Chapter 120 Adherence to the Old System
There was no conversation and no sleep that night.

The next morning, everyone in the Pan family gathered in the main hall. Liu Xunyi, Luo Ningyu and Lin Fangda were also invited.

Today was a sunny day with clear skies and fresh air, but unfortunately the bright sunshine could not dispel the gloom of the Pan family. The hall was solemn and lifeless. The people present had gloomy faces, fearful expressions, frowning faces, or were worried. Everyone present today was from the Pan family, so there was no need to deliberately hide their inner anxiety.

Pan Chuba looked around at his children and grandchildren with his old eyes. His expressionless face showed no emotion. After a long silence, he slowly said, "Today, all the relatives of the Pan family are here. I will not repeat the grievances between us and the Hexi Qin family. You all know it well. Today is the ninth day of the twelfth lunar month. It is less than three months away from the deadline we agreed with the Qin family. Today, three friends from the Xianwang Mansion are here. Let's work out a countermeasure to deal with the ten-year war between the Pan and Qin families."

"The Hexi Qin Clan is known as one of the four great martial arts families along with the Jiangnan Lu Clan, the Shuzhong Tang Clan, and the Xiangxi Teng Clan. Their background, power, population, and martial arts are far superior to our Pan Clan. If we fight against them..." Pan Wen hesitated, "Forgive me for being blunt, but if we fight the Hexi Qin Clan alone, I'm afraid we have no chance of winning."

"That's why I invited friends from the Xianwang Mansion to discuss it together." Pan Chuba was quite displeased with Pan Wen's words, and said lightly, "I summoned you today not to discuss whether we should fight the Qin family, but to discuss how to fight. So there is no need to say those discouraging words that boost others' ambitions and destroy your own prestige, and there is no need to say more nonsense like hitting a rock with an egg. Everyone present should know the gap between the Pan family and the Qin family."

"Then what did Dad call us here to discuss?" Ding Cui was in a good mood because of what happened yesterday. Her words were not as harsh as before. She even took the initiative to persuade, "Since Dad is determined to protect 'Xuan Shui Xia Juan', the worst that can happen is that we will have a fight with the Qin family next year."

Ding Cui's words were unexpected, and Pan Chuba was also stunned. He asked, "Why? You don't object? Aren't you afraid that my Pan family's foundation will be in jeopardy?"

Ding Cui smiled and said, "Dad is the head of the family. Since you have made up your mind, we, the younger generation, should support you. Although I said some impolite words before, I am a member of the Pan family after all. Now that things have come to this, if I, as a daughter-in-law, cannot put the overall situation first and even say some discouraging words, wouldn't that chill your heart?"

Ding Cui's temperament suddenly changed, but Pan Chuba's eyes flashed with a strange gleam, and then he nodded slightly and said, "After all this time, this is the most pleasant thing to hear." After that, he looked at the others and said, "Now even the second son's wife is so understanding, then I don't think it's necessary to persuade the others one by one. Let's get back to business. When I agreed to this matter ten years ago, I had an agreement with Qin Ming, the head of the Qin family. This battle is intended to decide whether "Xuan Shui Xia Juan" will stay or go, and it has nothing to do with other things, so you don't have to worry too much."

Luo Ningyu suddenly spoke up, "'Xuan Shui Xia Juan' is the last token of Guihai Dao Sect, and it is also the only relic left by Sect Leader Mu Sheng to Master Pan Ba. Therefore, Master Pan Ba ​​is willing to risk his life to protect 'Xuan Shui Xia Juan'. We can all understand this, but understanding is one thing, and the Hexi Qin family will not just give up on 'understanding'. If the Pan and Qin families do not give in, there will inevitably be a life-and-death contest next year. I am very curious, what was the ten-year agreement between Master Pan Ba ​​and the head of the Qin family? How will the fate of 'Xuan Shui Xia Juan' be decided? Will the Pan and Qin families each select a master to decide the outcome of the battle? Or will the masters of the two families take turns to fight until the last person dies?"

