With the rise of my family, I can summon the Daoist Soldiers' Nest.

"I knew my brother was the best! Zhang Chuang is no match for him!"

Among the dozen or so girls standing by the ring, a petite girl spoke in a clear, crisp voice.

She looked no more than ten years old, with bright and lively eyes, and was clearly the little leader among the group of girls. She was none other than Lin Ye's younger sister, Lin Xiu.

"That's right! Young Master Lin Chuan came in fifth place in the Lin family's martial arts competition last time. How could Zhang Chuang be a match for Young Master Lin Chuan!" The girls next to him immediately chimed in, chattering like a flock of cheerful birds.

These girls were mostly daughters of the Lin family and other smaller families, the oldest being only fifteen or sixteen years old, the age when girls are in the bloom of youth.

Lin Chuan was handsome and, being the younger brother of Lord Lin Ye, naturally became the focus of their attention, receiving constant adulation.

"Zhang Chuang is too impatient. Otherwise, if the fight had continued, Young Master Lin Chuan might not have lost," Tian Yu, the guard standing beside them, thought to herself.

As a third-rate martial artist, she still had that much insight.

In the previous battle, Zhang Chuang's Mountain-Splitting Saber Technique had potential, but he lost his composure after seeing the girl in the yellow dress cheering for Lin Chuan, and became too eager to succeed, which allowed Lin Chuan to seize the opportunity.

"However, Lin Chuan's strength is indeed quite good."

"When I was an outer disciple at the Qingyuan Sword Sect, I was probably around the same age as him. Besides, he was only ranked fifth among his peers in the Lin family. The Lin family truly produces many talented people."

The audience below the stage could no longer contain their excitement, praising Lin Chuan's swordsmanship and composure loudly, with cheers coming one after another.

However, Lin Chuan did not exhibit the arrogance typical of children of powerful families.

He stepped forward, pulled Zhang Chuang up, and with a smile helped him steady himself as they walked off the stage side by side.

He knew in his heart that there was an element of luck in his victory just now, and he also knew that Zhang Chuang's swordsmanship was not weak.

More importantly, he and Zhang Chuang were good friends.

Zhang Chuang's identity is also unusual; he is the cousin of Zhang Ruozhu, Lin Yeping's wife.

For more than a year, he had been practicing martial arts and sparring with Lin Chuan, acting as both a partner and a rival.

Lin Chuan also has his own little group around him, just like Lin Xiu has her own "small team".

As a lord, Lin Ye knew that the true foundation of power lay not only in elite guards and armies, but also in the ability to continuously select and cultivate loyal and capable successors from among the youth.

The Xiangxian arena is the entrance to this system. Regardless of background, as long as you win consecutively under the witness of the martial arts school, you will have the opportunity to enter the Lin Family Martial Arts School for further study, and then enter the guard team, Lin Family Army or patrol team.

Lin Chuan and Zhang Chuang's small group is precisely the new generation of core reserve force cultivated by this system.

Their predecessors, the group of teenagers led by Lin Hu, are now captains of the guard team, commanders of troops in the army, and patrol teams, becoming the backbone of the Lin family.

Lin Chuan and his younger generation shouldered the heavy responsibility of continuing the work.

Unlike in the past, this new gang is no longer limited to the Lin family bloodline; members of smaller families such as the Tian and Zhang families have also been recruited.

Lin Ye intends to break free from the limitations of a single family.

Through martial arts training, competitions, and daily tasks, the young people from different families build deep friendships and shared interests through competition and cooperation, thus forming an unbreakable centripetal force among the younger generation of Xiang County.

In the end, they united closely around the Lin family.

At this moment, in the study of Linjiawu, Lin Ye was listening to Sun Qian report on the important events that had recently occurred in the territory, as well as the current war situation in Beiyuan County.

Because he was always worried about a repeat of the tragedy of six years ago, Lin Ye had Sun Qian plant spies in various places several months ago to closely monitor the movements of the Northern Xiongnu and the Northern Han.

When he learned of the ferocity of the battle at Shuofang, in which the Northern Han army suffered 60,000 casualties and the Northern Xiongnu also suffered heavy losses, and that the army, which had just finished its rest, was immediately rushing to Beiyuan City, he couldn't help but feel a little worried about the situation there.

