69: All done! Reunion!

Madam Zhang was flushed with embarrassment by Li Dashan's smug behavior. Her face turned red like two clouds, and she reached out to pinch Li Dashan's arm: "You old man! Talk is talk, why bring me into it? Bringing up these old accounts with the children, have you no shame!" The force wasn't heavy, but it carried a hint of bashful annoyance.

Li Dashan cried out "Ouch," shrinking his neck to dodge, but his face was full of smiles as he quickly begged for mercy:

"Ahem... Alright, alright, listen to your mother! We won't mention those trivial matters anymore! Back to business!"

He cleared his throat, reassuming the seriousness of the head of the household, and tapped his pipe on the edge of the table, sparks flying:

"I've planned it all out! The first row of the ancestral hall must have the memorial tablets of your two Great-grandparents (Great-Grandmother's parents)! The old tablets in the old ancestral hall of Li Family Village have probably been thrown into some rat hole to rot by those unfilial descendants! We'll make new ones ourselves! Out of sandalwood! Carved straight and proper!"

"The second row," his voice lowered, carrying a sense of respect, "will be the place for our Great-Grandfather, Duke Qingyuan! He took the name 'Li' when he entered the family and suffered cold looks his whole life, but he is the root and source of our branch! He deserves this incense!"

"The third row, your grandfather, Duke Jianghe!"

"The fourth row..." He paused, glanced at Madam Zhang beside him, "will be for me and your mother!"

"The fifth row, naturally, will be the places for you brothers and your wives!"

"The Family Genealogy will be the same! The first page will be for our Great-grandfather! We'll write down clearly, word for word, how he took in Great-Grandfather, how he was pressured by the clan, and how Great-Grandfather supported this family under the title of a 'matrilocal son-in-law'!"

"Let future generations understand how our branch struggled for its life from between the cracks of stones! Any other empty or pretentious ancestral origins will not be mentioned at all!"

He finished in one breath, as if a heavy burden had been lifted, and took a large gulp of cold tea. The hall fell silent, with only the light crackle of the candle flames reflecting the serious agreement on everyone's faces.

Li Qingshan, as the eldest son, had worry etched on his dark face. He pondered for a moment and raised a practical concern:

"Father, your arrangements are thorough, but... what if... when we open the new ancestral hall and establish the genealogy next year, those so-called 'clan uncles' and 'clan elders' from Li Family Village feel that we are setting up a separate household and leaving them out? If they feel resentful and come to make trouble or disrupt things... what should we do?"

"Disrupt things?!"

Li Qingfeng acted as if he had heard a huge joke. He slammed his teacup onto the table with a "clang," and a layer of cold irony instantly surfaced on his face:

"Eldest Brother, have you gone soft? They dare?! Hmm?"

He leaned forward slightly, his gaze sharp as a knife, sweeping over Li Qingshan and then seemingly piercing through the walls toward the direction of Li Family Village:

"Do you think your Third and Fourth Brother are like our Great-Grandmother who knelt on the floor of the ancestral hall begging for mercy? Or our Grandfather who had to swing a butcher's knife just to get back ten acres of wasteland?"

He sneered, with undisguised contempt and Killing Intent:

"Giving them a bit of face and calling them 'clan uncles' is our Li family's grace! If we don't give them face? Hmph! A bunch of old geezers with one foot in the grave, what do they amount to! They're just old, not so stupid that they're tired of living! If they dare to stick their necks out, let them try!"

"Eldest Brother, just you wait and see!"

He gave a cold laugh, relaxing his posture again with a certainty of being in control:

"Once the ancestral hall opens and the Family Genealogy is revealed next year, those so-called 'direct clan descendants' will surely be like flies smelling blood, rushing over to claim kinship and wealth! They'll be afraid of being too slow to wag their tails and beg for mercy!"

He paused, a flicker of cold relief crossing his eyes:

"Fortunately... it can be said that smoke has risen from their ancestral graves! During the last Spiritual Root test, not even a fart came out of that 'direct line'! If they had actually tested a single seedling with a Spiritual Root..."

Li Qingfeng didn't finish, just picked up the cold tea, took a sip, and let out an ambiguous chuckle from his throat:

"Hehehe..."

