Protect Our Patriarch

Book 1: Chapter 90: Hoarding reputation! Hoard it to the death

That punch.

It collided head-on with Ancestor Bojun's claw.

"Boom!"

Two forces clashed, and the shockwave spread in all directions.

Ancestor Bojun's body in mid-air was thrown back more than ten meters before he barely stabilized himself. A flush of red flashed across his face, indicating that he was at a disadvantage. He then slowly descended to the ground, his face filled with extreme rage: "It's you, Gongsun Man!"

Zhao's Clan's main territory was right across from Gongsun's Clan in Shanyang. He and Gongsun Man had crossed paths twice before, so they were not strangers to each other.

After landing a successful blow, Gongsun Man also landed heavily on the ground, his feet creating a pit in the bluestone floor.

He lifted the hood of his grey robe and sneered, "Zhao Bojun, you disregarded the rules of sparring and attacked a twelve-year-old child. Once this gets out, your reputation will be ruined."

"You..." Ancestor Bojun was so angry that he almost spat out the blood he was holding back, "Gongsun Man, don't slander me. I was just trying to stop that girl from killing my great-grandson out of concern."

Gongsun Man was just deliberately provoking him. Since the matter had not been settled, he naturally couldn't do anything to a respectable ancestor. But how could he miss the opportunity to kick him while he was down and lower Zhao's Clan's prestige? He immediately said loudly, "Right and wrong will be judged by the public. Today, thousands of people witnessed everything. They will naturally spread the deeds of your clan."

Ancestor Bojun took a deep breath and said solemnly, "Our grievances with Wang's Clan, regardless of right or wrong, are not your business, people of Shanyang. Are you planning to start a war between in-laws?"

Gongsun Man laughed heartily, "Zhao Bojun, don't try to pin such a big hat on me. I just came to visit my great-grandson Wang Shouzhe in my spare time. It just so happened that I ran into you and Liu Zhao's Clan causing trouble, and I just couldn't stand you bullying a twelve-year-old girl. If you want to spar, I'm ready to accompany you to the end."

Ancestor Bojun was somewhat uncertain.

By rights, their trip to Wang's Clan to cause trouble and exert pressure was a temporary arrangement. Even if Gongsun Man received the news, he wouldn't have time to arrive.

Could it be...

Did Gongsun Man really just happen to be visiting?

However, he knew that now was not the time to argue with Gongsun Man. Seeing his great-grandson still rolling on the ground in pain, he immediately shouted angrily, "How dare you, Wang's Clan boy! Since Zhao Dingteng has already lost, why are you still torturing him with poisonous insects?"

Just as Wang Luoqing was about to speak, Wang Shouzhe stepped in front of her and said calmly and politely, "In a spar, it's inevitable that both sides will get hurt. Besides, Zhao Dingteng is as strong as a bull, mighty and extraordinary, with an iron will. He has not admitted defeat throughout the fight. Naturally, he is considered to be still in a combat state with my sister. He might jump up and counterattack at any moment. It's only natural and reasonable for my sister to continue attacking in order to win the spar."

"Well, well, well, you, a junior, dare to be so presumptuous and talk nonsense in front of an ancestor. Is this the kind of education you receive in Wang's Clan?" Ancestor Bojun was furious.

"I'm sorry, I, Wang Shouzhe, am just a humble Clan Leader of Wang's Clan, not a junior of your family for you to scold." Wang Shouzhe said calmly, "As for being presumptuous, the Clan Leaders of Liu Zhao's Clan, Liu Shengye and Zhao Jinxian, have been arrogantly and domineeringly talking about Wang Long Yan. I have been quite restrained by not calling you 'Zhao Bojun' in the same way."

Ancestor Bojun was so angry that his whole body was trembling, "Wang Shouzhe, are you saying that you're not going to let my great-grandson go?"

"He's still in combat, it's not my place to decide." Wang Shouzhe turned around and said, "Luoqing, continue your fight with Zhao Dingteng. Don't let our Wang's Clan down. By the way, I see that Zhao Dingteng is exceptionally talented and has a very strong will. He might have some kind of bloodline battle body. You must be extra careful not to let him turn the tables."

