5: Chapter 5 The Three Branches of the Sun Family

Half a month later, the sky over Hongtian City belonged to the Sun name.

The residences of the Ye and Lin families were razed to the ground, and their clansmen were demoted to Immortal Slaves, assigned to various spiritual fields as tenant farmers. The former tripartite balance of power...

Had transformed overnight into the dominance of the Sun Clan alone!

The Loose Cultivators and commoners in the city were as silent as cicadas in winter, walking close to the base of walls for fear of offending this newly ascended hegemon.

Yet the architect of all this, the bear yao named Shi Jian, seemed to have been truly forgotten. He spent every day breathing and meditating at the entrance of the back mountain's Spiritual Vein. Aside from Sun Hangchun personally delivering spiritual fruits and food every three days, no one dared to set foot in that area.

It was as if he were truly just a "Grand Buddha" invited back to guard the courtyard.

But the "Grand Buddha's" eyes were everywhere.

"Old Ancestor, Sun Hangchun is holding another meeting in the ancestral hall today."

Under the cover of night, a Grey-furred Rat Yao squatted by Shi Jian's paw, its small eyes gleaming with intelligence. Its speech was a hundred times clearer than it had been half a month ago.

"A loot-splitting convention."

Shi Jian didn't even bother to lift his eyelids; he had little interest in such things.

"Sun Hangchun's branch, the First Branch of the Sun Clan, has taken over all the Medicinal Pill and Magical Artifact shops of the Ye and Lin families, as well as a Spiritual Iron Ore Vein."

"The leader of the Second Branch, that Sun Bochang who is proficient in Alchemy, has taken over the Ye Clan's Talisman business. Combined with their original pill business, seventy percent of the city's trade now belongs to them."

"And what about the Third Branch?" Shi Jian asked suddenly.

The rat yao paused, a hint of sympathy entering its tone: "The Third Branch is still only in charge of those spiritual fields. Sun Hangchun said they only know how to farm, so he gave them all three hundred mu of spiritual fields."

"He ordered them to grow more spiritual rice to provide for the entire clan."

"Heh."

Shi Jian let out a laugh. Three hundred mu of spiritual fields, originally split between three families, now all belonged to the Sun Clan. Yet the Third Branch, who only knew how to farm, was still only allowed to farm.

(Note: Three hundred mu of spiritual fields account for seventy percent of the Sun Clan's primary revenue.)

As for the shops, ore veins, and businesses—the industries that directly produced Spirit Stones—the Third Branch hadn't received a single scrap...

"That old thing is playing favorites," Shi Jian thought, his mind as clear as a mirror.

To invite a great deity like him back then, Sun Hangchun was willing to gamble the entire clan. Now that the situation was settled, he had begun to consolidate the authority of his own branch and suppress the side branches.

This was nothing unusual; it was human nature.

But for Shi Jian, a monolithic Sun Clan was not what he wanted to see.

"Sun Hangchun said that the fifty percent tribute for the Old Ancestor will henceforth be provided from the output of the Third Branch's spiritual fields," the rat yao added.

Upon hearing this, Shi Jian finally opened his eyes a crack.

What a clever calculation!

By shifting the entire pressure of his tribute onto the weakest Third Branch, the First and Second Branchs could enjoy the fruits of victory with a clear conscience.

Meanwhile, the Third Branch would work themselves to death, only for more than half their output to be handed over to him, the "Evil Bear."

Wasn't the hatred being shifted quietly and invisibly?

"Old man, trying this routine on me. I gave you a chance, but you're useless."

Shi Jian murmured to himself.

He had intended to let Sun Hangchun live a few more years to serve steadily as a Puppet. Now it seemed the old fellow was a restless sort, digging his own grave ahead of time.

Compared to an uncontrollable old ghost like that, it would certainly be easier to prop up someone new who was more obedient and sensible.

That's how people are; once external pressure is gone...

The desires of the heart are like a flood through an open gate...

