53: Chapter 53: Courtesy before military service

After Hun Feng finished speaking, the main hall fell silent for a few moments.

Elder Hun Tu and Soul Yuan Tian exchanged a glance, a faint trace of surprise flashing in the eyes of both old men—the Young Master actually supported negotiating an exchange first.

Hun Qian, on the other hand, breathed a slight sigh of relief; having managed the internal affairs of the Soul Realm for so many years, what he feared most was the Young Master acting on impulse and starting a war directly.

"The weight of the gift list must be heavy enough—heavy enough that the Yan Clan will hesitate after seeing it," Hun Feng said, walking with his hands behind his back to the map of Heavenly Flames, his fingertip tapping lightly on the location of the Yan Clan's ancestral land.

"But at the same time, it must be heavy enough for the entire continent to know that the Hun Clan arrived with sincerity. If the Yan Clan is willing to exchange, everyone will be happy. If they are unwilling, then it is they who do not know what is good for them. Only then, when we take action, will we have a just cause."

Hun Tiandi reclined on the main seat, tapping his fingers on the armrest a few times, a smile of approval appearing at the corner of his mouth: "Let Hun Qian draft the gift list. Medicinal pills, materials, soul origin, a pact—add all these in. Make the quantity sufficient so that after Yan Jin finishes reading it, he won't be able to bear tearing it up on the spot. Who is suitable to deliver it?"

"Soul Mie Sheng," Hun Feng turned around. "He is the Hall Master of the Soul Hall, a Five-Star Dou Sheng at the peak. His standing is sufficient, so the Yan Clan won't feel slighted. But he cannot bring many people—four peak Dou Zun are enough. Too many people would be intimidation; too few would be a gesture of goodwill. Soul Mie Sheng can grasp this balance well."

Hun Tiandi nodded slightly, effectively making the final decision.

The black flames at the fingertips of Void Swallowing Flame flickered, and his low voice carried a hint of amusement: "That old fellow Yan Jin owes us a favor in the Northern Region Corridor. If he is sensible, he should nod the moment he receives the gift list. If he is not sensible—this old man would like to see how long the protective array of the Ancient World of Ten Thousand Fires can hold out."

"Rest assured, Lord Void Swallowing Flame. The secret agents of the Hall of Souls have already mapped out seventy percent of the array eyes and weak points of the Ancient World of Ten Thousand Fires," Hun Feng said in a calm tone, but every word carried certainty. "The strongest expert of the Yan Clan is only a Five-Star Dou Sheng; they cannot protect those three Heavenly Flames. We are practicing courtesy before force, and we have done all that is righteous."

Three days later, the ancestral land of the Yan Clan.

Soul Mie Sheng stood outside the Yan Clan's protective array, hands behind his back, his face devoid of any expression.

Behind him, he brought only four Hall of Souls Heavenly Venerables, all with the cultivation of peak Dou Zun; he did not even bring a single low-level Dou Sheng.

Crimson rock strata extended from beneath his feet all the way to the horizon. The air was filled with a faint smell of sulfur and scorching fire-attribute energy. The entire basin was covered by a visible pale red light barrier—the barrier of the Ancient World of Ten Thousand Fires.

Soul Mie Sheng did not force his way through the array; instead, he properly submitted a visiting card and stood outside the array waiting for more than half an hour.

The Yan Clan elder guarding the array clearly did not expect the Hall Master of the Soul Hall to visit in person, nor did he expect him to bring only four people.

Yan Jin received Soul Mie Sheng in the main hall of the ancestral land.

The furnishings in the hall were rough; the four walls were made of unpolished volcanic rock. In the center, a long table was carved from a single piece of red flame crystal, its surface scorched by high temperatures into countless fine lines.

Yan Jin sat on the main seat, his red robes like flames, his beard and hair all red. A polite, faint smile hung on his face, but deep in his eyes lay a hint of extreme vigilance.

Sitting below him were the only two remaining Supreme Elders of the Yan Clan—Great Elder Yan Lie, an early Five-Star Dou Sheng, with an aged and cold face, his hands withered and thin like iron hooks, his fingertips still retaining ashes from beside the alchemy furnace; and Second Elder Yan Feng, a late Four-Star Dou Sheng, much younger than Yan Lie, but the scar between his eyebrows caused by a Heavenly Flame made him look exceptionally sharp. The peak combat power of the Yan Clan was all present at this moment.

