The Avalon Of Five Elements

The atmosphere in the Ling Residence was extremely depressing. Everyone felt tense.

Madam Ling stroked Ling Sheng’s face lightly as her tears continuously flowed down her cheeks. Earlier today, there was an assassination attempt on her son, causing him to be severely injured and falling into a coma from which he had yet to wake. Subsequently, on the same day, her husband’s right arm was chopped off, similarly rendering him in a comatose state.

Her world collapsed just like this.

She heard footsteps behind her. The butler stood at the doorstep with a worried look on his face. He was about to say something, but then hesitated.

"Spit it out, what more bad news do you have for me?" Madam Ling regained her composure.

"The namelist that we submitted for Master’s Glory has been declined by the Elders Guild," the butler bowed and reported the news.

"All right, excuse yourself. I need some time to calm myself down," Madam Ling said plainly.

The butler did not dare to say anything else. He bowed and carefully closed the door before he left the room.

There was no one else in the room. In front of the bed, she stood up and walked to the dressing table. Looking at the pale and haggard woman in the mirror, she began to dress and groom herself.

Very soon, the woman in the mirror became gorgeous and charming once more.

Her slim and white hand grasped a colored glass lamp on the dressing table and turned it lightly. An entrance to a tunnel suddenly appeared in the corner of the room. Holding up her magnificent long dress, she stepped into the tunnel and walked down a flight of stairs.

The tunnel smelled terrible. Poisonous insects like centipedes and scorpions could be seen everywhere. Madam Ling’s facial expression remained the same, appearing as if she had never seen them at all.

After walking for some time, she heard a clamor coming from the tunnel exit. She came before the exit, unlocked the door, and lightly pushed it open. When the door was opened, the volume of the clamor increased significantly. She found herself in a private room. Concealing the secret door to the tunnel in the private room was a hanging landscape painting that reached the floor.

No one would expect that this thriving and prosperous restaurant would hide a tunnel that was connected to the Ling Residence. The owner of this restaurant had no relationship with the Ling Residence at all.

In the private room, food and drink had been set up on the table. There was a middle-aged man eating and drinking by himself.

The man had a squarish face with a pair of thick eyebrows. He looked imposing and ferocious. He was a regular customer in this restaurant, and all the employees were very familiar with him. He was the head of the "number one training hall," Dragonrise Training Hall, Master Yang Zhen.

Upon seeing Madam Ling, the man sighed, "It has been hard on you."

Madam Ling walked to the seat opposite Yang Zhen and sat. With an indifferent voice, she replied, "This is life."

Yang Zhen put down his wine cup and asked, "What do you want me to do? Assassinate Ye Lin? I’m afraid that is very difficult to achieve. The old servant by her side is as powerful as me."

A sneer appeared on Madam Ling’s face. The bitter resentment in her eyes was intense and distinct. She replied, "Can you make someone regret by killing him or her? No. The only way to make her regret is to make her lose everything she has now."

Yang Zhen looked slightly doubtful. He picked up his wine cup, took a sip, and tasted it slowly in his mouth. Then, he replied, "I can’t think of any ways to make Ye Lin lose everything she has."

"Who has never done anything stupid when they were young?"

Madam Ling passed Yang Zhen a piece of paper.

Yang Zhen took over the piece of paper and looked at it. Immediately, he was overwhelmed with shock. "Is… Is this true?"

"What do you think?" Madam Ling retorted.

Yang Zhen became silent and drank his wine. After a long while, he raised his head and asked, "What do you want me to do?"

"Spread this out." Madam Ling fumed with rage between gritted teeth. "I want everyone in the world to know the true colors of this sl*t!"

The hand that Yang Zhen used to hold the piece of paper trembled lightly.

…..

The residence of the Fu Family.

Fu Yongwu’s sudden challenge to Chu Zhaoyang shocked everyone, while Madam Ye’s encouragement and generosity completely lit up the atmosphere of the hall.

Everyone’s gaze fell on Chu Zhaoyang.

Jiu Gui, who was drinking by himself, and Prince, who was hitting on the girls around him, stopped what they were doing at the same time.

Prince asked curiously, "What do you think of this young fellow’s strength?"

