This book was rather slow to warm up. At the beginning, subscriptions were only five or six hundred, but the 24-hour follow-up subscriptions for each chapter kept rising after it went premium. That showed that, at least so far, the plot spanning over three million serialized characters had not fallen apart. Readers who liked it could follow with confidence~ Latest news: by the time it reached over 4.3 million characters, 24-hour follow-up subscriptions had reached seven thousand, and the average subscriptions had also surpassed ten thousand. It probably had not fallen apart~
The year 3145 of Longchang, Great Qian—ninth day of the fourth month.
Wang Dingyue, the previous Clan Leader of the Ping'an Wang Clan, had died young from his injuries.
After the seven-day mourning period, Wang Shouzhe, the legitimate son of the direct bloodline, succeeded as the new generation's Clan Leader in accordance with national law and clan rules, under the direction of his senior aunt, Gongsun Hui of the Wang Clan, and the clan elders, after reporting the matter to Ancestor Longyan and the ancestors of generations past.
The Wang Clan was a Ninth-Rank Profound Martial Aristocratic Clan registered and assessed by the Great Qian Kingdom. Its influence was limited to the region around Ping'an Town of Changning Guard, making it one of the lowest-ranking aristocratic clans.
Yet its ancestors had once known glory. Tracing its roots back, it belonged to a branch of the Great Qian Wang Clan.
A thousand years ago, for reasons unknown, their ancestors had split from the Great Qian Wang Clan and traveled thousands of miles to Longzuo Prefecture, where they opened mountains and reclaimed wilderness to establish the Longzuo Wang Clan, laying the foundation of the family.
At the time, the Longzuo Wang Clan could also be considered a prestigious great family, unmatched in splendor.
Sadly, no flower stayed red for a hundred days, and no man remained fortunate for a thousand.
After its heyday, the family's fortunes gradually declined.
Later.
In the year 3000 of Longchang, Wang Zhouxuan, an outstanding talent of the Longzuo Wang Clan, led his family south with a Pioneering Order. At the meeting point of a branch range of the Liuping Mountains and the An River, they cleared wilderness, built stockades, and founded a town. Through arduous toil and bare-bones beginnings, they opened new land for human habitation, earned merit, and established the Ping'an Wang Clan to take root and multiply.
At the peak of his strength, Ancestor Zhouxuan had reached the late Spirit Platform Realm, covering Ping'an Town with one hand.
What made Ancestor Zhouxuan even prouder was that his legitimate granddaughter, Wang Longyan, possessed extraordinary talent. At eighteen, she had already reached the Seventh Layer of the Qi Refining Realm. After being admitted to the renowned Purple Mansion Academy, she broke through to the Spirit Platform Realm at thirty, then reached the middle stage of the Spirit Platform Realm before turning sixty. The Purple Mansion Academy valued and nurtured her greatly.
At the same time, Wang Longyan and Liu Xuanfu of the Shanyin Liu Clan were known together as the Changning Twin Beauties, their fame spreading far and wide.
Furthermore, the ancestor's legitimate great-grandson, Wang Qiongyuan, was likewise exceptionally gifted. With the ancestor's cultivation and support, he reached the Spirit Platform Realm at forty and took command of the position of Clan Leader.
At that time, the Wang Clan had three Spirit Platform Realm cultivators in one family, its glory boundless. The clan's influence even extended throughout the entire Changning Guard region.
Until the year 3095 of Longchang, when Ancestor Zhouxuan was one hundred and forty-five years old, the Fierce Beasts deep within Liu Ping Mountain, long quiet, suddenly erupted in a rampage. Ping'an Town bore the brunt of it and became a disaster zone.
To protect the clan's century-old foundation, Ancestor Zhouxuan spared no effort in personally holding back the fifth-tier Fierce Beast, the Golden-Winged Sun-Swallowing Tiger, while waiting for reinforcements to arrive.
The battle was extraordinarily brutal. Two ancestors of vassal families also vanished while fighting the beast tide, their lives and deaths unknown. Though the Golden-Winged Sun-Swallowing Tiger and the beast disaster were ultimately surrounded and slain by Changning Guard reinforcements that arrived afterward, the Ping'an Wang Clan had already suffered grievous wounds.
Not only had Ancestor Zhouxuan fallen in that battle, but Wang Qiongyuan, the fourth-generation Clan Leader at the initial stage of the Spirit Platform Realm, in whom the ancestor had placed high hopes, and Wang Xiaoqi, the fifth-generation successor, had likewise died in the beast disaster.
With Spirit Platform Realm cultivators from two generations of the Ping'an Wang Clan gone, its strength had greatly diminished.
The Liu Clan and Zhao Clan, those two vassal families, had long harbored ulterior motives. They secretly preserved their strength during the beast disaster, and their two ancestors escaped by faking their deaths. Once the Wang Clan weakened, they formed alliances and attempted to swallow the Wang Clan's foundation whole.
At the critical moment, Wang Longyan, a third-generation member of the Wang Clan, resolutely violated the precepts of the Purple Mansion Academy, abandoned her bright future, and returned to the clan. She then took the initiative to face a total of three enemy Spirit Platform Realm experts.
