153: Chapter 153 Planning the Blueprint, the Family's Future

The people below the stage did not leave.

The representatives of the Seven Clans had already departed, but the members of the Chen Family remained at the edge of the square. There were elderly people standing with canes, youths standing on their tiptoes to peer inside, and women crouching on the steps holding children.

They didn't speak; they just looked at Chen Wuwang, their eyes shining bright.

He understood what they were waiting for.

They weren't waiting for the Family Head to go back and rest, but for a single sentence. A sentence that could truly turn the 'United for a Distant Future' stone tablet erected last night into everyone's conviction.

Chen Wuwang raised his hand, and his Mechanical Prosthetic Eye flashed with blue light, projecting a holographic image in the air. It was the blood oath inscription they had just established; the spiritual runes on it were still moving, and the bloodstains hadn't yet dried.

“Yesterday,” he began, his voice not loud, yet everyone fell silent, “we made an agreement with the outside world.”

He looked at every person, from the elderly to the children.

“Today,” he waved his hand, stabbing a dagger into the stone platform before him, “I want to establish our ambitions internally.”

The blade pierced the stone with a hum, and the Formation on the ground lit up. A circle of light expanded from beneath his feet, even shaking the dust off the roof.

No one spoke; even their breathing was light.

He pulled out the dagger and carved the first mark into the stone surface.

“The first point: Strong Root—the number of people at Foundation Establishment must double, and Golden Core experts must break through to ten!”

As he finished each stroke, the spiritual runes automatically extended as if the earth were responding to him. The second point soon appeared:

“The second point: Expanding Territory—within three years, we will take seven mines and five Spiritual Veins in the Eastern Desolation!”

The third point was the heaviest; he used all his strength to carve it down:

“The third point: Building Momentum—let the whole world know the Chen Family's name, not through luck, but through strength!”

As the last character fell, the Council Hall shook violently, as if something had been awakened.

The patrolling mecha in the distance also paused for a moment.

Someone clenched their fists until their knuckles turned white; an old pharmacist secretly wiped the corner of his eye; several youths looked at each other, their eyes full of light.

But none of them made a sound, still waiting for him to say more.

Chen Wuwang put away his dagger and looked around: “I know what you are thinking—can we really do it?”

He gave a cold laugh, then his tone softened: “Three years ago, our Mountain Guardian Array couldn't even block a single insect tide. When Yao Beasts rushed in, the clansmen could only fill the gaps with their lives. There were so many corpses that the gates couldn't even be closed.”

He raised his hand and pointed toward the Artifact Refining Workshop: “And now? Mecha are patrolling the skies, Spiritual Veins are operating on their own, and even the Seven Clans are willing to stand with us.”

“It's not because of how powerful I am.” His voice lowered. “It's because none of us accept our fate.”

People below began to nod.

He looked up at the old stone plaque atop the Council Hall, where the four characters had already blurred: ‘Better Death Than Surrender’.

“The words our ancestors wrote with blood should not just hang on a wall.”

He took a step forward, his voice growing louder: “From today on, I want them carved into the earth, hammered into the starry sky, and spread throughout all worlds!”

As soon as he finished speaking, a young clansman stood up and shouted loudly, “I am willing to take this step together with the Family Head!”

This shout was like opening a floodgate.

“Willing to follow the Family Head!”

“I will never fail the Chen name!”

“I'll risk my life to see the Chen Family reach the Peak!”

Shout after shout rose from the corners, exploded from the back rows, and surged from both sides.

Dozens of people stood up at the same time, some raising fists, some drawing blades, some pressing their hands against the Family emblem on their chests. The sounds blended together, making even the roof tiles tremble.

Chen Wuwang raised his hand to quiet everyone down.

The crowd slowly went still, but that energy remained.

“I'm not asking you to go to your deaths.” His voice was lower, yet more powerful. “I want you to live to see that day.”

His Mechanical Prosthetic Eye lit up again, and a dynamic map appeared in the air: curves moved upward, and data constantly ticked—the predicted cultivation increases for clansmen, resource production growth, and technology upgrade milestones for the next three years were all clearly displayed.

“Everyone has a place,” he said. “Every post is a battlefield.”

“The Artifact Refining Workshop making three more Rune Nails a day, the Medicinal Field planting one more Spiritual Seedling each season, the children memorizing one more Cultivation Technique every day... bit by bit, it all adds up to become a mountain.”

He walked down from the high platform, passing through the crowd step by step.

He placed his hand on an old craftsman's shoulder: “Every blade you forge will become the backbone of the Family.”

He patted a young soldier's shoulder: “Every move you practice is clearing the path for the Family.”

He gently touched a female pharmacist's arm: “Every furnace of medicine you brew is extending our lives.”

Finally, he stopped in front of a ten-year-old child. The child looked up at him, his eyes exceptionally bright.

Chen Wuwang knelt down and met his gaze: “What do you want to do in the future?”

The child blurted out: “I want to pilot the biggest mecha and fight the fiercest Yao Beasts!”

The people around them laughed, and as they laughed, they felt a bit like crying.

Chen Wuwang also smiled. He reached out and ruffled the child's hair.

“Good,” he said. “Then starting tomorrow, learn one more word every day.”

He stood up and looked at everyone: “I will not allow anyone to fall behind.”

“The Chen Family's light is not meant to shine on one person, but to illuminate everyone.”

At that moment, sunlight broke through the clouds and shone into the center of the square.

His shadow stretched long, crossing the entire square like an unsheathed sword, firmly pinned to the ground.

No one spoke again.

But everyone felt it: something was different.

Last night was the alliance, a declaration to the outside.

This morning was the vow, a promise to their own people.

They were no longer that small Family struggling to survive, nor were they weaklings who had luckily turned things around with a single victory.

They were Chen Family members, walking the path to the Peak. Their Family Head had already drawn the map of the future.

The three goals were carved onto the stone tablet, and also into their hearts.

Strong Root, Expanding Territory, Building Momentum—these were not dreams, but objectives.

Not slogans, but a plan.

Not out of reach, but a future that could be realized step by step.

In the distance, a mecha slowly rose into the sky, green patterns flowing over its armor as if it were alive.

It did not attack, nor did it show off; it just hung there quietly, guarding this land and witnessing this moment.

A clansman delivering messages walked over quickly and reported in a low voice: “The first list for the Joint Training Camp has been compiled and can be issued at any time.”

Chen Wuwang nodded, his eyes still on his clansmen.

He knew that the real test had only just begun.

But he also knew that everyone standing here now was ready.

The wind blew across the square, swirling a few fallen leaves.

Someone whispered: “Our Chen Family... there really is hope now.”

Another person took up the words:

He looked at the silver-haired figure on the high platform, his tone firm: “It is we ourselves who are turning hope into reality.”