Chapter 38: Celestial Zhao Family
Chapter 38: Chapter 38: Celestial Zhao Family
"Fifteenth Brother, you’re being too conservative."
Zhao Renchang, the gray-robed, middle-aged cultivator seated in the head seat to the left, slowly shook his head, his fingers unconsciously stroking a Cyan Jade Calculation Rod at his waist. "Our Zhao Family has operated in Celestial County for several generations, and now we’ve hit a bottleneck."
"There are only three Tier Two Spirit Veins in the County. Our Zhao Family occupies one, and the other two sites, held by Foundation Establishment Cultivators, are both protected by Tier Two Arrays. They’re impregnable. A frontal assault?"
He sneered, his knuckles rapping on the red sandalwood table with a dull THUD THUD. "And what would be the cost? Who would bear the risk of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator falling in battle? Even if we succeeded, the Bixia Sect would demand an explanation immediately. We might not reap any benefits, but we’d be stuck with a stain we could never wash away!"
He lifted his teacup and took a light sip, his sharp gaze fixed on the middle-aged man across from him, whose brows were tightly furrowed—the Zhao Family’s Third Elder, Zhao Renhai.
"The Zhou Family, on the other hand, is based in Changfeng County. They have no Grand Array near the north slope of the Celestial Cloud Mountain Range, where their territory borders our Celestial County."
"More importantly, the Chu Family has sent word. The moment we make a move, they will apply full pressure on the Zhou Family and guarantee one thing: that Foundation Establishment Cultivators will absolutely not take part in this conflict! That is their bottom line!"
Zhao Renchang’s voice was tinged with excitement. "The Chu Family won’t meddle directly in County affairs, but their threat is enough to make those old Foundation Establishment geezers from the Zhou Family think twice. We only need to deal with the Zhou Family’s Qi Cultivators! This is an opportunity that comes once in a millennium!"
Zhao Renhai fell silent for a moment before setting down the teacup he had yet to touch.
"Fourth Brother, I understand your point. But what’s wrong with a slow and steady approach? The family hasn’t reached a desperate point where expansion is our only option. Our resources are tight, yes, but they are far from exhausted."
"As for the Zhou Family..." He looked up, his tone laced with anxiety. "The Zhou Family has been entrenched in Changfeng County for hundreds of years. Their foundations run deep, far deeper than our Zhao Family’s. They have a multitude of Honored Guest Elders, and their number of Late-stage Qi Cultivators vastly surpasses our own."
"The Zhou Family Marketplace is prosperous, and their reserves of supplies are plentiful. More importantly, they’ll be fighting on their home ground, giving them advantages in both terrain and popular support."
He took a deep breath and continued, "Even with the Chu Family’s pressure preventing the Foundation Establishment Cultivators from acting, this will ultimately be a war of attrition. It will be a contest of our foundations, our resilience, and our cultivator casualties. The longer it drags on, the worse it will be for us!"
"If the war goes badly and our clan members suffer heavy casualties, the family will suffer a great blow to its Primordial Qi, and morale will falter. And do you think the Qian and Sun Families here in Celestial County, whom we’ve kept suppressed all this time, will simply stand by and watch? They’ll be like hyenas that have smelled blood, seizing the chance to pounce and rip us to shreds! With them rising as we fall, the consequences will be unthinkable!"
He leaned forward slightly, his tone grave. "And another thing—is it really worth it to be the Chu Family’s sword?"
"The Chu Family is high and mighty, and they see us as nothing more than pawns. They’re using us to keep the Zhou Family in check, but what substantial guarantees do we really have?"
"Their promises of rewards sound sweet, but if things go sideways, the Chu Family will simply withdraw, leaving us to face the Zhou Family’s fury all by ourselves. Can our family truly afford to bear those consequences?"
The Grand Elder of the Zhao Family, Zhao Deye, who had been sitting in the seat of honor at the head of the room with his eyes closed in rest, slowly opened them. His hair and beard were pure white, and his face was ancient and simple, but his eyes held a restrained, sharp light. In the moment they opened, the innate majesty of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator emanated from him.
He didn’t speak right away. Instead, he reached out with fingers as withered as bamboo stalks and gently toyed with a smooth, jade-like Ink Jade Paperweight on the table before him. The paperweight spun slowly between his fingers, making a faint scraping sound.
You could have heard a pin drop in the hall; the only sounds were the soft scraping and the breathing of the men. Both Zhao Renchang and Zhao Renhai held their breath, their attention fixed on the Zhao Family’s Grand Elder.
Zhao Deye’s gaze swept past the two Elders before finally landing on Zhao Renhai. His voice was calm, without a single ripple, yet it carried an undeniable weight. "Old Fifteenth, your concerns are not without reason."
"But..."
His tone shifted as he lightly tapped the paperweight with his fingertip. It instantly stopped spinning, coming to a firm rest on a scroll on the table. "You see only the immediate threat from the Zhou Family and our exploitation by the Chu Family, but you don’t see the more distant, hidden dangers."
