The atmosphere was a bit depressing as if it was winter.
In the world of cultivators, only one out of a thousand people had a Spiritual Root, but only one out of a hundred cultivators could reach the Foundation Establishment stage.
Even if a cultivator at the peak of the Qi Refinement stage took a Foundation Establishment Pill, they would only have a chance to reach the third level of the Foundation Establishment stage.
Every clan that had a Foundation Establishment cultivator would hold a feast to celebrate and declare it to the world.
Even in the Lu Clan, Foundation Establishment cultivators held high positions and held great power.
However, now, three Foundation Establishment cultivators were lying on the ground, dead.
In the conference hall, the atmosphere was somewhat oppressive. Everyone was frightened and feeling uneasy.
"There are others that had gone against the rules. I won't say anything more. Go down to the hall of law enforcement to receive your punishment," Lu fuming said coldly. "The world is in conflict and demons are rampant. If cultivator clans want to survive, unity is the first priority. The second is to have a bottom line when we do anything. For those who have done meritorious deeds, you must not be stingy with rewards. Even if you don't like him, you must give him the rewards he deserves. For those who are in the wrong, you must not hold back heavy punishments. Even if he is your own son, you must kill him. Benevolence doesn't rule the army, righteousness doesn't make you rich. As the clan leader, the first thing is to clearly distinguish between rewards and punishments. You must follow the rules. If you don't follow the rules, how can you expect the people below to follow the rules?"
"Once people start to ignore the rules, the clan will definitely fall into chaos. When the enemy invades, the clan will instantly collapse, and everyone will be killed. Those who survive would be reduced to unaffiliated cultivators."
"Unaffiliated cultivators don't have an easy life. They don't eat well, they don't wear warm clothes, and they will be surrounded and killed.". Without the protection of the clan, how long could even a Zifu disciple last? In the world of cultivators, if one wanted to thrive, one had to follow the rules, rely on favors, and rely on connections. Those who don't abide by the rules have long since rotted by the wayside."
The patriarch spoke earnestly.
As for how many people really took his advice to heart, that was up to the heavens.
Right at this moment, the Zifu patriarch looked at a cultivator and asked sternly," Lu Tianming, are you willing to be the Patriarch?"
"Patriarch, I'm willing," Lu Tianming said.
"Are you able to distinguish between rewards and punishments, protect your clansmen, and fight for your clan?" Lu Fuming asked sternly again.
"I can," Lu Tianming said.
"Good, good. That's good."
Lu Fuming addressed the hall. "Do you have any objections to my appointment of Lu Tianming as the clan leader? If anyone feels that they can do a better job than Lu Tianming, and that they can take on more responsibilities, they can replace him. Remember, being the clan leader isn't doing whatever you want. It's not about holding power, it's about responsibility. If there's danger, take the lead. Even if there are benefits, it's not for your own children."
In order to prevent the clan leader from abusing his power for personal gain, many of the clan rules restricted the clan leader's power.
Many elders could supervise and restrict the clan leader.
"We are willing to accept," a Foundation Establishment elder said.
The other elders also said that they were willing to let Lu Tianming be the clan leader.
"Okay. Next is the elder appointment."
Lu fuming said, "I will announce the elder appointment. First Elder is Lu Tianyi, in charge of the punishment hall. Second Elder is Lu Yan'an, in charge of the pill refining hall. Third Elder is Lu Wanli, in charge of the weapon refining hall. Fourth Elder is Lu Mianwen, in charge of the Talisman Table. Fifth Elder is Lu Changming, in charge of the West River Market. Sixth Elder is Lu Anmin, in charge of the Qingshui Market."
"Seventh Elder is Lu Jinxiu, in charge of the shops in the Green Lotus market. Eighth Elder is Lu Changhe, in charge of the transportation and collection of spirit rice. Ninth Elder Lu Changming is in charge of the search for Spiritual Roots and the education of children. The Tenth Elder, Lu Yanling, and the Eleventh Elder, Lu Ankang, are responsible for the mining of spirit ores."
