Core High-Level

When she was little, facing her strict father, her mother could bring her shelter, but it was not one hundred percent effective.

When it was effective, it was mostly over small matters.

"This is an agreement between you and your father. I can't do anything about it." Gu Yueyun shook her head, looking utterly powerless to help.

She knew about the agreement between her daughter and her husband. Whether she lost or won, either result was fine, because it could make Li Qianyin cultivate even harder. But if Li Qianyin lost, the effect would be even better.

Neither of them had expected their daughter to lose. This could only prove that Li Qianqing was too formidable. The most coincidental thing was that the time between the two of them breaking through had differed by less than a day.

Hearing this, Li Qianyin cast one last look at Li Qianqing.

Li Qianqing shook his head, indicating that he had no solution to this sort of problem either, though this matter did have a great deal to do with him.

"Fine, a loss is a loss." Li Qianyin said dejectedly.

This was the main source of why she could not be happy.

"Mm, that's more like the daughter of me, Li Lilong." Li Lilong turned around, and in a place where no one could see, revealed a faint satisfied smile. "Qianqing, come out with me. We're going to see the Clan Head."

As he spoke, Li Lilong pushed open the room door.

Li Qianqing followed.

He knew why Li Lilong was taking him to see the Clan Head, and why he was not bringing Li Qianyin.

After both men had left.

Li Qianyin cried out, "It's over, Mother! For the next few years, your daughter is going to live very unhappily."

"What nonsense are you saying? Your father is doing this for your own good. Besides, ending up like this is because you yourself failed to live up to expectations."

"No, no, it should be blamed on Qianqing-ge breaking through too quickly."

"You're blaming your Qianqing-ge again. He spoils you too. During those three years of cultivation and study, how many black pots did he carry for you? Don't think we elders don't know."

Gu Yueyun tapped Li Qianyin on the head and shook her head helplessly.

This girl still did not know how lucky she was. Where else could she find an elder brother like this? At Clan Head Li Cunliu's cave dwelling.

Li Qianqing had already arrived here with Li Lilong.

Breaking through to the Qi Refining Seventh Layer and then going to see the Clan Head meant that he could directly become one of the Li Clan's core high-level members.

As long as one broke through to Late-Stage Qi Refining, one was part of the Li Clan's high level, but the Li Clan's core high-level members still numbered only four.

One of the core high-level members was naturally Li Clan Head Li Cunliu.

Before becoming Clan Head, he had already been one of the Li Clan's core high-level members.

To become a core high-level member of the Li Clan, one absolutely had to obtain the Clan Head's approval, and second, the acknowledgment of the clan's other cultivators.

If someone was appointed as a core high-level member by the Clan Head, but many clan cultivators below opposed it, then whether this core high-level position should continue to be appointed would have to be reconsidered.

Apart from Li Cunliu, the remaining three core high-level members were Li Lilong, Li Ditu, and Li Dihong.

There was naturally no need to speak much of Li Lilong. Three years after entering Late-Stage Qi Refining, he became one of the Li Clan's core high-level members. After Li Qianyin was tested and found to have spiritual roots, barring accidents, his position as the clan's future Clan Head was secure.

Li Ditu only became one of the Li Clan's core high-level members after Li Cunlan Passed Away. Part of the reason he could become a core high-level member of the clan was because of Li Qianqing.

He could be considered the one who had excavated Li Qianqing's Alchemy Talent.

Li Dihong, fifth in seniority among the Di Generation, was currently at Qi Refining Ninth Layer Peak. In terms of comprehensive strength, he was publicly recognized as number one among the clan's Qi Refining stage cultivators.

He was currently stationed at the Li Clan's third site, Azure Wave Lake.

Azure Wave Lake had only him as a Late-Stage Qi Refining cultivator.

"Grandfather."

"Great Grandfather."

After the two entered the Clan Head's cave dwelling, they bowed and called out.

"Late-Stage Qi Refining." Li Cunliu looked at Li Qianqing with great satisfaction. "Very good. Much faster than I imagined."

