Protect Our Patriarch

Qian Xuehan weighed the matter briefly before saying cheerfully, "This is simple. Our Qian Clan's Elders' Council will surely pass it unanimously. However, our current cash flow is tight, but we can support you in obtaining an interest-free loan of Top Gold from Shouda Trading."

The Qian Clan, being the wealthiest Purple Mansion family in Longzuo Commandery, still faced limitations in cash flow. They had already invested five million Top Gold in Shouda Trading and provided an additional ten million in interest-free loans.

This expenditure of fifteen million Top Gold significantly depleted the Qian Clan's long-accumulated reserves. Now, they could barely squeeze out a few million more.

Yet, their investment was worthwhile.

Shouda Trading had enormous potential, and by this move, the Qian Clan firmly tied their fate to Wang's Clan. Currently, just from this collaboration with Shouda Trading, their annual revenue was no less than one million Top Gold.

Before the Qian Clan's involvement, Shouda Trading, with merely thirty spirit bird carriages, had already achieved substantial profits. In the last month alone, their revenue reached eighty thousand Top Gold, with expenses of only thirty-five thousand, netting a profit of nearly forty thousand.

The total investment in Shouda Trading was only two and a half million Top Gold, most of which hadn't even been utilized yet, reserved for future expansion and development.

One could imagine the considerable returns once Shouda Trading grew and scaled up.

Otherwise, why would the Qian Clan, a massive family, willingly invest five million Top Gold for a mere twenty percent stake?

The additional ten million Top Gold loan was to accelerate Shouda Trading's growth, aiming to quickly capture the market and build industry barriers.

In less than a year,

Shouda Trading's spirit bird carriage fleet had quadrupled to about one hundred and twenty, with monthly turnover soaring to over three hundred thousand Top Gold.

Although far from dividend time, Shouda Trading's future growth potential and its formidable money-drawing ability were already evident.

"Transfer the funds through Shouda Trading?" Wang Shouzhe nodded, "That works. After all, this money is just a reserve and might not be spent. Even if it is, my Wang's Clan can replenish it in a year or two."

Excluding Shouda Trading, Wang's Clan's projected income this year would also reach about four million Top Gold.

Setting aside the clan's fixed annual expenses of over one million, they could quickly fill the gap by temporarily economizing elsewhere.

He was now at the mid-stage of the Lingtai Realm and had to prepare to break through to the Tianren Realm in at most ten years. Missing the chance to become a Grand Genius would cost him dearly in the future.

Perhaps, he might never recover, with his potential capped at the Purple Mansion Realm and a lifespan of only eight hundred to a thousand years.

Moreover, once he became a Grand Genius, his cultivation speed would increase, effectively saving a substantial amount of money in the long cultivation journey.

At any rate, he must obtain the "Wuji Treasure Pill."

Currently, the Qian Clan held a twenty percent stake in Shouda Trading, while Wang's Clan held thirty percent. As long as the Qian Clan had no objections, the other related families would naturally not oppose Wang Shouzhe borrowing public funds.

Once this was settled,

Wang Shouzhe discreetly set out from Longzuo Commandery's city a few days later. Accompanying him, besides himself, was a Tianren Realm puppet protector.

"He" now served as Wang Shouzhe's personal guard.

However, although the protector was a Tianren Realm puppet with formidable combat abilities, it was not as intelligent or human-like as the Lingtai Realm guard puppet he acquired from the relics of the Shenwu Dynasty.

There was no helping it. The Shenwu Dynasty was a highly advanced civilization, with many technologies that had long been lost. Although Tianji State had unique puppet crafting techniques, they still fell short of the Shenwu Dynasty's standards.

In addition to this, Long Yan Ancestor was also part of the journey.

Wang Shouzhe was now too important to Wang's Clan, and with Long Yan Ancestor's protection, safety was greatly enhanced. Generally, as long as no Purple Mansion cultivator took action personally, Long Yan Ancestor's strength was sufficient to handle most threats.

Fortunately, the world's Purple Mansion old monsters were all well-known figures, lofty and rarely wandering outside their lairs.

Besides Wang's Clan's carriage, the Qian Clan also prepared to attend the auction. In their own carriage, besides the current family head Qian Xuehan, two Tianren Realm elders accompanied them.

The two families traveled together, providing mutual support along the way.

From Longzuo Commandery's city, they headed west, and after half a day, they reached the Tianlong Mountain Range.

The Tianlong Mountain Range, located in the southeast of The Great Qian, was vast and majestic, with countless peaks and natural fortresses, covering an immense area. It was one of the largest mountain ranges within The Great Qian's territory.

Longzuo Commandery was named for its location to the east of this mountain range.

However, while the plains on either side of Tianlong Mountain had been occupied and developed by humans, the interior remained perilous. The environment was too complex, with numerous spirit veins intertwining and interacting with the complex terrain, forming a complicated network of spirit veins and many natural formations.

As a result, Tianlong Mountain housed many exotic beasts and spirit plants. It was rumored that even seventh-order beasts lurked deep within.

Even Purple Mansion cultivators dared not venture deep into Tianlong Mountain.

