Beast Taming Immortal Clan

Chapter 309 The Powerful Zhou Family (Part 2) [Please Subscribe]

"The Zhou family's income of spirit coins in the past year is about 67,500. Of these, more than 25,000 came from the Spirit Beast Shop in the market, more than 11,000 came from the rent of the family's cultivation area, more than 18,000 came from the share of the Xuanjing Stone Mine, and more than 13,500 came from trade with other forces."

"The Zhou family's expenditure of spirit coins in the past year was approximately 45,000 spirit coins. Apart from the expenditure on the independent cultivators who helped the family guard the Pure Spirit Pavilion, the vast majority of the expenditure was used to purchase various supplies."

"In addition, according to statistics, the Zhou family has distributed a total of more than 33,000 merit points in the past year. Of these, more than 16,000 merit points were distributed as normal welfare offerings, more than 9,000 merit points were distributed as task rewards, and more than 8,000 merit points were distributed for purchasing spiritual items from clan members."

"The Zhou family has deducted more than 15,000 merit points in the past year, mainly from the exchange of clan members for the clan's reserve treasures."

"At the same time, the total amount of merit points accumulated by all members of the Zhou family is currently over 89,000!"

"Finally, the family's current accumulated spirit coins total over 87,000!"

Inside the Zhongping Hall, as the cultivator responsible for reporting on the Zhou family's financial situation presented the current financial income and expenditure, the expressions of the Zhou family elders all changed.

"Have the family accumulated this many spirit coins already?"

Zhou Daoyi muttered to himself, his expression somewhat dazed, as if it were unreal.

Since the Zhou family settled in Jiufengling, when have they ever been this wealthy!

Zhou Daoyi still remembers that when Zhou Chun first brought these data to the family elders' meeting, the Zhou family only had a mere 13,000 spirit coins available in their accounts, which was pitifully small!

But now that number has more than doubled!

Moreover, he knew in his heart that the Zhou family's treasure vault still contained a large number of magical artifacts that had not yet been sold.

If all those items were sold, the number would likely double!

In other words, the Zhou family can use its family savings to cultivate cultivators at the Purple Mansion stage whenever they want.

There's no need to empty the pockets of these high-ranking family members like before to buy spiritual items to help them open their Purple Mansion.

"That's not right. According to this data, the family's income and expenses are barely balanced. Why did you say before, Masazumi, that the situation was very good? What exactly makes it so good?"

It was Zhou Zhengyuan again; he was the one who raised the question at this moment.

He looked at Zhou Chun with a face full of doubt, his eyes full of curiosity.

"Sixth Brother, that's a very good question. This brings us to the current income structure of the family!"

"Currently, the family's income mainly comes from the following sources: first, various medicines and spiritual items produced by the family; second, mineral vein revenue; third, various monster eggs and monster cubs; fourth, rare aquatic treasures from Longyuanze; fifth, cultivation rent paid by independent cultivators; and sixth, income generated by family cultivators purchasing and exchanging treasures from the family."

"Among these six points, the proportions of the third and sixth points are increasing year by year, and the growth rate is very fast. They are actually closely related to the growth of the number of family members."

"Then there's the issue of expenses. The family has had a lot of expenses in the past, all of which were used to purchase various materials. These expenses will decrease in the future."

"At the same time, a portion of the family's expenses went to those family assassins. As the family assassin team takes shape, this portion of the expenses will decrease."

"Finally, several new sources of revenue will be developed for the family, which are expected to bring in tens of thousands of spirit coins annually!"

Zhou Chun spoke eloquently, answering Zhou Zhengyuan's questions point by point.

His words were quite simple: the Zhou family's income would continue to grow, while their expenses would decrease.

With this increase and decrease, the Zhou family's financial situation will naturally improve.

After hearing his answer, Zhou Zhengyuan and the elders all looked thoughtful.

Then, a flicker of hesitation crossed Zhou Jiarui's eyes. He gritted his teeth and mustered his courage to say, "There's something that I, along with the other family elders and clansmen, have been keeping to ourselves for a long time. Now that you've brought it up, Zheng Chun, I'd like to ask you to clear up my doubts!"

"Oh, Uncle Eleven, what do you want to ask?"

