"Slap, slap, slap..."

In the courtroom, two government officials wielded ebony-colored paddles, striking hard on the fair buttocks of the man lying on the ground.

Since this punishment required undressing, it was clear to see the man's buttocks quickly reddening with each strike.

"Ah..."

The young man lying on the ground cried out in pain as he suddenly endured this harsh punishment.

However, the officials seemed indifferent, showing no mercy despite his cries.

To these officials, punishing such a licentious criminal who disgraced virtuous women was nothing but deserved. They did not ease their strength but instead used all their might, striking fiercely.

Hence, the licentious criminal gritted his teeth and howled in agony.

For a moment, his buttocks were a ruined mess, covered in wounds, his cries filling the air, and blood soaked his garments.

However, the crowd outside the courtroom cheered each strike, with some men even rolling up their sleeves, eager to personally administer more punishment to show the strength of the men of Kun City.

Two frequent visitors of the brothel shook their heads and sighed regretfully.

They thought it was a pity to see such a well-rounded buttocks being beaten. In their opinion, the criminal should have been sent to the brothel for a different kind of punishment to truly receive a lesson from the deepest corners of his soul.

Qin Feng stood silently among the crowd, watching the weeping criminal without a word.

He did not care about the fate of this scourge. He was merely waiting for his father to finish the court session so they could go home together.

His father, Qin Long, was the inspector of the Kun City Inspection Bureau, responsible for training armored soldiers, patrolling nearby towns, capturing thieves and maintaining local peace. Because he controlled Kun City's largest armed force, he held significant authority in the county government.

After the officials finished the beating, the county magistrate ordered the near-dead criminal to be thrown into prison, then announced the end of the court session with a strike of the gavel.

Qin Long, who had been sitting to the side, stood up, intending to return to the Inspection Bureau to handle some official business. He usually did not need to act as a judge, but since he had personally captured the criminal today, he stayed to hear the verdict.

"Father, father..."

Qin Feng stood on tiptoe, raising his hand and calling out.

At only fourteen, he was in his adolescent voice-cracking stage. His loud call sounded like a duck's quack, quickly drawing Qin Long's attention.

Qin Long looked up and smiled, then walked out of the courtroom to his son's side, saying with a laugh, "Feng'er, why are you not practicing at home? What brings you here?"

He was over eight feet tall, with a burly and robust physique and a full beard, exuding an air of grandeur.

"Father, I've opened my spiritual acupoint and can sense nature's spiritual energy."

Qin Feng appeared very excited.

After fourteen years of reincarnation, he finally perfected his physical body, returning from the acquired to innate state, and comprehended the wonders of nature's spiritual energy.

Ordinary people, unless they were extraordinarily talented or supported by a powerful family, struggled to open their spiritual acupoint, a hurdle that blocked over ninety percent of people.

"Truly?"

Qin Long was overjoyed upon hearing this.

His eyes gleamed as he detected a faint resonance between his son and nature's spiritual energy, with threads of spiritual energy entering Qin Feng's body as he practiced his cultivation method.

"Hahaha..."

Qin Long was delighted and laughed heartily, patting his son's shoulder with his bear-like hands, almost knocking him over.

"Good, good, good, my son, you have not disappointed me."

Qin Long was pleased. "Now that you've opened your spiritual acupoint, I'll ensure you get a spot in the sect's selection at the end of the year."

"Thank you, father."

Qin Feng grimaced and rubbed his sore shoulder, his heart filled with anticipation.

If he could enter the sect, he might someday attain immortality.

Qin Long was very happy. "Let's go home. The family head has some spiritual elixirs. I'll ask for a few for you.

The family's benefits cannot be missed. I'll also take you to the Scripture Pavilion to choose a suitable spell for cultivation.

Over the years, I've accumulated a lot of merit, which I'll exchange for cultivation resources for you. Focus on cultivation for the next few months to advance a level before the year's end.

If you reach the second level of the Qi Refinement Realm, you will not start from the lowest level even if you enter the sect. This will greatly help your future development and save you a lot of cultivation time."

"Rest assured, father. I'll work hard."

Qin Feng nodded.

The reason he sought his father after sensing spiritual energy was precisely to seek help. Although opening his spiritual acupoints allowed him to absorb nature's spiritual energy, his cultivation would be slow without the right techniques.

