Family Matters

"Oh! What is it? Go ahead."

"Senior Brother, I came today because Yun Yao thinks Tian Long is five now and ought to begin cultivating in earnest. She thinks I can't teach him properly, but she doesn't trust anyone else to teach him either, so she wants Tian Long to cultivate under you too."

"I refused at first, not wanting to trouble you again. But I couldn't win her over, so I had no choice but to come discuss it with you and ask your advice."

Zhou Yong spoke to Li Dalong with an embarrassed expression.

"Junior Brother, I have to teach Xue’er and attend to my own cultivation. I really don't have much time or energy left to look after Tian Long," Li Dalong said after a moment's thought.

"Senior Brother, I'm at my wits' end too. Tian Long has good aptitude and a solid foundation. I'm worried that without proper guidance, his cultivation will be delayed, which would harm his future development."

"So I'd like to ask you to help and keep Tian Long by your side. Your cultivation is the highest in the Righteous Qi Sect, and the environment here would benefit both siblings." Zhou Yong looked pleadingly at Li Dalong.

"How about this? Xue’er has already reached the late Foundation Establishment realm, and she'll be able to form her core before long. Originally, I intended to wait until she had formed her core before letting her go out to gain experience."

"Since your wife is so eager for Tian Long to cultivate under me, and I don't have the energy to teach both siblings, we can have Xue’er return to the sect to cultivate ahead of schedule. She can come to me whenever she encounters problems, once every ten days."

"That way, I won't have so many concerns about taking Tian Long under my wing."

"Junior Brother, what do you think of that arrangement?" Li Dalong asked Zhou Yong after considering it carefully.

"Good. You've thought of everything, Senior Brother. Let's do as you say," Zhou Yong said after a moment's thought. This was probably the most suitable arrangement.

Once Zhou Yong agreed to the plan, Li Dalong beckoned Xue’er over. Seeing her martial uncle calling her, Xue’er stopped cultivating and skipped over.

"Father, Martial Uncle, what did you want Xue’er for?" Zhou Xue asked Li Dalong after greeting Zhou Yong.

"Xue’er, your cultivation has already reached the late Foundation Establishment realm, well above many of your fellow disciples. You've cultivated under me for almost ten years. Spending all that time cultivating in this desolate place has been hard on you. It's time you returned to the sect and cultivated alongside your fellow disciples."

"Starting tomorrow, you won't have to come every day. Come once every ten days instead, and you can ask me about any problems you've encountered then. I'll answer them for you. How does that sound?" Li Dalong asked Zhou Xue.

"Martial Uncle, are you sending Xue’er away? I don't want to go back so soon." Zhou Xue stepped forward, took hold of Li Dalong's sleeve, and tugged it as she spoke.

"Xue’er, you're older now. Experiencing different cultivation environments is a form of cultivation too, and it will also benefit your state of mind," Li Dalong said helplessly as he looked at Zhou Xue.

"Xue’er, you're grown up now. Listen to your martial uncle. Didn't he just say you could still come once every ten days? It's not as though he's forbidden you from coming."

"Now, be good!" Seeing Zhou Xue's unhappy expression, Zhou Yong hurried to coax her.

"All right, then!" Seeing that her father agreed with the decision too, Zhou Xue responded with displeasure written all over her face.

"Go back first, then. I'll talk with your martial uncle a little longer." Zhou Yong waved for Zhou Xue to leave.

"Martial Uncle, Father, Xue’er will head back now." Seeing that her father and martial uncle had matters to discuss, Zhou Xue left the forbidden grounds.

"Well, we've finally sent that little sprite on her way," Zhou Yong said with a sigh of relief.

"Senior Brother, my cultivation has reached the Spirit Transformation realm too. With your support over the years, I've led the sect forward, trembling with apprehension at every step. It has developed quite well, and at least I haven't let Master's painstaking efforts go to waste."

"But the number of disciples has now nearly doubled, even though I deliberately restricted recruitment and raised the entry requirements."

"However, the situation is growing more and more chaotic. The Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy has increased dramatically over the years, making cultivation much easier. Likewise, there are more and more powerful figures and cultivators in the Cultivation World, and disputes between them never cease. Although outside forces still don't dare openly attack the Righteous Qi Sect, our elders and disciples sometimes suffer injuries or losses while traveling to gain experience or carry out sect business. So I'd like to ask you to build a few more Spirit-Gathering Arrays for the sect, to accelerate our disciples' development and prepare for changes in the situation ahead."

"With your strength and the sect's current strength, we can openly reveal the Spirit-Gathering Arrays to the world."

"Senior Brother, what do you think?" Zhou Yong asked Li Dalong solemnly.

"Junior Brother, you have a point."

"I also think it's time to accelerate our disciples' development. We need to quickly strengthen a group of them."

"Here's what we'll do. Prepare suitable locations and select the disciples. Ideally, you should establish incentives as well."

"I still have plenty of materials on hand, so I'll build several large Spirit-Gathering Arrays, all using high-grade spirit stones for cultivation. I'll also build several that use mid-grade spirit stones, which you can offer as a benefit to disciples below the Nascent Soul realm who have contributed to the sect."

"I'll build another Spirit-Gathering Array using Supreme-Grade Spirit Stones to develop the sect's core strength. Supreme-Grade Spirit Stones are hard to come by, so you must select the participants carefully. Only those who are loyal to the sect and exceptionally talented may use it."

"As for anyone who dares covet the Spirit-Gathering Arrays, no matter who they are, I'll cut them down for you with a single stroke!" Li Dalong declared domineeringly after a moment's consideration.

"That's wonderful! I'll make the arrangements as you've instructed."

"Senior Brother, prepare the materials and artifacts needed to set up the arrays first. I'll arrange the sites and select the participants. You can begin setting up the arrays tomorrow. We'll move the disciples in by batches; each time you finish a Spirit-Gathering Array, I'll assign a group of disciples to it," Zhou Yong told Li Dalong.

"Then it's settled. Go make the arrangements. Remember to bring Tian Long over tomorrow."

"Yes, Senior Brother," Zhou Yong promptly agreed. "Senior Brother, I'll go make the arrangements now."

Li Dalong waved to Zhou Yong without saying anything more.

After watching Zhou Yong leave, Li Dalong began taking stock of the resources in his system space. There was enough to set up several arrays, but he did not have many Supreme-Grade Spirit Stones left. He then began refining array flags and the other artifacts needed to set up the arrays. There were quite a few arrays to prepare this time, and even with Li Dalong's prowess as a Formation Great Grandmaster, it took considerable effort to finish refining everything.

"Ding-dong. Would you like to check in?"

He had just finished preparing the array artifacts when the familiar system notification sounded.

"Check in."

"Check-in successful. Congratulations, host. You have received the Heaven-Slaying Art."

The Heaven-Slaying Art? The name alone told him it was a powerful technique.

"System, what is the Heaven-Slaying Art?"

"The Heaven-Slaying Art was created by a mysterious expert from beyond this world. When cultivated to perfection, it can cleave the heavens with a single sword stroke, hence the name Heaven-Slaying Art."