35 Rising tide [4]

With no one restricting his path, the messenger strode through the lanes of the Geijing Clan. He passed through the residential area. There were scores of chambers lined up in a queue. Some monstrous while some small. The messenger's eyes swept across them as he sighed.

"It has grown quite a lot since the last time I came here."

The residential area of the Geijing Clan used to be quite small compared to what it is now.

The messenger had worked for the Geijing Clan since the days of his youth. Transmission Jades being extremely expensive, hiring messengers was the norm in the Black Pearl Nation.

The messenger could easily deduct the contrast between the old and new Geijing.

At the end of his gaze, he saw an incomplete storeyed building still being built as the artisans worked on it.

The Geijing Clan had already grown a lot and was still growing. Many new projects were being constructed even now.

The messenger shook his head.

"I need to get back to work."

Distracting himself from being mesmerized by the majestic sight, the messenger chose to focus on his mission instead. He located the building where he had to go.

A palace entered his gaze.

Not looking back for once he strode towards it as fast as his feet could take.

***

Yang Quan had his head resting on top of his desk. The desk was full of papers here and there; some in stacks while some spread out in a disoriented manner. Some had even slipped past the edge and fallen close to his feet.

If one were to watch this scene one would have thought that Yang Quan had fallen asleep while working. But, can an expert at the Ling Unification Realm ever feel the need for sleep? Their bodies are already tempered enough to conquer this human weakness.

He was mentally enhausted and bored. After working for hours on the paperwork he had to do, he gave up. Banging his head on his desk he had closed his eyes trying to distract himself from the torture he was going through.

"How did brother Yang Ding used to do this sort of stuff? As if it were all a breeze... Never would I have thought that I would be so exhausted, not on the battlefield but in the comfort of my home instead."

Yang Ding had temporarily passed on the position of the Patriarch to Yang Quan. But, Yang Quan was not fit to take the burden of being a patriarch on his shoulders. He might be one of the greatest Martial arts expert in the Black Pearl Nation who is feared and revered but working with numbers weren't his forte.

That doesn't mean that he was a battle maniac unlike some of his peers. He had friends and enemies alike. It was just that he wasn't suited to these kinds of jobs.

It was then...

*knock* *knock*

Two knocks on his door jolted his eyes awake.

One thing Yang Quan couldn't afford to do no matter what was showing his weakness to others. As a temporary patriarch if he showed any weaknesses, that would mean the end of his clan! How could he let himself fail when his brother Yang Ding had trusted him with such a responsibility?

He sat back with a jolt. His back straightened like an oak tree. A score of papers fluttered by the gust of his sleeves as they fell to the floor. But, Yang Quan didn't care.

"Who is it?" His deep voice that was revered by everyone in the Black Pearl Nation resounded in the room.

The door swung open. The messenger walked in.

He had the golden badge on his chest that had the symbol of a sword. This symbol was like the one the Geijing Clan used for its flag. But something was contrasting about the colour of the badge. It seemed golden at first glance but if one were to look properly it had a tint of green which confirmed its authenticity.

"You! What are you doing here? Hasn't patriarch Yang Ding instructed you not to come back? Unless there is some important news regarding the state of the clans?"

This messenger, Yang Ding had raised him himself along with many others of his followers. That is why they are extremely loyal to him. From people who had no talent in cultivation to someone respected or at least not mocked in the clan for their lack of cultivation talent.

Their mortality rate was quite high too but if it was for Yang Ding they are willing to give away their life anytime! That's just how he had raised them.

"Brother Yang Quan, I don't dare disobey the patriarch but this time, I am afraid it's something that needs your attention." The messenger spoke up. His voice sounded muzzy cause of the cloth that covered his face. He took out a scroll from his bag which he passed to Yang Quan.

Yang Quan raised his brows as he took hold of it.

"This?"

"It's a message that I was instructed by the Lightning Heaven clan to pass onto the Pheonix Clan."

Yang Ding always wanted to know of a clan's bargains faster than anyone else. That's why he had placed his men working in the different clans.

How was he able to pull off such a feat?

By killing off existing servants and workers and replacing them with his men on whom he had applied his Disguise Arts. Even if they were caught and beheaded, that wasn't a problem for Yang Ding. He just had to replace his old men with new men whenever such events happened. Not to mention he had trained them especially not to get caught.

Yang Quan nonchalantly opened the scroll thinking what it might be.

The First few words made his eyes pop out in surprise.

"Mortal Enemies," he whispered.

The Lightning Heaven Clan had already declared war on the Pheonix. He didn't how much they have proceeded into it, but he knew one thing: the Lightning Heaven Clan had declared that they will destroy the Pheonix clan.

In this world, whenever a clan decides that another clan or individual or group would be destroyed by them. It declares them as their mortal enemy under the heaven. It means that under the same heaven both they and their enemy can't exist, so one of them has to die and they will see to it to their end.

Yang Quan rolled open the scroll to read it further…