Chapter 374 - 265: Mutual Benefit
The Mercer Family’s reception hall was decorated in a simple, classical style.
As expected of an Ancient Martial Clan with a deep heritage.
Even in the midst of the apocalypse, most of the furniture was crafted from centuries-old Agarwood. And that was to say nothing of the ornaments on the tables; Paige Summers couldn’t identify the origin of some of them by sight alone. However, a rather large jade statue held her gaze the longest.
At that moment, Paige Summers heard Zachary Mercer’s gentle voice. "Please, have a seat."
She gave a slight bow, and they took seats on opposite ends of the sofa.
"How is the injured disciple?" Zachary Mercer asked with a hint of concern.
Paige Summers smiled. "He was very lucky. His life is no longer in danger."
Zachary Mercer nodded lightly.
He didn’t share Blake Morrison’s heavy sense of guilt over the matter. He had indeed agreed to help the Lowell Family and watch over their outer disciples, but the members of the Mercer Family were not bodyguards. They couldn’t offer protection 24/7; people had to be responsible for their own safety.
However, he was certainly displeased with the culprits.
The Mercer Family had made its position clear just by taking on the case. For the other party to act this way now obviously meant they didn’t take the Mercers seriously. On this point, as the Clan Leader of the Mercer Family, he naturally had his own ideas.
’But... to have a complete falling out with the Dudley Family over this... He wasn’t prepared to go that far just yet.’
So, suspecting that Paige Summers had come seeking more support from the Mercer Family, he had already prepared to refuse her tactfully.
But then Paige Summers said, "I’m mainly here today to talk about Finn. And first, I must apologize to you."
Zachary Mercer was slightly surprised, but his expression remained impassive as he said, "If you’re referring to him secretly following Bloodfall on their expedition... rest assured. That was his own decision and had nothing to do with you. I understand."
Paige Summers smiled. "I’ve always known you to be magnanimous, sir. And I do feel guilty for being unable to persuade him to return. However..." Her tone shifted. "He did, however, befriend someone on this trip who is said to be an extraordinary individual."
"Oh?"
"To be honest, I’m not entirely sure myself just how extraordinary he is. You know that I’m only a Superpower User, so I’m not an expert when it comes to Ancient Martial Arts. But Finn once wanted to take this person as his master, so I imagine he must have some remarkable abilities."
This time, Zachary Mercer was genuinely surprised, and also a little angry.
’For Finn to do such a thing was clear proof that this person was uncommonly skilled. But why on earth would a disciple of the Mercer Family need to take an outsider as his master!’
He couldn’t help but ask, "What is this person’s background?"
Paige Summers tilted her head, feigning contemplation. "I really don’t know his background. I only heard him mention something in passing about... Innate and Postnatal Cultivation... I don’t understand any of that, but I saw with my own eyes how remarkably skilled he is with Arrays!" She then went on to briefly describe Rhonda Rhodes’s performance during the zombie siege at The Foundry. "...You must know Sean Raines of the Taoist Association, right? He was there at the time and had great admiration for Mr. Rhodes. The two of them even collaborated to lay several extremely powerful offensive Arrays."
As Zachary Mercer listened, his heart was thrown into turmoil.
The path of Ancient Martial Arts focused on cultivating both the internal and the external. On the surface, to an outsider, an Ancient Martial Arts practitioner was fast, agile, and physically robust. But in reality, this was impossible to achieve by practicing external martial arts alone; it had to be paired with an internal Cultivation Technique.
It wasn’t that the Mercer Family lacked Cultivation Techniques.
But those techniques could only bring a person to the peak of the Postnatal Realm—a level he himself was at.
To advance his Power any further, one needed a method to enter the Innate Realm. But that kind of Cultivation Technique had long been lost to the Mercer Family. This directly resulted in him being stuck at the peak of the Postnatal Realm, unable to make a true breakthrough.
He was all too familiar with the feelings of regret and heartache.
But it was no use.
With his level of power, he was far from capable of creating a new Cultivation Technique himself.
So, he had always believed that this was as far as he would ever go in his life. He even feared that without a stroke of luck, the descendants of the Mercer Family might also be unable to progress beyond this point.
Although the Mercer Family was still considered the leading Noble House in Central City, only he knew in his heart that this status was already precarious.
The other Noble Houses were supported by Superpower Users, all of whom were constantly advancing in rank. Only the Mercer Family was different; its most elite members could only reach his level, which couldn’t even compare to some Tenth Rank Superpower Users! What the Mercer Family relied on now was its high overall strength, but what about in a year, or several years from now? When the Superpower Users from the other Noble Houses continued to grow stronger, the Mercer disciples would be stuck at this level. The leading house? On what grounds could they possibly claim that title?