170: Some family information

Family: Chu Family

Rank: Ninth-Rank Humble Family

Family Members: ... Family Assets: One eighteen-acre estate, Qixia Village (3,217 villagers), 1,300 Source Spirit Stone, 17,044 Origin Rune Stones, one medicine hall, one Medicine Beast Shop, ten acres of Mortal Rank medicinal fields, and several other miscellaneous items and fields.

Family Source Beasts: Moon Worshipping Rabbit (Mortal Rank, twenty-one), Medicinal Fragrance Powder-Eared Rabbit (Mortal Rank, fifty-five), Azure Fang Wolf (Uncommon Rank, three), Azure Wolf (Mortal Rank, nineteen), Jade Water Crocodile (Uncommon Rank, five), Water Crocodile (Mortal Rank, ten)

Family Location: ... Family Reputation: 60 points (Famous in Heyu Town)

Family Luck: White, six inches.

In the ancestral hall, Chu Mu examined the Nameless Book, observing the changes in the Chu Family's information, and let out a somewhat helpless sigh.

For the Chu Family to be promoted to an Eighth-Grade Magnate Family, they still lacked the appearance of a second Spirit Rank Contract Master. According to the normal cultivation speed of Contract Masters, even Chu Shengfan, who currently had the highest Realm, would probably need four or five years to achieve it.

If things didn't go smoothly, it could drag on for another decade or more.

And this was with Chu Mu present, having evolved all their contracted Source Beasts into Spirit Rank species. If not for that, additional Opportunities and many more years of grinding would be needed to give birth to the next Spirit Rank.

This was the current state of many Noble Families in this world, and also the reason why after so many years of accumulation, the Zhang Family and our Family were still only Ninth-Rank Humble Families.

Because many evolution paths were controlled in the hands of many high-ranking Noble Families. Low-ranking families lacked evolution routes. Even if a Source Beast reached a Bottleneck, they could only endure the passage of time. Only by encountering some special Materials did they have a slight chance of transformation.

Name: Chu Shengfan

Family Status: Bloodline Member

Tier: Lower Stage of Exotic

Age: Thirteen years old

Contracted Source Beasts: Myriad Flower Butterfly Spirit (Lower Stage of Exotic), Spirit Origin Cloud Mother (Intermediate Alien Tier)

Contract Master Talent: None

Status: Exhausted, Temporarily Resting

Family Relations: Son of Chu Qinhui and Jiang Nian, Grandson of Chu Jingyu...

During the time Chu Shengfan was away from home, Chu Mu would frequently check his information, fearing he might encounter some accident when he wasn't paying attention.

Although he knew that frequently checking wouldn't be of much help, just seeing that he was still safe and sound was a comfort. After all, this child's premature maturity was heartbreaking.

To be honest, having stayed in a Ninth-Rank Humble Family for so long, Chu Mu now eagerly anticipated the day of promotion to an Eighth-Grade Magnate Family, when his Origin Artifact would develop new abilities and changes.

And so, on an ordinary day at the end of spring, just as summer was about to begin, Chu Mu summoned the two current decision-makers of the Chu Family into the ancestral hall.

After summoning the two, Chu Mu only mentioned two points regarding the Chu Family's future development direction.

"Build a school, level the mountains."

Hearing Chu Mu's request, Chu Jingyu cupped his hands and said, "Ancestor Chu, what kind of school do you want to build? Which mountain should we level?"

"Build a school for all school-age children in the entire Qixia Village. We can start by teaching some common knowledge. When they're older, teach them specialized knowledge to continuously produce the Talents the Chu Family needs.

Leveling the mountains means flattening the two mountains near Qixia Mountain to establish a larger town. This will also create more fertile farmland and make it more convenient for the villagers to travel."

With just these few words from Chu Mu, a flicker passed through Chu Jingyu's eyes. He guessed that Ancestor Chu wasn't just planning to build a village; he clearly wanted to establish a town independent of Heyu Town.

