57: Chapter 57: Li and Wang Forge an Alliance to Secure a Commercial Path; Twin Powers Unite to Launch a New Era

Inside the council hall, the atmosphere was unusually solemn.

Several core elders of the Family, including Great Elder Li Yuanheng, sat upright, their gazes fixed on the draft alliance agreement made of High Grade spirit jade placed in the center of the hall.

Spiritual light flowed across the Jade Slip, faintly revealing the power of a contract.

Wang Clan Head Wang Chongyue visited in person today, holding this alliance agreement with a perfectly measured smile on his face. He got straight to the point: "Brother Yuanheng, Nephew Qingfeng, our previous verbal cooperation was, after all, too shallow. With the fall of the Zhao Family, what has been vacated in Qingshi Town is not just a few fields or shops, but the new landscape for the next few decades. My Family wants to sign this formal alliance agreement with the Li Family, so that from now on, we share in each other's prosperity and losses."

He spoke with grand ambition, and the hearts of the Li Family elders warmed slightly.

The Li Family had just finished an extermination war and welcomed two Qilin children; they were at the peak of their momentum and in dire need of allies. This alliance agreement from the Wang Family came at the perfect time.

However, Li Qingfeng, sitting in the lower seat, did not immediately state his position.

He reached out and picked up the Jade Slip, flipping through it carefully three times, his expression calm and unreadable.

Finally, his fingertip tapped lightly on the third clause of the Jade Slip regarding profit sharing.

"Wang Clan Head speaks reasonably." Li Qingfeng spoke unhurriedly, his voice not loud, yet it clearly resonated throughout the council hall. "The alliance agreement states that the Wang Family provides transport, the Li Family provides supplies, and profits are split fifty-fifty. It sounds very fair."

He raised his eyes to look at Wang Chongyue, his tone shifting: "But I have a few questions. If the Qingyun Sect adds an order on short notice, who advances the Spirit Stones for purchasing the Spirit Medicine? If the transport is raided by Loose Cultivators from an Outer Town, who bears the loss of the Spiritual Plants? If market conditions change and the Wang Family's shops demand lower prices, to whom should my Li Family turn for justice regarding our Spiritual Plants?"

Three consecutive questions, striking directly at the most critical financial nerve.

The smile on Wang Chongyue's face faltered slightly.

Great Elder Li Yuanheng held his teacup without moving, nodding inwardly. This kid was even more ruthless when discussing accounts than when he was fighting in the arena.

On the Wang Family's side, an accompanying elder clearly couldn't listen any longer. He snorted coldly and said with a hint of arrogance: "The Li Family has just defeated the Zhao Family and is on the rise, but these words are a bit too full of themselves. Without my Wang Family's transport trade routes, could your Li Family's Spiritual Plants safely leave Qingshi Town?"

These words carried an oppressive tone, and the atmosphere in the council hall instantly stiffened.

Hearing this, Li Qingfeng only looked up, his tone light but his retort swift: "Then I would also like to ask: without my Li Family's supply of Spiritual Plants, could the Wang Family's transport team make a fortune pulling empty carts?"

"You!" The Wang Family elder was choked, his face frozen.

The entire council hall fell instantly silent.

Wang Qingluan, standing behind Wang Chongyue, felt a ripple in her clear, bright eyes. She saw clearly that Li Qingfeng had not torn off the mask of civility with that sentence, yet he had effortlessly deflected the pressure Wang Family wanted to test back at them.

Seeing the atmosphere about to deadlock, Wang Qingluan stepped forward half a step, slightly nodding to the elder, her voice cold and solemn: "Third Uncle, we are here today to form an alliance, not to suppress prices."

After speaking, she turned and took out another beast-skin ledger from her Storage Pouch, placing it personally in front of Li Qingfeng.

"These are the detailed terms drafted by the Wang Family." She explained with clear logic: "The Wang Family is willing to offer two mature transport branch lines, three experienced managers, and a three-year trial right for a shop in an Outer Town. In exchange, the Li Family needs to grant the Wang Family priority purchasing rights for Spiritual Plants, spirit fertilizer, and nourishing medicinal liquids. All accounts will be settled monthly, with absolutely no delays."

Li Qingfeng opened the ledger, which was densely packed with records of trade route losses, manager salaries, estimated shop revenue, and even handling plans for potential risks.

After reading it, a smile finally appeared on his face as he looked up at Wang Qingluan: "Miss Wang's sincerity is worth much more than that harsh remark from just now."