"Yes, Fourth Brother." Wang Luoqing obediently responded, then with a serious and solemn face, she continued to play the insect flute, leading various poisonous insects and spirit bees to attack Zhao Dingteng.

The brother and sister were so serious and coordinated in their blatant lies that even Gongsun Man couldn't help but twitch a little. He had heard about Wang Shouzhe from Long Yan and Gongsun Hui, but he always thought they might have exaggerated.

Now it seemed that their words might have been too conservative about Wang Shouzhe. Immediately, he reminded, "Spar is spar, be careful not to kill anyone." As soon as he said this, even Gongsun Man felt that he had reached a new level in telling blatant lies.

"Yes, Ancestor Man." Wang Luoqing respectfully replied during a break.

Not far away, Liu Yuanrui and Liu Ruolei, the brother and sister, also swallowed hard. Their brother Wang Shouzhe usually seemed very gentle and was a refined gentleman.

But when he got tough, he was really terrifying. Poor Zhao Dingteng, he was really miserable.

"Young man, you really have guts." Ancestor Bojun laughed in anger, "Gongsun Man, since you want to protect these juniors today, don't blame us for beating you up too. Brother Zhide, it's about time, aren't you going to take action?"

As soon as his words fell.

From another carriage, the curtain of the carriage was opened, and an old man with simple clothes and white beard slowly walked out. He didn't show his ability to fly in the air as a Spirit Platform Realm cultivator, but walked on foot.

However, with each step he took, it seemed as if he had covered several meters, as if he was shrinking the ground into inches.His face was rosy and his white hair fluttered in the wind. His clothes swayed with the breeze, making him look like a respected land immortal approaching. Within a few breaths, he had arrived in front of everyone.

Ancestor Liu Zhide of the Liu Clan.

"Liu Zhide, greets Ancestor Meng." Ancestor Zhide slightly bowed his head.

"Gongsun Meng, greets Ancestor Zhide." Since the other party was polite, Gongsun Meng would not lose the demeanor of a noble family and returned the courtesy.

Ancestor Zhide nodded, speaking unhurriedly, "Since Ancestor Meng happens to be here, I understand that you are protective of your grandson, but you seem to have some misunderstandings about our Liu and Zhao Clans."

"Our Liu and Zhao Clans, although we have some misunderstandings with the Wang Clan, we are all families sheltered by Ancestor Zhou Xuan, and can be considered as of the same lineage. We should help and support each other. However, it's regrettable that things have come to this point." Ancestor Zhide said calmly, "How about this, as long as Wang Shouzhe, the Clan Leader of the Wang Clan, promises not to interfere with our territories and dismisses the recruited civilians, this matter can be put to rest."

Ancestor Meng turned his gaze to Wang Shouzhe.

Wang Shouzhe stepped forward, his expression serious, and said loudly, "Our Wang Clan of Ping'an Town, unlike the Liu and Zhao Clans, does not share the same lineage. Moreover, Ping'an is a human habitat preserved by Ancestor Zhou Xuan and our Wang Clan ancestors."

"As descendants, if we stand by and watch others ruin our ancestors' foundation without doing anything, wouldn't we be unfilial descendants?"

His words were reasonable and justified, resonating with the Wang Clan members and the majority of the onlookers.

Wang Shouzhe said solemnly, "I have a suggestion. Why don't our Wang Clan, Liu Clan, and Zhao Clan join hands to provide disaster relief and help the innocent civilians through this difficult time? Here, on behalf of the twenty thousand people of Ping'an Town, I thank Ancestors Zhide and Bojun."

After speaking, Wang Shouzhe stood up, clasped his fists, and bowed deeply.

"Well said, the Wang Clan is a clan of benevolence and righteousness." "Truly worthy of being descendants of Ancestor Zhou Xuan."

"For the sake of twenty thousand civilians, Clan Leader Wang is willing to put aside past grievances and pay such a great tribute to the other party. This is truly great benevolence and righteousness." "If he can guide the Liu and Zhao Clans back to the right path, that would be a great merit."

