Bear With It

"Exactly," Xiao Mingshu said.

"Whenever a member of a royal family in any country is found to have Spirit Roots, they are sent to the Azure Origin Sect for cultivation. The Azure Origin Sect is about three or four thousand miles away from our Yuxi Prefecture. As for the other sects and factions in this world, I will not go into details with you today. Let's go back to the affairs of the Great Qian."

She picked up her teacup, took a sip, and continued:

"The current emperor of the Great Qian Dynasty is my father. He is a mortal without any cultivation."

"A mortal?" Shen Jingchuan was genuinely surprised and frowned, asking, "How could the ruler of a nation be a mortal?"

"Have you forgotten what I told you before, that those who cultivate themselves should not interfere in worldly politics?"

Xiao Mingshu said calmly:

"That is why the emperor of the Great Qian Dynasty can only be a mortal. Our Xiao Household can stand among the various kingdoms because of the cultivation ancestor in our clan, but the nominal ruler of the world must ultimately be a mortal monarch."

Although my father had no cultivation, he held a real and prestigious position within the clan, and the throne had always been inherited by the eldest son of the main branch of the family.

"Father has many sons, two of whom are legitimate. The eldest brother has no Spirit Roots, but has already been made crown prince; the second brother has been found to have Three Spirit Roots, and his aptitude is not bad. He was sent to the Clear Origin Sect to cultivate from a young age, and is now at the Qi Refining Great Perfection, and is currently in seclusion to break through to the Foundation Establishment Realm."

"Including myself, there are three in the main lineage. The remaining branches have also cultivated more than a dozen Qi Refinement Realm cultivators, scattered throughout the court and the Azure Origin Sect."

Upon hearing this, Shen Jingchuan couldn't help but say:

"Since you're a cultivator and of royal blood, doesn't your status in the clan seem very high?"

Xiao Mingshu shook her head upon hearing this, her tone indifferent:

"It's not what you think. In the eyes of cultivators outside, mortals are like ants, but within our royal family, it's not the same."

The ancestral etiquette and laws are laid out there, and there is no room for confusion about the superiority of the emperor and his ministers, and the status of his concubines. The emperor is the emperor, and his weight has never been based on his level of cultivation."

"His power comes entirely from the clan, and has absolutely nothing to do with whether he has any cultivation level."

Xiao Mingshu picked up her teacup, her fingertips gently tracing the rim, her tone as indifferent as if she were talking about someone else's affairs:

"All the cultivators in the clan are focused on cultivation and never interfere in worldly affairs. They only take action when it comes to a major event that shakes the foundation of a nation, such as the destruction of a country."

My words carry little weight in the mortal court, especially since I am both born out of wedlock and a woman.

She looked up at Shen Jingchuan and continued:

"The daughters of the Xiao Household, regardless of whether they have Spirit Roots or not, will only have two paths in the future."

Those with good Spirit Roots and potential for cultivation were sent to the Azure Origin Sect to cultivate diligently, hoping they would achieve success in the future and be able to protect the descendants of their clan.

Those with poor Spirit Roots, like me, will ultimately face only one fate—marriage alliances, forming alliances with cultivation Aristocratic Clan from neighboring countries in exchange for the stability of both clans.

"Although my Spirit Root is not good, I am good at hard work, and my cultivation level is higher than that of many of my peers from other branches."

The clan was reluctant to marry me off casually, fearing that I would lose a useful fighting force, which is why they have kept me until now.

If the clan only has women at the Early Stage of Qi Refining, they will basically all marry out early when they reach a certain age.

Xiao Mingshu smiled, a hint of self-deprecation in her smile:

"I cultivated with all my might back then because I didn't want to be assigned out so easily. I couldn't rely on my mother's clan, so I had to fight for it myself."

But who would have thought that I'd be stuck at the Qi Refining Sixth Layer and wouldn't be able to advance any further? Seeing that I had no hope, the clan cut off my resource supply and sent me back from the Azure Origin Sect."

Shen Jingchuan frowned upon hearing this and couldn't help but speak:

"Why? Our Great Qian is a vast country, can't it afford to support a few cultivators?"

"Silly brother, you have no idea how difficult this is."

