Song of Adolescence

Chapter 137 Lei Hong of Lei Clan

Jiangnan Thunderbolt Hall.

Lei Clan Fort.

Lei Clan Fort was a large fortress. There were three main halls in front for hosting guests. Behind the main halls, there were three central halls, namely the Inferno Hall, where they researched gunpowder inside, the Iron Hall, where their disciples cultivated their fist arts and internal energy, and the Commandment Hall, where the Lei Clan administration meted out both reward and punishment. Behind these three halls, there was a large mansion where the most outstanding of the Lei Clan family disciples lived. There were also numerous smaller houses scattered about, surrounding the large central mansion. Unlike the main mansion which was solemn and magnificent, those smaller houses were squat and ordinary and they were where the Lei Clan branch disciples lived.

Lei Clan’s branch disciples had the same opportunities to receive the teachings of the main house, and they had also produced numerous outstanding talents in the past ten years. For example, Lei Mengsha, whom together with Sword Tomb’s successor, Li Xinyue were known as “Moon in sword heart, Killer in dreams”, and also Lei Hong, whom together with Lei Yunhe of the main family were known as the two young heroes of their generation within the Lei Clan. However, these two people, one was later appointed one of the eight pillars of Beili and commanded the Beili Central Army and revered as a great general. He violated the Lei Clan’s ancestral decree of “Never Enlist” and was expelled from his family. The other one spurned the Lei Clan’s decree of “Seal the blade, hang the sword”, forged the Murderous Dread sword, became obsessed with training his sword to the point of achieving half a sword immortal’s name, but inexplicably returned to Lei Clan and secluded himself for over ten years. The names of these two people became anathema in the Lei Clan, causing the already declining disciples of the branch family to feel more ashamed in recent years. However, the younger disciples of the family had hope in their hearts. That young man dressed in red was, in their hearts, the Lei Mengsha or Lei Hong of their generation.

"Well, Wujie-gege has been gone for more than half a year. Why isn’t he back yet?" A teenager wearing an old set of gray clothes was sitting on a stone bench, shaking his feet and grumbling to himself.

"When I was practicing my fist techniques in the main hall the last few days, I heard from the seniors that Wujie-gege seemed to have gone to Snow Moon City," a slightly older teenager answered.

"Snow Moon City? Isn\'t that the number one city in the martial world? Even our Lei Clan Fort is only a member of the Snow Moon City alliance. Wujie-gege said he was just going out to get more experience, but who would have thought he’d end up in Snow Moon City?" A young girl with curly ponytails joined in, her spirited eyes lit up with interest.

"Not only did he go to Snow Moon City, but I heard Wujie-gege climbed all the way up to level sixteen of the Tower of Ascension in one go, and on level fifteen, he even met…" The older boy cut himself off and didn’t continue.

"Met who? Come on, tell us!" The teen in gray clothes said anxiously.

"Yeah, tell us!" The girl tugged at his sleeve.

"Lei Yunhe." The older boy lowered his voice. This was a name that not even the main family disciples dared to say easily, so he could only speak it as softly as he could.

"Lei Yunhe!" The teen in the gray clothes exclaimed. "Didn\'t they say he was already dead!"

"Not so loud." The older boy reached out and knocked him on his head, looked around fervently, only to find a man wearing a white fur coat standing at the end of the long street.

It was already late summer and early autumn, but the weather was still in the midst of the summer heat. The three of them were still wearing thin shirts, but the person in front of them was wearing fur. The fur was made from a white tiger skin and was extremely precious. During winter, it was excellent at keeping warmth, but at this moment, it was indescribably strange. The man was very frail, and his whole body looked like he was shrunk inside the tiger skin. His eyes were sunken, and he coughed lightly as he walked, his whole body appeared to be thoroughly wrapped in chills.

The three looked at each other, and immediately knelt on the ground in fright, their bodies trembling.

