Unfathomable Senior
Chapter 42
The cultivator was sweating a bit while looking to the side, the lady was still there and he just didn't know what he should do. He wasn't that dumb, he realized that she wanted something from him by now. The man had very limited experience with women, not like he didn't like them or anything. In his previous life, he was that one guy that stood alone at parties, getting invited by friends but never knowing what to do there. He was approached by girls here and there, but he never knew how to talk to them or how to keep the conversation going. He was a classic introvert that just felt bad at social gatherings so after a while he just stopped attending them.
This woman was strange though, even though he was stuttering all over the place and looking awkward as hell she just giggled to herself and didn't seem to be bothered by it at all. He was kind of on the fence about this whole thing, one part of him felt excited that a beauty like this was interested in him, the other part was terrified as he didn't want to make a fool out of himself.
The woman was about 170 cm, she had long black hair that was done in a ponytail style. She was wearing one of those Chinese style dresses, the skirt part went down to about her ankles but the sides were open, so you could see her shapely legs. She had high heels on her feet and the top part of the dress had a cutout part that let you see the cleavage. And boy or boy, she really did fill out that piece of clothing well. She had that classic hourglass figure but was a bit more top-heavy. The rear end didn't fall behind much though and those legs were nice and toned, probably due to the martial arts background that she had. Her eyes were big and green her face as more adult looking than cute.
He had a hard time focusing on anything with the woman wrapped around his muscular arm, after a while, he found himself in front of his hotel room. Lan Fei finally let go of his arm as he welcomed her in, she looked around the large suite that had quite a bit of things included. The room was large, she could see a fireplace being set up by the wall along with a couch that pointed in its direction. There was a toilet and bath included as well. The large bed could hold multiple people in it and the windows showed the view of the city.
There was some tea provided by the hotel and a magical treasure like a kettle that was used for boiling, there was no electricity in this world so everything runs on spiritual Qi that could be stored in various ways.
"Okay, tea right?"
He went right towards the tea kettle to prepare the tea, just trying to do something else as the woman finally let go of his arm and was now looking around the large room. She was touching the furniture and for some reason pulled the drapes together, sealing off the view at the lit-up city which was bustling with nighttime activities.
*Okay, calm down she's just here for some tea no need to lose your head about it. We'll just chat a bit and then... uh then what?*
He was so bewildered by the situation that he didn't think about the obvious reason why the woman was here in the first place. But he did realize it after he turned around whit the teacups in his hands and the woman was lying on the bed. She was on her side in a seductive pose but that wasn't the problem, the problem was that she was naked. Zhang Dong dropped the teacups to the ground out of sheer surprise. He couldn't take his eyes off the woman's shapely curves that were being presented.
"Uh...huh...?"
"Well, are you just going to stand there? I just wanted to show my appreciation and by the looks of things, Senior is appreciating the view~"
She said while giggling, her breasts bouncing slightly as she noticed how Zhang Dong's lower area was reacting to the provocative scene before him. The lower brother was looking vigorous which kind of made the cultivator bend forward a bit as to hide it.
"W-well, y-you know..."
*God damn is this really happening! Did my lucky day finally come?*
Matt wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth, even though he was an awkward sob there was a limit to being incompetent. He still was a man, so he started frantically fiddling with his pants while looking between the naked woman in front of him and his clothes which were his greatest enemy at the moment. He finally was able to pull his pants down and kicked them to the side along with the rest of his robe, he started going towards his undies but then he suddenly stopped and looked at the woman that was beckoning over.
*Wait! I can't do this!*
"Uh... I'll be right back ... just wait for a second!"
He vanished into the bathroom area of the room to the surprise of the woman that was waiting for him on the bed. She wondered if the man wasn't interested or something. Matt, on the other hand, was frantically clicking through his system cash shop looking for a specific item.
*Aha! They have those here, system be thanked!*
He poked the air and a small packet popped out, it was something people from earth were very familiar with, yes it was a packet of condoms. They had a cultivator theme though, along with a drawing of a sharp sword standing upwards. Safety came first, so after 'armoring up' he returned to the room while the woman peeked back up as the quirky Senior was right back and looked like he was in the mood. He climbed on top of the bed to the female cultivator that was all smiles, he reached out to her and she reached back.
-A night of bad smut later.-
He woke up, feeling like a new man like a big weight had been lifted from his heart. The woman was in the bathing area of the room just freshening herself up after the nightly session. She guided him through his first encounter, opening up his eyes to a new world in the process. He would remember this night for the rest of his life even more, due to the fact that it took him so long to get his cherry popped. But even more, after something was about to happen.
"You never told me your name Senior~"
The woman walked out while back in her clothes, still bouncy as ever and swinging her hips side to side in an alluring way.
"Oh, didn't I? Well, guess you can call me Zhang Dong."
He smiled thinking nothing of it while giving the girl the name that the system gave him, he couldn't really tell anyone his earthly name here. After he told the woman his name, her facial expression changed.
"Zhang? The Zhang Clan from Spirit Spring City?"
She asked while thinking about something.
"Ah yes, did you hear of my clan before, they are in Spirit Spring City."
The gears started turning in the woman's head while looking at the man that was smiling back at her. She was a merchant so after getting into this city she sent someone to gather info about the Zhang clan that previously used to own this place. She found out that it was a big clan but it failed in a big expedition. It wasn't anything new, a big clan goes on an expedition to some sealed of realm or for some treasure hunting and chews of more than they can handle.
The clan lost their Patriarch in the expedition along with all of their core formation elders, the rumor was that they just had one core formation elder back in the city. Everyone knew what happened to big family clans that lost their power to defend themselves, they would get poached by other big clans. The woman thought that this man would be her meal ticket out of the merchant work, but instead, if she associates with him she could get labeled as a clan member as well and then go under with the rest of that clan.
"Ahh, Senior... I think I should go back to my people, You don't need to walk me back..."
She quickly removed herself from the room while Matt was trying to figure out while the woman did a 180 on him and stormed out of the building.
"She started acting strange the moment I said my clan name... was that it?"
Matt tilted his head to the side and thought about the setting where his clan was supposed to be down on its luck.
"Is the clan's situation that bad, that people won't associate with me due to it?"
Matt felt hurt a bit after the woman that he had an intimate night just fled the moment she heard about his family situation, he would also have to get to the bottom of that as well. He flopped back onto the bed and looked at the ceiling.
"God damn little Fei, you don't need to drop me like a sack of potatoes the moment you hear my last name!"
Unfathomable Senior
Chapter 43
The man wasn't sure how he should feel about the whole encounter, he thought he would feel happier after doing the deed but instead, he felt hollow on the inside after the woman left. I guess it wasn't all that great if there weren't any feelings involved. But not like he didn't enjoy his encounter, he still had a stupid expression on his face as he thought back to the night.
*Uh, I'll consider this a win..."
He went into the bathroom to clean himself up a bit dejected that the woman was gunning more for his status than himself, then he dressed and headed out to ask people about the Zhang Clan. The rumors were widespread so it wasn't hard. Apparently the Zhang Clan was void of any elders at the moment and all of their heavy hitters died in some exploration attempt of some ruin or holy ground. Those were things akin to dungeons that had sealed of spaces and you never knew what dangers lurked inside, it wasn't anything new you could gain a lot but also lose your life.
