Family Cultivation: Evergreen of the Song Family

Even though the warships built by the East China Sea Alliance are among the fastest in the Great Qian Dynasty, it will still take at least a month to return to the East China Sea.

With only two months left until Ancestor Xuanlei's Supreme Ceremony, cultivators have been heading to Wanxiang Mountain one after another. Although these ordinary cultivators without invitations cannot go up the mountain, they can still celebrate together and may even be able to listen to the Supreme's sermon in person.

Such an opportunity is so rare in the border regions that it's no exaggeration to say it's a once-in-a-millennium chance. Everyone who knows about this news is rushing to the Great Qian Dynasty.

During this period, inter-domain flying boats and space teleportation arrays in various places were packed with people, including many cultivators from north of Tianshan.

The day the ceremony truly begins will surely be packed with people.

These people come from all over the country, from all walks of life, a mixed bag. Their gathering in one place is bound to cause trouble.

It's inevitable that there will be oversights if the disciples and elders of the Myriad Manifestations Palace are relied upon alone.

This is a rare supreme ceremony on the frontier, and due to the abyss, a large number of powerful individuals who were not originally invited are participating. Any incident will be magnified infinitely and eventually become an indelible stain on this grand event.

The border region has long been impoverished and weak, and the area north of the Tianshan Mountains has always been looked down upon. Some people even privately refer to it as a "barbarian land," showing extreme contempt.

Therefore, this grand event is not only related to the reputation of the Myriad Manifestations Palace, but also to every cultivator living on the frontier, and the Song family naturally cannot sit idly by.

He had already promised Yi Tianzheng that he would help him control the ceremony venue and expand his network of contacts, so he certainly couldn't waste time traveling.

He tore through the void and personally constructed a spatial passage leading directly to the Twin Islands, arriving smoothly in just one day.

The speed of spatial teleportation is directly related to its mass. Each ocean warship is a metal lump forged through countless hammer blows. In addition, the nearly one thousand cultivators and a large amount of spoils on board the warships severely affect the teleportation speed; otherwise, it would only take a moment.

Even so, it deeply shocked Song Youping and others, and they felt even more proud than before.

The previous great battle did not have a significant impact on the Twin Islands. On the contrary, due to the betrayal and fall of forces such as the Hanhai Chamber of Commerce, Thousand Blade City, and Hundred Refinement Sect, the surviving cultivators in these places were forced to flock to the Twin Islands, Tenglong Islands and other places to seek refuge.

In addition, news of the Supreme Ceremony spread, and cultivators from the Great Qi and even several surrounding cultivation worlds took the Song family's teleportation array in Wangyue Market to temporarily settle in the Twin Islands, causing the markets to be overcrowded and the main islands open to the public to be crowded with people.

The sudden appearance of several ocean-going warships through the space tunnel caused considerable chaos.

However, when they saw Song Changsheng standing on the bow of the ship, their panic instantly turned into excitement and reverence, and a large group of them knelt down.

Among them were those who had escaped from the occupied territories, those who had come from the Southwest Nine Realms to prepare for the ceremony, as well as rogue cultivators and cultivators from the East Sea Alliance.

His various identities are too numerous to mention.

However, they also share another common identity: they are all fans of Song Changsheng.

"We pay our respects to True Lord Zixu."

"We pay our respects to True Lord Zixu."

More than 100,000 cultivators chanted in unison, their voices rising like mountains and seas, soaring straight to the heavens.

On the warship, the cultivators who witnessed this moment felt their hearts surging with emotion, unable to contain themselves.

The group of young cultivators stared at Song Changsheng's imposing figure with shining eyes.

Song Jingxiao appeared slightly calmer, but his clenched hands revealed that his inner state was far from as peaceful as he seemed.

At that moment, only one sentence came to mind: "A true man should be like this!"

Xu Miaoyin looked at that figure with undisguised admiration on her face.

He is my godfather, my mentor, and the benchmark I constantly strive to emulate.

Song Changsheng appeared quite calm; compared to the upcoming Supreme Ceremony, this was merely a small matter.

"No gift."

The gentle voice clearly penetrated the ears of every monk.

Although the crowd complied, they did not disperse; instead, they watched him with fervor.

Seeing this, Song Changsheng felt a headache coming on, but he couldn't just leave.

After all, what the Song family needs most right now is reputation, and these people are the best disseminators.

When one's cultivation is weak, a tree that stands out in the forest will surely be felled by the wind.

But now, it has reached a level where it is like a towering tree in the forest, unshakable by anyone.

For Song Changsheng now, there is no need to deliberately hide his talents. His reputation can bring him and even the Song family enormous benefits, so the more famous he is, the better.

