On the thirtieth day of the twelfth lunar month, there were thousands of desolate beasts outside Fort Wah Ka. However, there were no savage beasts leading them. These desolate beasts just kept waiting. When they couldn't take it anymore, they would kill each other, eliminating the weakest and waiting for the strongest savage beasts to appear. Only then would they have a chance to attack the human villages, where there was a large amount of food and livestock for them to consume.
Everything in Fort Wah Ka was as usual. As the desolate beasts had not retreated, this year's New Year had to be postponed. Hua Kai was playing with Xiao Qiang at home when he heard a commotion outside the courtyard. He thought that the desolate beasts were attacking the village again and went out.
"Family Head, Fifth Master is back!
He is now at the entrance of the village! "Wal-mart said happily when he saw Hua Kai.
Fifth Uncle, Hua Zichen, was the pride of the entire Fort Wah Ka. There were only a few people in Guang County who could study at Jixia Academy after finishing the county school. Now that he was returning from Linzi City on the last day of the year, he must have encountered a lot of danger on the way.
Hua Kai came to the entrance of the village and saw his Fifth Uncle, Hua Zichen, fighting with a few desolate beasts 200 meters away from Fort Wah Ka. Behind him was a lady in red riding a horse. That lady was following Hua Zichen and had pretty good combat strength. In a few moves, the desolate beasts didn't dare to come close. Fifth Uncle had brought his wife home!
Hua Xing came with a smile on his face. He asked the guards to open the village gates, and hundreds of village guards charged out of the village. Soon, they arrived at Hua Zichen's location. After receiving them, everyone picked up the desolate beast carcasses and protected Fifth Uncle and the lady as they returned to the village.
Hua Kai watched as his Fifth Uncle returned to the village. The people on the city walls were also excitedly discussing the prodigy of the Hua Clan Fort. In just a short while, Hua Kai saw his clan's Luck Points continue to rise. In just a short while, it had risen by more than ten points. The importance of a prodigy to a clan was self-evident. With Hua Zichen back home, the Hua Clan Fort would become even stronger.
Just as he entered the village, his Fifth Uncle and the lady in red came down. Hua Kai saw that the lady was wearing an exquisite golden silk armor. The willow sword in her hand was most suitable for females, and she was riding a handsome BMW. She was obviously not an ordinary person.
Ji Le: Natal Opening seventh stage
Qualification: A-
Constitution: 26
Energy: 27
Willpower: 30
Medical: Apprentice
Mental Cultivation Method: Thick Earth Technique (Mystic High Level Mental Cultivation Method)
Sword Technique: Thin Willow Sword Technique (Mystic High Level Sword Technique) (Elementary)
Medical Family Mental Cultivation Method: Art of Huang Qi (Earth Rank High Level Mental Cultivation Method)
Hidden Weapon: Hundred Leaves Flying Daggers (Mystic Low Level Spear Art)
This lady had a handsome face, and her clothes were made of high-quality silk. It was obvious that she came from a big family. Hua Kai saw that her actions were reasonable. She bowed to his grandfather with his Fifth Uncle, but her eyes were always on his Fifth Uncle. It was obvious that she was a little fangirl of his Fifth Uncle.
He turned back to look at his Fifth Uncle, Fort Wah Ka's number one genius.
Hua Zichen: Qi Transformation first stage
Qualification: A +
Constitution: 30
Energy: 34
Willpower: 51
Confucian: Student
Taoist: Apprentice
Mental cultivation technique: Meditation Heart Sutra (Advanced) Perfection
Spear Arts: Space-Splitting Spear (Advanced) Perfection
Scholarly mantra: Morality Technique (Elementary Heaven-tier mantra) (Minor Success)
Confucian Sword Arts: Yangwu Swordsmanship (Advanced)
Taoist mental cultivation technique: Tao Te Ching (Advanced) Perfection
Taoist Fist Arts: Eight Trigrams Palm (Advanced) Perfection
Taoist Formation: Eight Trigrams Formation (Beginner), Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Formation (Beginner), Four Ultimate Sword Formation (Beginner), Twelve Gates of Heaven Formation (Beginner)
Morality: 53147
Loyalty: 85
'Is this the world of geniuses?