"Hall Master of the Soul Hall, you have graced us with your presence. May I ask what is the purpose of your visit?" Yan Jin went straight to the point, without any pleasantries.

Soul Mie Sheng did not rush to speak. He took a gift list from his sleeve, placed it on the table, and pushed it lightly with his fingertip. The gift list slid across the red flame crystal tabletop and stopped in front of Yan Jin.

Yan Jin lowered his head and glanced at it, his pupils contracting slightly.

One hundred Grade 8 Soul Yuan Pills, ten Grade 9 Soul Yuan Pills; twenty portions of Heaven-tier artifact refining materials, including a fist-sized piece of soul-devouring iron and ten-thousand-year soul crystals; three thousand wisps of soul origin produced by the Hall of Souls, each wisp refined from the souls of experts above the Dou Zun level, capable of increasing a martial artist's soul strength and also directly usable for artifact refining; plus a hundred-year non-aggression pact signed personally by Hun Tiandi.

Yan Lie and Yan Feng also leaned over to take a look. The burn scar between Yan Feng's eyebrows twitched slightly, while Yan Lie silently shifted his gaze from the gift list and looked at Yan Jin.

"The Hun Clan wishes to use these items to exchange for the Red Lotus Karma Fire, the Eight Desolation Destruction Flame, and the Nine Nether Golden Ancestor Flame in your clan's possession," Soul Mie Sheng's voice was calm and clear.

Yan Jin's gaze lingered on the gift list for a good while before he slowly pushed it back.

The polite, faint smile on his face had dissipated, replaced by an extremely complex expression—not anger, not contempt, but a silence that comes after being poked in a sore spot.

He picked up the cup of tea on the table, which had long since gone cold, and took a large gulp, his crimson eyebrows knitting into a knot.

"Hall Master of the Soul Hall, I admit the weight of this gift list. Looking across the entire continent, aside from the Hun Clan, there is no second family that could produce such a gesture. But the Red Lotus Karma Fire is the town-clan fire left behind by the Yan Clan's ancestor, the Flame Emperor, and the Eight Desolation Destruction Flame and the Nine Nether Golden Ancestor Flame were collected one by one by our ancestors from the ancient battlefields a thousand years ago. They are not trade goods; they are the foundation of the Yan Clan's existence. The Yan Clan has been established for thousands of years and has never let any of the top ten Heavenly Flames flow out of the ancestral land. I cannot set this precedent."

He paused, his tone softening a little, carrying a trace of sincere helplessness: "Hall Master of the Soul Hall, I also know that the Young Master of the Hun Clan is currently pushing toward a higher realm, and Heavenly Flames are crucial to him. The Yan Clan is willing to express its sincerity in other ways—we will open the Yan Clan's artifact refining workshops and medicinal pill shops, and provide fire-attribute cultivation resources to the Hun Clan long-term at prices thirty percent below the market rate. This is the limit of what the Yan Clan can offer, and I hope the Hall Master of the Soul Hall will understand."

Soul Mie Sheng did not speak, only silently looking at Yan Jin.

The air in the hall was quiet for a long while, with only the faint sound of magma surging from deep within the Ancient World of Ten Thousand Fires in the distance.

There was no expression on Yan Lie's aged face, but his fingers resting on his knees had silently gripped his robes tightly.

Yan Feng's gaze swept back and forth between Soul Mie Sheng and Yan Jin, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down once, but in the end, he did not speak.

"Clan Leader Yan Jin, the Hun Clan is not here to force a purchase," Soul Mie Sheng finally spoke, his voice still calm, as if stating the simplest of facts. "Every item on this gift list is priced clearly. The meaning of the Clan Leader and the Young Master is—courtesy before force. The gift list has been delivered. If your clan is willing to exchange, both sides will be happy. If you are unwilling, the Hun Clan will not force the issue."

He stood up and slightly bowed to Yan Jin. His movements were neither servile nor overbearing, and there was not a hint of threat in his tone, but every word seemed to have been carefully considered: "My task is to deliver the gift list. I will convey Clan Leader Yan Jin's reply exactly as it is to the Clan Leader and the Young Master. Farewell."

