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A vast melancholy fills the heart, in the silence listening to the thunder! The heads of the major families in Xiling all have their own legends. Many of them owe their reputations to their family¹ s support, but even more of their success is due to their actual abilities.

However, Tang Zhi is different from most of the others. No one knows how he managed to beat competitors who had been nurtured for a long time, resulting in the Elder Council of the Tang Clan unanimously approving this young head. Everyone thought he would do something astonishing, but surprisingly, he became the most low-key among the heads of all families in Xiling.

Before the incident in Chengzhou and the establishment of the new city, it was widely speculated in Xiling that Tang Zhi was unworthy of being the head of the Tang Clan. Some even jested that if the position were just a title, anyone could take it.

After the Chengzhou incident, everyone witnessed the capabilities of the head of the Tang Clan. The group of refugees that the Tang Clan brought back from Chengzhou turned out to be the decaying small martial arts families!

The flood in Chengzhou broke out too suddenly, and winter was approaching. Apart from some powerful families who had the capability to resist the floods, the remaining small families could barely sustain themselves when their fields were flooded and their food reserves were not enough. Thus, alongside the natural disaster came man-made calamities.

All of Chengzhou was in chaos, with people fighting each other for food. The poor commoners were nowhere near as strong as the families, and within a few months prior to the flood, those without any martial arts skills either starved or were killed.

As the commoners died, winter set in, and food supplies dwindled, the powerful families and clans began to oppress the small families.

“Are you willing to exchange your clan’s basic martial arts technique for food?”

“No?”

“Alright, I’ll come back and ask again in a few days!”

“Would you trade a secret technique for food?”

“No?”

“That’s fine, I’ll come back and ask again in a few days!

For many small families, a single natural disaster can set their development back by decades. However, for many of the wealthy factions, disasters are opportunities to strengthen their power.

If it weren’t for the need for a recovery period for the population and gradual development of the minor families, they would wish for a disaster to occur every few years.

Under pressure, many small families in Chengzhou lost themselves. From initially giving up their gold and jewels, followed by martial arts techniques and secrets, eventually, they began to lose their martial artists.

Many families were destroyed in such a disaster, but many, to preserve their lineage, surrendered their family pride and began to engage in looting and robbing to sustain their families.

Nobody knew what tactics Tang Zhi had used. The only known fact was that the Tang Family’s Wancheng Treasure Ship had brought back a hundred thousand martial artists that had shed their mortal bodies, including more than twenty martial artists from Fierce Realm. The Tang Clan had indeed reaped a full harvest this time.

However, these people didn’t rush into Xiling to compete for resources with the other families. Instead, they obediently stayed in the new city, as if completely submissive to the Tang Clan’s management. They even helped with the construction and management of the new city.

In contrast, the Mi Clan, although also having brought back many refugees from Chengzhou and recruited a good number of martial artists, apart from a few from the Fierce Realm who truly respected them, for some reason, the rest of the martial artists harbored deep resentment. In the southern new city, bodies were frequently hung in the public square, all of them martial artists who had tried to escape and were recaptured by the Mi Clan.

In comparison, one could tell just how tactful the tactics of the Tang Clan were. This was when Xiao Jinlin turned to collect a large amount of information about Tang Zhi.

This man was hailed as a prodigy in his youth but for some reason, he left the Martial Hall to focus on his studies. Within a few short years, he outperformed his classmates and was recommended by the Great Elder as a prospective head of the Tang Clan.

While being the last appointed as a prospective head, he was the first to complete the Elder Council’s task. Subsequently, he was appointed as the representative of a branch clan, and then he smoothly defeated all his competitors without much ado, and became the head of the Tang Clan. Looking at his life, there seems to be nothing astonishing. Everything he did was just apt, making every victory appear so effortless.

It would even give the strange impression that this man doesn’t seem to be doing anything at all. Only Xiao Jinlin knew that all appearances of effortless work are due to relentless effort behind the scenes; and that effortless victories come from absolute strength.

With a deep and strategic mind, Tang Zhi is a man not to be underestimated.

Since then, Xiao Jinlin has sensed that the Tang Clan might overshadow the Mi Clan in the next twenty years.

This is because they not only have an expert referred to as ‘the land spirit’, but also a clan leader who is able to calculate ten steps ahead.

“It’s been almost half a year since the Tang Clan intercepted the Boundary Breaking Stone. Even Ji Fu has left with her spoils. Do you think Tang Zhi is the kind of person who slowly enjoys his spoils of war?” Xiao Jinlin was grateful that he understood his opponent so well, “If the Tang Clan used to only focus on Xiling and the Mi Clan, now that they have received these gifts, Tang Zhi will shift his sights to the entire Lingjiang River!”

Xiao Zheng wiped the blood at the corner of his mouth, contemplated Xiao Jinlin’s words, but still couldn’t comprehend, “What does that have to do with whether they will approach the Xiao family within the month?” “To dominate Xiling, the Tang Clan doesn’t need the Xiao family. But to dominate Lingjiang, the Tang Clan must win over the Xiao Family.” Xiao jinlin’s expression remained unperturbed, as if he had absolute confidence. The nature of combat is constantly changing just like water. The line between need and redundancy is thin. If the Tang Clan only had eyes for Xiling, then the Xiao family could only desperately ally with the Mi Clan for a battle. However, if the horizons of the Tang Clan have expanded, then not only the Xiao family, but all the noble families in Xiling would potentially become allies. Moreover, they would show an accompanying sincerity. This is the Tang Zhi that he understands.

But changes in a family never happen due to one person’s will. The Tang Clan still has its Elder Council and a branch family. If they disagree with Tang Zhi on this matter, they will definitely oppose him, and the opposition within the family often proves more substantial than external resistance.

Therefore, Xiao Jinlin couldn’t definitively determine if Tang Zhi would be able to persuade the people of the Tang Clan, hence the one month limit. After all, cooperation and sharing are always the hardest lessons for an powerful clan.

Better to prepare for defeat before victory. Necessary preparations before a major battle is something Xiao Jinlin would never skip. He addressed his eldest son, lying on the central hall, coughing up blood, “Xiao Zheng. I order you to assemble a trade caravan, with three Xiao clansmen from the Fierce Realm, a hundred of Xiao’s blood lineage. Head to Chaochang and become a merchant, and not to return until you receive my orders.”

No return until orders were received. This wasn’t a trade mission; it was clearly a tactic used to spread the blood lineage and preserve the family line. Tactics like these were only used when a family faced a life-and-death battle.

Xiao Zheng’s eyes had never been redder, “The decision to spread the blood lineage must be approved by the Elder Council. The Xiao family isn’t your dictatorship. I demand an immediate convocation of the Elder Council to see if they agree with your foolish actions!