68: Rewarding Merit

Chen Family Manor, Council Hall.

Daoist Yuqing held the Jade Slip in both hands, bowing and standing below.

The air in the hall seemed to solidify.

Bu Yifan, Sun Xiaoyue, Chu Xuan, and over a dozen newly promoted managers, all their gazes converged on Chen Xu, who was seated at the head of the table.

Evidently, they all knew the line of text on the Jade Slip.

"The Dominator of Shadow Concealment Tower arrives in person, the Blood Moon hangs high, leaving no living soul."

The Dominator of Shadow Concealment Tower, a name that had circulated in the Great Feng Dynasty Cultivation World for hundreds of years, represented the pinnacle of assassination, the shadow of a Nascent Soul True Lord.

Now, this shadow hung over Ninghai City.

Although Bu Yifan was in charge of the Family and had handled countless affairs,

facing an enemy of this Rank, her apprehension was still uncontrollable.

That was a Late Nascent Soul Stage King of Assassins.

An existence even top Sects like Qingyun Immortal Sect found troublesome.

Chen Xu had just achieved Golden Core and his Foundation was not yet stable; could he handle it?

Just in this suffocating silence,

Chen Xu suddenly smiled.

He picked up the Jade Slip, then flicked his finger, and the Jade Slip turned into powder at his fingertip, rustling down.

"Haha, good timing!"

Chen Xu's laughter reached everyone's ears.

But that laughter was so steady.

Instantly dispelling the gloom and fear in everyone's hearts.

"How truly pure my Golden Core is, a personal estimation is always a bit off. I was just worrying about not having a decent whetstone, and he delivers himself to my door."

He stood up, his gaze sweeping over everyone, his eyes calm and gentle.

Yet, they contained a confidence capable of overturning Heaven and Earth.

"Husband..."

Bu Yifan spoke with concern.

Chen Xu waved his hand, walked to her side, gently held her hand, and smiled: "Don't worry. A mere assassin who hides his head and shows his tail cannot cause any major trouble."

His unhurried demeanor inexplicably calmed Bu Yifan and everyone present.

As if as long as this man stood here, the sky would not fall.

"However, before welcoming this esteemed guest..."

Chen Xu's tone shifted, and he looked around at everyone: "Family matters must be handled first. During my seclusion these past days, you all have worked tirelessly and achieved great merit, so it's time for rewards based on contributions."

His voice deepened, carrying an undeniable authority.

"Pass down the order, all Chen Family disciples, Guest Elders, and guards, gather at the training ground in fifteen minutes!"

...Fifteen minutes later, Chen Family training ground.

Thousands of people gathered here, a dense mass, yet utterly silent.

Whether they were direct Chen Family disciples or newly recruited Guest Elders and guards, everyone stood tall, their gazes fixed on the figure on the high platform in front.

That was their Family Head, the current sole Dominator of Ninghai City.

He was the one who attracted the Nine-Nine Lightning Tribulation.

The legend who forged an unparalleled Dao Seed!

Chen Xu stood on the high platform, with Bu Yifan, Daoist Yuqing, Chu Xuan, Chu Yuer, and others behind him.

His gaze slowly swept over everyone below, his voice echoing throughout the entire venue.

"During my seclusion, there were powerful enemies lurking outside, and petty villains stirring trouble within. For the Chen Family to remain safe and sound, all of you have rendered great service!"

"I, Chen Xu, always reward merit and punish wrongdoing!"

As soon as his voice fell, he looked at Bu Yifan beside him, his eyes full of tenderness.

He flipped his hand, and a Phoenix hairpin, entirely carved from warm jade, appeared in his palm.

The Phoenix hairpin had an ancient style, yet it shimmered with inner radiance.

Exuding astonishing Spiritual Power fluctuations.

"Yifan, as the Family Head's wife, you oversaw the entire situation and managed affairs skillfully; this is your foremost contribution."

He personally inserted the Phoenix hairpin into Bu Yifan's hair bun: "This hairpin is called the God-Protecting Hairpin, a High Grade defensive Magic Treasure, capable of withstanding a single blow from a Nascent Soul Cultivator."

"With it, no one can harm you in the slightest."

Bu Yifan's delicate body trembled.

Feeling the warm aura and the immense protective power emanating from the Phoenix hairpin, her eyes instantly reddened.

Below, the crowd erupted in gasps of surprise.

"High Grade Magic Treasure! Heavens, the Family Head gives out a High Grade Magic Treasure with a single move!"

"Capable of withstanding a Nascent Soul attack... Such a treasure, I'm afraid there are only a few in the entire Great Feng Dynasty Cultivation World!"

Everyone's eyes were filled with envy and fanaticism.

Chen Xu ignored the crowd's discussions, his gaze turned to Daoist Yuqing and Chu Xuan.

"Yuqing, Chu Xuan."

"Subordinate is here!"

The two immediately stepped forward, bowed, their expressions agitated.

"You two, one internal and one external, stabilized the overall situation and captured the assassins; your contributions are also indispensable."

Chen Xu looked at them, a faint smile on his face.