With Wang Qingluan smoothing things over, the two families quickly reached an agreement on the details and jointly imprinted their spiritual power onto the alliance draft.

The moment the imprint formed, a long-absent System panel in Li Qingfeng's mind suddenly lit up with a gentle golden light.

[Ding! The System has detected that the host has successfully promoted the Family to establish a formal external alliance relationship!]

[Li-Wang Alliance (Embryonic Form) has been completed; the security of the Family's trade routes has been improved, and industrial risks have been effectively distributed.]

[System Reward: Cultivation Infusion (Small Amount)!]

[System Reward: Sub-class Legacy Fragment - Tier 1 Formation Basics Part 1!]

[Detailed Explanation: The host's understanding of Formations has improved; current Formation attainment has increased from "Close to Novice Formation Apprentice" to "Novice Formation Apprentice" level.]

A surge of pure True Essence poured into his Qi Sea, making his recently broken-through Qi Refining Stage 9 mid-stage cultivation even more solid.

But what concerned Li Qingfeng more were the basic principles about Formation cores, Formation patterns, and spiritual power flow that had appeared in his mind out of nowhere. Areas of the Small Spirit Gathering Array blueprint that had previously seemed obscure now suddenly became clear.

He immediately understood what the System meant.

His second son, Li Changsheng, had just been born, and the blueprint for the [Small Spirit Gathering Array] was still lying in the System space, unable to be implemented. If he himself knew nothing about Formations, even if he handed the blueprint to the Family's Formation masters, they could only copy it blindly, failing to grasp many key details, let alone make adjustments based on the environment of the New Courtyard.

Now that he had entered the door of Formations, at least he could understand the blueprint and know what could be changed and what absolutely could not be touched.

At night, Li Qingfeng returned to the New Courtyard.

The inner chamber was softly lit. Su Qingyue had just coaxed little Changsheng to sleep and was using a soft cloth to wipe the hands of Li Changqing, who was sitting in the small bed playing with his fingers. She had recovered well after childbirth; her face, which had been slightly pale from the delivery, now glowed with a lustrous sheen under the lamp, and her figure appeared more voluptuous and full than before, every movement exuding the gentle and graceful charm unique to a mature woman.

Li Qingfeng told her about the alliance draft signed during the day.

After listening, Su Qingyue just lifted her eyes slightly, her gaze falling on his face, and she said softly: "What the Wang Family offers today is an alliance; tomorrow they will offer even deeper conditions. Miss Qingluan being able to personally suppress her own clan elders shows that she herself is willing to take another step toward our side."

Li Qingfeng walked to her side and sat down, his palm skillfully covering the soft flesh at her waist, using gentle Azure Wood Spiritual Power to slowly massage the areas that were still sore and swollen after childbirth.

Su Qingyue let out a soft, comfortable hum, leaning her body against his shoulder, and whispered a reminder: "Husband, the Wang Family is not looking at the short term; they are looking at the long game. Don't just stare at the immediate transport and shops; look at her, Wang Qingluan, and whether she can eventually be safely integrated into our Family's industrial assets."

Li Qingfeng slowed the strength of his hands and whispered: "It's been hard on you these past few days, taking care of the children and reviewing accounts."

Su Qingyue had initially maintained the air of a matriarch, but under his massage, her body softened, and her voice took on a lazy, nasal tone: "Lighter, that part is still sore."

She turned her head, looking at Li Qingfeng's face inches away, her eyes smiling: "If you really think I'm working hard, tomorrow, for the site selection of the Small Spirit Gathering Array, you go argue with those old stubborn fools at the Formation Hall yourself. Don't make me, a woman who has just finished her confinement, go there and listen to them bicker while I have to stand straight."

Li Qingfeng was amused by her coquettish manner and leaned into her ear to whisper: "Since the Matriarch has commanded it, this servant dare not disobey."

Just then, little Changsheng, who had just fallen asleep in the cradle, suddenly moved slightly, and the faint Wood Essence Fragrance on his body rippled slightly.

The incomplete blueprint of the [Small Spirit Gathering Array], stored in Li Qingfeng's Storage Pouch, also began to emit a faint green light.

The System panel suddenly popped up.

[Step 1 of Two Stars Accompanying the Moon: Complete the site selection for the Small Spirit Gathering Array within seven days.]

Li Qingfeng looked down at his fragrant and soft wife in his arms, then at his two sons in the cradle, and finally felt completely certain.

The Wang Family's alliance was just an external venture; the true roots of his Li Family still had to be planted by his own hands in this New Courtyard.