The great battle had only just ended. Once again, the Song clan had clawed its way back from the brink, preserving the legacy of its five-hundred-year foundation. This was certainly cause for relief, but it was far from the time to relax.
All that remained on Cangmang Peak after the war was devastation and a thorny mess to clean up.
Now, with the Grand Elder gravely wounded and on the verge of death, and the clan leader collapsed from exhaustion, the clan had suddenly lost its two main pillars. The Song clan was now at its most perilous moment in five centuries; one misstep could lead to its complete collapse.
With no other choice, Song Changsheng, freshly returned from Xuzhou, was forced to step forward and shoulder the burden.
He first took control of the clan's protective grand formation, then mobilized a batch of spirit stones from the treasury to replenish the energy consumed by the Black Star Warship.
For now, with Song Xianming still unconscious, this quasi-heaven-grade warship was the clan's most powerful asset, and it had to be kept at peak condition at all times.
He then dispatched all of Whispers Hall's spies, both to guard against opportunists seeking to loot their weakened state and to assess the current situation across Lingzhou.
Next, he asked his mother, Xia Yunxue, to lead the remaining law enforcement disciples in collecting the bodies of fallen clan members, cleaning up the battlefield, and tallying the war's losses. By the time these tasks were done, it was already the next day.
Without pause, Song Changsheng convened a high-level clan meeting…
In the council hall of the Council Hall, Song Changsheng sat with bloodshot eyes, his face drawn with exhaustion. Even so, he forced himself to stay focused, speaking hoarsely:
"The clan meeting will now begin. Today's agenda is post-war management. Please speak freely."
With both the clan leader and the Grand Elder unconscious, Elders Song Luoyao and Song Luohuai fallen, and Song Changxuan stationed in the mortal realm, only a handful remained at the table: Song Luzhou, Xia Yunxue, Song Lutong, and Song Changan among them.
The backbone of the Song clan had been severely damaged.
At Song Changsheng's words, the eldest and highest-ranking among them, Song Luzhou, slowly rose to his feet. He was noticeably thinner than before, his eyes sweeping the room as he spoke:
"In this battle, although our clan emerged victorious, it was a pyrrhic victory.
According to the tally, we lost fifty-eight Qi Refining cultivators, with nineteen seriously wounded and one hundred and twenty-nine lightly injured. The Third Elder, Song Luoyao, and the Fourth Elder, Song Luohuai, have both fallen. The Grand Elder is gravely injured.
One of the formation eyes of our protective grand array was destroyed, and over half of the foundation was damaged; it will need repairs. The tier-three spirit vein has also been heavily depleted and will require at least ten years to recover.
We consumed one tier-three mid-grade attack talisman, two tier-three low-grade attack talismans, five tier-two supreme-grade talismans, and nearly thirty other tier-two talismans.
Pills, formation flags, and other resources too many to count…"
Each number he read was like a blade to the heart. The clan's meager foundation, painstakingly built over twenty years, had been wiped out in a single battle.
When he finished, the air in the room was heavy. More painful than the loss of resources was the loss of people.
Casualties had reached nearly two hundred, an immense blow for the Song clan, whose numbers were already few. Recovery would take a long time.
Of the two elders who had fallen, Song Luoyao had been a late Foundation Establishment cultivator, while Song Luohuai had been mid-stage Foundation Establishment and the clan's only tier-two high-grade talisman master.
Talisman crafting had always been the clan's weak point; his death meant no successor in sight, a loss impossible to measure.
When Song Luzhou finished, Xia Yunxue followed with her report:
"The battlefield has been cleared. Preliminary estimates suggest we killed nearly twenty tier-two demon wolves and close to a thousand tier-one demon wolves, harvesting large quantities of pelts, fangs, and claws.
The most valuable spoils are the demon core, hide, and bones of the great demon.
Furthermore, the cultivation clans within the Wangyue Mountain Range have suffered devastating losses, leaving behind many unclaimed spiritual mountains and spirit mines…"
After she finished detailing their gains, Song Lutong's deep, rumbling voice sounded:
"The spies report that the battles between the Wuling Sect and the Liuyun Sect have yet to conclude. What should our next move be?"
Hearing everyone's reports, Song Changsheng felt as if his head might split open every matter demanded his decision.