He knew what these two wanted most.

He flicked his fingers, and two Jade Slips flew towards them respectively.

"Yuqing, the Cultivation Technique you practice ismiscellaneous, and your Foundation is unstable."

"This Jade Slip contains the Earth-Grade Cultivation Technique, 'Heavenly Withered Sword Art', which specializes in killing and is perfect for you. From today onwards, you shall diligently cultivate this technique."

"Chu Xuan, you possess a Fire Spiritual Root, but what you have learned are only ordinary methods."

"This Jade Slip contains the Earth-Grade Cultivation Technique, 'True Scripture of Departing Fire', which can help you refine your Natal True Fire, capable of burning rivers and boiling seas, it's nothing to you."

Boom!

If the High Grade Magic Treasure earlier was shocking,

then these two Earth-Grade Cultivation Techniques...

were like two bolts of lightning, exploding in everyone's minds!

Earth-Grade Cultivation Techniques!

Those were unparalleled Legacies that only core true disciples of thousand-year-old great Sects like Qingyun Immortal Sect were qualified to access!

The Family Head actually bestowed them so easily upon two Guest Elders of different surnames?

Daoist Yuqing and Chu Xuan were even more utterly stunned.

They tremblingly took the Jade Slips and probed them with their Divine Sense.

Just a glance at the opening general outline made their entire Spiritual Power boil!

Those profound methods...

opened a door to a whole new world for them!

"This... this..."

Daoist Yuqing was so excited he was incoherent. He had cultivated for hundreds of years, always suffering from the lack of a superior Cultivation Technique, his cultivation stagnant at Foundation Establishment Mid Stage, unable to advance.

It was only with the help of the Chen Family that he entered the Late Foundation Establishment Stage.

He had thought there was no hope for a Golden Core in this life, but he never expected... "Thud!"

Daoist Yuqing and Chu Xuan exchanged glances, then, as if by prior agreement, knelt on both knees.

Bowing heavily to Chen Xu!

"Family Head's grace of rebirth, your subordinate (subordinate) will never forget! Our lives are already the Family Head's! Through mountains of blades and seas of fire, we will not hesitate to die ten thousand times!"

"Rise."

Chen Xu gently raised his hand: "From today onwards, you two shall be Elders of my Chen Family, your status second only to the Family Head and the Family Head's wife."

Elder!

This was not just a title, but it also represented that the two of them...

had truly integrated into the core of the Chen Family from being Guest Elders!

"Thank you, Family Head!"

The two bowed again, their eyes reddened.

These rewards completely ignited the atmosphere of the entire venue.

Chen Xu did not stop; he waved his large sleeve, and hundreds of shimmering Magical Artifacts, along with thousands of bottles of Medicinal Pills, flew out like raindrops, landing in front of every meritorious person in the queue below.

"Zhang Qian, you patrolled diligently and discovered secret sentries, you are rewarded with a High Grade magical sword and ten bottles of Qi Gathering Pills!"

"Li Yu, you guarded the gate meritoriously and were not afraid of power, you are rewarded with a High Grade shield and a bottle of healing pills!"

"Wang Dachui..."

Chen Xu named over a hundred people in one breath, each reward perfectly fitting.

Those guards and Guest Elders whose names were called...

each one was flushed with excitement, holding up the Magical Artifacts and Medicinal Pills in their hands.

They felt a surge of hot blood rush to their heads.

"We pledge our lives to the Family Head!"

"We pledge our lives to the Chen Family!"

Shouts like mountain calls and sea roars echoed above the training ground, lingering for a long time.

Those Loose Cultivators who had just joined and were still observing, now had their last trace of doubt vanish into thin air.

Replaced by endless relief and fanaticism.

Following such a Family Head, how could they worry about not having a day to rise!

As the shouts gradually subsided, Chen Xu gently pressed his hands down.

The entire venue quieted down again.

"Rewards are for commending the past. And rules are for laying the Foundation for the future."

His voice became serious.

"From today onwards, my Chen Family shall establish three halls and enact new rules!"

"Firstly, establish the Legacy Hall! Managed by Elder Yuqing."

"All my Chen Family disciples and Guest Elders can exchange for Cultivation Techniques, Medicinal Pills, and Magic Treasures based on their merits! From Qi Refining Mind-Cultivation Techniques to Foundation Establishment Golden Core Great Dao, everything will be available!"

"As long as you contribute to the Family, I will grant you a path to the heavens!"

"Secondly, establish the Law Enforcement Hall! Managed by Elder Chu Xuan!"

"No rules, no order. All those who bully the weak, betray the Family, or are passively negligent will be severely punished without mercy! My Chen Family does not support idlers, and even less does it keep traitors!"

"Thirdly, establish the General Affairs Hall! Overseen by the Family Head's wife, Bu Yifan. Responsible for all Family resource allocation, task assignments, and merit evaluation. Everything will be well-regulated, fair, and strict!"

This brand-new system was like a magnificent blueprint.

Slowly unfolding before everyone.

