Chapter 551: Chapter 551

Three years after Zhouyang returned to the Boundless Desert Sea Cultivation Realm, his Golden Core celebration was held as scheduled.

This celebration, at his instruction, was not held at the Rhino Horn Continent Oasis, which the Zhou Family had already treated as their base, but at the Red Tiger Mountain Oasis.

When the day of the celebration arrived, the number of cultivators gathered over the Red Tiger Mountain Oasis unexpectedly exceeded fifty thousand!

Moreover, almost more than eighty percent of the middle-high tier cultivators in the entire Boundless Desert Sea Cultivation Realm either accepted invitations or came here of their own volition.

The scene of hundreds of Foundation Establishment Cultivators and more than a dozen Purple Mansion Cultivators gathering together had not appeared in the Boundless Desert Sea Cultivation Realm for over two hundred years.

The last time such a grand scene appeared was more than two hundred years ago, during the time when the Yellow Sand Sect’s Golden Core Cultivator Cao Wenjin recruited manpower to launch the Rhino Horn Continent battle.

At that time, Zhouyang was just a Foundation Establishment Junior Cultivator, merely a minor pawn in that expedition campaign, completely unremarkable.

But today, over two hundred years later, he became the host of this grand gathering held specially for him, attracting everyone’s attention and respect.

At this moment, Zhouyang, seated cross-legged atop a magic altar, gazed at the countless cultivators below who sat cross-legged, waiting for him to begin preaching, and looking at those familiar faces closer to the altar, an immense sense of achievement welled up within him. ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ novel{f}ire.net

Upon closer inspection, many of the cultivators seated below the altar today were once figures he had to look up to.

Like Chen Ping’an, the patriarch of the Chen Family that ruled the Baisha River Oasis Cultivation Realm.

Zhouyang still remembers that when he first left the Yuquan Lake Oasis to train at the Baisha River Oasis, shortly after entering the Baisha River Oasis, he was schemed against by Chen Ping’an’s son, who swindled away over a hundred low-grade spirit stones from him, a significant portion of his assets.

What was the name of that Chen Ping’an’s son again?

Somehow, I can’t quite recall!

After all, that incident happened over two hundred and seventy years ago, and that Qi Cultivation Stage Junior Cultivator who once schemed against him has long passed away, probably for many years now.

Oh, right, that lad later even married one of his clan sisters and had a son, and he, along with the old clan leader Zhou Minghan, had to reluctantly compromise because of pressure from Chen Ping’an at that time.

Zhouyang recollected the entanglements between himself, Chen Ping’an, and the White Camel Peak Chen Family, and couldn’t help but smile indifferently, then let it go.

Indeed, there’s no need to care anymore; he is now a Golden Core Stage Cultivator, and those trivial matters from ages ago are now just minor memories to laugh over occasionally, certainly not worth seeking revenge over.

What’s more, ever since he established his Purple Mansion, the grudges between the Zhou Family and the Chen Family had long been settled.

Then he turned his gaze to another person, also the most watched figure here after him, Yang Wenxiong, the current Sect Leader of the Yellow Sand Sect.

Earlier, during the Golden Core celebration, as this person publicly announced his willingness to co-govern the Boundless Desert Sea Cultivation Realm with the Zhou Family, an era came to an end, marking the fall of the Yellow Sand Sect’s era!

From this day forward, every cultivator in the Boundless Desert Sea Cultivation Realm knew there was only one paramount leader, which was the Zhou Family!

Yang Wenxiong, the Sect Leader of the Yellow Sand Sect, would, due to this significant event, be recorded in the annals of the Boundless Desert Sea Cultivation Realm, becoming a background character that accentuated Zhouyang and the Zhou Family.

Zhouyang was not Yang Wenxiong and did not know what he was thinking at this moment, but seeing his calm and composed demeanor, it seemed he had long been mentally prepared to face criticism.

This inevitably reminded him of their first meeting.

That was more than two hundred years ago, when he first followed the Yellow Sand Sect’s Golden Core Cultivator Cao Wenjin to leave the Boundless Desert Sea Cultivation Realm and went to the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm to purchase the "Jade Liquid Golden Pill".