Nevertheless, Tianlong Mountain was surrounded by humans, and high-level beasts dared not leave its barrier easily, or they would be gifting precious resources to humanity.

Correspondingly, it was not easy for humans to cross Tianlong Mountain.

Currently, there were only three ways to cross it.

One was to follow the An River upstream, passing through numerous treacherous gorges to cross the mountain range.

Second was to exit from the northwestern border of Longzuo Commandery, crossing the vast wilderness to reach Monan Commandery. However, the wilderness was boundless and mostly unclaimed by humans, inhabited by uncivilized tribes and many beasts. That route was very unsafe.

Third was to traverse the narrowest part of Tianlong Mountain through the Qinglong Corridor, crossing just a few hundred miles to reach the renowned "Qing'an Basin."

This was a vast basin with abundant lakes and water sources, fertile land, and a pleasant climate, making it a suitable place for human habitation. It was also one of the earliest commanderies to be developed in The Great Qian.

Within the Qing'an Basin was a commandery named "Qing'an Commandery."

Qing'an Commandery was one of the least disaster-prone and most prosperous commanderies in The Great Qian. The families here generally lived better than those in Longzuo Commandery, with more luxurious food, clothing, and housing, and there were more sixth and seventh-rank families.

Wang Shouzhe and Qian Xuehan were taking this route through the Qing'an Basin.

However, "Qing'an Commandery" was not Wang Shouzhe's destination this time.

Therefore, he only briefly stopped at a few convenient cities along the way, getting a glimpse of Qing'an Commandery's prosperity and charm.

Continuing northward, after five or six days of travel with intermittent stops, they arrived at "Zhenbei Pass," located at the northernmost part of Qing'an Commandery.

Zhenbei Pass was once The Great Qian's foremost stronghold, with treacherous terrain that was said to be impregnable.

Beyond "Zhenbei Pass" was Wang Shouzhe's destination—Monan Commandery.

Monan Commandery was named for its location south of the vast desert.

But Monan Commandery was not a desert; it was an endless grassland. Its topography, family organization structure, and industry chains were somewhat similar to the northwestern border of Longzuo Commandery.

However, compared to the grasslands of the northwestern border, Monan Commandery's scale was much larger, not even one-tenth the size.

One of the development strategies for both commanderies was for the northwestern border of Longzuo to expand towards Monan Commandery, and vice versa.

After hundreds or thousands of years, Monan Commandery and Longzuo Commandery would border each other on the grassland.

Since Monan Commandery possessed such vast grasslands, its industry structure naturally revolved around animal husbandry, with agriculture and trade as secondary.

Although the soil on the grasslands was sandy and not very fertile, and there were no extensive rivers for water sources, making it difficult to become a granary like Longzuo or Qing'an Commanderies, Monan Commandery was The Great Qian's largest meat producer and supplier of quality horses, known as "the nation's meat storehouse" and "the nation's horse storehouse."

Additionally, Monan was rich in wool, leather, and various dairy products, making it The Great Qian's largest producer of leather goods and dairy products.

Relying on these industries, the families in Monan lived quite comfortably. In terms of wealth, Monan was only slightly less prosperous than Qing'an Commandery.

As one of the earliest commanderies established in The Great Qian, Monan had a long history and was generally safe. The two spirit bird carriages traveled north smoothly.

From the sky, the vast grasslands were lush and green, like a verdant ocean. Occasionally, herds of cattle, sheep, and horses could be seen slowly moving across the plains, grazing or running, appearing content and at ease.

The "Wang's Clan Great Pasture" that Wang's Clan acquired from Huangfu's Clan was but a drop in the ocean compared to Monan Commandery's vast grasslands.

Most families owned extensive ranges of grassland, often several times larger than the land owned by families in Longzuo Commandery. Although they had main residences, they spent most of their time living on their pastures.

However, such a scene, though initially interesting, soon became monotonous and dull. Wang Shouzhe quickly lost interest and refocused on the journey.

Two days later, after crossing countless grasslands, they finally arrived at Monan Commandery's city.

The city was built beside a lake.

This was a massive grassland lake with a diameter of about a thousand miles.

The lake was shallow and would freeze over entirely in winter. Then, the entire lake surface would become crystal clear, sparkling under the sunlight like a pearl set upon the grassland, hence its name—"Dongchacha Lake."

It was said to be named after the pronunciation of the local barbarian language.

Monan Commandery's city had a history of over two thousand years.

Its walls were built with large red bricks fired using traditional methods, towering over sixty meters high and several meters wide. A huge defensive formation was set up within the city, and together with the city's garrison and Purple Mansion cultivators, it had even withstood an eighth-level beast tide.

Longzuo's Wang's Clan and Qian's Clan were outsiders. However, with a VIP invitation from Duobao Pavilion and being a renowned fifth-rank Purple Mansion family, they were respectfully welcomed into Monan City after a simple verification.

At such times, the depth and foundation of a Purple Mansion family were evident. Wang Shouzhe's group and Qian Xuehan's group had just entered the city when local forces came to greet them, including Monan's Mo Clan.

This was a rising sixth-rank family that had ascended from seventh-rank in just a few hundred years, becoming wealthy after discovering deep iron ore deposits on their remote territory.