*Guess that's why Fei gave me the cold shoulder, she thinks that I have no backing now and will get hunted by other clans if they see me...*
He still felt a bit dejected but could understand the woman's decision and not like they had any deep relationship bonding them anyway. He needed to make a decision now, either head to the Zhang Clan and check out if he could salvage the situation there, maybe it wasn't as bad as the rumors said. Or wait it out then make the decision. Not like he couldn't take another identity if he wanted, this would probably be the intelligent thing to do, but would the people from the Zhang clan die if he didn't go there?
This would probably be the case, but that didn't really sit well with him. Would this system place him in a hopeless position? He didn't really have a hard time, the enemies weren't that tough and he was getting better and better at fighting. He also considered his personal strength to be in the later stages of core formation due to his cultivation method and added bonuses from the Dao he had.
He didn't know why but it just didn't feel right to abandon those Zhang Clan members, from what he heard the people around here much preferred them to the Cheng Clan that was gaining power. He couldn't just abandon them now after he knew that they were in danger. Also, he was slowly starting to change a bit, the winning battle with the tentacle monster brought something new. The feeling was strange, but it made him itch for a fight.
It was one thing to battle beasts and fry big bug monsters with his lightning bolts, it was another thing to do the same thing to other humans. He didn't know if he could hold back and not kill someone by mistake either. While this was going through his mind he tossed out his large sword and started going up into the air. He glanced in the direction of the caravan as he flew above them for a moment, they were leaving the city. The woman noticed him looking at her from afar, she just gave him a little bow before looking away and heading out of the city.
Matt gave out a sigh and looked at his system map, this city was a halfway point if he counted the forest as his starting point so it would take him a bit to get there. So he pushed his spiritual energy into it and with a thunderous sound, he bolted towards his new destination. The people in the city were alerted to his loud takeoff, the Cheng Clan members glad that he was finally gone and that they didn't suffer much besides that one pervy elder of theirs, but he could be easily replaced.
He was going fast and the scenery rapidly changed below him as he increased his speed, he decided to do some mental training while he was at it. Checking all of his inner knowledge that he received from the system wanting to know what he had imprinted in him concerning fighting other cultivators. He also counted that he would have a bit over 25k spirit points if he started absorbing the spirit stones he got. Though he wasn't sure what to spend it on yet, he also had enough skills he didn't really need anymore. They were all higher grade and powerful. Though he was running low on those healing pills, he might have to spend some on those.
At about the time that Zhang Dong was speeding towards his destination, other things were happening there.
Spirit Spring City was at full alert, their defensive formations were all active, a bright golden shield was covering the whole city. You could see cultivators sitting in lotus positions powering the defensive shield that covered the whole area. Some of them were getting dragged away on stretchers, their bodies drained from their spiritual energy as they were switched out with other cultivators. On the other side of the shield you could see people as well, they were pounding on the shield with something that looked like siege weapons. There were balistas and cannons, firing of colorful shots of energy that were hitting the golden shield making it rumble.
Back inside, there was one old cultivator looking at the spot that the weapons were firing at. His hair was white, his face had a scar running from his eyebrow down to his cheek. He had a beard and was about six feet tall, his eyes had a golden hue to them. He had a frown on his face, his hands were behind his back as he squinted at the spot that was getting bombarded.
"How long do we have?"
He asked one of the people next to him, there were older people like him. On his left it was an older lady, looking to be in her sixties and on the right side it was an old man about the same age.
"A couple of days, a week at most Elder Jin"
The woman said while also looking in the same direction.
"Any word from outside?"
"No sir, we sent out a plea for help to outside families and a call to arms. Some have come to aid us but no one that could turn the tide. There is probably no more help coming. We have no way of contacting clan members that weren't inside the formation after it was activated as well."
They had lost their Patriarch and the core members of the Clan, Elder Jin was the only core formation cultivator left around and he was also only of the early stage. Zhang Jin gripped his fist in anger as he remembered the day that they got ordered by the sect to examine a new formed holy ground that was unexplored. They couldn't refuse but the area was an enigma. The Patriarch was forced to join the expedition along with the other elders as well as the junior members. Afterward, they found all the spirit tablets with their names cracked and crumbled, indicating that they had perished. They kept this hidden for some time, but after a couple of months the other clans figured it out.
The sect that ordered the campaign didn't want to get involved, they just told them to work it out on their own accord, it wasn't their fault that their people weren't strong enough to manage an easy exploration mission. They got used then abandoned and they couldn't do anything about it. They could try bargaining with the other clans, but at most they could offer their women and children as slaves, the men would probably be killed. But that wasn't their style, they would fight to the end.
"I didn't think that my Zhang Clan would end like this..."
The man looked at the city and the people around them, this was his family. The clan survived for many hundreds of years and the future was looking bright, who would have thought that this would have happened? He would go down swinging, he was old, he didn't fear death but he was worried about the younger members. He planned to stall as long as he could so that at least the women and children could get away, he already discussed this with the warriors from the clan. The reason that they were still keeping the shield up was just a faint hope that someone would come to their aid, this tactic was about to pay off...
Unfathomable Senior
Chapter 44
Zhang Dong was soaring through the sky in Spirit Spring City's direction, he didn't see many people during his journey and he was getting bored. He tried cultivating while flying on his sword, but he found it rather hard to keep it flying forward while absorbing the spiritual energy from the surroundings at the same time. He almost suffered a backlash, so he gave up on the idea of getting his cultivation up while traveling. He slowly got used to this cultivator body, not really needing rest or sleep that much.
He didn't just do all nighters though, but he still flew fast with a couple of stops here and there. About two days passed like that and it was getting dark outside. He could hear some random beasts roaring in the background every time that happened but they weren't really a problem for him. Though for your average cultivator it was mostly not a good idea to travel at night without a larger party. He got used to traveling during the night as well, finding the moons in the sky to be quite beautiful as they lighted up the night-sky.
As he was drifting through the night like a white ghost, he noticed something in front of him. He squinted with his eyes and focused at the spiritual fluctuations coming his way. He saw a pair of cultivators running in the direction that he was flying from, though he was quite a bit further away. It was a female and a man, they both had similar looking light blue robes. The man was dragging the woman forward a bit as the two seamed to be fleeing from something or someone.
Matt tried looking behind the two people that were frantically running while holding on to each other. But before he could see anyone behind them an arrow pierced the fleeing man's shoulder. He did falter though, he tore the end of the arrow that was coming out of his shoulder and threw it to the side and kept on running with the woman next to him. They were slower now, the man started falling behind the woman that was now pulling him along instead.
Zhang Dong flew increased his speed towards them, he could see about 10 people behind the pair and after he got closer he could tell that the woman and man were actually more of a boy and a girl in their middle teen years. His vision was enhanced so he could see how the people that were chasing them had smirks on their faces.
*Why am I constantly running into people in trouble...*
He asked himself while increasing his speed, hoping that he would make it.
