Volcanic Age

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?"

"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."

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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?"

Zhang Hong stole glances at Zhuge Xiuluan and blushed. To him, who had been training his whole life, the presence of Zhuge Xiuluan was enough to set fire to his heart.

Men, regardless of age, were always interested in the appearance of the opposite sex. To top it off, Zhuge Xiuluan was quite popular thanks to the lofty and elegant air around her, as well as her intellect as someone from the Zhuge Family.

“You flatter me, young hero. Still, I’m grateful that you said those words.”

Zhuge Xiuluan didn’t smile, but she responded with much softer eyes.

Zhang Hong’s face turned even redder.

“And…”

“I-I’m Zhuge… Shengji.”

A boy introduced himself with a tiny voice. His powerless voice, droopy shoulders, and eyes that lacked confidence were in stark contrast to Zhuge Xiuluan.

“Hm, I do not know about this young master because of my lack of knowledge. I apologize.” Qiu Feng lowered his head slightly.

“It’s natural that you don’t know him, since Shengji rarely shows himself even in the family. He’s a little introverted, so I ask for your understanding. He’s a good child.”

Zhuge Xiang stood beside Zhuge Shengji, patting him on the shoulders with a genuinely amicable smile.l

“Haha, for some reason, I have a feeling he’ll get along with you, apprentice-brother.” Zhang Hong muttered, tapping Zhou Xuchuan’s shoulders. He was blatantly undermining Zhuge Shengji.

“If it’s okay, could you introduce me to the young heroes who will one day take care of the future of Mount Hua?” Zhuge Xiao asked, looking at the three members of the Lotus Pavilion with keen interest.

Qiu Feng naturally accepted and began the introductions, starting with Zhang Hong. Meanwhile, Zhou Xuchuan, whose introduction was delayed to the very end, had his eyes fixed on one place.

He really wanted to laugh out loud; his agitation didn’t calm down easily. He had been like this ever since a certain name was mentioned among the Zhuge Family members. A sense of thrill ran down his spine as his eyes were glued to one person.

Honestly, I didn’t expect that you would be in a place like this. I was only a little hopeful.

He didn’t know what was so special about this era, but there were truly many heroes remembered for generations to come.

Zhuge Xiang, who would later be called the Heavenly Strategist, was one of those heroes. During the Era of War and Chaos, Zhuge Xiang managed to distinguish himself with his extraordinary abilities before he turned thirty.

Before becoming the clan head, he gained recognition for his abilities and nature and managed to rise to the position of strategist for the Martial Alliance.

Unfortunately, his extraordinary skills led to his assassination five years later.

I was planning on finding you if I were to come across the Merchant King.

Following his demise, Zhuge Xiuluan, titled the Phoenix Advisor, succeeded the position. During Zhuge Xiang’s tenure, Zhuge Xiuluan was his aide, and her skills were extraordinary as well.

Zhuge Xiang was adept in military and war strategies, while Zhuge Xiuluan was skilled in schemes that happened behind the scenes.

Most of the battle strategies and schemes used by the Martial Alliance during the Era of War and Chaos came from these two.

It was even rumored that Zhuge Liang had split in two and had reincarnated into a man and a woman.

Thankfully, because of her caution, the Phoenix Advisor managed to survive after the death of the Heavenly Strategist, but she died by the time all wars were over. The cause of her death, ironically, was assassination, just like the Heavenly Strategist. Despite her caution, she was unable to escape that fate in the end.

And one more…

Zhuge Shengji, the Posthumous Genius!

Zhuge Shengji was a genius, but that fact was only known after his death. He was at the top of Zhou Xuchuan’s priority list, alongside the Merchant King.

He was a little surprised when he heard the names of the Heavenly Strategist and the Phoenix Advisor, but he didn’t find it all that strange.

It was widely known that the relationship between the two was quite good. Zhou Xuchuan even knew that they had been close from a young age.

Also, those of direct descent of the Zhuge Family often visited places like Kaiyang to visit and assess the battle situation, so he found it plausible that they were here.

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.