Seeking Patronage, the State of the Nine Realms!

After finishing his sermon, Shi Jian withdrew the Daoist aura emanating from his body.

The millions of bear demons below remained motionless for a long time, while those Demon Cultivator who practiced the Dao of Lightning all wore expressions of wild joy.

In just a few hours, it seemed to surpass their decades of arduous cultivation.

Above the sky, more than ten Nascent Spirit Transformation cultivators approached.

A giant eagle, entirely crimson, took human form and landed at the edge of the mountaintop plaza. The eagle demon was thin and its body was filled with surging Fire Dao energy, indicating that it was at the Early Spirit Transformation.

He bowed respectfully, his voice trembling, "I am Chi Yan, the Chi Yan of the Crimson Feather Clan; greetings, Lord Shi Jian."

Shi Jian glanced over and said calmly, "What is it?"

Chi Yan dared not raise his head, and took out a blood-red Jade Slip from his robes. "Although my clan cultivates the Fire Dao, there was once a branch of our ancestors who cultivated thunder; our clan has left behind a Method Formula both thunder and fire, which I present to you today, my lord."

He paused, then continued, "There are also some Foundation Establishment Realm young eagles in the clan, all of whom possess talent in the Dao of Lightning; if you do not mind, I am willing to send them to the Lightning Bear Line to serve you."

Upon hearing this, the auras of several Nascent Spirit Transformation behind them all paused.

Shi Jian took the Jade Slip and scanned it with his Divine Sense; the Method Formula was genuine, although it was only at the Golden Core level, it was still somewhat useful to the Lightning Bear Line.

"Granted."

Shi Jian put away the Jade Slip. "From now on, your Crimson Feather Clan will be considered an outer branch of the Lightning Bear Line; if you need anything, you can directly contact my nephew Shi Yin."

Chi Yan was overjoyed and quickly bowed again. "Thank you for your kind words, sir!"

As soon as he finished speaking, several figures rushed down behind him.

A giant wolf, its fur a deep gray, transformed into human form and bowed, saying, "We are from the Azure Wind Clan, and we have two Golden Core cultivators who practice the Dao of Lightning. We wish to submit to you, sir!"

A gigantic, jet-black python flicked its tongue and whispered, "My Black Scale Clan has a lineage of cultivating lightning for generations. Although we lack the Spirit Transformation Thunder Method, we have seven Golden Core; today, we are willing to send them all to the Lightning Bear Line!"

Several more patriarchs from minor Spirit Transformation clans offered up their clans' Dao of Lightning inheritances, spiritual objects, or even sent their descendants directly.

These minor Spirit Transformation clans, with only one or two Spirit Transformation masters in their ranks, already struggle to survive in the Beast Realm. Now that the Giant Bear Clan is establishing the Dao of Lightning main lineage, they naturally won't let go of this opportunity to curry favor with the royal family.

Shi Jian's expression remained unchanged; he simply raised his hand, gesturing for Shi Yin to step forward.

"Shi Yin, you handle this."

Holding the Purple Lightning Token, Shi Yin strode to the center of the plaza; his gaze swept over the assembled Nascent Spirit Transformation, and he said neither servilely nor arrogantly:

"Esteemed seniors, I would like to have a detailed discussion with you all."

Shi Jian ignored these trivial matters and simply turned and left.

Shan Li had already prepared the spirit wine there. Seeing Shi Jian come over, she smiled and poured a cup, "My husband's lecture will probably cause the outer forces of the Lightning Bear Line to increase dramatically."

Shi Jian took the wine cup, took a sip, and said, "Small tribes have a hard time surviving. Give them a powerful backer, and they will naturally cling to it desperately."

He paused, then added, "However, these peripheral aspects are ultimately just that—peripherals; the true foundation must be cultivated within the clan itself."

Shan Li nodded. "Now that Shi Yin has taken over the leadership, he's become much more composed; we can rest assured that we'll entrust these peripheral forces to him in the future."

As the two were talking, a streak of azure light landed not far away.

The newcomer was a giant tiger with a deep blue body and a cultivation level of the Early Spirit Transformation; the tiger demon was surrounded by Sha Qi, but it was completely concealed in front of Shi Jian.

"Fellow Daoist Shi Jian," the tiger demon bowed, his voice deep, "I am Qing Gang Azure Sha Clan; I have come today to offer my congratulations."

Shi Jian glanced at him. "The Azure Sha Clan? Is that a branch of the Sha Tiger Imperial Clan?"

Qing Gang nodded. "That's right. Our ancestors were once a branch of the Sha Tiger Imperial Clan; they separated thousands of years ago and now occupy a territory in the western part of the Beast Realm."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "I have come here for two reasons: first, to offer my congratulations, and second, to establish a good connection with you, fellow Daoist, and to get to know you."

Shi Jian's lips curled slightly. "A good connection?"

Qing Gang took out a Jade Slip from his robes. "The elders of my clan heard that you, fellow Daoist, have established the main lineage of the Dao of Lightning Path, so they instructed me to deliver a congratulatory gift; the Jade Slip contains some information about the current situation in the Nine Realms, which may be of some use to you, fellow Daoist."