He's already a Confucian student at the age of 24. If he goes one step further, he'll be an Innate Master.
'With so many mental cultivation techniques and skills, isn't Fifth Uncle afraid that he'll go crazy?'
He looked at his Fifth Uncle's three attributes. His constitution was the lowest among the three attributes due to his weak constitution. His mental state was at 51 points, which was already at the Innate Level!
It was 21 points higher than his constitution, and with so many mental cultivation techniques and martial arts techniques, his strength couldn't be compared to Qi Transformation first stage.
'Also, what's with the Morality?'
Hua Kai was curious, but he saw a line of explanation behind his Fifth Uncle's Morality. 'So True Eye can be used like this!'
[Morality]: Accumulates Morality in the body to cultivate one's character and improve one's mental state.
The power released from Morality is equivalent to Innate True Qi. Use with caution.
No wonder Fifth Uncle's handsome face looked a little pale. It was because he used too much Morality. He was only at Qi Transformation first stage, but he was able to walk from Linzi City to Fort Wah Ka in the winter with a Natal Opening stage burden. Who could do that?
Even his grandfather, Hua Xing, had to bring along his butler, Wal-mart, when he went to Xihe Village more than ten miles away!
Hua Zichen was handsome to begin with, and the white cloth robe he wore made him look more scholarly. He bowed to his father and brothers as he observed his home that he had not seen for two years. When he saw his nephew, Hua Kai, his gaze was filled with confidence.
Two years ago, Hua Kai reached the Qi Cultivation Realm at the age of 10 and was crowned as the number one genius in Fort Wah Ka. Hua Zichen had always liked this nephew of his. He would often come up with many strange ideas that surprised him. Today, when he saw him again, he was already the head of the Hua family.
"Hua Zichen greets the head of the family!"
Hua Zichen bowed to his father and brothers before walking to Hua Kai's side. As the head of the family, regardless of whether it was a guest or a wanderer returning home, Hua Kai should greet him.
"Fifth Uncle, it's good that you're home. I'm afraid of such a big greeting. May I know who this is?"
As the head of the family, the Hua family should receive a guest. He looked at the red-clothed woman and asked his Fifth Uncle.
"This is Ji Le, the daughter of Lu Wengong from the State of Lu. We met at Linzi City's Jixia Academy. This time, it was thanks to Princess Ji Le's company that I was able to return home safely," Hua Zichen said in all seriousness.
Hua Kai looked at him with disbelief. How could you say such a thing? Did the Confucian Faction teach you how to lie?
Princess Ji Le shyly looked at her Fifth Uncle with a trace of complaint in her eyes.
She welcomed her Fifth Uncle home. Because her grandfather had many maids and maids in the western courtyard, there were no empty rooms. Therefore, the Fifth Uncle returned to his previous room in the main courtyard. Princess Ji Le chose a guest room that was closer to the Fifth Uncle's room and stayed there.
At noon, Hua Kai's mother, Huang Shuyun, accompanied Princess Ji Le. After a while, his grandmother arrived with his third aunt and fourth aunt. They had completely treated Princess Ji Le as the Hua family's daughter-in-law. After returning home to see Xiao Qiang, Hua Kai planned to look for his Fifth Uncle. When he was young, he was the closest to his Fifth Uncle. Although his Fifth Uncle seemed more mature today, his feelings for Fort Wah Ka had not weakened at all.
At this time, Hua Kai saw that his Fifth Uncle had changed into a set of martial arts clothes and had arrived at his door. It seemed that Hua Kai knew that he had come for Princess Ji Le.
"Fifth Uncle, you should accompany Princess Ji Le to our house. Why did you come to your nephew's place?" Hua Kai deliberately asked.
