Chapter 13

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Chapter 13: Zhou Family

Inside the Zhou family’s mountain gate, the elderly patriarch Zhou Quan was discussing strategies with several high-ranking members of the Zhou family. They were already aware of Lin Batian driving away the Zhou family women, as it had been anticipated.

“Stop sulking. Think of a solution,” Zhou Quan said to the high-ranking members.

Zhou Quan had once been a genius in the Zhou family, especially in cultivation, but he wasn’t very skilled at managing or running the family. These tasks were handled by others.

“Elder, this time we made a huge mistake. I’ve been saying all along that we should never provoke Lin Batian. If we do, it must be a fatal blow. Now it’s impossible to resolve this,” Zhou Ziming began complaining as soon as he spoke.

He was now the de facto leader of the Zhou family and handled all the family affairs. He had already discussed with Zhou Quan how to deal with the Lin family.

Zhou Ziming was the first to bring up the threat from the Lin family. He believed that once Zhou Quan passed away, the Lin family would inevitably take control of the Zhou family, as there were no smaller families left near the Lin family. If they wanted to expand further, they would need to target families of the same level. Among the families near the Lin family, only the Zhou family faced the reality of an impending collapse.

Zhou Ziming’s plan was to first build a relationship with the Lin family, then find an opportunity to strike a fatal blow to Lin Batian. Once Lin Batian was gone, the rest of the Lin family would be easy to defeat, and the Zhou family could easily take control of the Lin family and seize their wealth. Perhaps the Zhou family could even cultivate new cultivators in the Golden Core Period. But now, everything had fallen apart.

“How was I supposed to know that Lin Batian is so powerful? He’s just like me, in the early stages of the Golden Core Period. But this time, he killed a mid-stage third-order Iron Wood Demon Wolf. His cultivation technique must be extraordinary,” Zhou Quan said angrily.

In his view, this had been the perfect opportunity to destroy the Lin family. The Wolf King of the Iron Wood Demon Wolf was at the mid-stage of the third order, equivalent to a human in the mid-stage of the Golden Core Period. If Zhou Quan could have delayed the other members of the Lin family and distracted Lin Batian, the Wolf King should have been killed.

“Once we take action, we must be decisive. When Lin Batian kills the Iron Wood Demon Wolf, he will certainly pay a price. At that point, our ancestor must do whatever it takes to eliminate him.”

“He ran too fast,” Zhou Quan muttered, unwilling to admit that he had watched Lin Batian suddenly kill the Wolf King of the Iron Wood Demon Wolf with a spear. He had been stunned and too afraid to act.

“Sigh…”

“Stop sighing and tell me what to do.”

“Grandfather, are we going to war? Can we defeat Lin Batian?”

“It’s difficult. Lin Batian is young and arrogant, while I am old and weak. If we fight, I have less than a 20% chance of winning,” Zhou Quan admitted honestly.

His lifespan was nearing its end, his strength was greatly diminished, and Lin Batian was in his prime. Furthermore, based on Lin Batian’s recent displays of power, he might have been hiding some of his strength. A 20% chance of winning was already a conservative estimate.

“In that case, we can only seek peace first. Bring gifts and go to the Lin family to apologize.”

“Um…”

The other high-ranking members of the Zhou family immediately showed displeasure. The Zhou family, a powerful family for hundreds of years, would have to bow down to the Lin family? Where would the Zhou family’s dignity go?

“A true man can be flexible. Apologizing and making amends is nothing. Even if we have to sacrifice some of our people, our hope now lies in Zilin. If Zilin can break through to the Golden Core Period, anything is possible. We might even defeat Lin Batian.”

Zhou Ziming spoke coldly and then looked at a silent man. This was Zhou Zilin, Zhou Ziming’s younger brother. He had reached the Foundation Building Period and was just one step away from the Golden Core Period.

Now, the Zhou family’s only hope rested on him. If he could break through to the Golden Core Period before Zhou Quan passed away, it would be two against one. Even if both Zhou Quan and Lin Batian perished together, it might not be impossible to succeed.

······

Steward Wu of the Lin family saw Lin Batian coming out of the room and immediately approached, asking, “Master, how are your injuries?”

“Nothing’s wrong. Has the Zhou family responded?”

“Not yet, temporarily.”

“Hateful, so hateful! They killed my descendants. I wish I could wipe out the entire Zhou family right now.”

“Master, don’t be angry. The Zhou family is like grasshoppers in the autumn, hopping around for only a few days. Once the old man Zhou Quan dies, you can merge the Zhou family and take revenge for everything.”

“Having the power but being unable to use it, how frustrating.”

“Endure a little longer. We’ve already endured for almost a hundred years, what’s another twenty years?”

Steward Wu once again tried to calm Lin Batian. He knew that Lin Batian’s strength went beyond what was visible. Lin Batian’s background was extremely surprising. Only a few people in the entire Lin family were aware of it, even Lin Batian’s legal wife didn’t know.

“I understand, I can endure it. Ah, I don’t know when I’ll be able to go back…”

“Ahem…”

“I understand. I won’t say anything more. You’ve worked hard all these years.”

Steward Wu’s cough interrupted Lin Batian’s musings. Apologetically, Lin Batian thanked him for all his help over the years. The rapid expansion of the Lin family was largely due to a group of allies, and Steward Wu was the leader of those allies.

“This is what I should do. It’s not difficult. But the family has suffered a lot these years.”

“Let’s not talk about that. How is the situation at home?”

“It’s fine. The family’s heirs are all strong and preparing for battle. They’re not afraid of the Zhou family, and even the Sixth Young Master has returned.”

“The Sixth Child, ah, forget about him. It makes me angry just mentioning him.”

Lin Batian was stunned but said it out loud, feeling okay inside. Although his Sixth Child wasn’t skilled in cultivation, he was very filial and had been the first in the family to care for their mother. He had done well this time too, preventing any trouble for the family.

“Although Sixth Young Master isn’t good at cultivation, he has a talent for management. When he took over Spiritual Peach Mountain Villa, it only earned around two to three hundred spirit stones a year, but in the past two years, it has already exceeded eight hundred spirit stones.”

“What’s the use of low cultivation? The Qi Refining Period only gives a hundred years of lifespan. My Lin family is not yet in a position to focus on stability and management. We should keep expanding without hesitation.”

Lin Batian shook his head. He recognized Lin Jiang’s managerial abilities, and Spiritual Peach Mountain Villa had performed well in recent years. If the Lin family had been an established family, they would certainly have employed someone like him.

But the Lin family was still a rising force, full of ambition. They needed to expand as much as possible while they still had the drive, to lay a strong foundation for the future. If they didn’t act now, it would be much harder later.

“News.”

“Reporting to the clan leader, someone from the Zhou family has arrived.”

Just as the two were speaking, a voice outside called out loudly. The news from the Zhou family had finally arrived.

“Who from the Zhou family has come?”

“It’s Zhou Ziming, with five guards and a carriage. Looks like he brought gifts.”

“Hmm hmm.”

Lin Batian snorted coldly. The Zhou family’s response was exactly what he expected. Old man Zhou Quan didn’t have the courage to go to war with him; they were here to apologize.

Soon, Lin Batian met with Zhou Ziming, who brought generous gifts and personally apologized. He explained that Zhou Quan, the patriarch of the Zhou family, had been injured by the Iron Wood Demon Wolf, leading to their defeat and allowing the Wolf King to retreat, causing heavy losses for the Lin family.

Lin Batian didn’t dwell on it. The Zhou family had extended an olive branch, and he took advantage of the situation, signaling that this conflict was now over and that the two families would continue to maintain a harmonious relationship moving forward.