In the small courtyard, Shang Yanfei sat in the seat of honor.
Clad in black robes with hair like blood, he still retained his youthful appearance and handsome features. His sons and daughters were all seated around him, a full gathering of the family.
Beneath the gazes of his children, Shang Yanfei produced a stack of beast hides from within his robes.
Each hide bore a layer of intricate patterns depicting some manner of dragon beast in lifelike detail. Along the corners, ink annotations were written, exuding an aura of ancient, primitive grandeur.
"This is the Nine Sons Dragon Map. Your father obtained it by sheer fortune in his early years of adventuring, salvaged from the corpse of a Gu Immortal. Sadly, this immortal fortune has never been compatible with me — even consulting the other Supreme Elders of the Shang clan, I was unable to decipher it. Now, I shall entrust each of these nine dragon maps to you. I hope you can unravel their secrets and inherit this immortal blessing."
With that, Shang Yanfei shifted his gaze from the beast hides and settled it upon Shang Qiuniu.
"Qiuniu, come here." He called softly.
"Father." Shang Qiuniu rose from his seat and walked to Shang Yanfei's side.
Shang Yanfei handed him the topmost beast hide. "This is the Qiuniu Map. The reason I named you Qiuniu is precisely because of this. You are the eldest — steady and composed, and I trust you completely. This experience of death and rebirth is an invaluable treasure in your life. Do not disappoint your father."
Shang Qiuniu reached out with both hands and accepted the beast hide. "Father, your son will do everything in his power. I will not let you down."
"Yazi, you come as well." Shang Yanfei beckoned and summoned the second child. "You must broaden your horizons from now on. A wider mind will serve you well."
"Yes, Father's teachings are etched into my heart." Shang Yazi received the beast hide with both hands and returned to his seat.
Shang Yanfei called each of his children forward one by one, distributing the Nine Sons Dragon Maps and offering each a few words of encouragement.
Shang Xinci had been sitting quietly the entire time, never summoned.
She observed carefully and noticed that the beast patterns on each of the nine maps were entirely different. The Chaofeng Map, for instance, depicted a divine beast sitting upright and gazing into the distance — its aura noble and majestic, brooking no offense. The Pulao Map resembled a coiled flood dragon. The Bixi Map looked like a titanic turtle capable of bearing mountains and rivers. And the Bian Map resembled a fierce tiger, its presence savage and formidable.
There were only nine beast hides, and they were distributed quickly — yet the children numbered more than nine.
Shang Yanfei then summoned Shang Tuohai. "You have been managing the merchant caravan all along, and you've done an excellent job. So I shall now transfer the entire caravan to you. Additionally, here is a Water Path inheritance — a Water Immortal inheritance. It is badly damaged, but its contents are invaluable to you. I hope you will continue to strive forward on your own strength."
A short while later, Shang Yanfei called upon Shang Yifan. "This is merely a Fifth Transformation Gu Master inheritance, but it contains clues to a Gu Immortal inheritance. What comes of it depends on your own efforts."
Finally, Shang Yanfei called out Shang Xinci's name.
"Father." Shang Xinci came before Shang Yanfei.
Shang Yanfei sighed. "My fortune has already been distributed in full. All that remains is this small courtyard. Xinci, of all my children, you have been the one who surprised me the most. If you don't mind, then take this courtyard."
The moment these words left his lips, the courtyard erupted in commotion.
All the children looked toward Shang Yanfei and Shang Xinci. Many opened their mouths to speak, only to find themselves suddenly unable to make a sound.
This was unmistakably Shang Yanfei's doing.
And so, under the watchful eyes of the entire family, Shang Xinci accepted with a calm expression. "Your daughter thanks Father."
After the family banquet concluded, a large portion of Shang Yanfei's children gathered in secret.
"Father actually handed the small courtyard to Shang Xinci."
"And he wouldn't even let us object!"
"It seems Father truly wants Shang Xinci to hold the position of Clan Leader securely. What are we supposed to do about this?"
"This is completely unfair! What did we get? Some baffling objects, or broken inheritances. And what about her, Shang Xinci? She secures the Clan Leader position — a role that will surely receive the full support and cultivation of the entire clan! She's a Gu Immortal seed!"
Back when Shang Yanfei was still one of the young masters, he had been jointly suppressed by several other young masters. He was forced to abandon his position and became an ordinary clan member. During that period of hardship, he had lived in this very courtyard.
Later, when he became Clan Leader, he preserved this place as a reminder to himself and to future generations. All family banquets were held here ever since.
Even later, when Fang Yuan and Bai Ningbing had just left Qing Mao Mountain to venture into the world and were escorting Shang Xinci to Shangliang Mountain, it was in this very courtyard that they had been received.
For Shang Yanfei to hand this small courtyard to Shang Xinci carried tremendous significance — it meant Shang Yanfei was passing the Clan Leader position to Shang Xinci.
Although Shang Xinci had already assumed the role of Clan Leader, according to clan tradition, the most legitimate and unimpeachable transfer required the previous Clan Leader's formal appointment.
"Father is just being partial!"
"Exactly. He favors Shang Xinci above all. What does that make the rest of us?"
"Are we just going to stand by and watch? She's nothing but an illegitimate daughter!"
"Hmph, after I died, you lot proved far too incompetent — allowing Shang Xinci to become Clan Leader."
"The Clan Leader position wasn't my decision. It came from above. What could we possibly do about it?"
"If you ask me, certain Supreme Elders of our Shang clan have gone soft in the head."
"Shang Xinci has some mysterious connection to Fang Yuan. That must be what they're thinking."
The children's murmuring cut off abruptly.
After a long silence, Shang Yifan spoke. "Fang Yuan did once live at Shangliang Mountain for a time. But what manner of being is he? He is someone who commands the attention of the entire world. Why would he care about the likes of us — mere ants? The Supreme Elders of the Shang clan are overthinking this. Have they not noticed that in all these years, Shang Xinci has never received a shred of assistance from Fang Yuan?"
These words injected a note of vitality into the deathly stillness.
The faces of the remaining children regained their color.
They unanimously concluded that Fang Yuan had long since forgotten about Shangliang Mountain and everything connected to it. As for Shang Xinci's position as Clan Leader — they refused to concede it so easily.
Shang Yifan continued. "Shang Xinci is powerful, but not invincible. As long as we join forces, we stand a very good chance. We can absolutely divide and undermine her supporters."
Shang Yazi let out a few cold laughs. "We need to attack on two fronts to keep Shang Xinci running in circles. I recently had the good fortune of meeting a formidable expert. If we can secure his help, he'll surely leave Shang Xinci in shambles and send her reputation plummeting."
Several days later.
The atmosphere in the study was heavy.
Shang Xinci's brows were furrowed slightly as she listened to Shang Buli's report. She let out a deep sigh. "I didn't expect the situation to be this severe. In just a few days, it has escalated from minor tremors into a full-blown crisis sweeping across all of Shangliang Mountain's market."