Jiu Gui’s hazy and intoxicated eyes opened up slightly. With a drunken voice, he replied, "Hua Kui is such a picky fellow. Anyone that he chooses is more or less capable."

"It’s a pity that this fellow never fought the previous time." Prince said with regret in his voice.

Jiu Gui heaved a deep sigh of intoxicated air, "We will get to see later. It’s an elemental elixir. If not for the fact that I am too embarrassed to fight for it with these youngsters, I would have gone for it."

"I, myself, want to go for it too." Prince sighed as well. "The depth of the Ye Residence’s might is really unfathomable. I heard that the reward last time was a pair of [Star Reaper Gloves]. This time around, she actually took out elemental elixirs as a reward. When we were young, did we ever encounter such good stuff?"

The two of them were filled with envy.

Under everyone’s gaze, Ai Hui stood up unhurriedly, walked to the center of the hall, and asked, "You want to challenge me?"

Fu Yongwu stared fiercely at Ai Hui. He could tell that this cold and gloomy middle-aged man, who could not even stand up straight, was not a person of good character. How was he compatible with his elder sister?

"So you’re the one who has been bugging my elder sister?" Fu Yongwu asked coldly.

Ai Hui was stunned. He pointed his finger at his own face and asked with incredulity, "Me? Bugging your elder sister?"

He almost spat out a mouthful of blood. He finally understood how it felt to be called a thief by a thief. He wished he could hug his cheapskate disciple’s legs and beg him to let him off. Good disciple, I beg you to ask your elder sister to let Master off!

If your big sister let Master off, Master will leave without even wanting the elemental elixir.

It’s a pity Ai Hui could not…

Ai Hui flicked the Silverfold Plum in his hand and looked at his cheapskate disciple with a regretful gaze. Life was always filled with so many moments of helplessness.

When Fu Yongwu saw Chu Zhaoyang’s gaze, he was stunned. He felt that Chu Zhaoyang’s gaze looked somewhat familiar. Suddenly, he realized why this was so. Did Chu Zhaoyang’s gaze not look somewhat similar to his teacher, Ai Hui’s?

Fu Yongwu became enraged all of a sudden.

If it was Teacher Ai Hui that looked at him like this, he would not mind. Even though he was gradually set apart from Teacher Ai Hui due to family reasons, his respect toward him had not decreased the slightest bit. Teacher Ai Hui had accomplished so many extraordinary feats. The moment he saw that Teacher Ai Hui could rally multitudes with a single call, he knew of his importance in everyone’s heart.

Coincidentally, Chu Zhaoyang was also a teacher that taught swordsmanship.

Don’t think you can look at me like this just because you’re a teacher!

Fu Yongwu stared ferociously at Chu Zhaoyang. Not backing off, he said, "I advise you to give up on my elder sister. Humph, you’re a toad that’s lusting after a swan’s flesh. Look at yourself. Do you think you're compatible with my elder sister?"

Chu Zhaoyang suddenly became furious, "Hey, can you then tell me how am I not not compatible with her?"

With a disdainful look on his face, Fu Yongwu replied, "Do you still need me to tell you? Look at how beautiful my sister is and then look at how ugly you are. Since the ancient times, married couples’ families were always well-matched in term of social status. Let me ask you, are you from a prestigious family?"

"No." Ai Hui shook his head.

Fu Yongwu continued, "Since your family background doesn’t match her, how can I watch her jump into a living hell with you? I heard that you’re a swordplay teacher. I myself have practiced swordsmanship for some time as well. Let’s have a bout."

He stepped into his fighting stance and drew his sword and pointed it at Ai Hui. "Come!"

Ai Hui examined his stance and felt slightly surprised. Fu Yongwu’s stance was well-guarded and balanced. It seemed that he had been practicing hard every day.

"Not bad," Ai Hui nodded his head.

"My master is the renowned Ai Hui, the Lightning Blade. I heard that your swordsmanship is very powerful, but in my heart, my master is the best."

"His name is Ai Hui?" Chu Zhaoyang’s face turned pale with fright.

"That’s right!" Fu Yongwu replied proudly.

