Family Cultivation: My entire family are Villains

"Priority settlement," when Hou Yuxiao thought of these four words, a sense of absurdity instantly arose in his heart. But then, upon reflection, he realized that the difference between Martial Artists and common people is essentially just martial power; in most other respects, their desires are largely the same.

However, the key point is that it was Old Fifth who came up with this idea.

During the expansion of Tao City, Hou Yuxiao merely glanced at it briefly and soon led the five people to fly back together to the city center where the Hou Clan was located.

With Tao City expanding, the Hou Clan naturally needed to expand as well.

Currently, the Hou Clan had close to ten thousand personal guards who were subordinates of just these five people. This doesn't even count those who served and were on duty long-term within the clan and the personal army protecting the clan's territory. Altogether, they wouldn't be less than two hundred thousand people, and with the addition of war horses, housing them all in the previous Hou Clan mansion would be impossible.

Therefore, two months ago, when the expansion of Tao City began, Hou Yuduan had already arranged for a round of expansion for the entire Hou Clan. Now, the Hou Mansion covered more than ten miles in radius, with hundreds of palaces built within. Using "mansion" is actually no longer appropriate; using "palace" would perhaps be more fitting.

Indeed, there were voices outside calling Hou Yuxiao the King of Hexi, but such remarks, Hou Yuxiao could at most listen to and nothing more; openly proclaiming himself as king and hegemon in Shenzhou is still too early, at present.

No matter how the Hou Mansion transforms, the core structure remains the five palaces, set up in the same way as where the five siblings used to live before, arranged in the order of southeast, southwest, northwest, northeast, and central.

Among them, the four palaces to the southeast, southwest, northwest, and northeast belong respectively to the Cold Blade Palace of the Second Elder, the Xue Yang Palace of the Fourth Elder, the Ya Xiang Palace of Old Fifth, and the Joyful Union Palace of San Niang.

In the center is the Hou Clan's Main Hall, which, aside from serving as a venue for family discussions, was also where Hou Yuxiao practiced and closed off for cultivation. Hou Yuduan specially named it Zhao Yang Palace, reflecting the Hou Clan's commitment to never forget their original aspirations.

"Greetings to the Family Head!"

Hou Yuxiao, with the five people, descended outside the Zhao Yang Palace. Before entering, he sensed two powerful auras inside. Hou Yuxiao quickly put on a look of haste, ignored the greetings of the guards outside the door, and directly walked in.

Inside the palace, two people sat one on the left and one on the right, both with middle-aged appearances. The person on the left wore black-green armor, exuding a domineering aura; the person on the right was dressed in white, with a thin and handsome face, though his aura was not obvious, it naturally gave off a sharp and piercing impression.

Hou Yuxiao had met Jing Tianyu before. During the turmoil of Tongling in previous years, Jing Tianyu even had a fight with Huangfu Xing. But at that time, both were at the shatter realm's great energy level. Now Jing Tianyu, like Huangfu Xing, had advanced to the Sub-Saint of Martial Dao, and Hou Yuxiao remembered Jing Tianyu's strength very clearly. At the shatter realm, it was just below Huangfu Xing, so now it should not be too strong;

As for Wanyan Cheng, this was the first time Hou Yuxiao met him, one of the three emperors of the Great Jin, Emperor Yuliang. If Hou Yuxiao remembered correctly, five years ago, the main force behind leading the army across Lincang Path and the downfall of Great Yu was this person.

Seeing Wanyan Cheng for the first time, Hou Yuxiao felt a slight pressure. His breakthrough to the Sub-Saint of Martial Dao had been quite recent, but after destroying Leiyin Temple last year, he had spent the last two months cultivating in the Five Elements Heaven. According to the flow of time, he had been cultivating for more than ten years, now nearing the Sub-Saint Peak of Martial Dao, yet Wanyan Cheng could still make him feel pressured.

"Senior Wanyan, Senior Jing, your esteemed presences here are most welcome, and it is indeed my fault for not greeting you earlier. I'm truly entangled in mundane matters, I beseech the two seniors for your forbearance."

Wanyan Cheng, originally sitting in a chair with a slightly unpleasant expression, softened his expression upon seeing Hou Yuxiao's attitude. But before he could speak, Hou Yuxiao had already walked up to the throne of the palace and sat down, looking down at him from above.

This scene suddenly made his expression tense.

Over on the other side, Jing Tianyu's expression remained unchanged from beginning to end, and upon hearing Hou Yuxiao's apology, showed no reaction either. Seeing Hou Yuxiao sitting above on the throne, he remained calm and composed, displaying no discomfort whatsoever.

The changes in their expressions were all clearly perceived by Hou Yuxiao.

Clearly, the style of the Great Jin was a little more forceful.

"What brings the two of you here from afar?"

Hou Yuxiao was also unfazed by Wanyan Cheng's consistently furrowed brows and directly inquired about their intentions.

