The Wun Clan’s clan banquet was finally about to begin after a long wait. The non-house disciples under the platform were in their respective seats, making casual but lively conversations with each other. Food was served and the servants were busy lighting fires under the pots to warm the dishes. For a moment, the sparring grounds were the perfect picture of New Year’s joy.
The head table seats on the platform were already filled as well. Seated at the very front was the clan master Wun Ching Yeung. He had the same determined gaze and hard features on his face as always. He had a few wrinkles, a mark of his age, but they did not affect his commanding aura. Seated after him were second elder Wun Ching Muk, third elder Wun Ching Fung, second young master Wun Ping, third young master Wun Fan and fourth young mistress Wun Siu Lan.
This seating reflected the Wun Clan’s emphasis and respect for seniority.
Soon, Wun Ching Yeung slowly stood up. The crowd on the sparring grounds instantly fell silent when they saw this, as if a conductor had motioned for the music to stop.
He coughed slightly and cleared his throat, before saying in his bold voice, “Happy New Year, members of the Wun Clan!”
“Happy New Year!” the crowd laughed as they shouted back.
“Haha, it seems like everyone’s in good spirits for the new year!”
Wun Ching Yeung made a motion for the people to simmer down. He then continued his New Year’s speech, “This is the one hundred and eightieth New Year’s Day of the Wun Clan’s Green Sea branch house. Our prosperity and our progress all these years owe it to all of you. I hope that we can keep up our efforts moving forward and bring the Wun Clan to new heights. To that, I say…”
Wun Ching Yeung picked up the jade cup on his table and raised it towards the crowd. “Cheers!”
“Cheers!” The members of the clan raised their own cups to Wun Ching Yeung and downed their drinks all at once.
“Let the banquet begin.”
The crowd started to feast the moment Wun Ching Yeung said that. They dug into the delicacies served before them. The sparring grounds had none of the sweat stink it usually had. Instead, it was filled with the fragrant aroma of lavish dishes, stirring the appetite of everyone there.
“Here, cheers to us as well.” Wun Ching Yeung smiled and said, “To rising to greater heights on our martial journey!”
The second elder was the first to rise to the toast. He replied respectfully, “Then I too will drink to the clan master. To ever higher peaks! To rising above all other martial artists in the south!”
“Haha.” Wun Ching Yeung waved his hand at this, humble as can be. “I’m old. I don’t have the strength to go for the top. It would be a blessing if I didn’t get worse over time. Improvement is for the young folks.”
“Then I’ll drink to the martial might of the Wun Clan. To being the strongest clan in the south! To ten thousand generations of prosperity!”
Wun Ping immediately stood up and gave a toast when he saw his father toast the clan master. The bruise on his face had faded a lot. It seemed he had applied some medication earlier. That he had such grand words for a toast suggested that he had probably rehearsed the whole thing earlier.
“Idiot.” Wun Siu Lan was not impressed. “The Wun Clan has always sought to keep a low profile. It’s not about being the best or the strongest. Ten thousand generations of prosperity? We’ll be lucky if we don’t get targeted by our rivals that way.”
“You…”
Wun Siu Lan had always been far more intelligent and mature than her age. She had perspective and vision fitting for a lineage disciple of the Wun Clan. Wun Ping didn’t know what to say in rebuttal.
Just as he was about to argue the point, Wun Fan interrupted him, “If that is the case, then I will drink to harmony throughout the Wun Clan. With harmony comes prosperity.”
Wun Ching Yeung seemed to like Wun Fan’s blessing most of all. He smiled brightly, slapping the table as he exclaimed, “No truer words spoken! With harmony comes prosperity indeed! I like that! Here, cheers!”
Wun Ching Yeung looked at Wun Fan. He appreciated his son’s personality and the way he carried himself. He was only twelve, yet he already had such a big heart and such insightful perspectives. The way he used his own toast to stop Wun Ping and Wun Siu Lan’s quarrel too, was simply excellent. Wun Ching Yeung couldn’t help but feel a well of emotions rising through him. If only it hadn’t been for Wun Fan’s strange disease…
Half an hour into the banquet, the second elder stood up and took on the role of the host. He started to arrange for the upcoming show. He put his hands behind his back and announced, “It seems everyone is enjoying the food. Keep at it, don’t stop and let us move on to our next segment.”
The young disciples were excited to hear the second elder’s words. Some even started shouting and cheering. This was the most exciting event of every New Year.
The Wun Clan had a rule—every disciple that was sixteen years of age had to contribute their strength to the clan. Of course, every disciple had their own strengths. Some were good at martial arts, while others had an acumen for business. That was why they all had to choose their own paths when they reached sixteen and earn their keep. What happened before they were sixteen then?
