The Nine Cauldrons

Chapter 34: New Leader

Teng Jia Village was protected by a tall wooden force which surrounded the village. There were also clan members guarding by the entrance gate.

“The hunting squadron has returned!” The entrance guards yelled out.

Many clan members, who had been in the clan’s martial art training field, ran out chatting and laughing. However, the moment they saw the hunting squadron, the expressions of many of the clan members turned grim. Although the hunting squadron was still far in the distance, the clan members could see the bloodstains and bandages on the bodies of the hunters, as well as the several corpses they were carrying.

A few of their clan members had died!

“Qiangzi!” A sorrowful yell rang out.

Someone immediately shouted with a very mournful tone, “Quick! Notify the chief!”

…

A while later, about two thousand people gathered at the training grounds. Everyone else but the ones farming in the fields gathered here. Everyone appeared very sad. The ones who had lost their family members wept and knelt on the ground. A sorrowful expression could be seen on the face of the Village Chief as well.

“When the hunting squadron went up the mountain this time, they encountered the Excursion of the Wolf King! Five members of the Hunting Squadron are dead and four are now handicapped!” Teng Yunlong’s deep and mournful voice could be heard amidst the faint weeping sounds of the crowd.

“Teng Yonglian, Teng Yongqiang, Teng Yongyi…” Teng Yunlong announced the five names.

“They died for our Teng Clan. The families of these five will each be given 100 taels of silver as compensation. From this day onward, the clan will provide them with support!” Teng Yunlong’s tone did not seem to change at all. This was an old custom—the clan members who died in battle would be compensated with 100 taels of silver, while those who became handicapped would be compensated with 50 taels of silver. Additionally, the families of these members would be supported by the entire clan.

In the recent years, he had previously heard that some other village had been completely massacred by bandits. However, Teng Qingshan had never actually witnessed it. He had only heard of it, so he hadn’t been particularly shocked. As the Teng Jia Village was one of the stronger villages, bandits were unwilling to provoke them. Moreover, the White Horse Gang received protection fees from the village. So, the clan members of the Teng Jia Village had always passed the days very peacefully, and it had been a really long time since anyone had been killed.

After all, the possibility of the excursion of the wolf king happening while going up into the mountains was only once in several dozen years.

“Light the fires!” Suddenly, Teng Yunlong’s voice called out loudly, snapping Teng Qingshan out of his trance.

Teng Jia Village’s funerary customs involved cremation.

Flames rose up toward the sky. The corpses placed on the wood had all been familiar seniors and elders within the clan. Cries rang out all around the fire, however, there were more people who were watching all of this in silence. They had already previously experienced deeper and even more unforgettable pain.

They had long known that bloodshed was necessary to survive on this land.

Therefore, the clansmen practiced and trained diligently since young and never had a day of rest.

At the ancestral hall of the Teng Clan:

“Creak!” That heavy iron gate was pushed open, and the weeping family members stepped into the ancestral hall while clasping onto five small urns.

Teng Qingshan and his father, Teng Yunlong, were standing together, watching all of this in silence. The size of the space in the ancestral hall was enormous and rather similar to that of the weapon storehouse. There were many urns laid out inside the ancestral hall, and at a glance, one could say that there were thousands upon thousands. The numerous urns sitting close together had been arranged neatly.

“These are the ashes of the previous generations who had died for the sake of the clan during the past thousand years.” Even Teng Qingshan knew this.

Not every villager could enter the ancestral hall after death

In the thousand-years history of the Teng Clan, only the ones who died fighting battles for the clan and the ones that had contributed to the clan could enter the ancestral hall. Ordinary villager with no achievements would just be cremated. They wouldn’t be able to enter into the ancestral hall, and their names wouldn’t be placed on the Teng Clan Monument.

“The Teng Clan Monument!”

Teng Qingshan gazed toward the conspicuous large stone tablets with the height of at least one meter. These large stone tablets stood loftily inside the ancestral hall. There were numerous names carved on every stone tablet and each name represented an senior or elder of Teng Clan that had died.

“Engrave the names on the monument,” Teng Yunlong said with a deep and low voice.

Immediately, a white-haired elder holding a carving knife walked toward the huge stone tablet and earnestly engraved the names of the five deceased on the monument.

“Sniff…” The family members of the deceased weep softly, making the mood even more sorrowful.

