Xinping Town riverway, Changning Guard.
Aboard Patrol Boat No. 003.
Wang Anye and the others returned to the patrol boat. He was handing out money—small-denomination gold notes in stacks of ten—to the patrol squad's ten Qi Refining Realm soldiers. "You've all worked hard."
Each note carried a face value of twenty Qian Gold.
"Not hard at all, not hard at all! We strive for the rise of the Wang Clan."
"Many thanks, Seventh Young Master."
"Seventh Young Master grows ever more mighty and handsome, like a true immortal descended to earth."
A continuous stream of gratitude and flattery followed, every word pleasant to the ear.
These patrol squads were clan soldiers whom the Wang Clan had selected and cultivated from childhood. Their ancestors had lived beneath the Wang Clan's wings for generations, and their loyalty had stood the test.
Naturally, the Wang Clan's investment in them was no small matter either. A single Spirit Awakening Pill could raise their originally "scrap-grade A-class" bloodline aptitude to lower-grade D-class, granting them the qualifications to cultivate the Xuanwu Combat Technique.
Besides teaching the Xuanwu Combat Technique, the clan soldier academy attached to the Clan School also kept a tight grip on cultural studies. Every year, students were ranked according to their literary and martial results, and those who performed exceptionally well received an additional resource subsidy.
The very best among them even had the chance to enter the Wang Clan School, receive a more elite education, and enjoy broader prospects in the future.
Such layers of selection and incentives made every clan soldier work exceptionally hard, resulting in quite outstanding overall qualities.
Once they graduated at eighteen, they would enter different departments and posts within the Wang Clan. Each year, they could receive basic stipends, housing subsidies, Spirit Food subsidies, medicinal pill subsidies,