“Drink some more, brother!” Anna Fox watched in disgust, as the woman from the Blackshore family somehow convinced Evan Fox to share a drink with her. Verdant Leaf Town was a relatively small town, and there were only a few haunts for alcoholics. The Verdant Glory Tavern was the biggest of them, and so, the members of the Fox family were frequent patrons, that they even have special tabs and service just for them.

Clarissa Blackshore wore an exceptionally sexy dress that made everyone’s eyes turn. But the commoners all knew she was from a cultivator family, and understood who her targets were. 

Evan was happily drunk, and then he blurted out. “My luck has finally turned, Clarissa! To think my father wants me to work as an administrator!”

This statement immediately caught Clarissa’s attention. She immediately refilled the man’s cup with more alcohol. “Oh, why? Tell me more.”

“He said that if I didn’t intend to cultivate, he would reduce my stipend and reassign me!”

Clarissa’s seductive, sultry appearance immediately changed into one that was serious. The way she looked at Evan was almost murderous, but he was too drunk to notice. “Wait, brother Evan. You’re reassigned to do administrative work?”

Evan continued. He was smiling and happily drunk, despite what he said was sad and probably upsetting. “Yes. My father thinks that if I won’t cultivate, then I don’t deserve any resources.”

Clarissa paused, and her expression was one of disgust. Her words now lacked any of the earlier seductiveness. “You’re nothing like your father.”

Evan was oblivious, and finished the cup. “Pour me some more, Clarissa.” 

Clarissa stood. She didn’t lean close to Evan anymore, and instead, looked disturbed. “You can pour it yourself, Evan. I have somewhere else to go.”

“Eh? I thought you said you were free the whole day today!” 

“I must’ve forgotten that there was something planned.” Clarissa countered. “Goodbye.”

Anna, who spied on the two from a few tables away, couldn’t help but chuckle. She was worried for nothing. Actually, as she examined her own family, she realized there really wasn’t anyone worth ‘marrying’ to. Everyone in their family was passable, but for big powerful families, they were pretty much 2nd, no, 3rd class goods. 

***

“All of them are trash.” Clarissa repeated, much to Clara’s amusement.

“I told you. None of them can hold a candle to the patriarch, it just makes me wonder whether they are truly his child. How can a tiger have dogs for children?!” Clara countered.

“Wait. Are you suggesting that these children are all illegitimate?” Clarissa stared.

“Why else would they be so terrible?” 

“I don’t buy it.” Clarissa countered. “Ugh.”

“Father wants us to choose one.”

“But the one that’s willing to give us time is useless in the eyes of the patriarch. If we’re married to an unimportant character, the marriage is useless!” Clarissa stated.

“I know. I think this whole trip will be a waste of time. Father should just send us to a bigger sect and let us try our luck on the disciples and young masters there.”

“Father won’t take no for an answer.” Clarissa looked at her sister. “Should we go for the Core Disciples?” 

“That’s not what we came to do.”

“Core Disciples are in the same realm as father, and could even be promoted to Elder if they reached the fifth realm. I think if our husband is in the fifth realm, father won’t dare say that we chose wrongly.”

Clara paused. A fifth realm on their side was a decent bargaining chip. If they could snag one core disciple each, two fifth realms would make them more powerful than their father.

“Brother won’t like that.” Clarissa suddenly realized the trouble with the plan. “Our husbands would threaten his position, since they are stronger than him.”

“He’ll have to just accept it.” Clara countered. “I like this plan more than seducing the useless scions.” 

“That would give us power over him.”

“Are you going to tell him?” Clara said. “I won’t, if you won’t.”

The two women grinned.

***

“It is a nice feeling to be home again.” Elly said as the family regathered for dinner. After the trip, each of the wives returned to their own part of the Fox family’s compound. Tundra, as Sect Master, naturally had plenty of his own sect master duties, and thus had to meet with the rest of the elders. 

Dinner was as it was, every night at the dining hall. Marin, despite Celestia’s expectations, came for dinner.

“This is just like how it once was.” Elly said. Tundra was busy, and would skip dinner. That was the norm before his dream. 

“But it is not.” Celestia said. The elders were not present as well, and naturally that meant they all had their own dinner.  “Nothing is as it was.”

Marin looked at Celestia, and nodded. “Say nothing.”

The sixth wife grinned. “Nothing needs to be said. I, for one, am glad to be back in the Verdant Snow.” 

“You two are hiding something.” Elly intervened, but then Elly noticed her son enter the room. “Edison! How did everything go?”

