Bursting Growth

"Su Family! The Su Family's reinforcements are here!"

"We actually have backup?"

"Charge! Kill every last one of those bastards!"

With the Su Family's experts entering the battlefield, the tide of battle instantly turned.

The Su Family head was an elegant, scholarly-looking middle-aged man dressed in a cloud-patterned robe. He appeared beside Li Dalong, and when he saw an ancestral tablet explode in front of Li Dalong, right before their opponent, a flicker of surprise crossed his eyes. Without hesitation, he joined forces with Li Dalong to fight the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage expert.

With the two of them working together, the already lightly wounded Foundation Establishment Middle Stage expert—injured by the blast from the ancestral tablet—was quickly killed.

"You must be Li Dalong, Brother Li?" Su Yun asked, forcing a smile.

"That's me."

Li Dalong breathed a sigh of relief. He seemed to have expected the Su Family to intervene, though, and naturally cupped his hands toward Su Yun. "Thank you for your wholehearted help, Brother Su."

"Think nothing of it."

The corner of Su Yun's mouth twitched. He had helped them this time purely because he had no choice!

Actually, before the Li Family arrived, he had already received invitations from the other two families to join them in resisting the outside enemy. But the Su Family had never wanted to get involved, much less suffer any losses.

What he hadn't expected in the least was that just as the battle in Tailin Town began, the Li Family's fourth daughter, Li Yaowen, would show up right outside his home!

Li Yaowen had given him three choices.

First, he could side with the Hu and Wang Families and besiege the Li Family. In that case, the Li Family would abandon its stronghold without hesitation, leave behind the three thousand people of Zhien Village, and give up every last resource!

Second, he could side with the Li Family. From then on, the Su Family would dominate Tailin Town, with the Li Family as its ally.

As for the third choice, he could remain on the sidelines as before. Everyone would see him as a fence-sitter, and after the battle ended, they would all settle accounts with him!

"Brother Li, we absolutely mustn't let a single person from the Hu or Wang Families escape, or they'll cause trouble later."

Su Yun called out to the badly wounded Li Dalong, then hurried off to support the others.

As he moved,

he looked up at the War Puppet flying beyond Tailin Town, and the Purple Thunder Heavenly Sun Python rampaging through the town. The shock still lingered in his expression.

"The Li Family... is fearsome."

He was afraid!

At first, even though the Li Family had been trying to trade with the Su Family for years, Su Yun had never taken them seriously. But after the siege today, he finally understood how terrifying the Li Family was!

The Li Family had risen to prominence only two or three decades ago.

Yet it already rivaled the centuries-old foundations of the great families, and could even fight two families on its own.

That was why, after Li Yaowen gave him those three choices, he chose the Li Family!

Even if the Li Family lost today, no one could stop its members from escaping. What about two or three decades from now? Or a hundred years from now?

"Family Head, if we help the Li Family, will they swallow us up afterward...?"

An elder beside Su Yun looked grave.

Su Yun shook his head. "The Li Family has grown so powerful in such a short time. The Hu and Wang Families had been blocking them and stifling their growth. Now that they can access resources, they'll reach a whole new height. As long as we keep to our place from now on, we'll be able to cool off in the shade of their great tree."

[Congratulations! You led your family and its forces past Tailin Town's economic blockade and defeated two great families. Your clansmen are cheering for you!]

[Incense +5000!]

"We won!"

Li Xiang finally stopped controlling the War Puppet and happily pumped his fist.

Truthfully, he had already prepared for both the worst and the best outcomes in this battle.

If he lost, he wouldn't sit around like a fool waiting to die. He would take every member of the Li Family and retreat, abandon the resources they had accumulated in Zhien Village over the years, and start over from scratch. Once the family had settled somewhere else and grown strong, they would return for revenge.

And the best-case scenario was the Su Family.

That was the key to this battle!

He still remembered his conversation with Li Yaowen in the Ancestral Hall that day. The Su Family had always been the crucial piece.

This time, too, he had sent Li Yaowen to the Su Family to offer them three choices—three ways to survive!

"This time, we hit the jackpot!"

Li Xiang could barely contain his delight.

As the battle ended, they began cleaning up the battlefield.

The event log filled with a list that made for delightful reading.

[You obtained loot: low-grade artifact, Rapid-Fire Gun.]

[You obtained a copy of the Alchemical Scripture.]

[You obtained a copy of the Spear Forest Formation Map.]

[...]

They said war was the simplest way to amass wealth, didn't they?

As the Li Family searched the battlefield, they seized every cultivation manual and reference book from the Hu and Wang Families.

And that wasn't all.

[Your family occupied two gold mines.]

[Your family occupied one Azure Stone Mine.]

[You acquired Spirit Fish Lake and discovered an ingredient that can increase the body's true qi...]

The sheer variety of resources dazzled Li Xiang.

[Your family head obtained a low-grade spirit artifact—the Tianjun Seal!]

The low-grade spirit artifact that had repeatedly caused Li Xiang trouble during the fight with the War Puppet was now in Li Dalong's hands!

This spirit artifact could grow larger and gain immense weight to strike enemies. It could even form a runic array to seal them. Li Xiang knew all too well how powerful the thing was. A Foundation Establishment cultivator wielding a spirit artifact could fight someone one minor stage above them.

