The Development Path of the Second Generation of the Li Family

"Run! They're crazy, they're all crazy!"

On the Li Family's territory, a real-life battle royale was unfolding.

The remaining eleven members of the Wang Family were fleeing frantically in every direction.

But the Li Family of today was no longer a force to be trifled with.

As the Li Family members gradually grew stronger, they now possessed nearly seventy ordinary beasts of various kinds, including two spirit beasts.

As for the thousand-strong population of Zhien Village.

There were already a hundred able-bodied men who hunted alongside the Li Family; they had been training hard, hoping to become guards for the Li Family, and among them were even six Qi Refining cultivators!

"Kill him! The Master of the Li Family said that whoever kills a member of the Wang Family will become a Li Family guard and receive a reward!"

"There's such a good deal? Don't anyone fight me for it!"

"Charge, brothers!"

At this moment, twenty men cornered a Wang Family cultivator, their twenty bows firing in rapid succession.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—"

A long while later, the twenty men dug through the pile of arrows to find the cultivator's corpse, beginning to argue over who had landed the final killing blow.

It wasn't until Li Yaotie returned and smashed the last cultivator with a single hammer blow, pinning him into the wall so hard he couldn't be pried out, that the fighting stopped.

Li Xiang, sitting in front of the screen, finally took a sip of water.

[Congratulations, the Li Family and their affiliated forces have eliminated the invading enemies.]

[Received Incense +200!]

"Does this even count as an invading enemy?"

With a large sum of Incense added to his account, Li Xiang felt quite satisfied.

Then, one of the items in the event log caught his eye!

[Your descendant Li Yaozu fought a bitter battle against a sixth-level Qi Refining cultivator. At the cost of a minor injury, he unleashed a fatal strike, gaining profound insights into swordsmanship amidst the slaughter.]

[Basic Swordsmanship proficiency increased to 50%, learned skill: Sword Radiance!]

[Sword Radiance: Utilize light and spiritual energy during combat to blind the enemy's eyes and strike them down in one blow.]

"..."

What a despicable insight.

Complaints aside, Li Xiang also felt a sense of admiration for Li Yaozu. This guy had developed his Basic Swordsmanship step by step on his own, and reaching 50% proficiency showed he had decent aptitude.

As for the others, their Basic Swordsmanship proficiency had only reached 20% at most.

Li Xiang then watched as the Li Family members cleared the battlefield and collected the spoils of war.

[Obtained loot, magical artifact: Soul-Confusing Pendant]

[Obtained loot, martial arts technique: Autumn Wind Steps]

[Obtained loot...]

Another pile of gear had dropped!

No wonder people always said that war was the fastest way to acquire wealth.

Li Xiang checked the items; there was nothing he particularly wanted, but they were quite useful for the Li Family.

"I thought I might run into something good like the Mysterious Spear again, but it seems the odds aren't very high."

He suddenly remembered the Mysterious Spear from before.

He touched the spatial ring on his index finger; inside, a spear emitting a blue glow, its shaft covered in mysterious runes, looked particularly striking.

"Ancestor, everyone from the Wang Family on this trip has been executed. I have already had Yaoqing take them to nourish the Beast Blood Fruit Tree!"

Li Dalong came to the Ancestral Hall to report as he always did.

Li Xiang accelerated the game time, allowing the Li Family to continue their development.

He also began to ponder.

His final decision was to temporarily postpone the development of the Black Iron Mine. After all, they currently lacked the strength to defend it, and coveting the mine would only lead to unnecessary casualties. It was better to focus on steady growth using their recent gains.

As for whether Tailin Town would launch a large-scale attack on the Li Family?

Li Xiang wasn't afraid at all. Just as he wouldn't dare send the Purple Thunder Heavenly Sun Python and the War Puppet to Tailin Town, the four major families of Tailin Town didn't know the Li Family's true strength and wouldn't dare to come either!

After all, every cultivator who had come to the Li Family had died.

With their vast estates and deep roots, they wouldn't dare to gamble everything, as no one knew what kind of trump cards the other side was hiding.

And the truth was, as time passed, even by the 26th year of the Li Family, Tailin Town still hadn't dared to invade, only occasionally sending people to probe the Li Family.

[In the 26th year of the Li Family, a plague broke out in Zhien Village. Through Li Yaoqing, it was discovered that it was retaliation from the Wang Family in Tailin Town. After Li Yaoqing used his medical skills to treat the villagers, the plague was resolved.]

[Congratulations, Li Yaoqing has saved the villagers and performed meritorious service in resolving the plague. Received Incense +200!]

[Li Yaoqing has acquired the trait--Spring Returns with a Miracle Hand.]

[Spring Returns with a Miracle Hand: When treating patients, the success rate increases by 20%!]

[A serial killer appears in Zhien Village. 9-year-old Li Yaowen, holding a book, arrives directly at the crime scene. By searching for clues, she discovers the murderer sent by the Tailin Hu Family to sow chaos.]

[Incense +30 obtained!]

[Li Yaowen has acquired the talent--Miraculous Deduction.]

[Miraculous Deduction: The mind will become much calmer.]

There is still plenty of trouble coming from Tailin Town, but the final result is always an increase in experience for the Li Family...

"The descendants are already capable of solving most of their troubles on their own."

Li Xiang is satisfied.

However, while watching the development of the Li Family members, he still pays extra attention to Li Yaowen.

This sickly girl of the Li Family still hasn't cultivated a single shred of spiritual energy.

"Xiao Wen, your health is poor. Take good care of yourself; there's no need to worry about family matters."

Under this Beast Blood Fruit Tree, another Beast Blood Fruit Tree has grown, reaching the height of a person under Li Yaoqing's cultivation. Li Yaoqing, who is planting spiritual herbs, sees her younger sister approaching and reveals a smile. "Big sister has hidden a Beast Blood Fruit here. Good sister, eat it, and once you break through the Qi Refining stage, your health will improve."

