"Run! They're crazy! They're all crazy!"
A real-life battle royale was taking place on Li Family territory!
The eleven remaining members of the Wang Family were fleeing in all directions.
But by now, the Li Family had grown into a considerable force!
As the Li Family members continued to grow, they had already acquired nearly seventy ordinary demon beasts of various kinds, including even two spirit beasts.
And among Zhien Village's thousand-plus residents,
a hundred able-bodied men had begun hunting alongside the Li Family. They worked hard at cultivation, hoping to become Li Family guards. Six of them had even become Qi Refiners!
"Kill him! Lord Li said whoever kills a member of the Wang Family can become a Li Family guard and earn a reward!"
"That's a deal? Don't even think about taking him from me!"
"Charge, brothers!"
At that moment, twenty able-bodied men had cornered a Wang Family cultivator. Twenty bows fired in quick succession.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—"
After a long while, the twenty men found the cultivator's corpse beneath a pile of arrows and began arguing over who had landed the final, killing blow.
Only when Li Yaotie returned and crushed the last cultivator with a hammer, smashing him into the wall so hard he couldn't be pried out, did Li Xiang, watching from in front of the screen, take a drink of water.
[Congratulations! The Li Family and its affiliated forces have defeated the invading enemies.]
[Received Incense +200!]
"Those count as invading enemies?"
A hefty influx of Incense left Li Xiang feeling thoroughly satisfied.
Then one entry in the event log caught his eye!
[Your descendant, Li Yaozu, fought fiercely against a cultivator at the sixth level of Qi Refining. Though lightly wounded, he struck a fatal blow and gained considerable insight into swordsmanship amid the Slaughter.]
[Basic Sword Technique progress increased to 50%. Acquired Sword Radiance!]
[Sword Radiance: In battle, wield light and spiritual energy to blind your enemy, then kill with one strike.]
"..."
What kind of despicable insight was that?
He could joke all he wanted, but Li Xiang was also impressed by Li Yaozu. He had mastered Basic Sword Technique step by step on his own. Reaching 50% progress showed he had a good deal of talent.
As for everyone else, the highest Basic Sword Technique proficiency had only reached 20%.
Next, Li Xiang watched the Li Family members clear the battlefield and collect the spoils.
[Obtained spoils of war, magic item: Soul-Confusing Pendant]
[Obtained spoils of war, martial art: Autumn Wind Steps]
[Obtained spoils of war...]
Equipment had dropped all over the place!
No wonder people said war was the fastest way to amass wealth.
Li Xiang checked the items. There was nothing he wanted, but they would be quite useful to the Li Family.
"I thought I might find another treasure like the Mysterious Spear. Guess the odds aren't very high."
He suddenly remembered the Mysterious Spear he had found before.
He rubbed the spatial ring on his index finger. Inside, a spear glowing blue and covered in mysterious runes stood out.
"Old Ancestor, every member of the Wang Family who came on this expedition has been executed. Yaoqing has taken them to nourish the Beast Blood Fruit Tree!"
As usual, Li Dalong came to the Ancestral Hall to report.
While speeding up the game, Li Xiang let the Li Family continue to develop.
At the same time, he began to consider their next move.
In the end, he decided to put the Black Iron Mine's development on hold. They simply weren't strong enough to defend it yet. Continuing to covet the mine would only lead to needless casualties; for now, it was more important to grow steadily using what they had gained.
As for whether Tailin Town would launch a large-scale assault on the Li Family,
Li Xiang wasn't worried at all. Just as he wouldn't dare send the Purple Thunder Heavenly Sun Python and the War Puppet to Tailin Town, the four great families there didn't know the Li Family's exact strength and wouldn't dare come after them either!
After all, every cultivator who had come to the Li Family had died.
They had too much to lose to risk everything. No one knew what trump cards the other side might be hiding.
And in fact, as time passed, Tailin Town still hadn't dared invade the Li Family by the twenty-sixth year. They had only continued to send people to probe them.
[In the Li Family's twenty-sixth year, a plague broke out in Zhien Village. Only after Li Yaoqing investigated did they learn it was revenge by the Wang Family of Tailin Town. Li Yaoqing treated the villagers with her medical skills, and the plague was brought under control.]
[Congratulations! Li Yaoqing earned merit by treating the villagers and resolving the plague. Received Incense +200!]
[Li Yaoqing acquired the trait—Spring Returns with a Miracle Hand.]
[Spring Returns with a Miracle Hand: The success rate of treating patients increases by 20%!]
[A serial killer appeared in Zhien Village. Nine-year-old Li Yaowen arrived at the crime scene with a book in hand, retraced the clues, and uncovered the culprit sent by the Tailin Hu Family to stir up unrest.]
[Received Incense +30!]
[Li Yaowen acquired the aptitude—Miraculous Deduction.]
[Miraculous Deduction: The mind becomes calmer.]
There were plenty of other troubles sent from Tailin Town, but in the end, each one only helped the Li Family gain experience...
"The descendants can now handle most problems on their own."
Li Xiang was quite pleased.
Still, as he watched the Li Family grow, he kept a closer eye on Li Yaowen.
The sickly girl of the Li Family still hadn't cultivated a trace of spiritual energy.
"Yaowen, your health is poor. Take good care of yourself. You don't need to worry about family matters."