Soul Mie Sheng led the four Hall of Souls Heavenly Venerables and turned to walk out of the hall, his steps steady, neither fast nor slow.

Yan Jin watched his back disappear outside the hall door, the expression on his face flickering uncertainly.

That gift list was still left on the table, not taken away—this was something Soul Mie Sheng had deliberately left behind. The gift list remained, which meant the Hun Clan's sincerity remained with the Yan Clan, and the one who had rejected this sincerity was the Yan Clan itself.

"Clan Leader," Yan Lie's aged voice echoed in the hall, his tone unhurried, yet every word weighed heavily. "The Hun Clan is practicing courtesy before force. Today they sent a gift list; tomorrow, who knows what they will send. We know very well how the Ling Clan and the Shi Clan disappeared. He did not take the gift list back precisely to make the Yan Clan weigh the consequences itself."

"I know." Yan Jin sat back down in the main seat, picked up that cup of cold tea, and took another gulp, his crimson eyebrows knitting even tighter. "But Heavenly Flames are the foundation left by our ancestors. If we hand them over, what would the Yan Clan even be called? If the Hun Clan truly wants to take action—the Ancient World of Ten Thousand Fires is not to be trifled with. Yan Feng, from now on, strengthen the rotation of the protective array, and add three more restrictions at the array eyes. Yan Lie, go and transfer the younger generation in the ancestral land to the outer secret valleys in batches; in case something really happens, at least our roots won't be severed."

Yan Feng acknowledged the order, but hesitated for a moment when rising, asking in a low voice: "Clan Leader, Soul Mie Sheng spoke of courtesy before force—if they really attack, can we hold out?"

Yan Jin did not answer. He stared at the sky outside the hall, which was shrouded by the pale red light barrier, and remained silent for a long time.

Soul Realm, Hall of Hun Tiandi.

The news brought back by Soul Mie Sheng was concise and clear—the Yan Clan had refused. He had returned directly after leaving the gift list, without any delay on the way.

After listening, Hun Tiandi did not get angry; he simply placed the copy of the gift list that Yan Jin had pushed back onto the table, a faint smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.

"The refusal was crisp and clean; they do have some backbone," Hun Tiandi tilted his head to look at Hun Feng sitting below. "Feng'er, the courtesy has already been extended. Yan Jin did not tear up this gift list on the spot, but that is equivalent to slapping the Hun Clan in the face in front of the entire continent. As for the force that follows—how do you plan to arrange it?"

Hun Feng stood up and walked to the huge map of Heavenly Flames in the center of the hall, his gaze slowly shifting from the position of the Red Lotus Karma Fire to the Eight Desolation Destruction Flame and the Nine Nether Golden Ancestor Flame, his fingertip tapping lightly on the location of the Yan Clan's ancestral land.

Elder Hun Tu and Soul Yuan Tian straightened their bodies at the same time, a long-lost sharpness flashing in the eyes of both old men.

"The gift list was returned, and the whole world will soon know that the Hun Clan arrived with sincerity, yet the Yan Clan refused to even negotiate. Whether he gives it or not, we will just go and take it ourselves," Hun Feng turned around to face Soul Yuan Tian and Elder Hun Tu. "In war, speed is of the essence. I will trouble you two elders with mobilizing the manpower—the secret agents of the Hall of Souls have already mapped out seventy percent of the array eyes and weak points of the Yan Clan's protective array. The target this time is very clear: wipe out all three Heavenly Flames in one go. Try not to harm ordinary members of the Yan Clan. If Yan Jin is sensible, we will not touch him; if he stands in our way, there is no need for mercy."

Soul Yuan Tian nodded slightly, no emotion visible on his withered old face.

Elder Hun Tu turned directly and walked out of the hall, his steps heavy and hurried—he had already begun counting troops in his mind.

Hun Feng withdrew his gaze and looked back at the location of the Yan Clan's ancestral land on the Heavenly Flame map, which he had tapped countless times, and tapped his fingertip lightly. Courtesy before force; the courtesy has been delivered. How the force is used will depend on whether the Yan Clan itself is sensible.