At that time, Yang Wenxiong had just established his Purple Mansion and was in high spirits, preparing to travel with the sect’s ancestor Cao Wenjin to Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm to broaden his horizons.

And though Zhouyang had already made some name for himself in the Boundless Desert Sea Cultivation Realm, in Yang Wenxiong’s eyes, he was still just a Foundation Establishment Cultivator with some potential, and Yang did not pay him much attention.

Yang Wenxiong probably never imagined that a Foundation Establishment Cultivator from a cultivation clan that he did not pay much mind to would one day form a Golden Core and lead his family to replace their Yellow Sand Sect as the new hegemon of the Boundless Desert Sea Cultivation Realm.

So, the wonders of the world can be encapsulated thus.

You never know whether a minor pawn who did not catch your eye at the time will become a major figure you will look up to in the future!

In past times, a pig butcher; today, a marquis with ten thousand households. Such things happen in every world.

Zhouyang glanced over the countless cultivators waiting quietly beneath the magic altar for him to speak today. Aside from Chen Ping’an and Yang Wenxiong, two old acquaintances with considerable ties to himself, the rest were not worth more than a glance, not even the other Purple Mansion cultivators.

To him, hundreds of years later, he would still be a high-standing Golden Core Stage cultivator or even a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator.

And among these countless cultivators below, would there be even a handful still alive by then?

According to the rules of the Cultivation Realm, celebrations such as Foundation Establishment Celebrations, Purple Mansion Celebrations, Golden Core Celebrations, and Nascent Soul Celebrations, held to mark the advancement of a cultivator’s realm, always include a preaching conference.

The cultivators who ascended the altar to preach might share insights they gained when breaking through their realms. Even those who were stingy and miserly would, on such joyous occasions, share some cultivation insights to secure a good reputation.

Zhouyang had experienced similar occasions several times before and was rather skilled at this sort of thing.

Moreover, he had long prepared the content of his lecture and only needed to speak according to what he had in mind.

He was a particularly generous person, and with the intent of benefiting the cultivators present and building a reputation for the Zhou Family to succeed the Yellow Sand Sect as the hegemon of the Boundless Sea of Sand Cultivation Realm, his lecture was indeed full of practical content.

The ten-day and ten-night preaching conference was divided into three parts. On the first day, he spoke of some elementary cultivation paths, so that even Qi Cultivation Stage cultivators could understand what he was talking about.

He then spent two days discussing more profound paths of cultivation, leaving hundreds of Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators present so entranced that they were unaware of the passage of time.

Afterward, Zhouyang spent another day explaining the profound Golden Core Dao, ensuring that the dozen Purple Mansion cultivators did not sit for days in vain.

In the following days, Zhouyang continued to explain some insights into artifact refining and talisman making, randomly selecting some cultivators to answer the doubts they encountered in their cultivation.

Because of this conference, in the years that followed, several hundred cultivators advanced in their cultivation, including even twenty or thirty Foundation Establishment cultivators and one Purple Mansion cultivator.

Moreover, some cultivators specializing in artifact refining and talisman making gained certain insights from Zhouyang’s lecture, thereby elevating their ranks in artifact refining and talisman making arts.

These benefiting cultivators were naturally immensely grateful to Zhouyang and developed a significant liking for the Zhou Family. Out of gratitude, they actively spread word of the gains from this preaching conference, indirectly achieving Zhouyang’s intended goals.

After the preaching conference, as the cultivators from various places who had come for Zhouyang’s Golden Core celebration dispersed, the Zhou Family’s clan gathering was held as scheduled.

At this clan gathering, cultivators from all branches of the Zhou Family attended, nearly a thousand of them gathering in one place to listen to Clan Leader Zhou Guangxiang discuss the family’s future development plans.

"This is a standard magic robe I had someone make, using the Zhou Family’s own ’Flame-devouring Spider’ silk as the main material, with our Zhou Family emblem on it. Going forward, every adult Zhou Family cultivator can receive one for free. If damaged, they must buy a new one with spirit stones from the family. Within the clan, it’s mandatory for all family cultivators to wear this robe uniformly. Even outside, try not to take it off."

