Chapter 26: This Is the Foundation of the Li Family

"Kill!"

In the Li family’s training grounds, Li Yaozu was practicing with his sword. Whenever his heart was stirred, he liked to vent his emotions through sword forms.

Before long, he finally ceased his practice and wiped the sweat from his brow. Having attained his current level of cultivation, he could already sense the movements nearby. He felt his two sons approaching.

"Yunlin, Yunbing, come before me." Li Yaozu sat on the edge of the training ground. Watching the two children approach with heads bowed and faces full of reverence, he didn't mind. Ever since the incident with Qu Xiaoxiao, these two children had grown closer to their aunt than to him.

He said in a low voice, "I know you resent me. You resent me for driving your mother and her family out of our home."

"Father, no," Li Yunlin replied, still looking down, shaking his head.

Li Yaozu smiled. "I am sorry that I am not a qualified father. Especially you, Yunlin. I was ignorant back then. When your mother was pregnant with you, I was only fifteen and could not distinguish right from wrong. If the Ancestor hadn't intervened, your grandfather would surely have crippled me."

"Over these years..." Li Yaozu’s smile vanished, and he furrowed his brows. "I have not become a competent father as time has passed."

"But now, Yunlin, I need to ask you for a favor. If something happens, no matter what, you must protect your younger brother."

Hearing this, Li Yunlin finally lifted his head abruptly, a trace of anxiety flashing across his face. "Father, my aunt has sought me out, and now you do the same. Has something happened to the family? I am already at the fourth level of Qi Refining; I can contribute to the family!"

Li Yaozu’s gaze softened gradually. "As long as you grow well, you contribute the most to the family. Go now, take Yunbing, and wait for news."

Li Yunlin wanted to say more, but Li Yaozu dismissed him. In truth, he had thousands of words he wanted to say to Li Yunlin, but they stuck in his throat. He felt too much guilt within to look at the two brothers.

*These two boys must be terrified of me, right?*

Li Yaozu’s expression remained calm. *If something really happens, Yunlin, you must take up your blade, just as I did before.*

He remembered the day the bandits entered the Li residence. Back then, the family was not so grand; they lived in a dilapidated shack and had to struggle to find food. His father and mother had rushed out, and he, too, had clumsily picked up a blade. That was the first time he saw his gentle mother slaughter a living human as easily as a chicken.

Later, his father told him that the moment he picked up that blade, he had become a man capable of protecting his younger siblings. Just like himself now—he could not allow their hard-won family legacy to suffer the slightest damage. Even if it were his own wife, if there were any sign of her threatening the family, it must be nipped in the bud!

He picked up his sword again and practiced with ferocity. "If I can become stronger, I can shoulder more of the family's burden!"

...

In the bedroom, Li Dalong and Xu Cuihua huddled together, silent for a long while.

"Master of the house, so many years have passed, and our family has grown so strong. Have you ever looked down on me, a simple farm girl? Have you ever wanted to marry a woman from a wealthy, prestigious family?" Xu Cuihua asked, eyeing Li Dalong with scrutiny.

"I have!" Li Dalong grinned. "Don't look at me like that because I'm older now. Every man wants a house full of wives and concubines. Besides, we sleep in the same bed every day; who wouldn't want a change of taste?"

Just as Xu Cuihua glared at him, Li Dalong chuckled. "But a thousand, ten thousand beautiful women couldn't compare to a fraction of you. Where else could I find a good woman like you, who bore me four fine children? The moment I see you, all other women seem like nothing but chaff, and I stop thinking about it."

"You old rascal." Xu Cuihua rolled her eyes. "Are you afraid I'll beat you up? After all, I'm stronger than you now."

"Xu Cuihua, you are a formidable woman." Li Dalong couldn't help but laugh foolishly. "After I finished my secluded training, I thought I had truly become the pillar of this house. How did you end up stronger than me?"

Xu Cuihua smiled without answering. Her smile, however, grew proud—and a little bitter. She still remembered those days long ago, when she was just a farm girl in a village who met Li Dalong—a sturdy hunter. He was dark-skinned and unkempt, but far better than those oily, pampered fops. He was honest, kind, and possessed a masculine charm.

The years that followed proved how right she was to marry Li Dalong against her family's wishes. After they wed, her husband was meticulous in his care for her. The only drawback was that Li Dalong was always a bit insecure, claiming that as a former slave and a mere hunter, he couldn't provide the life she deserved.

So, her husband went hunting every day to improve their situation. Every time he returned, he was covered in scars, which broke her heart. Even as the family grew wealthy and the children were born, her heart still ached; her husband remained scarred. If not for the Ancestor’s protection, perhaps her husband... Xu Cuihua dared not think of it.

But thanks to the Ancestor, although she lacked the aptitude for traditional cultivation, the *Manual of Qi Practitioner Training* allowed her to find a different path. She began to interact with the chickens, ducks, pigs, and dogs—wasn't that a natural talent for a farm girl? Slowly, she learned to understand the minds of animals.

