Return to the Clan

"Sir, are you the Imperial Clan's Imperial Son?" Zhang Lingyue asked softly. She had just heard what they called him and had been startled as well. With things laid out like this, if she still could not figure it out, she would be an idiot.

"That's right. What, being this Imperial Son's maid is your good fortune." Jiang Ming smiled.

Why did that sound a bit like KFC? No, that didn't count. He was merely stating the truth.

"It is Yue'er's good fortune," Zhang Lingyue said softly. Revenge is in the bag. What amazing luck. Hehe, Sir is so handsome!

"Greetings, Imperial Son!" Everyone Jiang Ming encountered along the way bowed in salute. This was the prestige brought by the position of Imperial Son, not by Jiang Ming himself.

However, no one within the Imperial Clan would question the ancestor or the clan leader's decision.

"Young Master, Madam wishes to see you."

"Understood, Aunt Qing." Jiang Ming nodded.

Other than its somewhat extravagant main gate, the Jiang Clan was no different from an ordinary little village inside.

Led by Aunt Qing, they quickly arrived at a residence. It was a courtyard that looked no different from any ordinary one, with several side rooms, a pebble-paved path through the middle, and a pavilion at its center.

A woman sat upright within the pavilion, tea and pastries laid out on the stone table.

"Mother." Jiang Ming called out when he saw her. The woman was none other than Ye Qingmei.

"Ming'er, Ming'er, you're finally back! Mother missed you to death!" The woman immediately rose and embraced Jiang Ming upon seeing him.

Once Ye Qingmei had calmed down, she pulled Jiang Ming into the pavilion and chatted with him about everyday matters.

Zhang Lingyue stood frozen at the side, not daring to move.

"Ming'er, your two maids are in your courtyard."

"Alright, Mother. I'll head back first, then." After finishing their conversation, Jiang Ming took Zhang Lingyue back to his own small courtyard.

"Madam, Young Master is only eleven, yet he has already found so many women." Aunt Qing smiled.

"That only proves my Ming'er is outstanding enough."

"He truly is very outstanding!"

Within Jiang Ming's small courtyard,

"Greetings, Sir!" Nalan Yu and Jiang Naicha were overjoyed to see Jiang Ming. They had not seen him for quite some time, and in this unfamiliar place, they had not dared to act recklessly at all.

After not seeing each other for so long, the two had gone from having no cultivation to already being in the Qi Condensation Realm. That was fairly quick, after all, not everyone was Jiang Ming.

"Hello, my name is Zhang Lingyue. I am Sir's maid."

"Hello, I am Jiang Naicha (Nalan Yu), and I am also Sir's maid."

The three of them then huddled together and whispered among themselves.

"Sir is really handsome. I've never seen anyone more handsome than Sir!"

"Sir's talent is so powerful! At eleven, he beat Nascent Soul Realm geniuses black and blue!"

"Yes, yes, Sir is so amazing! Hehe!"

Jiang Ming was speechless. It was just as well—he could go ask his father what the Imperial Clan was all about.

"You are the Imperial Son. What you represent is the Imperial Clan. No matter what you do outside, so long as you do not harm the Imperial Clan, the entire Imperial Clan will stand behind you." Jiang Lingtian spoke earnestly.

"I understand, Dad." Having learned what he wanted to know, Jiang Ming prepared to leave. Since there was no internal strife within the Imperial Clan, he could completely let loose.

"Wait. What's going on with you still being at the First Layer of the Nascent Soul Realm after two years?" Jiang Lingtian asked.

"I simply couldn't be bothered to break through." Jiang Ming waved his hand. The moment his words fell, his aura surged wildly, and in the blink of an eye, he broke through to the Second Layer of the Nascent Soul Realm.

Jiang Ming spread his hands and curled his lip.

Jiang Lingtian: "..."

"When do you plan to head out again after returning this time?" Jiang Lingtian asked.

"At the Hundred Domains Competition, I suppose. I'll go take a look then."

"That works. Rest well during this time, then." Jiang Lingtian had no intention of urging him to cultivate again. If he broke through a few more times, he was afraid he would suffer a heart attack. Was breaking through really that easy?

