Returning to the Sect (Seeking Collection and Recommendation)

"Notification! You have successfully tamed the Black Forest Horse King."

"Notification! You have gained 50 Battle Merits for subduing a leader-tier creature."

Ultimately, the Black Forest Horse King chose to submit. Zhao Fu successfully tamed it, feeling quite pleased as he opened the Black Forest Horse King's attribute panel.

[Black Forest Horse King] (Leader)

Level: Tier 4

Potential: S

Attributes: Strength: 10, Intelligence: 9, Agility: 21, Constitution: 14

Skills: Horse King Deterrence (Causes all ordinary-tier horses to feel fear or even submit), Nightmare Dash (Allows for ultra-high-speed running upon activation).

After reviewing the stats, Zhao Fu felt the Black Forest Horse King was not much different from Little Gray, save for a few minor variations. He had the others loosen the rope around its neck. Everyone was delighted to see the Horse King tamed and went off to pick their own horses.

Zhao Fu walked alone to the side of the Black Forest Horse nest. He reached out to touch the horse-shaped stone carving floating in mid-air and received a set of information.

[Nest: Black Forest Horse] (Primary 1400/5000) Quality: White. Brief: A nest for Black Forest Horses; it refreshes 2–5 Black Forest Horses daily.

After reading the info, Zhao Fu thought that, barring any accidents, the Black Forest Horses would become the Great Qin's primary warhorses, eventually following the Great Qin's footsteps to sweep across the world.

He chose to occupy and then relocate the nest. A notification confirmed he gained 50 Battle Merits and 140 experience points. Zhao Fu's total Battle Merits were now 463; he only needed 37 more to upgrade his status to Commoner.

The Black Forest Horse affair concluded perfectly. In total, 324 Black Forest Horses were captured. Zhao Fu had 600 soldiers, so he selected 200 to undergo a Class Transfer into cavalry. That was the extent of his cavalry for now. With Great Qin Village upgraded to an Intermediate Village, the daily population refresh rate was between 24 and 29 people.

He decided to wait for the next population refresh before adding more cavalry, choosing instead to expand the other three troop types to maintain a balanced ratio.

As usual, after finishing his business in the Apocalypse World, Zhao Fu returned to the real world. He intended to boil some water for a bowl of instant noodles, but a sudden knock at the door surprised him. He opened it to take a look.

Standing outside were several people: one woman and four men. The woman wore a suit and skirt, carried a file, and wore glasses; she was quite attractive. The four men were also in suits, exuding a heavy presence that suggested they were no ordinary people.

The moment Zhao Fu opened the door, he became vigilant and asked, "Is there something you need?"

The woman smiled slightly and introduced herself, "Hello! My name is Ji Qin, an employee of the Ying Group. May I ask if you are Zhao Fu, the son of Zhao Meiling?"

Hearing this, Zhao Fu sensed that things were not simple. He realized that since the other party had already tracked him down, there was no point in hiding. He nodded to confirm his identity.

Receiving his confirmation, Ji Qin continued, "Mr. Zhao, you carry the bloodline of the Ying Family. According to the directives issued by the Ying Corporation, we are here to invite you to return to the Ying Family. Rest assured, we will not harm you. This is a good thing; you won't have to do anything at the Ying Family, and we will provide you with a much better life."

Hearing Ji Qin's words, Zhao Fu instantly understood the situation. Major clans were currently reclaiming their scattered bloodlines; after all, a family sharing a single bloodline would be a great help in the future and would further consolidate a massive conglomerate.

The Ying Group showing up meant that his mother's side of the family must have gone to acknowledge their ancestors. To be more specific, his maternal grandparents and their relatives likely carried the Ying bloodline.

Now that everyone entering the Apocalypse World received bloodline notifications, and the Ying Family offered such generous treatment, their decision to acknowledge their roots had inadvertently exposed the fact that Zhao Fu also carried the Ying bloodline.

Zhao Fu figured it all out, his expression calming down. He refused, "There is no need. I am doing just fine on my own."

Ji Qin's smile remained, but her attitude shifted, becoming somewhat forceful. "I apologize, Mr. Zhao, but this is a mandatory order from the Ying Corporation. All descendants carrying the Ying bloodline must return to acknowledge their ancestors."

Zhao Fu frowned. This was incredibly overbearing. To think they would force someone to acknowledge their ancestors! Then again, he realized they were likely going mad from not having found the Great Qin successor yet, and were trying to find the heir through these means.

Zhao Fu now had two choices: follow them back to the Ying Family or attempt to flee.

The second option was likely unfeasible. If he ran, wouldn't he look highly suspicious? Furthermore, with his current skills, he couldn't escape the search of a massive clan. He would eventually be caught anyway, so he might as well choose the first option.

Thus, Zhao Fu nodded cooperatively and said, "Alright then. Could you wait a moment while I pack my things?"

Seeing Zhao Fu's cooperation, Ji Qin smiled kindly and nodded in agreement.

Back in his room, Zhao Fu looked around and realized there wasn't much to take. He grabbed a backpack, packed a few clothes, and most importantly, the Apocalypse Stone, before leaving with Ji Qin.

At the Li Family villa, the butler had been keeping a close eye on news regarding Zhao Fu. The moment Zhao Fu was taken away by the Ying Family, the butler received the report and relayed it to the head of the Li Family, Li Feng—the old man from before.

Upon hearing the news, Li Feng was initially angry, but then he let out a heavy sigh. "I never expected him to possess the bloodline of the Great Qin Ying Family. If I had known this earlier, it wouldn't have been a bad thing to let Zhe'er marry her back then. We might have had a chance to cooperate with the Ying Family."

But now, Li Feng's eyes turned cold. That bastard—given his temperament and ability, he would surely secure a high position within the Ying Family.

Zhao Fu now posed a slight threat to the Li Family. Rather than letting him set traps for them later, hinder the Li Family's development, or even harm his precious grandson—the future master of the Great Tang Empire—he had to kill him now to nip the trouble in the bud.

Of course, killing Zhao Fu now might offend the Ying Family. With a grave expression, Li Feng told the butler, "Have someone else handle this. Make sure not to leak any information about the Li Family, or it will cause significant trouble. Although the Great Qin Ying Family hasn't found their successor yet, they are one of the five great clans and are not to be trifled with!"

The butler nodded solemnly, then followed Li Feng's orders to leave the room and find an assassin to kill Zhao Fu.

On the other side, Zhao Fu was shocked by the sheer scale of the Ying Family's wealth. He was flown to Nankou City, the Ying Family's headquarters, on a private jet alongside several other descendants who had also been found to carry the Ying bloodline.

PS: Thank you to windjiang for the tip. I've read the comments regarding the Great Qin Emperor transferring into a Demon Priest. I'll say this: the Apocalypse World has countless classes, and Demon Priest is merely a D-minus grade, a small transitional class, so there's no need to worry. As for the issues in the first chapter, haha, it is what it is; it can't be changed now.