Protect Our Clan Leader

“Fourth brother, let me help you collect the spoils of war.” Wang Luoqiu threw herself onto the job with enthusiasm, her movements becoming more and more skilled, “We’ve gotten rich! This guy is quite wealthy.”

She scraped together a stack of gold notes, over ten in total, and some scattered Qian gold coins. This man alone had over a hundred and twenty Qian gold. In his sack, there were also some typical knickknacks carried by independent cultivators: healing medicines, some strange and exotic fragments, pottery jars, and even two Little Pei Yuan Dan cultivation pills, along with a few secret manuals.

However, the secret manuals of independent cultivators mostly held commonplace skills and were rarely of excellent quality in the eyes of a prominent family. His secret manuals of blade techniques and movement techniques were not of great value and were just good for reference and confirmation at most.

“Sigh, fourth brother, you’re too violent,” Wang Luoqiu said pitifully, picking up the broken blade, “A top-quality steel dagger that would have cost a dozen or so Qian gold is now only valued at two or three Qian gold.”

Despite her complaints, she still quickly collected all of the spoils of war.

At that time, a middle-aged man’s voice came from outside the warehouse door: “Shouzhe, has everything been taken care of? May we come in?”

As he spoke, a stern and stable middle-aged man fully armed in armor walked in, leading more than a dozen soldiers who were also in full armor, each carrying a spear and wearing a long knife at their waist.

“Uncle, I’m grateful for your help this time,” Wang Shouzhe said while giving a slight bow to the middle-aged military leader, “Otherwise these thieves might have escaped from Ping’an Town.”

This man was one of the core force of the Wang’s sixth generation, Wang Shouzhe’s uncle Wang Dingzu. He was the one chosen by the clan in this generation to pursue the official and military path. He was very talented and had reached Level Eight of the Vital Energy Refining Realm in his forties.

“Shouzhe, you’re being too polite,” Wang Dingzu said with a smile, also bowing his hands in return,”Besides, capturing the killer is part of our responsibility as the government office of Ping’an Town. I’ll take these people away and interrogate them overnight. Perhaps we can pry something interesting out from them.”

“Thanks, uncle,” Wang Shouzhe said, pulling out a bag of dozens of Qian gold and handing it to Wang Dingzu, “Uncle, your brothers have been working hard day and night. Please thank them for me.”

“Alright, I’ll accept this on behalf of those rascals. After all, it’s not easy being a soldier,” Wang Dingzu did not decline, smiling and instructing the soldiers behind him, “What are you all standing still for? Hurry up and thank Leader Wang.”

“Thank you, Leader Wang,” the soldiers hurriedly expressed their gratitude one after another, simultaneously showing gratefulness to Wang Dingzu. These days, having a considerate superior who cared about his subordinates was not easy.

That bag of Qian gold looked heavy, and the men could each get a decent share.

Wang Shouzhe and Wang Dingzu shared a knowing smile.

This was the mutual support relationship between the clan and its official and military members. A clan member in the government office would take care of the family, and the family would be the official’s strong backup, giving him as much support as possible within their ability.

The power of the prominent families was substantial, but the control of the government was not weak either. At least, in every area, it was the government that operated the actual management, holding righteousness and moral grounds.

Moreover, these soldiers were not simple. They were not mere servants or employees of the family, but real cultivators of Profound Martial.

Among them, there were descendants of prominent families, collateral family members, and some independent cultivators of decent family backgrounds, and even more of those born into generational military families.

A clear distinction existed within the members of the prominent families, one being the family members who did not have other ways out, sought a way through the official and military system. The other kind was like Wang Dingzu, chosen by the family due to their potential and suitability, letting them primarily develop in that system to extend the family’s influence.

Therefore, these soldiers, after receiving long-term training, generally had better combat abilities than the independent cultivators. Independent cultivators were very wary of soldiers and did not dare to offend them under normal circumstances.

Following Wang Dingzu’s instructions, his group of soldiers, looking fierce as wolves and tigers, bound all the independent cultivators scattered across the ground and took them all away.

Before leaving, Wang Dingzu looked at Wang Luoqiu sternly yet with a hint of indulgence, “Luoqiu, you must behave when following your fourth brother to do tasks, and do not be willful.”

“I know, Daddy,” Wang Luoqiu obediently replied, blinking her innocent eyes. In front of her father, she put on her innocent young girl act.

Afterward, Wang Dingzu turned his attention to Wang Shoulian with an even more serious expression. He just snorted coldly and left without uttering another word, leading his soldiers away.

Wang Shoulian shivered, sweat seeping out on his forehead. The majesty of his father had long been ingrained in his heart.

“Shoulian,” Wang Shouzhe patted his shoulder and said, “It’s okay, you did well this time.”

Some of the Wang clan’s elders, perhaps due to their high expectations of themselves and their male members, were often stringent and demanding. Sometimes their excessive severity and criticism would make them appear unsure of themselves and lack confidence.

“Thankyou, fourth brother,” Wang Shoulian let out a sigh of relief, his expression regaining some color, “I will work hard to win approval from my father.”

After comforting his younger brother,

“Alright, let’s end this small test here.” Wang Shouzhe put away his smile, his eyes grew sharp again. “Let’s summarize the gains and losses of this mission.” “Firstly, all of you fought bravely, and this is commendable. However, some of you disobey commands, act independently, and show no awareness of teamwork.” Wang Shouzhe did not hesitate to direct his gaze at Wang Luoqiu, “30 family merit points will be deducted from you.”