Teng Yunlong stepped in beside the family members of the deceased. The children of the deceased were all in the peak of their male vitality, so their children were all more or less youths, with the oldest being only 20 years old. Teng Yunlong patted the head of one of the children and gazed at the several youths. “Your fathers are all heroes of the Teng Clan. They died for the sake of the clan, so you should feel proud of them!”

“Mm.” Every one of the youths suddenly nodded.

Some years later, these youths would be just like their fathers, fighting for the sake of the clan. The reason why the Teng Clan had managed to exist for a thousand years was because of this mindset of never giving up in spite of countless setbacks, which was passed down from generation to generation.

In main hall of the Chief’s residence, eight people gathered

The eight people were Teng Yunlong, Teng Yonglei, Teng Yongxiang, Teng Yongfan, Teng Qingshan, and three elders of the clan!

“Yonglei, you all have done really well. Even ordinary swords and knives cannot pierce through the pelt of the dead wolf king. Moreover, the skin of the Wolf King is snowy white and its fur has not received much damage. This wolf king skin, which is even bigger than a fierce tiger’s, is greatly desired by many of the wealthy and powerful. Moreover, the price isn’t lower than that of the ferret skin!” Teng Yunlong said.

This time, the clan had gained great profit.

The skin of the Wolf King was even rarer and more precious than the ferret skin, especially because the wolf king’s entire body was snowy white.

“Chief,” Teng Yonglei said, “Actually, it’s all thanks to Teng Qingshan. If it weren’t for him, only two or three of us can survive and make it back. We wouldn’t be able to kill the wolf king. Qingshan was the one who killed those four alpha wolves and one wolf king, as well as over a hundred wolves.”

The many people present all looked toward Teng Qingshan, who was merely just a youngster.”

It was sorrowful to have lost clan members this time. However, as people living during such troubled times, when they found out about Teng Qingshan’s astonishing martial art strength, they felt ecstatic instead.

A single person had killed a hundred wolves, four alpha wolves, and a wolf king… What kind of frighteningly powerful person was this? Moreover, he wasn’t even ten years old. How formidable would he be when he’s an adult? Most importantly… such a strong person was part of the Teng Clan!

“Qingshan good job,” Teng Qingshan said.

“Fortunately, Qingshan did not go to the Gui Yuan Sect.” Teng Yongxiang sighed. “If he had gone there, he may not necessarily have such outstanding spear art. Qingshan, this child… polished and refined his skills by himself, yet his spear art is better than those taught by others.” Once everyone knew of Teng Qingshan’s accomplishments, they all approved Teng Qingshan’s strength tacitly.

He was indisputably the clan’s number one hero!

Teng Yunlong and the others were also rejoicing that they hadn’t sent Teng Qingshan into the Gui Yuan Sect. If Teng Qingshan were at the Gui Yuan Sect, then he wouldn’t have been able to help the clan members. The possibility of Teng Qingshan helping the clan only existed if he had a high-ranking position in the Gui Yuan Sect. However, water in the distance was incapable of quenching the thirst of those nearby. So, Teng Qingshan was undoubtedly of the greatest help to the clan members by staying in Teng Jia Village.

“Qingshan’s spear snapped when he was fighting at close quarters with the wolf king. Additionally, that spear is a bit short for Teng Qingshan now,” Teng Yongxiang said.

“Yes, that’s right. It should be changed to a longer spear. Qingshan, let’s go. We’ll go to the weapon storehouse right now.” Teng Yunlong smiled as he stood up.

Following everyone else, Teng Qingshan stood up and walked to the weapon storehouse as well.

Back then, Teng Qingshan had only been a six-year-old child, but he had a seven-Chi-long green zhennan spear. He’d been annoyed that it was a bit too long for him. However, Teng Qingshan was now already nine years old, and in another three months’ time, he would be ten. His current height was five Chi and eight Cun (1.45m). If he were to continue using the seven-Chi-long spear, he would be annoyed with how short it was. Considering Teng Qingshan’s height, the best length for the spear should be approximately seven Chi and six Cun.

The weapon storehouse opened with a loud bang.

“Qingshan, go ahead and pick a spear,” Teng Yunlong said with a smile.There were many spears in the clan’s storage, so there was no need to forge a new one specially for Teng Qingshan. He just needed to pick one from there, and that would suffice.

Teng Qingshan found that the material for the wooden spears, even the longest green zhennan spear, was somewhat lacking.