In the grand hall, Zhou Guangxiang held up a fiery red magic robe, showcasing the appearance of the robe to all the family members.

The robe was entirely woven from the fiery red silk of the ’Flame-devouring Spider,’ interwoven with intricate cloud patterns. On the chest area, a ’Zhou’ character was embroidered in gold, surrounded by clusters of burning golden flame motifs.

The ’Zhou’ character naturally represented the Zhou Family, while the clusters of burning golden flames symbolized Zhouyang, the family ancestor with the ’Qianyang Treasure Body.’

As long as the Zhou Family cultivators wore this robe, seeing the golden flame motifs on it would naturally remind them of whose efforts allowed them to wear such robes today.

"There are currently three types of robes, corresponding to the Qi Cultivation, Foundation Establishment, and Purple Mansion cultivators in the family. The distinguishing mark is the flame motif, with three clusters being the lowest, and nine clusters the highest!"

Zhou Guangxiang shook the robe in his hand, allowing all family members to see the nine clusters of golden flames on the robe, his voice resonant as he explained.

The Zhou Family originally had a clan uniform, but it was merely a set of ordinary clothes worn for ceremonies like ancestor worship, not a magic robe.

Unlike the robe held by Zhou Guangxiang now, which not only appeared exquisite but also served as a Tier Two Middle-Grade Defense Spiritual Artifact, both aesthetic and practical, the most important part was that it was free!

The good fortune of receiving a Tier Two Middle-Grade Defense Spiritual Artifact for free was naturally opposed by no one. All attending family members happily approved of this proposal.

This could be considered the first benefit distributed to all family members after the Zhou Family became the hegemon of the Boundless Sea of Sand Cultivation Realm.

Having set a good precedent, Zhou Guangxiang continued his efforts, putting forth a second proposal.

"Now that our Zhou Family is the hegemon of the Boundless Sea of Sand Cultivation Realm, with the family population and territory continually expanding, managing these aspects has become increasingly challenging. To optimize family operation and management and enhance the progress awareness among family members, I discussed with the ancestor and decided to reform the family management style and the status and position of family members with different cultivation levels."

"In the future, for any Zhou Family cultivator who achieves Foundation Establishment, they will no longer be granted the title of Elder. The original Foundation Establishment cultivators will not be allowed to call themselves Elders either. The title of Elder is reserved only for Purple Mansion cultivators, and the title of Supreme Elder solely for the ancestor, with the position of Clan Leader being akin to that of an Elder!"

"At the same time, abolish the former titles of Preaching Elder and Law Enforcement Elder. The term Hall Master will be used as the formal address, though in private, terms like uncle or nephew may also be used."

"The hall masters of each division must be Foundation Establishment Cultivators."

"The Combat Hall and Security Hall will be merged and renamed Eagle Lion Hall, while the Internal Affairs Hall and Miscellaneous Affairs Hall will also be merged, retaining the name Miscellaneous Affairs Hall. Some functions of the original Internal Affairs Hall will be assigned to the Preaching Hall and Hundred Arts Hall."

"The functions of the Foreign Affairs Hall will be upgraded. In the future, affairs related to vassal clans will initially be screened by the Foreign Affairs Hall, which will then provide preliminary opinions for the Clan Leader to adjudicate."

"Establish the Sacrificial Hall, to centrally manage the clan’s Honored Guest Cultivators."

With the Zhou Clan now having a Golden Core Stage Ancestor in charge, and several Purple Mansion Stage Cultivators, raising the requirements for elders comes as no surprise.

After all, even the Yellow Sand Sect, which doesn’t have a Golden Core Stage Cultivator, still requires a Purple Mansion Stage Cultivator to qualify as an elder. There’s no reason for the Zhou Clan, the new overlord of the Boundless Desert Sea Cultivation Realm, to have Foundation Establishment Cultivators as elders; that would really be undermining its prestige.

As for merging and reorganizing the various halls and establishing new ones, these matters have little to do with most clan’s low-tier cultivators. Only about a dozen clan cultivators have the qualifications to compete for those positions.

In fact, not every Foundation Establishment Cultivator is willing to set aside cultivation to get distracted by handling those miscellaneous affairs.