Zhang Liu and Xue were members of the unfortunate clan. They were brother and sister, he was 16 and she was 15. They were away from the city, gathering resources in the mountains which wasn't an odd thing to do for Clan members of their age. They were out of the city while the other clans and cultivators invaded. They couldn't get back as the defensive formation as already running. They had to look on in horror as their home was getting bombarded by the invading forces. They wanted to help out but they weren't stupid, they both knew that they were far too weak to help out. They swore in their hearts to take revenge after they escaped. But the two were discovered while they were making their escape and were now getting chased by the forces that were attacking their home city.
Zhang Liu felt a sharp pain in his shoulder where the arrow was stuck in, his little sister was pulling him along while he was trying to keep up. He was in much pain, sweat covering his body while the enemy cultivators were hot on their tracks.
"I'll hold them off Xue, you run take revenge for our clan!"
He knew that he was a burden by now, maybe if he held the attackers of a bit his little sister could get away.
"No big brother, I won't leave you to die!"
The little sister didn't want to let her brother just die here, her hand was tightly clenching his hand as the two were running in the fields. The problem with this was, that the enemies had a good archer and there were no trees or rocks to duck behind. You could heer an arrow whiz through the air followed by a loud scream.
"Oh no, big brother!"
Zhang Liu screamed out in pain as he felt a sharp pain in his calf as the arrow pierced the lower part of his leg, going right through it. He fell face-first onto the hard ground, wincing in pain. He looked at his leg and then to his sister, he knew that he was done for. There was no way that he could escape like this.
"Please, Xue you must save yourself, run and forget about me..."
The fifteen-year-old girl teared up as she went down to her knees, pulling at her brother as she tried supporting him upwards but instead got pushed away by him.
"Run, I'll stall them."
He stood up with the help of his good leg while turning his back to his little sister, his eyes were focused and he was ready to fight till the end. He could hear other people coming and soon could see the ten cultivators in matching yellow robes coming out. His sister looked at her brother's large back, she remembered how once he carried her back home when she fell asleep. She whipped the tears from her eyes and instead of escaping stood next to her big brother, fire in her eyes as well.
"If we have to die, then we will die together big brother!"
Zhang Liu looked at his little sister and shook his head, he knew that she was very headstrong and there was no use arguing when she got like that. There was also no more time as he looked in front to see the cultivators moving to surround them, grins on their faces.
"Well, what do we have here, two Zhang whelps. Thought you could get away?"
One of the men said while grinning.
"Hey the girly on the left isn't half bad, let's have some fun with her!"
Another sleazy looking man said while licking his lips while glancing at Zhang Xue.
Lui instinctively moved in front of his sister to cover her, but it was looking bleak he could only glare at the people with his fists outstretched. The sister started backing away while in her combat stance, she had a saber with her. The two were backing away, they didn't want to be surrounded by their enemies that were moving closer and closer.
"Let's just kill the guy off, no use keeping him around."
The sleazy man said while holding out a bow, three other cultivators did the same as they took aim for the youth. They started infusing their spiritual energy into the arrows, their penetrative power and speed would be increased the chances of the boy surviving this were meek. But just before the enemy cultivators could release their arrows a strange sound could be heard, followed by a big explosion that was just a couple of meters away from the band of ruffians.
The ten people backed away in horror as the dirt and rubble headed their way. They covered up while jumping backward, not sure if there was a new enemy or if there was some magical bomb treasure buried in the ground that made it explode. But soon another explosion occurred right behind them, then another one to the left side and the right side. They stopped in one spot as they got boxed in by the blasts, they had no idea what was going on as the explosions were happening too fast and they couldn't even see where the attack was coming from.
"Hey you, stay where you are, don't move a muscle."
They heard a man's voice coming from above, everyone looked up to see a man standing on a cristal sword. He was holding what looked to be a bolt of lightning fashioned into a spear, they figured that it was probably that man that was attacking them.
"Why are you attacking these people, ten grown men against two kids just doesn't look right."
The man asked while looking at the brother and sister duo, that were now hugging each other not sure what to do. Was this man going to save them? But if he hears that they are from a weak clan that is about to get eradicated he won't probably help.
"Good Senior, those people are from the Zhang Clan, we are from the honorable Tsai Clan. You probably heard what happened to the Zhang Clan it's already done for, the elders just ordered us to take care of anyone that runs away. Our honorable Patriarch is also taking part in the seizure of their treasures.I'm sure he would have a chat with you if you are willing."
"Seizure of treasures? Or do you mean cleansing?"
The man asked while moving closer and closer to the people, the Tsai Clan members hoping that the name of their clan would provide backing.
"Well yes hehe, I'm sure you know how things like that work Senior, they were just unlucky."
The man looked at the ten cultivators that were getting more confident he then looked back at the bleeding youth and the girl that was standing next to him, the two terrified and tense.
"You want to kill all of them... Well, guess I'll have to introduce myself. My name is..."
He jumped down from his sword onto the ground, he was right between the two Zhang Clan members and the Tsai Clan members.
"Zhang Dong."
After telling them his name, he pointed his finger at the cultivators standing together and a sphere appeared around them. The Tsai cultivators were shocked after hearing that the man was also from the Zhang clan. They started punching at the barrier but after hitting it once they got shocked by lightning instead.
"Don't worry I won't kill you, even though you tried to kill the boy and take advantage of the girl... but your cultivation days are over."
After saying that, lightning started hitting the people inside the sphere. The people were all Qi Condensation cultivators and even though they were in the top part of it, they were nothing to him. The lightning prison destroyed the peoples cultivation bases leaving them all charred and injured yet still alive.
Crippled the cultivation of Qi Condensation targets, earned 225 Spirit Points
The two youths looked at the man that took care of the enemy cultivators in surprise.
"Senior U-uncle Dong?"
He almost tripped after getting called an uncle but kept it together. Zhang Dong took out one of the healing pills and handed it to the girl that looked at the pill with astonishment as she could tell that it was quite potent.
"I guess you can call me that... Those guys won't bother you anymore, give that pill to your brother after removing the arrows. Could you tell me about what is happening in Spirit Spring City."
The two felt relieved, they didn't know if this uncle that they didn't know could turn the tide but he was a powerful cultivator, this they could tell. They told him about the defensive formation and how they were being attacked by other clans, the enemies apparently had at least 3 core formation experts in their mids, maybe more. The two couldn't really tell as they were focused on escaping.
"Okay... you two should probably stay here..."
He said while hopping back onto his sword, he was deep in thought but seemed to make up his mind after which he shot like an arrow towards the Zhang Clan headquarters with a solemn look on his face.
Unfathomable Senior
Chapter 45
Matt left the teens alone and flew in the direction of the city. His facial expression was stern as he looked in the direction that he was going. There were many enemies and he didn't know if he alone could handle them all by himself. Just flying in there without a plan wouldn't be such a good idea either. But he couldn't just let one of those horrible clan cleansings happen, they would kill every member of the clan didn't matter if it were women and children. The people in these kinds of worlds had some twisted logic and no one seemed to bat an eye about it. Did he have to change his mindset and join the other cultivators, or could he pave out his own way?