Although this person was very strangely dressed and he looked very odd, they did not find him strange at all. Back when the Lei Clan Fort defended against the Demonic Cult’s invasion, a disciple of the Lei Clan fought with Youbing Elder of the Demonic Cult, and suffered three blows from him before he killed the Elder. As a result, he became famous, but at the same time he suffered an incurable injury. This person\'s name was Lei Qianhu, the current master of Lei Clan Fort.

"Clan… Clan Chief!" They managed to stammer out.

Lei Qianhu didn\'t look at them. He gently gathered his sleeves, walked past them, opened the door and entered a small courtyard nearby.

The courtyard was empty, nothing in sight with the exception of a small swing in the middle, swaying in the breeze. At the far end of the courtyard, lying on a bench was a middle-aged man in a gray robe. He was holding a book and reading it quietly.

"Everytime I come, you’re reading. What\'s so good about reading? Could that ultimate swordsmanship be found in your book?" Lei Qianhu\'s voice was low and raspy, and it sounded terribly like it was tearing apart.

"The Confucian Sword Immortal read books for decades, then he casually drew his sword and became a sword immortal. How can you say that there’s no swordsmanship to be found in a book?" The gray-robed man\'s voice was very gentle, full of a scholarly air.

"If it wasn’t because I’ve known you since childhood, I’d really have thought you became a hardworking, book-loving scholar." Lei Qianhu walked up to the gray-robed man and sat down on the stone bench next to him.

"Why does the clan chief have time to see me today?" The man in gray robes put down his book and asked.

"I’m here to tell you a few things that will concern you," Lei Qianhu said slowly.

"Things that concern me? I only care about how to master my ultimate sword and crush the head of that stinky Daoist priest of Qingcheng Mountain." The gray-robed man curled his lips.

"Trust me, you will be very concerned about the things I’m about to tell you." Lei Qianhu let out a cold breath. "First, your disciple challenged the Tower of Ascension a few months ago and found Lei Yunhe, who’d been hiding in Snow Moon City, and also helped him to re-enter the Unfettered Heavenly Realm, thus returning to the martial world. I didn’t believe it at first, but a little while ago, another piece of news came from Qingcheng Mountain. Lei Yunhe went up the mountain to fight Zhao Yuzhen again. This time, it was a tie, which in a way has made up for the dignity he lost that year.”

"That bum is finally willing to show himself?" The man in gray robes raised his eyebrows. "Then, is he coming back to fight you for the clan leader position?"

"If he wants to, that would naturally be for the best." Lei Qianhu clenched his right hand, placed it on his lips, and coughed heavily. "I don\'t know how many more years I can hold on with this body of mine."

"Don\'t worry, with my medical skills, you won’t die. That bum, Lei Yunhe, is not interested in the position of the clan leader. If he really does become clan leader, Lei Clan Fort will be done for." The gray-robed man laughed. "Speaking of which, how is my disciple?"

"Your disciple left Snow Moon City recently, and he is probably coming back to Lei Clan Fort," Lei Qianhu said.

"At least he has a heart. He’s coming back to see his shifu." The gray-robed man nodded.

"After he left Snow Moon City, another person also left."

"Who?"

"Snow Moon Sword Immortal Li Hanyi."

"What?" The gray-robed man jumped off the bench and exclaimed, "Also to come to Lei Clan Fort?"

"Maybe, maybe not," Lei Qianhu said quietly.

"Can you finish talking in one go?" The gray-robed man said with exasperation.

"Because, just a while ago, the news has spread over the entire martial world. Zhao Yuzhen came down his mountain. Although Qingcheng Mountain was silent on this, many people saw with their own eyes, when he overturned that army of three thousand cavalry."

The gray-robed man was stunned. "Zhao Yuzhen also came down his mountain?"

"Yes. Even the Daoist Sword Immortal has come down his mountain. So, how far have you practiced that ultimate swordsmanship you’re going to use to crush the sword immortal?"

The gray-robed man seemed to be dazed, looking into the distance, and muttered after a long time. "Perhaps this time, am I still too late?"