After a brief moment of thought, he said in a deep voice:
"We'll set aside the Liuyun Mountain Range for now. The clan's top priority is to treat the wounded and repair the protective grand formation that will be my responsibility.
Our clansmen shed blood and gave their lives to protect our home. The clan must not forget its contributions; they must be compensated and rewarded according to clan rules. Mother, I'll entrust this to you.
Our core fighting strength has suffered heavy losses and must be replenished immediately. Fifth Uncle, I ask you to begin refining pills using the tier-three demon core; you may draw upon all clan resources as you see fit.
We must also guard against petty opportunists in this time of weakness. Uncle Lutong, I appoint you to temporarily head the Law Enforcement Hall, patrol the clan, punish lawbreakers…"
In short order, he had assigned all tasks. When everyone had received their orders and departed, he sat alone in the council hall for a long time, then forced himself to his feet and made his way to the Hundred Arts Hall.
All the wounded had been placed there. The moment Song Changsheng stepped inside, he was hit by the heavy smell of medicine and the sharp tang of blood.
Every physician and alchemist in the clan had been mobilized, yet they were far too few; each one was so busy they could barely catch their breath, wishing they had eight arms.
Without disturbing them, he went straight to the bedside of Song Xianyun, whose injuries were the most severe, and he still lay unconscious.
Looking at the elder who had always doted on him now lying pale and barely breathing, Song Changsheng felt a sting in his eyes. He clasped the elder's withered hand, and a soft green radiance bloomed, filling the room with vitality.
Now that he had mastered the Light of Rejuvenation, his healing was faster and more efficient.
After half an hour of treatment, Song Xianyun's condition had improved somewhat; the deep furrow between his brows had eased, though he remained unconscious.
At this point, there was nothing more Song Changsheng could do; secret arts had their limits. The rest would have to depend on medicine and careful nursing.
Lighting a stick of Calming Incense beside the bed, he withdrew quietly and went to see Song Xianming.
The old man bore no wounds; he had simply collapsed from extreme exhaustion. Song Changsheng could do little for that, only channeling a trace of spiritual energy into him before going on to treat the other wounded.
By day's end, he was utterly drained in body and mind. Even so, he could not yet rest; he returned to the Administrative Hall to handle the mountain of pending matters.
At the top of the pile was a request from Song Luzhou to withdraw a batch of spirit herbs from the treasury. A glance told him they were auxiliary ingredients for refining Foundation Establishment Pills, rare and valuable. With a stroke of his red brush, he approved it.
The clan urgently needed to cultivate new Foundation Establishment cultivators.
Fortunately, they had captured a demon core in this battle, enough to serve as the main ingredient for such pills.
Using a demon core as the main component would yield pills slightly inferior to those made from the three great spirit medicines: Foundation Fruit, Dragonblood Ginseng, or Star-Quenching Fruit.
But thinking ahead, Song Changsheng allowed only the demon core to be used this time.
Though they had the pill formula, Song Luzhou had never refined Foundation Establishment Pills before; no one could say how many he might produce.
In judging an alchemist's skill, both the quality and the yield mattered. With one set of ingredients, producing three pills was considered entry-level.
That was Song Changsheng's expectation: three pills, matching the value of the materials.
The second document was from Xia Yunxue: the compiled pensions and rewards for the clan's cultivators, amounting to at least 100,000 spirit stones.
For the current Song clan, this was a huge expense.
Yet Song Changsheng did not hesitate; whether for morale or loyalty, the money had to be spent.
Still, a headache followed immediately. Once that sum was paid, more than half of the resources and spirit stones extorted from the Four-Family Alliance would be gone.
And repairing the formation, nurturing the spirit vein, these would all require more funds.
He slumped back in his chair. "Money… everything needs money. Where am I supposed to get it?"
"Those demon beast materials are worth quite a lot, no less than two hundred thousand lower-grade spirit stones if sold. But Luoxia City is still besieged by beasts, and the market's gone. It'll be hard to move them for now."
If they couldn't sell the materials now, by the time the beast tide was repelled, their value would plummet, something he couldn't accept.
Just then, a thought struck him. He pulled a silver token from his robes, a gift from Peng Siying on the black market. It not only allowed him to receive aid from the Wanlong Chamber of Commerce but also granted a 30% discount.
"That's it, why not pay the Wanlong Chamber a visit?"
With their scale, taking these materials off his hands would be nothing.