He was more in the mindset of taking out the snake's head. If he took out the so-called patriarchs from the invading clans, the others should give up. He didn't know if he should sneak up on them and try to take out one of the core formation cultivators before engaging the rest in a fight, that would probably be the smart way to do it. He also thought about shouting out to the crowd and trying the intimidation route. But if that didn't work he would have given away the element of surprise for no reason. He also could take out one of them in a show of force, then try to scare them off. Zhang Dong didn't think that he needed to defeat all of them if they retreated he wouldn't be chasing them down.
He kind of wanted to go with the diplomatic route but that was somewhat unrealistic, even more after he saw that those people even tried killing some kids that were running away. Matt as slowly trying to shift his values a bit towards the 'kill or be killed' mentality, though he was just doing the cultivation crippling instead of the killing part.
He gave out a sigh as he went from having the night of his life to now going to rescue some people he didn't really know. The only thing compelling him to do it was a skewed sense of morality that he had from his original world, the system set him up as a member of this Clan and it might be bad if he let it get eradicated. He had already learned a way to hide his aura and unless he got really close people shouldn't be able to detect him. So he straightened up, slapped both of his cheeks to pump himself up and glided towards the direction from where those kids came from.
Sometime later at Spirit Spring City.
Zhang Jin was looking at the golden shield that was flickering now, the time running out a lot sooner than expected as the invading clans increased the rates of the bombardments. The people in the city were sitting ducks and they didn't have a way to retaliate, the most powerful treasures were the ones the Patriarch had and he was now dead. They had some attacking formations to their disposal but the more powerful ones required more core formation cultivators that they didn't have, it looked bleak.
The clans that were attacking them weren't all that strong if you compared them to the Zhang Clan before their elders perished. There was the Tsai Clan, the Wong Clan, and the Wu clan. The strongest one was the Tsai Clan with their Patriarch recently breaking through to the late stage of core formation. The weakest one was the Wu Clan, their leader was just in the early stage and there were more or less just here for the scraps. The Tsai Clan came with three core formation cultivators including their patriarch, two were from the Wong Clan and the last one belonged to the Wu clan.
The six middle-aged looking men were standing together, there were three cultivators in red robes standing in the front belonging to the Tsai Clan while the other clan elders stood a bit to the side. They were looking at the weakening shield and smirked.
"It's almost time, that shield won't last for much longer. Get everyone ready and surround the city so that no one can escape."
The Tsai Clan Patriarch with the highest cultivation barked out the orders and every other clan elder headed out to inform their subordinates. Two cultivators remained in the same spot, which was the Tsai Clan patriarch and another member from his clan.
"Patriarch Fang, some of the disciples haven't returned that were supposed to hunt for any remaining Zhang Clan members."
Tsai Fang looked at his fellow clan member and just shrugged.
"They're probably having their fun, leave them we have enough clan members here to clear out this city. Punish them if they come back empty-handed though."
This cultivator was wearing a red robe with white patterns in it, it made it look fiery. His hair and eyes were also red and as you might have thought this clan's specialty was fire. The man looked on as the glowing shield got thinner and thinner due to the constant impacts, a smirk on his face while his hands were behind his back. He moved his hand to his cheek where a big scar could be seen. This scar was something he received quite a while ago when he was battling the Zhang Clan Patriarch in his younger days. To this day he couldn't forget about this disgrace. It was him that organized this event, he wanted to remove anything related to the man that injured his face.
"Hah, are you seeing this Zhang Clan Patriarch, your clan will fall and everyone will burn. Just too bad that I can't see your ugly face while this happens."
You could hear a sound akin to glass shattering as a big fireball exploded in mid-air against the shield, the defensive formation finally running out of juice. The Clans outside the city gates cheered in unison while the people inside gasped. The time has come, the Zhang clan was outnumbered and outgunned. But they wouldn't be going down without a fight, after the shield got blasted away you could see a hail of arrows getting shot from within the city, accompanied by cannon fire from magic cannons that were mounted on the city walls.
The invading cultivator core formation elders snorted and took flight on their flying swords, they held their hands up into the air as they activated a magic technique blocking the cannon fire and arrows with just the five of them. The Tsai clan Patriarch didn't feel like taking part as he just wanted to enjoy the screams and watch a good show. The arrows weren't much, the cannons might have been able to strike down a foundation establishment cultivator but to these elders, it was less than a mosquito bite.
But while the invading clans were cheering their core formation elders on, something happened. While all the powerful cultivators were focusing on defending the city's cannon fire, thunder sounded behind them. The Wong clan member suddenly had a chilly premonition as he tried to move quickly to the side, but before he knew it he felt something wedge itself into his right shoulder. It looked like a spear made of energy, all the other elders saw it lodge itself in the man's flesh exploding after impact. The man fell down to the ground, his right shoulder blow off, his right arm just dangling about while looking quite gory. The man was more or less out of commission for the rest of the fight as he was losing a lot of blood and only managed to swallow some life-saving pills before collapsing on the ground.
Soon people started turning around to watch as lightning spears collided with all of their siege weapons. Everyone was running for their dear life as they got sneak attacked from the back, the rest of the core formation elders started evading the lightning bolts but the fellow up attack was mostly aimed at the gear that soon was just a pile of scrap.
Everyone could feel an overbearing aura descending from the sky and they finally saw Zhang Dong that was holding on to one of his lightning javelins, tossing it out. The spear of lightning split into smaller ones and bombarded the cultivator weapons on the ground turning all of them into scrap wood and metal in the process. There was also a big lightning dragon wiggling around his frame, roaring in thunderous booms that made the lower level cultivators ears bleed.
"I am Zhang Dong, leave this place if you don't want to die!"
Dong said as menacingly as he could while sweating inwardly hoping that the people would just turn tail and run.
Unfathomable Senior
Chapter 46
The cultivators from the Zhang Clan trembled with wide-open eyes as all of their arrows and cannon attacks got deflected and blocked by the invading forces. Zhang Jin was holding on to a big saber and all the remaining Zhang clan members were heavily armed. The time had come to defend their city, the normal people were hiding in their homes shaking and crying, they didn't know if they would survive this either.
But suddenly they looked on as one of the powerful enemy cultivators exploded in mid-air, he fell to the ground like a sack of rocks then stopped moving. Then they could hear loud booming sounds in the distance as many lightning javelins descended from the sky, trashing everything in their paths but not really killing anything just destroying the weapons instead.
The people looked at the cultivator that was descending in awe and got excited after hearing his name, he was a member of their clan. People turned to each other trying to recall someone by that name, but they couldn't recall anyone. Though Zhang Jin opened up his eyes and looked at the man, his face looked very similar to someone he remembered.
"It can't be, the boy still lives... He still lives!"
The man took out his own flying sword and jumped on it, he told the other two elders that were close to him to continue attacking the invading clan members while he would assist the cultivator that just arrived. The two tried to stop him but before they could say anything their grand elder flew of charging into the mids of the battle with his big saber in hand.
