48: Tianshan Pavilion and Wan Family's Response

"Ah! It hurts! It hurts so much!"

"Grandfather, your grandson is in so much pain! You must seek justice for me!"

In the main hall of the Wan Family, the gorilla-like Wan Yong lay on a stretcher. With a wretched expression, he clutched his chest and wailed incessantly. Gritting his teeth, he complained to an old man with white hair sitting on a grandmaster's chair:

"That damned Lin Yi is just a country bumpkin from some rural place. Relying on a bit of strength, he was not only ruthless during this Martial Academy Grand Competition, but he also intentionally injured your grandson severely."

"Moreover, he humiliated your grandson afterward, calling me a piece of trash and saying I couldn't even last three breaths' time in his hands."

"Grandfather, by saying these things, he wasn't just insulting me alone; he was insulting our entire Wan Family! He was insulting you, Grandfather!"

"Grandfather! You must avenge your grandson this time and kill that Lin Yi! Vent this foul air for your grandson!"

"What!"

*Bang!*

As soon as Wan Yong finished speaking, Third Master Wan, the head of the third branch who was usually the most hot-tempered, rugged-looking, and dark-skinned—resembling a black bear—erupted in anger. He slammed the table, stood up abruptly, and glared at Wan Yong, shouting:

"Yong'er, did that country kid named Lin Yi really dare to say such things? Did he truly dare to insult you like that?"

"Yes!"

Seeing this, Wan Yong's eyes lit up on the stretcher, and he nodded repeatedly:

"Third Uncle! That damned Lin Yi humiliated me exactly like that. Every word your nephew says is the truth!"

"If Third Uncle doesn't believe me, you can go and ask around. If your nephew has spoken a single lie, I am willing to be punished!"

"Seeking death!"

Third Master Wan was completely enraged. His already fierce countenance became even more menacing, like an infuriated black bear. He roared:

"That damned countryman actually dares to humiliate a scion of my Wan Family. I'll go slaughter him right now!"

After saying that, Third Master Wan prepared to head out immediately.

"Third Brother, come back!"

Seeing this, Wan Hai, the First Master of the Wan Family who had remained silent until now, barked a reprimand:

"Father is still here, and he hasn't given any orders yet. Why are you in such a hurry? Are you trying to rebel?"

"Big Brother!"

Hearing this, Third Master Wan turned back helplessly, his dark face filled with both rage and frustration:

"Am I not doing this for the reputation of our Wan Family? If a direct son of our Wan Family is slapped in the face by that Lin Yi today and we remain indifferent, then how can our Wan Family have the face to stand in Dongshan Prefecture in the future?"

"Furthermore, Yong'er is your own son! Now that he's been beaten like this, don't you feel any heartache?"

"Of course I feel heartache seeing Yong'er like this."

Wan Hai looked at Wan Yong, a flash of anger and distress appearing in his eyes:

"But our Wan Family has always been led by Father. Since Father hasn't spoken yet, no one is allowed to act rashly—including me and you!"

"I..."

"Enough!"

Just as Third Master Wan was about to explain further, Wan Hu, the head of the Wan Family who had been sitting calmly in the grandmaster's chair, spoke up leisurely:

"Yong'er's matter must certainly be handled, but a reckless approach like Third Brother's definitely won't work."

"Eldest son, tell me your thoughts!"

"Yes! Father!"

Wan Hai nodded respectfully, pondered for a moment, and finally spoke:

"This matter between Yong'er and Lin Yi is actually neither big nor small."

"To put it lightly, it's just a clash of tempers between two juniors. Although Yong'er suffered some losses and injuries, his life and Foundation are ultimately unharmed. With some treasures at home and some rest, he'll recover. It's not a big deal."

"However, to put it more seriously, in this battle, Lin Yi not only intentionally injured the Qilin son of our Wan Family in public but also spoke maliciously afterward, deliberately humiliating Yong'er and causing him to faint from anger. This made Yong'er lose face and brought shame upon our entire Wan Family."

"Lin Yi's actions are a direct provocation to our Wan Family! It's a slap in our face! He must be killed to serve as a warning to others!"