The merit system of the family had its initial version and started to be implemented. Of course, it had to undergo months and years of testing and continuous adjustments to truly be perfected.

“What?” Wang Luoqiu jumped up, “30 points? Wang Shouzhe, are you out of your mind…”

“Disrespecting the Clan Leader, 5 points deducted.” Wang Shouzhe took out a notebook and began to record.

Wang Luoqiu was almost in tears. The family had gradually implemented the serial pathway and the merit system, which she fully supported. As per the current rules, merits were not cheap; each point was equivalent to a single piece of Qian Gold. Having 35 points deducted at once, her heart was almost shattered.

Fortunately, they had just defeated a humanoid monster, which could somewhat compensate for the loss. This was not a loss.

“Everyone, gather and organize the spoils of war, under unified management, and hand them over to the family warehouse.” Wang Shouzhe said, “As long as it’s a team task assigned by the family, the spoils need to be uniformly processed and put into the family warehouse for merit points conversion. Wang Luoqiu attempted to privately take the equipment first, making a deduction of 10 points, while Wang Luo Jing, Wang Shou Yong, and Wang Shoulian followed blindly, each of them having 5 points deducted.”

“What?” Wang Luoqiu’s anger surged as she felt wronged, with tears almost falling from her eyes. “Wang… No, fourth brother, why can’t I take the equipment that I got.”

“Team combat has its own rules.” Wang Shouzhe began to lecture her, “Do you think the independent cultivator was defeated by you alone? Of course not… the reconnaissance investigation by the household head earlier and your father’s strategic blockades in various places, those are all intangible merits. Furthermore, do you think you alone would be able to take on a whole bunch of them without my defense and the spread out enemy attention by our teammates?”

“Fourth brother is right, I was wrong.” Wang Luo Jing readily admitted.

“Fourth brother, I was also wrong, can you not penalize me?” Wang Luoqiu was almost in tears, feeling her purse rapidly shrinking.

“Of course, no penalty is not an option.” Wang Shouzhe said sternly, “But once the penalty is over, let’s talk about rewards. This mission made a total of 100 merit points. The confiscated spoils converted to 315 merit points, totaling 4.15 merit points. As the main force of the team, I contributed fifty percent, so we’ll calculate my part as 205 points. The remaining 215 points, Luoqiu got 60 points, Luo Jing got 55 points, Shu Yong and Shu Lian each got 50 points…”

Wang Shouzhe explained the rules of teamwork to his younger brothers and sisters, and their respective merits were calculated clearly.

At the same time when they were rejoicing and worrying individually…

The main residence of Liu Clan.

In a secluded and quiet loft.

The head of Liu Clan, Liu Shengye, was solemnly bowing and saying, “Old Ancestor, this is the whole story. The Wang family has gone too far this time. They are trying to kill us with this low-cost disaster relief. If we do not take any action, the family will not only suffer heavy losses, but also a significant drop in prestige.”

After he finished speaking…

An elderly man with white hair, tall build, stout and spry, showing a touch of caution in his eyes, asked, “How is Wang Longyan doing?”

This imposing figure, who seemed like a reclusive old immortal, was indeed the Old Ancestor of Liu Clan???? Ancestor Zhide.

“Reporting to the old ancestor, Wang Longyan has been hiding in her lair. But the previous signs indicate that she is probably not long for this world.” Liu Shengye said respectfully.

“She doesn’t have much time left and the Wang family still dares to provoke us, Liu Clan and Zhao Clan? Could their younger generation Family Head be suffering from madness?” Zhide’s tone was calm.

The beads of perspiration formed on Liu Shengye’s forehead as he blurted out, “So, the meaning of the elder ancestor is, Wang Longyan’s injury has healed?” If that was the case, trouble would be in store for both the Liu and Zhao clans.

Zhide pondered for a while, slowly shaking his head, saying, “I am fully aware of her injury, and healing it would be an uphill struggle.”

“Then why…” Liu Shengye was also a little confused, “Could it be that the Wang family intended to tempt the old ancestor to take action, thus creating an opportunity for Wang Longyan for a do-or-die fight? Unfortunately, the Wang family hasn’t been recruiting household heads and house servants to strengthen themselves in fifty years, and Wang Longyan had been continuously secluding herself. We have no way to send a spy to probe Wang Longyan’s actual injuries.”

“She wants to strike back before dying?” Ancestor Zhide sneered playfully, “Being impulsive and reckless, Wang Longyan could be capable of that. It’s just a pity, does she still think that I, Liu Zhide, am the same Liu Zhide from fifty years ago?”

“Did the old ancestor possibly already…?” Liu Shengye looked surprised.

“Nothing more than a slight progress in my powers, barely entering the third level of the Spiritual Platform Realm. What is there to be so surprised about?” Zhide spoke modestly, “However, combined with that Defensive Spiritual Device: Purple-Gold Bowl, I could barely cope with her, even during her peak times, let alone now that she has only half of her life left.”

What Zhide had been most worried about was Wang Longyan’s backlash before her death, trying to die along with him. How could he not be prepared for this? “Then the elder ancestor’s meaning is…?”

“I was not willing to take risks and wanted to wait for Wang Longyan to die on her own. Unfortunately, they are now trying to undermine the foundation of the Liu Clan. They are seeking their own doom. I will immediately write a letter to my old friend Bojun, it’s time for us to cooperate again after so many years.” Zhide’s eyes flashed with a cold glint, calmly saying, “Regardless of the Wang family’s intentions, it must be suppressed.”

“The elder ancestor is domineering!” Liu Shengye was extremely excited.