…
April 9th, Year 3145, Longchang Era of Da Qian Empire.
The late Patriarch Wang Dingyue of the Wang Clan of Ping'an passed from old age.
After the seventh day of mourning, following the rules of the country and the clan, the first son of the direct lineage, Wang Shouzhe, succeeded as the next patriarch after reporting to Ancestor Longyan and other ancestors, under the presidency of his legitimate mother, Gongsun Hui of the Wang Clan, as well as the various elders of the clan.
The Wang Clan was a Ninth Grade Arcane Martial Clan registered and evaluated by Da Qian Empire. Their influence was limited to the region of Ping'an Town of Changning Wei. They were considered a last-rate noble clan.
However, their ancestors had been prestigious, once. Their roots could be traced back to the Wang lineage of Da Qian.
For an unknown reason, a thousand years ago, their ancestor had branched out from the Wang lineage of Da Qian and traveled thousands of miles to the Longzuo County. He pioneered to establish the Longzuo Wang Clan, thus laying the foundations of the clan.
Back then, the Longzuo Wang Family could be considered a prestigious family with unparalleled fame.
Unfortunately, nothing good lasts forever.
After the glory, the clan's situation declined day by day.
Later…
During year 3000 of Longchang Era, the talented Wang Zhou Xuan of the Longzuo royal family traveled south to Changning Wei, with his family and an order of pioneering. He established strongholds and towns at the intersection of the Liuping Mountain Range and the An River. He was instrumental in pioneering human habitats in difficult conditions and establishing the Wang Clan of Ping'an, allowing it to take root and thrive.
At his apex, Ancestor Zhouxuan's combat strength reached the advanced stage of the Spirit Tower Realm, and had dominating influence over Ping'an Town.
What made Ancestor Zhouxuan even prouder was that his granddaughter of the direct lineage, Wang Longyan, was extraordinarily gifted. She attained the seventh level of the Qi Refining Realm at only the age of 18. After being accepted by the renowned Violet Palace Academy, she broke through to the Spirit Tower Realm at the age of 30, and broke through to the intermediate level of the Spirit Tower Realm before the age of 60. She was highly valued by the Violet Palace Academy and a focus of their cultivation.
At the same time, Wang Longyan, along with Liu Xuanfu of the Liu Clan of Shangyin, were known as the Belles of Changning, with a far-reaching reputation.
In addition, the great-grandson of the Ancestor's direct line of descent, Wang Qiongyuan, also had extraordinary talent. With the patriarch's nurturing and support, he reached the Spirit Tower Realm at the age of 40, and took over the position of patriarch.
At that time, with three Spirit Tower Realm cultivators in the same clan, the Wang Clan enjoyed boundless glory, and the clan's influence even reached the entire Changning Wei region.
This lasted until year 3095 of Longchang Era. When Ancestor Zhouxuan was 145, the dire beasts in the depths of Liuping Mountain Range, which had been quelled for a long time, suddenly went on a rampage. Ping'an Town was the immediate disaster area.
For the sake of protecting the family's centuries-old foundation, Ancestor Zhouxuan did not hesitate to personally hold off the Gold-winged Sun Devouring Tiger, a Class Five dire beast, until reinforcements arrived.
The battle situation was extremely brutal. The two ancestors of the vassal clans had also disappeared in the battle while fighting the beast hordes, and their fates were unknown. Although the Gold-winged Sun Devouring Tiger and the beast calamity were besieged and extinguished by the reinforcements of Changning Wei, who later arrived, the Wang Clan of Ping'an already suffered a severe blow.
Not only was Ancestor Zhouxuan killed in this battle, both the patriarch of the fourth generation, Wang Qiongyuan, who was at the basic stage of the Spirit Tower Realm, and the successor of the fifth generation, Wang Xiaoqi, were also killed in battle during the beast calamity.
With the fall of Spirit Tower Realm cultivators in two generations of the Wang Clan of Ping'an, the clan's strength was greatly diminished.
On the other hand, the two vassal families, Liu and Zhao Clans, had long harbored nefarious motives. They had concealed their strength during the beast calamity, and the two patriarchs faked their deaths to escape. After the Wang Clan declined, they joined forces and attempted to annex the Wang Clan's foundation.
At the critical moment, the third generation member of the Wang clan, Wang Longyan, resolutely disobeyed the rules of the Violet Palace Academy and gave up on her bright future to return to the clan. She took the initiative to fight a total of three Spirit Tower Realm experts on the opposing side.