"Third Brother is correct." Li Qinghe, who had been silent, also spoke calmly now:

"Those so-called 'direct descendants' need not be bothered with; they are just jumping clowns. However, among the remaining collateral and branch lines, there are many who have been oppressed by the direct line for years and harbor resentment. These people can be gathered and used by us."

His slender fingers unconsciously brushed against the rim of the cup, leaving a faint water mark:

"Let them oppose their direct line. Once there are internal cracks, if by some chance a seedling with a Spiritual Root does emerge in their clan later..." Li Qinghe paused, a very faint smile crossing his lips, "they will still have to depend on our whims to have a roof over their heads and a path to walk."

Li Qinghe looked up, his gaze calmly sweeping over his elder brothers:

"I have carefully examined the Sect's basic Cultivation Technique, the 'Qingxuan Qi Nurturing Art,' that Third Brother brought back. It is balanced and peaceful, but it is only barely suitable for those with an Aptitude below the Mystic Grade. For those above the Mystic Grade to Cultivate this art would be a pure waste of talent and time."

"Without the guidance of a famous teacher, relying solely on this crude method to nurture Origin Qi, it would take a year or two of painstaking effort just to develop a 'Qi Sense.' After Spirit Enlightenment, thinking of using this to Breakthrough to Qi Refining? That is even more of a pipe dream."

He put down the teacup, making a crisp clinking sound:

"In the future, anyone recruited from outside or from the collateral branches will be granted this art. This will be used... as a check and balance."

"As for our own Bloodline..."

Li Qinghe's gaze turned to Li Qingshan and Li Qinglin:

"Eldest Brother's Yuanzhu and Yuan Bao will be six years old in two or three years. At that time, they can be tested for Spiritual Roots! Second Brother, you should also hurry up. Expanding the Li family is also a heavy responsibility."

These words were spoken bluntly, with a frank gaze.

"Hey! You're even talking about your Second Brother now?"

Madam Zhang, who had been listening, immediately caught the topic. Her spirits rose, and she instantly turned her focus:

"Your Eldest Brother and Second Brother have at least started families and have children running around! You and Qingfeng! You two uncles are not young anymore! Still bachelors? It's time to think about bringing a daughter-in-law home for me!"

Madam Zhang's gaze swept back and forth between her two sons who were Cultivating, with a mother's unique anxiety and expectation:

"You're not young anymore! It's time to settle down, start a family, and find a wife who knows how to care for you! Cultivating is all well and good, but you can't Cultivate to the point of not even wanting a home, right?"

"Oh~ my dear mother!"

Li Qingfeng replied almost reflexively, a flattering smile on his face. He leaned slightly toward Madam Zhang, his tone carrying a sense of the natural divide between immortals and mortals:

"Don't you worry about that! When I was in the Sect, my Revered Master taught me earnestly: Cultivators should become Dao Companions with other Cultivators! In this way, the chances of offspring having a Spiritual Root are greater! This is a major matter concerning Bloodline Legacy and the Foundation of the path!"

"Qinghe and I," he straightened his back with a faint, imperceptible sense of superiority, "are destined to seek women who are also Cultivators to join us on the Great Dao! Just relax and wait to hold your immortal grandchildren!"

This bit of "Revered Master's teaching" indeed stunned Madam Zhang. She opened her mouth but ultimately just sighed helplessly and waved her hand:

"That's enough.，You guys have all grown up and your wings have hardened.，Ideas are bigger than the sky！I, this old woman, can't control it anymore.！I won't cause any more trouble.，I won't cause any more trouble.！"

Seeing this, Li Dashan also waved his pipe at the right time to disperse the last bit of stagnant atmosphere:

"Alright, alright! No matter what is said, the children are grown and have their own paths to walk. We old folks should worry less and enjoy more! It's almost the New Year..."

He looked around at the whole family sitting by the candlelight:

"Our family has been running around and living in fear for all these years. It's rare that we can gather so completely this year! Thanks to Qingfeng and Qinghe, our New Town is starting to look like something. This year, we'll close our doors and have a lively and harmonious reunion for the New Year!"