The previous techniques he practiced were for strengthening the body and opening spiritual acupoints. They were no longer useful after opening the acupoints.

Though he could go to the Scripture Pavilion to receive techniques himself, as a young and non-direct-line descendant, it was better to go with his father, avoiding any subpar technique being handed to him by his third great-uncle, who did not favor their branch.

Full of enthusiasm, Qin Long led his son quickly towards the family estate.

His own cultivation path had reached its limit, so he placed all his hopes on his son, dreaming of him joining the sect and achieving greater heights.

Kun City was small, with only tens of thousands of people and just a few miles in diameter. Father and son soon walked out of the city, heading toward the Qin family's residence five miles away.

As one of the three families controlling Kun City's livelihood, though the Qin family's businesses were spread throughout the city, their residence situated on a spiritual vein outside the city.

Even a small spiritual vein sufficed for a small family like the Qin Clan.

The Qin family had been established in Kun City for centuries. Over the years, their estate, covering dozens of acres, housed hundreds of direct and collateral descendants.

Of course, the Qin descendants were more numerous. Most ordinary family members did not live in the ancestral house built on the spiritual vein but in Qin Family Town nearby.

"Greetings, Seventh Master!"

The gate guards greeted Qin Long respectfully.

Qin Long ranked seventh among his generation's cultivators. Though a collateral descendant, his high cultivation made him one of the family's top three cultivators, along with his position as an inspector. The guards dared not offend him.

"Hmm."

Qin Long responded indifferently, never stopping as he led Qin Feng directly to the Family Head's courtyard.

"Family Head, Master Qin Long is here and requests an audience."

A pretty maid, around fifteen or sixteen, reported softly to an elder playing with a leopard.

This elder was Qin Guanbao, the Qin family's Family Head.

The Family Head, Qin Guanbao, was 167 years old, with a sixth stage foundation establishment cultivation, making him one of the top foundation establishment cultivators in Kun City.

"Let him in."

The old Family Head reclined in his chair, without intending to rise, his hand gently stroking the leopard's smooth fur, fully enjoying his time with the leopard.

"""

This was his lifebound spiritual beast, Shadow Leopard.

It was also his greatest reliance in dominating the area within a hundred miles of Kun City.

Because the combat power of this Shadow Leopard was much stronger than his own.

As a vassal family of the Beast Taming Sect, each generation of the family had members sent to the Beast Taming Sect for advanced training. Qin Guanbao was one such case back in the day; otherwise, even as a vassal of the Beast Taming Sect, the Qin family could not dare to pass on the Beast Taming Sect's techniques to any clan member.

However, he did not have the opportunity to enter the Inner Sect back then, so Qin Guanbao eventually chose to return to the family to branch out and extend the lineage. Well, in that respect, he did quite well!

The saying goes that an old tree blooms, becoming increasingly vibrant with age... ahem.

In short, the old family master, Qin Guanbao, even now remained quite fond of certain "technical activities," contributing great efforts to the proliferation of the family's bloodline.

Nevertheless, despite his somewhat indulgent private life, he had not forsaken the skills learned at the Beast Taming Sect over the years, for they were the very foundation of a cultivator's livelihood.

After many years of nurturing, the strength of his lifebound spiritual beast, the Shadow Leopard, had grown stronger and stronger.

"Yes, I will invite Seventh Master in right away."

The pretty maid responded, twisting her slender waist as she walked out.

The old family master looked up and glanced at the maid's perky hips, couldn't help but sigh softly, feeling somewhat incapable of recent efforts.

Perhaps he should consider getting some elixirs to replenish his essence and vitality.

He was now less than a hundred and seventy years old, with another twenty or thirty years to go before the life-and-death limit of the Foundation Establishment Stage.

Such a long time couldn't be wasted in idleness.

Qin Guanbao felt he should find something more meaningful to do.

He had heard that recently the Baihua Pavilion in the Commandery had bought a few women from the faraway western barbarians, their chests said to be as large as papayas. Whether it was true or not was unknown.

To hear is to doubt, to see is to believe!

Without seeing it with his own eyes, it wouldn't be wise to believe the rumor.

