“That went better than I thought it would,” Cole said.
“Yeah, I thought we would be forced to leave, or forced to fight.” Another clan member stated.
“I knew we would be fine,” Amara said. “Based on his actions it’s easy to see that the Chief is someone who deeply cares about the well-being of others. He was willing to use his time and energy to tend to our wounds and those of the children. Also, it looks like he was prepared to give us valuable rewards for the work he wants us to do. All of these things speak to his good character.”
“I agree,” Armin said. “And we would have gotten more resources if it wasn’t for Bart stirring up trouble.”
“The little clan head has definitely acted poorly this time.” One clan member complained.
“Hmph, so what if he’s stronger than the Chief. It’s not like he has any experience managing things or being a good leader.” Another clan member added.
“We shouldn’t be surprised, isn’t it normal for him to mess things up?”
“That’s enough,” Kento loudly spoke to interrupt the clan members criticizing his son. “Now is not the time to stand around and talk. Everyone should quickly get ready and begin heading to the communal area. I will go and check on the clan head before I join you all.”
The clan members agreed with Kento and began heading inside the buildings. Of course, although they stopped standing around, they didn’t stop talking. As Kento headed toward his father he couldn’t help but overhear some of their conversations.
“I feel like the rewards the Chief is giving us are still very generous. Many of us will be able to reach the peak of the Body tempering realm within a year or so.”
“You’re right, and don’t forget about the cultivation techniques he gave us.”
“All three cultivation techniques are better than our current cultivation technique and the Chief even has the Qi Condensation realm portion of the techniques.”
“Where do you guys think he got the techniques? I heard that the Chief was someone from another world.”
“Really? I remember the clan head mentioned something about people from other worlds. Him being from another world would definitely explain everything.”
“If the Chief’s from another world, then maybe he has a great backing. If we continue to follow him then we…”
Kento stopped hearing the conversation of his clan members after he stepped into the building his father was staying in. Well, Kento’s father technically wasn’t inside the building. He was underneath it.
After Kento entered the building, he went toward a room at the back. In fact, it was the only room in the building. Except for a rectangular area closed off by three wooden walls, the rest of the area was empty.
Inside the room was a mat meant for meditation. After Kento entered the room, he lifted the mat and tossed it to the side which revealed the trap door underneath. Kento stuck his fingers through a small hole on the ground and lifted up the square door on the ground.
Placing the trap door to the side, Kento then jumped into the hole that the trap door was covering. After a short drop he landed in a small room lit by an orb emitting gentle white light. Other than the orb, the only other object in the room was a cushion that Kento’s father was sitting on.
Based on the first glance, anyone would think that Kento’s Father was a frail old man. However, if a person paid close attention to his breathing, they would notice that it was deep and powerful. Each breath took in a great deal of air, that contained earth astral energy.
Looking closer an individual could see that Kento’s father’s fair skin was glowing, smooth and healthy. The same could be said for his hair which was dark on top with grey and white on the sides. The man definitely looked like he aged, but he was no frail old man.
When Kento landed in the room he didn’t speak and quietly waited for his father to acknowledge him. It was a big taboo to disturb a person in the middle of cultivation. After a minute passed, Kento’s father released a deep breath before he opened his eyes and acknowledged his son.
“Kento.”
“Clan head,” Kento replied.
Kento’s father frowned for a second before he released a sigh. “What’s wrong now?”
Kento immediately began telling his father about Bart and the situation Bart caused. Kento tried to calmly report the situation, but there were certain points in his telling where he lost control of his emotions. The clan head calmly listened to Kento and didn’t voice his opinion until the end.
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“Considering that my grandson tried to stage a rebellion against our current ruler, I would say everything worked out pretty well.”
“Well?” Kento said with a frown on his face. “We were forced to lower our heads again.”
“We? Don’t you mean you were forced to lower your head.” The clan head gave his son a penetrating look.
“Well, I,” Despite being an adult and a father, Kento couldn’t help but wither under his father’s gaze.
“Hmph, I knew I shouldn’t have let you marry that woman. Not only has she passed on her hot headedness to your son, it looks like you are starting to be affected as well.”
“Father,” Kento called out with both anger and sorrow in his voice. “My wife is most likely gone from this world, so can you please stop criticizing her.”
“Alright, alright,” the clan head took a deep breath before he continued speaking. “Let’s get back to the main topic. You’re upset that the Chief forced you to lower your head, correct?”