Li Cunliu had estimated that Li Qianqing would need at least another year before he could possibly break through to Late-Stage Qi Refining. He had not expected him to complete the breakthrough at the beginning of this year.

"Great Grandfather praises me too much. I feel I could have been a little faster."

"Your demands of yourself are rather high." Li Cunliu nodded. Having high demands of oneself was a good thing, especially for someone like Li Qianqing, who also had astonishing Alchemy Talent.

"Lilong, you can now notify everyone of the matter," Li Cunliu looked at Li Lilong and instructed.

"Yes, Grandfather."

The matter Clan Head Li Cunliu wanted to notify everyone of was naturally Li Qianqing becoming a core high-level member of the clan.

Top-tier cultivation talent among Three Spiritual Roots, Alchemy Talent somewhat better than Li Ditu's, plus rendering merit in the traitor incident at Changle Mountain last time and exterminating a group of Loose Cultivators—these were enough for the current Li Qianqing to become one of the clan's core high-level members.

If Li Qianqing exposed his Alchemy Talent, the question would not be whether he could become a core high-level member of the clan, but whether the Li Clan could protect him.

At least before the Li Clan became a top-tier Foundation Establishment Clan, Li Qianqing's Alchemy Talent absolutely had to be well hidden.

"Qianqing, keep this token safe. At present, besides you, only four people in the clan have one: me, your Second Grandfather, Fifth Grandfather, and your Fourth Uncle..." Li Cunliu explained the situation.

The token he gave out was proof that Li Qianqing had become part of the Li Clan's core. It could also be called a symbol.

Possessing the token allowed him to mobilize some of the Li Clan's resources. When exchanging for things in the Clan Treasury, if his Contribution Points were insufficient, he could owe the points first, but he had to remember to repay them afterward.

After all, a clan was not a sect. Once the Li Clan Cultivators all knew that he was a core high-level member of the clan, even without showing the token, he could still allocate resources and the like. Therefore, the token was more of a symbol.

Li Qianqing accepted the token and put it away, listening carefully to every word Li Cunliu said.

The core high-level members basically had to hold a meeting every two or three years to decide the clan's future direction.

When the Clan Head was not in closed-door cultivation, the clan's Core High-Level Meeting was always held in the Clan Head Cave Dwelling. This was the safest place in the Li Clan.

If the Clan Head was in a long-term state of closed-door cultivation, then the location was usually the Ancestral House. Because important places in the clan needed Late-Stage Qi Refining cultivators to guard them, the clan did not have a high-level meeting as such, only the Core High-Level Meeting.

But when the meeting opened, someone like Li Dihong, who was guarding Azure Wave Lake, first had to wait for Changqing Mountain to send a Late-Stage Qi Refining clansman over before he could return to Changqing Mountain to attend the meeting. This was for the sake of safety in the clan's various territories.

Of course, as long as there was not some especially deep blood feud like seas of blood and mountains of hatred, no cultivator would watch the Li Clan every single day.

But the guarding of the clan's important locations always had to be handled with the mentality that it was better to fear the one-in-ten-thousand chance than to fear nothing at all. If they were invaded when no Late-Stage Qi Refining cultivator was stationed there, they would have to bear no small loss.

"...I've told you more or less everything. As for the specific arrangement of your tasks next, just listen to your Fourth Uncle."

"Yes, Great Grandfather." Li Qianqing nodded, also indicating that he had committed every word Li Cunliu had just said to memory without missing a single one.

"Mm, go on." Li Cunliu gave one final reminder. "You've successfully entered Late-Stage Qi Refining, but you still cannot slack off in your cultivation from now on."

Li Qianqing nodded again, indicating that he understood.

This weekend, the book is getting a recommendation. The 24-hour follow-up reading is a very important statistic, especially the chapter updated on Tuesday night—you must read it! This is very important to the author. If I can eat a few more rounds of recommendations, I'll eat a few more rounds. I'll have to trouble everyone for the follow-up reading data!

After it goes on shelves, I'll work even harder on updates!