"That's right!" Liu Xunyi nodded and said, "If it's the former, the Qin family's patriarch will definitely go into battle himself. Qin Ming and my family's master are both listed as one of the twelve heroes of the martial arts world. They are the top masters in the martial arts world and are hard to find rivals in the martial arts world. I'm not being rude, but in my opinion, no one here today can be his opponent."

"What if it's not the latter that decides the outcome, but the first battle?" Pan Yun asked anxiously.

"If it's the latter..." Liu Xunyi looked a little embarrassed. After hesitating for a while, he saluted and said, "Forgive me for being so bold, but if the Pan and Qin families take turns sending people to fight until the last man, then the Pan family will have no chance of winning."

"Alas!" Although what Liu Xunyi said was true, everyone in the Pan family couldn't help but show despair on their faces after hearing his answer.

"That's right." Pan Chuba said bluntly, "The Hexi Qin family has a large number of people and many experts, while my Pan family has only a few men, and most of them are weak. If they take turns to fight, I'm afraid that all the children and grandchildren of my Pan family combined will not be enough to fill the gaps between the teeth of the Qin family."

"My words may be a little blunt, but my point is true!" Lin Fangda was still upset about what happened yesterday. He seemed to be still drunk and his words were still a little hazy. He said in a muffled voice, "Fighting alone means death, and fighting head-on means death as well. What's the point of fighting? It's not fair at all. Why don't we just hand this matter over to my Xianwang Mansion and let us go meet the Hexi Qin family. You, the Pan family, just watch the show from the back..."

"Lin Fangda, shut up!" Luo Ningyu's face darkened, and she shouted hurriedly, "This is the Pan Mansion, don't speak without restraint and talk nonsense."

"I think Mr. Pan Ba ​​should have anticipated this." Liu Xunyi looked at Pan Chuba and asked with a smile, "I hope you can tell me frankly."

"Haha..." Facing Liu Xunyi's questioning, Pan Chuba suddenly laughed out loud, which caused an uproar among everyone in the hall. But Pan Chuba nodded and said, "Okay, okay! Fortunately, there is a smart and discerning person like Young Master Liu here today who can hear what I have not said fully." Pan Chuba did not shy away from his appreciation for Liu Xunyi, which made Liu Xunyi a little flattered.

Pan Chuba's smile faded slightly, and he continued, "In fact, Qin Ming and I have already agreed that since we are competing for the Guihai Sword Sect's possessions, everything should be done according to the rules of the Guihai Sword Sect's headmasters' meeting. The Pan and Qin families represent the Yin and Yang branches of the Guihai Sword Sect, so we will follow the rules and each send three people to the arena. The three will take turns to fight until there is only one person left on the arena."

"In that case, you have allowed too much." Luo Ningyu said with sudden enlightenment.

"Even so, if Qin Ming takes action, I'm afraid no one in the Pan family can defeat him." Liu Xunyi still had doubts in his heart, "I wonder what Master Ba thinks?"

"According to the rules of the sect leaders' meeting, the incumbent sect leader cannot fight in person. Therefore, Qin Ming and I, as the head of the family, cannot fight either, unless Qin Ming is willing to give up the position of head of the Qin family." Pan Chuba smiled confidently.

"That will never happen." Liu Xunyi said, "The Qin family has many masters. Even if Qin Ming does not take action, there are still many top masters among his disciples who can fight. On the contrary, the Hexi Qin family is a big family with great power. There are countless people around Qin Ming who are eyeing the throne of the head of the family. If he abdicates, it will be difficult for him to sit back. Therefore, Qin Ming will never take such a big risk." Pan Chuba said, "In his eyes, defeating the Pan family today is like stepping on an ant. It is not worth his efforts at all."

"That's good. If the Qin family looks down on us, it will save us a lot of trouble." Pan Wen breathed a sigh of relief and nodded slowly in response.