"Kai 'er, you are also mocking Fifth Uncle. You are so smart, it is impossible for you to not see Princess Ji Le's intentions. This time, Princess Ji Le secretly followed me out of Linzi City. If anything happened to her, even ten Fort Wah Ka would not be able to bear the consequences." Hua Zichen said in distress.
"Then Fifth Uncle, do you like Princess Ji Le?
Princess Ji Le is so beautiful and talented. There is no man who would not be moved by her. Moreover, I can see that she has feelings for you. "Hua Kai said.
"What's the use of me liking her? She is Princess Lu Wen's most beloved daughter. How could Lu Wen Gong marry a dignified princess to a commoner?" Hua Zichen said with some disappointment.
In this world, even the aristocratic families rarely married their daughters off to ordinary families. For example, Second Uncle had married a daughter from the Shen Family's side branch, and it was the Hua Family's Fort that had climbed up the social ladder. This was also because the Hua Family's Fort was the first village outside of Guang County.
"Fifth Uncle, you don't need to belittle yourself. Your talent is considered very strong in Linzi City!
Don't tell me that Princess Ji Le didn't choose you for no reason. With your talent, entering the Xiantian realm in the future is a certainty. How could Lu Wen Gong not see it? "
Hua Kai comforted his Fifth Uncle. The Fifth Uncle couldn't tell his grandparents about this, let alone his brothers. He could only look for this smart nephew of his.
"If that's the case, then I have nothing to worry about. But Kai 'er, you don't know. Even if Lu Wen Gong is willing to marry Princess Ji Le to Fort Wah Ka, the entire Lu Kingdom will not agree. All the aristocratic families in Lu Kingdom will not agree." Hua Zichen said while shaking his head.
In the end, the Hua family was too weak. They only had one Early Mortal Realm expert, which was enough to qualify them as an aristocratic family. However, the Hua family's overall strength, scale of business, and alliances were too weak. If Princess Ji Le were to marry into Fort Wah Ka, the entire Fort Wah Ka would be destroyed by a random Xiantian realm expert from Lu Kingdom. Therefore, marrying the princess would not be easy.
"Fort Wah Ka is too weak compared to the entire Lu Kingdom. But it's not like we don't have any hope. This time, my father was killed by bandits in Hutuo Mountain, and my grandfather almost lost his life …"
Hua Kai told Hua Zichen about the recent happenings in his family. Although Hua Zichen had received Hua Xing's letter and understood the details, he still felt that it was extremely dangerous when Hua Kai told him about it. He had studied at Jixia Academy for six years, and during that time, he had been to many small countries in the Qing Province. He had a clear understanding of the relationship between the king, aristocratic families, and ordinary families. He knew the risks that Fort Wah Ka faced.
"Look, my grandfather is now at Mortal Realm Stage 3, and Butler Wal-mart has reached the peak of the Qi Transformation Stage. He can enter the Mortal Realm at any time. Fourth Uncle and Captain Hua Yue have also reached the Qi Transformation Stage. In the future, Fort Wah Ka will only get better and better.
Now that you are back, as long as there are no accidents during this trip to the Linhu Grassland, Fort Wah Ka's power will definitely increase by at least two times in the coming year. At this rate, are we still far from being an aristocratic family? "Hua Kai looked at his Fifth Uncle, Hua Zichen, and said.
Hua Zichen was indeed surprised when he returned home this time. In the past, the villagers of Fort Wah Ka were not so enthusiastic when they saw him. It was not easy for his nephew to improve the cohesion of the entire village in just a few months.
If Fort Wah Ka could continue to be like this, under Hua Kai's leadership, the family would not be too far away from becoming an aristocratic family.
"Kai 'er, when I heard your grandfather say that your father was in trouble, I couldn't wait to fly home. When winter comes, I will go to Hutuo Mountain alone and kill a few of their leaders to avenge my brother."
