Chương 1024: Chapter 1022: The Price of Exile

Li Mei sat alone in the quiet meditation room of her private courtyard as a delicate stick of incense burned on a small bronze table and released a calming scent of sandalwood into the air. She held the official decree issued by the Clan Head in her trembling hands. The heavy parchment detailed the formal expulsion of Li Yu from the main lineage. The black ink stated he had broken an ancient pact and forfeited all rights to inherit any position or property within their borders.

She read the words over and over and then over and over again. She felt stunned by the sudden news but a sense of relief washed over her strained mind. The dark whispers of her heart demon that had plagued her began to shrink. The suffocating paranoia regarding her cousin and his supposed political ambitions slowly faded ever so slightly into the background. Without the looming worry of Li Yu taking her place, she felt her breathing steady.

However, she also felt a strange hollow sensation resting deep in her chest. She had won the political struggle and secured her future as the heir but she had not drawn her sword to achieve the victory. The threat was removed by a decree rather than her own cunning or martial prowess. It felt like an unearned triumph but that thought quickly passed as it did not matter to her how it was achieved. She set the parchment down on the bronze table and closed her eyes.

Her heart demon would take time to fully vanish but the shadows in the corners of her room no longer looked like hidden enemies. In another place her parents were discussing what they could do to help their daughter. Ever since she embarked on the path to being the heir of the clan, their daughter had not needed their help. She was extraordinary and achieved results on her own. This was her one real setback since then and now they were discussing how they could help her along.

A heart demon was not so easily removed and it would take time. However, they believed in their daughter, as did the clan head and Li Canghai. That she can overcome this and become stronger from it. They would be there along the way to make sure she could. Many realms away, the person at the very center of the shocking news was the one least bothered by the decree. Li Yu stood on the grassy banks of the Five Star Lakes and turned a thick piece of spirit boar meat over a crackling fire.

He was enjoying the peace of his private valley and felt no sorrow over losing a title he never truly cared to use. He glanced across the fire and saw his father sitting on a wooden bench. Li Canghai stared out at the rippling water with a heavy and brooding expression. The older warrior carried the emotional burden of the political maneuver and the guilt of casting his own son out of his heritage weighed deeply on his mind. Li Yu decided to take action to lift his father from his gloomy mood.

He pulled the roasted meat from the fire and carved several generous slices onto a clean wooden plate while pouring a large cup of premium aged wine he had purchased and brought the meal over to the bench.

"Eat this father," Li Yu offered as he handed the warm plate over.

"You cannot fix the Myriad Realms on an empty stomach." Canghai took the plate and offered a weak smile.

"Thank you son. You are taking this news much better than I am."

"There is nothing to be upset about," Li Yu replied while walking behind the bench. He placed his hands on his father's broad shoulders.

"I have my freedom and I have my real family. The name on a piece of parchment changes nothing about who we are." Li Yu pushed his Qi into his hands and began to massage his father's shoulders. The refined energy allowed him to easily press through the dense muscle fibers of a high level cultivator and work out the deep knots of tension hidden beneath the skin. Canghai let out a long breath as the physical strain began to melt away under the expert pressure.

"I know you do not care for the politics," Canghai said while taking a sip of the rich wine.

"But it still feels wrong to strip you of your rightful place. I just hope this sacrifice truly helps her."

"It will be fine," Li Yu assured him as he moved his hands down to massage his father's upper back.

"She just needed space to feel secure. From what I could tell, she seemed like a capable leader that would lead the Li Clan well. Not as great as Zhan Chen but she would definitely do a better job than most. Drink your wine and enjoy the evening." They spent the rest of the night sharing stories and enjoying the quiet atmosphere of the lakes. Canghai could see his son was trying hard to cheer him up and the effort genuinely warmed his heart and the effort lifted his mood greatly.

