Chapter 157, Daoyi Out of Seclusion and Cloud Python Turns Into a Dragon

Translator: Raznick

 

Time flowed, and soon the joint martial competition event of the five cultivating clans was held at the Zhou Clan estate on Nine Peaks.

 

Although it was a joint martial competition event of the five cultivating clans, because the Mu Clan of Green Cloud Mountains had suffered a major calamity, they could only participate this time.

 

And in order to hold this event well, the Zhou Clan had also invited many forces they were friendly with to observe.

 

Among them were the Alchemy Li Clan and the You Clan.

 

As the Zhou Clan developed its influence on Nine Peaks, these two clans also began to re-evaluate their relationship with the Zhou Clan and gradually started to visit more often.

 

It was mainly because Green Lotus Monastery had less suspicion towards these clans, so even if they interacted with each other, they didn’t have to worry about them reforming into a force again.

 

“Brother Chongshan, for such a grand event today, why isn’t Brother Daoyi here to preside? I haven’t seen Daoyi for over a decade, and I miss him very much!”

 

The representative of the You Clan, an elderly cultivator with late Foundation Establishment, who was named You Jinbang, arrived at the scene and saw that the person representing the Zhou Clan to host the event today was Zhou Chun, a young man he had never seen before. He frowned slightly, and with a slight surprise, he asked the Zhou Clan Second Elder Zhou Chongshan.

 

“Clan Leader is currently in seclusion, attempting late Foundation Establishment, so he couldn’t preside over this event.”

 

Zhou Chongshan replied calmly to the other’s question, then firmly stated, “Moreover, Zhengchun is my clan’s Deputy Clan Leader, and having him preside over this event, we also feel, is quite appropriate.”

 

He naturally detected the contempt in You Jinbang’s words towards Zhou Chun, so he affirmed Zhou Chun’s status at this time.

 

Hearing his words, You Jinbang was momentarily stunned, and then he smiled faintly without responding.

 

This attitude made Zhou Chongshan even more displeased.

 

He was indeed a student of the You Clan cultivator, but that didn’t mean he could stand by and watch the You Clan disgrace the Zhou Clan.

 

He had trained under a You Clan cultivator, but that didn’t mean they could come and humiliate the Zhou Clan.

 

“Young friend Zhengchun is quite remarkable; I’ve also heard of his name at the Li Clan; the Zhou Clan being able to produce such an outstanding successor is truly enviable!”

 

At that moment, Li Conguang, the Li Clan cultivator representing his clan, smiled and spoke, easing the tension for Zhou Chongshan.

 

Compared to the You Clan, the Li Clan and the Zhou Clan had a deeper relationship, and their cooperation was much closer.

 

Therefore, the Li Clan cultivator knew more about the current situation of the Zhou Clan.

 

The Zhou Clan had been managed by Zhou Chun, this Deputy Clan Leader, for several years, which Li Conguang already knew.

 

Hearing Li Conguang’s praise, Zhou Chongshan’s expression visibly improved.

 

Then he looked at Li Conguang, who smiled and nodded. “Zhengchun is good, but compared to the geniuses of your Li Clan, he’s nothing; I heard that your Li Clan obtained a pair of twin male infants a few years ago, and both brothers are high-grade spirit root. Such things are truly rare to see in a thousand years!”

 

Li Conguang’s words made him burst out laughing. “Hahaha, I never thought this would reach your ears, Chongshan; it seems those two boys have already earned their fame before even starting their training!”

 

Twin brothers in the cultivation world were scarce, but not impossible to find.

 

However, both brothers having high-grade spirit roots was exceedingly rare, just as Zhou Chongshan said.

 

A pair of brothers like that, born into a cultivation powerhouse like the Li Clan, would undoubtedly achieve extraordinary things in the future.

 

Li Conguang, a Li Clan cultivator like himself, was naturally delighted to see such genius successors emerge within his clan.

 

Seeing the topic shift, You Jinfang couldn’t help but interject, “I heard that some people at the Green Lotus Monastery want to accept the brothers as disciples; will your ancestor agree to this, Conguang?”

 

“How the Ancestor acts is beyond my ability to guess!”

 

A flash of brilliance sparked in Li Congguang’s eyes as he gently shook his head, refusing to engage.

 

Finding the conversation fruitless, You Jinfang also lowered his gaze and remained silent.

 

These individuals, engaged in casual chatter in the spectator’s seating, failed to notice the cultivators from several clans had already begun a heated martial competition in the arena.

 

The cultivators representing the Wang Clan, Sun Clan, and He Clan this time were all exceptionally strong.

 

Especially the He Clan from Bamboo Groove, possibly due to dissatisfaction with the results of the previous martial competition, were determined to redeem themselves. Their participating cultivators demonstrated remarkable resolve. When the top ten contenders in the youth division appeared, the He Clan secured four places, the Wang Clan claimed two, the Sun Clan took three, and the Zhou Clan barely managed one.

