War Puppet, My Lord, the Times Have Changed

[Congratulations, the Li Family has gained the loyalty of all villagers in Zhien Village; the entire village is willing to die alongside the Li Family!]

[Received Incense +300!]

[Your descendant Li Dalong has won the hearts of the people and gained the devotion of the Zhien Village villagers; gained trait: Hope of the Whole Village]

[When fighting for the family faction, combat power +20!]

In front of the screen, Li Xiang was watching everything regarding his family.

His blood was boiling too. He had never considered the villagers of Zhien Village as combatants, but only now did he realize that while managing the Li Family, he had already secured the loyalty of the entire village!

This battle of family destiny was not just the Li Family fighting; there were three thousand villagers as well!

"What is there to fear from the Wang Family and the Hu Family? Screw it, let's take them down!"

"Ding-dong."

Just as he was getting excited.

His phone rang with a message from his school, asking why he was late. Looking at the sky outside, he realized he had been playing the game for two days without noticing.

Just as he was about to turn it off, his teacher called.

"Li Xiang, has something happened at your home? Even so, don't drop out. Only by studying hard can you change your life..."

"Sorry, Teacher, please help me withdraw. Don't you think it's a waste of time for someone with my strength to still be in school? I won't say more, I'm busy with big things. I'll have someone handle the withdrawal paperwork later."

"What kind of nonsense are you spouting..."

Before the teacher could finish, Li Xiang hung up and turned off his phone.

To hell with school.

As the ancestor of the Li Family, I am going to lead my family to fight a glorious battle!

Li Xiang stared intently at the screen.

As time accelerated, the once-bustling Zhien Village gradually grew quiet. In the past, the men would take their families to farm or raise chickens and ducks in the streets.

But now.

Only the elderly, weak, women, and children could be seen in the entire village, and some women were even sharpening knives at their doorways, guarding their homes.

In the Li Family courtyard, only a group of maids stood guard by the carriages, where the brothers Li Yunlin and Li Yunbing were sitting.

"Little brother, don't be afraid. The ancestor has always been protecting our Li Family, and the family will surely return safely."

Li Yunlin stroked his younger brother's head.

Suddenly.

Both he and Li Yunbing looked toward the Ancestral Hall in astonishment.

"Boom!"

A sound erupted as a massive figure burst from the ground, soaring into the clouds and shimmering brilliantly under the radiance of the sun!

"This is... the ancestor manifesting!"

Li Yunlin was right!

Li Xiang was manifesting!

He was currently sitting in his room, his eyes turning white as he stared at the 500-inch screen with a solemn expression, his hands poised over the keyboard and mouse, ready to act at any moment.

[You are currently operating the War Puppet.]

[Detection: Mechanical Arm functionality 100%, Laser Cannon charge 100%, Laser Sword 100%, War Barrier ready to activate...]

[Spiritual energy low-consumption mode activated, spiritual energy reserves--99%!]

Li Xiang had used the War Puppet to roam this world before.

But this time, it was his very first real combat operation!

"Open map!"

With a click, the map appeared in the top right corner.

He saw thousands of small green dots already appearing around the map of Tailin Town; the Li Family's forces had arrived at Tailin Town before him!

On the map, he locked onto the location of the Wang Family.

"You're the ones!"

Li Xiang narrowed his eyes, and the spiritual energy on the War Puppet surged instantly, leaving a trail as it headed toward the Wang Family!

Before the war began, the strongest would strike first.

He intended to use the War Puppet to draw the attention of all the experts in Tailin Town away from the Li Family!

At this moment, in Tailin Town.

In the Hu Family hall, the experts from the Hu Family of Tailin and the Wang Family were sitting together.

The heads of the two families drank tea together, both of their faces wreathed in smiles.

The head of the Hu Family said, "Heaven is helping our two families. The Chen Family dared to cooperate with the Li Family, so retribution has arrived. They had no idea that our Hu Family has a disciple in the inner sect of the Tianhu Sect in Taiqing City. With just a small scheme, the Chen Family elders offended the Tianhu Sect and died in Taiqing City!"

"Hahaha!"

The head of the Wang Family laughed heartily. "Thanks to Brother Hu, once the Chen Family is gone, the Li Family is nothing to worry about! I originally thought that within ten years, once Brother Hu's family ancestor broke through to the Golden Core Stage, or my Wang Family produced a False Core Stage cultivator, we could probe the Li Family. That giant snake, rumored to be at the peak of the spirit beast realm, would be nothing to fear!"

"But who would have thought that the Li Family would be so reckless as to come to our Tailin Town to seek their own deaths."

It turned out that these two families had long known about the Li Family's approach; they had never stopped sending spies into Zhien Village.

"This time, our two families have set a net in Tailin Town. Once the Li Family is wiped out, we can rest easy!"

The head of the Hu Family could not hide his joy.

The development of the Li Family in Zhien Village had been too rapid, causing even them to feel a sense of crisis, but now, everything was settled.

"Come, everyone, drink your tea. We only need to wait for those country bumpkins from the Li Family to walk right into our trap. Everything they have will be ours!"

The group raised their cups.

"Boom!"

A roar echoed through Tailin Town, causing their expressions to change drastically, the tea spilling from the cups they held in their hands.

"What is going on?"

They walked out of the house.

The members of the Wang Family widened their eyes. High above Tailin Town, a monster forged from steel was flying, bombarding the Wang Family estate.

