Chapter 1096: Tribe Comparison

The Wang family occupies vast territories that are sparsely populated. They have too few high-ranking cultivators and are in urgent need of more.

Most of the Wang family's elite are concentrated on Qinglian Island. Apart from the South Sea, their strongholds in the Eastern Barrens, Central Plains, and Northern Borders all have Foundation Establishment cultivators. Additionally, some Foundation Establishment cultivators are traveling, and the family is unaware of their whereabouts. Therefore, it is impossible to recall all Foundation Establishment cultivators for the family competition.

The Wang family's clan competitions are divided into minor and major competitions. The minor competition, held every five years, involves Qi Condensation cultivators, with the top fifty receiving rewards. The major competition, held every ten years, is for cultivators below the Core Formation stage. Participants challenge the Illusionary Demon Pagoda, and rankings are determined by the number of floors cleared and the time taken, with the top thirty receiving rewards.

The rewards for each clan competition are higher than the previous one, primarily to encourage clan members to cultivate diligently.

The Wang family has now introduced the "Ten Sons, Seven Talents, Three Champions" initiative. The Ten Sons are ten outstanding Qi Condensation cultivators selected from the ten-year major competition for focused training. The Seven Talents are seven Foundation Establishment cultivators chosen for prioritized development, and the Three Champions are three Core Formation cultivators selected for key cultivation.

Other major powers also adopt similar methods to select and prioritize a group of cultivators for training. Naturally, the stronger their foundation and larger their influence, the more cultivators they can prioritize.

Taking the Ouyang family as an example, their Sword Hall alone has hundreds of cultivators. Ouyang family disciples who can enter the Sword Hall are all elites, capable of reaching not only Core Formation but potentially even Nascent Soul. In contrast, the Wang family can only prioritize twenty individuals. This difference, besides their foundation and cultivation resources, is also heavily influenced by the number of Wang family cultivators. Counting only the cultivators in the Scarlet Moon Sea, there are merely three thousand, including many from other surnames.

Across the Eastern Barrens, South Sea, Northern Borders, and Central Plains cultivation worlds, the total number of Wang family cultivators is just over six thousand. Distributed among these four regions, the number of Wang family cultivators in each area is not large.

Wang Changsheng's urgency to hold the clan competition is primarily related to True Master Haoyue's birthday celebration. At any major celebration, various factions bring their younger generations, and competitive sparring among them is inevitable. The Wang family rose too quickly and has a shallow foundation, unable to compare with the Ouyang family. Fortunately, Wang Mingren had Wang Qingshan bring back three Divine Ability Fruits.

Wang Qingshan consumed one Divine Ability Fruit and comprehended the minor divine ability "One Hundred Swords United," making him rarely challenged by cultivators of the same rank. It is believed that clan members who obtain a Divine Ability Fruit will have promising futures.

As the saying goes, "one generation plants trees, another enjoys the shade." Recalling the past, Wang Changsheng did not even have a Foundation Establishment Pill and had to rely on subterranean demonic qi to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage. Now, the family has no shortage of Foundation Establishment Pills, and the clan members' treatment is more than ten times better than before. Wang Qingshan risked his life entering the Golden Sun Sect ruins, barely surviving to obtain a Divine Ability Fruit. Now, clan members who rank in the top three of the clan competition can receive a Divine Ability Fruit. This is the best testament to the family's growth and prosperity.

Wang Changsheng hopes that in the future, the top three in the family competition will be rewarded with Core Formation spiritual items. The top three in the major competitions of the Ten Great Families and Ten Great Sects in the South Sea are all rewarded with Core Formation spiritual items; this highlights the disparity.

Three days passed quickly.

A massive bluestone plaza gathered over a thousand cultivators, most of whom were Wang family members.

The Wang family's territory was too vast, and they lacked sufficient personnel, so they had to recruit more cultivators.

Lu Jiaheng gathered over five hundred cultivators, but only took more than a hundred to establish his own family, leaving over four hundred to join the Wang family. Several other small families also merged into the Wang family. Additionally, the Wang family absorbed a group of rogue cultivators, bringing in a total of over seven hundred cultivators.

