209: Chapter 209 The Ambition of the Wu Family

For a time, undercurrents surged within Liuhe Town.

In the Wu Family compound, within a classic study, a middle-aged man wearing a crown and lavish robes looked somewhat restless; he stood up from time to time and glanced out the window, seemingly waiting for something.

"I wonder just who this Yin He is, to actually provoke the various Great Families of Jinling to step forward, even offering a bounty."

A trace of contemplation flickered in the middle-aged man's eyes.

And this middle-aged man was none other than Patriarch Wu Shenglong.

As the local tyrant of Liuhe Town, although the Wu Family was not yet a third-rate family, they were undoubtedly the top existence among the unranked Great Families in Liuhe Town.

Even if the local government of Liuhe Town spoke, it might not be as effective as the Wu Family's word.

The reason they possessed such prestige naturally stemmed from the Wu Family's nearly century-long reputation and accumulation.

Of course, the most important point was their strength.

The Wu Family had nearly ten Divine Strength Martial Artists alone.

Even ten years ago, Patriarch Wu Shenglong had secretly succeeded in breaking through to the Five Viscera Realm.

With the strength of the Five Viscera Realm, Patriarch Wu Shenglong's ambition swelled uncontrollably, igniting the desire to strive for the status of a third-rate family.

After all, once a Great Family had a Five Viscera Realm Martial Artist and more than five Divine Strength Martial Artists, they met the minimum requirements to strive for third-rate family status.

This was also the aspiration of all unranked Great Families.

Having a Great Family status recognized by the Imperial Court was an absolute leap in social class compared to being an unranked Great Family.

Naturally, it wasn't just Patriarch Wu Shenglong who had such ambitions.

But to be promoted to a third-rate family, it wasn't just about meeting basic conditions and merit.

It also required sufficient resources to sustain.

Furthermore, the promotion of a Great Family might also face obstruction from other Great Families.

Although Jinling County was a strong county in Jinhuai and could certainly support one more bottom-tier third-rate family, the cake was only so big. The other Great Families in Jinling County naturally did not want another Great Family to come and divide it.

Therefore, as early as ten years ago, Patriarch Wu Shenglong had begun planning for this.

To this end, Patriarch Wu Shenglong prepared two plans.

First was to purchase properties in Jinling City and gradually expand.

Second was to unify Liuhe Town and bring all the resources of other unranked Great Families under the Wu Family's control.

However, the Wu Family had tried both the first and second plans.

Purchasing ordinary properties in Jinling County Seat was not difficult, but gaining a firm foothold and seeking further development was extremely hard.

Some core resources in Jinling County were monopolized by the major third-rate families; the difficulty of snatching food from a tiger's mouth was self-evident.

The Great Families in Jinling County Seat were not like the three Great Families of Wuyang County back then, who only had one Early Stage Five Viscera Realm Martial Artist.

However, there were pros and cons to this.

Wuyang County was a weak county back then, and the resources in each town were even scarcer. It would have been impossible for an unranked Great Family as prosperous as the Wu Family to emerge in a place like Liuhe Town.

Of course, that's not to say the Wu Family had no chance.

Perhaps one of the Great Families in Jinling County would decline, allowing the Wu Family to find an Opportunity. It's just that this time could be very long or very short.

Evidently, in these ten years, the Wu Family had not found an Opportunity.

As for unifying Liuhe Town, that was also an insurmountable chasm.

The several unranked Great Families in Liuhe Town all had the shadows of Jinling Great Families behind them.

Although it wasn't a complete state of subordination, if the Wu Family wanted to move against the other unranked Great Families, it would inevitably alarm the Jinling Great Families.

In fact, the Wu Family also had a certain degree of support from the Jinling He Clan, but that was only to ensure the Wu Family wasn't annexed.

If the Wu Family wanted to strive for a Great Family status, the Jinling He Clan probably wouldn't support them, but would instead suppress them.

In this way, the two sides became natural opposites.

If a servant wants to sit as an equal with the master, how broad-minded would the master have to be to still support them?

If he could promote to the Mid stage of Five Viscera Realm in his lifetime, and the Wu Family produced another Five-Viscera Martial Artist, the path to becoming a recognized Great Family would surely be cleared.

But this point was truly too difficult.

His ability to break through to the Five Viscera Realm was partly due to talent and resources, but a larger reason was a coincidental Opportunity. Let alone taking two more steps on this foundation.

Unless he did the opposite...

But that was simply impossible.

Ten years is not short. The fire of ambition in Patriarch Wu Shenglong's heart had also briefly quieted down under the baptism of time, no longer as scorching as before.

The path of a Great Family was even harder than he had imagined.

However.

This time, the operation to find Yin He allowed him to scent a hint of something unusual.

The various Great Families of Jinling were in a competitive relationship with many conflicts between them. Yet, for the sake of finding this man named Yin He, several families were actually working together.

He had a faint illusion that this Yin He might be a turning point for his Wu Family.

Before long, a man dressed as a steward entered Patriarch Wu Shenglong's study.

Before the steward could even speak, Patriarch Wu Shenglong hurriedly asked, "Is there news? Who is this Yin He?"

"Yin He's whereabouts have not been found yet," the steward said in a low voice, bowing his head.

Hearing this, Patriarch Wu Shenglong frowned. He didn't get angry but looked at the steward with a scrutinizing gaze. "Then what have you discovered upon your return this time?"

"Reporting to the Patriarch, I have just heard a piece of news related to Yin He and have come specifically to report it to you."

Patriarch Wu Shenglong didn't speak, quietly waiting for the steward's next words.

"I heard that this Yin He seems to be related to the Yuanhang Trade Caravan; he is the person they have specifically ordered to be captured," the steward said unhurriedly.

"Yuanhang Trade Caravan." Patriarch Wu Shenglong's pupils constricted, and his expression instantly became serious. "Is this news accurate?"

"I dare not say for certain," the steward said in a low voice.

"You may leave. Do not mention this matter again." Patriarch Wu Shenglong didn't press further, only giving the steward a meaningful look.

After the steward left, a look of realization appeared in Patriarch Wu Shenglong's eyes.

Connecting everything together, it all made sense.

Regarding the Yuanhang Trade Caravan, Patriarch Wu Shenglong couldn't say he was very familiar with them.

The two had never even been in contact.

But in the past two years, the reputation of the Yuanhang Trade Caravan had reached his ears so often he was tired of hearing it.

Although the Yuanhang Trade Caravan wasn't yet known to everyone in Jinling County, no clan of any significant size would be unfamiliar with it.

Especially the Wuyang Pei Clan behind the Yuanhang Trade Caravan; they were a legendary Great Family in the eyes of these unranked Great Families.

From the ranks of a declining Great Family about to fall out of the third-rate category to a top-tier third-rate family now, it had taken less than three years.

Even when the Great Jing Dynasty was first founded, very few Great Families could achieve this. Let alone during the stable reign of the Great Jing Dynasty.

In the several hundred years of Jinhuai Prefecture, the Wuyang Pei Clan was the first.