Chapter 21: Zhuge Clan (2)

Chapter 21: Zhuge Clan (2)

Qiu Feng made his way to where the Zhuge Family was staying. It wasn't that difficult to find them. The Kaiyang branch of the Martial Alliance wasn't that big, and it was hard for other organizations to approach the Zhuge Family if they weren't on the same level.

Other visitors in the branch, especially cultivators, were unable to approach them due to the wall they put up and could only watch from a distance.

"Fourteenth Sword Hero!"

A middle-aged man with a goat beard, clad in a scholar outfit, greeted Qiu Feng with a wave of his hand.

"Oh. If it isn't Lord Zhuge Xiao, the Goatbeard Scholar? It has truly been a long time."

Qiu Feng was acquainted with Zhuge Xiao.

"It should've been around three years."

Zhuge Xiao looked behind Qiu Feng.

"That aside, the young heroes behind you seem to be the members of the Lotus Pavilion. Do you happen to be their guardian?"

"That's correct."

"Haha, what a coincidence. I'm in a similar position."

Zhuge Xiao eyed the group waiting behind him with a delightful expression. The group, despite varying in age and gender, commonly had thin builds.

"The Zhuge family has brought some of the promising young talents of the Orthodox Faction. It must be fate that brought us here, so if it is okay with you, I wish to hold an event where we can interact. They are my niece and nephews."

"Greetings, great hero. It is an honor to meet Fourteenth Sword Hero whom we’ve only heard rumors about."

Zhuge Xiao had brought forward three people. The youth in front was the most eye-catching, with pale skin, slender jawline, and an overall beautiful face.

If not for his voice, which had undergone puberty, or his attire, he looked pretty enough to be mistaken for a girl.

Behind him stood a boy and a girl who had yet to reach adulthood just like Zhou Xuchuan.

The boy was droopy and had a gloomy aura because he didn't show his face. In the case of the girl, she seemed to be bold and elegant. She was also quite pretty, albeit not as much as Luo Xiaoyue.

"Oh, do you happen to be..."

Qiu Feng’s eyes widened and stared at the youth. He seemed to have recognized him.

"My name is Zhuge Xiang. I have the rather embarrassing title of Jade Master in the world of cultivators."

The pretty young man blushed and smiled bitterly.

"I was wondering where I had seen you before, turns out you’re the young lord of the Zhuge family!"

Qiu Feng tapped his palm with a fist and muttered, "I knew it."

Jade Master, Zhuge Xiang. Despite being a man, his beautiful appearance was well-known in the world ever since he was young.

Aside from that, he was also famous as the future head of the Zhuge Family.

"I'm Zhuge Xiuluan."

"Ah, Zhuge Xiuluan!" Zhang Hong exclaimed, making everyone focus on him.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Zhang Hong apologized while scratching the back of his head, realizing that he had interrupted the introduction.

"You don't need to be so sorry. In fact, I'm delighted that a member of the Lotus Pavilion knows Xiuluan."

Zhuge Xiao smiled in satisfaction.

"How could I not know her?"

However, Zhuge Shengji was a different story. He couldn’t hide his shock after seeing him.

Zhuge Shengji, the Posthumous Genius, wasn’t someone who would come to places like this. Initially, the plan was to have the Merchant King approach him, or use some other method.

Although he had some hope when he heard that the Zhuge Family was in Kaiyang, he didn’t expect much, because he thought that Zhuge Shengji would never come to a place like this.

That was because... well, he was so incompetent that he wondered if Zhuge Shengji was allowed to leave the Hubei province.

“Tsk, tsk. I know you’re incompetent, but you’re making other people annoyed as well. Fix your attitude.”

When the members of the Lotus Pavilion were introduced, Zhuge Xiao clicked his tongue and looked at Zhuge Shengji with disdain.

“Look at the young heroes from the Lotus Pavilion. Aren’t they all exceptional despite being around the same age as you? I wouldn’t be nagging if you were half as good as they were.”

Zhuge Shengji remained silent, bowing his head so low that Zhou Xuchuan couldn't see the expression on his face.

“The clan isn’t requiring you to do something special. We just want you to cultivate basic cultivation arts like the others, and study the art of arrays instead of something useless like the art of trap mechanisms!”

Qiu Feng looked troubled, unsure about how to handle the situation.

Zhuge Xiao didn’t mind the gazes around him and scolded Zhuge Shengji right to his face.

Zhuge Shengji stayed still without saying anything, his head still lowered. He didn’t even flinch.

“Ehem...”

After venting his frustration for a while, Zhuge Xiao scratched his head and apologized.

“I’m sorry to show such a shameful scene in front of the young heroes of Mount Hua and the Fourteenth Sword Hero. However, I truly wished that he would reflect on himself while looking at the members of the Lotus Pavilion and learn something.”

“It’s okay.” Qiu Feng said, smiling bitterly.

“It may be for a short while, but do not mind me and scold him as much as you can during our mission. He’s a serious case and still hasn’t come to himself. I’m sure he’ll be totally useless, but I’m hoping that this mission will change him.”

Zhuge Xiao was openly malicious toward Zhuge Shengji. Even onlookers were taken aback at how cruel he was.

“Your actions caused this. No wonder you’re called the Unimportant Freak!”

A freak who involves himself in unimportant matters. That was the alias given to him before he could set foot into the world.

Although it wasn’t a title that was known throughout the martial world. It was quite well-known within the Hubei province, where the Zhuge Family was located.

As the name suggested, "Unimportant Freak" was far from a flattering title. It was the primary reason Zhou Xuchuan had almost no expectation that Zhuge Shengji would be present. Currently, Zhuge Shengji faced harsh treatment, both from the martial world and his own family.

‘It’s not strange that he’s treated this way.’

The art of traps and mechanisms was a dead field. Even the Zhuge Family, who once prided in their prowess in both the art of arrays and the art of trap mechanisms, now turned their backs on the art.

This was because the art of mechanisms was neglected by both the Orthodox Faction and the Evil Faction, and even the two Demonic Factions. If their enemies used it, they would have taken interest even if it was to break through their enemies' strategy, but that wasn’t it either.

Ultimately, all sides neglected the art after leaving behind some records that had been all but forgotten around this time.

The fact that he was studying the art of trap mechanisms was enough of a reason to be scolded within the sect. However, Zhuge Shengji took it a step further and didn’t study the cultivation art of his clan properly.

No, to be precise, he tried to, but his talent in martial arts was almost nil.

The Zhuge clan lineage, as a whole, lacked talent in martial arts compared to other well-known clans of the martial world. Their physiques were all ordinary. Those with good physiques could be counted on one hand throughout the Zhuge clan's history.

In the first place, the Zhuge Family was a family known for producing individuals with great intellect. It didn’t really matter that they were bad in cultivation, their pride lay in their heads and their study of arrays.

However, Zhuge Shengji lacked even that ordinary talent. He wasn’t even on the level of an ordinary cultivator.

Thanks to his terrible talent in martial arts, and his refusal to learn arrays, it would be strange if he didn’t receive any insults within his family.