After the tragic death of Rong Yu’s parents, the deed to their shop fell into the hands of his aunt Rong Muchun and her husband, Meng Jinliang.
The shop, located on Jinchang Island, had been a reliable source of income, initially rented out to another merchant. However, when Muchun and her husband expressed interest in using it to sell spiritual materials, the previous Rong Yu had naively agreed. Out of familial loyalty, he even lowered the rent.
But his trust was misplaced. Instead of adhering to their agreement, Muchun and Meng Jinliang tricked him into transferring the title deed entirely. To make matters worse, they began neglecting their rent payments, eventually stopping altogether.
In his desperation for spirit stones, the previous Rong Yu had tried to reclaim the deed, only to be met with endless excuses and refusals. Muchun’s status as the head of their branch, coupled with Meng Jinliang’s power as a late-stage Qi Refinement cultivator, made reclaiming the shop an uphill battle.
Now, with a clear mind and the memories of his predecessor, Rong Yu sighed at his own misfortune. “That foolishness ends now,” he muttered.
He resolved to confront his aunt and demand at least fifty spirit stones. That amount would suffice to purchase materials for refining Qi-Boosting Pills and set him on the path to fulfilling his goals.
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As Rong Yu stepped out of his house, the crisp sound of waves greeted him. The air was thick with humidity, and a faint mist clung to the morning sky.
Pyeongchang Island, where Rong Yu lived, was one of the many islands dotting Thousand Waves Lake—a sprawling body of water so vast it rivaled the largest lakes on Blue Star. To the untrained eye, it could easily be mistaken for a sea.
Thousand Waves Lake was home to numerous cultivator families and independent factions. Among them, the Rong family ranked as one of the most powerful, second only to the Xue family. With four foundation-building cultivators and nearly five hundred Qi Refinement practitioners, the Rong family had established a dominant presence on the lake.
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Their influence extended across hundreds of islands, forty of which contained spiritual veins. The crown jewel was Jinchang Island, which housed a superior-grade spiritual vein and served as the family’s ancestral home.
But Thousand Waves Lake was far from peaceful.
Its waters were teeming with aquatic monsters, and its shores were plagued by rogue cultivators. The Iron Armor Alliance, a notorious band of lake pirates, operated freely, led by two formidable foundation-building cultivators. Small families and sects were often forced to band together for survival.
Only major powers like the Rong family could stand firm amidst the chaos. Their wolf-like nature set them apart, instilled through generations of ruthless competition and survival.
Unlike other families, the Rong clan encouraged internal rivalry. Resources and opportunities were distributed based on merit, not birthright, forcing members to fight for their place. The strong thrived, while the weak were left behind.
This philosophy had bred a clan of ambitious, battle-hardened cultivators, feared and respected across Thousand Waves Lake. But it also came at a cost—loyalty within the family was fragile, and betrayal was not uncommon.
Rong Yu couldn’t help but marvel at the family’s rise to power, even as he cursed its cutthroat culture. “Of all the families to be reborn into, it had to be this one,” he muttered.
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As he made his way through Pyeongchang Island, Rong Yu took in the sights.
The island, though large, was far less prestigious than Jinchang Island. Its spiritual vein barely qualified as mid-tier, making it suitable for side branches and low-ranking cultivators.
Rong Yu’s thoughts drifted to his lineage’s fall from grace. Once among the most promising branches, they had been reduced to obscurity following a series of misfortunes. His uncle Rong Hongye’s disappearance, his father Rong Zhiyuan’s defeat in the family competition, and his own failure as a cultivator had all contributed to their decline.
Now, even a simple shop—their last significant asset—was beyond his reach.
Rong Yu shook his head, pushing away the bitterness. There was no time for self-pity. If he wanted to reclaim his family’s honor, he had to start with the basics.
Today, that meant confronting his aunt and retrieving what was rightfully his.