Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Lei Qianjun's complexion was pale and his eyes were narrowed together, making him look like a cast iron statue. While he didn't say anything, everyone could feel the anger and violence roiling within his chest. The thick smell of blood filled the air, causing everyone to tremble.

The steward had a heavy expression. He bowed and said, "It was due to my failures that the miss suffered an accident. I ask the City Lord to punish me."

Lei Qianjun glanced at him but didn't speak. At this moment, a door was pushed open from the inside and Gu Yanyuan, a white-haired old man with a boyish complexion stepped out with his medicine kit. He bowed at Lei Qianjun and gently shook his head, "City Lord, your daughter still hasn't recovered from the chronic illness she has been suffering since her youth and now she has been injured by a potent poison. I've done everything I can but the situation cannot be saved. I apologize but I am helpless."

The steward trembled. Blood flowed out from his nose and mouth and h is complexion paled.

Pa -

Pa -

Beads of blood fell to the ground. They seemed to be 10,000 pounds heavy, smashing open round holes in the floor.

Lei Qianjun was silent for several breaths of time. Then he slowly said, "Mister Gu is a divine physician of the medical arts, said to have the ability to bring the dead back to life, even if there is just a skeleton remaining. I believe that Mister Gu can find a way to save my daughter. If my daughter can survive this calamity I will sincerely offer a generous gift to thank mister for this great graciousness."

Gu Yanyuan glanced at the steward, his eyebrows shaking. He took a deep breath and said, "I thank the City Lord for placing me in such high regards. I will try again, but this method is risky and its effectiveness is uncertain."

Lei Qianjun cupped his hands together. He said, "Then I must trouble Mister Gu."

Half a day later, Gu Yanyuan walked back out again, his face deathly pale. There were extra wrinkles on his face and the aura of death and decay wafted around him.

"For ten days, the miss will be fine."

After saying this, Mister Gu who was renowned for his divine medical skills was supported by someone and left.

He had already done his best. For this, he had even paid a price of several hundred years of lifespan.

Several hundred years of life had been exchanged for ten days of life for a young girl. If it weren't for the strength and status of the City Lord Mansion, this would have been impossible.

Lei Qianjun stood up without expression. After ordering the maids to draw back, he stood in front of the bed. As he looked at his daughter's pale complexion, his eyebrows furrowed together like a mountain range, revealing endless weight.

After a long time he let out a breath and softly said, "Xiaoyu, don't be afraid. Father won't let you go like this. I will definitely find a way to save you."

He turned around and left. Then, he glanced at the steward who was still weeping blood. "Send a message to the lords of the thirteen cities. If anyone can save Xiaoyu's life, Roc City will show sufficient sincerity."

The steward turned and left. A moment later, news spread out in all directions and the 13 great cities within the territory of Roc City all received the message.

Some people were worried, some people were overjoyed, and some were eager to try. But no matter what their true thoughts were, not long after receiving the message, teams of people left from each of the 13 cities, rushing towards Roc City at the fastest speed possible.

Within a flood dragon carriage, Wu Zucheng frowned. Countless thoughts raced in his mind. He had already determined that Lei Xiaoyu's assassination attempt was not a trap by Roc City.

Then who had done this?

The other party had surely sensed something, otherwise they wouldn't have used Lei Xiaoyu as the opening.

After all, no matter how honored her status was, she was only a daughter. She did not have the qualifications to become Roc City's new ruler.

He loathed this sort of passive situation where everything felt beyond his control.

Shu Hang stood across from him. After some time he slowly said, "Patriarch, no matter who it was that did this or what their goal is, we need to make our own preparations ahead of time."

A sharp light flashed in Wu Zucheng's eyes. "I know."

If Lei Xiaoyu truly died they would be tight on time. But fortunately, while they weren't prepared for this, neither was Roc City.

However, there was another force moving in the shadows. They had to be increasingly cautious, otherwise one wrong move and they would be the ones falling into a trap.

Soon, Roc City came into sight. With their status confirmed ahead of time, the flood dragon carriage didn't stop. It flew straight towards the City Lord Mansion.

"I greet Patriarch Wu. The City Lord has been waiting. Please follow me." A Lei Family expert cupped his hands together and quickly led the way.

When Wu Zucheng arrived, over half of the 13 families had arrived. Now was not the time to talk, so after exchanging short greetings, everyone sat down.

But when everyone glanced at each other, there was an inquisitive and suspicious look in their eyes. While no one knew who was behind the assassination attempt on the City Lord's daughter, it was surely related to those present here.

Each one had their own considerations. A little more time passed, and people from all 13 families had assembled.

"The City Lord has arrived!"

Everyone stood up and bowed deeply. "We greet the City Lord."

Lei Qianjun had a calm demeanor. "Today, because of my one daughter, I have bothered you all to come here today. It is somewhat disrespectful of me. Once this matter is over, I will surely find an opportunity to express my apologies to everyone."

"City Lord, there is no need to speak so seriously."

"I have watched Xiaoyu grow up since she was a child and can be considered an elder of hers. Even if I wasn't summoned here, I would still have visited."

"I am furious and shaken that something like this has happened. I will assist the City Lord with all my strength to discover the true culprit behind this!"

Facing everyone, Lei Qianjun nodded. "I thank you for your consideration. Capturing the assassin can come later. My daughter is in a critical condition right now, so I won't speak in circles."

A sharp light flashed in his eyes as he looked over everyone. "Mister Gu Yanyuan has done his best to stabilize Xiaoyu's condition. Is there anyone here that has the ability to help my daughter? As I said in the message, I am willing to pay a sufficient reward. I will not disappoint anyone."

