The Binding Oath

Ji Qing then decided to take matters into her own little hands, creating a belief within herself that there was nothing men could do that she couldn't match or even surpass; and it was this mentality that had brought her to the Peak of Qi Gathering Stage, just a step away from entering the Qi Sea stage.

Thus, when she heard that Ji Min was going to be involved in a training routine that would make his strength soar; of course, she was also going to use it to overcome her impetus and break into the Qi Sea stage.

Furthermore, the arrogance with which Ji Tang claimed that his bloodline had never died during the training sessions made it seem like they were the only special ones amongst the Southern Family and she was determined to prove him wrong.

Moreover, wouldn't it be an insult to her that someone who was around her age had more strength than her?

She knew that, though she might be at the Peak of the Qi Gathering Stage, she would still need to squeeze out every ounce of talent within her if he intends to stay ahead of Ji Min.

After all, not only was he monstrously talented; but he was also able to cultivate in both paths of cultivation, whilst she was only stuck with one.

Furthermore, even at their current level, he was already stronger than her; after all, he was already in the Commander Stage which was equivalent to the Qi Sea Stage.

Furthermore, all of these were not even taking the fact that body cultivators could easily defeat experts of the same level due to their lethal method of cultivating into account.

Of course, no one knew all of this and they were only thinking she was being reckless which even made her more determined to obtain the opportunity as she once again echoed;

"I hope Grandpa would be magnanimous enough to grant my request?" Ji Tang went deep in thought, stroking his beard as he pondered the situation.

He could already see how anxious Ji Fang was as he was sweating bullets and probably cursing the little girl for her stupid actions.

Ji Fang had already lost his beloved wife and only had Ji Qing left, whom he loved with every fiber of his being; which was also one of the reasons why he had left her to deal with her mother's loss the best way she could since she seemed to be rejecting and loathing him at the moment.

But now, the only apple of his eye was trying to present herself as a target to the god of death; how could he possibly allow that to happen?

He didn't care if anyone called him selfish; he just wanted her to be safe and happy for the rest of her life even though he knew she loathed him.

Ji Tang kept brooding on the matter; on the one hand, he knew he had to consider Ji Fang's feelings as he had been his sworn brother for a very long time and knew just how much value Ji Qing had to him.

But on the other hand, if he didn't allow Ji Qing to do as she wished, it might cause her to lose some trust in the family.

Also, it might hinder her future progress in cultivation; after all, it was desires such as this that allowed people breakthrough the shackles holding them back in cultivation, and he was well aware that the little girl had been stuck at the Peak of Qi Gathering Stage for a while.

He could also tell that her problem lay in her mental state; after all, with the sheer amount of cultivation resources Ji Fang had given to her, even the least talented member of the family would have progressed; thus he made his decision…

"Alright, you may accompany my grandson to train in the old ways." Ji Tang declared as Ji Fang shot up from his seat;

"Brother!" He bellowed.

"How dare you!" Ji Wang blurted from the side.

"But-?!"

"Ji Fang; Know your place!" Ji Wang didn't even allow his brother to finish his speech.

"Or are you planning on going back on your oath?!" He added as Ji Fang clenched his fists so hard that blood began to drip to the ground.

But after a few seconds, his clenched fist relaxed as he fell back into his seat, heaving a sigh that seemed to carry a bit of his life force away from him; he looked ragged and seemed to have aged a decade.

Ji Min watched everything from the side and didn't dare utter a single word; not because they were stronger than him, but simply because he had to give them their due respect; after all, the Southern Family would have long been extinct if not for the presence of the trio.

"Ji Fang... It saddens me that family could make you lose trust in my judgments." Ji Tang spoke calmly, glancing at Ji Fang from the corner of his eyes.

Ji Fang heard what Ji Tang said, and it stung him a bit; though he knew anyone will lose all rationality when matters came to the safety of their children, he had allowed his emotions to overshadow the blood oath they had made amongst themselves.

One of the clauses in the blood oath was that none of them would ever bring harm to the other nor shall any of their descendants bring harm to their counterparts.

"Since I said she should join the training routine, do you think I would just sit back and break an oath?!" Ji Tang began to raise his voice ever so slightly but gradually.

"I made a similar oath with your fathers before they died in battle and in a bid to honor their dying wishes, I also made the same oath with his sons; do you think I would stoop so low to dishonor my sworn brothers in death?!"

Ji Tang chided as Ji Fang sank his head into his shoulders in shame.

"Brother, please forgive Ji Fang; he was simply carried away by his emotions; we all know how dearly he holds Qing'er in his heart." Ji Wang quickly blurted as he stepped in to diffuse the tension that was beginning to build up...