The Wun Clan wasn’t a harsh and heartless clan. All daily expenses of clan members before they turned sixteen were taken on by the clan. However, you would have to earn additional allowance by yourself for anything else. The main source of extra allowance for the Wun Clan’s members was the upcoming segment—New Year’s Gold.
The reason the Wun Clan was able to stand above the other clans of Green Sea Town as the most prominent faction was because of Wun Ching Yeung’s great individual strength.
That was why the Wun Clan placed a lot of emphasis on the martial might of its disciples, and this sentiment was reflected in the New Year’s Gold event. The so-called “New Year’s Gold” was a hoard of coins placed in a roly-poly doll carved of hardwood. The disciples would strike the doll with all they had, causing it to spit out coins as it rocked back and forth. That money would be their allowance for the rest of the year.
However, the disciples had to do a little test on their power before they retrieved the New Year’s Gold. It was a simple process, where all they had to do was place their hands on a stone slab.
“Let’s see, who shall be first?” The second elder narrowed his eyes and smiled at the young disciples. “Disciples of the Wun Clan should show courage. How much allowance you get won’t matter at all!”
Having said that, a short teenager under the stage stood up. He looked to be younger than ten, still with a boyish look to him. He stepped forward slowly to the applause of the adults. Some people even started nagging their own children, “Look, even a child has more guts than you.”
The young boy stepped before the stage and bowed. He then recited his name before the stone of testing, “Disciple Wun Kam Wai, age ten.”
Wun Kam Wai placed his hand lightly on the stone slab and roused the aether within him. Four small dots lit up on the slab. The servant standing beside the slab quickly picked up his brush, dipped it in ink and started writing in a book, shouting as he did, “Wun Kam Wai, fourth-level Martial Disciple!”
Most people’s meridians would be fully developed once they reached the age of nine. They would then be able to start training and cultivating their powers. To have only reached fourth level Martial Disciple at the age of ten was a mark of mediocrity. Such an individual did not have much potential. Wun Kam Wai slowly walked before the roly-poly doll after testing his powers. He stood firmly in a horse stance and drew on the power within him, then punched the doll. It tipped backward, and three silver coins came spilling out. Wun Kam Wai smiled brilliantly. It seemed like he was very satisfied with this result.
A servant hastily picked up the three coins and put them into a pouch for Wun Kam Wai. When Wun Kam Wai got his hands on the pouch, he was already dreaming of the feast he was going to reward himself with for his past year’s efforts.
Speaking of coins, the Naap-Lan Empire’s legislation established three fiat currencies. They were copper coins, silver coins and gold coins, with a 1:1000 ratio between them. This meant that one gold coin was worth a thousand silver coins and one silver coin was worth a thousand copper coins. Gold notes were also used above gold coins for immense sums that were otherwise hard to move around. The notes were made of special materials and were incredibly hard to forge. The amount the note was worth would be written on it, representing an equal amount of gold coins. This was to simplify large purchases and avoid the tedious logistics of moving heavy chests of gold around. It was also said that a sort of gold card was sometimes used when even gold notes were insufficient. The gold cards were special tools that could record the astronomical amount of gold coins being transacted.
Of course, such large transactions rarely occurred in the daily lives of average citizens. A bowl of noodles cost three copper and a dozen copper would be enough for a lavish feast. As such, the annual spending of a family usually amounted to no more than three or four silver coins. Things like gold coins and gold notes were far removed from most people’s lives.
However, as members of the Wun Clan, their spending was not comparable to the average citizen's. Setting aside weapon costs, equipment costs and pill purchases, even the fine clothes they wore were more expensive than what most people wore. That was why the three silver coins that Wun Kam Wai got were not a particularly impressive amount, but it wasn’t little either.
Wun Kam Wai returned to his table excitedly, where his parents praised him to no end. A child would always be the best in the eyes of their parents.
The second elder chuckled and said, “Don’t let the festivities stop. Who’s next?”
The other disciples were more eager to try now that someone had led the way. They took turns to walk up to the stone slab. Most of them were pretty decent. At the very least, they were not weak when compared to other children of their age in the town. However, everyone knew that the Wun Clan’s prosperity in the future hung on the shoulders of the lineage disciples.
Consequently, the lineage disciples’ performances were the highlight of every clan banquet.
“As everyone here knows, the clan master’s son, first young master Wun Him is currently training at the main house of the Wun Clan. He won’t be back in the near future.”
The second elder paused for a moment here, before he smiled slyly and said, “However, young master Wun Him has now reached the intermediate stage of Martial Vassal!”
There was a wave of commotion from the older generation as they gasped and talked amongst themselves.
“Martial Vassal?” a middle-aged man asked in disbelief.
“I can’t believe it. The ten levels of Martial Disciple, the four stages of Martial Mortal, and the novice stage of Martial Vassal. He made it past all fifteen levels with such ease. He truly is the most distinguished young master of Green Sea Town."
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