Just as he was thinking about how to "perform", Song Youlin and the others, who had been alerted by the shouts of the crowd, arrived and quickly dispersed the crowd to welcome him inside.

“You have come at just the right time.”

Inside the Twin Islands Garrison, Song Changsheng took his seat and let out a long sigh of relief.

These fanatical worshippers are more difficult to deal with than an equal number of enemies.

"Clan leader, why are you with Youping and the others?" Song Youlin asked, full of doubt, as he personally served Song Changsheng spiritual tea.

"I'll have Youping tell you about these later. Is the battle report ready?"

"It's done and has been reported to the family elders' council."

While answering, Song Youlin took out a spare battle report for Song Changsheng to review.

Song Changsheng quickly glanced through it, his expression softening slightly.

This battle report does not include areas such as the Tenglong Islands, but is limited to the Twin Islands.

The battle here was short and small in scale, and with the help of the Heavenly Craft Hall's Sky Ships and Crystal Cannons, it was virtually impregnable.

The number of cultivator casualties did not exceed two thousand, and most of them were wounded.

The sinking of more than a dozen warships is still an acceptable loss for the East China Sea Alliance.

The resource consumption is quite painful. Both the Sky Ship and the Crystal Cannon are money-guzzling behemoths. Add to that the consumption of the Grand Array and various defensive facilities, and everyone will have to tighten their belts for the next few years.

The achievements are even less impressive.

After a fierce battle, sixteen warships of the Blood Soul Demon Sect were sunk, and only a little over two thousand people were beheaded and captured.

Most of these people only have one or two magical artifacts and some basic cultivation resources.

Magical artifacts have little market value to begin with, and selling them on the black market means taking a cut of the profits. What you actually receive is only a fraction of what you spent in this battle, and it's not even as valuable as an equal number of sea monsters.

After all, there's a market for sirens, from their claws and teeth to their flesh and blood.

However, with gains exceeding one million in both the southeast and southwest, prices will certainly be severely impacted in the short term.

Song Changsheng is currently considering whether to expand into the market north of the Tianshan Mountains.

Apart from the Hengduan Mountains, where there are still abundant monster resources, wild monsters have almost disappeared in most other areas, creating a huge demand.

As long as there are distribution channels, it's still possible to sell it for a good price.

As far as he knew, the sea monster materials that Wanxiang Palace received each year were regularly sold to a few cultivation communities.

"We should talk about this when we have the chance."

Song Changsheng thought to himself, putting down the war report in his hand: "Have the compensation arrangements been made for the various forces that participated in the war?"

"Reporting to the clan leader, the distribution is almost complete, and all contribution points were distributed according to the clan's regulations. However, there is currently a problem with the alliance."

"What's wrong with the alliance?" Song Changsheng frowned slightly.

Due to issues of composition and distribution of benefits, the East China Sea Alliance and the Southwest Alliance did not merge. The matters were too complicated for him to handle individually, so they were all left to the Elders' Council.

Unlike battle merits, which are cumbersome to count and difficult to define, compensation is only given to cultivators who have fallen or been seriously injured. The scope of the statistics is small, and the standards are very clear.

With fewer than two thousand casualties, and a task that could be completed by three to five people, how could problems still arise? What are the Alliance Elders doing?
"In this battle, the alliance lost three Purple Mansion cultivators and fifty-two Foundation Establishment cultivators."

According to regulations, an equal number of treasures used to assist in the breakthrough should be provided as compensation.

The Alliance Treasury has accumulated a considerable number of powerful demon cores over the years, and the supply of Foundation Establishment Pills is sufficient.

However, the [Breakthrough Pill] had already been used up before the battle to enhance the strength of the alliance cultivators, and no Demon King's inner core was obtained in this battle, so compensation could not be provided for the time being.

In addition, there was a problem of people hoarding war spoils after the war, which went too far. Some alliance elders planned to reduce the level of compensation and recalculate war merits based on the number of kills.

Otherwise, the Alliance Treasury would be unable to bear the burden.

Some elders oppose this, believing it could damage the alliance's credibility; the debate is still ongoing.

Upon hearing this, Song Changsheng neither became angry nor expressed his opinion. Instead, he looked at Song Youlin and asked, "You are both the family's guardian and an alliance elder. What is your opinion?"

Song Youlin seemed to have anticipated this, and respectfully said, "I believe that the cultivators who sacrificed themselves for the alliance should receive more compensation than less."

Hoarding loot is indeed a major problem, but in my opinion, it's a consequence of the league's flawed system.