"Let me ask you this: within Celestial County, the number of Wanderers affiliated with our Zhao Family, plus all the unaffiliated ones—hasn’t it become excessively large and unruly?"
Zhao Renhai was taken aback for a moment, then said thoughtfully, "Third Uncle, the number of Wanderers has indeed grown in recent years, especially the Low-Tier Independent Cultivators. It’s most noticeable in the Marketplace. But for now, it seems to be within manageable limits and hasn’t reached the point of threatening the foundation of our family’s rule."
He paused, choosing his words with care. "While there are many Wanderers, they’re a disorganized rabble, like scattered sand. They have no organization, no backing. They pose no substantial threat to the Zhao Family. Our family’s Law Enforcement Team is more than enough to keep them in line."
Before he could finish speaking, Zhao Deye gently shook his head, a nearly imperceptible, stern glint flashing in his eyes. "Renhai, you are still far too benevolent."
"Enough ants can cause a dam to collapse. This explosion in the Wanderer population is draining the already scarce resources of our Celestial County. It breeds pillaging, infighting, and chaos, and worse, it creates a fertile breeding ground for other families to infiltrate. These are all seeds of future disaster."
His tone grew colder. "Furthermore, if we do go to war with the Zhou Family and the front lines get bogged down, leaving our territory vulnerable—or if the war turns even slightly against us—these Wanderers, who seem so harmless on a normal day, could instantly become the spark that ignites a powder keg!"
"If they were to be stirred up by someone with an agenda, or secretly bought off by the Zhou Family, and started causing chaos in the heartland of Celestial County... then we would be facing threats both internal and external. And if the Qian and Sun Families were to seize that moment to make their move..."
He didn’t finish the thought, but the chilling implication sent a shiver down Zhao Renhai’s spine.
Zhao Deye took his eyes off Zhao Renhai’s shifting expression. His withered fingers picked up the Ink Jade Paperweight again, and his voice, low yet clear, reached their ears. "The Chu Family’s sincerity goes beyond mere words."
"They have promised that as soon as the Zhao Family acts, upon our success, they will immediately hand over a Foundation Establishment Pill as part of the reward."
"A Foundation Establishment Pill?!"
Both men were momentarily speechless, a fervent light bursting forth in their eyes. That one Pill was enough to give any cultivator stuck at the peak of the Ninth-Layer Qi Cultivation Great Perfection a chance to break through to Foundation Establishment.
Pleased with their reactions, Zhao Deye continued, "That is the first reason. The second is that Seventh Grand-Uncle has less than twenty years of his lifespan remaining. That is a sword hanging over the head of our Zhao Family! The family must produce a new Foundation Establishment Cultivator as quickly as possible. The Foundation Establishment Pill is the key to our future!"
He set down the paperweight, placed both hands on the edge of the table, and leaned forward slightly. His hawk-like gaze swept over the two men. "It’s true, the Zhou Family’s foundations run deeper than ours. In a direct confrontation, our odds would be uncertain."
"But the Chu Family isn’t asking us to destroy the Zhou Family. They want us to sow chaos, tie up their forces, undermine their rule in Changfeng County, and prevent them from developing peacefully. We need only accomplish that."
"Therefore, the key to this war lies in two principles: speed and profit!"
Zhao Deye’s voice was as sharp as steel. "We will gather the family’s elites, ally with the restless powers in the County—large and small—who can serve as cannon fodder, and then drive those Wanderers to lead the charge!"
"We launch a surprise attack with clear objectives: the Zhou Family’s subordinate families in Changfeng County, their Marketplaces, and their mines! We will plunder their resources, destroy the Marketplaces, seize their wealth, inflict as many casualties as possible, and create maximum chaos! Then, we will immediately withdraw to Celestial County!"
A cold, calculating light gleamed in his eyes. "The Zhou Family will surely retaliate once they react. But we will fall back on our Grand Array and the layered defenses of our core territory, and we will hold our ground!"
"We only need to hold them off and drag the conflict into a stalemate. The Zhou Family will exhaust immense resources without being able to land a decisive blow, and then the Chu Family’s pressure will mount. In time, the Zhou Family won’t be able to bear the strain and will have no choice but to concede defeat, retreat, and negotiate!"
"And the resources we plunder, along with the Foundation Establishment Pill promised by the Chu Family, will be the fuel for our Zhao Family’s rise!"
The hall fell deathly silent. Only Zhao Deye’s ruthless words echoed in the air, filled with an unshakeable resolve.
Zhao Renhai’s expression shifted several times, moving from shock to conflict, and finally settling into deep resignation. He understood that his Third Uncle’s mind was made up; the family’s path was now set.
The lure of the Foundation Establishment Pill, the urgency of Seventh Grand-Uncle’s dwindling lifespan, the family’s thirst for expansion, and the unseen, giant hand of the Chu Family—all of it merged into an unstoppable torrent.
He heaved a long, deep sigh, one that carried a storm of complex emotions. Finally, he rose slowly to his feet. Facing Zhao Deye at the head of the hall, he performed a deep, formal bow. His voice, when he spoke, held a barely detectable weariness and resignation.
"Renhai... understands. I... will obey."