otherwise, he would not be able to defend himself if Scarlet District attacked the ordinary disciples without warning. In truth, Crimson Whale Sect did not make much of a difference which Noble Family they chose.
"Does that mean that the Northern Lands will be empty for a while?" Hong Mingzi asked in a low voice.
"Perhaps. Zhen Family ran away with the treasure. We'll have to see how Shangyang Family will react next. We'll have to be careful about many things lest we violate any taboos, "Lu Sheng said calmly.
"That should be the case," Hong Mingzi nodded. He lowered his head and coughed a few more times. "But I'm afraid that Scarlet District won't let the matter rest so easily."
"That's a matter for Shangyang Family to handle," Lu Sheng replied. He took out the Shangyang Family stone tablet for Hong Mingzi to see.
The two of them chatted for a while and roughly analyzed the situation. Then, they headed to the grand hall and announced the news to the rest of the upper echelons.
"In other words, the matter with Scarlet District is over? Over? "Chen Ying was the first to ask.
"Crimson Whale Sect has suffered a great blow after this battle. We need to rest and recuperate. Everything should be fine by daybreak, "Lu Sheng heaved a long sigh as he sat on his chair.
"Shangyang Family can only play a small role in mitigating Scarlet District's troubles. We'll have to settle the rest ourselves. As for management, it'll probably be even more lax than when Zhen Family was around. "
"Let's settle the funeral of the brothers in the gang first." Hong Mingzi sighed. Although he was no longer the Sect Master, he was still Lu Sheng's Senior Apprentice Brother and an expert of Crimson Sun Sect. His words still carried considerable weight.
"Senior Apprentice Brother is right. We should take stock of the sect's situation," Lu Sheng nodded.
Once Shangyang Jiuli had ascertained the situation with Scarlet District, he planned to take full control of Crimson Whale Sect and deal with the aftermath. Although he had been mistaken for a Nobleman's bloodline, he had learned a lot of secret information that he needed to digest.
The most valuable was his position among the Noblemen.
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