"I have heard of Lightning Blade Ai Hui’s superb and outstanding swordsmanship," Chu Zhaoyang’s face was filled with adoration. Following which, the look of adoration on his face became a regretful one, "It’s a pity he is not in Silver City. Otherwise, I would want to have a drink with him and discuss swordsmanship. Fine, fine, fine. Since you’re the Lightning Blade’s disciple, you must be rather outstanding as well. A renowned master, a brilliant disciple. I shall concede defeat then."

A dead silence swept across the hall abruptly.

Prince’s facial expression and movements froze. The meat that was wedged between his chopsticks fell on the table, but he was completely oblivious to it. Beside him, Jiu Hui choked on his wine, and his entire face turned red.

Everyone else was caught off guard and became dumbfounded.

Fu Sisi’s facial expression turned ugly. However, she regained her composure very soon.

Currently, the Fu Family had already succeeded in hugging Madam Ye’s legs and formed a feud with the Ling Residence. Given the current situation, she did not need to use Chu Zhaoyang’s status as the Ye Residence’s swordplay teacher to protect her family.

Chu Zhaoyang had a mysterious background. His methods of doing things were cunning and unpredictable.

Did he not know what Madam would think of him?

Right now, the Fu Family was hugging Madam Ye’s legs tightly. What mattered the most was Madam Ye’s attitude toward them.

Fu Sisi glanced at Madam Ye. Upon seeing that Madam Ye was smiling cheerfully and in good mood, Fu Sisi felt relieved.

Fu Yongwu had not expected Chu Zhaoyang to admit defeat as well. He could not help but feel shocked. However, very soon, he returned to his senses. Could it be that his persuasive power had increased?

He was overjoyed. His gaze toward Chu Zhaoyang immediately became much friendlier. Other than being ugly, poor, and having a lousy family background, Chu Zhaoyang was a rather good guy.

He coughed softly to break the silence. Then, he spoke with a dignified voice, "It’s a good thing for everyone that you can come to your senses. Even though you can’t be my brother-in-law, we still can be brothers. Your problems shall be my problems as well! Whoever finds trouble with you is equivalent to finding trouble with me!"

"You will be a loyal friend! Brother, you are indeed very kind! In the future, if I encounter any problems, I shall find you for help!" Chu Zhaoyang gave him a thumbs-up.

"No problem!" Fu Yongwu smacked his own chest.

Fu Sisi’s gaze was fixated on Chu Zhaoyang. She felt puzzled and mindful at the same time. What was Chu Zhaoyang up to this time around? She knew how avaricious Chu Zhaoyang was. There was no reason for him to be enticed by 1,000 Heaven Merit Points, but not by the precious elemental elixir!

Was he worried about the Ling Residence?

The Ye Residence and Ling Residence had completely fallen out with each other. There would be a series of confrontations between these two families. Chu Zhaoyang did not need to be afraid of the Ling Residence at all.

Was there something that she missed out on?

When Chu Zhaoyang casually walked back to his seat, an awkward silence swept across the previously vibrant hall. No one knew how to react to this surprising outcome.

Chu Zhaoyang cupped his hands in salute and began to immerse himself in the food.

Gui Hu and the rest looked at each other in dismay. They were puzzled since they were aware of this teacher’s morality and conduct.

It was a fact that he had no shame. However, he did not seem like someone who could ignore the enticement of an elemental elixir.

Instantly, the young members of the Fu Family looked at Chu Zhaoyang with disdain and contempt.

After a short period of awkward silence, the hall bustled with activities once more. No one could ignore the allure of the elemental elixirs. There were a few times when Ai Hui noticed that someone was secretly observing him. However, each time, he acted like he did not know, and he did not try to look for that person.

Could it be that he had become a hot commodity as well?

Ai Hui laughed bitterly in his heart as he continued to immerse himself in the food.

The atmosphere was extremely lively. The entire hall was filled with the smell of alcohol and toasts could be heard incessantly. Those taking part in the bout were fighting fervently, displaying all kinds of spectacular abilities. On the two sides of the long table, servants were continuously shuttling to and fro, bringing out good wine and delicious food in an endless stream.

Ai Hui, who was indulging himself in the food, suddenly froze.