Everyone was already prepared for this. Besides, since Lei Qianjun had said all of this, how could they refuse? They entered the room in turns, each one staying for various amounts of time. No one said anything, but when they walked back out to the outer hall, everyone had solemn expressions.

Lei Xiaoyu was in dire condition. It could be said that if Lei Qianjun didn't force Gu Yanyuan to forcefully stabilize her life, she would have died already.

Even now she was barely hanging on by a single thread. She could die at any moment.

Lei Qianjun slowly said, "This is what the situation is like. Everyone here has seen it, so does anyone have a solution?"

Everyone was silent. They frowned, not saying much.

If it was something else that could help them obtain Lei Qianjun's favor, they wouldn't mind trying.

But this involved a life, and the life of the daughter he loved the most. If they were careless and caused that girl to take her final breath, the regret would be overwhelming.

Lei Qianjun slowly looked around. Wu Zucheng's heart chilled and as he thought, a voice soon called out his name. "Brother Wu, your Wu Family has a glorious inheritance and numerous powerhouses have been born through your bloodline. Your background is even deeper than my Roc City. Is there any way you can help?"

What was the meaning of this? Did Lei Qianjun's investigations come up with something? Was he being intentionally probed? How should he respond?

Wu Zucheng's thoughts rapidly raced. His mind was tense and nervous. He understood how cruel and bloodthirsty this person in front of him truly was.

Although he was calmly asking a question right now, he might immediately and violently attack to kill in the next moment….although such things rarely occurred these days, they did happen countless times when Roc City was first being established.

As he took a breath, Wu Zucheng came to a decision. He let out a breath and slowly said, "City Lord, an old ancestor of the Wu Family brought back a treasure from the Severed Heaven Abyss. Afterwards, he died in meditation. Perhaps this treasure can help temporarily alleviate Xiaoyu's illness."

As soon as he said this, everyone looked over, amazement in their eyes. Just how shrewd and intelligent was Wu Zucheng, yet he had made such a move? Did he not know that whether or not this incident was related to him, as long as he said those words then he would become a suspect? One that was marked by Lei Qianjun? Even with their status, they still felt nervous and uneasy just thinking about it!

Lei Qianjun drew in a deep breath. "If Brother Wu is willing to save my daughter with that treasure, you may ask for any request."

Wu Zucheng hesitated for a moment. "I heard that within the City Lord's secret storehouse, you have collected a Skyshard Sword. May I ask if this is true or not?"

Huuu -

Everyone sucked in a breath of cold air. They thought things had suddenly taken a turn for the worse, as if trouble was going to happen today no matter what!

Everyone knew that the Wu Family has been gathering Skyshard Swords for generations, and now they only needed one more to form a complete collection.

The reason the City Lord collected such a treasure was to suppress the Wu Family and limit their strength. Yet, he now demanded it in front of anyone…anyone would think that the Wu Family was the one to attack Lei Xiaoyu. This was no different from coercion!

Mm…that wasn't right. If it really was the Wu Family, they would do things in such a crude way. Could it be that Wu Zucheng wanted to use this method to tell Lei Qianjun that this matter had nothing to do with them?

Everyone thought that this was more and more likely. They cursed beneath their breath. This Wu Zucheng fellow was truly crafty and cunning.

No matter how favored Lei Xiaoyu was, she was only a daughter. While she couldn't be called valueless, when she was compared to the limiter that was placed on the Wu Family, they were clearly matters of different magnitudes. It had to be known that a complete set of Skyshard Swords and one that was missing one were completely different things.

No one believed that Lei Qianjun would give the Wu Family a chance to grow stronger just for a daughter.

But reality surpassed everyone's expectations. Lei Qianjun only hesitated for a moment before decisively say, "The Skyshard Sword is indeed within my Roc City's secret storehouse. I will immediately send someone to bring it over."

At this time, let alone everyone else, even Wu Zucheng who proposed this exchange was stunned for a moment. He even thought he was hearing things.

Lei Qianjun agreed? He actually agreed? Was he insane? Or had this world changed?

It was only when the steward personally brought over the sword chest with the Skyshard Sword locked inside did Wu Zucheng determine this was all real.

There was no need to open the chest. By sensing the aura within, he knew that Skyshard Sword was within - this was the final Skyshard Sword that the Wu Family had been struggling to find for thousands of years.

At this time, Wu Zucheng no longer had the thought to consider Lei Qianjun's motives. He took a deep breath, suppressing his thoughts. He grasped the sword chest with both hands and said, "The treasure is placed in the Wu Family's ancestral treasury and only I can open it. City Lord, please rest assured that the Wu Family will deliver it here by tomorrow evening at the latest."

This was his final probe.

Lei Qianjun nodded.

The flood dragon carriage left Roc City. The process went incomparably smoothly, without any accidents. It was only at this moment that Wu Zucheng relaxed. He looked down at the sword chest, endless heat burning in his eyes.

Across from him, Shu Hang bowed. "Congratulations Patriarch, you have finally obtained the last Skyshard Sword. You will surely break through your boundary and become an overlord of your own territory!"

"Hahahah!" Wu Zucheng laughed out loud. "I was originally just taking this opportunity to probe Lei Qianjun, but who would have expected I would have such a harvest. The heavens are assisting me!"

With things having come this far, even if Roc City regretted it, it was impossible to overtake them.

At this time, this Skyshard Sword had truly become their Wu Family's!