“Mother.” Edison looked reluctant to talk to her. “Nothing happened.”

“Nothing? Well. That’s good, then.” 

Edison sat at his own table, and immediately ordered the maids to serve him wine and food. Elly frowned. “Is that how you talk to your mother that just returned from a trip?”

“Nothing happened, mother. I’m glad you returned safely. I happen to be quite hungry, let me eat.”

Celestia watched Elly as she looked like she wanted to say more, but realized Edison wasn’t in the mood to talk to her, so she decided to just let it go. 

“You like to eavesdrop, don’t you?” Marin asked in unusual cheeriness. The three wives were seated on the main table, as if expecting Tundra’s presence. These days, it is quite hard to predict when he turned up and when he didn’t. 

“You too. You look happy.” Celestia briefly glanced and noticed Marin put on some makeup. It wasn’t every day she made the effort.

“I do?” Marin answered, a little surprised. Then she admitted, her posture somehow relaxed. “I guess it does feel nice to leave that place. It’s filled with less than pleasant memories.”

“One can’t help but observe that this seems to be avoidance.”

“It is.” Marin admitted. “But that’s life. For things we can’t deal with, we run from it.”

Elly walked back to their table, and sat at her place. “Looks like our husband isn’t coming.” She picked up her chopsticks and started to eat. The three wives shared a quiet moment where all of them focused on eating their own food.

Then, after what seemed like a few minutes of quiet eating, Elly decided to break the silence.

“Celestia, have you decided to break through to the 5th realm?”

Celestia shook her head. “No. I plan to strengthen my foundations and abilities. There are things I can still do. Gaps that I see between myself and those above that I want to close.”

Both Marin and Elly were silent. Marin poured herself a cup of wine, and drank it. 

Elly looked at her own kids, and then back at Celestia. “Can I join you?”

“Sure. But our cultivation methods are different, so the things we need to focus on will be different.”

“Celestia.” Marin stated with unusual seriousness.

“Yes?” Celestia turned to face the fifth wife.

“I challenge you to a duel.”

“What?” 

“I challenge you to a duel, Celestia. You’re the strongest amongst us. Show me the difference between us in battle.”

***

Celestia and Marin stood in a quiet courtyard hidden deep within the Fox compound. It was a place, a large field where she could practice in peace and quiet. It was flanked with tall pine trees and a wall of bushes. It was Celestia’s own little corner, a place she designed over the years with the help of the hired hardeners. 

It took years to get it to where it is today, but it is her area. Her own mark on the place that was now her home. 

“I didn’t know you had this place.” Elly stated.

“It’s rare for you two to come to my side of the home.” Celestia said, each of them had their own little segment of the compound, and there really wasn’t much reason for one to go somewhere else. “It’s where I practice alone. Try not to ruin the trees?”

Marin gripped her mace. “It would be impolite to do so. Let’s go.” 

Celestia moved first, and she should be at the advantage. Her [wood] element was strong against Marin’s [Earth]. But what none of them expected was how quickly Celestia broke through Marin’s earth-energy defense.

Three strikes, and Celestia’s blade was already pointed at Marin. 

“That was too fast.” Elly said. She didn’t expect the gap to be that big.

“I have the favorable element, Lady Eastheart. I apologize.” Celestia didn’t expect her own attacks to pierce Marin’s defenses so easily, either. During the strike, she could feel Marin’s energies took the shape of earth, took the form of earth, but did not carry the weight of earth.

In short, Marin’s mastery of the earth element was weaker than the 4th realm spirit beasts they encountered. 

Marin’s face turned towards Celestia. “Speak, what did you feel? What weakness did you see?” 

“I believe there is some room for improvement.” Celestia said. The truth was ugly, and the truth would hurt feelings. She wasn’t sure she wanted to create a gap in their relationship.

“Some?” Marin said as her eyes darted to the spectator. “Elly, spar with Celestia.”

Elly shook her head. “That is not necessary. I know how far I lag behind.”

“Did we advance too fast?” Marin wondered. 

Celestia couldn’t answer her.

***

“Father.” Anna, Edison and Larian all bowed before their father. Anna was first to speak. “You called?”

“Yes. What happened in our absence. We were away for almost three weeks.” Tundra sat on the dais, there were piles of letters by his side. Anna suspected he would be reading the rest of the night. 

Anna looked at Edison and Larian. Edison didn’t look like he wanted to answer, and Larian merely nodded back at her, as if signaling her to speak. So she did. “Nothing much happened, father.”