“There are only ordinary large iron spears and fine steel iron spears! The quality of the iron spears is greatly inferior to that of the fine steel iron spears, but they are much lighter.” Teng Qingshan walked one round about the place and found his gaze lingering on a fine steel iron spear. He reached toward it with one hand and tried it out, brandishing two strokes. “The pole of this fine steel iron spear was crafted well, and the weight is just right. With the addition of the spearhead, it’ll be around 2 meters long. It’s a little bit too tall, but it won’t affect me much. In the future, when I’ve grown a bit taller, I can still continue using it for a period of time.”

Teng Qingshan turned around to face Teng Yunlong. “Grandfather, I’ll just take this one.”

“Qingshan, this is a fine steel iron spear of the highest quality. With the addition of a spearhead, the spear will have a length of eight Che and a weight of 52 Jin. If you encounter a group and fight with them, you’ll waste way too much energy handling the spear. Why don’t you pick a different one?” Teng Yunlong said. There was a limit to a person’s strength. If one were to brandish a heavy weapon on a long-term basis, their strength/energy would be sapped dry over time.

Teng Qingshan laughed. “I’ll just pick this one! There’s no need to change it!”

Having attained the state of ‘Uniting with the Spear,’ when Teng Qingshan used the spear, only a portion of his body’s muscles would exert strength. While this portion of muscles would exert strength, the rest of the body would be resting. Perhaps, Teng Qingshan would not feel tired even after fighting for a day. His control of his muscles and bones was at the Grandmaster level, thus, how could he feel tired from wielding a 52 Jin spear?

Moreover, he had inner strength!

“Alright, you win.” Teng Yunlong chuckled, reached into that chest, and pulled out a spearhead to complete the set. The craftsmanship of this fine steel iron spear was indeed very good. It wasn’t actually a groove which wedged and joined the spearhead with the shaft. Instead, it was an almost one Che long, spiral patterned screw on the inside which attached the spearhead firmly at the top of the shaft.

The spear’s red tassel carried a bloody aura. It was clear that this fine steel iron spear had drunk the blood of countless people.

“Eh?” Teng Qingshan was amazed as he twisted and rotated the spear, splitting the entire spear into two halves.

Teng Yunlong smiled as he said, “This spear splits into two sections. There is also a spiral patterned screw connection in the middle. Ordinarily, when you’re outside, if the spear is too long and is being a hindrance, you can dismantle it. When you want to use it, you can connect it back together.” Teng Qingshan was very pleased with this sort of skill. Then he joined the sections back up and casually brandished two strokes with the spear.

“Hu, hu!”

The shadow of the spear dance produced the sharp whistling sound of a spear piercing through the air.

“Not bad.” Teng Qingshan was even more pleased. The durability of this fine steel iron was really good. If he imbued it with his internal strength, the spear would be fine enduring even a force of ten thousand Jin.

“Chief.” At this moment, Teng Yonglei, who was standing at the side, opened his mouth to speak with a hint of agony on his face. “Now that my left arm is gone, I’m no longer suitable for being the hunter team’s head. From today onwards, I’ll just stay inside the village. As for the head of the hunting squadron, Chief, I think you should pick someone else for the role.”

Suddenly, the atmosphere changed.

“Yonglei.” Teng Yongfan patted Teng Yonglei’s shoulder to console him. For a man who was a martial art practitioner, losing his left arm was a very painful matter.

“Yonglei, in the future, just stay inside the clan. As for the head of the hunter team…” Teng Yunlong turned around, and his gaze fell onto Teng Qingshan.

The several other elders present, as well as Teng Yongfan, Teng Yonglei, and Teng Yongxiang, all turned to look at Teng Qingshan.

Teng Qingshan was startled.

‘Do they mean me? But I still have three or four months before I’m even 10.’

“Qingshan!” Teng Yunlong stared at him and said, “As a hero, it doesn’t matter if you’re young. In this chaotic world, no one looks at your age, only your strength! From today onward, you shall be the head of the hunter team! However, you have to remember that… right now, you’re already the number one hero of our Teng Clan! As the top member of our clan, you must assume certain responsibilities!”

Teng Yongfan looked at his own son. “Qingshan, men must shoulder responsibilities! So, as the number one hero of the clan, you must assume the responsibilities of the number one hero. From today onward, you must learn to shoulder these responsibilities. In the future, the clan will be depending on you to lead us!”

“Yes, Father.” Teng Qingshan suddenly felt a weight of responsibility had fallen upon his shoulders.

In the past, all of the clan’s difficulties had been resolved by his father, grandfather and so on, allowing him to live carefree and without worries.

However, from this day onward, he had to step up and take over!