Fighting one against three, Wang Longyan dauntlessly killed the enemy's Spirit Tower Realm ally, intimidating the Spirit Tower Realm patriarchs of the Liu and Zhao Clans.
Unfortunately, Wang Longyan's injuries in this battle were too severe. Her strength fell to the basic stage of the Spirit Tower Realm, and her lifespan was greatly reduced.
However, even so, Wang Longyan still shouldered the heavy burden alone, and barely managed to defend the Wang Clan of Ping'an. The Liu and Zhao Clans did not dare to anger Wang Longyan excessively, so they decided on the technique of encroaching the clan slowly.
Time passed by in a flash. Another forty or fifty years went by. Generations of clansmen had yet to produce the next Spirit Tower Realm expert. This time, even the former Patriarch, Wang Dingyue, had passed.
All the burdens seemed to be on the shoulders of the new patriarch, Wang Shouzhe!
…
In the Wang family's main residence, in an ancient-looking wing of a courtyard…
"Young, no, Patriarch… The dead has passed. Please eat something first. If this goes on, your body won't be able to take it. These dishes were personally prepared by Madam Gongsun." His personal manservant, Wang Gui, carefully held the sandalwood food containers, his brows furrowed in worry.
"Phew…" Wang Shouzhe let out a shaky breath and put down the "Wang Clan's Chronicles of Heritage". Some clarity returned to his gaze as a thought arose in his mind. "Who'd expect that a car accident would cause me to transmigrate to a fantasy world, and somehow become the patriarch of a declining Arcane Martial Clan? Unfortunately, it looks like the responsibility is heavy for this one."
It turned out that three days ago, the original Wang Shouzhe had wept with too much grief while weeping at the wake, and fainted in front of his late father's coffin. When he woke up later, he had become a transmigrater.
Over the past three days, the process of memory fusion made Wang Shouzhe appear a little muddle-headed. Everyone just thought that he was a little catatonic due to grieving too much. Little they did not know the truth to his state. They just followed the clan rules and inheritance order, and promoted him to the position of patriarch.
After reading "Wang Clan's Chronicles of Heritage", Wang Shouzhe gained a rough understanding of this clan and this world. The world he was in was called the "Da Qian Empire". The Da Qian was founded by the Arcane Martial Clans. The royal family was the largest Arcane Martial Clan, and there was a multitude of other large and small Arcane Martial Clans.
Intertwined with each other, they directly or indirectly influenced the politics, economy, and even fate of the entire Da Qian.
Although the Wang family was only a last-rate Ninth Grade noble clan, they were already one of the powerful local dominators in the region of Ping'an, Changning. They also held considerable authority in the government agency, the Sentinel Office.
In fact, back in the generation of Wang Shouzhe's great-grandfather, the Wang Clan was one of the most powerful noble clans in Ping'an Town. Their influence could even reach the areas surrounding Changning Wei.
It was just that, following the deaths of the family's experts from the two shocking turning battles in the "Wang Clan's Chronicles of Heritage", their conditions declined year by year. Even with Ancestor Longyan barely supporting the clan, it was difficult to resist the joint encroachment by the Liu and Zhao Clans.
Wang Shouzhe kept feeling that there was something fishy about that great battle. Why did the Liu and Zhao Clans have the guts to conceal their strength and ultimately mutiny? Why did the reinforcements only arrive at the last moment?
The Chronicles' descriptions were vague and failed to explain many things. However, Wang Shouzhe decided to hold on to his suspicions for the time being.
Subsequently, in order to attain the Spirit Tower Realm through cultivation and turn the tide, the former Patriarch, Wang Dingyue, did not hesitate to venture deep into the dangerous Outland to seek fortuitous encounters for the breakthrough.
However, Wang Dingyue's failure on the verge of success and tragically untimely death added to the continuous decline of the Wang Clan of Ping'an.
If nothing unexpected happened, at this rate, the Wang Clan's territories and property would be gradually annexed by the other two clans of Ping'an Town in the coming decades. The once mighty and glorious clan would also decline and collapse, and the bloodline of the family would fall to become commoners.
"However, this is an interesting world." Wang Shouzhe narrowed his eyes slightly. Having gradually fused memories, he could not help but think to himself, "It seems that although the previous Wang Shouzhe was young, he was an uncommon character."
The memory told him that Wang Shouzhe was known as a prodigy since he was young. Among the seven generations of Ancestor Zhouxuan's bloodline descendants, his innate talent was only slightly inferior to Ancestor Longyan's.