It was no longer the loose structure of traditional Families relying on blood ties and personal connections, but theprototype of a Cultivation Sect with strict discipline, clear rewards and punishments, and a clear path for advancement!

Everyone saw their future in this system.

They were no longer mere guards or retainers.

But an indispensable part of this rapidly rising, vast power!

As long as they worked hard, as long as they were loyal.

They could obtain everything they dreamed of!

"Long live the Family Head! May the Chen Family last forever!"

Someone shouted first, and then, even more fervent shouts...

converged into a torrent, rushing towards the sky.

Chen Xu could clearly feel that as the people's hearts completely united, an invisible Luck was gathering from all directions, pouring into the Chen Family Manor.

So much so that the entire Family's Foundation became increasingly solid and profound.

A true Immortal Family had taken shape.

After arranging everything, Chen Xu dismissed the crowd.

Alone, he slowly walked back to the manor's backyard.

At this moment, the Family Head's demeanor of strategizing and commanding disappeared from him.

Replaced by a cold killing intent.

He stood in the courtyard, forming hand seals, and black Formation Flags flew out of his sleeves, silently sinking into the courtyard walls, rockeries, pond water, and deep underground.

Immediately after, he took out dozens of jade plates carved with runes and tossed them casually.

These jade plates seemed to have a life of their own.

Automatically embedding themselves into various nodes of the Chen Family's Family-protecting Formation.

A faint purple light appeared in his eyes.

Under the [Purple Pupils of Delusion Breaking], the energy flow trajectory of the entire Chen Family's Grand Formation was clearly displayed before his eyes.

What he was doing was using the Family-protecting Grand Formation as a "net."

And the dozens of small killing Formations he had newly arranged as "knots," weaving a net of Heaven and Earth.

These killing Formations were interlinked and echoed each other.

Drawing in Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, perfectly integrating with the Family-protecting Grand Formation.

From the outside, the Chen Family Manor looked no different from usual.

But as long as an enemy stepped into it, they would instantly trigger these layers of killing intent.

This was no longer a simple Formation within a Formation, but a certain death trap created by Chen Xu, combining the Law contained within his Dao Seed with the Dao of Formations.

He wanted to give that King of Assassins a gift that would be unforgettable for eternity, in his own Domain.

After doing all this, Chen Xu brought a lounge chair, leisurely lay in the courtyard, and brewed himself a pot of clear tea.

Beside him, the small beast transformed from the Nascent Soul Realm Golden Armored Soaring Dragon was sound asleep!

...Night deepened.

The hustle and bustle of Ninghai City had long faded, leaving only the sound of the watchman's clapper echoing through the silent streets and alleys.

Making it seem somewhat desolate.

In a tavern in the east of the city, a few Foundation Establishment Cultivators from out of town were still clinking cups, boasting about what they had seen during the day.

"You guys didn't see it, the scene of the Chen Family Head giving rewards, High Grade Magic Treasures, Earth-Grade Cultivation Techniques, he was throwing them out as if they cost nothing! I've never seen anyone so generous in my life!"

A tall, thin Cultivator was flushed, spitting as he spoke.

"Who says not, I regret it so much now, if I had known earlier, I should have gone to join the Chen Family, even if I was just a guard, maybe I could have gotten a High Grade Magical Artifact today!"

A fat Cultivator next to him pounded the table, his face full of remorse.

Just then, the fat Cultivator suddenly shivered and shrank his neck.

"Strange, why is it suddenly so cold?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the candlelight in the tavern suddenly flickered.

The light was suppressed and dimmed, as if covered by an invisible veil.

"Yeah, it feels creepy."

The tall, thin Cultivator also rubbed his arms, he looked up at the window, his face instantly changed: "Look outside!"

Everyone looked out in unison, only to see the bright moon that was originally hanging in the sky outside the window...

at some point, it had been stained by a strange bloody color.

It wasn't the red reflected by firelight, nor the afterglow of a sunset, but a scarlet color that seemed to seep out from the moon itself.

The cold moonlight turned into blood-like light, covering the earth.

On the street, the watchman's clapper sound abruptly stopped!

The entire Ninghai City, in an instant, fell into a deathly silence.

Inside the tavern, all the Cultivators stopped moving, a chill rose from their hearts, making them feel as if they had fallen into an ice cellar.

It wasn't just a simple drop in temperature, because the Spiritual Power in their bodies was circulating more sluggishly.

"This... what's going on?"

The fat Cultivator's voice was trembling, his teeth chattering.

"It's... it's a Domain!"

A Cultivator, his face pale, his lips trembling, said: "A Nascent Soul True Lord has descended! And it's a Demonic Path magnate specializing in the Dao of killing!"

Blood Moon Barrier.

This was precisely the famous technique of the Dominator of Shadow Concealment Tower, "Elder Demon You Ying."

He had assassinated several Nascent Soul True Lords in his lifetime, and this Blood Moon Barrier was his greatest reliance.

Within this Barrier, he was the king of the night, and the enemy's strength would be suppressed by thirty percent.

While his proud stealth assassination techniques...

could be amplified several times over.