Thus, Zhou Guangxiang’s proposal for this reform was quickly adopted, without any objections.

Next, he proposed establishing a patrol team, drawing elite cultivators from the newly reformed Eagle Lion Hall and Sacrificial Hall to form patrol units that would periodically and in batches patrol the vital desert routes from Rhino Horn Continent to Red Tiger Mountain Oasis, combating the sand bandits and pirates along the way.

Back when conquering Red Fox Ridge Oasis, the Zhou Clan successfully tamed a Tier Two Flying Demon Beast called the Flying Fire Bat. Over the past two hundred years, the Zhou Clan has bred over a hundred of these flying demon beasts.

Each cultivator in the Zhou Clan’s patrol team can be equipped with a Flying Fire Bat as a mount, greatly improving patrol efficiency and the team’s combat capabilities.

Actually, the primary goal of this patrol team is not to combat the sand bandits and pirates, but to seize the opportunity to train the combat skills of clan cultivators and showcase the Zhou Clan’s strength to outside cultivators.

Zhou Guangxiang’s intention was to let external cultivators know that the Zhou Clan’s rise to become the overlord of the Boundless Desert Sea Cultivation Realm wasn’t solely due to having Zhouyang, the Golden Core Stage Ancestor; the other Zhou Clan cultivators aren’t merely incompetent individuals sheltered under the wings of the clan’s ancestor.

Naturally, this proposal to help the clan gain fame and enact justice received support from the vast majority of clan cultivators, especially among the younger cultivators who were the most enthusiastic.

After this matter, the real main event arrived.

When Zhou Guangxiang presented the proposal to change the clan’s welfare and offering system and to establish directly controlled vassal clans, it was unsurprisingly met with opposition nearly from all cultivators, including the majority of Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

The assessment faced all clan cultivators directly; not only Qi Cultivation Stage Cultivators but also Foundation Establishment Cultivators were included in the assessment, albeit with slightly lengthened assessment periods for the Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

Only cultivators at the Purple Mansion Stage could be exempt from assessment, being the privilege of the elders and the Clan Leader.

"Clan Leader, you must think three times before acting!"

"Our Zhou Clan has come this far with great difficulty; everyone has been diligently contributing to the clan over the years. Even if there aren’t great achievements, there are at least hard efforts, right?"

"The clan has now become the strongest in the history of the Boundless Desert Sea Cultivation Realm, and everyone was thinking we could relax a bit and enjoy some peace, yet you’ve proposed this change—this, this isn’t..."

A Foundation Establishment Cultivator of the ’Tong’ generation in the Zhou Clan, looked at Zhou Guangxiang with agitation, striving to speak up for himself and other clan members.

However, more cultivators turned their gaze toward Zhouyang, who sat quietly, meditating with his eyes closed the entire time, without uttering a word.

Everyone knew that the true highest authority of the Zhou Clan had always been this clan ancestor, who had led the clan to its current status.

Although Zhouyang had not meddled in clan affairs for a long time, his status in the Zhou Clan had never changed. In fact, with the ascent of his cultivation, his authority became even more respected and feared by those below.

"Is your name Zhou Tongda? I see you’re anything but perspicacious!"

Zhouyang’s eyes snapped open, his gaze sharp as he looked at the Foundation Establishment Cultivator, whose countenance immediately changed, fearfully dropping to his knees with a thud, begging for forgiveness.

"Forgive me, Ancestor, forgive me. Grandson knows his mistake, I beg the Ancestor to spare me this once!"

Zhouyang, however, ignored him and instead turned his gaze to the rest of the clan members, whose expressions had similarly changed, and said in a cold tone:

"Zhou Tongda’s thoughts are probably what you all are thinking too, aren’t they?"

"Ridiculous, truly ridiculous!"

"I am currently at the Golden Core Stage in my cultivation and dare not slack off in practice, striving diligently every day without rest. How dare you speak of relaxation?"

"The Zhou Family has reached its current status partly because of your contributions, but the greater contributors are me, your Clan Leader, and the countless family ancestors who sacrificed their lives for the family’s development!"

