Chapter 200: Reform

"As long as this person is willing to brew wine for us, we can keep him. Big Brother, you've returned just in time. I was about to discuss something very important with Uncle Twenty-One, something that concerns the future development of our Wang family."

Wang Changsheng's expression grew solemn.

What he wanted to address was an issue of family structure. Previously, the clan only had one Foundation Establishment cultivator, Wang Yaozong, and no artifact refiners had been cultivated. They could only barely sustain the family by farming and raising silkworms. At that time, most clan members were united in their thoughts and efforts; if Wang Yaozong had met with misfortune, the family would have fallen apart. Now, with three Foundation Establishment cultivators in the clan and a connection established with the Hundred Spirits Gate, individual self-interest was starting to emerge.

During the recent disciple recruitment ceremony, his second aunt had hoped Wang Changsheng would bring Wang Changyi along, but Wang Changyi's aptitude wasn't particularly good, and even if he could join the Hundred Spirits Gate, his chances of reaching Foundation Establishment were slim.

Besides this, some clan members were leveraging their connections to seek lucrative assignments, proving the old adage: it's easy to share adversity, but difficult to share prosperity.

This situation absolutely had to be resolved, or the family could easily descend into internal conflict.

This was a common dilemma faced by all cultivation families. In times of crisis, everyone might unite, but once life improved, individual self-interest would begin to expand, with one person influencing two, and two influencing four. This issue had to be tackled.

Of course, Wang Mingjiang and Wang Changfeng also played a role in prompting Wang Changsheng to take action.

Wang Mingjiang and Wang Changfeng were both Foundation Establishment cultivators. Although their cultivation level wasn't as high as Wang Changsheng's, they were still elders. With the Wang family supporting three Foundation Establishment cultivators, how could they ensure fairness in resource distribution? In truth, Wang Changsheng didn't even want complete fairness.

In terms of contribution, he knew how to refine artifacts and puppet beasts, bringing significant income to the family each year. In terms of cultivation, he was already at the fourth level of Foundation Establishment, making him the highest cultivated member of the Wang family. Both for the public good and personal reasons, the family should invest substantial resources in him.

As the saying goes, "when one person ascends, even their chickens and dogs follow." If he could advance to the Core Formation stage, the entire family would benefit. Wang Huashan of the Wang family was the best example of this.

He hadn't strived for this before, not because he didn't want to, but because circumstances dictated it. At that time, Wang Changfeng was the best candidate for Foundation Establishment; otherwise, if Wang Yaozong had met with an accident, the family would have disintegrated.

Before long, Wang Changsheng, Wang Mingjiang, and Wang Changfeng appeared in a stone pavilion, where two plates of pastries and a pot of spirit tea were laid out on the table.

The three first discussed the future development of the Wang family. With three clan members joining the Hundred Spirits Gate and the Wang family acquiring ten acres of spirit fields and three shops, Wang Changsheng felt it was crucial to align closely with the Hundred Spirits Gate in the future.

"Uncle Twenty-One, Ninth Brother, we shouldn't put all our eggs in one basket," Wang Changfeng suggested. "Next time the Five Sects of Wei Nation recruit disciples, I think we should send clan members to join other sects, such as the Yellow Saint Palace."

"No, that won't work," Wang Changsheng rejected Wang Changfeng's proposal. "Doing so would displease both sides. Even within a single sect there are disputes, let alone among the Five Sects of Wei Nation. If, in the future, the Yellow Saint Palace and the Hundred Spirits Gate were to have a dispute, or even engage in conflict, whom would we support? To put it another way, the Huang family members are now part of our Wang family. If a few Huang family members were to frequently contact our rivals, I would find a reason to eliminate them. Those who try to play both sides are the least reliable."

Wang Changsheng had previously asked Wang Ruyan, during one of their casual chats, why she didn't have clan members join multiple sects for better security. Wang Ruyan's reply was that fence-sitters would sway with the wind and end up pleasing neither side.

"Changsheng is right," said Wang Mingjiang, "but Changfeng also has a point. It's indeed unwise to stake the family's entire future on the Hundred Spirits Gate. If the Hundred Spirits Gate were to fall, our Wang family would suffer the same fate, as exemplified by the cultivation families who withdrew from Song Nation. I suggest we send some clan members to other places to establish a new Wang family."

