Fostering Unity Through Threats

Seeing this, Zhao Jinge stopped the two of them. "All right, stop talking that useless nonsense. Let's deal with this matter first; we can discuss everything else later."

After a moment of silence, Zhao Keqin said gravely, "I just did the calculations. We currently have twenty-one spirit fish on hand: nineteen under a hundred years old, one first-rank Azure Carp over a hundred years old, and two first-rank Red Carp over two hundred years old. Altogether, there are twelve thousand jin of spirit fish meat."

"This is no small amount. Retail sales alone are nowhere near enough. We must develop new major customers, or try sending them to more distant Markets for sale."

"Of course, the best outcome would be to persuade old customers like Jade Pill Pavilion and Hundred Refinements Workshop to change their minds."

After speaking, Zhao Keqin thought for a moment and added, "This is only half a year's output."

As soon as he finished, someone else said, "If we could find new major buyers, we would have found them a hundred years ago. Looking now? One word: difficult!"

Once the subject was opened, the Zhao Family cultivators began discussing it one after another.

Someone shouted, "At worst, we can sell it off bit by bit and hold on for a while, to see whether things take a turn for the better. The family has only just built up some surplus; we can still hold out for a year or so."

"No, that's too passive. I think we should send people to old customers like Hundred Refinements Workshop to gather information. If all else fails, we can lower the price a little."

"Old Ninth, isn't what you're saying just as passive? I think this matter reeks of something strange at its core. We'd better remain still for now. Once the two clan elders reach Foundation Establishment, we can make plans then."

"That won't do either. The Zhao Family is, after all, a Cultivation Family that has produced several Foundation Establishment cultivators. The more difficult the time, the more we must stand tall. Otherwise, if others see through the family's inherent weakness, it will be too late for regrets."

Hearing this, Zhao Kezhang quickly echoed, "Well said! We cannot take the initiative to show weakness."

At that moment, Zhao Jinpeng suddenly cursed, "Right my ass! Without a Foundation Establishment cultivator holding the fort, the tougher we act, the more it shows we're fierce on the outside but weak within. Do you think those Foundation Establishment cultivators are idiots?"

Zhao Jinpeng was an aggressive member of the Zhao Clan's First Branch. When it came to clashing with the Second Branch, he had never lagged behind anyone.

After he finished, others continued offering their own suggestions and opinions.

Zhao Sheng listened silently from the side, nodding at times and shaking his head at others.

Through this matter, he discovered that the Zhao Family did have several quite capable clansmen. They were not all wine sacks and rice bags.

After everyone else had spoken, Zhao Sheng alone remained silent.

That made things seem rather strange.

Zhao Jinge looked at Zhao Sheng and recalled what had happened a few days earlier.

So he tried asking, "Chong He, why don't you say something?"

Zhao Sheng smiled and did not decline. He said aloud, "Everyone present is my elder. If anything I say is wrong, I ask the Elders to correct me."

With that, he said, "First, we need to clarify one question. In this matter, who are our enemies? And who are our friends?"

Without giving them time to think, Zhao Sheng asked again, "Are Jade Pill Pavilion and Hundred Refinements Workshop our enemies?"

Then he declared firmly, "No! They are not our enemies, because even if the Zhao Family ultimately falls to ruin, they will not gain much from it."

"Then who are our enemies? Whoever stands to gain the most in the end is our enemy."

Seeing that the others were growing impatient, Zhao Sheng quickened his pace. "The returned spirit fish have harmed not only the Zhao Family's interests, but also those of our old customers."

"So someone must have offered them greater benefits. For example, empty promises that once the Zhao Family falls, the price of spirit fish will be greatly reduced, and so on."

Just then, Zhao Jinpeng abruptly interrupted him, questioning, "You've rambled on and on, but it's all nonsense. What we need most urgently is a way to solve this matter."

Zhao Sheng smiled faintly. "This matter is actually easy to resolve. Since they do not want them, then we simply won't sell them for the time being. We'll endure for a few months first."

The moment those words came out, they immediately caused an uproar.

Zhao Jinpeng at once mocked, "Not sell them! That's easy for you to say. If we don't sell spirit fish, how are we supposed to cultivate from now on?"

Zhao Sheng replied, "Someone already said it just now. Without a Foundation Establishment cultivator holding the fort, no matter how the family responds outwardly, we will seem lacking in confidence. Therefore, the best choice is not to make any excessive response and let everything take its natural course."

"We should delay for as long as possible. Once the two clan elders emerge from seclusion, it will not be too late to decide what to do."

"Heh heh, you babbled for ages, but it all boils down to one sentence: meet ten thousand changes by remaining unchanged!" Zhao Jinpeng sneered in a strange tone.

"Sixth Grandpa, you put it well." Zhao Sheng nodded with a smile.

Zhao Sheng actually had a way to resolve this matter, but he chose to stand by with folded arms.

Because he deeply understood one principle: Sometimes, a suitable external threat can promote unity within a family.

In his view, the spirit fish incident had come at precisely the right time. Though the mastermind's approach could not be called foolish, it was far from brilliant.

If it had been him, he would have taken the initiative to raise the purchase price of spirit fish, then joined forces with numerous factions to place an enormous order with the Zhao Family.

Then, just as delivery neared, he would suddenly cancel the order.

By then, after spending a great quantity of Spirit Stones and medicinal pills to catch enough spirit fish, the Zhao Family would truly regret it too late and could only let others carve them up.

After Zhao Sheng spoke, the meeting quickly ended in a haphazard fashion. In the end, no one proposed an effective solution.

Finally, they could only decide to take several measures at once.

The Jin Generation would visit the various factions to persuade them, hoping to convince them to change their minds.

Several members of the Ke Generation would bring a batch of spirit fish to several nearby Markets to sell. Rogue Cultivators might be reluctant to buy them, and ordinary spirit-food restaurants could only purchase limited quantities, but selling even a little was better than nothing.

The remaining Chong Generation juniors were to stay obediently at home and were forbidden from going anywhere.

Before long, most of the Zhao Family cultivators in the middle and late stages of Qi Refinement went out, leaving only a group of cultivation novices at home.

To guard against any mishap, at Zhao Sheng's strong urging, the family did not hesitate to waste Spirit Stones and activated the Mountain Protection Array, the Tenfold Water Dragon Array.

For the next half month, Zhao Sheng buried himself in cultivation while devoting all his strength to drawing Invisibility Talismans.

The Invisibility Talisman truly deserved its reputation as one of the nineteen most difficult first-rank talismans to draw.

Even with the aid of talent, Zhao Sheng still failed again and again.

After half a month of hard work, his face was pale and lifeless, the circles beneath his eyes as black as a panda's, and both his mind and body seemed hollowed out.

Yet Invisibility Talismans still failed more often than not, with only two or three successes out of every ten attempts.

However, the bad news did not end there.

As expected, the Zhao Clan's attempts at persuasion also ended in failure. After half a month of retail sales, they had sold only around two thousand jin of spirit fish.

As the saying went, spirit fish meat might be good, but it was not a necessity like medicinal pills.

As Zhao Clan cultivators returned one after another in failure, the atmosphere around Dragon Carp Lake grew increasingly oppressive. Even their mortal relatives were affected. Many ordinary clansmen became deeply panicked, as though the sky itself were about to collapse.