One against three, Wang Longyan brazenly slew one of the enemy Spirit Platform Realm allies, intimidating the Spirit Platform ancestors of the Liu Clan and Zhao Clan.
Unfortunately, Wang Longyan's injuries in that battle were too severe. Her strength fell to the initial stage of the Spirit Platform Realm, and her lifespan was greatly reduced.
Even so, Wang Longyan still shouldered the burden alone and barely protected the Ping'an Wang Clan. The Liu Clan and Zhao Clan did not dare provoke Wang Longyan too severely, so they settled upon a strategy of gradual erosion.
Time flashed by, and another forty or fifty years passed. Generation after generation of clan members failed to produce another Spirit Platform Realm cultivator, and this time, even the previous Clan Leader Wang Dingyue had died.
All the burdens seemed to have fallen upon the new generation's Clan Leader, Wang Shouzhe!
Within a side room of an antique courtyard in the Wang Clan Main Residence.
"Young—no, Clan Leader~ The dead are gone. Please eat something first. If this continues, I fear your body will not be able to endure it. Madam Gongsun personally prepared these dishes for you." His personal servant, Wang Gui, carefully held a rosewood food box, his brows filled with worry.
"Phew~" Wang Shouzhe exhaled a breath of stale air and set down the Wang Family Heritage Records. Some clarity returned to his eyes as a thought arose in his heart. Who would have thought that a car accident would send me into a fantasy world, where I'd somehow become the Clan Leader of a declining Profound Martial Aristocratic Clan? Still, it looks like the burden is heavy.
It turned out that three days earlier, the original Wang Shouzhe had been so grief-stricken while keeping vigil and mourning that he had collapsed headfirst before his late father's coffin. When he slowly awoke, he had become a transmigrator.
Over the past three days, the process of merging memories had left Wang Shouzhe looking muddleheaded. Everyone merely assumed that excessive grief had left him somewhat distraught, unaware of the hidden truth within. They simply followed clan rules and tradition and raised him to the position of Clan Leader.
After reading the Wang Family Heritage Records, Wang Shouzhe had gained a rough understanding of the clan and this world. The world he inhabited was called the Great Qian Kingdom. Great Qian had been founded upon Profound Martial Aristocratic Clans, with the imperial family itself being the greatest Profound Martial Family Clan. The other Profound Martial Aristocratic Clans, large and small, were scattered as densely as stars.
Their roots and branches intertwined, directly or indirectly influencing Great Qian's politics, economy, and even the lifeblood of its national destiny.
Though the Wang Clan was merely a low-ranking Ninth-Rank Aristocratic Clan, it was already one of the powerful local tyrants around Ping'an Town in Changning. It also held no small amount of influence within the government institution known as the Town Guardian Office.
Indeed, as early as Wang Shouzhe's great-grandfather's generation, the Wang Clan had been the unquestioned leading aristocratic clan of Ping'an Town, with the tentacles of its power reaching even the outskirts of Changning Guard.
But after the two earth-shaking turning-point battles recorded in the Wang Family Heritage Records, which caused the deaths of the clan's experts, the clan had declined with each passing year. Even with Ancestor Longyan struggling to hold it up, it could not withstand the Liu Clan and Zhao Clan's joint erosion.
Wang Shouzhe always felt there was something suspicious about that battle. Why had the Liu Clan and Zhao Clan dared to secretly preserve their strength and ultimately rebel? And why had the reinforcements arrived so late?
The records were vague, leaving many matters unexplained. Still, Wang Shouzhe quietly kept it in mind for the time being.
Afterward, in order to reach the Spirit Platform Realm and turn the tide, the previous Clan Leader Wang Dingyue had not hesitated to venture deep into the perilous Outer Domain in search of an opportunity to break through.
Yet Wang Dingyue's efforts had fallen just short of success, and his tragic death in his prime had only made the declining Ping'an Wang Clan worse off than ever.
If nothing unexpected happened, then over the coming decades, the Wang Clan's territory and industries would gradually be eaten away and replaced by the other two families of Ping'an Town. The once vast and glorious clan would collapse into decline, and its bloodline would fall into commonhood.
"Still, this is quite an interesting world." Wang Shouzhe narrowed his eyes slightly. As his memories gradually merged, he could not help secretly musing, It seems the original Wang Shouzhe may have been young, but he wasn't a simple character either.
His memories told him that Wang Shouzhe had been praised as a youthful genius since childhood. Among the bloodlines of the seven generations descending from Ancestor Zhouxuan, his talent and aptitude were only half a notch inferior to Ancestor Longyan's.
With the clan concentrating its resources on nurturing him, Wang Shouzhe had reached the advanced Sixth Layer of the Qi Refining Realm at eighteen and was not far from the seventh layer.
That was good news, at least. He had not transmigrated into the body of some worthless good-for-nothing.
At the side, Wang Gui watched Wang Shouzhe's complexion shift unpredictably between light and dark, growing even more worried. "Clan Leader, please rest first. I'll go invite a physician right away."
