Zheng Clan, Silver Mist City.
As one of the three top clans of the city, it was a very bustling spot in the surroundings.
The clan also boasted of trade and auction centers, which was its main source of revenue and the vital key to making the clan one of the top three within the city.
And to add a cherry topping to this, there were rumors that Zheng Clan had very close relations with the Gracious Sword Sect, and many of their offsprings were part of the Inner Court in the sect.
Even the trash of the clan, Young Master Zheng Xiang, recently became an Inner Court Disciple.
And these days, the clan was patiently waiting for the arrival of the kids from the Gracious Sword Sect, so they could flex their growth on the other clans of the city by arranging a Clan Tournament, to showcase the cultivation growth.
However, to the higher-ups of the Zheng Clan, this really wasn't the biggest worry as of right now.
Last month they had received a letter from the Crown Prince, and in that letter, it was stated that Zheng Clan would be an ally of the Crown Prince if they made arrangements for the disciples of the Gracious Sword Sect who would be arriving in the city within a few days.
This single letter had sent all the higher-ups of the Zheng Clan in disarray. Many of them were skeptical and even thought that this was just a prank. However, the Clan Head, Zheng Yuan, confirmed that this was, in fact, a real letter from the Crown Prince.
This shock was enough to make all the elders in the clan have a nervous breakdown.
After recovering, everyone began to enthusiastically prepare for the arrival of the guests from the Gracious Sword Sect.
Unfortunately, no one arrived.
They even put up guards all over the city and were asking every random trader about their identity.
This even confused the rival clans, but Zheng Clan returned to its usual calm after a few days.
This was because they had received another letter.
It stated that the mission was going to be postponed because of some assassination attempt on the Core Disciples within the Gracious Sword Sect.
Due to that incident, the sect had gone into a lockdown, and none of the disciples were allowed to head out of the sect.
This made the arrival of the disciples to the city postponed indefinitely.
Just when Clan Head Zheng Yuan had lost hope, a third letter came.
It happened a few days ago, and it stated that the disciples have left the Gracious Sword Sect and will arrive within the next week.
This revitalized the excitement among the old elders of the clan because this was a very good chance for the Zheng Clan to take a leap.
With the Crown Prince and GRacious Sword Sect's support, they could easily control the whole city.
The only thing that remained to see was how these disciples were.
If they were gullible enough, then the Zheng Clan could divert the attention of those disciples upon the enemy clan and then simply use them to destroy those clans.
However, considering that those were mostly Core Disciples, it was most unlikely that they would be gullible.
Thus, the Zheng Clan began to make preparations.
Be it wine, women, or wealth; Zheng Clan had prepared it all.
Being the Clan Head of the Zheng Clan, Zheng Yuan was feeling pretty smug and inwardly relieved that his clan will finally overcome their enemies and create a hegemony over the sect.
Just as he was dreaming of renaming himself to the Silver Mist King, a guard knocked on his gate.
"Huh?" He looked at the gate in confusion and called in the guard.
The guard entered and respectfully cupped his fists before saying, "Clan Head, there is someone outside the clan, claiming to be a disciple from the Gracious Sword Sect."
"Hm!?" Clan Head Zheng Yuan's expression immediately turned into elation, "Disciple from the Gracious Sword Sect!? Bring him in with utmost respect, and take him to the guest hall."
"I will arrive there in a few minutes."
"Yes, Clan Head." The guard cupped his fist and headed back.
'Finally, let's see how this person is.'
Clan Head Zheng Yuan corrected his dress and slowly headed towards the Guest Hall.
After a few minutes, as he stepped into the hall, he was instantly attracted towards the disciple sitting on one of the seats.
He smiled and headed towards him.
When the disciple sensed him, he raised his head and stood up.
Cupping his fists, the disciple said, "Greetings, Clan Head Zheng. I am Fang Chen. Inner Court Disciple from the Gracious Sword Sect."
Zheng Yuan smiled, and he too cupped his fists, "Be seated, Disciple Fang. I am the Clan Head of Zheng Clan, Zheng Yuan."
Ye Tian Yun smiled and said, "It's nice to meet you, Clan Head Zheng. I am here to talk about the mission."
"Hm?" Clan Head Zheng slightly frowned, "Um... Disciple Fang… I hope you understand this… actually.. I would first like to verify your identity. I hope you don't take any offense in this, but this is compulsory because, as far as I know, this mission is pretty important for the Gracious Sword Sect."
Ye Tian Yun smiled, "I understand, Clan Head Zheng," Then, from his spatial ring, he took out two tokens, "Here. This is my Inner Court Disciple token, and this is the mission token."
"Ah, thank you." Clan Head Zheng took the tokens and inspected them.
"Looks like I was worrying over nothing," After a few moments, Clan Head Zheng said, "What do you want to talk about, Disciple Fang?"
Fang Chen cleared his throat and said, "Clan Head Zheng, you know that this mission is very important for the Gracious Sword Sect. However, I am here to tell you that this mission will define life and death for your whole clan."
"What do you mean by that, Disciple Fang?" Clan Head Zheng Yuan was quite offended.
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