"Patriarch, now that the Mangshan Su Clan has been wiped out, the crisis facing the Li Family has been temporarily resolved."
The First Elder stroked his beard and smiled.
Hearing this, a smile appeared on Li Xinge's face as well.
But then he added, "Even so, we can't let our guard down. We never know what day danger might come knocking."
The First Elder nodded solemnly.
"Now that the Mangshan Su Clan has been wiped out, their holdings naturally belong to us. Third Elder, I'm putting you fully in charge of taking over the Su Family's assets."
Li Xinge gave the order.
The Third Elder's eyes gleamed, and he accepted eagerly.
"Patriarch, we've just checked the Su Family's genealogy and discovered that some survivors slipped through the net."
The Sixth Elder, Li Yanzhao, said gravely.
"I see."
Li Xinge glanced at the Second Elder beside him and said coolly, "Those survivors are surely what they call their 'kindling.' Second Elder, you're an elder of the Hall of Law Enforcement. I'll leave these survivors to you. Make sure the family has no trouble waiting for us down the road."
"Rest assured, Patriarch. I'll personally oversee this."
The Second Elder replied sternly.
Li Xinge nodded with satisfaction.
Afterward, everyone returned to Green Maple Valley.
Inside the cultivation chamber in the Patriarch's residence.
Li Xinge sat cross-legged.
A translucent screen appeared before him.
[Main Quest: Lead the Family Out of Crisis] [Quest Progress: 100%] [Quest Description: After the previous patriarch's death, the family lost the deterrence of its strongest fighters, and its enemies have begun to make their moves. Please lead the family out of danger as soon as possible!] [Reward 1: Beginner Family Cultivation Buff (increases the cultivation speed of all family members by 10%)] [Reward 2: More Children More Blessings Buff (increases the family's birth rate by 10%)] [Reward 3: Profound Tier Intermediate Cultivation Method * 1] [Reward 4: Profound Tier Intermediate Martial Skill * 1] [Reward 5: Host's cultivation talent increased to the seventh grade]
Seeing that the Main Quest's progress had reached one hundred percent, Li Xinge couldn't help smiling.
Every reward from the system was enticing.
The first two, which benefited the whole group, were especially useful to the Li Family right now.
One was a group cultivation speed boost. A ten percent increase might not seem like much, but little by little, the gains would add up to something considerable.
The second, More Children More Blessings, directly raised the Li Family's birth rate.
What was the foundation of a flourishing family?
Strength, first; population, second.
Sufficient strength could protect the family.
And population meant the family's continuation and expansion.
The Cultivation Techniques and Martial Skills were precious, but compared to the first two rewards, they were little more than icing on the cake.
The final reward directly raised Li Xinge's own potential.
Almost unable to wait, Li Xinge chose to submit the quest.
["Quest submitted. System rewards are being distributed."] ["Ding! Congratulations, host. Beginner Cultivation Speed Boost is now active. The cultivation speed of all Li Family members has increased by 10%."] ["More Children More Blessings Buff is now active. The family's birth rate has increased by 10%."] ["Ding! Congratulations, host. You have obtained the Profound Tier Intermediate Cultivation Method—Clear Heart Art."] ["Congratulations, host. You have obtained the Profound Tier Intermediate Martial Skill—Lion's Roar Skill."] ["Congratulations, host. Your cultivation talent has increased. It is now at the seventh grade."]
A series of system notifications rang out one after another.
At the same time,
an invisible white light enveloped the entire Li Family.
Countless specks of starlight fell upon the family.
Soundlessly, they merged into the bodies of every Li Family member.
Inside the Li Family's cultivation room,
a Li Family member who had been cultivating opened his eyes, a flicker of confusion passing through them.
He turned to his friend beside him and said, "Li Ze, I just realized my cultivation speed seems to have increased quite a bit!"
"Seems like mine has too,"
his friend replied in surprise.
"What's going on?"
Li Ze shook his head.
"I don't know. Maybe today's battle gave us some insight?"
"Maybe. Hahahaha..."
"Then we'd better hurry and cultivate!"
"Let's work hard together, brother!"
At the Hall of Law Enforcement,
Li Xuanzhong, an elder of the Hall of Law Enforcement who was instructing its disciples, suddenly felt a stirring in his heart and stopped in his tracks.
