Chapter 19
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Chapter 19: The Battle to Wipe Out the Family
Hurry.
Hurrying to the extreme.
From conflicts erupting in the wilderness to the Lin family launching a direct attack and annihilating the Zhou family, all of this happened in less than a day.
In just one day, a Golden Core family that had been passed down for hundreds of years was completely wiped out by the Lin family. When the news spread, the surrounding clans couldn’t believe it.
“Is the Zhou family made of clay, easily crumbling?”
“Lin Batian is unexpectedly strong!”
The surrounding families were full of doubts. One group questioned the Zhou family’s strength. This was a family that had been passed down for hundreds of years, and they still had two powerful Golden Core Period members. How did they lose so easily?
Another group doubted Lin Batian’s strength. He was able to defeat two opponents at once, and they couldn’t even escape. How did Lin Batian accomplish this?
Regardless of what others were saying, the Lin family was already pursuing and hunting down the remaining enemies from the Zhou family.
The Zhou family’s main gate held only half of their total strength. The rest of their members were spread out across different places, such as mines, spirit mountains, and shops. The distribution of members for each family was similar.
Lin Batian took the main force of the Lin family and left, leaving some members behind to guard the prisoners at the Zhou family’s main gate. Lin Jiang was one of them. He wasn’t very interested in killing and preferred to stay.
Also staying behind were Lin Die and Steward Wu. Steward Wu led some people to clean up the battlefield, mainly to search for valuables, while Lin Die was in charge of ensuring safety, wary of any potential retaliation from the Zhou family.
“Sixth Brother, are you injured?”
Lin Die approached Lin Jiang and saw that he was covered in blood. She couldn’t help but worry and asked.
“I’m not injured. It’s all because of the enemy’s magic. My mother made this dress with silk from special silkworms, and it’s three layers thick.”
Lin Jiang grinned. Even though he had been hit by the enemy several times, he wasn’t actually hurt. The clothes made from Zhuang Rong’s special silkworms were very strong, so he wore three layers of them with soft armor underneath. The enemy couldn’t even break through his basic defense.
“That’s good.”
“Third Sister, are you hurt?”
“Just a small injury. It’ll be fine in a couple of days. I’m used to it.”
“You worked hard, Third Sister.”
“It wasn’t really hard, but this battle was truly satisfying. The Zhou family is so hated by everyone.”
Lin Die spoke with resentment. Ever since the Zhou family betrayed the Lin family a few years ago, she had been angry. This time, when the Zhou family dared to attack and kill members of the Lin family first, it made her even more furious. Through this battle, she could finally release her anger.
“After this battle, the Lin family should stop expanding, right?”
“We can’t expand for now. Our territory is too big, and we can’t manage it.”
Lin Die explained that the population of the Lin family was still too small. So far, there were fewer than one hundred immortal cultivators in the Lin family, and the backbone was still made up of recruited guest cultivators. Many territories could only be rented out to independent cultivators.
Now, with the merger of the Zhou family’s lands, the Lin family’s power would become even more scattered. This was very dangerous. If the enemy resorted to guerrilla warfare or ambushes, the Lin family wouldn’t be able to keep up. They could only passively endure attacks or exhaust themselves trying to respond.
This was why Lin Batian and the others needed to eliminate the remaining enemies—to prevent them from regrouping and growing stronger.
“Yeah, we can’t handle it anymore.”
“Old Sixteen is already married. Sixth Brother, don’t you want to get married?”
“Third Sister, aren’t you the same?”
“I can’t get married. There’s no one to marry.”
Lin Die explained that she was already in the later stage of Foundation Building. Lin Batian wouldn’t allow her to marry someone outside the Lin family easily, as it would be too great a loss for the family.
If it came to a marriage proposal, it was also difficult. Ordinary people weren’t attractive to her, and the outstanding ones wouldn’t choose to marry into the Lin family. So, she could only delay marriage indefinitely.
“I can’t get married either. Mortals don’t interest me, and female cultivators don’t find me attractive. Haha, let’s not get married, then.”
Lin Jiang laughed loudly. Among the Lin family’s second generation, only he, Lin Die, and Lin Ying were unmarried. The rest of the family members were already grandparents. Eldest Brother Lin Shan and Second Brother Lin He were married, and their grandchildren were about to arrive.
Five days later, Lin Jiang, who was still at the Zhou family’s gate, received news from his family.