Hua Zichen said with a hint of viciousness in his eyes. Hua Kai knew that he had enough Morality to deal with a few Mortal Realm cultivators. However, if he ran out of Morality, he would probably be killed by a group of people.
"Fifth Uncle, there is no need to be so anxious. I already have a plan to avenge my father. Everything will wait until Fort Wah Ka returns home next year. The family needs a lot of money to expand, and next year, I will bury the entire Hutuo Mountain with my father!" Hua Kai said firmly.
Hua Zichen nodded gently. He also knew that the waters in Hutuo Mountain were very deep. If he acted rashly, it was very likely that he would bring disaster to the family. Since his nephew said that he had a plan, Hua Zichen suppressed the impulse in his heart and decided to wait and see.
The news of Hua Zichen's return to Fort Wah Ka spread quickly.
Hua Kai's family luck points increased by 26 points in a day. This was more than when Fort Wah Ka resolved the siege of the wild beasts. He had just upgraded his portable space last night, and now his luck points had increased to 92 points.
He opened the family's status panel:
Fort Wah Ka: Unranked
Prosperity: 58
Combat Power: 46
Agriculture: 8
Animal Husbandry: 31
Commerce: 16
Culture: 40
Overall Strength: 199
Allies: None
Capital: 14 taels of gold, 162 taels of silver, 94283 bone coins
Enemy Forces: Hutuo Mountain, Guang County Shen Family (Rank-9)
Luck Points: 92
Unknowingly, Fort Wah Ka's overall strength was close to 200. After the winter ended, the family's various industries would recover, and their strength would definitely increase by a lot. Hua Kai remembered that Fort Wah Ka's combat power was only 31 points last night. Today, Fifth Uncle's combat power increased by 15 points. The system's evaluation of Fifth Uncle's combat power should be similar to his grandfather's. At this time, Fifth Uncle had not entered any secret realm to train.
When Fifth Uncle left, Hua Kai looked at his loyalty points. 86 points.
It was a little more than when he first entered the family. However, if he wanted to enter the family's secret realm to train, his loyalty points had to be in the top 100. Fort Wah Ka now only had the last seven people with 89 loyalty points. If he wanted to enter the crystal pillar's list, his loyalty points had to be at least 90 points.
The Fifth Uncle, who was closest to him, was not recognized by the system. This made Hua Kai feel helpless. It seemed that he had to think of a way to increase his Fifth Uncle's loyalty points. However, he had no idea how to increase his loyalty points. He did not know if he could just tell him directly.
In the afternoon, Wal-mart's butler told Hua Kai that the things for the village elders had been prepared. Although the wild beasts outside Fort Wah Ka had not retreated, the whole Fort Wah Ka was unusually happy when Hua Zichen returned home today. This was because he actually brought back a princess. Hua Xing intended to take advantage of this lively atmosphere to visit this year's village elders.
Visiting the village elders was an ancient and important tradition of the Qi family.
Every year, when winter was about to end, all the family heads had to bring expensive gifts to visit the respected elders in the village. These elders were usually powerful and had a certain level of influence. Only by doing so could the main family's influence in the entire village be consolidated.
Hua Kai counted that there were more than 60 elders in the village this year. Among them, there were more than 10 who could be called village elders. Hua Kai wrote a big stroke and added a few more elders to make a total of 20 people. He asked the butler to prepare silk, tea leaves, refined salt, and savage beast meat. Silk was a tradition in this world. It represented respect for the elders and auspiciousness. Along with tea leaves, refined salt, and savage beast meat, it was one of the four gifts. Usually, only aristocratic families would have it. This year, Fort Wah Ka's four gifts changed from cotton to silk. It was also a display of strength. This way, the family's luck points could rise faster.
These things were all bought from Ju Nation's market. Normally, so many things would cost around 10 gold coins in a county. However, Hua Kai only spent 3 gold coins in the market. Using 3 gold coins in exchange for Fort Wah Ka's cohesion, Hua Kai was not unwilling.