After such an intense battle, the area outside Baiyun Peak was left in utter chaos.
Suspended in midair, Song Changsheng and his group stood coldly staring at Du Huating and the others. The atmosphere was tense.
Looking at Song Changsheng, who had become the leader of the group, Du Huating felt a wave of emotion. This was no longer the young novice who once hid behind Wang Wanzhou for protection.
Now, he had grown into the greatest threat to the Four-Family Alliance.
"Song, after taking so many benefits from us, this is how you repay us? Why did you let those people break through the encirclement? Is this the kind of integrity your Song Clan stands for?"
No one expected Li Siyang to be the first to speak out, pointing the finger directly at the Song Clan with barely restrained anger.
Song Changsheng looked at him as though watching a clown perform in a circus. Faced with his hysterical accusations, his expression remained indifferent as he coldly replied:
"The reputation of the Song Clan is not yours to judge.
Before you question me, perhaps you should first get the facts straight. You were the ones who asked for our help. We responded with full sincerity, and what did you do in return?
Despite being so close to the battlefield, you held your troops back, waiting for us to wear ourselves out so you could swoop in and reap the rewards.
You were the first to breach the agreement. Even if we had chosen to withdraw completely, it would have been perfectly justified. Yet we still fought on and managed to eliminate five of their Foundation Establishment cultivators on our own.
The Song and Wang Clans have already done more than enough. And you cowering behind your protective formation, what right do you have to criticize us?"
As his voice fell, the aura around Song Changsheng grew dangerous, and his sharp black-and-white eyes bore into Li Siyang, sending a chill straight to his bones.
Du Huating sighed and, without making it too obvious, stepped in front of Li Siyang. "Fellow Daoist Li has suffered greatly and may have spoken out of turn. I ask that Young Patriarch Song be generous and not take offense.
We were indeed in the wrong. As a gesture of goodwill, how about we let your side take sixty percent of the spoils from the five bodies?"
Qu Jinsheng, who had been doing his best to stay invisible, couldn't stay quiet after hearing that. He blurted out, "Senior Brother, you mustn't!"
The moment the words left his mouth, he was hit by a wave of bone-chilling cold. Turning his head, he found himself staring straight into Song Changsheng's eyes, brimming with killing intent.
Of all the people in the Song Clan, the one he feared most was undeniably Song Changsheng. They had crossed paths twice before.
The first time was in the Wangyue Mountains. Song Changsheng had just begun his journey, yet he captured Chang Tianhua right before his eyes, humiliating him completely.
Back then, he hated Song Changsheng with a passion, wishing nothing more than to kill him.
Their second encounter had been over the Chiyun Iron Mine. Song Changsheng had just broken through to Foundation Establishment, and even though Qu teamed up with cultivators from the Lieyang Sect, they still ended up with one dead and one severely injured.
From that point on, all he felt toward Song Changsheng was fear.
Now, locked in eye contact with him, Qu Jinsheng felt a phantom pain in his severed arm. The words in his throat caught, and he quickly lowered his head in silence, too afraid to speak.
Seeing his junior's reaction, Du Huating sighed deeply. No wonder the Earthfire Sect was defeated; they deserved it.
When he saw Qu Jinsheng cowed into silence, a flicker of disdain flashed in Song Changsheng's eyes. He said calmly, "Elder Du, we accept your offer. I'll take these three. The other two are yours."
Song Changsheng casually pointed his finger and unceremoniously dragged the corpses of a peak Foundation Establishment cultivator and two late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators over to his side.
Li Siyang, Qiu Tianyang, and the others immediately glared at him with hostility.
Everyone knew that these people were the remnants of destroyed Foundation Establishment families from the north. They had looted their way south and were surely carrying a large number of resources and treasures.
Each corpse represented a vast fortune. They had previously killed two of them and managed to secure one corpse, and even Du Huating had been tempted by the resources found in its storage pouch.
The alliance of the four clans had suffered heavy losses this time, and they were relying on these spoils of war to recover their strength.
Yet Song Changsheng had merely moved his lips and now wanted to take away the corpses of the three most powerful Foundation Establishment cultivators. That was hard for them to accept.
"Your Song Clan barely suffered any losses in this battle. Isn't Song Young Patriarch being a bit too greedy?" Qiu Tianyang said coldly.
Song Changsheng raised an eyebrow, seemingly surprised. "Clan Leader Qiu, since when has the distribution of spoils been based on the amount of losses suffered? Are you setting a new precedent?
"Well then, I've just thought of a fair way to divide the spoils, one that will surely convince everyone."
"What way?" Qiu Tianyang suddenly had a bad feeling.
