Rise of The Demon General

Lin Weida also did the same, he casually drank his tea first before replying, "May I know what brother Suangsou needs with him?"

"We just want to talk to him," Wei Suangsou said.

"You can talk to him here just fine."

"Brother Weida, let's drop the pretense. Even though you have given the authority of your clan's operation to your first son, I know you still follow most of the recent events in the city. I'm sure you are aware of the disappearance of one of my grandsons, Wei Fan."

"And you think this kid here is responsible? This little kid who is still at the intermediate Strength stage?"

"I know it is unlikely, but he might have accomplices. That's why we need to speak to him in detail."

"As I said before, you can speak to him here just fine."

Silence followed afterward. Wei Suangsou stared at Lin Weida with an intense gaze while Lin Weida responded with a casual smile as he took another sip of his tea. Wei Linkun appeared agitated but he did not dare to speak out during the two senior's exchange.

Amon also maintained a calm expression. There was a cup of tea in front of him which had been put there by the maid when he sat. He took it and drank it while everyone was silent. Wei Linkun felt more vexed after seeing Amon to be this calm.

After a long silence, Wei Suangsou finally spoke, "Brother Weida, I have overlooked the incident years ago with Wei Feng. That can be considered as me giving face to you. If I just let this current incident slide again, my own people will question my position as the clan master."

"Do you have any evidence pointing that Lin Mo here is responsible for what happened to Wei Fan?" Lin Weida asked.

"… no."

"Then it's all just conjectures. You can't expect me to hand over one of my own to you just because of rumors now, can you?"

"Is it worth it for you to protect him?"

"Aside from whether he is worth it or not, he is still a part of my clan. But most of all, handing him to you will cause me a headache with my beloved daughter. I'm not very keen on that. So, if you can't give me any solid evidence for your claim, you must excuse me for not giving brother Suangsou a face."

Another period of silence. Amon was enjoying his tea all this time. Wei Linkun could finally stand it no more. "Don't act so smug, you prick! You think you can be protected forever?" He said to Amon.

Amon placed his cup down and said, "I'm sorry, did you just threaten a member of the Lin clan in front of the Lin clan's master?

Wei Linkun's expression became dark. Lin Weida instead was grinning as he shook his head. He took up his cup to his two guests. "I think everyone is a bit too tense. How about you two give me face and let us forget about all the unpleasant matters and just enjoy the beautiful scenery here?"

"We are not here to enjoy the scenery," Wei Suangsou said.

"Then we are at an impasse. I will not relinquish him without evidence, brother Suangsou."

"How about a challenge then?" Wei Linkun uttered.

"A challenge?"

"Let us settle things in the way of cultivation. A match to the death, with this kid."

"Against you? Are you not ashamed, junior Linkun? You are a whole level above him."

"Of course not against me. We will have someone who is on the same cultivation level to fight him."

Lin Weida rested his elbow on the table as he thought about it. He glanced at Amon, who was also looking at him. Seeing the kid's indifferent expression, he smiled. He then said to his guests. "I agree to this challenge, but on one condition."

"What is it?" Wei Suangsou said.

"It is to be done within the next White Cloud Tournament two and a half years from now. The one you picked to fight with him has to also be amongst Wei's young generations who were participating in the tournament."

Wei Suangsou and Wei Lingkun looked at each other before saying, "All right. We agree to this deathmatch then."

The two then stood up, "We will excuse ourselves. Otherwise, we overstayed our welcome."

"I won't send you off then," Lin Weida said as he gave the two a salute.

The two saluted back and walked away. Wei Linkun's eyes continued to throw Amon a hostile glare before he went away.

After they were gone, Lin Weida asked, "What do you think of them?"

"Very strong," Amon said, "but not as strong as you. I know the Wei clan is a subsidiary of our rival Lei clan. Why gives them so much face? You can crush them both easily."

"Hahaha," Lin Weida gave a hearty laugh. "The relationship between the clans in this town is more complex than you think. An enemy now can be a friend in the future."

"The reverse is also true," Amon commented.

"Very true. Now, don't you take lightly that master of the Wei clan? Although I am stronger than him, he is only half a level weaker. The reason why the Wei clan is much weaker and is a subsidiary of the larger clan is that they have a much fewer number of experts compared to us and the Lei clan. But that clan master himself can go toe to toe either against me or the Lei clan master. It is always prudent to avoid confrontation from an equal opponent."

"Really? Where is the thrill in that?"

Lin Weida chuckled, "I did hear about your antics on fighting those stronger than you in our Lin clan's training arena. Do you know the young generations gave you the nickname of mad dog?"

"Kind of flattering," Amon said.

Lin Weida grinned. He stood up and said to Amon, "come with me."

Amon rose and followed.

While they were on the way, Amon asked, "Why do you arrange that we fight in that tournament instead of right away?"

"For publicity," Lin Weida asked. "Our clan always needs to draw more experts into our fold if we want to continue to be amongst the best party in this city. Our main force will always be those of the main bloodline, but we can't do everything with our limited number. A sect had more advantages in this scope as they are not limited to the bloodline. Therefore, we won't be able to contend against them if we don't grow. The White Cloud tournament is a good venue that draws all the attention of the city. Your win in the special deathmatch within the tournament should boost our clan's reputation."

"Are you not afraid of losing a reputation if I lose?"

Lin Weida shrugged. "Then we will simply say that you are never really one of us. That you are just an adopted bastard."

"Clever, so you have nothing to lose," Amon commented.

"Yes. Will you lose?"

"No."

"Good."

They have been walking through the garden beside the pond and arrived at a path that seemingly led to a dead end. But Lin Weida reached into something that was covered by vines hanging down the wall. Not long after, the wall that blocked their current path opened. The inside was covered by darkness. Lin Weida walked in with Amon following behind.

It was pitch black inside, Amon could only roughly see some outline after his eyes adjusted. Lin Weida didn't use any torch or turn on any lighting. Amon was following based on the footsteps in front of him.

Not long after, they came into a large round hall with dim lighting. Amon could see more clearly in there. There was an elevated round platform in the middle of the hall, beneath the platform was water. A stone stair took them up to this platform.

The elevated platform was very large, it was roughly the size of two basketball courts. Amon sensed strange pressure as he stepped on the platform. Lin Weida walked and stopped at the center of the platform.

"This is my personal cultivation and training place," Lin Weida said. "This place was constructed by master builders and enhanced by master engravers to siphon the aether from the ley lines beneath our estate."

Ley Lines, Amon had read about it from books. It was like a concentration of aether under the ground that moved as if a river. Some people called it the blood vessel of the world. Such ley lines were rare. If one was found, it would be fought over by the largest clans. Amon did not doubt that the three largest organizations of this city, the Lin clan, Lei clan, and White Cloud sect, monopolized the ones in this city.

"No wonder I felt uncomfortable. This is a pressurized aether?" Amon commented. It felt much denser than when he used the Black Aetherium Stone.

"Why do you bring me here?" Amon asked the clan master.

"I want to make sure," Lin Weida replied.

"Make sure of what?"

"Most Strength stage will have fainted if they step onto this platform."