"However, considering that Lin Yi is, after all, one of Zhao Haihong's people, and Zhao Haihong was once the Transmitting Merit Elder of the Heavenly Mountain Sect—having operated there for many years with many Disciples and connections."

"While our Wan Family does not fear him, it is best not to offend him unless absolutely necessary."

"So in my opinion, we should give Lin Yi a severe lesson, making him bedridden for three to five months to delay his cultivation. This will let him know that our Wan Family is not to be trifled with!"

"Oh, Eldest son, is that your solution?"

Hearing this, Wan Hu, the head of the Wan Family, spoke calmly. His indifferent face showed no emotion. He then turned to the second master of the Wan Family and asked again:

"Second son, what is your opinion?"

"Father! Big Brother's words make sense. I agree with him."

Second Master Wan replied respectfully. Then, along with First Master Wan, Third Master Wan, and Wan Yong, they all looked at Wan Hu, waiting for his final decision.

On the grandmaster's chair, after hearing Second Master Wan's answer, Wan Hu first took a deep breath and closed his eyes. But in an instant, he snapped them open and roared:

"Stupid!"

"A bunch of complete idiots! If the Wan Family is handed over to a group of fools like you in the future, how can I ever close my eyes in peace? When I reach the Nine Springs, how will I have the face to face the ancestors of our Wan Family?"

Wan Hu roared, his aged face radiating an overbearing aura, like an old tiger suddenly lashing out in fury, causing the surrounding air to turn cold instantly:

"Over the years, how many times have I taught you? Once you encounter an enemy, either don't offend them from the start, or after offending them, pull them up by the roots and eliminate them completely to leave no future troubles!"

"And now, this Lin Yi's Aptitude is extraordinary. Just after entering the Dongshan Martial Academy, he was able to suppress all the Geniuses of the academy."

"After practicing for one month, even Wang Yue was defeated by him, making him second only to Lin Tianqing."

"I won't even mention whether it's because his talent is truly astonishing that he could make such huge progress in just one month, or if he was actually hiding his strength just to make a name for himself in this Grand Competition."

"But at only fourteen years old, coming from a commandery city, his strength has already reached such a level. Once he joins the Heavenly Mountain Sect and receives their careful cultivation, achieving the Martial Dao Third Rank will be easy, and he has a good chance of reaching the Martial Dao Second Rank."

"Facing such a terrifying enemy, you don't think about paying a price to settle the grudge and turn an enemy into a friend, nor do you think about pulling him up by the roots to completely eliminate the threat in its cradle. Instead, you think about giving him a lesson and delaying his cultivation, making him harbor resentment against our Wan Family from now on. Tell me, if you useless things aren't idiots, then what are you!"

"Yes, yes, yes! Father's lecture is absolutely right!"

Seeing Wan Hu berating them like an enraged tiger, the three masters of the Wan Family in the hall couldn't help but feel fear from the depths of their hearts and repeatedly admitted their mistakes.

After a moment, Third Master Wan, who had the hottest temper and the simplest mind, suddenly spoke:

"Father! According to your meaning, can we choose to kill that Lin Yi this time?"

"If that's the case, Father, leave this task to me. I guarantee that within three days, that kid will die silently, and even Zhao Haihong won't be able to find out."

"Idiot!"

Hearing this, Wan Hu couldn't help himself and cursed again in anger:

"You useless thing, even I can see through your little tricks, yet you want to hide them from Zhao Haihong?"

"The methods of a Transmitting Merit Elder of the Heavenly Mountain Sect are beyond your imagination. Not to mention you, even if I wanted to kill someone silently in front of him, it would be very difficult to achieve."

"And even if we hide it from Zhao Haihong this time, could you hide it from the Heavenly Mountain Sect?"

"You must realize that Lin Yi's talent is no small matter. If he had really been hiding his strength all along, wanting to pretend to be a super Genius, that would be one thing."

"But if he really progressed this quickly, I suspect his talent is so Prodigy-like that it might not even be inferior to those peerless Prodigies in the Tianshan Pavilion!"

