From the fake emperor to the concubine

Master Qingye was deeply conflicted. Bowing to the Zheng family would resolve the immediate crisis, but it would also be tantamount to betraying the Demon Heart Sect. If the Demon Heart Sect were to pursue the matter in the future, Qingye Valley would suffer the same fate.

But if they don't back down, given Zheng Chengbai's current attitude, he might massacre Qingye Valley today.

"Young friend Zheng, how about this?" Master Qingye said through gritted teeth, "Our Qingye Valley is willing to apologize to the Zheng family and promises never to be their enemy again."

"An apology?" Zheng Chengbai raised an eyebrow. "How exactly should I apologize?"

"We are willing to offer ten thousand spirit stones and one hundred bottles of pills as a token of our apology," said Master Qingye, his voice tinged with reluctance.

This already represents most of Qingye Valley's wealth, but in order to preserve the sect, he had no choice but to reluctantly part with it.

"Ten thousand spirit stones?" Zheng Chengbai feigned disdain. "Master Qingye, are you trying to fob me off like this? Is the life of our Zheng family disciples worth that little bit of money?"

"Then, you name a number," Master Qingye asked, forcing himself to be brave.

"I won't take more than you want, double it," Zheng Chengbai demanded, "20,000 spirit stones, 200 bottles of pills, plus a written apology."

"What? Twenty thousand?!" Master Qingye nearly jumped up. "Young friend Zheng, you're trying to kill Qingye Valley!"

"Take your lives?" Zheng Chengbai sneered. "You think 20,000 spirit stones are more valuable than your lives? That's easy, I can take your lives right now, without spending a single penny."

As he spoke, he actually drew his longsword, the blade gleaming with a chilling light.

"Don't get agitated!" Master Qingye quickly advised, "Twenty thousand it is, we'll take it!"

“That’s more like it.” Zheng Chengbai sheathed his longsword. “But verbal promises aren’t enough; I need to see concrete actions.”

"Of course, I'll go prepare right away," Master Qingye said with a bitter face.

Half an hour later, the people from Qingye Valley delivered 20,000 mid-grade spirit stones, 200 bottles of pills, and a letter of apology in an extremely sincere tone.

"Very good, Master Qingye is indeed a reasonable person." Zheng Chengbai nodded in satisfaction. "Then we'll take our leave."

"Take care, young friend Zheng." Master Qingye forced a smile as he saw his guest off.

After Zheng Chengbai and the others left, Aoba Makoto collapsed to the ground.

“Valley Master, is it wrong for us to do this?” a disciple asked worriedly.

"What else can we do?" Master Qingye said with a wry smile. "Right now, the Zheng family is powerful, and we have no choice but to bow our heads. As for the Demon Heart Sect, we'll deal with that later."

Meanwhile, Zheng Chengbai was excitedly making his way back.

"Haha, I didn't expect it to be done so easily!" he said to his subordinates. "It seems the people from Green Leaf Valley are quite sensible."

"Young Master is mighty!" the subordinates swarmed, flattering him.

"The clan leader will definitely praise us when we get back," Zheng Chengbai said proudly. "This mission was completed perfectly!"

But what he didn't know was that their every move was being watched by spies in the shadows.

Soon, news that the Zheng family had sent people to demand an explanation and had successfully made Qingye Valley submit spread throughout the cultivation world.

For a time, all parties began to re-evaluate the Zheng family's attitude and strength.

At the Demon Heart Sect, Qi Yang's expression turned extremely grim upon receiving the news.

“Damn Qingye Valley, how dare they betray us!” he roared angrily.

But he is currently in a critical period of seclusion and cannot spare the time to deal with these matters.

They could only watch helplessly as the Zheng family gradually gained the upper hand.

As the sun set, Zheng Chengbai led his team, laden with spoils, back to the Zheng family mansion.

"Clan leader! Clan leader! A great victory!" Zheng Chengbai shouted loudly before even entering the house, his excited voice echoing throughout the entire courtyard.

Zheng Tianhao and the others, who were discussing family affairs in the council hall, immediately stopped their discussion upon hearing the sound.

"Cheng Bai is back? Judging from his excited expression, there must be good news," Zheng Tianming said with a smile.

Soon, Zheng Chengbai rushed into the council hall, followed by several clansmen carrying large and small bags.

"Clan leader, guess what we've gained this time?" Zheng Chengbai deliberately kept everyone in suspense, a smug smile on his face.

"Stop keeping me in suspense, just tell me already." Although Zheng Tianhao said this, his eyes revealed an expectant look.

