Song of Adolescence

Chapter 173 A Hero’s Family Name

As if he was responding to the Patriarch’s words, Lei Qianhu instantly vomited a mouthful of black-coloured blood. His knees weakened and he knelt onto the ground. Lei Hong hurried to support him, took his pulse and was shocked. "Why is it like this?"

"I just forced out the ninth stage of Five Thunder Big Dipper Fists," Lei Qianhu said in a low voice.

Lei Hong exclaimed in shock, "You’re crazy! That fist will injure your opponent and yourself. How can you put your body through that and enter the ninth stage just like that? You ought to know that all of Lei Clan’s clan leaders in the past have only mastered the Five Thunder Big Dipper Fists to the eighth stage and stopped there! Because this exterminate heaven and earth stage doesn’t just exterminate heaven and earth but also yourself!"

"We’re facing the life and death of the Lei Clan. I don’t care anymore." Lei Qianhu shook his head.

"What life and death situation? There’s still me, and Yunhe is also back!" Lei Hong said.

Lei Qianhu used all his strength and forced himself to stand up. He supported his waist and said, "But I\'m the clan leader."

Lei Tianhen, who has been standing to one side on guard, was already in tears, "Clan leader!"

The Patriarch stretched out his terrifying palms, and said coldly, "What’s the point of being stubborn about this? How about you kill yourself, you’ll die more comfortably."

"Yama’s Devil Palm." Lei Hong frowned and looked at the Patriarch. "No wonder I could sense a sinister qi inside Qianhu’s body. You dare practice such demonic arts?" Then he turned his head and grasped Lei Qianhu\'s hand, intending to transmit his qi immediately!

"It\'s useless." Lei Qianhu drew his hand back. "Once I was struck by the Yama’s Devil Palm, the qi in my body was completely disrupted. In the end, my meridians will snap and I will die. Even if you give me your qi, you won’t be able to suppress that sinister qi."

Lei Hong knew that Lei Qianhu was speaking the truth. He raised his sword angrily at the Patriarch, "Damn you!"

"I do deserve to die, but not now," the Patriarch said lazily. "But he’s about to die."

At this time, the yellow crane had landed in front of Lei Clan Fort.

When riding on the yellow crane from a distance, Lei Yunhe could see groups of people fighting both inside and outside the gate. Only when he got closer did he realise that those people outside the gate turned out to be disciples of Snow Moon City.

"Lei Wujie? Tang Lian?" Lei Yunhe was bewildered, but when he turned his head, he saw the man wielding a long sword and facing off with Lei Wujie. They had met each other many years ago.

"Kui?" Lei Yunhe was taken aback. "Did the Hidden River also come to this Heroes Banquet?"

"Shishu, they’ve joined forces with the Tang Clan. They’re here to cause Lei Clan Fort trouble!" Lei Wujie said hurriedly.

"Hidden River and Tang Clan have joined forces?" Lei Yunhe frowned slightly. "This alliance is not as simple as coming here to cause trouble. Looks like you’re here to eliminate the Lei Clan?"

Su Muyu nodded. "Yes."

"You think you can eliminate the Lei Clan? Did you think I, Lei Yunhe, was dead?" Lei Yunhe sneered. "Who came with the Tang Clan? Tang Xuan? Tang Huang? It couldn’t be Tang Lianyue."

"Shishu, just go in and look. Leave this to us here," Lei Wujie said.

"You guys? With your martial arts, you’re not a match for these two monsters. If your shifu were here, that’s more like it," Lei Yunhe said.

Lei Wujie laughed a little. "Whether we’re a match, we must try and see. Shishu doesn’t need to worry!"

"Okay! You certainly have the arrogance of youth, just like I did back then! Worthy of being in Lei Clan!" Lei Yunhe laughed and patted the yellow crane on the head. "A-Li, you go first. Wait for me to call you later." Finishing his words, he jumped up, stepped over the high wall, and dropped into the courtyard.

"Just think of the characters that the Patriarch and Mu Yumo are facing against, and then look at these bratty kids here." Xie Qidao smiled somewhat self-deprecatingly. "It\'s kind of disheartening."

"They’re bratty kids right now, but not necessarily in the future." Su Muyu waved the sword in his hand. "We’ve delayed too long. Let’s end this quickly."

Lei Yunhe leapt into the courtyard by himself. The first thing he noticed was the masked Patriarch of Hidden River, and couldn\'t help but be shocked. "They let this monster out of his mountain too?" When he saw the people standing behind, he was even more shocked. "Tang Xuan, Tang Huang, Tang Qisha, and even--- Grandmaster Tang? All you old men really have nothing better to do. Ever since my grandfather’s time, you’ve never gotten along with Lei Clan Fort. This feud has consumed two generations of us Lei Clan. Isn’t it about time to bury the hatchet?"