Beneath the Beast Blood Fruit Tree, another had sprouted. Under Li Yaoqing's care, it had grown to a person's height. Li Yaoqing was planting spirit herbs when she saw her younger sister approach and smiled. "I've kept a Beast Blood Fruit hidden here for you, dear sister. Eat it, and once you break through to Qi Refining, you'll be healthy again."
The young Li Yaowen stubbornly shook her head. "I can't, sister. I'm following the Way of Establishing Humanity in Heaven and Earth, and I read the Book of Sages. My body is a sacred hall. I heard that the current Literary Sage eats only grains. Once he gains enlightenment, he'll naturally break through."
"How many Literary Cultivators are there in this world?" Li Yaoqing patted her younger sister's head. "We have resources, little sister. It would be better for you to take the easier path."
Li Yaowen shook her head again, looking very much like someone who wouldn't give up until she hit a brick wall.
"Huh? She's going to study the Literary Way?"
Seeing the little words appear above the sisters as they talked, Li Xiang finally understood why Li Yaowen had never become a cultivator.
As it turned out, the girl hadn't cultivated at all. She hadn't taken pills or used any resources, either!
Even he knew about Literary Cultivators...
But in the thousand-year history of spiritual energy's return in Huaxia, there were only a handful of known Literary Cultivators, and none had ever achieved much...
As for whether figures like Sage Confucius had truly existed before spiritual energy returned, Li Xiang had no way of knowing.
But from the sisters' conversation, it seemed there was a Literary Sage in the game world.
And perhaps because she had loved reading since childhood, Li Yaowen had chosen the Literary Way as her goal.
"Hopefully, she'll make it."
Li Xiang shrugged. Everyone had their own ideas, and he should respect her choice.
Time passed once more.
[In the Li Family's twenty-seventh year, Li Dalong consumed a large number of Beast Blood Fruits and happened to find a spirit herb in the Silver Iron Forest. After taking it, he broke through to the ninth level of Qi Refining!]
[Li Yaozu led the Li Family guards in an ambush on members of the Tailin Wang Family who were mining Black Iron. They obtained a large amount of Black Iron!]
"Hahaha! You thought you could mine right under my nose? Hand it over!"
Reading the game's report, Li Xiang couldn't help laughing aloud.
He had given up mining Black Iron himself, but that didn't mean he didn't want the ore!
He had already told Li Dalong to keep a close eye on the mine and let people from Tailin Town do the hard labor for them. Sure enough, the Tailin Wang Family had developed the mine. They sent experts to guard it, but there were always moments when their vigilance slipped.
Li Xiang was happily watching Li Yaozu and his men haul cart after cart of ore back to their base when
his phone rang.
Li Xiang quickly picked it up and answered.
"Young Master Li, good news. I found a buyer for your Beast Blood Fruits: three thousand Spirit Stones."
Boss Qi's voice came through. "By the way, if you're satisfied with my efficiency and the price I got for you, I've got bigger deals lined up. I'd suggest finding a way to keep your future income clean. Otherwise, you understand—if a student like you suddenly has this much extra money, people will get suspicious."
Three thousand Spirit Stones, and he had only given Boss Qi twenty fruits. Li Xiang hadn't expected them to sell for so much!
Each fruit only contained a hundred points of spiritual energy. Normally, even a pill that provided that much spiritual energy would sell for only around twenty Spirit Stones!
If he could get a hundred Beast Blood Fruits a day...
Thinking of the enormous sum, Li Xiang's heart began to pound!
But he kept his voice calm. "I'm very satisfied with this deal. As for the Spirit Stones... that can be arranged. I'm just wondering whether you can get your hands on any contraband."
"Huh? Contraband?"
Boss Qi paused, then said gravely, "Young Master Li, you know how it is. If you want a Star-Destroying Cannon, you'll have to give me some time. It won't be easy to get it back here otherwise."
"..."
Why the hell would I want a Star-Destroying Cannon? What, did you think I was planning to start an interstellar war?
Li Xiang hung up and sent Boss Qi a quick text. Then he left his room. After gaming all day, it was time to get something to eat.
Looking at the furnishings in his home, he couldn't tell for a moment whether he was in the game world or reality.
"Yeah, I've been playing too much."
Li Xiang shrugged.
He had just taken a cake out of the fridge when he saw Yuexian watching outside through the peephole. He frowned and asked, "Yuexian, what's going on?"
Yuexian turned around and waved a hand. "Master, did you get into some kind of trouble?"
"Hm?"
Li Xiang sensed that something was wrong.
"Grandma Ling next door has been pacing outside and keeping an eye on our home."
Li Xiang's mouth twitched. "Let her watch."
Great. He'd never had classmates wait for him outside school when he was a kid, but now some old lady who'd probably lived for who knew how long was waiting outside his door. She was probably still angry about what had happened before. If Grandma Ling caught him, wouldn't she give him a couple of bumps on the head?
He didn't dwell on it and went back to his room. If anything happened, he could just call Uncle Chen, the gatekeeper.
He had just sat down and taken a bite of cake when
Li Xiang's eyes widened.
The game screen rang with a clanging sound.
Sparks flew as Li Yaotie hammered away at iron!
[Your descendant, Li Yaotie, continued refining Black Iron after obtaining some. While hammering it, he gained insight and used the Black Iron and other materials to forge the first iron sword. He activated its potential with demon beast blood, drawing the spiritual energy of Heaven and Earth into the blade.]
[Li Yaotie forged his first magic item and acquired the profession—Ninth Grade Artifact Refiner!]
[Acquired trait: Destined for Iron...]
Before you continue