 

Simultaneously, in the elite division, the top three cultivators from the Zhou Clan’s internal martial competition also smoothly advanced to the top ten, managing to salvage some face for their clan as the hosts.

 

Witnessing this, Wang Zhixiong, Clan Leader of the Wang Clan, chuckled towards Zhou Chun, “It’s fortunate that Fellow Daoist Zhou has reached Foundation Establishment; otherwise, if Fellow Daoist Zhou had participated in the elite division this time, I fear the Zhou Clan would have occupied four of the top ten places!”

 

Upon hearing this, Zhou Chun couldn’t help but wryly smile, “Fellow Daoist Wang is too kind; I am unsure whether to feel pleased or disappointed!”

 

Then, shaking his head, he added, “It’s already remarkable that we managed to secure three places in the elite division. Once the foundation is depleted, I fear the Zhou Clan will end up at the bottom!”

 

“Fellow Daoist Zhou is too modest. I have witnessed the changes the Zhou Clan has undergone these past several years. They truly live up to their reputation as a thousand-year-old clan; their resources are indeed beyond the comparison of lesser families like ours!”

 

Sun Zhongping, Clan Leader of the Sun Clan, spoke up at this moment, his words laden with emotion.

 

The Sun Clan and Zhou Clan were the closest, and he was more acutely aware than the other Clan Leader how much the Zhou Clan had changed.

 

He had once thought the Sun Clan was not necessarily inferior to the fallen Zhou Clan.

 

But after witnessing the changes of the Zhou Clan firsthand over the past decade, he had to admit that the Sun Clan was indeed inferior in every way compared to the Zhou Clan.

 

This feeling wasn’t limited to Sun Zhongping alone; the Clan Leader of the He Clan and Wang Zhixiong felt the same way.

 

And the leader of the Mu Clan, Mu Yuntian, spoke up at this moment: “What Fellow Daoist Sun said is correct. In terms of resources and strength, the Zhou Clan is truly beyond the ability of our several families to compare with. Being able to forge an alliance with the Zhou Clan was the most correct choice our clan made at the time!”

 

The Mu Clan currently deeply benefited from the great kindness of the Zhou Clan and naturally wouldn’t hesitate to cheer and rally for the Zhou Clan on such an occasion.

 

“What Fellow Daoist Mu said is correct; forging an alliance with the Zhou Clan was indeed the right thing we did at the time.”

 

Wang Zhixiong glanced at Mu Yuntian and smiled lightly, enthusiastically supporting the performance.

 

Now, the rise of the Zhou Clan seemed unstoppable, and their several families, whether out of envy or jealousy, would certainly strengthen their ties with the Zhou Clan.

 

“Everyone, you flatter us. We, the Zhou Clan, have always been deeply grateful for the recognition and acceptance of your clan at the time. We have also remembered the help of your clan over the years.”

 

“In the future, our clans must still help and support each other and advance and retreat together!”

 

Zhou Chun, cupping hands, also made a slightly smiling response.

 

His response clearly satisfied Wang Zhixiong and the others, and they all showed smiles of satisfaction on their faces.

 

In the subsequent competition for the top three, the Zhou Clan voluntarily gave up the youth group, but all three sides of the elite group wanted to fight to the best of their ability.

 

But ultimately, in the competition for first place, Zhou Zhengyong still regretfully lost to a cultivator from the Sun Clan.

 

His cultivation was ultimately a layer behind his opponent, and his opponent seemed to have been in the Twelfth Layer of the Qi Refining Stage for quite some time, and the mystical art he cultivated was very skilled, and he had also practiced a secret art that was no worse than the Hard Gold Sword Energy.

 

Even though he was binding the green copper tripod artifact and the crimson copper ball artifact given by Zhou Chun, he was still defeated by his opponent’s secret art.

 

The previous generation’s elite group champion, the Wang Clan, had presented a Foundation Establishment Pill as a reward.

 

But that was because they were confident in securing a win, and so they offered this item as a reward to save face for the Clan Leader.

 

This time, the Zhou Clan didn’t have that same certainty, nor could they produce such a precious item as a Foundation Establishment Pill.

 

Therefore, the reward for first place in the elite group was replaced with an inferior second-grade artifact.

 

As compensation, the Zhou Clan offered a significant amount of their reserved demon beast eggs and demon beast cubs as rewards for the subsequent cultivators.

 

All in all, while the Zhou Clan gained considerable face this time, they also expended a great deal.

 

But this was a necessary expenditure, because next time when other clans hosted events, the Zhou Clan could reciprocate and benefit from their generosity.

 

After the event concluded, Zhou Chun led the Zhou Clan elders, personally seeing off the cultivators who had come to observe.

 

Once all the guests had departed, several members of the Zhou Clan leadership convened to discuss the results of the event.

 

“Although we didn’t secure first place this time,” Zhou Chun began, “the Zhou Clan managed to maintain our reputation and avoided any major embarrassment.”

 

“And through this event, the Zhou Clan has truly bonded with the other clans—at least, they won’t regard the Zhou Clan as outsiders anymore!”