The peaceful environment shattered the very next afternoon. A deafening boom echoed through the valley as the sky above the lakes distorted violently. Zhan Tian dropped from the clouds like a heavy iron meteor and crashed onto the grass but landed without any real damage. The impact sent a shockwave rolling across the water and flattened the surrounding reeds. The Worldkeeper had just returned from resolving a dispute and his face was twisted in fury.

He marched straight toward the wooden pavilion where Canghai and Li Yu were drinking tea and slammed the blunt end of his glaive into the stone path while pointing a thick finger at his son in law.

"My grandson was kicked out of the Li Clan?!" Zhan Tian roared with a voice that shook the roof tiles of the nearby pagoda.

"How dare those bastards issue such a decree! How could you let such a thing happen, Canghai? This is my grandson we are talking about! Those arrogant sword swingers should be begging him to stay, not kicking him out into the cold!" Canghai stood up and raised his hands to placate the raging patriarch.

"Please lower your voice, father. It is not what it seems."

"It seems like an insult!" Zhan Tian yelled as sparks of dark Qi flared around his armor.

"They publicly shamed the blood of my blood! I will march over there right now and shatter their central peak!" Li Yu quickly stepped behind his grandfather and placed his hands on the broad armored shoulders. He pushed his soothing Qi into the tense muscles, helped his grandfather remove his armor and then began to massage the older man just as he had done for his father. The familiar action and the gentle pressure helped calm the turbulent Qi swirling around the Worldkeeper.

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"Listen to him grandfather," Li Yu urged softly.

"It was a mutual decision." Zhan Tian grumbled but lowered his voice as the massage worked its magic on his stiff neck. He crossed his thick arms and glared at Canghai.

"Speak then. Explain to me why my grandson is suddenly an exile." Canghai sighed and detailed the secret meeting held in the Clan Head study. He explained the severity of Li Mei suffering from a heart demon and the careful plan they formulated to separate Li Yu from the lineage to allow her to heal. He emphasized that Li Yu accepted the plan willingly to help his cousin. Zhan Tian listened to the explanation while Li Yu continued to work the tension out of his back.

The Worldkeeper processed the political maneuvering and his furious expression slowly morphed into a calculating smirk.

"I see the logic in helping the girl," Zhan Tian admitted with a gruff tone.

"However, I am not going to just let this go. If the Li Clan wants to play these political games and impact my grandson, they will have to pay dearly for the privilege."

"The decree has already been sent," Canghai warned.

"The matter is settled."

"It is not settled until I say it is!" Zhan Tian countered as he turned around and patted Li Yu on the shoulder.

"Besides, would it not seem much more believable to the public if Li Yu and his family fought back a bit? If we just accept the exile quietly, others will suspect a hidden plot. We need to show genuine outrage." Canghai could only sigh and rub his forehead. He knew his father in law a bit too well. Zhan Tian did not care about the public perception of the exile at all.

The Worldkeeper was simply going to use this situation to extort valuable resources from the Li Clan and he was disguising his greed as protective family outrage. Canghai knew he could not stop the stubborn man once he set his mind on a goal though. Canghai just comforted himself by viewing the upcoming extortion as an early inheritance for his son. Li Yu was sacrificing his name to help the future heir of the sword lineage so he should rightfully receive heavy compensation for his troubles.

Canghai had planned on getting Li Yu rare resources from the clan vaults eventually but he did not want to do it so soon after the decree. Zhan Tian was simply speeding up the time frame.

"Grab your weapons," Zhan Tian ordered with a wide grin.

"We are going to have a little chat with the sword master." Zhan Tian brought Li Yu and Canghai in tow as he surged into the sky. The Worldkeeper raised his heavy dark glaive and slashed horizontally through the empty air. The strike tore a jagged spatial rift directly in the fabric of the realm. The three of them stepped through the portal and instantly bypassed the vast distance separating the iron continent from the pristine sword peaks.

They emerged from the void directly above the central plaza of the Li Clan headquarters. Zhan Tian did not bother with polite greetings or formal requests for entry. He unleashed his terrifying Worldkeeper aura and allowed the crushing pressure to descend upon the elegant pavilions below. The sword disciples trembled under the heavy weight.