"It's very simple. Among us humans, strength reigns supreme. Naturally, spoils should be distributed according to power. Why don't we settle it with a fight right now?" Song Changsheng said with a smile.
Qiu Tianyang's mouth twitched.
They had eight Foundation Establishment cultivators left, and the Song and Wang clans had exactly eight as well. On the surface, it seemed fair.
But was it?
They had Song Changsheng and Song Xianyun, two peak Foundation Establishment combatants. On his side, only Du Huating barely counted as a match, and all of their people were injured. How were they supposed to win that?
Qiu Tianyang even suspected that Song Changsheng was trying to use this opportunity to completely wipe out their four-clan alliance.
Without strength, words had no weight.
Du Huating shook his head and said, "No need to complicate things. Let's just go with Young Patriarch Song's suggestion."
"I want those people too," Song Changsheng added, pointing to the surrendered Qi Refining cultivators, pressing his advantage.
No one objected this time, and Du Huating agreed readily.
Although those Qi Refining cultivators were once elite disciples, there had originally been over three hundred of them. Many had died in battle, and many more had escaped during the chaos. Now, only about thirty remained, and they no longer held much value.
Song Changsheng nodded in satisfaction. "Since things are settled, we'll be on our way. We won't trouble you further."
With that, Song Xianyun and the others took the spoils and the remaining Qi Refining cultivators and departed as streaks of light.
Song Changsheng lingered at the end, casting a meaningful glance at Du Huating. "Elder Du, you're a reasonable man. Before I go, let me share some good news. You'll be getting a new neighbor soon. Don't forget to prepare a welcome gift."
After saying that, Song Changsheng transformed into a stream of black and white light and flew off after the others.
Li Siyang and the others were completely baffled by Song Changsheng's final remark.
Du Huating frowned and pondered for a moment. Suddenly, his expression changed drastically. "This is bad! Follow me, quickly!"
The others were confused. Where were they supposed to go now?
Seeing their hesitation, Du Huating gritted his teeth and snapped, "The market city! What if those people seize it and refuse to leave?!"
At that, everyone finally realized what was going on and understood the severity of the situation. Qiu Tianyang stared in the direction Song Changsheng had left, gnashing his teeth. "That bastard… what a vicious scheme!"
Under Du Huating's lead, a group of people rushed to Liuyun Market, only to find it once again shrouded by a protective formation.
Inside the formation, Liu Hongye looked at them coldly and said, "What? You still want to fight?"
"You bastards! Withdraw from Lingzhou now, and we'll let bygones be bygones. Otherwise, once we break in, not a single one of you will walk away!" Li Siyang shouted angrily.
This time, Li Siyang was truly panicking. He had originally planned to reclaim their lost territory after the dust settled and lead the remaining clan members into a period of recovery and rest.
But to his surprise, this group, even after their defeat, had no intention of leaving. Instead, they had taken over Liuyun Market. This market was only a few thousand miles from the Li Clan's original land, practically on their doorstep. How could they tolerate such a threat so close?
Qiu Tianyang and Du Huating both wore grim expressions.
Every piece of land and resource in the Liuyun Mountains was already spoken for, as the region was impoverished to begin with. Now, with a strong external force encroaching, the resources were spread even thinner.
What made things worse was that the invaders had seized control of a market hub. If they weren't driven out, Liuyun Market could very well become a thing of the past.
And Liuyun Market was the economic backbone of the entire Lingzhou region!
"There's no use in talking anymore," Du Huating said. "While they're not yet fully settled, we must join forces and drive them out!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Du Huating and the others launched an assault on the formation surrounding the market.
But this wasn't just any formation; it was a third-grade low-tier formation, and no joke.
Back when Liu Hongye's group had breached the market overnight, it was only because they launched a surprise attack from within, and one of the three elder guardians was absent. The formation had never been operating at full power.
But now things were different. Ever since taking the market, Liu Hongye's group had been working on gaining control of the formation, intending to rebuild the market after defeating the Earthfire Sect.
They hadn't fully mastered the formation yet, but despite that, with five Foundation Establishment cultivators stationed to guard it, the defenses were as solid as ever.
Unless their enemies had a third-grade formation-breaking talisman or a third-grade formation master, even a Purple Mansion cultivator would have a tough time breaking through.
Du Huating and his people, already exhausted, launched an assault lasting an entire day and night. They even used a third-grade low-tier offensive talisman, but still failed to break in.
In the end, they had no choice but to accept the harsh reality.
But with this, a blood feud had been forged. Once either side recovered its strength, it would surely come for revenge.