"The Sect places immense importance on such peerless Prodigies. Even if Lin Yi is only potentially comparable, once something happens to him, and with Zhao Haihong mobilizing his connections, the Sect will surely investigate thoroughly."

"When that time comes, even a First-Rank Master involved would face great trouble, let alone a small Wan Family like ours. We would be wiped out in an instant!"

At this point, a flash of deep fear appeared in Wan Hu's eyes.

Below, the masters of the Wan Family, and even the severely injured Wan Yong lying on the ground, cried out in shock upon hearing the words "Tianshan Pavilion":

"What! This... this is impossible, right?"

"What ability does this Lin Yi have to dare compare himself with the Prodigies of the Tianshan Pavilion?"

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

...The Tianshan Pavilion was a place established by the Ancestral Master of the Heavenly Mountain Sect specifically for cultivating martial arts Geniuses.

Inside the pavilion, there were not only experts who surpassed First-Rank Masters stationed long-term to guide and teach those Geniuses, but there were also several very high-Rank legacy treasures left by the Martial God.

Each of those legacy treasures was countless times more precious than the Red Dragon Pool and had infinitely greater effects. As a result, the Tianshan Pavilion was extremely effective at cultivating Geniuses and had a massive reputation.

Not only did Disciples from the eight prefectures under the Heavenly Mountain Sect dream of entering it to practice, but even Geniuses from Qingzhou outside the eight prefectures, and even Geniuses from Chuzhou and Youzhou beyond Qingzhou, wanted to enter it.

The forces they belonged to would often pay a heavy price to buy one or two slots from the Heavenly Mountain Sect so their favored Geniuses could enter.

From this, one could see how high the entry threshold for the Tianshan Pavilion was and how fierce the competition was!

It could be said that every Genius who could enter the Tianshan Pavilion was a true peerless Prodigy! Their talent was incredibly powerful!

Could this mere Lin Yi have that level of talent?

"What's impossible about it!"

Seeing their incredulous expressions, Wan Hu barked and explained:

"Although the Geniuses of the Tianshan Pavilion are powerful, they aren't born divine. They also received a large amount of resources for cultivation from a young age before gradually reaching that point step by step."

"Yet this Lin Yi comes from a commandery city or even a county town. He hasn't even had a decent master since he was young, yet he still managed to reach this step at the age of fourteen."

"In my view, even if his talent is still a bit short of the Tianshan Pavilion, the gap isn't as large as you imagine."

"Under these circumstances, if he hasn't been hiding his strength but has truly improved this quickly recently, then his talent is naturally not inferior to those Prodigies of the Tianshan Pavilion."

"What! This, this..."

Hearing Wan Hu's analysis, Wan Yong and the others were speechless.

Finally, Wan Hai, the eldest son of the Wan Family, took the initiative to ask Wan Hu cautiously:

"Then Father, since Lin Yi's talent is so terrifying and we can't kill him, how should we reconcile with him? Should we give him silver?"

"I heard that Yong'er lost five thousand taels of silver to him in a bet. In that case, we'll give him the five thousand taels, and additionally give him another three thousand taels. What do you think?"

"What do I think? I think you're a piece of trash! A pure-bred, useless piece of trash who can't be helped!"

Looking at his son's disappointing behavior, Wan Hu's face turned pale with anger as he pointed at Wan Hai and cursed:

"Now that you know his talent and realize we can't deal with him, you want to reconcile, yet you're being so stingy and offering such a small amount of silver?"

"I, Wan Hu, have been wise my whole life. How did I give birth to such a useless thing like you?"

"Add another fifteen thousand taels on top of the five thousand, making a total of twenty thousand taels of silver, and then go deliver the silver to Lin Yi immediately! Get out! Get out now!"

"Yes, yes, yes! Father! I'll do it right away! Right away!"

Looking at the enraged Wan Hu, Wan Hai didn't dare say another word. He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, stood up immediately, and left to prepare the silver.

Seeing this, the others also hurriedly left the hall, fearing they would be caught in Wan Hu's wrath.

Finally, in the hall, Wan Hu watched his sons and grandsons leave in a pathetic state. He remained silent for a long time and finally could only let out a helpless sigh.