“The fifth daughter-in-law committed suicide.”
“The thirteenth daughter-in-law also committed suicide.”
“The first family’s second daughter-in-law, the second family’s eldest daughter-in-law, and the seventh family’s daughter-in-law have run away.”
These five women were all daughters of the Zhou family. The Lin family had wiped out the Zhou family, and this grudge was too deep. Some Zhou family women chose to run away, while others chose to commit suicide.
“This is truly a tragedy.”
Lin Jiang sighed, feeling the despair of these five Zhou family women. It was terrifying.
“This is not a tragedy but a necessary choice in life. From the moment they married into the Lin family, from the moment their natal family and the Lin family became enemies, they had to make this choice.”
“Lin Die, this is too cruel for them. On one side are their father and siblings, and on the other side is their husband and children.”
“What if our Lin family loses?” Lin Die asked. “If the Lin family loses, how would they choose?”
“I don’t know. I can’t imagine such a scene.”
“So, this might be one of the reasons why Dad didn’t arrange a marriage for us. Marriage is chosen by parents and the family for us. If we choose for ourselves, we have to take responsibility. Right? You said it yourself—adults should be responsible for their own choices.”
“Let’s not talk about this. When do you think Dad and the others will return?”
Lin Jiang quickly ended the conversation, as it was getting too philosophical, and he wasn’t keen on discussing it further.
“It should be soon. The Zhou family’s power is weakening elsewhere, so we just need to crush them completely.”
“That’s good, I want to return to the Spiritual Peach Mountain Villa.”
“Alright then.”
Lin Die chose not to lecture Lin Jiang this time.
If Lin Jiang was younger and had plans to explore the world more in the future, she would firmly insist he stay and face even more challenging experiences—something all cultivators must go through.
But given Lin Jiang’s age and his level of cultivation, her expectations were lower now. She believed this was the path his life would take, so there was no need to pressure him. It would be better for him to focus on taking care of his mother and enjoy a peaceful life.
After a few more days, Lin Batian finally came back.
After tallying the casualties, it was clear that in this battle, four Lin family members had perished, six elders were hurt, and over twenty others were wounded. However, they had decisively defeated hundreds from the Zhou family.
Lin Batian had already mapped out the Zhou family’s territory. The crucial areas were immediately taken over and protected by the Lin family. The remaining territories were allocated to the Lin family’s elders.
Some of these elders had been loyal to the Lin family for decades, and many had families of their own. They could establish their own small households in the future.
However, these families had to demonstrate their allegiance to the Lin family. They were required to contribute a portion of their profits to the Lin family annually, in the form of protection fees.
As for the remaining lands, they were leased to independent cultivators, who paid annual rent.
Once everything was arranged, Lin Batian returned to the Lin family’s gate with a massive amount of spoils.
Lin Batian was already aware of the situation regarding the Zhou family women. He didn’t have much to say on the matter. Even if they hadn’t taken their own lives or fled, they would no longer have a place in the Lin family.
He might not personally harm them, but he would definitely have them sent away.
Lin Batian hosted a modest celebration, and then Lin Jiang returned to the Spiritual Peach Mountain Villa. He still enjoyed the serene life there.
A month later, Lin Jiang received a generous gift from the Lin family.
Lin Batian gave him a flying sword, ten Qi Gathering Pills, five Energy Nourishing Pills, and three hundred spirit stones, valued at over two thousand spirit stones in total.
Additionally, Lin Jiang’s monthly salary was increased to five spirit stones, allowing him to earn sixty spirit stones each year.
This reward was modest compared to the one Lin Die and Lin Ying received—a spiritual mountain of comparable size to the Spiritual Peach Mountain Villa, which they could manage independently.
They would earn annual income from it, a long-term benefit.
This gift demonstrated the immense profit the Lin family gained from this battle. It was a major windfall, as they had seized all of the Zhou family’s wealth accumulated over centuries.
“The ancient saying holds true: the most profitable are the ones written in the law.”
Lin Jiang sighed, realizing the truth behind it. No wonder Lin Batian was so eager to expand. The rewards from expansion were indeed the greatest.
Managing everything would require an incredible amount of effort and time.
This slaughter also reinforced Lin Jiang’s desire to settle in a big city in the future. The cultivation world lacked such laws, but a city had its own set of rules.
At least there wouldn’t be such brutal killings. Only then could he survive through his weaker years.