The onlookers were deeply moved by Wang Shouzhe's words, and they began to imagine a "better future."

The members of the Wang Clan looked at each other. Was their Clan Leader really planning to cooperate with the Liu and Zhao Clans to provide disaster relief? This didn't seem to fit his character.

Only Zhao Bojun and Liu Zhide could truly feel how uncomfortable and nauseating Wang Shouzhe's words and deep bow made them feel.

This kid was ruthless.

What qualifications did a junior like you have to represent the twenty thousand people of Ping'an Town? What do you think you are?

If they refused to participate in the disaster relief under the public eye, their reputation would plummet. If they agreed, wouldn't they become pawns in this kid's hands? All the hard work would be done by them, but everything would be done under the leadership of the Wang Clan. Were they being treated as vassal clans?

They were in a dilemma.

Seeing Zhao Bojun and Liu Zhide looking as if they had swallowed a fly, they felt extremely nauseous, which was exactly what they wanted.

The more nauseous they were, the more comfortable Wang Shouzhe felt.

Boosting reputation!

I am standing on the moral high ground, and I am using the twenty thousand people to suppress you. Whether they accept it or not, Wang Shouzhe's goal has been achieved.

They dared to come to the Wang Clan's main house today, they should be prepared to play the role of "reputation monsters."

From beginning to end, Wang Shouzhe was just using them to boost his reputation, and he was doing it wave after wave.

Once he caught them, he wouldn't let go easily. He would squeeze their reputation from inside out, in various ways.

If it weren't for the occasion, Wang Shouzhe would have wanted to take out his little notebook system and adjust the data of his personal reputation and clan reputation upwards.

At least the "Town Prestige" column was about to max out, reaching a full 100 points.

Ancestor Bojun and Ancestor Zhide looked at each other, both seeing regret in each other's eyes.

If they had known that the matter of annexing the land would be used by Wang Shouzhe of the Wang Clan to make a fuss, and that he would make a big fuss about it endlessly, they would never have taken that step.

But now that things had come to this, there was no antidote for regret.

They could only do it that way, let their fists do the talking. This time, as long as they completely suppressed the Wang Clan, who in Ping'an Town would dare to criticize the Liu and Zhao Clans?

The eyes of Ancestors Bojun and Zhide gradually sharpened, blocking Ancestor Meng from left to right. Although they didn't want to fight with Ancestor Meng, since he had blocked the way of the Liu and Zhao Clans and refused to back down, they had no choice but to suppress him first.

"Zhao Bojun of the Zhao Clan, please enlighten me, Ancestor Meng."

"Liu Zhide of the Liu Clan, please enlighten me, Ancestor Meng."

Everyone was stunned, and the crowd was also stunned. The two venerable ancestors were so shameless that they teamed up to spar with one ancestor under the public eye.

As expected, a person who has no shame is invincible.

"Hehe~ Gongsun Meng, please enlighten me." Ancestor Meng's expression was serious, but there was no room for him to back down now, so he prepared for battle.

Suddenly!

"Buzz!"

A soft hum of a sword resonated, echoing in everyone's ears like a reverberation.At the same time, a hazy figure was seen streaking from a distance, slashing towards Ancestor Liu Zhide like a swimming dragon.

Ancestor Liu Zhide was suddenly taken aback, hastily retreating, narrowly avoiding the sudden sword strike.

"Whoosh!"

The hazy sword light flickered, a strand of white beard fluttering in the wind, then it swirled back, floating in front of Ancestor Liu Zhide like a spiritual object.

The sword, light as smoke, exuded a dreamlike hazy beauty.

"Long Yan's Sword!"

Both Ancestor Liu Zhide and Ancestor Bojun's faces changed drastically, filled with extreme fear. The scene from many years ago rushed into their minds!

At the same time, a soft, cold, and ethereal female voice rang out.

"Liu Zhide, Zhao Bojun. Where did you get the courage to suppress me, Wang Long Yan?"

...