Number One Family Under Heaven

Chen Cong sat beneath a big tree, drawing in the Nine Stars Magic Leopard's soul ring and absorbing it. This reduced the area the three of them had to watch and guard, making things safer as well.

While Zhu Yanfeng and the others kept watch, they also began chatting.

Zhu Yanfeng spat out a mouthful of water, took out his smoking pipe, and said, "Damn it, I really want a puff."

Before he had even finished speaking, Cheng Nanxing shot him a glare and said in a low voice, "Your smoking addiction is almost catching up to Lu Guang's Dual Spears as Life. Bear with it. You're a veteran guard. This is the Dense Forest, after all. Smoking could easily expose us, and Grandpa Cong will take quite a while to absorb this soul ring."

After hearing Cheng Nanxing's words, Zhu Yanfeng helplessly curled his lip and said, "Of course I know that. I didn't light it. I just wanted something to satisfy my mouth."

Ma Zhaoyang looked at him speechlessly, then clapped his hands and said cheerfully, "Judging by Grandpa Cong's expression, absorbing this Nine Stars Magic Leopard's soul ring shouldn't be much of a problem."

"Although a Saint King Level soul beast's postmortem spirit-body impact is pretty fierce, with Grandpa Cong's strength, he'll definitely have more than enough to handle it," Zhu Yanfeng echoed.

Cheng Nanxing had always admired Chen Cong, since both of them were calm and steady by nature.

He knew well that Chen Cong was meticulous and considered everything thoroughly. Besides, Chen Cong had not expended much effort just now; from start to finish, he had only used two soul skills, and his mental state was excellent. He would definitely have no problem withstanding the Soul Shock impact. Moreover, the Primal Spirit Brilliant Star Sword was no pushover; that profound technique was mostly used to deal with spirit-body impacts.

So he said, "After Grandpa Cong absorbs this Ninth Soul Ring, he'll officially become a Titled Douluo. Add in Yanfeng's father, and Hongzhen Shu leaning toward absorbing the Blood Armor Beast King, and we'll have five Titled Douluo. I really never expected this."

"Our Chen Clan having five Titled Douluo alive at the same time—that's a rare sight in a thousand years," Ma Zhaoyang said with emotion.

Zhu Yanfeng glanced at him and laughed. "Old Ma, what do you mean, rare? It's never happened before, all right?"

"True. With this, our Chen Clan's title as the Number One Family Under Heaven will be even more deserved. Let's see who still dares wag their tongues," Ma Zhaoyang said, unable to stop himself from growing happy, his forehead gleaming brightly.

Hearing this, Cheng Nanxing's lips curled into a cold smile. "Those people barking behind our backs only did it because they saw how heavy our losses were in the last catastrophe. There might even be someone behind the scenes fanning the flames."

Zhu Yanfeng shrugged indifferently. "Why bother with them? In any case, in today's world, strength is what matters. Heh, even the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, the Number One Sect Under Heaven, only has four Titled Douluo."

"What Number One Sect Under Heaven? They entered the sect rankings under the name of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. A clan is a clan, so why go compete in sect rankings?" Ma Zhaoyang grumbled.

Zhu Yanfeng nodded. "Old Ma, I agree with you on that. It's just for the sake of profit. These days, there's no real difference between sects and clans anymore. It's not like thousands of years ago, when a sect was a bunch of top clans united together.

Nowadays, never mind the lower-level sects—even mid- and high-level sects are just one top clan leading a bunch of little brothers. Most sects can't even compare to our Chen Clan."

Cheng Nanxing muttered, "Our substance is much greater than the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's. They have their Level 97 Clan Leader Yu Junhua, Level 96 Yu Yongyuan, Level 94 Yu Yanning, and Level 91 Yu Zhonghe;

while on our side, Old Master is Level 98, Yu Ye is Level 96, Hong Ye is Level 94, and once Grandpa Cong and Hongzhen Shu finish absorbing their soul rings, they'll also be Level 91. We've completely surpassed them. Even in terms of martial soul advantage, we're not inferior at all."

Ma Zhaoyang shook his head and said, "They have far more soul masters than we do, nearly two thousand of them, and their influence is much greater too. How many do we have? Four hundred!"

Cheng Nanxing sighed and said nothing more.

He understood the situation Ma Zhaoyang was talking about. The number of soul masters and the size of one's influence were indeed their greatest shortcomings at present.

Although their soul masters were very high in quality, in terms of numbers, they were far inferior to those sects. This had always been their problem.

After all, the number of soul masters determined the overall strength of a clan or sect.

Zhu Yanfeng frowned tightly and retorted, "Don't give me that. That's only what's out in the open. If you count the Chen Clan's Branch Families and Separate Lineages and their affiliated forces, would we have fewer than them?! And if you include our allies and potential forces, we're more than a match for them."

A trace of admiration flashed through Zhu Yanfeng's eyes. "The wisdom of our ancestors really was unfathomable. This strategy of having the Branch Families and Separate Lineages each occupy their own region, combined with the Three Great Clans' trinity structure and the allied strength of Soul Fighting City, allowed our influence to spread across the entire continent without being specifically targeted by outsiders. Just thinking about it feels terrifying—and fills me with pride and admiration."

Ma Zhaoyang pondered Zhu Yanfeng's words. In his heart, he understood that the Chen Clan's Branch Families and Separate Lineages were indeed spread all over, present in every trade and profession.

