Five Years!

Five years have passed, flowers have bloomed and faded.

It's not a long time, but it's not short either. In an ordinary person's lifetime, it's enough to raise two children and watch them learn to walk and talk.

In the world of cultivation, it would be nothing more than the time it takes to go into seclusion.

But for Hongtian City, these five years have been earth-shattering.

The inner city wall was raised to 32 feet high, and the outer city was gradually closed in. A moat 30 feet wide separated the inner city from the outer city, with six stone bridges spanning the moat, where officials patrolled day and night.

The inner city gradually transformed into the main residence of the Sun Clan clan and ordinary people, with the core of the inner city consisting of the main peak and three secondary peaks.

The main peak is the ancestral home and ancestral hall of the Sun Clan, while the back mountain contains Spirit Vein, Beast Valley, Alchemy Chamber, a thunder fruit garden, and numerous spiritual fields...

Xifeng is a place for martial arts practice, book collection, and inheritance.

East Peak is where the Talisman Academy, the Weapon Workshop, and another part of the herb garden are located.

The North Peak is the residence of the Sun Clan's disciples who cultivate there. Most of them have opened cave abode on the North Peak to cultivate, and its Spiritual Qi concentration is second only to the main peak.

However, the outer city is the most bustling place in Hongtian City. The South City Market, with its four streets and sixteen alleys, has been fully completed and is in operation.

The South Gate trade route connects directly to the markets of nine counties. Every day, the animal-drawn carts that come and go form a long line, a dark mass when viewed from the city wall!

The mortal population of Hongtian City.

It has also skyrocketed from 500,000 five years ago to over 800,000.

This number, when placed among the nine counties of White Cloud Commandery, is undoubtedly number one, second only to the prefectural city at the foot of White Cloud Temple Mountain!

The number of ordinary members of the Sun Clan has reached over 80,000.

When this number was released, many heads of established Lineage in White Cloud Commandery were so nervous that they could hardly hold their teacups.

What does 80,000 people mean?

One in ten thousand mortals is born with Spirit Root, but in a cultivation Lineage like the Sun Clan family, the probability of being born with Spirit Root is as high as one in a thousand. It is conceivable that the number of immortal seedlings will continue to increase with each generation!

Moreover, the Sun Clan did one thing during these five years: large-scale marriage alliances!

This isn't a marriage alliance between cultivators, which involves too many rules and interests; it's a marriage between ordinary people...

The Sun Clan family, being ordinary mortals, intermarried with other mortal branches of cultivation Lineage to mix their bloodlines, thereby increasing the chances of giving birth to someone with Spirit Root.

The Li Household, the Lin Household, the Zhao Household, the Wang Household, the Bai Household... In the nine counties, almost every Lineage that has dealings with the Autumn Cry Merchant Alliance has members who have married into or married into Hongtian City.

After five years, the results were immediately apparent.

Thirteen third-generation immortal seedlings!

This number is more than the total number of the Sun Clan's cases over the past ten years.

When Sun Kezheng found Sun Bo'an with the family genealogy in his hand, his hands were trembling.

"Clan leader, it's time to establish generational names."

Sun Bo'an put down his teacup and remained silent for a long time.

Small Lineage don't need the concept of generational names; three or five cultivators can simply call each other by name. However, once a family has thirty or forty or more cultivators, if no rules are established, the generational order will become chaotic.

If the generational order is disrupted, the clan system will fall apart.

Once the patriarchal system is broken, the Lineage is like a heap of loose sand.

That night, Sun Bo'an sat alone in the ancestral hall all night.

The next morning, he picked up his pen and wrote twenty-seven characters:

[Cheng Qiyuan, Dao Xingtian, Wangshu Pavilion]

[Following Changsheng, Mingzhengtai, and Zhonghouxin]

[May your benevolence and righteousness bring you fame and prosperity.]

The generational names for the next three generations are: Cheng, Qi, and Yuan.

To inherit means to carry on the aspirations of one's predecessors.

The one who initiates the path for future generations.

Yuan Zhi, return to the origin and trace the origin.

"These third-generation immortal seedlings are all named with the character 'Cheng' (承), regardless of their birth or the quality of their Spirit Root. Once they are included in the family genealogy, they belong to the Sun Clan's cultivation lineage."