Although the initial investment cost was high, this was a great undertaking beneficial to the Chu Family for generations to come. Chu Jingyu did not raise any objections. Instead, he asked Chu Mu some questions regarding the details.

Striving to complete these two tasks splendidly. They still had no leads on the task Ancestor Chu previously assigned—seizing the Zhang Family's Origin Artifact. If they couldn't satisfactorily complete this task as well, they would truly have no face to meet Ancestor Chu.

Chu Jingyu and Chu Qinhui stayed in the ancestral hall for nearly an hour, finalizing all the details with Chu Mu, before taking their leave, their faces filled with excitement.

Only after the father and son left did Chu Mu idly continue flipping through the information of all Chu Family members. It wasn't until he saw Jiang Nian's entry that he noticed a significant difference from before.

Name: Jiang Nian

Family Status: Wife of the Young Clan Chief

Tier: Mortal Rank Upper Stage

Age: Thirty-five years old

Contracted Source Beast: Pink Rock Crystal Python (Mortal Rank Upper Stage)

Contract Master Talent: None

Status: Pregnant, Drowsy, Cultivating

Family Relations: Wife of Chu Qinhui...

Chu Mu's eyes lit up. Jiang Nian was actually pregnant. It seemed that in the near future, the Chu Family, which was somewhat lacking in members, would welcome a new addition...

Within the assessment Secret Realm.

Led by the Tiger-Driving Youth, Ye Chunheng, the two gradually approached the dense forest where the 'Nether Blood Queen Bee' resided.

However, many Contract Masters had already been here before them. The ground was littered with the corpses of Source Beasts and Contract Masters, along with fallen trees everywhere and small patches of burning flames, all clearly indicating the ferocity of the previous battle.

Seeing the brutal scene before him, Chu Shengfan frowned slightly, seeming somewhat uncomfortable with such a sight. "They all died here?"

Ye Chunheng jumped down from his tiger-type Source Beast, approached Chu Shengfan, patted his shoulder, and whispered in his ear:

"Let me tell you a secret. The battlefield scene you see before you is real, but these corpses aren't all real.

Those Contract Masters and their Source Beasts were teleported out the moment their lives were in danger. These remaining corpses are just to enhance the atmosphere of the battlefield's brutality, serving as another form of test."

Chu Shengfan blinked, not expecting all this to be fake. Looking at it again with this mindset, he indeed noticed a sense of incongruity.

Before he could dwell on it too much, a figure brushed past the two of them, accompanied by a cold voice:

"This is a battlefield for Spirit Rank Contract Masters. You two at the Uncommon Rank, stay away."

Chu Shengfan didn't even get a clear look at the speaker's face before the person vanished ahead.

On the other hand, Ye Chunheng beside him was hopping mad at these words. "Hey, hey, hey! Watch your tone! Don't look down on the Uncommon Rank, alright? My Golden Orchid King Tiger isn't just for show."

Golden Orchid King Tiger. Chu Shengfan glanced again at the tiger-type Source Beast that looked lazy even when not fighting, mentally repeating the name. Could this tiger have some connection to a King Beast?

In this world, the naming of Source Beasts sometimes followed certain patterns. Sometimes it related to their skills or attributes, other times to their Realm.

For example, 'Spirit Origin Cloud Mother'—the character 'Spirit' represents its racial potential, while 'Spirit Origin' is related to its Realm.

Another example is the character 'Strange' in 'Hán Háo Strange Bird,' which represents its racial potential being at the Uncommon Rank.

And the 'Spirit' in 'Abundant-Horned Desolate Spirit Deer' represents its Realm.

Naturally, the character 'King' in the name of the 'Golden Orchid King Tiger' before him made Chu Shengfan subconsciously think of many possibilities. However, it might also just contain a trace of royal Bloodline, hence the inclusion of 'King.'

Regardless of the possibility, it indicated that the origin and identity of this Ye Chunheng before him were anything but ordinary.