"Uncle Twenty-One, are you suggesting a family split?" Wang Changsheng asked. "We're already short on manpower. The Huang family hasn't been fully assimilated yet, and we still need to send people to Qinyue Market to guard shops and cultivate fields, as well as transport supplies and collect materials. We don't have enough people! Even if we did, who would go voluntarily? Forcing them to leave wouldn't achieve our goal, and besides, the initial investment for this plan would be too large."

Wang Changxing had previously suffered significant losses of spirit stones when opening a restaurant in White Dragon Valley.

"I've already considered that," Wang Mingjiang replied. "I plan to send a few clan members with ordinary aptitudes to settle in a market in Chu Nation, where they would be responsible for gathering information. Now, with extensive intermarriage among the commoners of the Wang, Chen, and Huang families, if anyone with spirit roots appears, those with poorer roots can be sent to Chu Nation. Firstly, they can gather intelligence; secondly, if we can no longer stay in Wei Nation in the future, we can move to Chu Nation. The initial investment for this would not be large."

The probability of ordinary mortals' descendants possessing spirit roots is very low, and even if they do, most are pseudo-spirit roots. The Wang family could cultivate them for a period and then dispatch them to Chu Nation, which would serve two purposes: gathering intelligence and securing a fallback option for the family.

"This method is good," Wang Changsheng agreed, "but the number of mortals in our three families isn't large, so the number of spirit root holders won't be high either. How about this: we send a few more clan members, equipped with spirit root measuring rulers, to other remote mountain villages. If they discover anyone with spirit roots, they should try their best to bring them back to add fresh blood to the family."

Both Wang Mingjiang and Wang Changfeng approved of Wang Changsheng's suggestion.

Wang Changsheng then shifted his tone, bringing up the issue of the family's system. The previous system was no longer suitable. For instance, if a Foundation Establishment Pill became available, which clan member should receive it? No matter who received it, there would be gossip. Wang Changsheng planned to introduce a sect-like contribution point system. Clan members would earn a certain number of contribution points for each task they completed for the family. These points could be exchanged for spirit stones, spiritual herbs, or talismans. To acquire more resources, they would have to diligently earn contribution points, thereby stimulating their initiative instead of just idly passing the days.

Wang Mingjiang and Wang Changfeng both approved of Wang Changsheng's proposal.

"Uncle Twenty-One, Big Brother," Wang Changsheng continued, "we now have three Foundation Establishment cultivators in our clan. If resources are divided among us, none of our cultivation speeds will be particularly fast. What are your thoughts?"

Wang Mingjiang and Wang Changfeng exchanged glances and nodded to each other.

"Changsheng," Wang Mingjiang said, "Changfeng and I have already discussed this issue. The majority of the family's income will be focused on you to accelerate your cultivation speed. If you can advance to the Core Formation stage, it will benefit our entire family."

Both Wang Mingjiang and Wang Changfeng understood that, until then, more than half of the family's income had come from Wang Changsheng refining puppet beasts and artifacts. To put it bluntly, if Wang Changsheng were to leave the family now, he could live quite comfortably on his own. If the two of them left the family, supporting themselves wouldn't be an issue, but living well would be difficult.

It was also thanks to Wang Changsheng this time that the Wang family acquired ten acres of spirit fields and three shops.

Therefore, it was by no means excessive to allocate the majority of the family's income to Wang Changsheng.

Wang Changfeng's emotions were a mix of bittersweet feelings. Before this, he had been the primary focus of the clan's cultivation efforts. After reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, the resources he received diminished, and he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. However, he had already decided to learn artifact refinement. If he could achieve Wang Changsheng's level of refining skill, he wouldn't have to worry about resources.

Hearing this, Wang Changsheng breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn't expected Wang Mingjiang and Wang Changfeng to agree so readily. Besides his surprise, he also felt a touch of emotion.

"Ninth Brother," Wang Changfeng said with an envious tone, "the cultivation method you practice isn't ordinary, is it? Your cultivation speed is so fast, advancing a level every few years. At your current pace, you might reach the Core Formation stage in less than a century."