Xiao Mingshu shook her head:

"First of all, resources in the tribe are given priority to men, and women are marginalized from birth."

In addition, given my mediocre Spirit Roots and humble background, they were initially willing to share some resources with me because they saw that I was willing to work hard. However, when they realized that I had no hope of breaking through, they naturally stopped investing in me.

You may see that the Great Qian Empire is vast, but the mortal realm does not produce Spirit Stones. Cultivating in the mortal realm is not like cultivating in a sect.

The sect is nourished by Spirit Veins and has abundant Spiritual Qi, so one can make progress through daily meditation. Although it is slower, it is better than nothing.

"We cultivate in the mortal realm, where Spiritual Qi is pitifully scarce; we rely entirely on elixirs and Spirit Stones to replenish it."

She paused, then said:

"But mortal kingdoms don't produce Spirit Stones, so we have to try every means to exchange them from markets and sects."

Although it's said that one hundred taels of gold can be exchanged for one Spirit Stone, in reality, the price is much higher, and you often have to pay much more to get one.

Especially in recent years, my second brother's cultivation level has improved by leaps and bounds, and the whole clan's attention has been focused on him.

Our Xiao Household currently only has two Foundation Establishment cultivators, which is already a step behind our neighboring countries. We are hoping that my second brother can Foundation Establishment soon and give our clan another boost.

Therefore, over the years, almost the entire clan's wealth and resources have been used to support him alone, and those born to collateral branches naturally received even less."

"As for my third brother, although he has no cultivation and is not the crown prince, his mother, the current empress, is a cultivator."

She was a princess from the Qi Kingdom who had married into the country through a political alliance, and she already possessed cultivation.

The direct descendants originally held the highest status in our Xiao Household. My third brother, relying on my mother's influence and the emperor's favor, was practically untouchable in the Great Qian Kingdom.

Hearing this, Shen Jingchuan finally understood completely.

No wonder she, as a princess, had little say in her clan, and no wonder Xiao Mingyuan, a mere mortal prince, dared to treat her this way.

In the secular world, there is a hierarchy of legitimate and illegitimate children; within clans, there is a value in cultivation. She has no advantage in either direction. She holds the title of Princess Shaohua, but in reality, she is restricted in every way.

Shen Jingchuan nodded after listening and said:

"Alright, sis, I understand. I'll handle this from now on, so don't worry about it anymore. I don't want to cause you any more trouble."

Don't take it too hard.

Xiao Mingshu waved her hand:

"I had planned to return to the Capital in a few days to speak with my father in person and clarify things. There shouldn't be any major problems. You just need to be patient here and avoid causing any further disturbances. Just hold on until I return."

"Sis, let it go."

Shen Jingchuan shook his head:

"How could I let you go back and be troubled because of my affairs? I just want to ask one question: will the imperial court send cultivators to attack Azure Cloud Stronghold?"

"That's not necessarily true." Xiao Mingshu said firmly.

"As long as they don't threaten the Xiao Household's rule over the Great Qian Kingdom, the cultivators in the clan won't easily take action."

The three Rogue Cultivators you encountered earlier were not from the Xiao Household family. They were guards arranged by the Empress for your third brother, intended to protect him. It was his lawlessness that led him to allow cultivators to interfere in mortal affairs; this was just an exception.

Under normal circumstances, unless someone intends to overthrow the Great Qian Dynasty, the clan will never use cultivators to intervene.

Shen Jingchuan was completely relieved upon hearing this.

"Sister, then I understand everything. You don't need to make a special trip to the Capital and suffer unnecessary grievances."

Besides, I've already mounted the Maxim Machine Guns on the stockade walls. No ordinary Government Army could possibly breach them. Even if it's a long siege, food supplies won't be a problem. I have Storage Rings that can send supplies into the stockade at any time; we can hold out for as long as it takes."

"My silly brother, why do you focus all your attention on these mundane matters?"

Xiao Mingshu chuckled and shook her head:

"For us cultivators, our own cultivation is ultimately the most important thing. Since you feel it's alright, then I'll continue to stay in this manor. As long as I'm here, my third brother won't dare to kill you. Let's cultivate peacefully for now and see how things develop."

Shen Jingchuan nodded and replied, "Okay, sister, I'll listen to you."