In fact, Xuanting wasn’t very old when he took over as the Banner Master of the Wula Clan in his twenties, and initially, he was unable to control the tribe.
But about a decade and a half ago, when the East Sea Hu Clan collapsed, he advocated allying with the Wuliang Royal Court. Many in the clan opposed it, but still, he used his authority as Banner Master to suppress dissent within the clan.
The years the Wula Clan has spent reproducing and thriving under nghe Mountain prove that his decision was the right one.
Now, he could control the entire Wula Clan, and it had been a long ti since anyone had opposed his decisions.
"Banner Master, we are no match for Chongshan Town, not even if we exert our entire clan’s strength could we repel Chongshan Town’s forces!"
One of the clan elders spoke up first.
"That’s right, Chongshan Town’s army is not sothing we can stop. How could the Royal Court expect us to hold off Chongshan Town’s army? Aren’t they just sending our people to their deaths?"
At this mont, there was considerable resentnt within the Wula Clan towards the Wuliang Royal Court; they felt like they were being treated as cannon fodder, which they naturally disliked.
Xuanting frowned and asked, "Then what do you suggest we do? Tang Wuxi won’t let us pass through nghe Mountain Pass, we can’t even avoid battle if we wanted to!"
Tang Wuxi is the Banner Master of the Chi Ci Tribe, one of the eight Vassal Kings under the Wuliang Royal Court.
After receiving the orders from Wu Tuo, Xuanting had contacted Tang Wuxi, hoping that Tang Wuxi would allow the Wula Clan’s people to pass through nghe Mountain Pass to avoid the speartip of Chongshan Town’s forces.
Xuanting was not unwilling to exert himself for the Wuliang Royal Court, but he did not want to subject the won and children of the Wula Clan to face the speartip of Chongshan Town.
Thus, he wanted to first send the won, children, and elderly to the west side of nghe Mountain for refuge, then lead the able-bodied n of the clan to contend with Chongshan Town’s army on the east side of nghe Mountain.
However, Tang Wuxi rejected his request.
Tang Wuxi had a very valid reason for refusal; the west side of nghe Mountain was the Chi Ci Tribe’s territory, and they could not accommodate the Wula Tribe’s nomads.
"Since the Royal Court is unwilling to protect our families, why should we die for them?"
"Banner Master, our tribe has grown so much with such difficulty, we can’t let them die under Chongshan Town’s blades!"
"Yes, Da Rong’s Marquis Jing’an was the slaughterer who butchered Fushan City; if we fight him, our Wula Clan might be annihilated!"
"That butcher is cruel and ruthless, not even sparing children."
"I heard he even likes to eat the hearts and livers of infants..."
"I’ve heard the sa, apparently ng Temu’s grandson had his heart and liver gouged out by him!"
Initially, these elders were complaining about how the Wuliang Royal Court failed to protect their people, but as they talked, the topic drifted towards Yang Zhenshan.
Over a decade had passed, and Yang Zhenshan’s notoriety had not faded but instead beca more exaggerated.
Back then, many from the East Sea Hu Clan had fled to the snowy plains, a portion of whom joined the Spiritual Grace Holy Sect, becoming its followers, while others escaped to the Wula Clan, becoming mbers of their tribe.
Although Yang Zhenshan slaughtered many from the East Sea Hu Clan, he wasn’t actually able to exterminate all Hu Clan mbers on each occasion he attacked a settlent. Usually, he only managed to kill a small portion, with the majority escaping.
So of those who escaped were fortunate enough to survive the cold and hunger, while others were less fortunate and died from freezing or starvation.
And those who sought refuge with the Wula Clan, many of them had endured Yang Zhenshan’s massacres; after all, Yang Zhenshan had attacked too many settlents then, a total of twenty to thirty.
Thus, Yang Zhenshan’s fierceness beca ingrained in the Wula Clan, and even now, his vicious reputation remained powerful enough to silence crying children.
The rumors were all sorts; so said Yang Zhenshan was a demonic ghost crawling out from hell, others claid he was extrely ugly, so said he was eight zhang tall with imnse strength, a gaping maw, and could swallow a child whole.
In many nomads’ minds within the Wula Clan, Yang Zhenshan was nothing short of a fearso deity.
Many nomads didn’t even know who Yang Zhenshan was; they just knew of a dreadful demon within Da Rong.
Fortunately for Yang Zhenshan, he was unaware of these rumors, otherwise, he would have felt wronged.
I have such a noble and imposing appearance, yet you all call a demon!
Nevertheless, Yang Zhenshan can’t feel wronged, considering the horrendous acts he committed back then.
The clan elders prattled on endlessly, leaving Xuanting feeling increasingly agitated and distracted.
"Alright, go attend to your tasks, and let think this through carefully!"
Xuanting said sowhat impatiently.
He feared both the mighty army of Chongshan Town and Yang Zhenshan’s rcilessness, yet he dared not defy Wu Tuo’s orders.
For the mont, he was undecided on how to make his choice.
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