Li Minggong's brows furrowed with worry as she said softly, "I wondered who it was... crying so hard! I fear he's skilled at feigning sorrow and shallow in true feeling. If such a person inherits the line, I fear it will tarnish Chenghui's good name."
Li Chenghuai continued, "There are two others. The older one is also closely related by blood and excellent in all respects, save that he's hot-tempered and blunt. He knelt in the hall earlier but didn't shed a tear. The youngest is of a more distant line, but he often visited Brother Chenghui's manor for a time, and I heard brother was fond of him. However, he's stationed on the eastern shore and hasn't returned."
Li Minggong was silent for a while before asking, "From what I've seen in the hall, most of the Zhouxing generation care only for their own branch or themselves, and few hold the family close to heart. They act more like sect disciples than family. This isn't unique to our house, Xiao and Chen Families are the same. It's a sickness among great families, not a moral failing. Leave the Dao lineage's inheritance open for these three; when the time comes, we'll judge their hearts carefully before deciding the heir."
She hesitated briefly, then heard Li Xuanxuan's weary voice, "Gong'er... bring all three to the island. Don't let them harbor other thoughts, it would reflect poorly otherwise."
Both nodded in agreement. Just then, a stir rose below as hurried footsteps echoed through the corridor. A man in red robes arrived late, pulling on white mourning clothes as he descended on the wind. His face was handsome and polished, but the old man's heart sank and his lips began to tremble.
Li Chenghuai glanced over and, as expected, recognized him as Li Zhouming, the direct grandson of Li Ximing. Li Chenghuai and Li Minggong had deliberately avoided mentioning his absence earlier, but now the boy had walked straight into trouble.
"You unfilial wretch!"
Li Xuanxuan was a cultivator of the ninth stage of the Qi Cultivation Realm. He only needed to lift his sleeve to snatch the young man out of the air. Li Zhouming had intended to slip quietly into the hall but was met at the entrance by the three elders.
Fear seized him at once. He dared not struggle and fell to his knees with a thud.
"You—you! Your uncle died for the family's sake, and yet you... you dare arrive late to his funeral!"
Li Xuanxuan's heart was filled with both grief and fury. As the legitimate grandson of the Purple Mansion Realm line, Li Zhouming should have stood alongside Li Zhouwei and Li Zhouluo as one of the family's pillars. Yet his disgraceful behavior made the elder's vision blur with rage.
The young man knelt, trembling, on the ground. Around his neck hung the golden charm Li Xuanxuan had gifted him at birth, glinting faintly as he clutched the elder's leg, crying, "Please, Elder, don't be angry... calm yourself! Your health—please take care!"
He was not without charm; he was delicately handsome, well-groomed, and if not for his groveling, even somewhat dignified. But with Li Ximing newly missing, Li Xuanxuan could not bring himself to punish him harshly and only glared coldly.
Li Minggong had never liked him. She turned her head away, ignoring his pleas as he clung to Li Xuanxuan's leg.
Sigh...
After all, it was a funeral. Li Xuanxuan finally gave him a kick and told him to get inside. Li Chenghuai, never one to meddle in such matters, even murmured a few consoling words to the young man.
Li Minggong nodded weakly as she swept her gaze across the hall. As soon as the three left, the wailing lessened considerably, though many still forced out loud cries. The sight left her disheartened, and she could not help but murmur, "I fear that the ambition built over six generations of our family will end up in the hands of a crowd of..."
"Minggong!" The old man struck his wooden cane against the ground, cutting her off. Though tears glistened in Li Xuanxuan's eyes, his voice was still strong, "When there are many people, it's inevitable some will be mediocre. They cry a bit here and leave, but it's nothing. The selection on the island remains fair and clear. The few from the Jiangqian generation are all fine talents. Don't speak such dispirited words."
Li Minggong quickly nodded. Beside her, Li Chenghuai stayed silent, though his thoughts weighed heavy on him. He sighed inwardly, If not for Zhouwei, the Zhouxing generation would have already declined. If not for the fine children Zhouwei raised... how many in the Jiangqian generation would still make a name for themselves? The old man always insists on seeing the brighter side...
The three gradually fell into silence. Rain poured heavier from the sky, the lake churning under its weight. Suddenly, Li Minggong's brows lifted in surprise.
Her hoarse voice broke the stillness, "Someone's breaking through!"
Li Chenghuai looked up as well, his expression far more delighted. Taking a step forward, he extended his senses and then met his sister's eyes:
"It's the Jing Dragon King! Chen Yang has been in seclusion for years; he's finally broken through! No wonder... he must have drawn upon the power of the Dwelling Heart that Charges Profundity."
Ripples spread across the lake as Li Chenghuai nodded to his sister and rose into the storm. Within moments, he saw a gray flood dragon coiling in the sky above Mount Qingdu, baring its fangs with a fierce glint in its eyes, its long whiskers whipping in the wind.
A young man dressed in black rode upon the dragon's back. His shoulders were broad, his brows sharp, and his light-gray eyes gleamed beneath the storm. Black hair streamed behind him as he circled once and descended before Li Chenghuai, smiling as he clasped his hands in salute, "Greetings, my lord!"