"As for the other elders, they are temporarily recovering from their injuries, so they won't be assigned any missions."
"Due to my injuries, some industries have to be transferred out appropriately..."
The old clan leader began to make arrangements, talking about the clan's plans for the next 20 years, as well as the direction of development.
Many cultivators were listening, and Lu Xuanji was also listening.
However, as he listened, he felt a little sleepy. These matters were quite unrelated to him.
To him, the most important thing now was to cultivate diligently, and he could not pay attention to anything else for the time being.
He was just a little rookie at the third level of the Qi Refinement stage, and he did not even have the qualifications to be cannon fodder. If he wanted to travel to the outside world, he had to have at least the cultivation of the seventh level of the Qi Refinement stage.
How could he expect his enemies to be weaker than him? It was unlikely that they would be at the first or second level of the Qi refinement stage.
This was unrealistic, even impossible.
"You may leave. Cultivators under the age of 60 who have Three Spiritual Roots will stay for now," the Patriarch said.
Immediately, one cultivator after another left.
There were about 300 cultivators under the age of 60 in the clan. Most of them had Five or Four Spiritual Roots.
As for those with Three Spiritual Roots, there were less than 12 of them. These 12 people were all future Foundation Establishment seeds.
The oldest was already 58 years old, and the youngest was only 8 years old.
Among the crowd, the highest cultivation level was at the peak of the ninth level of Qi Refinement stage, but the weakest was only at the first level of Qi Refinement stage. Among the crowd, Lu Xuanji was extremely inconspicuous.
"All of you are the seeds of the new generation. The Lu Clan will do their best to find Foundation Establishment Pills for you and help you reach the Foundation Establishment stage... However, you have to live up to your expectations. I don't ask you to be benevolent, but you have to at least stick to your bottom line," the Patriarch said, he then began to give pointers to each of the cultivators.
One by one, he began to carefully give pointers.
The Zifu disciple Patriarch was extremely knowledgeable. He was able to point out flaws and provide critiques from a high vantage point, and then tell them how to deal with them.
Hearing this, many of the cultivators came to a sudden understanding. Thanks to the master's guidance, they were able to avoid many detours.
After the guidance, more and more cultivators left.
After a long time, it was finally Lu Xuanji's turn.
"Xuanji, your aptitude is top-notch. I won't say much else. I just want to remind you of one thing. Consume fewer medicinal pills while cultivating. It's three parts poison."
"I hope you won't compete with others in speed, but in your foundation. If you don't consume medicinal pills, your cultivation speed will be a little slower, but you'll have the advantage of being steady as well as the advantage of having a deep foundation. The strong aren't afraid of walking slowly, but they're afraid of having a weak foundation. If you're fast in the early stages, you'll be slow in the later stages."
As the Patriarch exhorted, he seemed to recall some bad memories.
The existence of medicinal pills made many cultivators accustomed to spending money to increase their cultivation.
There were cultivators who reached the peak of the Qi Refinement stage at the age of 20 and the peak of the Qi Refinement stage at the age of 30. After consuming the Foundation Establishment Pills, they became Foundation Establishment cultivators.
Such an accomplishment was worthy of a title of genius, or Chosen One.
However, what was the use of it? What was the use of rushing your foundation in the early stages? If one's foundation was not stable in the later stages, there was no hope for the Zifu and the Golden Core stages.
If one's foundation was a little more solid in the early stages, it could at least reduce the consumption of resources in the later stages.
...
After they left, three people appeared in the hall.
They were Lu Xuance, Lu Yanping, and Lu Xiuqin, who had been killed not long ago.
"Remember, from today onwards, the three of you are dead. Don't step into the Qingshui Prefecture again. Get lost," the Patriarch said coldly.
After all, they were clansmen. In a way, they were like family. Was he really going to kill them just like that?
Impossible.
However, from today onwards, they would go into hiding and die a social death.