Jing Tianyu intended to speak, but Wanyan Cheng intentionally interrupted him, sitting on the chair and speaking first: "This seat has come to deliver an edict from the Emperor of Jin, first to congratulate the Master of the Hou Family!"

...

Hou Yuxiao was taken aback, as were Hou Yuduan, the Hong Kui father and son, and both Hou Wuji and Hou Wuqie, who followed him inside, all showing puzzled expressions.

Within the entire palace, only Jing Tianyu remained calm and collected.

"Dare I ask, Emperor Yuliang, what reason does Mr. Hou have to celebrate?"

Wanyan Cheng remained seated without moving, simply flipping his right palm to produce a golden scroll, gently tossing it into the air.

The scroll unfurled directly in midair, and an unbelievably domineering voice emanated from it:

"Now we have Princess Changping, renowned for her virtuous elegance, gentle and serene demeanor, unique scholarly talents, serves as a model for imperial princesses of Jin. As she has reached the eligible age for marriage, lest her youthful bloom be wasted, it is heard that Hou Yujie, the fourth son of the Hou Clan in Hexi, possessing both martial virtue and talent, and has long admired the splendid grace of Princess Changping, desires her as a wife. Upon Hou Clan's report and the temple's approval of auspiciousness, I hereby personally bestow this decree as a blessing."

...

Hou Yuxiao was utterly stunned for a moment. Although the decree sounded formal, he immediately understood that this was Emperor Yuwen Dongdu of Jin bestowing a marriage upon his fourth brother.

The problem is, when did the fourth brother long for Princess Changping's splendid grace, when did he desire her as a wife, and when did the Hou Clan report this...

Good heavens, is this a bestowed marriage or forced marriage?

The members of the Hou Clan were still too bewildered to react, and on the other side, Jing Tianyu seemed unable to sit still as well, stepping forward with a light laugh: "What a coincidence, I am also here on behalf of the three families of Hedong to present a marriage proposal to the Master of the Hou Family, congratulations to the Master of the Hou Family first."

Hou Yuxiao's expression slightly darkened, asking in a low voice: "May I ask which three families?"

"Bailu Academy, Haoran Holy Sect, and our Wanjian Holy Sect."

"So, may I know whom your three families have set their sights on in our Hou Clan?"

"It's interesting to say, this time the person chosen for the marriage alliance by our three families is Elder Huamai of Haoran Holy Sect, Miss Lian Ningxue. A few years ago, she visited Hexi, and she claims to have had a brief encounter with Master Hou's second brother, Hou Yucheng. For this marriage alliance, we also respect Miss Lian's own wishes, and the one she chose is indeed Hou Yucheng!"

...

Hou Yuxiao looked at the imperial decree of the Emperor of Jin suspended in midair, and then at Jing Tianyu, whose face was full of a smile, his expression gradually tensing up, as he spoke in a slightly low voice:

"From the looks of it, these two marriages seem to be unavoidable for my Hou Clan, isn't that right?"

One being an imperial decree, the other a joint request by the three families of Hedong.

If Hou Yuxiao still didn't understand what the two meant, then all these years dealing with these holy lands would have been in vain. The problem was, while he understood, and indeed had always been worried about the marriages of the second and fourth brothers, this feeling of being forced to agree was exceedingly uncomfortable for him.

Moreover, it concerned the lifelong matters of two of his brothers.

"This is the imperial decree of the Emperor of Jin, Master of Hou Family, you must think it through!"

"Jing won't say much, just a reminder to Master of Hou Family to consider carefully the face of the three great holy lands!"

Bam...

Hou Yuxiao slammed his palm on the table in front of him, shattering it, and stood up directly, his face full of anger as he looked at the two, just about to speak when Hou Yuduan, behind him, interjected first.

"Please, seniors, do not be impatient. After all, these are matters of marriage, my second and fourth brothers should decide personally. They will not return for another two days, so how about the two of you rest for a while, and we'll respond after both brothers arrive, how does that sound?"

Hou Yuxiao's pupils contracted. He could naturally see that Hou Yuduan was trying to defuse the situation, but after careful thought, such matters of coercion are indeed not solely for him to decide. Not to mention Princess Changping, years ago in Tongling, Lian Ningxue indeed did have an encounter with Hou Yucheng, and at that time, the second brother seemed to have a good impression of that girl. If he really had some intent, wouldn't that be a case of unnecessary worry?

Thinking of this, he did not stop Hou Yuduan from defusing the situation.

Wanyan Cheng and Jing Tianyu could both perceive Hou Yuxiao's anger, but the two seemed to be confident that Hou Yuxiao would not dare to refuse, and directly nodded, accepting Hou Yuduan's proposal.

"Very well."

"The matter of marriage does indeed require them to be present."

Hou Yuduan smiled slightly, clasping his hands: "Thank you both for your understanding!"