Guidance and Recruitment: Worth Putting to Use!

In less than half an incense stick's time.

Very light footsteps came from outside the main hall, and a tall figure dressed in a dark purple robe slowly entered the hall.

Shi Fangting took a deep breath, straightened his perfectly wrinkle-free robes, knelt on the ground, and kowtowed with the most formal ancient ritual:

"Shi Fangting, son of a sinful slave, pays respects to the Ancestor!"

His voice was clear and steady, without the fear and trembling that ordinary young cultivators would show when facing Spirit Transformation cultivator. He even maintained an extremely even state of mind.

Shi Jian stood with his hands behind his back before the throne, looking down at his grandson.

The ethereal bone structure of the Dao Spirit Human Race, the solidified flesh and skin of the Giant Bear Clan, and the faint yet exceptionally pure Purple Pivot Lightning Intent deep within their bodies...

More importantly, the deep-seated, yet fierce and ambitious ruthlessness in this young man's eyes was to his liking.

Shi Jian did not immediately tell him to get up, remaining silent and exerting pressure with cold eyes; the only sound in the hall was the occasional faint flash of lightning from the lightning-attracting pillar.

Shi Fangting lay prone on the ground, his forehead pressed against the cold stone slab. His clothes were already soaked with cold sweat, but he remained as still as Boulder.

After a long silence, Shi Jian finally spoke softly:

"I have reviewed Slave Sin Abyss's account books over the past two years."

"Of the two million Dao Spirit Human Race, 30% have perished or been killed in the past few decades, yet they have built seven fortresses, cultivated 100,000 hectares of spiritual fields, and refined over 300,000 kinds of elixirs in the Divine Firmament Plain."

Shi Jian walked slowly to Shi Fangting and looked down at him. "Some people say you are ruthless and cruel, more vicious than the great demons of your own clan, and treat your fellow countrymen like pigs, dogs, and weeds."

"There are also bear-like demons who secretly gossip behind your back, saying that you possess the blood of a foreign race, that you cannot be tamed, and that you will rebel sooner or later."

Upon hearing this, Shi Fangting tensed up almost imperceptibly for a moment, then returned to a deathly silence, unmoved.

He didn't utter a single word in his own defense, but simply raised his head slightly, looked directly at the tips of Shi Jian's boots, and said, each word ringing with conviction:

"Reporting to the Ancestor, Fangting knows nothing of compatriots, nor of rebellious nature."

Fangting only knew that in this world, the strong prey on the weak; if the Dao Spirit Human Race was defeated, they would become slaves; if Fangting could not squeeze them dry to build cities and refine pills for the Giant Bear Clan, then Fangting would be no different from them, just a lump of mud under his feet.

"Fangting's surname is Shi. If the Lightning Bear Line is the heavens, then Fangting is the sharpest boning knife in the ancestor's hands!"

Fangting only recognizes this bloodline, which defines the fundamental principle of strength and weakness in this world.

After those words were spoken, the atmosphere in the hall seemed to drop to freezing point; even Shi Pan, who was standing to the side, secretly broke out in a cold sweat, fearing that Shi Jian would despise this boy for his wicked intentions.

However, a slight smile slowly appeared on Shi Jian's lips.

Don't be afraid, I think this is fine.

Shi Jian's voice wasn't loud, but it boomed like a bell in Shi Fangting's ears. "In this cultivation world, most of those who spout benevolence and morality end up as withered bones. Only those who recognize their own position and dare to be ruthless to themselves can live long."

"You possess Half-Demon blood, which is indeed considered low-grade in the Beast Realm."

"But in my eyes, all living beings in the Nine Realms are mere firewood; the distinction between noble and lowly bloodlines is nothing more than a fig leaf set up by the victors."

"As long as you can serve your clan and me, and acknowledge the source of this bloodline, you are the rightful direct descendant of the Lightning Bear Line!"

Shi Fangting's pupils dilated suddenly, and his breathing became completely disordered at that moment!

Break through the bloodline ceiling!