When he returned to his residence, Jiang Ming did not see Jiang Naicha and the others. Since he had found maids himself, no additional maids had been assigned to him.

"Ah!" Once he was home, he did not even know what to do. There were no entertainment options, he did not want to cultivate, and with adults at home, he could not mess around.

"Sir!" Jiang Naicha and the other two saw Jiang Ming reclining in a lounge chair, basking in the sun.

"You're back."

"Sir, Madam called us over earlier," Nalan Yu said.

"Oh? What did my mother call you over for?" Jiang Ming asked curiously.

"She told us to keep an eye on Sir and not let you do things that harm heaven and reason outside," Jiang Naicha said obediently.

As for Zhang Lingyue, she had been intimidated by the Jiang Clan's strength. She spent the entire day timid and shrinking back. Nalan Yu had been much the same when she first arrived; only Jiang Naicha was carefree and heedless.

"I am one of the Five Good Youths. How could I possibly do such things!" Jiang Ming declared righteously.

At dinner,

"Ming'er, I heard you've caused quite a lot of trouble outside lately?" Ye Qingmei asked.

"It's fine. They were all minor matters." Jiang Ming ate indifferently.

"Almost every Tribulation Transcendence cultivator in the Cloud Domain is looking for you, and they have even issued a kill order."

"What did Bloodslaughter Hall say?" Jiang Ming asked.

"Bloodslaughter Hall accepted the kill order. They should come after you in some time," Jiang Lingtian said.

"That Bloodslaughter Hall is truly brazen. They actually dare to hunt down Ming'er, and those people from the Cloud Domain as well." Ye Qingmei said angrily, "Ming'er, don't worry. Mother will deal with those people for you. Since they dare issue a kill order, I'll let them taste what it feels like to be hunted."

Jiang Ming's mouth twitched. "Mother, there's no need. I'll handle it myself."

Only Jiang Ming's family of three was present for this meal. Maids were not permitted to dine with them at family banquets.

After dinner, Jiang Ming returned to his small courtyard,

Jiang Naicha and the other two were eating. Upon seeing Jiang Ming return, they immediately rose to greet him.

"Keep eating. Don't mind me." Jiang Ming waved his hand.

After saying that, he reclined in his lounge chair and pretended to sleep. With nothing to do, he might as well lie there.

The next day,

Early in the morning, Jiang Ming went out. Most members of the clan concealed their cultivation and lived like ordinary people, working at sunrise and resting at sunset, tending to plants and animals each day.

But what they planted were heavenly treasures, and what they raised were rare exotic beasts.

The Spirit Realm was clearly divided into regions. The central area was a residential district like an ordinary village; the eastern area cultivated crops; the western area raised exotic beasts; and the northern area was for cultivation. The Divine Ability Hall, Martial Arena, and the like were all in the north.

Jiang Ming's destination was the western area. He wanted to get some exotic beast meat to eat; it had been a long time since he had last had any.

Although everyone in the Spirit Realm belonged to the Jiang Clan, anyone who needed divine abilities, cultivation techniques, heavenly treasures, or rare exotic beasts required contribution points. Contribution points required a certain amount of effort in return. That was why there were so many guards within the Spirit Realm: guards could earn contribution points. Serving the clan's elders and forebears could also earn contribution points.

Of course, Jiang Ming did not need them. He was not an ordinary clansman. As the Imperial Son, he could take any Jiang Clan resource at will.

However, the position of Imperial Son was not permanent. If anyone among his peers refused to accept the Imperial Son, they could challenge him on the Martial Combat Platform. The victor could become the new Imperial Son; if the challenger lost, their current cultivation would be severed, their realm would fall, and they would have to cultivate anew.

Since they could not recognize the gap in their own strength yet still rashly challenged him, they naturally had to be punished.

The Jiang Clan had never lacked geniuses, but one had to know one's own limits and possess a clear understanding of one's strength. If this were a life-or-death battle, having one's cultivation severed would not be such a simple matter.