Zhang Dong was looking at the other five remaining cultivators, Tsai Fang joined the rest of them and now they were all looking at him. He kept his face in a neutral state managing to show no emotion, but if you looked closely you could see one of his fingers twitching and sweat forming on his forehead. The cultivators were trying to measure the situation, they could feel that this cultivator was at least on par with the Tsai clan patriarch maybe a bit stronger. They all came here with the mindset that the city would be easy pickings and none of them was actually willing to risk their life if it came down to it. They outnumbered him five to one, so they should be able to beat him but he was able to incapacitate one of them with one aimed blow so they didn't want to risk it.
"Who..."
Tsai Fang was about to say something but before he could do that he could feel someone charging at them from behind. It was, of course, Zhang Jin charging with his saber in tow. He smashed into the weakest elder of the group that was from the Wu clan, forcing him back.
"Don't worry Dong'er! I'll handle him, long live the Zhang Clan!"
Matt twitched as he looked at the bearded elder hacking away at one of the enemy cultivators. Messing up his plan of having a diplomatic solution to this fight.
*What did he call me, Donger? What the hell is even that you old bastard!*
Any motion of having the men give up on attacking the city was thrown out the window with Zhang Jin's sudden attack. The three Tsai Clan members and the Wong clan patriarch turned their faces to Zhang Dong and got into their battling positions. Everything became chaotic as the now many core formation cultivators were flying around and throwing some flashy techniques at each other.
The people on the ground didn't just wait though, they continued with the siege of the city even though their heavy weapons were now destroyed. The Zhang clan people started firing their canons again while tossing people down from the walls and trying to defend the gates.
A big battle was about to take place, the moment the invading forces managed to scale the city walls fighting would commence inside. People were getting injured left and right, without the support of their core formation elders the attackers were suffering loses and many cultivators started looking like pincushions. For the time being the Zhang Clan was managing to hold them off, the deciding factor would probably be the battle that was taking place above their heads as the cultivators flew around on their swords.
Zhang Dong just dodged a fireball while his lightning dragon was getting roasted by two other Tsai clan members, they certainly were looking like fire benders or something. The fourth enemy he was fighting was quite annoying as well as he had a big bow and was firing off some strange green energy arrows at him. He couldn't really do much besides dodging left and right, his clothes slowly getting ripped. His aerial combat expertise was close to nil, but the other people couldn't hit him either as he was faster than them, his flying sword was of a higher quality which let him zoom around the battlefield quickly. The old guy that interfered with his diplomatic talks was nowhere to be seen as he dodged around like a slippery eel.
"Stop running you, coward!"
"How about no?"
The quartet was getting mad as this guy was just too squiggly and they couldn't get off a good hit on him. They tried firing some larger skills but that took too long to charge up so the white cultivator could just evade it. Plus this lightning dragon was quite annoying as well, the enemy could summon it again and when they managed to whittle it down it exploded with a resounding boom filling the area with chaotic lightning energy.
"He can't run forever, there are four of us sooner or later he will run out of spiritual energy!"
Matt knew that they were right, he couldn't just keep evading and blocking their attacks forever. He did have a big tank of spiritual energy but he was one against four. He did try attacking a couple of them here and there with his ranged attacks but when he aimed for one, two others would try to slash, pierce and pummel him from behind. He had to think about something fast, he needed to take out one of them first. He couldn't run forever, so he finally decided on a tactic and went for it.
His first target would be the annoying archer from the group, so he used his lightning dragon to attack one of the red-robed cultivators and while the other ones tried to go for a backstab he encased them in his forcefield skill. While they were distracted he charged at the archer who was firing of green energy arrows at him, he did his best Jedi impression of batting the energy bolts away with his light sword. He managed to close the distance, the man defended himself with the bow as he thought that Matt would surely swing that light sword down at him.
Instead, the Wong Patriarch got surprised as the man abandoned his weapon and directly attacked him instead. An afterimage was left behind on the flying sword that was discarded, the enemy cultivator then found himself in a chokehold as the two started falling down to the ground. Matt started squeezing with all his might and he could hear the man's bones shattering in the process. The addition of the lightning Qi, made the man light up like a Christmas tree. This was a very unorthodox way of fighting, the Wong Clan member was not expecting something like this but soon he found himself losing consciousness. The man was tossed aside like a ragdoll, Zhang Dong was able to guide his sword back to his feet once more.
The other three attackers that remained managed to resolve Matt's skills and were now looking at the white cultivator that was back to hovering on his sword. He had choked the poor guy out, shattering his bones in the process. He didn't know if he had actually killed him, he couldn't really check, but to a cultivator of this level, a broken neck wasn't quite fatal.
The three cultivators looked on in shock as they saw one of their allies get taken out by the Zhang Clan member, it didn't look good for them as they barely had an upper hand at four vs one, but now they were down to just three.
"Tsai Clan members to me!"
The people were all from the same clan, so as their leader shouted out they heard his call. They hovered close to each other and started doing some strange hand motions like they knew what their leader had in mind. Zhang Dong was panting a bit as using his skills in rapid succession as starting to drain his reserves as well, so he wasn't really able to react to what those people were doing.
Soon molten rock and fire started forming around the cultivators encasing them in it. It started with just a big molten rock core but soon expanded. The think started taking a humanoid appearance, big blazing legs and huge arms sprouted from the middle part that the enemy cultivators were in and soon they formed an appearance of a giant made from volcanic rock and fire. It didn't have a head but a volcano instead, molten rock and smoke coming out from it. Its arms were huge and rocky as well as its legs, there were cracks in its shell, fire, and lava spilling from them, it was about fifteen meters tall.
The giant cocked its arm back and threw a punch at Zhang Dong that tried to evade it, but the attack sent molten rock and wind pressure towards him along with a big amount of spiritual energy forcing him off his flying sword. He was flung to the ground making a loud booming sound as he hit the hard ground and created a small crater in the process. Matt could feel his bones quivering from the impact, this was the strongest hit that he had taken since getting to this world.
People noticed the giant that was crushing down from the sky, the huge thing landed a bit away from the city walls. The giant monster gave out a loud roaring sound and then charged in the direction that Zhang Dong got sent flying towards. The man in question gripped his head that had blood coming out of it, it was the biggest headache that he ever experienced. People gasped as they saw the friendly cultivator down on the ground, he didn't look too good and the fire monster was running towards him. But then they saw blinding white light from the spot Zhang Dong crashed in, the light started expanding upwards and to the sides. The enemy cultivators didn't know what he was doing but they wouldn't let him finish so they made the fire golem throw another punch, its giant hand producing sonic booms and tossing dirt and debris everywhere.
Unfathomable Senior
Chapter 47
Another blast occurred as something collided with the giant's rocky fist. The force from the collision made everyone tremble in the vicinity, making them stop with the fighting as they looked in shock at the lava giant. They could see its extended rocky fist, stretched out as it was trying to throw a right hook. The cultivators then saw a slightly smaller fist pushing against the boulder one. It was a fist made from lightning energy and it belonged to the cultivator in white. He had transformed into a white lightning giant, he was slightly shorter than the rocky giant but he was still huge.
Zhang Dong was inside of his Avatar transformation technique, panting and wheezing. He had to increase the size of the skill to something that would drain his reserves quite fast. The blood that ran down his forehead evaporated inside the skill as his body turned to lightning. He grasped the lava giant's extended fists as the cultivators inside were probably shocked. He pulled the monster closer and clogged it with his left sending it tumbling backward while lava and fire sprayed everywhere.
