137: Chapter 137 The Cui Clan of Heyuan

Pei Qingyun asked curiously, "What happened in Jinhuai Prefecture?"

"Four months ago, the previous Evil Suppression Bureau commander died at the hands of a Demon, and more than half of the Evil-Suppressing Guards who acted with him were killed or injured. During this time, I have been busy recruiting personnel and training the Evil-Suppressing Guards."

"Just three days ago, the Evil-Suppressing Guards under my command finished their recruitment tasks," Chen Yuanba explained.

Unlike the recruitment of ordinary soldiers, where any healthy adult male could meet the requirements,

the recruitment requirements for the Evil Suppression Bureau were much stricter. Even the lowest-ranking Evil-Suppressing Guard had to be a Martial Artist at the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage or higher.

After all, the targets the Evil-Suppressing Guards faced were Demons.

Even a First-Rank Demon corresponded to a Martial Artist at the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage or above. A Martial Artist at the Foundation Establishment Early Stage would struggle to even protect himself when facing a Demon alone, let alone resolve a Demon incident.

This point alone was enough to screen out ninety percent of unqualified candidates. If that were the only requirement, there were actually quite a few Martial Artists at the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage in the prefecture city, more than enough to meet the recruitment requirements.

However, the danger of being an Evil-Suppressing Guard was too high; the casualty rate was as high as thirty percent.

In reality, less than one in ten Evil-Suppressing Guards could serve for three full years to complete their promotion.

Of course, the compensation for Evil-Suppressing Guards was also among the best of the many official agencies in the Great Jing Dynasty.

Even so, recruiting Evil-Suppressing Guards was not easy.

Generally speaking, most of those who participated in the Evil-Suppressing Guard selection were commoners eager to get ahead or Disciples from low-ranking Great Families.

Disciples from Great Families were rarely willing to participate in the Evil-Suppressing Guard assessment, and even if they did, they were usually from collateral branches.

Very few direct or legitimate descendants would risk their lives like that.

On this point, Pei Qingyun understood.

Just like in the Wuyang Pei Clan, no one was willing to participate in the Evil-Suppressing Guard assessment.

However, it was precisely because of this that Great Families could not easily interfere in the internal affairs of the Evil Suppression Bureau.

The fact that Chen Yuanba could sit in this position was not entirely due to his connections with the Chen Clan. Back then, Chen Yuanba had also participated in the Evil-Suppressing Guard assessment and completed the three-year trial before he could be promoted step by step.

Otherwise, even as a legitimate descendant of the Chen Clan, if he hadn't started from the bottom as an Evil-Suppressing Guard, he wouldn't have been able to occupy this position out of thin air.

From this perspective, Chen Yuanba was much stronger than the average Great Family Disciple.

"I didn't expect the casualties of the Jinhuai Prefecture Evil Suppression Bureau to be so great; no wonder the trade routes were blocked for so long. By comparison, Wuyang County was only able to be preserved because you were there, brother," Pei Qingyun sighed with emotion.

"Brother, you flatter me. If it weren't for your help, the damage to Wuyang County would have been even greater," Chen Yuanba said.

Pei Qingyun nodded slightly and said, "Let us not speak of the past."

Next, the two chatted for a while longer until the celebratory banquet ended.

Returning to the ancestral house, Pei Qingyun opened his attribute panel.

The gains in Family Luck from this celebratory banquet were more substantial than he had imagined, with the usable Family Luck increasing by nearly two hundred.

[Name: Pei Qingyun] [Lifespan: 39 years and 9 months] [Cultivation: Six Bowels Realm Early Stage (120 / 10000)] [Cultivation Technique: Evergreen Art Middle Section Minor Achievement (110 / 2000) (Mystic-Grade Top-Tier), Yellow-Grade Cultivation Technique hidden] [Bloodline: Yi Wood Fourth-Rank Initial Stage (220 / 5000), Flame Fire Third-Rank Initial Stage (1 / 500) ...] [Family Luck: 860 (900) (Note: Family Luck can be restored, with 45 points naturally restored every day.]

Additionally, Family Luck had increased by over five hundred in the past half month, though he had added one hundred points of it to his Cultivation Technique.

Regarding his cultivation, he hadn't been idle either. Through his own practice, his cultivation progress had increased by thirty points.

As for using Family Luck to improve his cultivation, the amount required was too vast, so Pei Qingyun thought it better to first Cultivate his Cultivation Technique to Perfection.

For one, a Cultivation Technique at Perfection could increase his combat power. Secondly, a Cultivation Technique at Perfection could bring about a secondary promotion of his Bloodline.

With stronger Bloodline Power, his natural talent would naturally be enhanced, and his cultivation would improve faster in a normal state. By then, he would be able to save some Family Luck.

The next day, Pei Tianrong sent away some of the in-law families one by one, leaving only those who had an intention to cooperate with the Pei Clan and seemed suitable.

In addition, Pei Tianrong also ordered people to tally the congratulatory gifts.

After a night of counting, the value of the gifts received at the celebratory banquet was calculated. In addition to the fifty thousand taels of silver, other gifts added up to about thirty thousand taels, totaling around eighty thousand taels.

And the silver the Pei Clan spent on this celebratory banquet was only forty thousand taels.

Looking at it this way, the Pei Clan actually earned forty thousand taels.

A one hundred percent profit margin was much more cost-effective than most businesses.

But Pei Tianrong understood that this was only because the in-law families wanted to draw closer to the Pei Clan, so the gifts they presented were relatively much heavier.

Otherwise, the Pei Clan would undoubtedly have suffered a huge loss on this banquet.

If one were to treat this as an opportunity to make money, one would have to be out of one's mind.

After sending away some of the in-law families, Pei Tianrong then began to communicate with the few in-law families who had expressed an intention to cooperate.

After some conversation, Pei Tianrong came to the ancestral house and informed Pei Qingyun of the content of the discussions.

"Old Ancestor, the head of the Cui Clan, Cui Ruiyuan, says he wishes to request an audience with you to discuss important matters."

"The Heyuan Cui Clan? If I recall correctly, the Heyuan Cui Clan has in-law relations with Tianqi, right?" Pei Qingyun said indifferently, his expression emotionless.

Pei Tianrong respectfully said, "Old Ancestor, what you said is absolutely correct. Elder Tianqi's wife, Lady Cui, is indeed from a direct line of the Heyuan Cui Clan."

In fact, apart from exchanging greetings with the Heyuan Cui Clan at the celebratory banquet, Pei Qingyun did not have a deep impression of the Cui Clan.

If it hadn't been for the fact that he presided over Pei Tianqi's wedding back then, he wouldn't have remembered this at all.

In-law families with close ties often had marriages between both legitimate and direct lines, and they intermarried every generation.

Marriage between a single direct line was actually quite distant in terms of in-law relationships.

If this direct line member had no weight in the Family, the two families would not have much interaction at all.

As for a single collateral marriage, it could not be considered an in-law Family.

Although the Heyuan Cui Clan had intermarried with the Pei Clan, it was only one person.

If one wanted to strengthen the connection between the two, it would require several generations of intermarriage.

The Heyuan Cui Clan was located in Heyuan Prefecture. The two families were thousands of miles apart, so the fact that the Heyuan Cui Clan could come to the Wuyang Pei Clan this time was actually a surprise.

In Pei Qingyun's view, the other party most likely had a request; otherwise, it would have been impossible for them to travel thousands of miles to the Wuyang Pei Clan.

But Pei Qingyun did not care; if there was a request, there would naturally be a gain.

"Very well, since he has important matters to discuss, let him come over. I would like to see what Cui Ruiyuan wants to say."