I established the Eternal Immortal Clan by taming beasts.

The atmosphere inside the Zhou family's council hall was heavy.

Zhou Wanhong strode in.

The elders, managers of various houses, and heads of industries who had been waiting there all turned their gazes to him, their eyes filled with a mixture of trepidation and anticipation.

"Patriarch, how is it? Is the Lin family... willing to accept the Zhou family's request for peace?" An elder in charge of the clan's finances asked impatiently.

Zhou Wanhong walked to the head seat and sat down. The fear and humility he had shown at the Lin family had long since disappeared from his face.

Instead, he displayed his usual composure and shrewdness.

He looked around at everyone and slowly began to speak:

"The Lin family has agreed. From this day forward, my Zhou family will be a vassal state of the Lin family."

In fact, based on his past observations of dealing with the Lin family, he had already roughly figured out Lin Che's style of doing things and his bottom line.

It is believed that by taking the initiative to back down and pay the price, there is a high probability that this feud can be resolved.

The timid and servile demeanor I displayed at the Lin family's house was mostly an act for them.

Sometimes, lowering one's stance and catering to the psychology of the strong can be more effective in securing a chance of survival than offering tangible benefits.

"However," Zhou Wanhong changed the subject, his expression becoming somewhat complicated.

"The Lin family also made an additional condition—from now on, all the spirit beast meat needed by our restaurants and eateries must be sourced from spirit beasts raised by the Lin family."

These words shocked everyone present!

The breeding of spirit beasts and the supply of related meat are one of the core pillar industries that the Zhou family has been operating on for many years and on which they have made a living!

Isn't this move undermining the foundation of the Zhou family?

"Patriarch, this is absolutely unacceptable!" An elder in charge of spirit beast breeding suddenly stood up, his face flushed.

"We've all seen the spirit beasts bred by the Lin family. Their appearance, meat quality, and growth rate are all superior to those bred by my Zhou family! If we open up the supply channels and allow them to continue supplying them, in time, what competitiveness will my Zhou family's spirit beasts have? Won't the market completely belong to the Lin family?"

"Yes, Patriarch! This is clearly an attempt to cut off the lifeline of our Zhou family! The low-end market is already low-profit, and if we lose it again, how will the livelihoods of so many disciples and beast tamers in the clan continue?" another steward said anxiously.

"The supply of carnivorous spirit beasts in Chuyang City and the surrounding markets has always been controlled by my Zhou family! Once this door is opened, there will be endless troubles!" The crowd discussed among themselves, their faces showing resentment and unwillingness.

Zhou Wanhong raised his hand and pressed down lightly, suppressing the noise in the hall.

After everyone quieted down a bit, he continued his explanation:

"Please calm down, everyone. The Lin family does not intend to wipe us out."

"They made it clear that they would mainly sell high-end spirit beast meat through our channels, targeting Foundation Establishment cultivators and restaurants who value quality and are willing to spend money. They would not directly compete with us in the low-end market. This was personally promised by Master Lin."

Hearing this supplementary explanation, the crowd calmed down a bit, and whispers began again, but the tension had lessened.

"If it's just the high-end market... then it certainly doesn't conflict much with the main force of my Zhou family."

"Indeed, we have never been able to establish a stable system for cultivating high-end, premium spirit beasts, and the costs remain high. Giving up this area is something we are reluctant to do, but it is still acceptable."

"It seems that the Lin family has left room for maneuver in their actions and has not pushed people too far."

Clearly, Lin Che's proposed condition precisely defined the boundaries and did not touch the Zhou family's most fundamental and largest market share in the low-to-mid-end market.

This made the Zhou family feel both heartbroken and secretly relieved, as they felt there was still a glimmer of hope.

However, despite this, Zhou Wanhong, sitting in the main seat, couldn't shake off the feeling of frustration and bitterness in his heart.

The supply channels and market network for spirit beasts were established after countless efforts, overcoming numerous obstacles, and decades of management.