"Little patriarch!" Zhan Tian roared from the sky as his voice echoed across every mountain peak.

"Come out and meet me! How dare you kick my grandson out of your home! He better have broken a vital pact or killed off an entire branch family to warrant such an insult!" Deep inside the main hall, the Clan Head heard the booming voice and felt a sharp headache forming behind his eyes. He knew Zhan Tian would eventually react to the news but he did not expect the man to arrive so quickly and with such overwhelming force.

He braced himself and smoothed his ornate robes before walking out onto the grand stone plaza to face the music. Normally, when a foreign powerhouse threatened the central peak many other senior elders or hidden ancestors would rush out to stand by the Clan Head and offer their martial support. It was a matter of pride and unified defense. The many elders standing behind the clan leader projected unity and power. However, no one wanted to face the Worldkeeper when he was looking for a fight.

The grand plaza remained painfully empty as the elders chose to stay hidden inside their secure caves and pretend they were in deep meditation. The Clan Head walked out all alone. He actually looked quite heroic standing down there by himself while facing the dark clouds and the imposing figure of Zhan Tian. He kept his spine straight and his hands clasped behind his back, projecting an image of fearless authority to the disciples watching from the lower peaks.

Some of those younger disciples thought their leader was making a brave final stand but many more assumed he was done for. Despite his strong outward front, the Clan Head was sweating under his formal robes. He had prepared himself for this eventual confrontation but it came far too soon. He had not worked out the proper phrasing to sound majestic and unyielding while simultaneously giving himself enough room to hand over a few bribes to calm the beast down.

Zhan Tian floated down to hover just a few yards above the plaza with Li Yu and Canghai flanking him. The Worldkeeper pointed his glaive directly at the Clan Head.

"You cast out my blood and you stained his reputation," Zhan Tian started the attack with a deep and cutting tone.

"You will compensate him for the shame you brought upon his name. I demand you hand over two of your ten great toothpicks as a parting gift." The Clan Head felt a vein throb angrily on his forehead. Zhan Tian was mocking their sacred heritage by referring to the legendary named swords of the Li Clan as mere toothpicks. The Clan Head was furious on the inside. He wanted to scream at the giant man and remind him that the damn kid already had two of the ten great swords sitting in his spatial ring.

'Did this greedy brute want him to have four of them?' The Clan Head only possessed one named sword himself. They were not common cabbages you could just pluck from the dirt whenever a loud guest demanded a snack. He wanted to yell all of those things but he forced himself to hold his temper back. Starting a physical war over pride would be unwise against Zhan Tian.

"We cannot meet that demand," the Clan Head replied while keeping his voice steady and formal.

"We cannot give two of the named swords away. They are far too precious to our foundation and not to mention each sword is currently bound and in the hands of someone already. There are no spare swords lying around the vaults." Zhan Tian snorted and rested the glaive over his broad shoulder.

"I do not care about your internal assignments. If you refuse to hand over the named toothpicks, then you must provide an equivalent value. Give him three swords that possess the exact same quality and forging materials but lack the fancy names." The Worldkeeper continued to use his mocking toothpick words to describe the premier weapons of their lineage. Canghai stood quietly behind his father in law and found himself surprisingly enjoying the events unfolding.

He watched the Clan Head squirm under the heavy demands and realized he was having fun. Zhan Tian was actively venting the deep frustrations that Canghai had felt regarding the exile but could not voice himself due to his loyalty to the family. Watching the highest authority of the sword lineage get bullied out of resources felt like a fair trade for the emotional distress they had caused him. The Clan Head clenched his jaw so tightly he almost spit up blood.

The demand for three unnamed swords of equal quality was an exorbitant price. He looked at Canghai hoping for a lifeline but his cousin simply looked up at the clouds and pretended he was admiring the weather. The Clan Head realized he was trapped with no one to help him. He was facing this beast alone.