"Oh no, this thing has such a powerful aura. It stands twelve zhang tall—it's comparable to the False Core Stage!"

The head of the Wang Family could never have imagined that the Li Family possessed such a monster. Not daring to think further, he hurriedly led his clansmen to defend his home. "Brother Hu, go quickly and notify your ancestor to shoot this monster down!"

"Right!"

The head of the Hu Family did not dare to delay. He stared solemnly at the War Puppet in the sky and said to his clansmen, "Go call the ancestor. I didn't expect the Li Family to have this trick up their sleeve; it's trying to distract us. The rest of you, be careful—I fear the Li Family has other methods!"

Meanwhile.

Outside the four corners of Tailin Town, the people from the Chen Family and Zhien Village had gathered, but they had hesitated to act.

Even though they were prepared to go to war with the two great families of Tailin, they knew they had to scout the situation in the town first.

However, they discovered that Tailin Town was covered in arrays, and the two families were heavily defended. It was clear they had known about the impending attack and were waiting for them to walk into a trap.

Just as they were wondering what to do.

"Look, what is that?"

A villager carrying a sickle, a kitchen knife, a hoe, a woodcutter's blade, and a manure fork pointed at the sky above Tailin Town, his eyes wide as copper bells.

The members of the Li Family had already noticed it too!

"It's the ancestor making a move!"

"The ancestor has manifested his spirit! He is controlling the War Puppet; the old man is helping us in his own way."

"Hahaha, with the ancestor protecting us, what do we have to fear?!!"

The Li Family members were overjoyed.

Over these years, the ancestor had been growing alongside them, providing them with immense courage at every turn. Now, after many years, the ancestor had struck again, heading toward the most dangerous place!

"Men, the ancestor has already made his move. He is breaking the trap in Tailin Town for us. Get ready—the moment of life and death has arrived!"

"Boom!"

Piloting the War Puppet, Li Xiang launched his first wave of attacks from above the Wang Family estate in Tailin Town!

A cannon port on the shoulder armor fired a laser blast fiercely toward the Wang Family.

But at the same time.

The Wang Family was worthy of being a clan with hundreds of years of heritage. The moment the laser cannon fired, an array appeared over the Li Family estate. The laser cannon, capable of killing a cultivator at the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage in an instant, only managed to crack the yellow light barrier of the Wang Family's defensive array, which then quickly recovered!

[Second-Order Array detected.]

[Detecting spiritual energy fluctuations. Consuming 5% spiritual energy. The opponent is recovering spiritual energy; time rate 3 seconds/5%!]

Li Xiang stared intently at the detection data before him.

This was the benefit of the War Puppet; it could monitor the opponent's energy, allowing him to find the optimal combat strategy!

"A Second-Order Array capable of withstanding the full-force attack of a peak Foundation Establishment cultivator, huh?"

Li Xiang snorted coldly. "Then I'd like to see how long you can defend and how many Spirit Stones you can afford to burn!"

Li Xiang knew clearly that such arrays usually required a constant supply of Spirit Stones or some powerful magical artifact.

"Boom!"

He fired the laser turret on his shoulder armor once again!

[Laser Turret remaining energy: 97%.]

The War Puppet had independent energy sources across its body, and Li Xiang calmly maneuvered it to bombard the sky frantically while still maintaining the lowest possible energy consumption.

Gradually.

He noticed red dots appearing one by one on the map all around him!

As far as his eyes could see.

In the courtyard of the Wang Family of Tailin, cultivators were staring at him in terror, clearly intimidated by the massive size and combat power of the War Puppet flying in the sky.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Li Xiang continued his bombardment.

Finally.

"Hmph, I never expected a mere bumpkin family to possess the means to operate such a puppet."

"No wonder you had the confidence to come to my Wang Family. But coming here alone—I don't know if you're confident, or just too arrogant!"

Two old men appeared before him, accompanied by three cultivators riding swords, surrounding the War Puppet in an instant!

[Detecting enemies—]

[Two at Foundation Establishment Peak Stage, one at Foundation Establishment Middle Stage, three at Foundation Establishment Early Stage!]

[Detecting weapons and equipment—]

The eyes of the War Puppet flickered with light, its internal AI Brain capable of analyzing everything for Li Xiang, who was far away in the real world.

Li Xiang could even see the opponents' auras.

Not only that.

Li Xiang in the real world was also clicking his mouse, likewise seeing partial information about these enemies.

These were all the foundations of the Wang Family!

In the center of the two Foundation Establishment Peak Stage ancestors, a seal the size of a human head was floating.

[Low-grade spiritual artifact detected, analyzing spiritual energy and material composition—]

[Space, weight, hardness...]

Strings of information appeared before his eyes.

But after the Wang Family members surrounded the War Puppet, they launched their attacks in short order!

Spells from the Foundation Establishment Realm experts blasted toward Li Xiang!

"Hmph!"

Li Xiang was not flustered in the slightest. As he tapped the keyboard, the core of the War Puppet activated, and a pale blue energy shield protected his body, blocking all the spells from the Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators!

[Activating War Shield, Laser Sword, and Laser Cannon!]

[Combat mode engaged!]

"Foundation Establishment Realm, is it? Spiritual artifacts, is it?"

Li Xiang looked at the solemn expressions of the Wang Family members and grinned, "The times have changed!"