Liu Dongdong returned soon.
He had returned with glory.
The entire family clan cheered for his victory.
Liu Dahai enfolded Liu Dongdong with a red robe and pinned a red flower on his chest. His eyes were full of approval as he looked at him.
When Liu Dongdong arrived at the main hall, Liu Tao poured a cup of tea for him.
Flattered, Liu Dongdong stood up at once.
"You've gained many benefits from the Ancestor; thus, I had faith in you when you challenged Zhuo Tianyou to a fight. But I didn't expect that you would defeat him so effortlessly!"
Liu Tao complimented Liu Dongdong as he touched the latter's head fondly.
But Liu Dongdong shook his head. He told the rest about his over-performance during the fight.
Everyone in the main hall was shocked.
"My Yi Yang Finger finger was glowing with light and heat, and it even killed a fly with that. After that, I broke Zhuo Tianyou's sword and dug a hole in his shoulder with the same finger…" Liu Dongdong explained.
Liu Tao was amazed at the miracle, whereas Liu Dahai and the rest were still in disbelief.
This "over-performance" was incredible!
The Elders had also learned the Yi Yang Finger from the Ancestor, and all of them were still cultivating this technique. Nevertheless, none of them had achieved the same power as Liu Dongdong. Besides, Liu Dongdong had ascended to the Fish Dive State only recently, so it was almost impossible that his Yi Yang Finger was this powerful.
"Did you say anything during the fight? How did you exercise the Yi Yang Finger?" Liu Erquan asked.
Liu Dongdong recalled that time and answered, "I didn't do anything special. I simply prayed to the Ancestor in my heart!"
Suddenly, Liu Dongdong's eyes brightened up. He exclaimed, "Perhaps the Ancestor did answer my prayer!"
Liu Tao, Liu Wuhai, and Liu Liuhai looked at one another and all nodded. "It seems that our Ancestor is indeed watching over us!"
With that, the three of them got down on all fours and kowtowed to the ancestral temple.
Liu Erquan was still skeptical.
Meanwhile, Liu Dahai, Liu Erhai, and Liu Sanhai shook their heads, thinking that Liu Dongdong was talking nonsense.
They believed that their breakthrough would have been much smoother and less scary had the Ancestor been truly watching over them.
Liu Dongdong didn't argue any further. He took a bow and walked towards the ancestral temple.
He wanted to pay his respects to the ancestor and thank him for answering his prayer today, no matter what others might think of this.
"Dongdong is truly a respectful child!" Liu Tao said with a smile.
Then, he rolled out a map of Black Street and started to discuss the night raid plan with the Elders.
All these years, the Liu family had been through unthinkable hardships and bloodshed. Hence, no one was afraid of fighting.
…
Liu Meimei returned home in the afternoon together with Zhuo Tianyou and an old servant.
The servant was partially blind. His back was bent, but there was a frightening aura hidden in his body.
When he saw Liu Tao and Liu Erquan, a light flashed across his cloudy eyes.
"Two grand martial arts masters!"
His heart shuddered. Now he understood why the governor had ordered him to come along to protect their young lord and investigate the Liu family at the same time.
The Liu clan was indeed more powerful than they seemed.
Hence, he secretly jabbed Zhuo Tianyou with his elbow and shot him a warning glance.
Zhuo Tianyou took the hint at once. When he came before Liu Tao and the Elders, his upper body was already tilted forward to a 60-degree bow.
"I am Zhuo Tianyou from the Lord Governor's Mansion. It's my pleasure to meet you all, the masters of the Liu clan!" Tianyou greeted with a gentle and humble smile.
Then he took a bow and continued, "Meimei told me that the ancestor of the Liu family answers to people's prayers. This is why I am here, hoping to pay respects to your ancestor. I caught a cold and was injured during the combat earlier. Hence, it is my sincere hope that your ancestor can watch over me and I would pray hard for a fast recovery."
Liu Tao stroked his beard and smiled. He looked at Liu Meimei with approval in his eyes.
Good girl. It had taken her only one night to fool the young lord of the Lord Governor's Mansion into coming to the Liu house.
In that case, no one would be standing in their way during their raid tonight.
The Liu clan would be able to unleash their killing desires, and no one could stop them now that the young governor would be staying over at their house.