Sun Bo'an spread the family genealogy on the table in the ancestral hall and personally wrote down thirteen names.

Sun Chengyuan, Sun Cheng'an, Sun Chengning...

As the ink settled, the eternal lamp in the ancestral hall flickered.

Sun Kezheng stood to one side, looking at the names whose ink was still wet, and his nose tingled with emotion, overwhelmed with countless feelings...

Twenty years ago, there were fewer than twenty names in the family genealogy related to cultivation.

Today, there are seven people in the first generation, eighteen people in the second generation, and thirteen people in the third generation.

Thirty-eight monks.

The Sun Clan had suffered a severe shortage of members due to a rebellion, and after twenty years of hardship, they finally achieved the status of a Foundation Establishment Lineage.

"Kezheng."

"Exist."

"Have the cultivation levels of the second-generation disciples been tallied?"

"Everything has been tallied."

Sun Kezheng took out a roster from his sleeve and handed it over. "Eighteen members of the second generation, all of whom have broken through to the Qi Refining Fourth Layer."

"Sun Mao's cultivation has already reached the Qi Refining Eighth Layer Peak. It shouldn't take more than a few years before he breaks through to the ninth level."

"The one ranked first is Sun Yao, at the Qi Refining Ninth Layer White Cloud Temple says that True Lord Yun Du's evaluation of her is: 'She has a solid Root Bone and a calm temperament, and is expected to Foundation Establishment within three years.'"

Upon hearing this, Sun Bo'an paused for a moment, his hand still holding the pen.

Foundation Establishment within three years.

Sun Yao is only twenty-two years old this year.

If he can truly achieve Foundation Establishment before the age of twenty-five, he will be the youngest Foundation Establishment cultivator in the history of the Sun Clan clan!

He didn't say anything, just put the list away and asked about something else:

What about Thunder Essence Fruit?

"Caiya sent word that this is the second fruiting season, and seven fruits have been produced. The quality is 20% better than the last season, and the spiritual energy is more concentrated."

Where is Shi Mo?

When the bear was mentioned, a complex expression appeared on Sun Kezheng's face.

"Shi Mo... it's hard to describe."

How so?

"Last month, it smashed a three-zhang-high granite rock on the eastern slope of the back mountain."

Sun Bo'an's brow twitched.

"Granite?"

"Granite infused with spiritual energy."

Sun Kezheng added, "It was originally a target stone for the guest retainers to practice their boxing, but it smashed it to dust with a single blow."

"It's already comparable to a high-level Qi Refining cultivator, and it might even break through to become a Level 2 Foundation Establishment Demon Beast within the next ten years!"

Sun Bo'an closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair.

He had been paying close attention to Shi Mo's changes.

Five years have passed, and with the foundation laid by that piece of Dark Gold Ape bone, the bear's bloodline has begun to undergo a fundamental transformation.

It's not simply about becoming stronger; it's about moving closer to a higher-level bloodline!

But no one can say for sure what it will turn out to be.

"As for the ancestor..." Sun Kezheng, wanting to speak but then stopped.

Sun Bo'an opened his eyes.

This is what he truly cares about.

Shi Jian has been in seclusion for almost six or seven years.

The cave abode's stone door remained tightly shut, and the array's light barrier never dissipated. The fluctuations of Yao Qi varied in strength, but there was still no sign of breaking through.

"Have the annual offerings been delivered to the cave abode on time?"

Not a single Spirit Stone has been missing.

"Then let's keep waiting."

Sun Bo'an stood up, walked to the entrance of the ancestral hall, and looked up towards the back mountain.

The morning light shone on the mountain ridge, shrouded in mist, obscuring the location of the cave abode.

But he knew that the ancestor was still inside!

To live, or...

Sun Bo'an immediately dismissed the thought, firmly believing that his ancestor would be alright.

Just then...

Sun Mao strode into the ancestral hall, panting heavily, and bowed, saying, "Clan Chief, news has come from the back mountain..."

Sun Bo'an turned around, a surge of anger rising in his eyes, mixed with unease and fear; he was afraid he had heard some bad news.

"What's wrong?"

"What happened to the back mountain?!"