What followed was a good old fashioned brawl. The fire monster didn't lose its balance but moved in to hit the lightning giant back as well. It managed to connect to the torso which sent Zhang Dong backward as he almost flew back onto his big butt. He managed to balance himself with his feet then went back to punching and kicking his enemy.
You might think that two giants at about fifteen meters of height would be slow and lumbering. But these two were producing sonic booms each time they made a punch, you could guess how much power there was behind a fist that size if you added speed too it. The two were about equally matched, though the white giant was a bit more nimble while the lava rock one was more sturdy.
The other cultivators that were near the battle zone backed away and the fighting stopped for now. The two sides started watching the frantic battle each side cheering their respective seniors to win it. Both sides kind of knew that this duel would be the deciding factor of the coming battle, it could go either way as the two looked evenly matched for now.
Zhang Dong was keeping up but he felt like vomiting blood right now, time was passing and he wasn't really making much progress versus this rocky monstrosity. The more time he spent in this form the worse it would get, he had a limited timer and he didn't know if the enemy could hang on longer. It was still three against one though, so he would probably be the one running low on spiritual energy so he needed to end the fight fast.
Both of the giants collided once more, their hands grasping into each other. Zhang Dong in avatar form pushed his fingers into the rocky golem's and started squeezing. You could hear lightning crackling and rocks sizzling with lava as the two were now pitting their pure strength against each other. The lava monster started pushing Matt back, it had more mass behind that rocky body. The white giant started getting pushed down, going down to its knees while the other monster clenched its fingers down and pushed slowly trying to rip them apart with all its might.
The cultivators inside were sweating profusely while remaining in their positions, they never thought it would be possible for someone in core formation at the middle stage to fight against their formation like that. But it looked like he was running out of steam so they pushed their cultivations to the brink trying to crush the white giant's hands. But suddenly they felt a mighty force pushing against then, the lightning construct gritted its teeth and gave out a strange shout that sounded like loud thunder. It slightly increased its size as it pushed back against the combined might of the three cultivators that tried to resist but soon they got pushed back, their giant's hands were crushed to dust, fire, and lava dripping out.
Zhang Dong pushed his cultivation to the limit, forcing his avatar transformation to the limit as he pulverized the lava giant's rocky digits. He didn't let up as he delivered a swift kick to where a person would have his crown jewels, cracking the spot in the process. The enemy colossus was on the defense as it tried to protect its large body, but the lightning giant managed to plunge its fist through the defense into the exact spot that the enemy cultivators were sitting in.
The lava construct started crumbling, the last hit connected injuring the cultivators inside. The three of them flew out while vomiting copious amounts of blood. They looked terrible as they all hit the ground, tumbling for a good amount before coming to a stop.
Zhang Dong canceled the technique quickly, his vision was going blurry as he felt weak. He had used up most of his spiritual energy to defeat the other giant, this had left him weak and tired. The battle wasn't over quite yet as the Tsai Patriarch was still standing, while the other two members were out cold and deprived of most of their spiritual Qi.
"You damn Zhang Clan whelp! Do you think you can defeat me? You will die, everyone from this clan has to die!"
While the cultivator was shouting some cliche bad guy lines at him, he was slowly gathering his strength. This would probably be the last one, after this, he could rest.
"How about you go choke on a d*ck, you discount Fire Lord!"
His body hurt everywhere, he might have been taking the form of lightning but every hit that he took while fighting those three bastards left a mark behind. He was quite pissed off at the moment, maybe it was the rage that he felt or something else but the tension that he felt before he started battling was gone, replaced with something else. Tsai Fang pulled out a sword and charged after processing what the younger cultivator shouted at him. His attack was met with a crackling lightning sword, that when it collided with the enemy weapon. Sparks were thrown up into the air, the sizzling of heated metal could be heard.
The two fighters swung their weapons against each other, both managing to slice flesh as the wounds on the two increased. They were quite drained from the previous exchange of techniques so this was more a battle of skill and perseverance. The Tsai Clan patriarch won out in experience but Zhang Dong had a stronger body and cultivation technique that even though it was in the middle stage, still outperformed Tsai Fang's late stage cultivation that was of a lower grading. You could say that he made up his lack of fighting experience with higher stats.
The two pushed against each other weapons but there was one problem. Zhang Dong's lightning sword wasn't really a graded weapon, it was a skill that he constantly had to pump his Qi into. So after a moment, the Tsai Fang's sword started wining out as it pushed into the thundering plasma. Both fighters were tired as they pushed each other weapons against each other in a battle of strength. But just at the moment where the discount fire lord was about to push through Zhang Dong's sword, he felt a discharge of lightning Qi run through his body as the lightning sword technique detonated momentarily stunning him for a fraction of a second.
This was enough for Zhang Dong to deliver a lightning punch to the man's jaw, teeth with blood flew in the air as the cultivator in red retreated in surprise. Or at least he tried but instead, he felt pain in his gut as a kick landed there right after, propelling him backward into some boulders that he smashed in the process. The momentum was on his side now so Matt threw himself on his enemy, punches and kicks rained down on Tsai Fang that was quickly turned into a punching bag.
He tried retaliating, his face all bloodied the scar on his cheek even bigger than before. He realized that he made a mistake, the cultivator in front of him wasn't letting up and the attack formation that he and the other cultivators used had drained him of most of his Qi as well. He needed to run, he tried throwing a magical treasure that would help him achieve just that. Yet the cultivator in white was using some strange martial arts as he wrapped his legs around his neck and while they were going down to the ground he started yanking on one of his arms. Tsai Fang could hear a snapping sound as his arm broke due to the submission hold Zhang Dong implemented, he screamed out in pain but then got clobbered in the mouth once more almost passing out due to that.
Matt looked down on the man he was holding down with one hand, he was on top of him, his last hit had incapacitated his opponent as he wasn't moving. He had won the fight, his enemy was bruised and battered. He could probably end it right here right now, one good punch in the right spot would put this man out of his misery. He was angry, he wanted to resolve this situation peacefully with the least bloodshed as possible but instead, he was forced by the circumstances to fight for his life. He raised his fist upwards, lightning energy coursing through it. The man below tried to say something but just gurgled due to his missing teeth and blood inside his mouth. He looked pitiful, but there was still defiance in his eyes as he looked at the fist.
Zhang Dong clenched his fist, aiming it at the head. But he hesitated, he looked at the miserable old man in front of him. He didn't know who he was, he got pulled into this whole fiasco by circumstance. But as Matt was wavering with his decision Tsai Fang took his chance. He was an experienced fighter and he had crawled his way up by killing his enemies without mercy. He didn't have any second guesses as he grasped his sword from the side with his uninjured hand and plunged it directly at Zhang Dong's face. This turn of events surprised the cultivator in white, he didn't know if it was just his body's reaction to the attack or due to the skills he got implanted into his mind.