Although these Branch Families and Separate Lineages did not possess top-tier soul master strength like the main line, they were the primary source of the Chen Clan's wealth and influence.

Moreover, if the soul masters of all these Branch Families and Separate Lineages were added together, their numbers would definitely be far greater than the branches of any clan or sect.

Ma Zhaoyang nodded and said, "Mm. If not for their support and help, after the last catastrophe, the title of Number One Family Under Heaven might really have been taken from us."

Seeing that both Ma Zhaoyang and Cheng Nanxing had fallen silent, Zhu Yanfeng knew they were probably thinking about something. He did not disturb them, merely quietly taking a sip from his smoking pipe.

Cheng Nanxing raised his head and looked at Zhu Yanfeng and Ma Zhaoyang. "Let's not get sidetracked. Although our clan has five Titled Douluo, we still have to act carefully. Look, this new secret realm appeared in the danger-ridden Sunset Forest. No matter what, we have to leave two Titled Douluo or a Super Douluo like Old Master stationed here."

Zhu Yanfeng nodded and continued, "That's right. And besides this place, the village and the old secret realm also need to be guarded. A year from now, Hong Ye also has to go to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect as a worship elder."

After hearing this, Ma Zhaoyang could not help saying worriedly, "In that case, our strength really is stretched thin."

Cheng Nanxing sighed and said, "Yes. If only it were in the Xie Luo Mountain Range. Then the choice wouldn't be so difficult."

Zhu Yanfeng showed his yellowed teeth and said leisurely, "That's why we were informed and transferred here to guard it. According to its confidentiality level, this new secret realm is top secret, even higher than the old secret realm."

"I said before that we might be transferred over, but I didn't expect it to happen so soon!" Ma Zhaoyang said with a sigh.

Cheng Nanxing smiled bitterly and said, "Isn't that the truth? I didn't expect Yu Ye's so-called important assignment to be important in this way!"

Zhu Yanfeng chuckled and said, "You're getting benefits without even realizing it. Haven't you figured out why the three of us were transferred here?"

"Figured out what? Old Stick, is there some hidden meaning?" Ma Zhaoyang shook his head in confusion.

Seeing Zhu Yanfeng playing coy, Cheng Nanxing reached out and lightly punched him in the chest, laughing. "All right, stop keeping us in suspense. Hurry up and say it."

After being punched by Cheng Nanxing, Zhu Yanfeng did not get angry. Instead, he laughed even more happily.

He coughed once, then said solemnly, "Because we all have Beast Martial Souls.

My father said that the Dual-Color Lake Water in the new secret realm can temper our bodies and Soul Power. You also know that at our stage, there are basically no external methods left that can temper us anymore.

But that lake water requires a powerful physique to withstand it. My father said that only a Beast Martial Soul soul master of at least Soul Saint Level can barely be considered safe. The benefits for us are huge."

Hearing Zhu Yanfeng's words, Cheng Nanxing and Ma Zhaoyang both came to a sudden realization. They had always found it strange that the three of them had been transferred here to guard the new secret realm. After hearing Zhu Yanfeng's explanation, they finally understood.

"And..." Zhu Yanfeng hesitated for a while, as if considering how to phrase it.

"And what? Why are you hemming and hawing?" Ma Zhaoyang asked somewhat impatiently.

Zhu Yanfeng deliberately lowered his voice and said, "That Dual-Color Lake Water has a chance of helping people break through bottlenecks. My father broke through by relying on it."

"What?!"

The gleam in Cheng Nanxing's and Ma Zhaoyang's eyes kept flickering. It was clear their hearts were anything but calm. The two exchanged a glance and silently absorbed the shock of this information.

After a stretch of silence, Cheng Nanxing broke the quiet and said, "So that's how it is! So Meng Ye came here to see whether the Dual-Color Lake Water could give him a boost."

Ma Zhaoyang nodded. "Most likely. The Young Clan Leader and Qiu Ye probably came here because they wanted the two of them to speed up their cultivation."

"Yes. This place was originally meant to be used as a talent-training base, but the poisonous grass by the lakeside and that Dual-Color Lake Water are far too dangerous, so for now, it's only been extended to Soul Douluo elders like us.

"That's why I think the other old fellows will all get their turn sooner or later. Lao Zhao and Lao Qin will probably come in a few years too," Zhu Yanfeng said as he thought it over.

"No wonder Lao Ding came along this time too. Though he has a Tool Martial Soul, his physique is second only to ours, so he got placed first." Ma Zhaoyang spoke as realization dawned on him.

Zhu Yanfeng chuckled. There was a strange expression on his wrinkled face. "Not quite. That fellow came here to do his old trade—digging canals."

"Huh?" Ma Zhaoyang looked puzzled.

Zhu Yanfeng said in a brisk tone, "That Dual-Color Lake Water helps plants grow several times faster, so Young Master Xiao Jun suggested that Master and the others dig some canals and ponds.

"They'll divert the Dual-Color Lake Water into some small excavated ponds to help the plants and medicinal herbs that were originally farther from the lake grow even faster.

"In any case, it's all about making the overall layout more reasonable and making better use of things. These past few days, he's been accompanying First Madam to survey the terrain and plan the design.

"All of that is technical work. Speaking of which, digging canals and ponds is technical work too, right? Haha."