Some of the minor clan heads were gathered in a room, with a foreigner at the center. This foreigner wore fancy clothes that looked were expensive than the minor patriarchs' total worth! As such, they looked at the foreigner and his intricate clothes with envy.
The foreigner brought out a container that contained a reddish powder. The others then grinned as they examined the powder from afar.
"Are you sure that'll work now?"
"Yes, yes, master Jin."
The foreigner handed the powder to the one closest to him. That person then handed it to the one behind him.
"Now, hurry off."
.....
Li Fu was in a meeting about the Backwater City tournament. It seems that he was specially invited by the Liu clan because usually, the only ones that attended these were the major clans.
For this reason, Li Fu was not in the Li clan at the moment. This meant that the management of the clan would be left to the second highest position in the clan, the high elder.
The high elder was someone that Li Fu really trusted, so it was only natural that he handed over the responsibility to him. He was very skilled when it came to managing the clan, so everything went well.
Li Fu came back with a troubled expression on his face, sweat dripping down from his forehead. It was evident that he rushed to get back, there was something extremely urgent to address.
As soon as the clansmen saw the state of which their patriarch was in, they started to panic. They have never seen their patriarch like that, what could've possibly happened that made him like that? Li Fu called everyone to deliver the dreadful news.
"Calm down, everyone. I have something to say. The Liu clan has decided to cut all ties with us."
Everyone had despair written all over their faces. As for Li Bai, he simply didn't care as much as the other people. Jin He wasn't that familiar with the clan so she was not affected as well.
.....
In the Liu clan, everything was in chaos. All of the elders were inexplicably angry! Even Liu Gong was like that, it was like something invoked his anger! Especially when he saw his old friend Li Fu, he couldn't help but want to punch him!
When Li Fu arrived, Liu Gong glared at him with hostile intentions, bloodlust emanating from their whole body, unlike when the other clan heads arrived. Normally, if there was a meeting in which all of the major clans attending, he would be angry at the Lu clan. In fact, this was the case before Li Fu arrived! But once he did, all of Liu Gong's anger was directed towards him!
Liu Gong rampaged like a maniac in the meeting that he declared he would cut all ties with everyone in the vicinity! Of course, all of the clan heads were baffled! Not only did he get angry to the person he invited even though there was strong opposition, but he also got angry at all of them, claiming that their relationship with the Liu clan was no more.
After the meeting, the rumors that the Liu clan was planning on secluding themselves spread. Cutting all ties with everyone only meant two things after all.
The first reason to cut ties with someone was if they offended them. Surely, not everyone offended the Liu clan, and at the same time at that.
The second reason was if they were going into seclusion, planning on not relying on anyone. This was more likely than every clan offending the Liu clan at the same time, and so this became the general belief.
The chaotic state within the Liu clan was not decreasing, on the contrary, it was actually rising. A spectator was watching this chaos from afar, gleefully grinning in the process. It was the foreigner!
"Oh, if things go well this time... this city will be in the palm of my hand! And I'll finally get recognized by my stingy boss!"
The situation within the Li clan wasn't any better. The Li clan had received so much help from the Liu clan that they had become dependent on them. If they were not to get their support now, who knew what would happen?
Suddenly, a storm of dust was heading towards the Li clan's territory. This storm of dust was accompanied by loud sounds of stomping and screaming. As it grew closer, it became more obvious what it was.
It was an army composed of the elders of the Liu clan, lead by Liu Gong.