He dodged to the left, a big gash appearing on his cheek while his fist descended downward. A loud boom could be heard and a lot of dust got kicked up into the air. What greeted Zhang Dong after he punched down was a body with a missing head and a massive hole in the ground behind it. He had reacted to the threat of dying by punching downward and killing the Tsai Clan patriarch in the process. He just looked with a blank expression on his face at the dead body his hands trembling while blood dripped down from them.
Tsai Fang Slain ( Core Formation Late Stage ) Earned 185000 Spirit Points.
Unfathomable Senior
Chapter 48
The whole place was smoking a bit, so the people around couldn't see what happened just yet. Zhang dong looked at his bloodied hand then back to the dead corps of the cultivator he killed. He jumped back, his heart pounding as he looked on in horror at the man that he killed. He felt all kinds of emotions right now sadness for the fact that he took a life, anger for the fact that the man left him no choice as it was a do or die situation, fear for not knowing what he should do now also a bit of relief as the battle was over.
He shook his hand, the man's blood still dripping down from them. He started rubbing them, shaking his palms around as he tried to get the red liquid off. He had to get a grip, he might have defeated the strongest cultivator from the bunch but there were still others around. He closed his eyes while breathing in slowly as he tried to calm down his heart rate, somehow getting a grip on himself. He tossed his emotions to the back of his head while looking away from the spot he defeated the man, fatigue washing over him as he finally felt a backlash from using his skills too much.
About this time the area became clear off all the smoke and debris, the people could finally see what transpired. They spotted the cultivator in white standing upright, with his back turned to where someone laid on the ground. On closer inspection, they noticed that the person there was just a headless body, by the robes it was the Tsai Clan Patriarch dead and unmoving.
"Oh no! The Patriarch is dead!"
The Tsai Clan members shouted as they looked at the body in horror.
"Everyone look, those Tsai Clan elders have lost!"
The Zhang Clansmen shouted so everyone could hear them as they looked at the person that was standing next to the body. Their so-called clan member had defeated the core formation experts single-handedly. About at the same time, Zhang Jin flew back on his sword, he looked a bit beaten up but he was still standing. He had a cultivators head in his hand that he tossed down, it belonging to the elder he pulled away previously. He looked around while holding onto his bloodied saber then pointed it at the passed out cultivators that Zhang Dong knocked out.
"Zhang Clan members hear me, Attack!"
The elder went after the defeated core formation cultivators, he didn't want to risk them getting back up. He could feel that Zhang Dong was quite drained, so he thought that this would be the least he could do after the younger man defeated the strongest fighters on his own.
The invading people looked on in horror as all of their leaders were slain before their eyes, the enemy core formation seniors were still out there and one was powerful enough to defeat five of their best fighters on his own. The cultivators that were next in the leadership role quickly shouted out, ordering people to quickly retreat to their own cities.
"Everyone fall back! The elders are dead, retreat towards our domains!"
They didn't come here with all of their resources, they still had some powerful cultivators back home to protect them. So they turned tail and escaped while the Zhang Clan people continued firing arrows and cannons at them constantly, they even left the protection of their city walls invigorated and out for blood after they witnessed the huge battle that the cultivator in white had with the Tsai clan elders.
Zhang Dong gave out a sigh, his hands finally stopped shaking as he looked to the corps on the ground once more. He walked up to it, thinking that the whole thing was a bit surreal. Just about a month ago he was back in his own apartment playing some video games while now he had punched a man's head clean off.
*Not sure how I should feel about this, it was him or me... he didn't give me much choice...*
He explained to himself while the bearded cultivator elder showed up behind him. The person looked like a grizzled fighter, with that scar on his face, the beard only adding to his looks. He slowly moved next to Zhang Dong and also looked at the dead Tsai Clan Patriarch with disdain in his eyes.
"He got what was coming to him, well done Dong'er"
Matt almost tripped after the man called him donger again, he had no idea who he was but by the way he was calling him he had to be someone from his family. Both his parents were dead, or so said the system window that he read before. His mother Zhang Biyu and father Zhang Peng, this guy was called Zhang Jin and looked old. He was either his grandfather or an uncle from either side of the family, he didn't have any nifty family tree anywhere to help him out though.
"Ah yes, I haven't been to the clan for a long time, surprised that you recognized me."
He said while trying to prod for the man's identity a bit.
"How could I have not recognized my own grandson! You have turned into a fine young lad."
He placed his hand on Zhang Dong's shoulder and nodded while looking at him, with praise in his eyes. He was really proud that his grandson managed to return and save the clan in its darkest hour. Plus he was an expert that greatly exceeded him as well, he was just the person that this clan needed now.
"It's just a shame that your parents couldn't be here to see you grow up, such a shame."
The whole thing was kind of awkward as the old man started reminiscing about the old days while the person next to him had no idea what he was talking about. It would have been great if he had the memories of this Zhang Dong but there was nothing besides the short bio in the system.
"Ah yes, a shame... During my travels, I suffered a bit of a setback, so my memory from my childhood is a bit hazy... I don't remember much about the clan after I left for my journey."
He tried thinking out an excuse for him not recognizing people in the clan too well, he didn't really want people to start popping up left and right that he couldn't recognize.
"Ah is that so... Well, at least you remember your old gramps!"
The man chuckled and pulled Matt into a bearhug, making his caught as he was still a bit injured from the previous fight.
"Ah yes, sure grandpa..."
Zhang Jin squatted down and removed the Tsai Clan leader's storage ring handing it to Zhang Dong with a smile on his face.
"I'll collect the rest of the storage rings from those bastards you defeated, how about I let the juniors sort the stuff out in them, we'll see if there is some good stuff in there for you later."
Matt called his flying sword to himself, as Zhang Jin took a glance at it his eyes sparkled as it was quite the nice looking flying sword it was a lot better than the one he had. But there were also all the flying swords that he retrieved from the fallen core formation cultivators, this old man was quite swift with looting the corpses.
"Well, don't think there is a reason to chase after them though... Also, there was a pair of kids I met on the way here, those guys are escaping in another direction so they should be fine though."
Zhang Dong said as he looked at the retreating cultivators and also at the ones that were running out of spirit spring city, ready to slaughter everything in sight. The escaping invaders had a head start though, so it would be hard to catch up unless he or his grandpa helped out on their swords. Zhang Dong had enough of fighting for one day though, he just wanted to lay down and stare at the ceiling.
"Oh? If that's what you want."
Zhang Jin's booming voice filled the area, ordering everyone to stand down and just salvage the siege weapons for resources. This old man was quite materialistic as he also ordered everyone to retrieve any usable arrows, nothing was to be left on the battlefield. He also informed some foundation establishment cultivators to go pick up the kids. Afterward, he turned towards the city and flew ahead of Matt that was trailing behind, he wobbled in the air before deciding to use one of his healing pills. This somewhat refreshed his tired body but didn't really do anything for his spirit. His clothes had mended themselves once more, he wished he could add that enhancement to his aching body.
*Well, I guess I don't need to worry about ever looking like a hobo.*
He was finally here, the city that he was supposed to go too. But what was he supposed to do here now? He didn't really know but first, he needed to take a bath, to wash off this stench of blood.