"There is no need. I am already fine." Wang Shouzhe stopped him. "Wang Gui, go out first. There are some matters I need to think over."
"Yes!"
Wang Gui set down the food box, accepted the order, and withdrew, carefully closing the door behind him.
Only after Wang Gui left and he was truly alone did Wang Shouzhe finally let out a sigh of relief and relax mentally. Between keeping vigil these past days and merging consciousnesses, he had not eaten properly. His stomach had long been growling with hunger. Revitalizing the clan involved countless tangled threads, but first he needed to fill his belly. He could slowly ponder the rest afterward.
When he opened the exquisite sandalwood food box, a marvelous fragrance of food rushed into his nose. The interior was divided into several compartments, containing rice, vegetables, meat, and a piece of steamed fish.
Spurred by his appetite, he quickly picked up his chopsticks, grabbed a piece of meat, and stuffed it into his mouth. The seasoning was ordinary, but the texture was astonishingly rich. Its fine chewiness released a fragrant meat flavor that filled his mouth, and after he swallowed it, he could faintly feel a tiny current of warmth surging through his body.
Mm, this was so delicious?
What kind of meat was this? Pork? No, pork had a rougher texture and was not this delicate. Mutton? That was not right either. This meat did not have the slightest gamy odor. Its rich aroma and plump juices made it resemble the expensive imported beef he had occasionally tasted before transmigrating.
However, his merged "memories" soon informed him that this was Spirit-Horn Yak meat, a precious food that could strengthen the body and aid cultivation when eaten over a long period.
In his previous identity, he had been the Young Clan Leader and possessed outstanding talent. He was among the first rank of those supplied by the clan's resources, so naturally he was qualified to enjoy such provisions.
Feeling the faint warm current surging within him and the wondrous sensation of his energy rapidly recovering, Wang Shouzhe could not help sighing inwardly. As expected, it was excellent meat. Tempted by the delicacy, he finished the scant yak meat clean in just a few bites.
Still unsatisfied, he fixed his gaze on the piece of steamed fish. His merged memories told him it was called Red-Tail Spirit Mandarin Fish. It was a rare Spirit Fish produced in the nearby An River, comparable to a second-tier Fierce Beast. It could easily grow to several hundred jin, possessed the strength to overturn boats, and was exceedingly ferocious.
Ordinary fishermen would flee from such a Fierce Beast as though avoiding disaster. If they ran even a moment too slowly, their boat would overturn and they would die.
This Red-Tail Spirit Mandarin Fish had been captured only last year by the previous Clan Leader Wang Dingyue and several clan experts, after they used various methods and were fortunate enough to succeed. It had been cut apart, cured, and stored within the clan's ice cellar as a Spirit Food supplement for the clan's younger bloodline members.
The cook had long removed every fishbone. The fish was savory, fresh, smooth, and tender upon entering his mouth, while a cool and comfortable sensation coursed through his body. It left him entirely refreshed, and its flavor was exquisite beyond compare.
The rice was no ordinary thing either. Each grain was plump and crystalline, firm and springy to the bite with a rich orchid-and-gardenia fragrance. It was the renowned Spirit Food, White Jade Ganoderma Rice.
That meal left Wang Shouzhe with an endless aftertaste. The weakness in his body and the listlessness in his spirit vanished at once, replaced by abundant energy and radiant vigor.
If he ate like this every meal, his cultivation would surely advance at astonishing speed.
But that was clearly impossible. The clan was no longer at the height of its former prosperity. Even given his rank and status, he could not afford to eat so extravagantly, much less the other clan members.
Now that he had become Clan Leader, he naturally could not disregard the other clan members and endlessly seize their resources to supply himself. If he truly did that, it would not take long before the clan's hearts scattered and its destruction accelerated.
Even if only to eat all kinds of fine food and delicacies every day, he had to help the Wang Clan grow strong.
"System!" Wang Shouzhe lay on the bed to digest his meal, closed his eyes, and calmly called out with his thoughts.
Yet after a long while, there was not the slightest response.
No way? Wang Shouzhe's heart thumped. Transmigrating without a cheat—wasn't that a bit of a trap? He then tried again and again, but he never found even a trace of his golden finger.
His heart grew colder and colder. This fantasy world was filled with experts, while Fierce Beasts ran rampant in domineering fashion. How was he supposed to play without a golden finger?
Author's PS: Based on suggestions, I adjusted the ending point of Chapter One. Also, this book's results rose steadily through its early and middle stages. After 1.3 million characters, its results began soaring higher and higher. The later stage has not been written yet... Don't miss it as you pass by.
(Warm reminder: During the early free period of any book, there will be quite a few readers in the chapter comments who enjoy nitpicking from every possible angle, or readers who lose patience after a few chapters and wildly criticize things out of context. Almost none of those readers will make it to the later chapters. Readers who do not want their reading experience affected may first turn off chapter comments and judge the good and bad, likes and dislikes for yourselves. You can turn chapter comments back on in the middle stage, join the genuine plot discussions, and become part of the Clan Leader reader family. Do not miss this fated connection! ^_^)
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