Maybe it was just a gimmick released by Baihua Pavilion to lure people in.

Humph, the old man had traveled the world and seen much; how could he fall for their trick?

But still, should he go and see it with his own eyes?

The old family master hesitated.

Recently, there didn't seem to be any excuse to go out!

He was, after all, the family head, the highest cultivation presence in the family, who mostly had to stay in the family estate. Frequent outings were not a good thing.

At this moment, footsteps sounded, awakening the old family master from his contemplation.

Looking up, it was Qin Long bringing his son closer.

"Ninth Uncle."

Qin Long stopped a few steps away, respectfully saluting Qin Guanbao.

Although Qin Guanbao was the family head, the Qin family was just a small clan in a remote area, without so many formalities. Usually, everyone addressed each other by seniority.

And among his generation, Qin Guanbao was relatively young, ranked ninth, but because of his highest Dao cultivation and being a direct descendant, he naturally took over the position of family head after reaching Foundation Establishment.

"Greetings, Ninth Grandpa."

Qin Feng also obediently saluted.

Since childhood, he was very well-behaved, rarely causing trouble for adults, thus beloved by the elders of the family.

However, ever since he learned about cultivation and the path to becoming an immortal, he devoted all his energy to cultivation, not fond of playing with other children of his age, making him seem quite solitary.

"Old Seven, you're here, have a seat."

Qin Guanbao's hand still rested on his beloved black leopard, he just pointed to the stone stool beside with his chin.

Then he smiled and said, "What brings you here today, and you've brought your son with you too? What's the matter?"

"Ninth Uncle, it's like this."

Qin Long had an uncontrollable smile on his face. "My son has opened his spiritual acupoints today and can start cultivating. So, I thought to come and ask you for some elixir pills to speed up Feng'er's cultivation, so as not to delay the sect's selection at the end of the year."

"Oh?"

Qin Guanbao was slightly taken aback, looking at Qin Feng, and soon nodded approvingly. "Not bad. This kid has indeed opened his spiritual acupoints. At the end of the year, six children in the family will be vying for two spots. It seems our Qin family will be lively this year."

"Haha..."

Qin Long chuckled softly, knowing the family master's implication.

Initially, there were five suitable youths in the family at the Qi Refinement Realm, and now with his son, the total came to six.

But the family could only afford to send two people to the sect in each generation. One was because the sect had a quota restriction, and secondly, too many clan members sent would drain the family's resources.

Although once entered into the outer sect of the Beast Taming Sect, all disciples were treated equally, it didn't mean that all outer sect disciples started at the same point.

Larger families could provide more cultivation resources to help their children enter the Inner Sect, a privilege common disciples without backing couldn't compare to.

However, the Qin family was just a small family; for the clan members to make a name in the outer sect of Beast Taming Sect, they couldn't rely on themselves alone—they needed family support. If some could luckily enter the Inner Sect, the family's future would become prosperous.

Unfortunately, the Beast Taming Sect only admitted a limited number of disciples to the Inner Sect each year. With so many contenders, it was hard for a small family like the Qin family to have a chance.

Even if unable to enter the Inner Sect, there were still chances to rise in the outer sect.

Just like the old family master Qin Guanbao.

In those days, he had succeeded in reaching the Foundation Establishment in the Beast Taming Sect's outer sect and even held the position of outer sect Deacon for a time. But later, for the family's development, he had to return and take the position of clan leader.

Since the spiritual field of the Qin family yielded limited resources, they couldn't support too many clan members in their sect cultivation, thus limiting the support to only two people per generation to join the Beast Taming Sect.

Moreover, the family itself needed to develop. If all the clan members were sent to the sect, wouldn't that sever the family's lineage?

"Having Feng'er join the sect has been my long-cherished wish for years."

Qin Long's tone was resolute. "This time, I will not back down."

"Alas..."

The old family master sighed lightly. "Very well, you've contributed much to the family over the years, I certainly won't hinder your aspiration.

However, the other children in the family surely have similar desires. At that time, let them compete fairly."

"I understand."

Qin Long said, "I didn't come to the family master for back-door favoritism."

"That's good."

Hearing this, the old family master couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, as long as there was no calling in a favor for an unfair advantage.

"""