Unfathomable Senior
Chapter 49
The battle was over, some people had died some were injured and some were even missing. Cultivators were running back and forth all over the place as the City became busy again. Everyone that was hiding came out, people were looking for their loved ones some leaving the city in the search as there were a lot of people that didn't make it before the city was sealed off. People were rejoicing, people were crying a plethora of emotions was seen as the city got revitalized.
A lot of focus was placed on the cultivator in white that called himself Zhang Dong. Some older clan members could vaguely recall someone by that name that used to live here, but that was a long time ago. But even though they didn't know the man, they knew that he was probably going to be a big player in their clan. He had more or less singlehandedly saved the clan from extinction or a life of slavery. They had sparkles in their eyes as they looked at him flying through the air, their elder Jin next to him. The man in question was trying hard not to scratch the back of his neck as he felt the thankful gazes of the masses.
*Guess I'll be staying here for a while? Or should I leave? I can probably leave whenever I want... but if I leave will another clan attack them again when they find out?*
He felt tired after the battle had ended, the city was bigger than Moonlight city. He could see many eastern styled buildings spreading in all directions, they were all in various shapes and sizes. There were also many bodies of water spread around the city, those were probably the springs that the town was known for. The city was more or less circular in shape, massive walls surrounded it from all sides. There were gates placed on all four sides of the city, the east, west, north, and south gate. The city started out flat, but the further you went in the elevation of the buildings increased. Right in the middle of the city, you could see a massive structure, it was at an elevated point and was surrounded by another large wall. There were three towers build into the wall, placed on what looked to be boulders or small mountain peaks and you could see some structures on those peaks.
Inside after you passed the gate you could see more eastern styled buildings placed around the wall in the inner part. Right in the middle, there was a giant spring, it looked more like a lake at this point. In this spring there was another hill and on that hill, there was a castle-like structure. There were bridges going to this structure from the three mountain peaks, plus stairs leading up from the main gate this looked to be the main area of the Zhang Clan. There were various basins with water build into the castle structure and water was running down from them into the lake below. Forming many waterfalls in the process, the soft sounds of water and fish could be heard all around.
The whole City was quite large, it was many times larger than what Matt was us too. He and Zhang Jin landed in the main Clan abode in the middle of the city. If there was one thing that this world had to offer, it's the wonderous sights. The view from here was breathtaking as he could see the whole city. This place seemed rather peaceful and quiet, koi fish were swimming around adding to the tranquility.
"Ah, this is probably the first time you are here. Only the core members are allowed to enter the inner sanctum, also you were just a young lad back there. Though you seem to have retained your youthful looks."
Matt had no idea what his pseudonym Zhang Dong was in this clan, he knew that his father was supposed to be some kind of elder while his mom died while giving birth and that he left over 10 years ago.
"Also a shame about what happened to your father, that monster came out of nowhere. It was truly heroic what Peng did, he saved a lot of lives that day. But let's not bring up old wounds, I'm glad that you are back Dong'er"
Zhang Jin patted Zhang Dong on the shoulder while the man in question's face twitched at the mention of Dong'er. The man realizing what a silly naming choice this was and now he was stuck with it for his life.
*Can you change your name in this world? If I join a more powerful clan only my last name will change...*
The name of the leading clan popped into his head as he was thinking about changing his name. It was the Long clan, he would be getting an even sillier name if someone got him to join that one. He coughed into his hand and turned to Zhang Jin a neutral expression on his face as usual.
"Ah sorry, I seem to have forgotten many things about the clan, but that beast that murdered my father is now dead, it won't be bothering anyone else."
Zhang Jin perked up at that, his son had been avenged by his grandson. He had carried the shame of not being able to protect his own child, then losing his grandson as he vanished from the clan never to be seen again. But now he was back and he was on the level of the old Patriarch, plus he was still very young he probably didn't yet reach his peak!
"You just made this old man's day, it's truly a blessing Dong'er. I would really like to introduce you to the rest of the elders and family members, but first... we have to talk about other things."
The man moved to the side of Matt and looked out into the city, people were running around, injured were getting brought in and resources were getting gathered. The old man played around with his long beard, he looked like he was thinking about something while looking into the distance.
"Zhang Dong, become this Clan's new Patriarch!"
Matt's face twitched as he stepped back, the man had just arrived today and now he was told to run the place.
"Wait, what? You want me to be the Patriarch?"
"Yes, I'm sure you have heard about what had transpired. Most of our senior members have died, even quite a bit of the core and inner members of the junior generation are gone now. Your appearance gives hope to our Clan!"
"Wait, I have no idea how to lead... how can I be the Patriarch of this clan, I don't even remember how things work here...Why don't you be the Patriarch instead?"
The old man chuckled while patting his grandson's shoulder.
"Oh, you don't need to worry. You don't really need to do much as the Patriarch, the juniors will handle most of the things. The other clans just need to see that the Zhang Clan has a powerful leader again, you can just cultivate in freedom and let the others do the bothersome things. I'm not as strong as you, people wouldn't accept that. Also having a young leader that has a bright future ahead of him will invigorate the clan members!"
The man started laughing kind of not taking a no for an answer from his 'grandson'. The gears started turning in his head as he thought about some things they should take care of.
"You just relax and leave everything to your old gramps here, you just cultivate and get stronger. I'll assign you a junior member to lead you around the premises they'll explain everything in more detail."
While Matt was thinking on a way to decline the offer the old man was in his own world, not really listening to what this grandson of his had to say. He soon stormed off somewhere while Zhang Dong had a perplexed look on his face, things were happening too fast.
*What is that old geezer doing, doesn't he just want to dump the responsibility of the clan on me instead?*
He gave out a big sigh and crossed his arms over one another as he looked out at the city. The scenery was beautiful, this place sure looked like one that you would retire in. The spiritual energy also felt a lot denser around this spot he was in, probably something to do with those springs around. After a moment he heard some footsteps and a person that looked to be in his early 20's appeared before him. He was wearing a scholar robe and was wearing a strange hat. The robe was quite long and didn't look like it was meant for fighting, the boots the man as wearing were bent upwards, reminding Matt of jester shoes.
"Senior Uncle Dong! , Elder Jin... uh, Grand Elder Jin told me to guide you to your quarters!"
The man said before tripping on his long robe as he was frantically running at Matt, looking quite tense. He slid forward on the slippery marble ground towards him, his face down and the hat falling off as he came to a stop.
"Uh... you okay there buddy?"
He didn't know if he should laugh at the man tripping over his own robe, but the scene of the blunder made him feel a bit less tense for some reason. He seemed to forget about the bloody battle that he just had. Matt helped the younger man up to his feet, which the man was surprised by, thanking his Senior uncle by kowtowing several times and apologizing. This made the man laugh due to the comedic way the other was acting.
"Pff... okay, okay. Guide me to my quarters"
The two soon left, the Patriarch to be was now getting lead around the main Clan building and taking in the exotic sights. While this was happening the other clans were getting the news of the Zhang Clan surviving the onslaught of the other powers with the help of one specific cultivator. The whole area was in a buzz as everyone wanted more info about the new player that was strong enough to defeat so many core formation experts. The two teens were rescued as well as they met up with their Clan members and were told the good news, their eyes sparkling in anticipation and reverence as they heard about the big battle that took place in front of their city.