This statement, a personal conclusion from the Ancestor of the Spirit Transformation, surpasses any reward in the world!

"My bloodline, raise your heads."

Shi Fangting raised his head as instructed.

Laugh!

Shi Jian brought his right index finger together, and a burst of pure white Righteous Yang Lightning Intent shot out, precisely striking the center of Shi Fangting's brow!

The violent and pure Principle the Great Dao instantly flooded into his sea of consciousness.

Shi Fangting let out a muffled groan, his whole body trembling violently, and a complex and mysterious purple-gold lightning pattern appeared between his brows.

That is the core Cultivation Method of the Divine Firmament Orthodox lineage, and the path of deduction all the way to the Spirit Transformation realm!

"These are the first two volumes of the 'True Explanation of the Four Thunders of the Divine Firmament,' which I have compiled."

Shi Jian withdrew his finger, looking down at the pale-faced but fanatical young man. "The Slave Sin Abyss is now entirely under your control. The exquisite artifacts, spirit fields, and mineral veins needed for the twenty-four departments will all be under your supervision."

"If any chieftain dares to slight you because of matters of bloodline, you may use my token to execute him first and report later!"

"But I remembered..."

Shi Jian's tone suddenly turned cold, and an icy pressure from Spirit Transformation swept over the entire hall like a Sea-Overturning, causing the hall to sink three inches.

"If a knife becomes dull, I will simply replace it; but if a knife turns against its master, I will personally shatter it to pieces and grind its bones to ashes."

"Even if he is my bloodline, he cannot be forgiven."

Do you understand?

Shi Fangting kowtowed heavily, his forehead striking the stone slab, drawing small specks of scarlet blood, but his eyes burned with an almost morbid intensity:

"If my grandson harbors even the slightest disloyalty, I am willing to suffer the punishment of being struck by ten thousand thunderbolts and having his body and soul annihilated!"

"Go." Shi Jian flicked his sleeve.

Shi Fangting kowtowed three times and bowed nine times before respectfully backing out of the main hall.

The moment he stepped out of the palace gate, the young man faced the howling Frenzied Thunder and clenched his fists, which were adorned with faint Dark Gold patterns.

He knew that from this moment on, he was no longer that bastard child struggling to survive in the mud; he was the one wielding the knife.

He is one of the successors of the six departments of the Divine Firmament Line!

Behind him, in his bloodline, is the Lightning Bear Ancestor!

After giving Shi Fangting a dressing down, Shi Jian did not linger in Divine Firmament Plain.

After entrusting the rear to Shi Pan and instructing Shan Li and Li Bear Plains defenses in the Dao Realm, he quietly left the Giant Bear Territory alone.

Tearing through the void, heading eastward.

The Beast Realm is vast and boundless, spanning more than billions of miles.

The Western Lands are primarily composed of Thick Earth, vast marshes, Savage Wilderness forests, and lands of Mystic Sha, making them the habitat of races such as giant bears and Tiger Emperor.

From the west to the east, crossing the central land spanning hundreds of billions of miles, through endless natural Feng Yue and towering mountains, the weather between heaven and earth suddenly changed dramatically.

Rumble--!

The sky was no longer a single shade of earthy yellow, but instead presented a deep, dark blue and reddish-purple hue, where the wind and thunder converged.

The howling wind was no ordinary gale, but rather the "Nine Heavens Divine Wind" and the "Xuanming Yin Wind" that tore through the mountain rocks, intertwining into huge wind pillars that stretched from the sky to the earth among the towering peaks and cliffs.

Above the pillar of wind, countless bolts of lightning poured down from the void like a waterfall, while thick electric pythons surged and weaved through the mountains and valleys.

The mountain terrain is extremely precipitous.

Towering mountains, tens of thousands of feet high, rise abruptly from the ground, their peaks sharp as knives, piercing the Yunxiao; many of these mountains are even entirely composed of lightning-struck black iron or Qing Gang stones.

Naturally formed, enormous arrays and restrictions of heaven and earth.

The Eastern Lands, the Domain of Wind and Lightning.