"Impudent!" Tang Xuan shouted angrily.

"Impudent your ass! With that little skill of yours, you dare shout before me!" Lei Yunhe glared at him, "You’re not even worth the soles under my feet!"

"Yunhe," Lei Hong called him from the side.

Lei Yunhe turned his head and looked at Lei Hong and Lei Qianhu. His eyes, which were just full of hostility, softened immediately. "Hong-ge! Qianhu! It’s been so many years."

"All these years, Qianhu has been sending people to look for you," Lei Hong said.

"I know. In fact, they came looking in Snow Moon City several times, but I asked Sikong Changfeng to help me avoid them." Lei Yunhe noticed that Lei Qianhu\'s expression didn’t look right, and asked hurriedly, "Qianhu is injured."

"He-ge!" Lei Qianhu suddenly reached out and hugged Lei Yunhe, tears bursting from his eyes.

"How old are you and still crying? You’re not that kid anymore, holding onto me and crying after failing at training." Lei Yunhe smiled, and put his hands gently on his shoulders. He tested Qianhu’s qi and his expression changed drastically. "The cold poison has invaded so deeply?"

"In the past few years, I have been holding it back with medicine. Qianhu just used the ninth stage of the Five Thunder Big Dipper Fists, and also exchanged a blow with Yama’s Devil Palm. I’m afraid…" Lei Hong sighed softly from the side.

Lei Qianhu opened his eyes and said with a smile, "In this life, the reunion of the three of us brothers was my deepest wish. Now that my wish is fulfilled, Qianhu has no regrets."

"Just a mere Yama’s Devil Palm! With me and Hong-ge joining forces, do you think we can’t save you?" Lei Yunhe said anxiously.

"It\'s too late. What\'s more, we don’t have the time to stop now and heal our injuries." Lei Qianhu took a step forward, facing the Hidden River Patriarch and the Tang Clan opponents.

Grandmaster Tang was still smoking his pipe, but he didn\'t speak.

The Hidden River Patriarch’s eyes remained cold and evil as he stared at Lei Qianhu.

"Lei Tianhen, steward of Lei Clan, listen to my orders!" Lei Qianhu shouted fiercely.

"Tianhen is here!" Lei Tianhen wiped away his tears and fell to his knees.

"Lei Qianhu, the 19th Clan Leader of Lei Clan, died today to protect Lei Clan Fort! The Clan Leader position is passed down to shixiong Lei Hong! After driving our enemies out, enter the Lei Clan’s Ancestral Hall and perform the ceremony of Three Rings and Six Quakes. He will take over as the 20th Clan Leader!" Lei Qianhu shouted.

"Tianhen obeys!" Lei Tianhen also replied loudly.

"Die." The Patriarch spat out the word softly.

In an instant, Lei Qianhu\'s body burst open at numerous places, black blood gushing out from his wounds. But, he still stood tall, just standing there, as if he couldn’t feel any pain until finally, he closed his eyes.

Lei Yunhe and Lei Hong, who were helpless, could only stand behind him in silence.

Both of them had spent their lives pursuing their own passions. One of them violated their ancestor\'s precepts and practiced the sword, almost attaining the level of a sword immortal. The other rediscovered the Lei Clan’s Summon Thunder from Ninth Heaven Arts, and disturbed the peace of the entire Qingcheng Mountain with the air of a young hero. Now, more than ten years had passed, one of them still held his sword, and the other still spoke wildly, as if the young never grew old.

While Lei Qianhu, he was different. More than ten years ago, he practiced his martial arts, every punch and kick in Lei Clan. When his older brothers left home, he was the only one who stayed and protected the entire Lei Clan Fort. Later, he became the Clan Leader, but when the martial world talked about the Lei Clan, they would never think about him. Because he wasn’t special enough, not amazing enough, he rarely even walked the martial world. Even the martial arts he practiced were the most unsightly of Lei Clan Fort’s two fingers and three fists techniques.

Finally, he died. He died as the 19th Clan Leader of Lei Clan Fort.

If Lei Hong and Lei Yunhe were the youth of the past who never grew up, who pursued their dreams of being in the martial world, then Lei Qianhu was also that unrepentant hero who guarded Lei Clan Fort for so many years. When his family left home, he alone stayed behind to protect their home.

"In this life, the reunion of the three of us brothers was my deepest wish." Before his death, he had said this to his two brothers.

Lei Yunhe suddenly raised his head and reached his left hand into the sky.

The sky became overcast with dark clouds and thunder started rolling.

"Rise!" Lei Yunhe cried out angrily, full of grief and rage!

A deafening roar, flying sand and tumbling rocks, and a clap of thunder that could frighten the Heavens exploded!