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

As the rewards for the soldiers and warriors were distributed one by one, spiritual plants and valuables were continuously delivered to everyone. The entire Lin family territory was ablaze with joy.

The surviving soldiers were even more devoted to the Lin family.

The families of the victims were filled with gratitude and told everyone they met that the Lin family had not forgotten them.

This sentiment quickly translated into action, and a new wave of enthusiasm for joining the army swept across the territory.

Young and strong men ran to the military camp in droves, and even some civilians who had been watching from the sidelines gritted their teeth and signed up.

Taking advantage of the situation, Lin's army expanded its ranks, and in less than half a month, the garrison in Xiang County was restored to four thousand men.

The martial artists weren't idle either.

They received more spiritual plants than in the entire previous year combined, so naturally they weren't willing to use them sparingly.

After each day's practice, he would consume large quantities of the medicine until his body could no longer handle it.

Because everyone knows that the sooner they break through, the sooner they can occupy a real position and grasp power and resources.

After all, the Lin family now controls three counties, yet they are extremely lacking in martial artists.

Taking the 4,000 troops in Xiang County as an example, according to the custom of the Northern Han Dynasty, fifty men formed a team with a captain, and one thousand men formed a colonel with a captain.

Captains are usually third-rate martial artists, while captains are second-rate martial artists.

In other words, a force of 4,000 people requires at least 80 third-rate martial artists and 4 second-rate martial artists at the captain level.

Currently, the Lin family army in Xiang County only has about forty third-rate martial artists, and only one second-rate martial artist. Not to mention Qinghe County, where the proportion of martial artists is even smaller.

Thus, the martial artists secretly competed, vying to break through their bottlenecks.

Some people consume spiritual plants until their bodies reach their limits, while others engage in repeated battles in the training grounds, all in the hope of crossing that threshold as soon as possible.

Because they all know that once the positions are filled and no longer vacant, promotions will no longer depend solely on ability, but also on seniority, connections, and contributions.

Now is the only window of opportunity.

At the same time, the two new policies that Lin Ye promulgated within the Lin family, like spring rain nourishing the earth, quietly awakened the vitality of the entire family.

In just the past two days, people have been flocking to Lin Ye's door to congratulate him and invite him to their wedding banquet.

The Lin family's status is different now. With three counties under their control, their future and stability are the envy of many, especially with Lin Ye encouraging childbirth.

As a result, many young women asked matchmakers to come to the Lin family's door, hoping to marry into Linjiawu and become wives of the Lin family.

During this period, the sounds of gongs, drums, and firecrackers never stopped in the fortified village. One joyous event after another turned the courtyard red with happiness.

The martial artists showed no sign of slackening.

Compared to the soldiers, the Lin family members received many times more spiritual plants, and their cultivation resources were more abundant than they had ever dared to dream of in the past.

The training grounds in Linjiawu even had to be expanded again to accommodate the clansmen who came there to practice every day.

When Lin Ye practiced alongside a group of young people, he could clearly feel their passion.

The sounds of sparring on the arenas in various towns continued every day.

Practicing martial arts, initially a choice, gradually became a trend, spreading to every corner of the Lin family's territory.

The Lin family quietly absorbed the resources they had acquired from the Wang family, and as time passed, the results gradually became apparent.

Gradually, soldiers within the territory began to break through in batches, the number of mediocre martial artists steadily increased, and the number of third-rate martial artists also increased little by little.

The guards and various small families were receiving good news of breaking through to the third rank almost every few days.

A month later, the first second-rate martial artist was finally born.

This person's name is Lei Ming.

Lin Ye was deeply impressed by the name; it was truly awe-inspiring.

Lei Ming is thirty-five years old this year, and he was already a third-rate martial artist ten years ago.

He was originally a hunter leader in the deep mountains of Xiang County, familiar with the forests and skilled in tracking and ambushing.

After Xiang County was incorporated into the Lin family's territory, he took the lead in cooperating with the Lin family to expel the local gentry. He then joined the Lin family's guard team and became a third-rate captain based on his own abilities.

Later, he followed Liu Yun to Beiyuan County to participate in the battle against the Northern Xiongnu, support Shuofang City, and participate in the defense of Beiyuan City. After several life-and-death battles, he accumulated a lot of practical experience and eventually became one of the seven who returned.

When the Lin family distributed rewards, he received a batch of second-rate spiritual plants. He devoted himself to cultivation for a whole month and finally broke through the bottleneck, stepping into the second-rate realm.

As promised, Lin Ye immediately promoted him to captain, giving him command of a thousand soldiers.

It should be understood that the purpose of sending them to the Northern Plains battlefield was to train qualified officers in the flames of war and to build up strength for the long-term confrontation with the Northern Xiongnu.

Lei Ming's breakthrough is the best proof of this.

The news excited even the third-rate martial artists in the territory.

Seeing this, the third-rate warriors in the territory became even more motivated. Everyone wanted to break through to the second-rate level as soon as possible. Even if they couldn't become captains, they could become battalion commanders, at least leading three hundred soldiers.

As a result, the shouts and cries on the training ground became even more urgent.

In the second month, good news came from Qinghe County: Lin Qiang broke through and became a second-rate martial artist. He was older and had been stuck at the third-rate level for many years, but now he had finally become a second-rate martial artist.

Lin Ye was overjoyed upon hearing this news. Now the Lin family had two second-rate martial artists, and they were only one person away from creating a second-rate nest.

Recently, although I have been practicing martial arts diligently and have been using spiritual plants regularly, I have clearly felt that I have reached a bottleneck that is difficult to break through, since my talent for martial arts is only average.

I am still far from breaking through to become a first-class martial artist. I am afraid that I will not be able to defeat the siege of five second-class Dao soldiers, even if they are management-type Dao soldiers.

Before we knew it, three months had passed.

That night, Lin Ye and Zhang Ruozhu were working hard to expand their family in the inner room of the fortified village, with candlelight flickering and curtains swaying gently.

Suddenly, a strange tremor ran through Lin Ye's mind. He focused his mind slightly to sense it and was overjoyed.

The tremor was not an illusion, but a resonance emanating from the family's nest.

Once Wang Ruozhu had fallen into a deep sleep, Lin Ye quietly withdrew his hand and sank his consciousness deep into his mind.

The sight before him made him gasp for breath.

The family's lair was shaking violently, and waves of milky white energy surged out like mist, condensing into tiny specks of light around the lair.

Lin Ye focused his mind and sensed the faint pulse of the nest. It had met the conditions for a second-rate nest to develop and was currently in the process of developing. It would take only two days to take shape.

The next morning, news came from Shitie Town that Lin Tie had broken through a bottleneck while forging weapons the night before, entering the ranks of second-rate martial artists and becoming the third second-rate martial artist in the Lin family.

Upon hearing the news, Lin Ye was stunned for a moment, then showed a hint of surprise.

He never expected that the person who made the breakthrough would be this usually low-key and taciturn uncle.

Since arriving in Shitie Town, Lin Tie has devoted himself to the forging workshop, studying weapon forging day and night, and hardly participating in family affairs.

He also participated in the Battle of Xiang County, but it is said that he performed poorly in battle, and some people even thought that his combat strength was average.

Yet this blacksmith, whose combat skills were average, crossed the threshold of second-rate status with remarkable ease, despite being underestimated by everyone.