Mittel Clan's Next Step in Development

"Patriarch."

"Mm."

Teng Shan smiled and nodded at Ya Fei. The fact that the first woman by the patriarch's side was one of their own was, by itself, reassuring.

It was perfectly normal for a powerful man to have several wives and concubines, but if none of the women around him had any connection to their side, the people below would lack confidence when handling matters.

Pillow talk had gotten countless people killed...

Teng Shan shook his head, feeling much more at ease.

By the time he reached Wu Yan, Wu Yan had already opened his eyes.

"Is something the matter?"

"Yes. Tomorrow is the clan's year-end assessment. Since you've finally found some free time, Patriarch, could you make an appearance and offer the clan members some encouragement?"

Although Teng Shan had been the one to decide on investing in Wu Yan, over the past few years, he had only met Wu Yan a handful of times.

"Fine. Notify me when the time comes. Is there anything else?"

"There is one more matter. The clan's momentum within the empire is nearing its limit. Patriarch, where do you think the Mittel Clan should go next?"

This was Teng Shan's main reason for coming to see Wu Yan.

With the clan's "new Ice Emperor" overseeing things, the Mittel Clan's commercial territory, which had originally expanded rapidly due to the clash between two tigers, received a second burst of acceleration.

In just a few years, Mittel Clan branches had spread through cities large and small across the Jia Ma Empire.

Other than some excessively remote small towns, every other place had already been incorporated into the Mittel Clan's commercial territory.

"What do you all think?"

Wu Yan was in no hurry to state his own opinion. Since Teng Shan had come to him for a decision, it meant that he and the council of elders had already discussed several possible conclusions.

"The ideas I discussed with the elders can mainly be divided into two directions."

"The first is to imitate the Imperial Clan, continue developing, and replace the Imperial Clan once we have accumulated enough strength."

As Teng Shan spoke, he saw not the slightest ripple in those calm eyes and paused.

Ya Fei approached with a tray and set two cups of hot tea beside the two people who truly held the authority to speak in the Mittel Clan.

"The second is to expand outward. However, this may require troubling you, Patriarch. We would need you to personally deter certain ill-intentioned people."

Seeing that those eyes still remained unmoved, Teng Shan quietly sighed in admiration. His patriarch's temperament truly was extraordinary.

Even an old man who had lived as many years as he had could not see through the thoughts of this young patriarch.

"Expand outward. The Jia Ma Empire is too small."

Wu Yan did not like throwing his weight around at home. If he lacked the strength, then bullying his own people would have been one thing.

But now that he had the strength, if he still bullied his own people, what fun would that be?

What?

The Imperial Clan did not count as his own people?

Heh. In Wu Yan's eyes, the Imperial Clan would sooner or later become the Mittel Clan's little subordinate. It was only a matter of time.

There was a saying Wu Yan liked very much: I tolerate all under heaven; how could I not tolerate you?

"Patriarch, then which direction do you think we should expand into first?"

As he spoke, Teng Shan produced a map. He had clearly come prepared.

The next moment, a table of ice condensed into shape.

Teng Shan froze for a moment before placing the map on it.

"This is the Jia Ma Empire. To the northeast lies the Falling Goose Empire, to the northwest lies the Mulan Empire, to the southwest lies the Chu Yun Empire, and to the southeast lies the Black-Corner Region. Between the empire and the Black-Corner Region are several weak kingdoms."

"From the perspective of profit, we are located in the northwest, so expanding southeast would naturally be the best option. Those weak kingdoms would be easy enough to deal with, but the Black-Corner Region is truly too chaotic..."

Teng Shan shook his head. The Black-Corner Region was certainly profitable, but it was simply too disorderly.

No matter how strong their patriarch was, could he really straighten out the entire Black-Corner Region?

That was unrealistic!

The Black-Corner Region was truly packed with powerful experts, and the Mittel Clan had gathered intelligence on the place.

Though the Black-Corner Region was not even as large as the Jia Ma Empire, it contained far more Dou Emperors than the Jia Ma Empire.

"The next option would be the Falling Goose Empire to the northeast. Although going around it would be somewhat troublesome, it would still mean developing toward the center of the continent, and the profits would be considerable."

"However, the Falling Goose Empire also has the Golden Goose Sect, whose strength is no weaker than the Cloud Sect's."

"If an all-out war truly broke out, the Golden Goose Sect, backed by the entire Falling Goose Empire, would likely be even harder to deal with than the Black-Corner Region. After all, the Golden Goose Sect has been deeply rooted in the Falling Goose Empire for many years and has won considerable popular support and prestige there."

Teng Shan had a headache for a moment. Although his patriarch was exceptionally talented, he was still too young.

He would only be twenty-two this New Year. He had broken through to Dou Emperor at eighteen—how far could he have cultivated in four years?

Seeing Teng Shan's expression, Wu Yan suddenly realized that he seemed to have made a mistake.

"Ahem. I'm a Dou Zong now."

"Patriarch, don't joke around."

Teng Shan waved his hand subconsciously. The patriarch was usually such a calm person, so why did he like making...

What kind of joke was this!

Teng Shan raised his head and saw his patriarch standing in the void. His breathing immediately quickened, and his eyes widened.

"I just broke through to a one-star Dou Zong today. The two directions you mentioned can be advanced simultaneously."

A ripple of spatial fluctuation appeared before Teng Shan, and Wu Yan returned to his chair in an instant.

Seeing that Teng Shan still seemed not to have recovered, Wu Yan released a trace of cold air to snap him out of it, then continued, "Make preparations with the elders. Be courteous first, then resort to force. Show them the Mittel Clan's grace."

"After that, I will make a personal trip and settle them all in one go."

"Yes, Patriarch."

At this moment, Teng Shan no longer had the slightest hesitation and gathered the clan elders at top speed.

I hesitated when we had no Dou Zong, but now the Patriarch himself is a Dou Zong! This is terrifying! Why the hell would I still hesitate?

Meeting!

Some of the older clan elders cursed as they got dressed, feeling that the patriarch had truly gone senile.

In the middle of the night, instead of sleeping, why the hell was he calling a meeting?

Maybe they should just let the Patriarch take over the patriarch's position as well.

Several hours later, when those elders returned from the meeting, every one of them looked so energized that it was as if they had been injected with chicken blood.

They had been cursing when they left, so why did they return looking as delighted as if they had eaten honey?

Some juniors voiced their concern and followed the elders' earlier lead in criticizing Patriarch Teng Shan.

The result was that they were immediately scolded senseless by the old men:

"You heartless little bastards! Patriarch Teng Shan is wise and mighty. Is he someone you can criticize?"

The juniors: "..."

These old men really had dementia. They changed their faces like children!