Chapter 383 - 383: Clash of Clans (2)

That Jia Shizi is dangerous? How could Bubai not know!

But there are some roads that, even knowing the cliffs ahead, a man still gotta walk.

Then again, even though this might be dangerous, it was still well within Batbai's risk scale.

Think about it. Which is more dangerous:

To willingly get along in "harmony" with a frenemy or rebelliously bare baby fangs against the powerful?

Those missing geniuses were a clear enough answer.

Truth be told, there wasn't really much of choice in this matter at all, unless he possessed the absolute strength to overturn the table.

And he wasn't just talking about this Jia Shizi's table.

Don't forget the Grand Elder Jia and the whole Jia faction behind! That's the real trouble!

But that's why he chose cooperation, mainly in hopes of using somebody as a shield to hold off the rest of his clan.

A grandpa won't be so shameless to fight his own grandson over a little guy like him, right?

Well, that's the idea.

Of course, everything depends on how things play out. The future is unpredictable.

Then again, some futures were pretty predictable, like the winner of this battle.

Not even half an hour in, the fog of war thinned out, unveiling a battlefield full of mirror shards and broken formation flags.

In this mess, only one shirtless man was left standing: Jia Shizi.

The winner? Obvious. How bad did he win? Well...

There wasn't even a single scratch on the grinning lion's sculpted body!

Meanwhile, his opponent was badly bruised and kneeling on his last leg.

The disparity was real. Great enough for one side to aura farm...

Arms crossed, Jia Shizi condescendingly stared down at the loser.

"Not bad... A mist formation paired with a mind confusion array is enough to make most greenhorns directionally-challenged."

"Even some experienced foundation builders will be trapped and worn down by you. But..."

"In the face of absolute strength, all your little tricks are meaningless!"

He Guofu staggered to his feet, then cupped his shaky fists to salute. "Many thanks to Fellow Daoist Shizi for... showing mercy."

"Mercy?" Jia Shizi carelessly shrugged.

"Don't get the wrong idea. That's not really my habit. Somebody's got to deliver what's mine and I heard you're quite the diligent delivery boy, isn't that right?"

"...Indeed." He Guofu lowered his gaze.

"The equipment required for the refinement art is quite large… Where would Fellow Daoist Shizi like them delivered? Just say the word, and Guofu will ensure it arrives."

Jia Shizi flashed a wolfish grin. "Just send them to the Jia estate. My tower isn't going to fit such a big toy anyways! But first…"

"Come to me sometime. I'll give you some instructions on what to and who not to touch. Hahaha!"

Laughing proudly, the young lion walked away without a care in the world.

Left behind, the loser looked at the scraps scattered everywhere with a pained face. "Who did we accidentally provoke this time…?"

After a grim sigh, he went to clean up the mess.

Back in the viewing box, the Qian brothers whistled and clicked their tongues.

"Whew. As expected of a lion cub born under the Jia lineage. A son of a lion really can only be a lion."

"Ou? Lao Wu, is this Golden Lion's father a talent? But from what I've heard, didn't his father get sent out to be a deacon overseeing some mines?"

"Haha. Xiao Ba, don't think everybody exiled out there is untalented. To reach any rank of deacon, which one of them wasn't a blazing star in their generation?"

"It's just that they fell short for one reason or another. So instead of staying to block the way, they set out to pave the way for their younger generation."

"So this Golden Lion's father…?"

"That… I'm not that clear about. Maybe ask… Lao Er, did Lao Da ever tell you anything?"

As expected, even the brothers knew who to ask for info dump. And meeting their expectations, the designated Qian Fusha did his duty as their second-hand history teacher.

"That Golden Lion's father, huh? Hmm… I heard back in the day, the Grand Elder's grandsons were many, but this Golden Lion's father ranks amongst the top in favor."

"Fierce, scheming, ambitious. Unfortunately, during the war against those sword-wielders, he took a sword to the knee and suffered grievous injuries."