"You now sit on the Spirit Mountain, achieved through the sacrifices of your ancestors, yet you do not think to utilize the favorable conditions to cultivate diligently. Instead, you speak of enjoying comfort. Do you think such behavior honors those ancestors who never had the chance to cultivate on such a high-tier Spirit Mountain? Do you deserve it?"

"Has the family not treated you well? Compare yourselves to cultivators from other families, compare yourselves to those loose cultivators; see which family offers better treatment than the Zhou family?"

"In terms of daily living, the family’s Spirit Grain and Demon Beast meat are abundantly available for you to consume. Each month, you are offered specially-crafted medicinal meals. You reside in places rich with Spiritual Qi, and elixirs, magical artifacts, and spirit talismans are distributed freely!"

"In terms of cultivation, the family’s collection of cultivation techniques and magic is at your disposal, and your elders are available to resolve any cultivation doubts at no cost!"

"With such favorable conditions, yet you do not strive in cultivating to repay the family, nor do you think to advance. Ask yourselves, do you live up to the ancestors who sacrificed their lives to provide these conditions for you?"

Zhouyang swept his gaze across the room filled with thousands of clan members; no one dared to meet his eyes, all intimidated by his stern words.

Since he first implemented the family assembly system, this was the first time he used such a severe tone to scold everyone at a family assembly.

His identity as a Golden Core Stage cultivator and as a family patriarch left those rebuked by him with no one daring to refute him, nor did they even dare to have thoughts of refutation. They felt nothing but immense fear.

After surveying the room, Zhouyang softened his gaze slightly and said in a calm tone:

"Of course, everyone has their own aspirations. If anyone thinks that the Zhou family is already strong and does not need their contributions, and just wants to relax and enjoy so-called comfort, I won’t force you."

"But, I must tell you, such people do not deserve to live in the Zhou family under my leadership, and the Zhou family will not support such complacent, unambitious individuals!"

"You can leave the family with the severance pay it gives you. Whether you enjoy your comfort by establishing a vassal clan or you wander freely in the cultivation realm, it’s up to you!"

After finishing his words, Zhouyang turned his gaze towards Zhou Tongda, who was still kneeling on the ground, and said: "You may rise; the speaker is not guilty. I said this personally when I set up the family assembly system. Though I find your views repugnant, I will not punish you for them!"

Zhou Tongda felt a moment of joy hearing the first part of his words, thinking he had escaped a calamity.

But when he heard the latter part, he felt a chill, his face turning ashen.

Being openly called out by Zhouyang, the family patriarch, in front of the entire clan for his abhorrent views, even if his view represented many family cultivators’ thoughts, he was finished!

Zhouyang might not punish him for his speech, but he knew the other clan members would remember Zhouyang’s words from today and avoid him like the plague to not be associated as his "cohorts."

"As the saying goes, the bird that sticks out gets shot first. Knowing that the Clan Leader would not propose such an offensive suggestion without patriarch’s approval, why did I rush to take the lead and act as the sacrificial chicken to scare the monkeys?"

Zhou Tongda stood up with a face like death and returned to his position, seeing his clansmen distancing themselves from him subtly, filled with endless regret.

He did not dare blame Zhouyang, the family patriarch, but instead blamed his foolishness for failing to see such an obvious truth.

Unfortunately, there is no medicine for regret. He, the "chicken" that offered itself up, became the perfect example for Zhouyang to intimidate the masses.

As expected, seeing Zhou Tongda, a Foundation Establishment cultivator, get sacrificed by Zhouyang, and influenced by Zhouyang’s earlier harsh words, no other Zhou family cultivator dared voice any opposition to the new reforms.

Smart ones knew that Zhouyang gave them the right to attend the family assembly and discuss family matters so they could speak freely and participate in family decision-making.

If Zhouyang did not give them the opportunity to speak, nor the right to oppose, none of them could oppose.

Indeed, the Zhou family is the family of all Zhou family members, but it is the Zhou family with Zhouyang, the patriarch, that reigns over the Boundless Desert Sea Cultivation Realm.

If they angered Zhouyang, their patriarch, and he left the family in a rage to wander the world, how could they ever dream of enjoying comfort? Perish the thought!

This simple truth is known even by teenagers.