He was even more concerned about the safety of Lin Hu and the others, who were unable to communicate with the outside world while in the army, and whose fate was unknown.

While they were talking, the mother, Madam Li, hurriedly entered the study, her face full of urgency, clutching a letter tightly in her hand.

As soon as she entered the room, she caught sight of Sun Qian standing to the side. She paused slightly, as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.

"Mother, Steward Sun is one of our own. Please feel free to speak your mind."

Only then did Madam Li hand over the letter, her voice filled with barely concealed anxiety, "Ye'er, your maternal grandfather has written."

Your eldest uncle was seriously injured and dismissed from his post. He's struggling financially now. You must help your maternal grandfather's family.

Lin Ye took the letter. Her mother's maternal clan, the Li family, was a well-known powerful family in Yang County. They were known for their martial arts skills and their influence far surpassed that of the Lin family back then.

In terms of family background, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the father married the mother, as the Li family held a prominent position in Yang County, which greatly benefited the Lin family through the marriage alliance.

Li was the youngest daughter in her family, with three older uncles.

My eldest uncle, Li Fuyun, was a second-rate martial artist, while my second and third uncles were both third-rate martial artists.

It was precisely because of her powerful maternal family that her mother was able to maintain her position as the matriarch of Linjiawu and hold power over both domestic and external affairs, even after her husband's early death and the family's weakened state, while raising her younger siblings.

While harmony within the Lin family is important, the support of her maternal family is equally crucial for her survival.

After Lin Ye became a lord, he took the initiative to write to the Li family, and his second uncle even came to Xiang County to congratulate him.

At that time, Li also advised them to stay and develop in Xiang County, saying that their territory was stable and had a promising future.

However, his uncles ultimately chose not to trouble him, citing their attachment to their homeland, and returned to Yang County.

The current head of the Li family is none other than the eldest uncle, Li Fuyun. His name carries a touch of the free and poetic spirit of the martial arts world, and he is just as his name suggests. He is handsome and dashing, and was a real heartthrob in his youth. He even came to Linjiawu with his mother once.

I heard that he had a lot of romantic encounters, but after getting married, he changed his philandering ways and became a family man and a steady man.

As a second-rate martial artist, he served as a captain in the Wei family's army in Yang County, commanding a thousand-man squad, and was quite prestigious in the local area.

Lin Ye unfolded the letter and scanned it line by line.

According to the letter, the eldest uncle, Li Fuyun, has recently been ostracized in the army.

When the Northern Xiongnu invaded the south, the Wei family was ordered to recruit troops to fight the enemy in Beiyuan County. Although Li Fuyun was not on the recruitment list, he was entrusted with the task of transporting grain and suppressing bandits. He was to send the grain and fodder collected in Yang County as taxes to the Wei family to the front line.

During a grain transport operation, Li Fuyun led his team to an area frequented by Northern Xiongnu cavalry, where they were suddenly attacked by the enemy.

He calmly commanded his thousand-man team to fight back. Although they eventually repelled the invading enemy, he was seriously injured in a charge and interception. His shoulder blade and ribs were pierced by the force of the sword and arrow, damaging his meridians.

This injury could have been healed through rest, but unexpectedly, Wei Hao, who was in charge of the Wei family army, took the opportunity to make trouble and dismissed Li Fuyun from his position as captain on the grounds that he was "unable to perform his duties".

To make matters worse, the second and third uncles, who were in charge of their respective towns in Yang County, were also implicated by their elder brother's "loss of power" and were dismissed from their posts by the Wei family on the grounds of "joint accountability".

All three are now unemployed and staying at home.

The Li family has been operating in Yang County for many years, and in order to expand and grow, it is inevitable that they have made enemies with some other families.

Now that they have fallen on hard times, if the Wei family hadn't been so ambiguous about their stance, other smaller families would probably have taken the opportunity to kick them while they were down.

At present, the Li family can only try their best to maintain the status quo and wait and see. They dare not have too much contact with the outside world, for fear of touching the taboo of the Wei family and causing even greater trouble.