This family now had four Tianren Realm ancestors, making them stronger than an average sixth-rank family.

It was unclear what dealings the Mo Clan had with the Qian Clan, but their relationship seemed quite close. The Mo Clan's head and a late-stage Tianren Realm ancestor warmly entertained Qian Xuehan and Wang Shouzhe.

Of course.

Wang's Clan was only a seventh-rank family, and the only reason they received such hospitality was due to the Qian Clan's influence.

Both families were arranged to stay in "Guantian Pavilion," one of the high-end inns in Monan Commandery. Built with superior architectural skills, it stood over one hundred fifty meters tall, making it the tallest building in Monan City.

Thus, none of the guests who could stay in such a high-end inn were ordinary.

It was also just two streets away from Duobao Pavilion, making it very convenient to come and go.

With a welcome, there was also a cleansing feast.

Inside Guantian Pavilion was a high-end restaurant similar to Baiwei Residence.

The Mo Clan, like nouveau riche, booked an entire floor of the restaurant to entertain the Qian and Wang families, setting up a large table by the colored glass windows. From here, one could take in the beautiful bay of Dongchacha Lake.

Such extravagance and "boldness" left Wang Shouzhe secretly astonished. He whispered to Qian Xuehan, "Family Head Xuehan, what business does the Mo Clan run? They're so lavish."

Qian Xuehan immediately whispered back, "They were once a common seventh-rank family but struck it rich by discovering deep iron ore deposits in their remote territory, quickly rising to a sixth-rank family. Over a hundred years ago, they connected with our Qian Clan. They have two daughters married into our direct lineage... Consider them half-related by marriage, and we help them sell high-quality iron ore in Longzuo Commandery!"

The reason they were "half-related" was that only daughters from the Mo Clan's direct lineage married into the Qian Clan's direct lineage, while the Qian Clan sent two concubines back. Naturally, Qian Xuehan wouldn't elaborate on this.

"Family Head Shouzhe, doesn't your Wang's Clan always need a large supply of rough iron ingots? Most of what you use comes from Mo Clan's rich mines, excellent quality at a low price."

"Uh..." Wang Shouzhe was speechless, not expecting Wang's Clan to be somewhat connected to the "Mo Clan." Indeed, everything in the world was intertwined in countless ways.

What Wang Shouzhe didn't know was that in Longzuo's Purple Mansion Academy, there was a little genius girl from Monan's Mo Clan who had once tried to curry favor with Wang Liyao and become her follower, only to be driven away by the "old servant" Shang Ji Ping.

After everyone was seated, the "seventh-rank" Wang's Clan wasn't given much attention. Even with their ancestor, they were placed at the end of the table. This made Qian Xuehan sweat profusely, about to object and "carefully" introduce Wang's Clan, but he was secretly stopped by Wang Shouzhe.

He didn't want to have deep dealings with the Mo Clan, which had a strong nouveau riche vibe. Similarly, he didn't want to expose Wang's Clan's foundation for the sake of face, potentially causing unnecessary complications.

His sole purpose was to consume the Wuji Treasure Pill as soon as possible after purchasing it, for peace of mind.

Therefore, at the welcome banquet, Wang Shouzhe and Long Yan Ancestor only sampled the Monan delicacies, remaining low-key and silent.

Meanwhile, the Mo Clan surrounded Qian Xuehan with flattery, like stars around the moon, bombarding him with compliments.

This made Qian Xuehan sweat, occasionally glancing nervously at Wang Shouzhe and Long Yan Ancestor. Joking aside, who was Family Head Shouzhe? He was a significant figure who dared to confront the renowned Long Wuji.

Although he was "noble" as the head of the Qian Clan, he ultimately couldn't compare to Family Head Shouzhe. And Long Yan Ancestor was even more out of the question; she had once saved his life, even driving away the holy land genius Cao Youqing.

According to the ancestors' secret speculations, Long Yan Ancestor was likely one of the geniuses with a prominent bloodline, or else Binglan Ancestor wouldn't have valued her so highly.

The only consolation for Qian Xuehan was that Family Head Shouzhe and Long Yan Ancestor didn't seem to mind.

Just as Wang Shouzhe and Long Yan Ancestor were about to endure a little longer before excusing themselves to leave quietly, suddenly, several young masters burst into the floor of the restaurant they had booked.

These young masters, each dressed finely, had the air of dandified playboys. The leader, appearing to be in his early twenties, exuded the aura of the second layer of the Lingtai Realm. His gaze was cold, and his lips seemed to curl with anger and a sneer.

Upon entering, they shouted, "How dare the Mo Clan compete with the thirty-ninth young master for a dining spot?"

Just as the Mo Clan's head was about to retort, he caught sight of the leading young master and heard their words, his face changing dramatically, "It's the royal family's Hai, that little devil!"

"Indeed, you actually recognize Young Master Hai."

His entourage became even more boisterous, "Since you recognize our Young Master Hai, get lost quickly."

Royal family Hai?

Wang Shouzhe and Long Yan Ancestor exchanged glances, both feeling a bit awkward and speechless.

Monan's Wang's Clan...

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