The Wei Kingdom's Cultivation World!

The day after the bloodbath in the ancestral hall, the situation in Hongtian City changed yet again.

Overnight, Sun Bo'an went from an elder of the third branch to the Sun Clan's sole decision-maker. The first thing he did was publicly declare the second branch's crime: "Colluding with outside enemies in a plot to murder the ancestor."

He also saw to it that all the evidence was made widely known...

The city's people fell silent as cicadas in winter once again. No one dared question it, nor did any Rogue Cultivator dare test the waters, all because Shi Jian was still there.

As long as a Foundation Establishment cultivator remained, the Sun Clan could not fall!

The pressure of a Foundation Establishment great demon was more convincing than any explanation, and no one would entertain thoughts they shouldn't.

Second, Sun Bo'an ordered all the remaining mortals of the Ye and Lin clans separated and then mixed into the Sun Clan's household registers. The men became slaves and servants, while the women became maids and concubines.

Every child was tested for a Spirit Root. Those with aptitude were branded with slave seals and reduced to immortal slaves, or used as breeding studs for the Sun Clan's women.

Third, Sun Bo'an gathered all the Sun Clan's mortal members and announced a policy that left everyone dumbfounded.

"Every Sun clansman who has one child will be rewarded with three jin of spirit rice!"

"Have two children, and the reward is six jin of spirit rice. For each additional child after that, the reward increases by three jin!"

"If a child born in the household has a Spirit Root, the family will also be given priority for Cultivation Resources, as well as ten Spirit Stones and thirty jin of spirit rice!"

As soon as he said this, the whole hall erupted in an uproar.

The Sun Clan's mortal elders trembled all over with excitement:

"Clan head, is... is this true?"

"Of course," Sun Bo'an said expressionlessly. "The clan has suffered a great calamity and urgently needs cultivators. Only with a larger population can more young people with the aptitude to cultivate be born..."

He paused and swept his gaze over the crowd. "Remember, every child you have will become the Sun Clan's future!"

The crowd below burst into cheers.

The mortal clansmen knew nothing of the bigger picture. They only knew that having children could earn them spirit rice and Spirit Stones, and that was enough.

Mortals were ignorant. Even those of immortal lineage could not escape the limitations of their era.

At the entrance to the Spirit Vein on the back mountain.

Shi Jian lay sprawled on a boulder, listening to the rat demon report on Sun Bo'an's three moves. A faint smile curved his lips...

"This kid knows the ropes."

The rat demon crouched beside his paw, its little eyes filled with admiration:

"Sun Bo'an's three moves were brilliant."

"The first steadied people's hearts, the second squeezed the last bit of value out of the Ye and Lin clans, and the third expanded the population."

"At this rate, the Sun Clan's population will at least double in less than ten years, and there should be more and more children with Spirit Roots."

"But all of this is thanks to you, Ancestor!"

Shi Jian yawned, paying it little mind. "Population is the foundation. With enough people, there will be more leeks to harvest. From now on, only by wielding kindness and force together can we make the Sun Clan submit completely."

"Sun Bo'an's cultivation may not be much, but he's got enough brains to know what sustainable development means."

Shi Jian lifted his eyelids and looked toward the spirit fields in the distance.

"What about those immortal slaves? Any troublemakers?"

"No." The rat demon shook its head. "Sun Bo'an sent clansmen to watch them. Anyone who dares slack off gets a whipping on the spot."

"Yesterday, an immortal slave from the Ye Clan tried to escape. After he was caught and brought back, Sun Bo'an crippled his cultivation in public, then chopped him up and fed him to the dogs, killing the chicken to warn the monkeys."

"Now those immortal slaves are more obedient than the next."

Shi Jian nodded in satisfaction.

Wielding kindness and force together-that was the way to control people.

That Sun Bo'an had managed to put the Sun Clan in order like this in just a few days showed that the kid really was afraid of death, and really did want to live.

People who feared death were the most obedient.

Half a month later.

Sun Bo'an went into secluded cultivation and broke through, advancing from the Qi Refining Sixth Layer to the Qi Refining Seventh Layer in one go.

When word got out, it further stabilized the situation.

The Qi Refining Seventh Layer at forty-three was an ordinary level of cultivation, but there was still a sliver of a chance he could reach Foundation Establishment before he turned sixty.

And Sun Bo'an had gained that sliver of a chance by killing his own kin with his own hands. As a cultivator himself, how could he not yearn to pursue the great Dao and eternal life?

The "Thick Earth Essence Cultivation Instruction" Shi Jian had given him was more than a notch stronger than the Sun Clan's original "Azure Wood Everlasting Spring Art." On top of that, he had been supplied with spirit rice, Spirit Stones, and pills for the past half month.

Foundation Establishment was not impossible!

"Ancestor."

Sun Bo'an knelt before Shi Jian, his voice as respectful as a grandson's. "It was only thanks to the technique you bestowed upon me, Ancestor, that I was able to make a breakthrough."

"Get up."

Shi Jian lazily waved a paw. "It's good that you broke through, but don't celebrate too soon. You still have a great deal to do."

Sun Bo'an was taken aback. "What do you mean, Ancestor?"

Shi Jian did not answer immediately. Instead, he raised his head and looked at the distant sky.

"In ten days, it'll be time for the Great Wei Immortal Dynasty to collect its spirit tax, won't it?"

Sun Bo'an's expression changed.

The spirit tax!

The great purge had only just taken place in the past few days, and he had nearly forgotten about it!

Although Hongtian City was the Sun Clan's territory, it was still nominally under the rule of the Great Wei Immortal Dynasty, and a spirit tax had to be paid at a set time each year.

The Great Wei Immortal Dynasty was the Wei Kingdom.

It was jointly ruled by three Nascent Soul powers. The so-called immortal dynasty was merely a kingdom controlled by cultivation powers, and the spirit tax paid each year was ultimately divided among the three great Nascent Soul powers.

The Wei Kingdom had nine provinces, and each Nascent Soul power controlled three of them.

Each province, in turn, had six commanderies.

Each commandery was administered by a Golden Core power on their behalf, and each commandery governed nine county cities.

The Hongtian City area was Hongtian County. It had once been jointly controlled by three Foundation Establishment lineages, but now only the badly crippled Sun Clan remained...

Each year, the Sun Clan paid the Great Wei Immortal Dynasty a spirit tax amounting to thirty percent of the yield from three hundred mu of spirit fields, plus three hundred low-grade Spirit Stones.

In the past, the Sun, Ye, and Lin clans had shared the burden and could just barely afford it.

But now...

The Ye and Lin clans had been destroyed, and the Sun Clan alone had to shoulder the entire spirit tax.

On top of that, Shi Jian would take half the Sun Clan's income every year.

By that calculation...

Cold sweat beaded on Sun Bo'an's forehead.

"Ancestor, this spirit tax..."

"Can't pay it?" There was no telling from Shi Jian's voice whether he was pleased or angry.

"It's not that we can't pay it." Sun Bo'an gritted his teeth. "It's just that after we do, I'm afraid the resources the Sun Clan has left will barely be enough to keep things running day to day."

"Let alone make offerings to you, Ancestor."

Shi Jian was silent for a moment, then suddenly laughed.

"Sun Bo'an, do you know why I chose you?"

Sun Bo'an was taken aback.

"Because you're ruthless enough, and afraid enough of death." Shi Jian spoke unhurriedly. "Only ruthless people dare do what others don't."

"Only those afraid of death will try desperately to find a way to stay alive."

"As for the spirit tax, make the people below suffer a little more, squeeze them a little harder, and there'll still be enough. You'll scrape it together, won't you?"