She then narrated how the two girls tried to flirt with different members of the family, but somehow all seemed somewhat disinterested after getting to know them. It made Larian chuckle, and Edison’s face turned red.

Edison immediately looked at their father. “Father, this is insulting. How can they treat our family that way? Anna, why didn’t you slap them when you saw them behave that way?!” 

Anna stared at their father, and wondered whether their father would react in anger. But instead, he was amused. 

“I think it says more about us, than them, my dearest Edison.”

Edison stared, unable to believe the words from his father. “What do you mean, father?” His fingers curled into a fist. “I will crush them for belittling our family!”

“Edison, Edison. It is good that you are angry.” Tundra chuckled. “These girls have more substance than I expected. Truly, all that intermarriage by the Blackshore family brought good blood into their pool.”

“What?!” Edison’s eyes turned bloodshot, and somehow, his anger leaked into his words. “Father! What are you saying?! This insult cannot stand! How do we face society if we let these two whores look at our siblings this way?”

Tundra then stared, and for a moment, the three felt anger in their father. The large room suddenly seemed so intimidating, so heavy. It’s been so long they last saw that anger in their father that the three immediately shrunk. 

The three didn’t dare look at their father, but instead, awaiting his next word. 

“I assigned the three of you to manage them. It was a test. I’m sure you know that.”

The three didn’t dare answer.

“But luckily or unluckily for the three of you, the two girls were more intelligent than I thought. If I were them, I wouldn’t want to choose any of your siblings, either. Why? Do you know why?” 

The three children did not dare speak. 

“Because my children, when measured against the great families, no, even the mid-ranked families, have amounted to nothing!” Tundra said. Anna thought his voice seemed to shake, the room seemed to boom. “Who’s fault is it?”

The three children looked at each other. Anna wondered how much of that fault was theirs. She felt her hands tremble. 

“A part is yours. But a large part is mine. As the old wise man said, the father that does not teach his sons his duties is equally guilty as the son who neglects them. I had hoped to reach my children through words, and actions, but every day I am reminded of my own failures.”

Tundra stared at Edison, and Edison’s hands trembled. 

“Do you think I do not feel shame, my son? You speak of pride, my dear Edison. But think of me, as a father. Does a father feel pride when his childrens are failures, Edison? Should a father punish potential suitors, when the suitors find what we have on offer unappealing?” 

Edison’s eyes looked at the floor. Anna felt Tundra’s pressure, and that moment, it seemed overwhelming. 

“You raise your voice, Edison, because you feel anger. You feel they slighted your family. You feel they insulted you. I feel it too.” Tundra said, the anger vanished just as suddenly. “But it’s our problem, Edison.”

Anna felt her father’s gaze on her. 

“If my children produce nothing of worth, they deserve nothing of worth.” Tundra said. “So what do we do now?”

Anna tried to think, but under pressure, her mind was blank. She wanted to answer, but no words came to her.

Tundra answered for her. “We must remember this bitterness. This is experience, children. Many great cultivators found the energy and drive to achieve greatness because they were looked down on. Because others thought they couldn’t. Because others thought they were nothing. If you feel anger, hatred, frustration. You remember it. You refine it. Turn it into a drive.”

Edison looked like he had words to say, but didn’t. Anna thought for a moment, her half-brother seemed wise to hold his tongue. 

“If we do not become better, we prove the two sisters right. That we are not worth their attention. Do you three believe you are failures?”

The three shook their heads. Anna wasn’t sure whether they believed it, but at that point, who would dare say a word against their father.  

“No. A father does not want failures for children.” Tundra answered. “Every father wishes for the successor generations to be better, to be greater. It is why families invest so much resources, so much of their hope in their offspring.”

Anna thought a punishment would come. 

“So what now? The three of you reach the peak of the 3rd realm by the end of the year. That is my goal for the three of you.”

“But I’m only in the 2nd-” Larian quickly said, but his face soon suggested he regretted those words. Edison looked at his father, angry. There were words he wanted to say but none of it came out. 

Tundra looked resigned. “Leave. Reflect on your failings and come back tomorrow. Tell me your plans on how to be a better cultivator.”

***

Tundra sat alone in the room, his soul pounded. He rarely felt anger, but when Edison shouted, he somehow lost it. 

It was just a spur of the moment. Maybe it was all his stored frustrations with his various children. His irritation at their behavior. No, the heart of it was simple. It was  how his children reflected on his own failures. 

What was done was done. Tundra thought he lost his ability to influence his older generation of children. He would have to work on his younger ones instead. Those that he could still mold. 

He sighed.

Raising children was hard.