Disciples from families, the Golden Crow Sect, and Twilight Cloud City receive relevant education from a young age, have good discipline, and mutual supervision is the norm. In the past, there was almost no problem of hoarding spoils of war.

But now, the largest group in the alliance consists of rogue cultivators.

Without this kind of discipline, there is also insufficient trust in the league.

In their view, only what they directly possess is truly theirs, which is why they engage in hoarding.

The grandson believes that different groups of people should be treated differently, and we can't use a one-size-fits-all approach like before.

Song Changsheng remained noncommittal, lightly tapping the armrest with his fingertips, and said, "Then what do you think we should do to distinguish them?"

"Other cultivators will continue as usual, while rogue cultivators will have their pensions cancelled. In times of war, they will be conscripted by the alliance based on their cultivation level with a fixed amount of contribution points. All spoils will belong to them, and they will not be included in the evaluation of war merits."

The alliance only needs to supervise and severely punish acts such as stealing spoils.

Of course, if they voluntarily hand over their spoils, they can directly exchange them for alliance contribution points, and those with a large quantity can be appropriately rewarded.

At the same time, we need to increase the exchange privileges for independent cultivators; only with sufficient incentives can we motivate them to earn contribution points.

"It's not bad, but even if these are implemented, it's a matter for the future. How should we solve this problem this time?"

Song Youlin gritted his teeth and said, "I think that since it has already happened and there is no way to settle the score, we should just let it go and consider it a lesson learned."

We should reward cultivators who hand over their spoils of war in accordance with the regulations.

If the treasury cannot afford it, the family can lend a batch of resources, which can be returned later.

Upon hearing this, Song Changsheng immediately laughed: "Is the reason why the Elders' Council did not adopt your opinion because of your solution?"

The alliance consists mostly of independent cultivators, but they do not have enough say in the council of elders. In reality, the alliance is an alliance of veteran forces such as the Song family, Muyun City, and Luoxia City.

These independent cultivators are infringing on the interests of the alliance, which is tantamount to seizing the interests of these forces, and will also increase many additional expenses, so naturally some people will object.

After all, the resources borrowed from the Song family must be repaid. If they are not repaid, the Song family's interests will be harmed, and they will not be able to get past the family elders' council.

He was the only one who could make this decision.

Although Song Youlin's proposed solution did not suit his taste, this was due to his cultivation level and perspective, not a matter of ability.

Apart from some additional expenses for the league, almost everything else has been taken into account.

Just as he was about to offer his solution, Song Youlin spoke up again: "Actually, I have another solution."

Song Changsheng's heart stirred, and he nodded, saying, "Oh? Tell me about it."

"This plan is relatively radical."

You can personally set up a large-scale "Questioning the Heart" formation, ensuring that those who hoard secrets will have nowhere to hide.

The alliance can issue warnings in advance, and those who surrender the spoils of war can be exempted from punishment; those who are stubborn and refuse to comply will be severely punished.

Making an example of one to warn a hundred will make future changes to the system easier.

However, everyone has their own secrets, especially independent cultivators, who may not be willing to cooperate and could even cause unrest.

However, the clan leader's reputation is deeply ingrained in people's minds, and I think most people would make the right choice.

"It wouldn't be bad to clean up the rest of the unruly ones." A rare ruthless look appeared on Song Youlin's face.

This surprised Song Changsheng.

Song Youlin is qualified to succeed the clan leader in terms of character, qualifications, and abilities.

But the reason he hesitated was because Song Youlin acted too uprightly and used too mild methods.

Although intrigue and scheming are minor skills, as the head of a clan, one may not use them, but one cannot be ignorant of them.

It is human nature to fear power but not to cherish virtue.

Those who are not ruthless enough and have too high a moral bottom line will find it difficult to gain a foothold in chaotic times.

Song Youfu was much better in this respect.

But he's too lazy and needs constant encouragement.

Secondly, they have no bottom line and could easily lead their family astray.

Another issue is that their qualifications are not outstanding enough.

He was more satisfied with the second option than the other.

What's even more satisfying is the change in Song Youlin; he finally knows how to solve problems with "blood."

However, his abilities limited Song Youlin's imagination.

In his opinion, this matter didn't need to be so complicated.

"Lin'er".

He stood up and slowly walked to Song Youlin, speaking as if to warn him, yet also with a sigh: "You must remember, as long as you have enough strength, there are no secrets in this world."

These words startled Song Youlin, who quickly realized what was happening and said with a hint of shame, "It was my overthinking of things."

Yes, in front of a True Monarch, what secrets could these cultivators who don't even have Golden Core cultivation have?

……

P.S.: Double update tomorrow. (End of this chapter)