With the nurturing of the family's concentrated resources, Wang Shouzhe reached the sixth level of the Qi Refining Realm at the age of 18, and was not far from the seventh level.
This was good news. At least he hadn't transmigrated to the body of someone useless.
Beside him, the manservant, Wang Gui, became even more worried when he saw Wang Shouzhe's changing expressions. "Patriarch, rest first. I'll go get the physician now."
"It's fine. I'm fine now." Wang Shouzhe stopped him. "Wang Gui, go out first. I have some things to think about."
"Yes Sir!"
Wang Gui put down the food container and took the order to leave, carefully closing the door behind him.
Wang Shouzhe finally heaved a sigh of relief and relaxed after Wang Gui left and he was alone. He had been attending the wake and fusing consciousnesses these past few days, so he had not eaten properly. His stomach was already growling from hunger. There were so many things to do to revitalize the clan. He would fill his stomach first and think about it later.
He opened the lid of the exquisite sandalwood food container, and a wonderful fragrance of food assaulted his senses. The inside of the food container was divided into several sections. There was food, vegetables, meat, and a piece of steamed fish.
Under the stimulation of his appetite, he quickly picked up a piece of meat with the chopsticks and stuffed it into his mouth. The condiments were ordinary, but the texture was abnormally rich. The good chewiness filled his mouth with the rich flavor of the meat. After swallowing, he could vaguely feel a subtle stream of warmth surging through him.
Oh, it was that delicious?
What kind of meat was this? Pork? No, the taste of pork wasn't that smooth. Lamb? That couldn't be right. The meat didn't have the slightest gamy taste. The meat was fragrant, thick, and juicy. The texture was like the expensive imported steak that he had occasionally tasted before transmigration.
However, soon, the "memory" he fused told him that this was Spirit Horn Yak meat, a precious type of meat for consumption. Eating it for prolonged periods of time could strengthen one's physique and promote cultivation.
His previous self was the young patriarch, and he was extraordinarily talented. He was the first in the sequence of provision for the clan's resources, and was naturally qualified to enjoy such resources.
Wang Shouzhe felt the amazing sense of slight heat flowing through his body and his energy recovering rapidly. He could not help but sigh inwardly. It was indeed good meat. With the enticement of delicious food, he finished off the small amount of yak meat in a few bites.
Still not satisfied, he caught sight of the steamed fish again. The fused memory told him that this was called the Red-tailed Spirit Minnow. It was a rare type of spirit fish that came from the An River nearby. It was a Class Two dire beast, and could easily grow to hundreds of catties in size. It was extremely powerful and ferocious, and had the strength to capsize boats.
Ordinary fishermen would avoid such dire beasts at all costs. Being slow to escape meant their boats capsizing and losing their lives.
The former patriarch of the clan, Wang Dingyue, was lucky enough to capture this Red-tailed Spirit Minnow with a few experts in the clan last year. After dissecting and marinating it, it was stored in the clan's ice cellar as a supplement for the young bloodline of the clan.
The cook had long removed all the bones from the fish. The fish meat was marinated, fresh, and tender in the mouth, accompanied by a refreshing and comfortable feeling that flowed through the body. His entire body felt very comfortable, and it was delicious to the extreme.
The rice was not ordinary either. The rice grains were plump and crystalline. When eaten, it had a firm, chewy texture and the rich flavor of orchids. This was the famous Orchid Jade Rice.
Wang Shouzhe's appetite for this meal was boundless. The weakness in his body and weariness in his spirit dissipated immediately, replaced by energy and vigor.
If he could eat like this every meal, cultivation would certainly be an extraordinarily fast process.
However, that was clearly impossible. The clan was no longer as prosperous as it was in the past. He could not afford to eat so extravagantly even with his sequence in status, let alone other clan members.
Now that he had advanced to the position of the patriarch, he naturally could not ignore the other clan members and encroach their resources endlessly to provide for himself. If that was the case, it would not be long before members of the clan lost faith, accelerating their demise.
Even for the sake of eating all kinds of delicacies for every meal, he had to help the Wang Clan grow stronger.
"System!" As Wang Shouzhe lay on the bed to digest his food, he closed his eyes and called out calmly in his mind.
After a long while, however, there was no response.
This couldn't be, right? Wang Shouzhe's heart skipped a beat. Wasn't it a little ridiculous to transmigrate without a cheat? Next, Wang Shouzhe tried again and again, but no sign of a cheat ever appeared.
He felt more and more dispirited. In such a fantasy world with countless experts and rampaging dire beasts, how could one get by without a cheat?
…