"Ever since, a heart demon cut off his path at the peak of foundation. So he placed all his hopes on this son of his, training him hard from a young age..."

"Now it turns out, his favor was not in vain because the lion cub really rose to prominence."

"Ou? That so?" Qian Bage blinked twice. "How come I heard their father and son relationship wasn't all that harmonious?"

"Yeah! That's what I heard, too!" Qian Zhongta scratched the back of his head. "Didn't that Golden Lion, uh, run away from home because of this reason?"

Qian Feifu shrugged. "Dunno. That's what's going around, but hey, who knows the truth behind other family's backyard drama. Anyways, that's not for us to gossip about."

Bubai almost couldn't hold back his laugh. Hey, aren't you all gossiping right now?

But there's nothing to complain about here.

As long as it's not gossip about himself, he didn't actually mind.

In fact, he particularly likes listening to gossip like this. Free intel! Who wouldn't like it?

Er… maybe the readers in another dimension won't. But any shameless author would!

Heck, maybe somewhere out there, some unscrupulous author is even wildly cackling while writing so much backstory that no reader will care about just to pad the word count!

Ahem. Honestly… in a story, reading such exposition would indeed be quite boring.

But his life isn't a story! Bubai was genuinely quite happy to sit back and listen to all these nonsense.

At least… it was more exciting than watching the battle below that was quite literally nothing but smoke and mirrors...

Watching the loser limp off the field, Qian Bage sighed.

"Ouu, there he goes. Poor guy. By the looks of it, this He Guofu is likely out for the count this year."

"Huh?" That comment snapped Bubai's attention back to reality. "Isn't such a wounded fat rabbit the perfect prey for those other clans?"

"Ou, no, no! Brother Bai, don't you know? Aside from deep-seated grudges, rarely will others pick on a loser!"

With a chuckle, Qian Feifu chimed in.

"Ye. Like they say: something that has been lost can't be lost again. So if there's not much to gain compared to the risk, why bother?"

"Besides, do you really think this He Guofu's the only fighter available in the He Clan?"

"Even the weakest clan under this sect's banner can hold three full rounds on their own! It's just that nobody will put all their eggs in one basket."

Qian Fusha nodded along. "Exactly. Wudi is right. Clan battles are more like a game of weiqi—every stone placed with an eye on the whole board."

"So there must be a balance between sending enough to secure a win and conserving members to defend against further challenges."

"Yep, like Lao Er said!"

The gears in Bubai's mind turned, finding some loopholes. "Then what if… everybody decides to hammer the same nail?"

"Haha! Brother, that's a strange way to put it, but you need not worry. Usually, everybody keeps some propriety in their heart and nobody will push a clan too hard."

"Yep. Yep. After all, the members inside the sect are just a portion of the whole. If a clan gets pushed to the point of desperation…"

"Who knows what means they will use to drag everybody to death together! Clans turning over a new leaf and secretly defecting to other big sects is only too common in our sect's history!"

"So those old monsters sitting up top will watch all of us fight, checking and balancing the clans, but..."

"They will never let any go too far to prevent any possible weakening of the Sun Furnace Sect as a whole! Nobody wants to see the sect dragged into the quagmire of war again."

"Ah, I see…" Bubai got a profound understanding of the situation.

In summary: More info dump. That's what all this is.

Ahem. Jokes aside, this should be the true reality behind this clash of clans.

Their interests are tied together like a net. So nobody will casually cut a part of the net, lest it affects the whole body!

That's the true unspoken benefit of officially being in a clan versus going solo.

And that's why Bubai was always trying build connections and attach himself to more clans, even if it's as a guest.

Everything was for the greater good: building a larger safety net.

But like always, if you want to jump into the net, you can't escape from the dangers that come with it.

No one joins the game without getting their hands dirty. No one steps onto the board without risking becoming a piece.

There were signs before, but now... an announcement made it all the more clear.

"Next match, Sha Niu challenging… Qian Bage!"