Talent Four: Immortality

The Space Gate slowly opened in the Devouring World.

Jiang Xian emerged from the Space Gate and landed in the center of the Australian Continent, where he had previously cultivated in seclusion.

Just as Jiang Xian was about to comprehend the remaining three Lower Laws, another ding rang out in his mind.

It was time to draw another talent. A full twenty-seven days had passed since he obtained his Golden Finger, gone in the blink of an eye.

Everything he had achieved came from risking his life in grueling cultivation day after day, from giving it everything he had, built up one drop of sweat at a time. Through his own hard work, he had broken through to Star Level in less than a month. Only he knew the hardships involved.

Without hesitation, Jiang Xian shouted inwardly, Draw!

[Ding! Drawing talent.]

[Draw successful.]

[Obtained Talent Four: Immortality.]

Although Jiang Xian could roughly guess the talent's effects from its name, he still focused his attention on it, and detailed information about the talent came into his mind.

[Immortality: Your lifespan has no upper limit and will never run out. Your looks will forever remain at their peak. From this point onward, the years cannot encroach upon you, and your youth will never fade. If you suffer fatal damage sufficient to destroy your origin, you will still perish.]

After learning the details of his fourth talent, Jiang Xian's expression remained calm and unruffled. Only a faint trace of regret crossed his heart.

Living in the Swallowed Star World, he understood its cultivation system very well. As long as he cultivated to the Immortal Realm, his physical body could transform into an Immortal Divine Body. That would likewise allow him to break free of time's shackles and possess an almost endless lifespan.

In other words, the effects of this Immortality talent would become completely worthless once he broke through to Immortal in the future.

A talent he could attain through cultivation on his own later on felt like something of a waste.

That was all.

Cultivators across countless worlds gave everything in pursuit of eternal life. It was the ultimate goal that haunted countless protagonists' dreams. Yet for him, this talent seemed somewhat lackluster.

"Oh well. Since I've already obtained it, it was meant to be. No point dwelling on it." Jiang Xian slowly sighed.

After that brief reflection, Jiang Xian suppressed his slight regret and gathered his thoughts again. He intended to resume his seclusion in the center of the Australian Continent, continue comprehending the remaining three Lower Laws, and then quietly await the arrival of the Golden Horned Beast Egg.

But just as he was about to resume his secluded comprehension of the laws, a message suddenly reached him from far away.

The message came from Babata.

It stated that ever since Jiang Xian became known as Earth's strongest person, quite a few members of the Jiang Family's collateral branches had gradually become arrogant. Relying on Jiang Xian's prestige and convinced that no one dared provoke them, they had thrown their weight around in their respective Base Cities, forcibly seized benefits, and caused considerable trouble. Numerous records of related incidents had already accumulated in various places.

Normally, no one dared intervene or punish them. The authorities and various factions all feared Jiang Xian's prestige and turned a blind eye, allowing the Jiang Family's members to act as they pleased locally.

Quite a few members of the collateral branches had already become local scourges by invoking his name.

After reading Babata's message, Jiang Xian's previously tranquil gaze grew a little colder. He was truly speechless. Some people simply had no brains. They had actually used his name to commit so many outrageous acts, completely upending his view of people.

He had intended to focus on cultivation and ignore worldly trivialities, but now that the matter had come to his doorstep, he could not disregard it.

"Just as well. Before I enter seclusion, I'll go back and clean up this mess completely."

Jiang Xian contacted Babata and had a set of clan rules drawn up for the Jiang Family. His requirements were not high; they were essentially just basic moral standards.

"Babata, help me thoroughly investigate who has violated these clan rules. There's no need to show leniency to any Jiang Family member who fails to meet these basic standards. Deal with all of them according to the law," Jiang Xian told Babata.

"All right, Jiang Xian. I'll investigate right now and send you the list shortly," Babata replied.

Looking at the complete list Babata sent over, with every misdeed clearly recorded and backed by irrefutable evidence, without the slightest exaggeration, Jiang Xian's eyes turned thoroughly cold. Kyoto Base City was still all right under his grandfather's supervision, but the branches in the other Base Cities were utterly brazen.

Previously, when the Jiang Family was a War God family, some forces had still kept it in check. Now that Jiang Xian was the strongest among Earth Humans, those checks were gone, and some people no longer even bothered pretending.

He casually forwarded the complete list Babata had compiled, along with all the surveillance evidence and incident records, to his grandfather, telling him to deal sternly with everyone involved.

Inside the Jiang Family's old residence, the old man's face turned livid the instant he received the list, and he flew into a rage.

As the head of the Jiang Family, he had kept to his duties his entire life, conducted himself cautiously, and worked diligently to maintain the family's stability. He had never dared use his influence to bully anyone in the slightest.

Yet these younger family members had relied on Xian's prestige to run wild outside and commit crimes. They were simply courting death and making a disgrace of themselves!

The old man showed no leniency. He immediately mobilized all the family's personnel and issued swift, forceful orders.

They were to check the names, addresses, and identities against the list one by one and hunt down every Jiang Family member on it across the various Base Cities.

A few days later, the collateral branch members in the other Base Cities, who normally swaggered around and bullied people in the streets, had no time to flee. Every one of them was precisely apprehended by the family guards. Regardless of seniority or closeness of kinship, they were all escorted back to the courtyard of the Jiang Family's ancestral residence to await trial together.

In moments, the spacious courtyard of the Jiang Family's old residence was filled with pale-faced, trembling young family members.

Those who had previously been so arrogant and contemptuous outside now all stood with their heads lowered and shoulders slumped, their faces drained of blood. They did not even have the courage to look up.

The old man stood in the place of honor, list in hand, trembling with anger. His stern, icy voice rang throughout the courtyard.

"Our Jiang Family has remained honest and law-abiding for generations! You ignorant fools! You relied on Xian's prestige to bully others and harm ordinary people! You've utterly disgraced the Jiang Family!"

There were no personal favors, no favoritism, and no mercy on account of family ties.

According to the severity of their misdeeds, the old man enforced the family's disciplinary rules on the spot and dealt with them sternly.

Those with minor offenses received severe floggings, were confined to reflect on their actions, had their cultivation resources revoked, and received permanent marks of misconduct in the clan records. Those who had committed numerous evils, oppressed the innocent, and caused serious harm were struck directly from the genealogy, stripped of all status within the Jiang Family, expelled from the family entirely, and handed over to the authorities.

After this swift and forceful reckoning, all the Jiang Family's members were frightened into silence. No one dared harbor the slightest arrogance again.

A few days later, Jiang Xian saw the results and expressed his satisfaction. These clan rules could also serve as a reference for Luo Feng's family in the future, he thought. In the original story, Luo Feng's family was just like the Jiang Family is now.

Then he resumed his seclusion and began comprehending the laws.