I Can See Your Combat Power

Chapter 863: Chapter 157: Wandering Monk

After Xiao Jinlin chased away Tang Mi Tiger from Longchang City, there were no more surprises on the return journey, and the Longxi delegation smoothly made it back to Lanshan City.

In their departure, the five team members, including Tang Luo, were merely young scions of renown families, but during their absence, the Longxi Alliance deliberately promoted the history of the Longzhou Youth Martial Arts Tournament. With more and more news spreading, the prestigious families of the Lingjiang Seven Cities suddenly realized that what they had thought to be an ad-hoc team thrown together during a natural disaster had, unbeknownst to them, stood on the same stage as the top families of Longzhou.

Often, the so-called sense of collective honor and cohesion is awakened by a trivial matter. Who would have thought that the young people who left five months ago had become the celebrated young heroes of the Longxi Alliance today?

When the phoenix carriage stopped at the peak of Aran Mountain and several young people disembarked one after another, the clamor of gongs and drums, along with the cheers, overwhelmed the youths.

Gazing at the chieftains of various tribes who had long been standing at the mountain peak to welcome them, even Xiao Ziyu and Tang Xing felt somewhat apprehensive—such a grand ceremony was clearly a reception befitting the triumphant return of a major Martial Ancestor’s team.

As Tang Luo and Xiao Jinlin were the last to get off the carriage, Tang Zhi, standing at the forefront as the Sect Head, raised his voice and ordered, “Congratulations to the young heroes of the Longxi Alliance on their triumphant return. The Lingjiang Seven Cities celebrate together; a three-day banquet will be held! During the three days, those who submit poetry will receive the highest reward; those who compose celebratory verses will receive the second reward; and those who offer praises in the marketplace will receive the third reward!”

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Hearing such a grand gesture, the team members were astonished. Tang Luo could only represent them by bowing and offering thanks to the chieftains on the mountain, “Many thanks to the Sect Head and all the chieftains for their generosity.”

After a few pleasantries, the chieftains surrounded Tang Luo and the others and descended the mountain to attend the celebration banquet.

As the focus of the event, all five members received varying degrees of attention. Even Li Xuanba, who came from a minor family, became highly sought after, with numerous families expressing the intention to marry their daughters to him. Not to mention the other four.

The banquet had barely started when the several team members were already flushed with drink. Tang Luo alone remained as if he had just taken his seat.

The celebration banquet lasted until midnight, and the inebriated team members were carried back home, while Tang Luo, who was still sober, remained in the heart of Lanshan City to attend a secret meeting of the Tang Clan.

Aside from the obligatory presence of the Elder Council, about seventy percent of the First Heads of Martial Hall and chief instructors, as well as dozens of enforcers with real power who had re-emerged and representatives of branch sects, there were also representatives from the sect branches in the seven cities.

After two years of absence, the core membership of the Tang Clan had expanded from a few dozen to nearly three hundred, signifying that the lands actually under the Tang Clan’s control had increased more than tenfold, which was the only reason there were so many positions allowing clan members to pursue their ambitions. noveldrama

Although the strength of the core Tang Clan had yet to recover from the losses incurred during the Tang Mi battle, as the de facto rulers of the Longxi Alliance, the Tang Clan now radiated a robust vitality from top to bottom.

Upon entering the hub, Tang Luo greeted Tang Zhi, the Clan Head, and Tang Zu, the Sect Head, who were seated in the high hall, then looked around, nodding frequently at the familiar faces around him. Many he had seen during the battle with Tang Mi, and several had fought shoulder to shoulder with him. Naturally, they were more than welcoming at the sight of Tang Luo’s return.

But there were also quite a few people who did not like Tang Luo. From the day Xiao Jinlin sent back intelligence, some conservative elders in the clan began to express strong dissatisfaction with Tang Luo’s actions on Martial Saint Mountain.

The fifteen-year ban in Longxi was not a major issue, but because of his high-profile behavior, the Tang Clan, which needed to develop discreetly, was once again pushed into the spotlight of the various factions in Longzhou—especially when hearing rumors of nearly going to war with the Evil King Palace, many elders were extremely anxious.

The Tang Clan, having recently gone through a significant battle, particularly needed a peaceful period to recover and recuperate. Moreover, with the current strength of the clan, they were clearly not prepared for a fight against another faction.

Especially upon learning that Duan Longshu was a direct descendant of the Evil King Palace lineage, they felt even more that Tang Luo was reckless and impulsive and did not qualify to represent the Tang Clan outside.

Because of this, quite a number of elders felt that not only had Tang Luo not contributed any merit, but he had actually made mistakes, and some even proposed to the Sect Head that he should be punished.

If it weren’t for the clan leader Tang Zhi and the Sect Head Tang Zu suppressing these impeachment attempts, the people welcoming the Longxi team today might not have been lining up to greet them but possibly the warriors from the judiciary instead.

Tang Luo, however, knew nothing of these matters or perhaps, even if he did know, he wouldn’t care. Right now, his gaze swept around the core gathering, not to discern who liked or disliked him, but rather to find out why his father, Tang Sen, was nowhere to be seen.

After looking around, even the general instructor from Jiejiang City had arrived, but Tang Sen, the First Head of the Jiejiang City Martial Hall, had not come. Logically, with his two sons returning triumphantly, his father ought to be proudly present. Tang Luo had found it strange at the top of Aran Mountain but had suppressed the question until after the banquet. Now, not having found his father upon arriving at the core, he could no longer hold back, as he had very important matters to discuss with him.

Without caring for the gathered family core, Tang Luo immediately turned and asked the clan leader Tang Zhi, “Excuse me, Clan Leader, where is my father?”

The relatives at the core did not expect Tang Luo’s first question upon speaking to be this. They were taken aback for a moment, and some even displayed a hint of mockery on their faces.

Neither the Sect Head Tang Zu nor the clan leader Tang Zhi expected Tang Luo to suddenly ask about Tang Sen, but they could only respond helplessly, “Just after Minister Luo left Lanshan City, a letter from Middle Ying City arrived at Jiejiang Post. After receiving the letter, First Head Tang Sen transferred the duty of the Martial Hall’s First Head to Martial Ancestor Tang Qian, left a travel notice at the Jiejiang Sect Head office, and then departed. He has not returned since.”

A travel notice is information left at the Sect Head office by clan members before departing their home region; it states the duration and destination of the trip, including where and what kind of information should be left if one does not return within a few years.

In essence, the travel notice is the only clue the clan can grasp in the unfortunate event that a member falls into trouble. Hence, any clan member who chooses not to immediately establish their own household but to travel instead leaves a travel notice at the Sect Head office, listing their planned destinations in order. This way, even if a clan member encounters a disaster, the Sect Head office can send someone to follow the trail left by the clan member to find them and avoid leaving them to die in a foreign land.

The fact that Tang Sen had not only transferred his duties at the Martial Hall but also left a travel notice seriously worried Tang Luo. Not even the letter from the Xu Clan in his possession could provide him a sense of security.

The Xu Clan’s warmth and protectiveness were things Tang Luo had personally experienced. Perhaps in his maternal grandfather’s eyes, his father was nothing more than a schemer who abducted his mother; with such a prejudgment, this son-in-law, who was meeting his father-in-law fifteen years late, did not know how much hardship he would have to endure.