Liu Tao looked even happier. He held Zhuo Tianyou's hands and treated him fondly. He even ordered his servants to prepare a feast for his guest.
After the feast, instead of leading Zhuo Tianyou straight to the ancestral temple, Liu Tao showed him around Black Street while holding his hand and talking to him with great hospitality.
Then, he told Zhuo Tianyou that he had to buy paper money and incense sticks on his own if he wished to pay his respects to the Liu Ancestor, because only this way could he show his sincerity.
Zhuo Tianyou's old servant followed them and watched Liu Tao's every movement. His instinct told him that this smiling old fox had ulterior motives.
Therefore, he had been jabbing Zhuo Tianyou the whole time, reminding him to be cautious.
Zhuo Tianyou remained calm and responded to Liu Tao with equal friendliness and courtesy.
They caught the attention of many wandering fighters on the streets.
They wondered when the Liu clan and the governor's family had become so close.
At the same time, a black knight, whom Jun Wushuang had ordered to stay, saw them. The man immediately sent a messenger pigeon to the sky.
Liu Tao had noticed the reactions of those around him. He thought to himself that it was time for the Liu clan to dominate Black Street.
…
At dusk, Liu Tao brought Zhuo Tianyou back to the ancestral temple to pay his respects to Liu Fan.
To Zhuo Tianyou's surprise, every member of the Liu clan was there. Moreover, a feast had been prepared outside the ancestral temple.
"I'm just here to pay respects to your ancestor. What is all this?" Zhuo Tianyou asked cautiously.
He glanced over the crowd and realized that almost half of them were martial arts experts of the Fish Dive State. Their temples were bulging, and light flickered in their eyes. Undoubtedly, they were strong.
The Liu clan was a declining family. They couldn't even be counted as an esteemed house. Hence, it was surprising that they were this powerful.
Zhuo Tianyou exchanged a look with his servant. They had become more suspicious of this family clan.
Liu Tao was standing by their side, and he had noticed their confused look. But he chose to remain silent.
All of those clan members had broken through only a few hours ago. Hence, he had called them here on purpose to show Zhuo Tianyou.
"Our ancestor is different from any ancestor from other family clans. Ours is very precious!" Liu Tao said.
Zhuo Tianyou nodded in awe. He said, "Indeed. Your ancestor was a living legend."
"Father told me that one thousand years ago, your ancestor was the strongest in the world. His achievements were celebrated by the entire martial arts scene, and he was famously known as the Bulldozer."
"After that, he had successfully calculated the Heavenly Cycle of Qi in one's body to an incredible precision of 3.141592653 days, and he introduced the important concept of the Golden Ratio in Human Bodies. He was the pioneer of physical cultivation!"
"He was a legend sung and told by generations of fighters, a milestone of martial arts cultivation. Although he has long since been gone, the world hasn't forgotten him at all…"
Zhuo Tianyou paused. He turned to look at Liu Fan's spirit tablet with awe and respect on his face. Then, he let out a heavy sigh. "It is my regret not to be born in his time! It is the regret of all fighters of the current generation!"
His speech made every member of the Liu clan proud and emotional at the same time.
Zhuo Tianyou was indeed an honest man!
He had proved himself to be a valuable addition to the family by passionately praising the ancestor of a clan not his own.
Many clan members shared the same opinion.
They turned to look at Liu Meimei with expectations glowing in their eyes.
Liu Dahai lowered his voice and ordered Liu Meimei, "Meimei, you have to lure Tianyou to our house. Make him stay here and be our live-in son-in-law!"
"Tianyou was born with a silver spoon. The Lord Governor's Mansion has power over half of the City of Scorpio. If you can make Tianyou willingly become our live-in son-in-law, he will be part of our clan too. Our ancestor is watching over us. He will be happy to see such a good man under our roof!"
"Meimei, you have to sacrifice yourself, for our ancestor and for the interest of our clan!"
Liu Meimei looked at Liu Fan's spirit tablet and stole a glance at the handsome gentleman, Zhuo Tianyou. She smiled shyly and replied, "I am willing to sacrifice myself for our clan!"
Liu Dahai smiled.
But Liu Dongdong was furious.
"Why do you have to sacrifice my Meimei? Our clan has so many pretty girls for you to choose from!"