"Dad, I have something to say but I don't know if I should say it." Pan Feng hesitated for a long time and finally couldn't help but speak, "Since everything is in accordance with the rules of the Guihai Dao Sect back then, if we win, does the Qin family also have to hand over the Red Fire Volume to us?"

"How smart is Qin Ming? How could he be willing to bet the Upper Scroll of Red Fire?" Pan Chuba smiled bitterly and shook his head, "He only promised that if we win, the Qin family will no longer be our enemy for a hundred years."

"It's not fair..."

"How can there be fairness in the world?" Before Pan Chun could open his mouth to argue, Pan Chuba sighed heavily, "Since ancient times, the winners have been kings and the losers have been bandits. This is even more true for the grudges in the martial arts world. The world will always be ruled by the strong, and the weak can only hope to survive in the cracks. How can they talk about fairness? Given the current situation of the Qin and Pan families, I have no choice but to accept or reject the conditions set by Qin Ming. I can only let it go. If I agree, the Pan family still has a chance of survival. If I stubbornly refuse to agree, then the only way waiting for the Pan family will be death."

Just a few words can express endless sadness and bitterness. The world is like this too. It was like this before, it is like this now, and it will be like this in the future.

Pan Chun said indignantly: "Knowing this, why didn't Grandpa follow Qin Gang's example and make our Pan family achieve great success? If that were possible, how could we be trampled under the feet of a small East Lake Gang now?"

Pan Chuba seemed to have heard complaints and confusion in Pan Chun's words, and his expression dimmed a little. He said sadly: "Although Qin Gang and I are brothers from the same school, I am not Qin Gang after all. He can bully his master and destroy his ancestors with peace of mind, but I can't. Compared with the illusory hegemony, I want to seek the comfort of my conscience. You are not me, and you have not experienced what I have experienced. I am afraid that you will never understand my feelings in your life."

"Master Pan, I wonder where we will meet for next year's battle?" Liu Xunyi was inevitably sad when he saw Pan Chuba bringing up the old matter again, so he quickly changed the subject.

Pan Chuba calmed down and said seriously, "The founder of Guihai Sword Sect is Master Guihai, who was born in Shaolin. Since Guihai Sword Sect started in Shaolin, it should end in Shaolin now, which is a kind of perfection! Therefore, the ten-year battle between the Pan family and the Qin family will be held in Shaolin Temple."

"Shaolin?" Liu Xunyi nodded and said, "Shaolin is the ancestor of the martial arts world. It has been a pure and solemn place since ancient times. There are many eminent monks in the temple, all of whom are worldly masters who have seen through the secular world. With them in charge, I believe this battle will be very fair. Even if the Hexi Qin family has great courage, they will never dare to play any tricks in front of so many eminent monks."

Luo Ningyu smiled and said, "Thinking about it this way, Shaolin Temple is really the best choice. Master Pan Ba ​​is indeed foresighted. I admire him!"

Pan Chuba smiled bitterly and said, "It is not me who has foresight, but the Northern Sage King."

"My father?" Luo Ningyu asked in surprise, "Was it my father's idea?"

“If it weren’t for Palace Master Luo’s intervention, I’m afraid Shaolin would not have lent the precious land to let the Pan and Qin families settle their feud.” Pan Chuba’s words were filled with gratitude. “After a careful calculation, I find that I owe Palace Master Luo too much.”

"That's great!" Liu Xunyi said, "Now everything is ready except for the east wind. I wonder which three Master Pan has decided to send to fight?"

Pan Chuba straightened his expression, stood up slowly, and said earnestly: "Lord Luo said in the letter that you three had met the Qin family's three heroes in the Jiangnan Lu Mansion, and had also learned their high skills, so... although I have made my choice, I have not been in battle for a long time, so I don't know how they compare to the Qin family's three heroes. Therefore, today I would like to ask you three to fight for me!"

……

　Recommended for promotion, last ditch effort. There will be another update later. I am not talented, but I want to express my sincerity and ask for your support!

(End of this chapter)