He had suddenly sensed an opportunity to break through to Body Cultivation Grand Perfection.
He couldn't let the opportunity slip away.
He turned to the disciples of the Hall of Law Enforcement and said, "This old man has had a sudden realization. I'm going into seclusion now. Cultivate diligently, and do not slack off!"
"Yes, sir!"
The disciples of the Hall of Law Enforcement answered in unison.
Li Xuanzhong nodded with satisfaction.
Then he hurried out of the Hall of Law Enforcement and began his seclusion.
"Damn you, what are you doing in broad daylight?"
A woman scolded him, her face red.
A middle-aged Li Family man rubbed his hand, now red from being smacked, and chuckled. "Wife, I don't know why, but I suddenly got in the mood. Just bear with me. I'll be quick."
"Bear with you? Not a chance..."
"Ah..."
"Didn't you say... you'd be... quick?"
"Ah..."
"I don't... know either. It's like... I've suddenly gone back to being seventeen or eighteen..."
"Ah..."
"Just a little longer."
"Shut up."
Elsewhere,
in a secluded cave,
a dozen or so people huddled in a corner, exhausted, their vacant eyes fixed on the cave entrance.
Their leader was a middle-aged man.
Before long,
hurried footsteps sounded outside the cave.
The middle-aged man sprang to his feet, drew the knife at his waist, and stared warily at the cave entrance.
The footsteps drew nearer.
The middle-aged man asked hoarsely, "Who's there?"
From outside the cave,
came a reply.
"Elder, it's me!"
Hearing the familiar voice, the middle-aged man finally breathed a sigh of relief.
But he didn't put away his knife. He only lowered his voice and said, "Come in."
A moment later,
a young man dressed like a beggar walked in.
The instant he saw the middle-aged man, he could no longer hold back his tears.
He fell to his knees and burst into tears. "Elder, the Su Family is gone! The Grand Elder, the Second Elder, and the others are all dead. The Li Family didn't even spare the old, the weak, women, or children. The entire Mangshan Su Clan has been razed to the ground. It was horrific, truly horrific..."
The middle-aged man was none other than Su Qiong, the Seventh Elder of the Mangshan Su Clan.
Hearing the news, Su Qiong's face instantly drained of color, and his whole body began to tremble violently.
In that instant, he seemed to have aged twenty years.
The others began to weep as well.
After a long while,
Su Qiong, his eyes bloodshot, roared at the heavens, "You Li Family bastards! The slaughter of my clan is a debt of blood that can never be forgiven! If I don't avenge this, I'm no man!"
He looked at the people who were still crying.
He snapped, "What are you crying for? What good will crying do? Will our clansmen come back to life if you cry? Will the Mangshan Su Clan be restored? Stop acting like women! The word 'cry' has no place in the Su Family's dictionary!"
Everyone was stunned by Su Qiong's fury.
No one dared make another sound.
Su Qiong drew a deep breath and spoke slowly. "Remember this day—the slaughter of our clan, the grief of losing our home. You must all cultivate hard. One day, we'll repay the Li Family tenfold, a hundredfold, for the pain they've inflicted on us. Do you understand?"
Thinking of their murdered clansmen and their plight, like stray dogs driven from home, the flames of hatred roared in everyone's eyes.
"From now on, we're going to kill every last member of the Li Family."
An eight- or nine-year-old Su Family boy said viciously.
"That's right. Little Nine is right. We'll kill every last member of the Li Family and avenge our clansmen!"
"Kill them all!"
"Kill them all!"
Looking at the Su Family's kindling, united in hatred, Su Qiong couldn't help feeling a trace of comfort.
The Su Family's kindling still burned.
The Mangshan Su Clan wasn't finished yet!
"Elder, what do we do now?"
The young man who had gone out to gather information stopped crying and asked.
"We have nowhere left to stand in Baihe County. We must leave here first,"
Su Qiong said.
"But the roads out of Baihe County are all blocked by the Li Family. They're making a huge show of searching for us."
Su Qiong's expression turned ashen.
He thought for a while.
Then he said slowly, "Then we can go to the Jiang Family first. The Jiang Family and the Mangshan Su Clan have intermarried for generations. They're our allies. We can ask them to find a way to get us out of here. There's no time to lose. We leave now!"
Before you continue