“Yes, he’s only a brat that hasn’t reached the first tier yet he’s forcing us to follow his commands. How can I not be upset?”
The clan head was shaking his head before his son even finished speaking. “It looks like you really have forgotten yourself. Our Heavy Mountain cultivation technique asks us to remain calm and stable in all things. To be like a mountain and endure all hardships and trials that come our way. Both your mindset and current behavior has deviated from our cultivation technique.”
“You’re the one who told me that endurance doesn’t mean I let people walk all over me.” Kento argued with an accusatory tone.
“Did you forget this is not our territory? This is not our home. How is it wrong for the owner to ask the guest to follow the rule that he created for his home?”
“Isn’t that what we did with the barbarians and that other group of humans. We showed them respect in their home and they treated us like slaves. We were poisoned, weakened and some of us died. If we continue to behave so passively then this village might become the grave sight of our clan.”
The clan head paused for a few seconds before he responded to his son. “You’re right. I made the wrong decision when we settled down in that previous location and agreed to their demands. However, we can’t let our past difficulties pollute our present thoughts and negatively influence our interactions with new people. From what you told me the Chief has treated us fairly so far and hasn’t done anything unreasonable. He’s actually taken steps to help the cultivation of our clan members.”
“Father, why are you defending that brat?” Kento asked with a confused expression on his face.
Kento began to calm down as he listened to his father. He was too confused by what his father was saying to be angry. He was arguing for the sake of the clan, but to Kento it sounded like his father was on the Chief’s side and was doing his best to praise him.
“It may sound like I’m defending the Chief, but I’m actually trying to wake you up.” The clan head calmly replied. “I’m trying to get you to think and get out of your own way. You’re letting the negative experience we had at our previous location influence your view on our current situation. What do you think would have happened to us if the barbarians found out about Bart wanting to rebel?
“They would have killed the chicken to warn the monkeys?”
“Exactly. The truth is the Chief, and the village has treated us quite well. The real reason you have a problem with the Chief is the same reason your son has a problem with the Chief. Strength. If his cultivation level was equal to or greater than your own, you would feel like his actions have been very generous and kind. However, his low cultivation makes you view him as an ignorant child. Your pride stops you from seeing that this child is not only capable but dangerous as well.”
The clan head silently observed his son after he finished his lecture. Kento stood in front of his father with furrowed eyebrows. After spending some time pondering over what his father said Kento finally responded with a question.
“So, what should we do next?”
“Cultivate. Our plan was always to return and take back our home once we were stronger. Since the Chief of this village isn’t hindering our cultivation then it would be foolish to treat him as our enemy. As long as the Chief is willing to help us increase our cultivation then we can continue to work together.”
“Okay I’ll make sure everyone works together with the village. Half of the astral stones we obtain will go to you.”
“No, you should fairly distribute the astral stones amongst our clan members.”
“Don’t you need the astral stones to speed up your recovery.”
“I do, but if we don’t support our clan members then that Chief will.”
“Isn’t that a good thing?”
“It isn’t. We’re giving the Chief an opportunity to seduce our people. If we don’t support our people now, when it’s time to return don’t be surprised when they choose to follow the Chief instead of following us.”
“That doesn’t make sense. Why would they choose to follow a brat?”
The clan head saw the genuine confusion on his son’s face and could only shake his head. “Just do as I say.”
“Alright father.”
“And remember neither you nor Bart are allowed to receive any astral stones. Consider this your punishment.”
“Fine.”
Kento was unhappy about not receiving any resources, but he wouldn’t go against his father’s commands. Kento turned to leave and took a few steps to arrive at the spot he fell to when he entered the underground room. Right as he crouched to jump back into the building, he heard his father call out.
“Wait.” When Kento turned around, he saw a complicated expression on the clan heads face. “Have you felt any shackles being loosened recently?”
“Like a breakthrough in my cultivation? No, I haven’t even met any bottlenecks.”
“That’s not what I’m talking about. What I meant was have you felt like a restriction on your mind has been gradually weakening? Have you started recalling things that you previously forgot? Strange dreams?”
“Like I said I haven’t met any bottlenecks in my cultivation.” Kento replied with a confused expression on his face.
“Forget I said anything. You can go.”
Kento nodded to his father before he jumped out of the room. The clan looked at the spot his son recently occupied with a blank expression on his face for a few seconds. Eventually, he snapped out of his dazed state, took a deep breath and went back to his meditation.