Now, however, they are forced to open up unconditionally to their biggest potential competitor.

This feeling is truly unpleasant.

He sighed silently, his gaze seemingly piercing through the thick walls to the quiet room next to the council hall that was always closed.

He could clearly sense that a deep and subtle powerful aura was enveloping the area.

That was his father, who was in seclusion trying to break through to the Golden Core realm.

Clearly, the recent upheavals in the family and today's decision have also alarmed the old man who is in seclusion, and he is listening in at this moment.

"Father... I hope you will achieve your goal soon," Zhou Wanhong murmured to himself.

Since taking over as head of the family, he has devoted most of his energy to family management, business expansion, and interpersonal relationships.

His cultivation progress is slow, and he is currently stuck at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage.

Only when a family produces its own Golden Core cultivator can the Zhou family truly have the confidence and voice to stand on its own feet.

Instead of what we have today, where the head of the family has to put on an act and spend huge sums of money on spirit stones to beg for others' "forgiveness" and "acceptance".

In this cruel world of cultivation, strength ultimately reigns supreme.

Only strength holds the eternal and unchanging right to speak in the world of cultivation.

This realization is more profound today than ever before.

……

The Lin family's reception room in the main area.

After seeing off the three family heads, Zhou, Li, and Sun, Lin Che did not leave immediately.

He sat back down in the main seat, picked up the cup of fragrant tea, and took a small sip.

He let the warm, nourishing liquid slide down his throat, moistening his meridians and helping him process the conversation and decisions he had just made.

He mainly signed long-term procurement agreements with the Li and Sun families.

The Lin family will purchase a fixed number of talismans and standard ritual implements from the two families each year at a price that is about 50% lower than the market price.

This quantity is roughly enough to meet the basic consumption and reserve needs of the current members of the Lin family each year.

This approach provides both companies with a stable sales channel as a form of reassurance, without excessively driving down prices and damaging their fundamentals; it can be considered a relatively mild form of partnership.

As for the Zhou family, they demanded that they open up sales channels for spirit beast meat.

Lin Che viewed this move as a win-win situation.

The Zhou family used this to hold the Lin family back, but now the situation has reversed, and the Lin family is fully capable of seizing this channel by force.

But doing so would require a significant investment of human and material resources to rebuild relationships and deal with potential resistance.

This is not the optimal solution for the Lin family, which is currently in a period of rapid development and urgently needs manpower in all aspects.

By partnering with the Zhou family and leveraging their established channels to promote the Lin family's high-quality spirit beast meat, we can quickly penetrate the high-end market and reap substantial profits.

This approach not only avoids unnecessary internal friction but also, to some extent, binds the interests of the Zhou family with those of the Lin family, achieving multiple benefits in one fell swoop.

Of course, the initiative must be firmly in our own hands.

This move is undoubtedly like cutting flesh with a dull knife; once the transition is smooth, the cooperation between the major restaurants and the Lin family will be stable.

It boasts the advantage of using high-end ingredients!

Who will own this channel in the future is anyone's guess!

As for the "tribute" from vassal states.

Before he could even speak, the three family heads offered to contribute 20% of their annual family income as "tribute".

Lin Che hesitated for a moment before agreeing.

This ratio reflects the vassal's sincerity without excessively draining the other party's resources, which could lead to resentment and make the relationship unsustainable.

He never intended to exploit the resources to the point of exhaustion; the long-term benefits and geopolitical stability brought by a stable vassal state were far more valuable than squeezing them dry all at once.

At this point, at least on the surface, the Zhou, Li, and Sun families, who had all established their foundations, had officially become subordinate to the Lin family.

Whether they truly submitted willingly deep down, and whether they had other schemes behind their backs, Lin Che neither knew nor needed to know.

He only needs to understand one thing: as long as the Lin family remains strong and its power continues to grow, any petty schemes will be in vain in the face of absolute power.

"despair."

The soft sound of the door being pushed open interrupted Lin Che's thoughts.