Eternal Life: Talent Grows with Age-Chapter 158 - 122: Withdrawal from the Martial Artist Council

Chapter 158: Chapter 122: Withdrawal from the Martial Artist Council

And as for that spirit medicine, naturally, it was taken by the other party.

"Jinghua Prefecture’s Jin Family?"

Lu Chang’sheng only learned of this half a month later.

"Yes. Those guys seemed a little displeased with our actions. One of them even told our people to warn you—to be careful, lest you bring trouble upon yourself."

The messenger was visibly dissatisfied. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

They weren’t taking the Martial Artist Council or Scholar Lu seriously at all.

Just think—among the members of their Council, there were people from every walk of life. To exaggerate a little, if they so much as stirred, the whole Great Yuan would tremble.

So what if Jinghua Prefecture had their noble families?

Could they match an Innate Martial Artist in strength?

"Lord Lu, our Council may keep a low profile, but we’re not afraid of trouble. What they did was flat-out provocation." The man kept insisting.

Lu Chang’sheng interrupted him, "If you encounter those people again, just walk away."

The man’s face turned red, and even his look at Lu Chang’sheng brimmed with disapproval.

Once he left and met with those waiting outside, he couldn’t help but shake his head.

"Boss, what happened? What did Scholar Lu say?"

His men hurried to ask.

Before coming, they’d hoped Lu Chang’sheng would stand up for them—give them a strong warning to set an example.

But seeing their boss’s grim expression, his men knew the odds weren’t looking good.

Sure enough, the man laughed coldly, "Scholar Lu told us to steer clear when we see those people."

"What? Did Scholar Lu really say that?"

"No way! Is our Council really afraid of one measly noble family from Jinghua Prefecture?"

"If you ask me, Scholar Lu’s just gotten old—he’s lost his edge. With a leader like that, it’s not right!"

"Let’s talk about this back home." The man gave one of his men a look, telling him not to discuss it here.

After all, Scholar Lu’s Innate strength wasn’t something you could fake.

When they left, Lu Chang’sheng appeared atop a nearby rooftop, eyes fixed on the departing carriage, brow furrowed tight.

This sort of trouble in the Council was hardly surprising.

The group had grown huge; ambitions were swelling, and their behavior inevitably grew more brazen.

Still, he hadn’t expected someone to actually target him.

With the Council’s size, how could they fail to dig up the Jin Family’s background in Jinghua Prefecture?

Even if they didn’t know the details, anyone with sense could guess—the Jin Family had royal support behind them.

What they didn’t know was, Jin’s real backers weren’t the royal family itself, but those few Innate Martial Artists in the imperial library.

If it were the Empress, she’d never have been so rude to people she knew were his.

But no matter how you looked at it, going up against them was a losing game.

These people clearly understood this, yet they were pushing him into the fray—obviously up to no good.

Sure enough, not long after, word reached him: rumors were spreading within the Council that he was unworthy of his position and shouldn’t remain as their leader.

And these rumors spread fast among the Council, quickly reaching Wang Heihou, Niu Dazhuang, and others close to Lu Chang’sheng.

Soon enough, under Wang Heihou’s arrangement, a small meeting was called in a courtyard near Lu Family Manor.

All those present had close ties.

They were, in fact, the original core members when the Council was founded.

Wang Heihou, Wei Feng, Niu Dazhuang, Lu Qi—twenty or so people in all.

Nowadays, the Council’s core group actually numbered well over a hundred.

As the group reunited, their conversation was warm and lively—not at all like those facing serious trouble.

After decades, everyone had aged. Their faces showed not only steadiness but scheming wisdom. Once Lu Chang’sheng arrived, they greeted him as usual, then all took their seats.

Since Wang Heihou was the organizer, he took the stage grim-faced, sweeping his tiger eyes over the group, voice heavy: "I’m sure you all know what’s been happening in the Council lately?"

"Yeah, we’ve heard. Those idiots are just spouting nonsense—daring to slander our leader! If you ask me, we ought to strike hard, find out who’s behind it, and punish them severely," an elder said harshly.

Lu Chang’sheng narrowed his eyes at the speaker, but didn’t say yes or no.

"Not wise. There are too many involved—if we go that far, our Council could suffer massive consequences," someone shook his head and said.

"And who’ll answer for the humiliation suffered by our leader?"

"Investigate! Root out those who spread the rumors and expel them as traitors!"

"I agree with Lao Wu."

······

Wang Heihou looked so grim it was like water could drip from his face.

He looked around at all the familiar faces, and felt cold inside.

A fair number of these people had deep friendships with him, yet here they were—pretending not to hear a thing.

Even though the Council’s core membership was now over a hundred, when it came to real decision-making, it was still these twenty-some people.

Without support from some of them, would the rest dare spread such rumors?

He was about to speak, when suddenly Lu Chang’sheng shook his head and said, "That’s enough—it’s just a minor matter."

"Chang’sheng!"

Wang Heihou opened his mouth.

But Lu Chang’sheng waved him off before he could speak.

"We all went through hard times together—there’s more than a little camaraderie between us. Now things are the way they are, it’s nothing but ambition and interests at work." Lu Chang’sheng said calmly.

His gaze swept over the group below.

Several people couldn’t meet his eyes when they felt his look.

That may be true—but everyone here knew perfectly well who’d put in the most effort in the beginning.

You could say, in the early days of the Council, it was Lu Chang’sheng alone who pulled everyone together.