"Those guys from Qingye Valley are such cowards!" Zheng Chengbai clapped his hands excitedly. "I hadn't even threatened them much, and they obediently handed over the compensation!"

As he spoke, he gestured to the tribesmen behind him to open the bag.

Instantly, the spiritual light emitted by the 20,000 mid-grade spirit stones illuminated the entire council hall, and the rich spiritual energy made everyone present feel comfortable.

"Hiss—" Even the well-informed Zheng Tianhao couldn't help but gasp. "Twenty thousand mid-grade spirit stones? Qingye Valley has really pulled out all the stops, hasn't it?"

"That's not all!" Zheng Chengbai said with even more pride. "There are also two hundred bottles of various pills, all of the finest quality. Furthermore, True Person Qingye personally wrote a letter of apology, admitting their mistakes and promising never to be an enemy of the Zheng family again!"

As he spoke, he took out the apology letter and handed it to Zheng Tianhao.

Zheng Tianhao took the apology letter and read it carefully, a satisfied smile appearing on his face: "It's written very sincerely. It seems that Master Qingye is truly afraid."

"Of course he was scared!" Zheng Chengbai proudly puffed out his chest. "I only showed him a little bit of my strength, and that old Taoist priest was terrified. In the end, he didn't even dare to haggle; he gave me whatever price I asked for!"

"Cheng Bai did a great job!" Zheng Tiansu said excitedly. "This trip not only yielded fruitful results, but more importantly, it showed the cultivation world our attitude."

“That’s right!” Zheng Tianming nodded in agreement. “Now the entire cultivation world probably knows that our Zheng family is not to be trifled with!”

Hearing the elders' praise, Zheng Chengbai became even more smug: "Clan leader, I think we should strike while the iron is hot and continue to seek justice from other forces!"

This statement received the support of everyone present.

"Chengbai is right!" an elder exclaimed, standing up excitedly. "Since the first attempt was so successful, why don't we continue?"

“That’s right! We can’t let any of those forces that attacked us get away!” another elder chimed in.

Seeing everyone's excitement, Zheng Tianhao felt his blood boil. Indeed, after the success at Qingye Valley, he had even greater confidence in his family's strength.

“Alright! Since everyone shares this idea, let’s devise a detailed plan.” Zheng Tianhao made the decision. “List all the forces involved in our attack and confront them one by one!”

"The clan leader is wise!" everyone cheered. "However, before we continue our attack, we must do one thing first." Zheng Tianhao's gaze swept over the spirit stones and pills. "We must use this compensation wisely to quickly enhance the strength of our clansmen."

"The clan leader is right!" Zheng Tiansu nodded. "Strength is fundamental. Only with sufficient strength can we establish ourselves in the cultivation world."

"So how should these resources be allocated?" someone asked.

Zheng Tianhao pondered for a moment and said, "My idea is this: First, those clansmen who made contributions in the last battle should be given priority in resource allocation. Second, those young clansmen with better talent should also be given focused training. Finally, the remaining resources should be used to improve the overall strength of the entire clan."

"The clan leader's consideration is very thoughtful," Zheng Tianming agreed. "However, I suggest we also allocate some resources to purchase more advanced cultivation techniques and weapons."

“That’s a good idea.” Zheng Tianhao nodded. “Second Uncle Tianming, I’ll leave this matter to you.”

Just as everyone was enthusiastically discussing how to allocate resources, Zheng Hui hurriedly ran into the council chamber.

"Clan leader, news has arrived!" Zheng Hui said excitedly, "The events at Qingye Valley have spread throughout the cultivation world, and now all the major powers are discussing the strength of our Zheng family!"

"Oh? What are they talking about?" Zheng Tianhao asked curiously.

"Most of it is good news!" Zheng Hui said excitedly. "Many people say that our Zheng family has indeed risen again, and even a force like Qingye Valley doesn't dare to resist us. Some even say that the Demon Heart Sect has finally met its match."

"Hahaha!" Zheng Chengbai laughed loudly, "These guys finally know how powerful we are!"

"However, there are also some dissenting voices," Zheng Hui continued. "Some forces believe that we are merely bullies who prey on the weak, daring to attack a small sect like Qingye Valley, but not daring to cause trouble for the Demon Heart Sect."

Upon hearing this, everyone present turned serious.

"Hmph! Bullying the weak and fearing the strong?" Zheng Chengbai said angrily. "After we deal with those small fry, we'll settle accounts with the Demon Heart Sect!"

“That’s not how it works,” Zheng Tianhao waved his hand and said, “We certainly can’t rush into a direct confrontation with the Demon Heart Sect, but we also can’t let the outside world underestimate us.”

"What does the clan chief mean?"