Young Li Yaowen stubbornly shakes her head. "I can't, sister. I am currently cultivating the Way of Establishing Humanity in Heaven and Earth, and I am reading the Book of Sages. My body is a sanctuary. I have heard that the contemporary Literary Sage only eats grains and vegetables; once one gains enlightenment, the breakthrough will come naturally."

"How many Literary Cultivators are there in this world?" Li Yaoqing strokes her sister's head. "Sister, our family has resources. It is better for you to take an easier path."

Li Yaowen still shakes her head, looking very much like she won't give up until she hits a brick wall.

"Ah? Going to cultivate as a Literary Cultivator?"

Looking at the small text bubbles appearing above the sisters' heads, Li Xiang finally understands why Li Yaowen has never become a cultivator.

So this little girl simply hasn't been practicing cultivation, nor has she been taking pills or using resources!

Even he knows about Literary Cultivators...

However, in his memory, throughout the history of Huaxia's thousand-year spiritual energy recovery, the known Literary Cultivators can be counted on one hand, and not a single one has achieved success...

As for whether figures like Sage Confucius existed before the spiritual energy recovery, Li Xiang has no way of knowing if they were real.

But judging by the conversation between these two sisters, Literary Sages do exist in the game world.

And Li Yaowen seems to have set the literary path as her goal because she has loved reading since she was a child.

"I hope she succeeds."

Li Xiang shrugs. After all, everyone has different ideas, and he should respect others' choices.

Time passes once again.

[In the 27th year of the Li Family, Li Dalong consumes a large amount of Beast Blood Fruit and, having chanced upon a spiritual herb in the Silver Iron Forest, breaks through to the ninth level of Qi Refining after consuming it!]

[Li Yaozu, leading the Li Family guards, raids members of the Tailin Wang Family harvesting Black Iron Mine and obtains a large amount of Black Iron Mine!]

"Hahaha, you still want to mine right under my nose? Hand it over!"

Looking at the intelligence in the game, Li Xiang can't help but laugh out loud.

Although he gave up on mining the Black Iron Mine, that doesn't mean he doesn't want the ore vein!

He had long ago instructed Li Dalong to keep a close eye on the mine and let the people of Tailin Town do the labor for him. Sure enough, the people from the Tailin Wang Family still developed the mine, and although they would send experts to guard it, there are always moments of negligence.

He is happily watching Li Yaozu and his subordinates transport the ore to their base, cart by cart.

His phone rings.

Li Xiang quickly picks up the phone and answers the call.

"Young Master Li, good news. Your blood fruits have found a buyer: 3,000 Spirit Stones."

Boss Qi's voice rings out. "By the way, if you are satisfied with my efficiency and the price I sold them for, there will be bigger business ahead. In that case, I suggest you find a way to launder your future income. Otherwise, you understand—as a student, having so much extra income will always arouse suspicion."

3,000 Spirit Stones! He only gave Boss Qi 20 fruits; Li Xiang never expected to sell them for such a price!

These are just fruits containing 100 points of spiritual energy. Usually, pills that provide that much spiritual energy can only sell for about 20 Spirit Stones at most!

If he calculates it based on getting 100 Beast Blood Fruits a day...

Thinking of the massive sum, Li Xiang's heart skips a beat!

But on the surface, he remains somewhat calm, his voice flat. "I am very satisfied with this transaction. As for the matter of the Spirit Stones... that's easy to handle. I just wonder if Boss Qi can get his hands on some contraband?"

"Ah? Contraband?"

Boss Qi pauses for a moment, then says solemnly, "Young Master Li, you know that if you want a Star-Destroying Cannon, you really have to give me some time, otherwise it won't be easy to transport."

"..."

I don't need a damn Star-Destroying Cannon; do you think I'm trying to start an interstellar war???

Li Xiang hangs up the phone directly, simply sends a text message to Boss Qi, and then walks out of his room. He has been playing the game for a day, and it is time to eat.

Looking at the furnishings in his home, he suddenly finds it difficult to distinguish between the game world and reality.

"Hmm, I got too absorbed in playing."

Li Xiang shrugged.

Just as he was taking a cake out of the refrigerator, Li Xiang saw Yuexian looking outside through the peephole at the door. He couldn't help but knit his brows and ask, "Yuexian, what's the situation?"

Yuexian turned her head back and waved her hand, "Master, did you stir up some trouble?"

"Hm?"

Li Xiang felt that something was off.

"Grandma Ling next door has walked past a few times already, staring at our place."

Hearing this, the corner of Li Xiang's mouth twitched, "Let her stare."

Great, he never had classmates waiting for him at the school gate when he was a kid. Now this—an old lady who had lived for who knows how many years was camping outside his door. She was probably still angry about what happened earlier. If he got caught by Grandma Ling, wouldn't he end up with two bumps on his head?

Without thinking further, Li Xiang returned to his room. Anyway, if anything happened, he could just call Uncle Chen the security guard.

He had just sat down and taken a bite of cake.

Li Xiang's eyes widened.

In the game screen, the sound of 'clinking and clanking' rang out.

Sparks were flying everywhere; Li Yaotie was forging iron!

[Your descendant Li Yaotie, after obtaining Black Iron Mine, has been continuously tempering the black iron. While hammering the black iron, he gained some insights and used the black iron along with other materials to forge his first iron sword. Using the blood of a demonic beast to awaken the sword's potential, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth flowed into the blade.]

[Li Yaotie has forged his first magical artifact and obtained the profession—Ninth Grade Artifact Refiner!]

[Obtained trait: Destined for Iron...]