Zhou Chun's eyes flickered, and he replied softly.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Jiarui immediately said seriously, "It's about the family assassins you just mentioned, Zheng Chun. I want to know why the family is wasting manpower and resources to train these outsiders!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Chun couldn't help but look at the two Supreme Elders, Zhou Mingde and Zhou Daoyi.

Very few people in the Zhou family know about the existence of Dragon Rising Valley. Currently, apart from the patriarch himself, only three of the family's supreme elders know about it.

Therefore, whether or not Zhou Jiarui's question can be answered depends on the decision of the two Supreme Elders.

Faced with Zhou Chun's signal, Zhou Mingde quickly shook his head and said, "This matter is a family secret. The fewer people who know, the better for the family. You don't need to worry about it."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Jiarui quickly lowered his head and respectfully replied, "Yes, I understand. Please forgive my rudeness!"

With that said, this meeting of family elders is almost over.

After discussing some other matters, Zhou Chun took the initiative to end the family elders' meeting.

Over the next two weeks, Zhou Chun mainly took charge of issuing the new clan rules and admonished some of the younger clan members, telling them to take the incidents of Zhou Zhengxin and Zhou Xinli as a warning and not to violate the bottom line of the clan rules.

After finishing this task, he went to inspect the Zhou family's elite guard camp.

Because of Lin Wan'er's departure, and because the number of members had reached a certain level, the Zhou family's assassin camp has now stopped recruiting new members.

Currently, there are forty-eight Qi Refining stage cultivators in this assassin camp. Among them, the one with the highest cultivation level is Xu Fu, a cultivator with a superior spiritual root, who has already reached the eleventh level of the Qi Refining stage.

When Lin Wan'er left, she recommended Xu Fu to Zhou Chun as the commander of the assassin camp. Now, he has indeed taken over Lin Wan'er's role and is in charge of training the Zhou family assassins.

Below Xu Fu, the assassin camp also had one late-stage Qi Refining cultivator, fourteen mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators, and thirty-two early-stage Qi Refining cultivators.

All of these people had practiced secret techniques such as the "Dragon Transformation Secret Technique" and the "Forest Hidden Cicada Breathing Technique." Xu Fu, in particular, had also practiced the "Five Elements Spirit Armor Technique," a secret technique that Zhou Chun had once practiced.

In addition, the Zhou family also allocated some young demon beasts to some of the outstanding ones for them to contract with.

Therefore, in terms of actual combat strength, they may be even stronger than Zhou family cultivators of the same cultivation level.

Zhou Chun still hasn't forgotten the scene of Xu Fu killing the first-tier high-grade demon beast Black Wind Leopard right in front of him.

These Zhou family assassins, trained by Lin Wan'er, would have met Zhou Chun's expectations if they possessed 70% of Xu Fu's strength at the same level.

After inspecting the assassin camp and observing the duels among the family assassins, Zhou Chun said in a deep voice to Xu Fu, who was following him, "Perhaps it won't be long before you all come in handy. I hope that you can demonstrate your value to me then!"

At this point, he looked directly at Xu Fu, who had grown into a handsome young man, and said with great encouragement, "My promise to you still stands. As long as you can create wealth for my Zhou family several times greater than what has been invested in you, your future will not be bleak!"

"Yes, we will certainly not disappoint the clan leader!"

Xu Fu lowered his head slightly and replied in a firm, deep voice.

He still doesn't know what the Zhou family wants to do with them, but he knows it must be something very dangerous.

However, he was already used to danger and had little fear of it.

Lin Wan'er was right to send him out to gain experience.

After several years of solitary cultivation in the world of immortals, he came to deeply understand the hardships of being a rogue cultivator.

Even for a rogue cultivator like him, who possesses top-grade spiritual root aptitude, the chances of successfully establishing his foundation are slim without any great opportunity.

Because of the "Dragon Transformation Secret Technique" he cultivated, it was impossible for him to be accepted into the sects of the Jing Kingdom and the surrounding countries.

Moreover, even if he could join another faction, without being able to remove the Azure Dragon bloodline from his body, he would have no chance of escaping the Zhou family's current pursuit.

In conclusion, his best option now is to work hard for the Zhou family, accumulate merits, and obtain treasures such as Foundation Establishment Pills from them.

"Very well, then I look forward to your performance!"

Zhou Chun nodded slightly, patted Xu Fu on the shoulder, and then turned and left.

He is indeed preparing to develop Longxing Valley, but not now.