Naturally, the Wang family did not fully trust these cultivators, so they settled them in peripheral territories, preventing them from accessing core secrets. They encouraged intermarriage with Wang family members, expecting them to be fully integrated into the family within thirty years.

Cultivators who married into the Wang family or possessed specialized skills could be given important roles. However, cultivators with specialized skills are valued everywhere, especially alchemists.

The difficulty of the Illusionary Demon Pagoda can be adjusted without challengers noticing. The usual difficulty for challenging the pagoda is certainly different from the competition's difficulty, and no one knows the exact setting for this event.

All cultivators who had joined the Wang family were allowed to participate in this competition. Besides selecting talent, Wang Changsheng also aimed to win over people's loyalty. If they could recruit a few talented individuals, it would be ideal.

The top thirty cultivators would receive rewards. The top three would naturally be Wang family cultivators. As for the remaining twenty-seven spots, they could "go easy" and allow some cultivators from other surnames to be selected. If cultivators from other surnames saw no future in the family, they might not be willing to dedicate their lives to the Wang family.

Wang Changsheng, Wang Ruyan, Zhang Wuchen, and Guangdong Ren sat at the main platform, as Wang family cultivators began challenging the pagoda one after another.

Wang Mengfen presided over the clan competition, while Wang Mengbin controlled the Illusionary Demon Pagoda.

Wang Huaxiu stood at the very front, being the first to enter the Illusionary Demon Pagoda.

He was already at the fifth level of Foundation Establishment and proficient in various phoenix-attributed spells. Wang Mengfen repeatedly urged him to secure the first place.

As Wang Huaxiu entered the Illusionary Demon Pagoda, a large expanse of spiritual light suddenly illuminated the spacious hall. Ten entirely green demonic wolves materialized out of thin air, charging from all directions.

These were ten first-tier low-grade demonic beasts. Their attack power was not strong, but their advantage lay in their sheer numbers.

Wang Huaxiu smiled calmly, raising both hands simultaneously. A loud whooshing sound filled the air as several gigantic wind blades shot out, flying towards the incoming green demonic wolves.

A series of muffled thuds followed. The ten green demonic wolves were cut down by the gigantic wind blades before they could even get close to Wang Huaxiu.

Wang Huaxiu quickly dispatched the ten green demonic wolves. Suddenly, his vision blurred, and he found himself in another hall of similar size. A roar of beasts erupted, and seven demonic beasts emerged from the walls. These were seven first-tier mid-grade demonic beasts, including agile demonic birds, thick-skinned rhinoceros demons, and venomous insects that released poisonous mist.

Having challenged the Illusionary Demon Pagoda many times, Wang Huaxiu naturally did not take these seven low-grade demonic beasts seriously. He flipped his hand, pulled out a shimmering green banner, and with a gentle flick, the banner brightened significantly. A large swath of green wind blades shot out directly towards the attacking demonic beasts.

A series of roars erupted. Facing Wang Huaxiu's fierce attacks, these demonic beasts could not withstand him at all.

Soon after, Wang Huaxiu eliminated the seven demonic beasts and reached the third floor. This time, his opponents were a red giant crab, a blue octopus, and a black vulture.

Three first-tier high-grade demonic beasts lunged towards Wang Huaxiu.

Wang Huaxiu wielded the green banner, releasing a large swath of green wind blades to meet them.

Outside the Illusionary Demon Pagoda, Wang Yingjie looked at the illuminated third floor, his face full of envy.

They had been at sea for a year but had not hunted many demonic beasts. Upon returning to Silver Snake Island, they happened to coincide with Wang Qingling's return, who was mobilizing personnel to the Five Dragons Sea Region.

Wang Yingjie's aptitude was not good; he was more suited for producing offspring. He followed Wang Qingling to Silver Snake Island.

Not long after their arrival at Silver Snake Island, Wang Mengfen announced the clan competition, with Divine Ability Fruits as rewards for the top three, and priority for Core Formation.

Wang Yingjie was only at the Qi Condensation stage. He knew he could not reach the top three, but he still wanted to try, even if he could only get into the top thirty! As long as he achieved a ranking, he would be considered to have made a name for himself.