[Your descendant, Li Kuangren, has unlocked the heart-lock that trapped him for many years. Trait Acquired: Flying Bird]
...
The great battle at the Green Lotus Sect was still raging. Li Wei, who had been about to intervene, also breathed a sigh of relief, gratified to see Li Kuangren step out from the shadows.
He could feel it: the Li Kuangren of this moment was finally releasing his long-accumulated potential.
After walking out of the Green Lotus Sect, his aura strengthened with every step; he had surely glimpsed the existence of the Rules. Having broken through this barrier, everything he had gained from Tian Xing would now help him walk, step by step, towards the Divinity Transformation realm in the days to come.
After handing Li Xinghuo over to a physician, Li Kuangren walked back into the Green Lotus Sect.
The state of the battle changed once again.
The cultivators from Hundred Treasures Mountain, led by Li Kuangren, now engaged the Green Lotus disciples, who had already suffered disastrous losses.
Meanwhile, the Divinity Transformation cultivator Gu Yinming, along with his rotting corpse, took on the Green Lotus Supreme Elder.
Seeing that the overall situation was settled, Li Wei began to ponder the current state of affairs.
Even though the Li family had prepared for forty years, the Eternal Sun Prefecture was vast. At most, they could only eradicate half of the rebellious powers in such a short time. In the days to come, the remaining remnants would be left for the Li family's subordinate powers and the Hall of Heavenly Principle to deal with.
This would be a rebellion-quelling campaign that could last for a hundred, or even a thousand, years.
The family would only need to intervene occasionally and could simply sit back and reap the benefits.
This was the advantage that came with power.
Of course, Li Wei didn't really understand such matters himself. But Li Yunbing had explained that if the family were to use its full strength, it could probably eliminate all the enemy powers in a short time.
However, if that happened, the Li family's subordinate powers would be able to grow and develop in peace and would eventually become dissatisfied due to conflicts of interest. This would be a disadvantage for the family in the long run.
By having the subordinate powers constantly fight the rebellious factions, and even maintaining a balance between them, the Li family could continuously drain the strength of both sides, leaving them with no spare energy to cause trouble for the Li clan.
In this way, the family would benefit for hundreds, even thousands, of years.
Just look at that.
This was the trait 'Dirty Schemer' at work. No, that wasn't quite right…
Li Wei glanced at Li Yunbing's traits on the panel.
[Trait: Shadowy Warlord]
[Your descendant, Li Yunbing¹, became 'Region Prince Jiang' and maintained order in Azure Cloud for two hundred years. His 'Warlord' trait has merged with 'Dirty Schemer' to become 'Shadowy Warlord'.]
[After obtaining an 'Official Post', the effect of the boon from Heaven and Earth is increased by 100%.]
"An official post, huh?"
Li Wei raised an eyebrow slightly. Forty years ago, Li Yaowen had said she would give Li Yunbing a great gift. That gift was…
The entire Duravia Trade Prefecture!
The effect of the boon from Heaven and Earth is increased by 100%... Hiss~
Li Wei sucked in a sharp breath.
Back when Li Dalong became the Prefecture Lord, he had directly obtained the cultivation of an early-stage Divinity Transformation expert, a Primordial Spirit technique, and a mid-grade Dharma Treasure in the form of an official seal. If Yunbing were to get double that…
Li Wei didn't let his thoughts linger on it.
In the days that followed, the clansmen were at war all across the Eternal Sun Prefecture.
In just one short week, they had their first major victory.
[Your descendant, Li Kuangren, together with Gu Yinming, has annihilated the Green Lotus Sect. After generously rewarding his allies and providing compensation for the fallen cultivators, he has obtained a large amount of spoils of war—]
[Approx. 200,000 supreme-grade Spirit Stones]
[Low-grade Dharma Treasure: Green Lotus Sword Embryo (Damaged)]
[Earth-rank Cultivation Method: Green Lotus Qi-Gathering Cultivation Method]
[Techniques...]
[Family Will acquired: 200]
From the looks of it now, only Dharma Treasures and items of Rank 5 or higher were enough to catch the Li family's eye.
This Green Lotus Sword Embryo was the very lotus platform the Supreme Elder had used, and its power was extraordinary.
At that moment, inside the family residence in Merit City, Li Kuangren had already brought Li Xinghuo home.
The tragic sight of Li Xinghuo's severed arm made the clansmen's hearts tremble with shock. However, when they heard that Li Kuangren had finally stepped out of his shadow, they were all overcome with excitement.
They rushed to congratulate Li Kuangren, leaving Li Xinghuo hanging on his sickbed.
This made Li Xinghuo clutch his wound and look to the heavens, completely speechless.
"Don't you worry now, Xinghuo!"
Li Yaotie walked out from the crowd and looked at the armless Li Xinghuo.
"As a real man, it's just a severed arm, nothing more," he said comfortingly. "Your Great-Granduncle here has plenty of solutions. How about this: don't bother regenerating the limb. When the time comes, you can return with me to the Heavenly Light Grotto, and I'll have my master forge you a Spirit Arm."
The more he spoke, the more excited Li Yaotie became.
"A single Spirit Arm always feels unbalanced. We should chop off the other one, too. I'm an expert in this! It would be even better if we did the legs as well! Let's do it, you…"
On his sickbed, Li Xinghuo's face had already turned ashen.
Fortunately, Li Yaoqing smacked her irresponsible third brother on the back of his head. She glanced at Li Xinghuo's wound.
"Xinghuo, don't listen to his nonsense. That would truly turn you into something neither human nor ghost. I'll help you regenerate the limb. What do you think about a Flood Dragon's claw? Don't worry, we can make it smaller. At most, it will just look a little strange."
"..."
Li Xinghuo watched as his two elders began to fuss over him and suddenly felt that he—the commander of the Asura Army, feared by all—was utterly powerless.
But fortunately, Li Yaozu shot his younger brother and sister a glare, finally rescuing Li Xinghuo from his predicament.
It was a mere severed arm, and Li Yaoqing's medical skills were becoming increasingly superb.
Li Xinghuo's injury was as severe as Li Yaozu's had once been, with the lingering sword Qi from the Green Lotus Supreme Elder wreaking havoc in the wound. But with the Li Yaoqing of today, a few medicinal pills and some healing arts were enough to ensure the limb would regenerate within three to five years, and his injuries would be completely healed.
As for Li Kuangren, after breaking through his shackles, he handed over the management of Hundred Treasures Mountain to his brother-in-law, Feng Chunlin, and his wife, Feng Mi, before beginning a period of secluded cultivation.
The spoil of war he had obtained, the 'Green Lotus Sword Embryo,' was given to Li Yaotie. Materials were gathered and sent to the Heavenly Light Grotto to have Li Yaotie's master re-forge it, with the goal of creating a 'Sword Throne' perfectly suited for Li Kuangren.
For the Li family, the most valuable of all these spoils of war was actually the corpse of the Green Lotus Supreme Elder.
However, Gu Yinming had contributed greatly, and he was an expert in the art of handling corpses. Thus, the Supreme Elder's body was given to him. Moreover, who knew how many years it would take for Li Dalong to finish refining the legions of corpses already in his own coffin.