Some preparations still need to be made in advance. Only after everything is truly ready will he send Xu Fu and the others to Longxing Valley to establish the Zhou family's own pioneering base.

After returning from the suicide squad camp, Zhou Chun busied himself with organizing a joint martial arts competition.

His reason for having this idea was not only to use this martial arts competition to wear down the arrogance of those young clansmen, but also to take this opportunity to establish closer relationships with other clans and forces.

Those who act justly will find many supporters, while those who act unjustly will find few. This is an eternal truth.

It would be extremely difficult for the Zhou family to produce a Golden Core cultivator now; it's simply unrealistic.

Without a Golden Core cultivator, if the family wants to continue to expand its influence, the only option is to expand horizontally.

When the Zhou family has deep friendships with many powerful cultivation clans, and even forms alliances, the family's influence will naturally expand further.

However, this is clearly not something that can be done easily.

First of all, each major cultivation clan has its own social circle, and many of them are leaders within that circle.

They would never easily agree to join the Zhou family's social circle, especially not as leaders.

There are also taboos related to the Qinglian Temple.

Although Qinglian Temple has never explicitly prohibited its affiliated cultivation families from forming alliances, it has indeed turned a blind eye to many alliances between families.

However, this does not mean that they are truly willing to watch the various cultivation clans under their command form an alliance and advance or retreat together.

If subordinates are united, it will be difficult for leaders to exercise their authority in many situations.

The degree of control involved is something that Zhou Chun and the Zhou family must determine themselves.

To enhance its appeal, Zhou Chun's first stop was the Su family in Jiangzhou.

He visited his Daoist partner Su Yuzhen at the Su family home and met with the Su family patriarch to explain some of his thoughts.

Unexpectedly, after hearing his words, the Su family patriarch narrowed his eyes and looked at him with a clear understanding, saying indifferently, "I understand your plans, kid. The Su family can support you in this matter and send some clansmen to participate. It can also be considered as a training for them."

"However, I must warn you, Ancestor, that you must be careful to handle this matter properly. You must not involve other Golden Core families, and you must not establish any alliances. Furthermore, you must report to the Qinglian Temple and explain the purpose of holding this event."

"The most important thing for your Zhou family right now is to focus on improving the cultivation level of your family's higher-ups; that is where your family's true strength lies!"

It is said that old people become wiser. How could a Golden Core cultivator like the Su family patriarch, who has lived for five or six hundred years, not see through Zhou Chun's true intentions in organizing this joint martial arts competition?

As a Golden Core cultivator, he naturally knew things that Zhou Chun did not.

At this point, he gave Zhou Chun a serious warning and reminder.

This was precisely Zhou Chun's purpose in coming to pay his respects.

Upon hearing his words, Zhou Chun immediately bowed respectfully and thanked him, saying, "Thank you for your teachings, Ancestor. I will certainly follow your instructions."

"Alright, I will explain this matter to my subordinates. If you don't have anything important to do in the future, don't bother me during my cultivation!"

The Su family patriarch waved his hand, dismissing them directly.

If it weren't for Su Yuzhen's sake, he wouldn't have met with Zhou Chun, a Foundation Establishment cultivator, let alone given him such guidance and instruction.

Even with Su Yuzhen's influence, he couldn't possibly treat Zhou Chun like his own disciple, frequently receiving and instructing him.

That kind of treatment is something that only a handful of people in the entire Su family can enjoy.

Now that he had pointed this out, Zhou Chun couldn't help but feel a sense of loss.

Undoubtedly, Zhou Chun in the past wished he would never see the Su family patriarch again in his life.

However, ever since the Su family patriarch took charge of the Zhou family and helped them defeat and drive away the attacking Golden Core cultivators, he realized how safe it was to have a Golden Core cultivator as a backer.

The guidance given by the Su family patriarch this time fully illustrates this point.

Now, being suddenly told by the Su family patriarch that he should not come to visit again unless there is a major event, Zhou Chun inevitably felt a sense of loss.

This sense of loss was unbelievable to him, and he felt like he was being a fool!

He didn't even dare to look at the face of the Su family patriarch anymore, and hurriedly bowed before taking his leave.

He didn't want the Su family patriarch to see his true thoughts at that moment; that would be too embarrassing!

I've almost finished sending New Year's greetings. I'll try updating twice tomorrow!

(End of this chapter)