"Go on, keep watching," Shi Jian waved a paw.

The rat yao vanished into the night in a flash.

The Immortal Cave returned to silence, leaving only Shi Jian's steady breathing, sounding like a bellows being pulled.

He knew that the fish would soon take the bait on its own.

---

Another three days passed.

In the courtyard of the Sun Clan's Third Branch, the atmosphere was so heavy it felt like water could be wrung from it.

"This is too much! This is simply too much!"

A dark-faced middle-aged man slammed his palm on the table, making the teacups rattle. He was Sun Boan, at the sixth level of Qi Refining and the current spokesperson for the Sun Clan's Third Branch.

"Brother, keep your voice down!" a woman beside him quickly urged. "If the people from the First Branch hear, there will be more trouble to bear."

Sun Boan's chest heaved with anger. "Our Third Branch has tilled the spiritual fields for the Family for generations. Even if there is no glory, there is hard work!"

"Now that the Family is flourishing, why is it that we don't even get a sip of soup from the Ye and Lin industries? In the future, even the cultivation resources for our branch will be a problem."

"Not only that, but they want us to bear the entire tribute for Senior Shi!"

"Three hundred mu of spiritual fields... even if we work day and night, after deducting various costs, thirty percent of the remaining output must be given to the Great Wei Immortal Dynasty."

"Of the remaining seventy percent profit, half must go to Senior Shi, and another thirty percent to the clan. What will we have left for ourselves?"

"If this continues, the children of our Third Branch won't even be able to afford the Qi Gathering Pills needed for cultivation!"

Everyone fell silent, their faces filled with resentment and helplessness.

They only knew how to farm.

In this cultivation world where the strong are respected, only knowing how to farm meant having no voice. Even within the same surname, there were degrees of closeness and distance.

"How about... we go and ask the Old Ancestor for mercy?" someone suggested in a small voice.

"Ask for mercy?" Sun Boan gave a tragic laugh. "The Old Ancestor's heart has long been biased toward the First and Second Branchs! He only has eyes for the nephews of those branches. Where is there any room for our Third Branch?"

The courtyard fell back into a deathly silence.

After a long while, Sun Boan seemed to make up his mind and stood up abruptly.

"We can't wait any longer." He gritted his teeth, his gaze sweeping over the gathered clansmen. "If the Old Ancestor won't give us a way to live, we'll find one ourselves!"

"Brother, what do you want to do?"

Sun Boan took a deep breath and said word for word, "Go to the back mountain and beg Senior Shi!"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone was shocked.

"Madness! You've gone mad, Brother!"

"That is a Yao Beast that eats people without spitting out the bones! When the Old Ancestor went to invite him, he almost lost his life. You going to find him—isn't that just seeking death?"

"Exactly! If you anger him and he swallows you in one bite, our Third Branch will have even less hope!"

Facing the crowd's discouragement, Sun Boan remained exceptionally firm.

"Wealth and honor are sought through danger!"

"Do you think we have any retreat left? In another ten years, when the children of the First and Second Branchs have all grown up, our Third Branch will completely become their same-surname laborers, their slaves!"

"Going to Senior Shi is seeking life within death."

"But staying here means never seeing the light of day!"

He pushed through the crowd and strode toward the courtyard exit, his back resolute.

"I, Sun Boan, even if I die, will seek a chance for my descendants to stand up and be masters of their own fate!"

The Sun Clan had thirty-seven Cultivators.

The First Branch had eighteen Cultivators and possessed the clan's most complete Legacy. With many Cultivators and the best resources, they were the branch that enjoyed the fruits of others' labor.

The Second Branch had twelve Cultivators, skilled in Alchemy and commerce. Although their status was not as high as the First Branch, they controlled the clan's economic lifeline.

Only his Third Branch had the fewest Cultivators—a mere seven—and their cultivation levels were generally low with poor Aptitude. If they didn't find a way to strive for the top...

In the future, sooner or later, they would fade into extinction!