The only problem: the nearest branch was in Yuanzhou, ten thousand miles away. He couldn't leave the clan now, and no one else was strong enough to handle the trip, and he didn't trust them with it. For the time being, he would have to wait.
Before dawn, Song Changsheng was already at work with the clan's few remaining formation masters, patching the protective grand formation.
Calling it "repair" was generous at their current skill; they were merely applying patches to the three-tier mid-grade array.
Song Changsheng had been like a tightly wound top, spinning without pause for three days straight. Almost single-handedly, he had shouldered the clan's banner, leaving him mentally and physically exhausted, his whole demeanor having aged noticeably.
Then, one day, someone brought him news that instantly lifted his spirits.
The messenger was Song Qinghua, only twenty-five years old yet already a first-grade peak alchemist, the most gifted in alchemy among the younger generation. He was usually the one tending to the unconscious Song Xianming.
Clad in white, his bearing proud and aloof, Song Qinghua walked straight into the Council Hall without so much as glancing to either side. Bowing, he announced:
"Reporting to the Young Clan Leader, the Clan Leader has awakened."
The pen in Song Changsheng's hand halted mid-stroke. This was the best news he had heard in days. He immediately set aside the administrative work before him and hurried after Song Qinghua toward the Hundred Arts Hall.
Song Xianming was already out of bed, listening to a steward report on the clan's current state. His eyes were still a little red; he had been weeping moments before.
When he saw Song Changsheng approach, he waved the steward away and let out a long sigh.
"Fortunately, you returned in time. Otherwise, the clan would have been finished."
Song Changsheng fell silent for a moment before saying quietly:
"I only regret that I could not stand alongside our people in their hour of peril. Had I returned sooner… perhaps Ninth Aunt and Eleventh Uncle would still…"
"Ah… fate decides such things. It is no fault of yours," Song Xianming said bitterly. "I only blame my weakness. If I had attained the Purple Mansion realm, how could I have allowed that beast to run rampant?"
Song Changsheng said nothing. The battle had indeed come at the worst possible time.
"I have gained some insight from this fight. In a few days, I will go into seclusion. Whether I live or die is uncertain. The clan will be in your hands. I am aware of the arrangements you've made; you have done well. With you in charge, I am at ease."
He patted Song Changsheng's shoulder, pride in his tone. The boy who had once been so green had finally grown into a towering tree, ready to bear the weight of greater responsibilities.
"I will not fail your trust," Song Changsheng said firmly. The clan desperately needed a Purple Mansion cultivator, but he could not help Song Xianming in that endeavor. The best he could do was manage the clan so that his grandfather had no worries.
Song Xianming nodded in satisfaction, then drew two items from his storage bag: a net and a supple green whip.
"I have reforged the Net of Heaven's Restraint for you. Its grade just barely remains at mid-grade spiritual weapon. As for this whip, the Binding Demon Cord, it was refined from the vine of the Law Fruit you brought back; it is a tier-three lower-grade weapon.
Because the material is special and highly spiritual, if you nurture it well, you can refine it into a true magic treasure once you reach the Purple Mansion realm.
I know you already carry many treasures, but remember, treasures are only aids. Do not neglect your cultivation because of them."
His words were full of earnest weight, as if he were arranging his affairs before a final farewell.
Feeling a lump in his chest, Song Changsheng bowed solemnly.
"I will remember your words."
Xianming inclined his head, then added wistfully:
"I leave the funerals of Luoyao and Luhuai to you. In the underworld, they will surely be glad."
Song Changsheng's heart ached. These two had been the elders who loved him most, treating him as their son, and now, not even their remains were left behind.
"…As you command," he said, bowing low.
After giving all his instructions, Song Xianming formally convened a meeting to announce his seclusion in an attempt to break through to the Purple Mansion realm.
During his absence, Song Changsheng would serve as acting Clan Leader, managing all affairs. Should the breakthrough fail and cost Xianming his life, Song Changsheng would officially succeed him and lead the clan forward.
No one objected to this decision. Everyone had seen Song Changsheng's ability for themselves, and his prestige in the clan was second only to Xianming's. There was no question of their willingness to follow him.
Two days after Xianming entered seclusion, Song Changsheng issued a clan-wide notice, officially holding the funeral for Song Luoyao, Song Luhuai, and all clansmen who had fallen in the great battle.
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