“While we continue to demand an explanation, we can choose some slightly stronger forces,” Zheng Tianhao said thoughtfully. “It won’t be too risky, but it will still demonstrate our strength.”

"Clan leader, I suggest we target the branches of the Heavenly Serpent Sect next," Zheng Tianming proposed. "While the Heavenly Serpent Sect headquarters is powerful, their branches in various locations have limited strength. We can start with the branches."

"That's a good idea," Zheng Tianhao nodded. "The Heavenly Serpent Sect is quite famous in the cultivation world. If we can get their branch to submit, the impact will be even greater than that of the Green Leaf Valley."

"Then it's settled!" Zheng Chengbai rubbed his hands together, eager to get started. "Once we've improved our strength, we'll go and take care of the Heavenly Serpent Sect's branch!"

The entire Zheng family was busy for the next few days.

As arranged by Zheng Tianhao, those clansmen who performed outstandingly in the last battle received additional rewards.

Among them, the families of the victims received the most generous compensation, including not only a large amount of spirit stones but also precious elixirs.

"Fellow clansmen!" Zheng Tianhao addressed the clan in the clan square, "These resources were earned with our blood. I hope you will cherish them, cultivate diligently, and make our Zheng family even stronger!"

"Yes!" all the clansmen responded in unison, their voices shaking the heavens.

After the individual rewards were distributed, most of the remaining resources were used to improve the overall strength of the clan.

The Zheng family's training room has been rearranged, with more spirit-gathering formations added. The training room, which could originally only accommodate a dozen people at the same time, can now hold more than thirty people.

The family library was also expanded, and Zheng Tianming spent a lot of money to purchase many advanced martial arts techniques and skills for the family members to learn.

"Second Uncle, how is the quality of these cultivation techniques?" Zheng Tianhao asked.

"These are all top-quality items," Zheng Tianming said with satisfaction. "Although they cost a considerable amount, they are absolutely worth it. With these cultivation techniques, our clansmen's strength will improve much faster."

In addition to martial arts techniques, the Zheng family also purchased a large amount of weapons and equipment.

Originally, many members of the tribe used ordinary iron tools, but now almost everyone has a magical artifact. Although most of them are low-level magical artifacts, they are still much stronger than ordinary weapons.

"With this equipment, our combat effectiveness has increased by at least 30%," the elder in charge of equipment distribution said excitedly.

What excited the clansmen the most was that the Zheng family also built a medicine room.

Although the Zheng family did not have professional alchemists, they spent a lot of money to hire several guest alchemists to refine various pills for the family.

“In the past, if we wanted good pills, we had to buy them from outside, which were not only expensive but also had no guarantee of quality,” Zheng Tiansu said with emotion. “Now it’s much better; we can refine pills ourselves.”

"Moreover, these alchemists are all quite skilled, and the pills they refine are of very high quality," the clansman in charge of contacting the alchemists reported.

Driven by this large-scale investment, the cultivation atmosphere in the Zheng family became more intense than ever before.

During the day, the people practice their martial arts diligently in the training room; at night, they study classic texts in the library.

Almost everyone is working hard to improve their strength and contribute more to the family.

"Chieftain, look at the state of the people now!" Zheng Hui said excitedly to Zheng Tianhao, "I've never seen everyone so motivated!"

Indeed, walking through the clan, one can hear the sounds of practicing martial arts everywhere and see figures sweating profusely.

Zheng Tianhao was very satisfied with this positive and uplifting atmosphere.

"That's good, but you should also pay attention to balancing work and rest," Zheng Tianhao reminded him. "Cultivation is important, but it shouldn't be overdone, otherwise it will backfire."

"Don't worry, clan leader, we've been taking precautions," Zheng Hui assured him.

A week later, the effects of the Zheng family's increased strength began to show.

Many clansmen who had previously stagnated made breakthroughs, and their overall cultivation level improved significantly.

"Clan leader, according to statistics, the number of Foundation Establishment cultivators in our clan has increased by 50% compared to a month ago!" the clansman in charge of statistics reported excitedly.

"So fast?" Zheng Tianhao was also somewhat surprised.

"The main reason is the abundance of resources, coupled with the truly miraculous cultivation methods passed down from our ancestors, which allows for rapid advancement," the man explained.

"Very good, it seems our investment was worthwhile." Zheng Tianhao nodded in satisfaction.

Just as the Zheng family was basking in the joy of their increased strength, the situation outside was also changing.

The news of Qingye Valley's surrender to the Zheng family not only shocked the cultivation world but also made those forces that had previously attacked the Zheng family nervous. (End of Chapter)