Watching from the shadows, Song Changsheng revealed a satisfied smile. This was exactly the outcome he wanted. As long as those four clans were busy tearing each other apart in the Liuyun Mountains, they would have no time to target the Song Clan.
Song Xianming was about to attempt a breakthrough to the Purple Mansion stage, and this time, Song Changsheng didn't want anything to go wrong!
...
Compared to the superficial alliance of the four clans, the partnership between the Song and Wang families was far more reliable. The Wang Clan had stood firmly by the Song Clan's side throughout.
Now, it was time to reap the rewards.
The high-level members of both clans gathered together to divide the spoils of war.
Song Xianyun still showed no intention of taking the lead and instead handed over the responsibility of distribution to Song Changsheng.
This was no small matter; striking the right balance was crucial. A poor distribution could damage the close relationship between the two clans.
If Song Xianyun had done it himself, the allocation would no doubt have been handled smoothly. But this was Song Changsheng's first time taking on such a task. Still, he felt no pressure. Calmly and confidently, he took out a piece of beast-hide parchment and handed it to Wang Qingquan.
"Clan Leader Wang, what do you think of this distribution?"
Wang Qingquan hadn't expected this and curiously accepted the parchment. After reading it quickly, his eyes widened in astonishment.
"Let me see that," said Wang Wanzhou, taking the beast-hide parchment. His eyes also went wide as he read aloud:
"A thirty percent share of the spirit stone mine, fifty thousand spirit stones or equivalent resources, and one-fifth of all captured spoils."
"This..." Wang Wanzhou held the parchment in stunned silence. The distribution was so generous, it almost seemed absurd.
It wasn't that Song Changsheng had given them too little, quite the opposite, he had been excessively generous.
According to the plan they had discussed, they would have been satisfied with just a 20% share of the spirit stone mine and 50,000 spirit stones' worth of resources.
After all, they had contributed almost nothing to this endeavor.
But unexpectedly, Song Changsheng not only gave them an extra 10% share of the mine, but he also offered a fifth of the spoils of war.
That was no small amount. A 10% share of the spirit stone mine would bring the Wang Clan an extra 10,000 spirit stones in annual income. To put that into perspective, their total annual income had previously only been around 30,000 spirit stones.
And that's not even considering the fifth of the spoils.
As soon as they returned to Cangmang Peak, they began sorting through the belongings of the three fallen Foundation Establishment cultivators. While the cultivation resources alone were worth about 100,000 spirit stones, that was just a portion of the spoils. In addition to those resources, there were numerous manuals, rare pills, and even several spiritual artifact items whose value was difficult to estimate.
Even just a fifth of that was more than enough to leave the Wang Clan overwhelmed with riches.
Wang Qingquan immediately stood up and said, "Young Clan Leader, I insist you redistribute the shares. Our Wang Clan barely played a part this time."
Although Song Xianyun was also somewhat surprised in his heart, he didn't show it. As he had said earlier, Song Changsheng had full authority over this distribution.
"Clan Leader Wang, this is what your clan rightfully deserves. Twenty years ago, when the Lieyang Sect launched a full-scale attack against our Song Clan, your late patriarch led your entire clan to our aid without hesitation and died beneath this very peak.
This is our repayment for that kindness. Please, do not refuse." Song Changsheng spoke solemnly, clasping his hands in a respectful gesture.
His sincere words deeply moved Wang Qingquan. Twenty years had passed, yet the Song Clan had not forgotten!
"If that's the case, then we'll accept this with gratitude. The Wang Clan will not let you down, Young Clan Leader!"
…
After Wang Qingquan and the others had left, Song Xianyun came to stand beside Song Changsheng and said, "You did very well today. But you gave up so much to the Wang Clan. Was it truly just to repay an old favor?"
Looking into his grandfather's cloudy eyes, Song Changsheng smiled and replied, "Grandfather, my intentions are not so simple. I also wanted to strengthen our alliance with the Wang Clan.
You'll soon be preparing to break through to the Purple Mansion stage, and no one can predict what kind of challenges we'll face then. We need the Wang Clan as a reliable ally."
"Yes… That will be another major trial for the family," Song Xianyun murmured, his hands clasped behind his back.
"Moreover," Song Changsheng continued with a smile, "I have another plan. Since Liu Hongye has taken control of that area, the Liuyun Market will inevitably become a thing of the past. Once the time is right, I intend to establish a new market in the Wangyue Mountains.
Our clan will hold full control over it, and the Wang Clan will be excluded. Today's generous distribution was, in part, a way of compensating them for that future loss."
Song Xianyun's eyes widened in surprise. He hadn't expected Song Changsheng to have thought that far ahead…
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