Shi Jian took the Jade Slip and probed it with his Divine Sense.

The Jade Slip indeed contained a wealth of information, all concerning the structure of the Nine Realms.

Among the Nine Realms, the Beast Realm is ruled by the Peak and Mountain Imperial Clan, whose Emperor holds the three major Earth Dao positions, and whose nine Dao Venerable each govern their respective Dao; it is the most powerful realm.

The Human Realm is the domain of the Human Race, who govern the Dao of Refinement.

The Vast Realm is ruled by the True Dragon Clan, who control the three major positions in the Water Dao, and the Sea Race is scattered throughout the entire realm.

The Spirit Realm is a place where all spirits coexist, ruled by the Myriad Spirits Imperial Clan, who govern the Life Dao.

The Nether Realm is ruled by the Nether River Imperial Clan, who govern the Death Dao.

The Heaven Realm is ruled by the Space Heaven Clan, who control the Dao of Wind and the Path of Space Dao; they are the only powerful clan in the Nine Realms that controls two great paths.

The Mystic Realm is Human Race, specifically the Evergreen Race, who separated from the Xuan Realm and control the Metal Dao.

Each of the seven realms has Dao Embryo presiding over it, making the structure relatively stable; although there are frictions between the various races, they generally keep to themselves.

Only the Measure Realm and the Dao Realm present a completely different scene.

The Measure Realm was originally the territory of the Measure Origin Imperial Clan, who controlled the Fate Dao. However, a long time ago, the Emperor Measure Origin perished; the Fate Dao position was vacant, and the entire Measure Realm fell into chaos.

Now, all the races of the Nine Realms are making their moves in the Measure Realm, engaging in endless open and covert struggles.

The Dao Realm is even more unique.

That place was originally the source of the Nine Paths, the place where many Dao Venerable attained enlightenment; but now, many Dao Venerable in the Dao Realm are nearing the end of their lifespans, and various races are secretly plotting to seize their positions.

Moreover, all paths exist in this world, and there are numerous Dao Venerable of various ranks.

Yet, not a single member of the Dao Embryo supreme race has ever been born.

After reading the Jade Slip, Shi Jian Dao of Darkness to himself: So this is the Nine Realms structure.

He looked up at Qing Gang: "Thank you for your gift, fellow Daoist."

Qing Gang quickly waved his hand, "No, no, it's already an honor for me to form a good relationship with Fellow Daoist Shi Jian."

He paused, then lowered his voice and said, "To be honest, there's been a huge commotion in the Dao Realm right now; my Sha Tiger Imperial Clan, currently holding the Sha Qi Fruit position, intends to seize the Qi Dao Fruit position."

"Meanwhile, in the Beast Realm, it is rumored that the Emperor intends to seize the Treasured Earth Dao Fruit; the various races' Earth Dao prodigies are likely to unleash a bloodbath."

Shi Jian nodded but did not reply.

Seeing this, Qing Gang wisely refrained from saying anything more, exchanged a few more pleasantries, and then took his leave.

After he left, Shan Li whispered, "That Qing Gang is quite the smooth talker, bringing news of the situation in the Nine Realms; it seems he wants to get on your good side so he can have someone look after him in the future."

Shi Jian put away the Jade Slip: "It's not easy for the royal family's branch to survive outside; let's try to win them over if we can, we might need them in the future."

Over the next few hours, several more clan leaders from minor Spirit Transformation clans came to chat with him.

Shi Jian responded to each request, giving the face that was due and accepting the benefits that were due; in just a few days, the peripheral power of Lightning Bear Line more than doubled.

They talked for several days and divided the profits.

The Spirit Transformation on the high platform gradually dispersed.

Shi Jian stood atop the mountain, looking down at the ancestral temple that was gradually quieting down below.

Shan Li walked to his side. "Husband, do you have any thoughts on the matter of the Measure Realm and the Dao Realm?"

Shi Jian remained silent for a moment, a cold glint flashing in his purple-gold vertical pupils.

"Of course I have ideas."

He turned and looked towards the eastern horizon. "But for now, we must first solidify the foundation of the Lightning Bear Line; once the clan's foundation is stable, we will naturally take a trip to the Dao Realm."

"That place is both a land of fortuitous opportunity and a land of slaughter."

Shan Li nodded and didn't ask any more questions.

She knew that since Shi Jian had spoken, he already had a plan; in the future, the Lightning Bear Line Wind and Cloud would likely be involved in the turmoil of the Nine Realms.

In the distance, the seven sacred mountains each shone with a faint light.

Those were the patriarchs of each lineage watching from afar; clearly, the commotion of today's Spirit Transformation Ceremony had spread throughout the entire Giant Bear Clan.

The eighth main lineage, the Lightning Bear Line.

This name will likely resound throughout the Beast Realm from now on.

[I'm tired, so I'll only post one chapter today and make up for it tomorrow]