Until today, she could finally stand on her own, facing the dangers of the future alongside her family. Even if it meant dying for the family and the children!

"Master, do we... have a chance of winning this time?" Xu Cuihua hugged Li Dalong tighter.

Li Dalong furrowed his brows, unsure how to reply, when a clamor rose outside. The couple stood up.

"What is that noise outside?"

Dressed and ready, Li Dalong and Xu Cuihua stepped out of their room to find the young and old of the Li family already in the courtyard, looking toward the gate. It was deep into the night, yet outside the Zhien Village, the area was bright as day.

When the Li family arrived at their gate, they saw that the villagers of Zhien had gathered there. Every one of them held a torch aloft, painting the sky of this once-wild countryside a deep crimson!

The elderly village chief stepped forward. After Qu Changming of the Qu family was dismissed from the post due to corruption, the village had elected this elder, who held the most respect in Zhien Village. With white hair and a weathered face, he wore an expression of rage.

"Master Li! This old man has heard that the Li family is going to war with Tailin Town. Why was the people of Zhien Village kept in the dark?"

Li Dalong was taken aback. In his memory, the old chief had always been soft-spoken; he had rarely seen him so aggressive. Just as he was about to speak, the old man continued:

"During the years of great drought, our three thousand people in Zhien were raided by bandits, forced to eat tree bark. Which household didn't lose family and friends? If not for the great kindness of the Li family, providing us with a place to live, gifting us grain and livestock, where would Zhien Village be today?"

"Now that the Li family is going to Tailin Town to fight for your clan's destiny, and you do it so quietly—where does that put us, the people of Zhien?"

"Our village has plenty of fine young men. If the Li family is going to war, we have weapons too! And if we don't, we have kitchen knives and manure forks!"

Li Dalong finally understood the villagers' intent. He looked at the crowd filling the courtyard, torches in hand, and a look of gratitude crossed his face. Yet, he shook his head and shouted:

"I am grateful for your kindness, everyone. But this trip to Tailin Town is to face cultivators—a place of life and death. It is a struggle for my Li family’s fate. Please, everyone, return home."

"Nonsense!" The village chief was displeased, his eyes widening. "We have received great favor from the Li family. If my children knew their benefactor faced such a calamity and I, an old man, said nothing, when I eventually return to the earth, they would call me a cold-blooded wretch when they burned incense for me. I would never find peace even in death!"

At these words, the villagers erupted in shouts of agreement.

"The chief is right! My life is cheap. If Master Li is going to fight, then I, Wang Ergou, will follow him and go kill them all!"

"That's right! Count me in! I know how to hunt, and I can kill men too!"

"Back then, when I couldn't get a meal and thought I'd die in the streets, it was Master Li who gave me food. Now I have a house, a few acres of good land, and I can hear the chickens and ducks the moment I step outside. My wife has given me three children—this life is enough. Master Li, it is time for me to repay my debt to you!"

"..."

The villagers clamored, but Li Dalong felt no chaos—only his eyes turning red. When his wife had asked if they could win, he had been afraid. He feared that his rashness would destroy the family business he had built over decades. But now... he was no longer afraid!

Reflecting on his life, he was once a slave who never imagined he would reach this day. But the Ancestor protected him; he obtained the path of cultivation, hunted on the mountains, filled his belly, and never had to suffer humiliation again. He married the best woman in the world, had children who made his life worthwhile, and his two grandsons were clever, too.

And there was this Zhien Village.

Because of his past kindness, these good people were willing to face a powerful enemy alongside him, ignoring the danger to their lives. *I have already lived a life most men dare not dream of, and I have so many people who support me. What the hell am I afraid of?*

In that moment, Li Dalong’s gaze hardened. He found the same feeling he had during his first hunt, facing those ferocious beasts!

"Hahaha!"

"Good!"

Li Dalong raised his arms and shouted, "People of Zhien Village! Don't laugh at me, but I, Li Dalong, am just a mountain bumpkin, and damn it, I have been afraid. Seeing you all shouting your support tonight, I realize I really have grown old!"

"To hell with Tailin Town!"

"To hell with the Wang and Hu families!"

"Everyone, take up your weapons! I, Li Dalong, am not looking for a way back. I want the blood of those two families to pave the road ahead for us!"

The night was bright with stars and moon. The entire village of Zhien shouted in unison with the Li family. The torches they held aloft nearly turned the deep night into a sea of red.

The Chen family, whose members were slowly recovering from their injuries, watched the fanatical villagers of Zhien in shock. These crazed commoners were enough to make even a cultivator feel fear!

The Chen family ancestor let out a long breath. "Prepare yourselves. We follow the Li family to Tailin Town!"

Hearing this, Chen Chuang hesitated. "Ancestor, our Chen family has so few people..."

Before he could finish, the Chen ancestor slapped him across the face. "Is the backbone of our Chen family really inferior to these villagers?"

Chen Chuang dared not speak further.

The Chen elder then revealed a smile, watching the Li family and the villagers of Zhien still shouting toward the heavens. "I retract my previous words. This..."

"This is the foundation of the Li family!"