 

Then Zhou Chongshan nodded in agreement. “Zhengchun is correct. Although this event cost the clan a considerable sum of money, it also demonstrated the clan’s influence. At least, the Li Clan and You Clan will recognize that, even though the Zhou Clan’s strength is somewhat lacking, we aren’t living any worse lives than them!”

 

As his words fell, Third Elder Zhou Daoquan expressed his strong agreement, “Second Elder is right. While the Li Clan and You Clan are indeed powerful, they are essentially isolated by local forces.”

 

“They can still rely on their reserves now, but if they fail to integrate into the Jing Kingdom a century from now, their clans will struggle to survive when their reserves are depleted!”

 

The greater the power, the more resources must be occupied to sustain it.

 

But the Li Clan, the You Clan, and the Zhou Clan were all outsiders; simply having a patch of land to call their own was already quite difficult, and attempting to expand their territory through land grabbing was utterly impossible.

 

And if they couldn’t expand their territory, secure resource points like mineral veins and spiritual mountains, or establish a market to collect rent, then clans like the Li Clan and the You Clan—with their hundreds of cultivator clan members—would be in a very difficult situation.

 

After all, the more people there were and the higher-level their cultivation, the more resources would be required to support them.

 

Relying solely on the Li Clan’s alchemy skill and the You Clan’s array skill, attempting to sustain such a large clan would simply be unrealistic!

 

However, due to their own massive size, other local cultivating clans in Mist Province dared not, nor were they qualified enough, to form alliances or engage in in-depth cooperation with them.

 

If they couldn’t absorb resources from the local cultivating clan, the clan’s finances would be unsustainable, and their accumulated wealth would quickly be depleted.

 

At that time, the massive Li Clan and You Clan could very likely split into multiple smaller clans, each seeking their own way.

 

This was almost an obvious scheme, and many people could see right through it.

 

Therefore, Zhou Chongshan was now somewhat enjoying their misfortune, saying, “The Li Clan and the You Clan are like this; those fellows at Spirit Beast Manor are the same—even worse off!”

 

“As I see it, if the Dragonized Sect doesn’t undertake any further major actions, that’s manageable. But if they do, the Green Lotus Monastery could offer a few incentives, and these clans would likely be forced to become cannon fodder to deplete their resources.”

 

“At that time, even their several elderly ancestors in the Golden Core Stage would have to go to the front lines!”

 

He had a friendly relationship with many cultivators from these three clans, and he shouldn’t have spoken like this.

 

But the Zhou Clan had fallen on hard times in recent years, and when encountering danger on several occasions, the other clans disregarded past friendships and never sent anyone to assist.

 

Moreover, the cultivators from the two clans now seemed to have developed a sense of superiority over the Zhou Clan, feeling that the Zhou Clan no longer deserved to be mentioned in the same breath.

 

This infuriated him considerably.

 

Consequently, indulging in a bit of schadenfreude was hardly surprising.

 

“The Li Clan and the You Clan—let’s not concern ourselves with them. They’re free to maintain their relationships if they wish, and if they don’t, we don’t need to beg them, lest it appear that if we left them, our Zhou Clan couldn’t survive.”

 

Zhou Chun harbored little affection for these former allies and wasn’t inclined to discuss the two clans any further at this time.

 

As for Spirit Beast Manor, in his view, it was a hostile faction. In the future, if the Zhou Clan had the opportunity, it would certainly be a target to be struck, and there was even less need to discuss it now.

 

He then briefly shared the clan’s recent financial income and expenditure and population changes before allowing the elder to depart.

 

Half a year later, Zhou Daoyi, who had been in seclusion for several years, successfully broke through to late Foundation Establishment and emerged.

 

“Congratulations, Clan Leader, on your significant advancement in cultivation. Our clan now has another late Foundation Establishment cultivator.”

 

Within the Central Palace, Zhou Chun saw Zhou Daoyi, who had emerged after achieving success, and immediately rejoiced, quickly performing the proper greetings.

 

“It’s nothing more than what was to be expected; there’s nothing to congratulate.”

 

Zhou Daoyi waved his hand, then looked at Zhou Chun and asked, “It seems that during my seclusion, quite a few things happened within the clan?”

 

“There were some occurrences, but none of them were major; they weren’t worth disturbing the Clan Leader.”

 

Zhou Chun explained briefly the various events that had occurred over the past few years.

 

Finally, he looked at Zhou Daoyi with anticipation and asked, “Now that you’ve broken through, when can we expect a resolution regarding the Sky Cloud Python transforming into a Blue Flood Dragon?”

 

“I administered the inner core to Azure two years ago. It’s still asleep, digesting the power of the inner core. It might take another one or two years before we see a result!”

 

Zhou Daoyi finished speaking, and suddenly his Divine Sense stirred, directed at Zhou Chun. “The Grand Elder summons me, so I won’t linger with you any longer. Any matters can wait until I return.”