But while their spoils were plentiful,

the Li Family had also suffered heavy casualties, and there was no avoiding that.

More than half of the thousand or so commoners from Zhien Village who had come along were dead or wounded. The Li Family's hundred-plus demonic beasts had likewise lost more than half in the first wave of the Hu Family's Spear Forest Array. Only a little over twenty remained.

Of the four spirit beasts,

only the weakest, the Eight-Leaf Flower Demon, had survived.

And the Li Family members hadn't all come through unscathed, either.

Even though Li Xiang had done everything he could to help the clansmen avoid danger, Li Yaotie had still come within a hair's breadth of death in battle. In the end, he lost his left arm. The Ancestral Embrace could heal injuries, but it couldn't regrow a severed limb.

"Once the family has developed further, I'll look into finding him a way to get it back."

Soon, the game screen changed.

Everyone had returned to the Li Family stronghold with their spoils.

Li Dalong was comforting the people of Zhien Village who had lost loved ones. He promised them that as long as the Li Family remained, it would protect all of Zhien Village.

From that moment on, every child born in Zhien Village would receive guidance from cultivators and gain access to more farmland and resources—not to mention seeds for spirit herbs.

"Next, the Li Family gets to grow by leaps and bounds!"

Li Xiang grinned.

This battle had affected him, too.

He increasingly felt that the descendants in the game were real people, with real emotions and qualities he couldn't help admiring. Sometimes, Li Xiang even thought that if the Li Family in the real world were like the Li Family in the game, he might be willing to devote himself to the whole family.

As these thoughts crossed his mind,

[Your descendant Li Yaotie returned with one arm severed. Seeing him, Bai Rourou was heartbroken and took the initiative to propose to him!]

The game showed lanterns and decorations once more, and all the villagers of Zhien Village came to the Li Family to attend the wedding.

They weren't the only ones.

The Chen Family had now returned to Tailin Town, and Su Yun, head of the Su Family, came to the wedding as well.

Li Yaotie, one-armed, and Bai Rourou, both dressed in wedding robes, stepped into the marriage hall.

Next, they went to the Ancestral Hall.

"Waaah, Ancestor, Yaotie finally got married! If I'd known losing an arm would get me Rou Rou, I'd have chopped it off myself ages ago!" Li Yaotie bawled like a two-hundred-jin child.

"..."

Li Xiang had been worried that losing his arm would affect Li Yaotie's state of mind. Now, it seemed...

[Your descendant has married. Congratulations! Incense +50!]

This happy occasion dispelled some of the sorrow over Zhien Village's heavy losses.

The Li Family and Zhien Village began a new round of development.

[Li Family, Year Thirty-Four]

At the start of the year, the Li Family's gains from Tianlin Town were already beginning to show results!

[Li Yaozu killed his enemy, Hu Wei. His mind cleared, and he gained insight into the path to Foundation Establishment. He has begun secluded cultivation!]

"The Li Family's third Foundation Establishment cultivator."

A smile appeared on Li Xiang's face.

The only downside was that, after divorcing Qu Xiaoxiao, Li Yaozu seemed so heartbroken that he had no plans to take a wife.

"Children and grandchildren have their own blessings." Li Xiang had no intention of forcing Li Yaozu to marry.

He was still thinking about it when—

"Ancestor, I did it! I did it again!"

The game screen abruptly shifted to the Spirit Herb Garden.

Li Yaoqing was holding an ancestral tablet and happily spinning in circles. The Li Yaoqing who had coldly shot enemies with poisoned arrows in Tailin Town had returned to the Spirit Herb Garden and turned into an innocent, carefree child.

[Your descendant Li Yaoqing has finally developed a new medicine after years of research: Golden Spirit Powder!]

[Golden Spirit Powder (Ninth-Rank Potion): Increases your Metal Spiritual Root by 1–8 points.]

"You finally made it!"

Li Xiang almost jumped out of his seat when he saw the message.

This ninth-rank potion was practically a divine medicine for beginners. It could change a person's aptitude!

Even in the real world, it would sell for a sky-high price!

It also meant that the Li Family members' aptitudes would improve yet again. Li Dalong stood to benefit the most. His Metal Spiritual Root had reached 68 points after he entered the Foundation Establishment Realm. As long as his luck wasn't too terrible, he could break 70!

"Ancestor, now that we can get so many resources from Tailin Town, I'm ready to develop two new medicines!"

After bowing to the ancestral tablet, Li Yaoqing got to work on her new medicines.

Li Xiang took a quick look.

Clear Wind Powder, a potion that cleared the mind while someone cultivated, effectively increasing their comprehension!

Black Jade Intermittent Ointment, an extremely potent healing medicine that could treat internal and external injuries. As long as no more than thirty seconds had passed since a hand or foot was severed, it could even reattach the limb.

"Yaoqing, you really are my greatest treasure!"

Li Xiang's grin nearly stretched from ear to ear.

As long as Li Yaoqing ramped up production, then once the Li Family grew stronger, she could train more apprentices. Li Xiang might even be able to open a pharmaceutical company in the real world.

Fortunes awaited!