Protect Our Patriarch

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"That's a good idea," Qingsong Daoist's eyes lit up. "Our Lingyun Holy Land is clearly overflowing with talents this time. We can't let a Peerless Prodigy miss out on the opportunity to inherit the sacred tome, can we?"

"It's a pity for the Peerless Prodigy, but isn't it also a pity for the top-tier Great Prodigy?" Heavenly Fire Master also brightened up. "I've heard that over at the Immortal Palace, many top-tier Great Prodigies have inherited the sacred tome. Our Shicong has been exceptionally gifted since childhood. If he has the chance to study at the Immortal Palace, he might not be inferior to those high and mighty prodigies there."

"Exactly, exactly. One of the Great Prodigies from the Immortal Palace came back with us this time, and it's said that he also has a chance to compete for a higher position in the future," Yunyang Daoist sneered. "From my observation, it seems like nothing special."

As soon as Yunyang Daoist said this, everyone's gaze involuntarily focused on Jiang Xingyuan, sitting in the last row.

Everyone had heard that this young man named "Jiang Xingyuan" was a friend of Gongyang Ce and a direct disciple of one of the Holy Lands under the Immortal Palace—[Qixuan Holy Land]. He was one of the potential inheritors of the [Qixuan Tome].

Even this young man had the chance to inherit the tome, so why should our more outstanding disciples only inherit the Divine Realm legacy? At worst, let the disciples join the Immortal Palace.

After all, Lingyun Holy Land and the Immortal Palace have always had an inherited relationship. The original Lingyun Holy Master also branched out from the Immortal Palace, so going back is no big deal~

Jiang Xingyuan wished he could find a hole to hide in. Being discussed and compared under everyone's gaze was unbearable for anyone. If he could take on these big shots, he would have flipped out long ago.

Even Yao Chengchao, sitting beside him, couldn't help but move a bit further away to avoid being compared alongside him.

He realized that the candidates from this generation of Lingyun Holy Land were all monsters. No, to be precise, everyone related to the Wang's Clan were true prodigies.

Their future stage would undoubtedly not be limited to the Eastern Qian Kingdom.

From this perspective alone, the future of the Wang's Clan seemed very promising.

It seemed that tightly clinging to the Wang's Clan might bring him, Yao Chengchao, immense opportunities. For now, studying with the children of the Wang's Clan was the best entry point.

Their Yao's Clan also had a tome inheritance.

For a moment, Yao Chengchao's heart was filled with excitement.

While the Daoists were contemplating the tome inheritance of the Immortal Palace and discussing how to extend the competition to the Immortal Palace, the scenes within the trial ground continued to switch rapidly.

The time flow within the trial ground felt completely different from outside, making the process seem very fast.

After all, this was a trial testing comprehensive abilities, requiring the management of a village, the development of productivity, and leading the villagers in battles. The overall time span was quite large, and they couldn't possibly watch the trial for ten or eight years, right?

Although it was unclear what methods these trial pods used, it was evident that the Shenwu Royal Dynasty had considered these factors when creating these "trial pods" and had gradually perfected everything.

Thus, the scenes on the large crystal screen appeared to be fast-forwarded but remained smooth, with all the key points highlighted.

Wang Lici, leveraging her unique talent as a foodie, gained a significant advantage from the start. The babies, after drinking enough milk, quickly grew strong and visibly matured, seemingly becoming robust young men within a year.

This made Wang Shouzhe secretly complain, "Whose children grow that fast?"

But it made sense. The Officer Training Academy also needed to emphasize efficiency. They couldn't extend a "trial assessment" to hundreds of years, right? How to accelerate the trial pace was a necessary consideration.

Meanwhile, Wang Yingxuan, who started in a harsh training mode, saw significant improvements in the spirit and physique of her young adults after consuming a large amount of food resources and hard work. Her hundred-man army finally began to take shape.

During this time, Wang Yingxuan herself also improved her personal strength.

Finally, she led her army out, full of vigor, and began sweeping through the increasingly cold wilderness.

When encountering fierce beasts, she first used a stone spear to test their strength, only to find that the beasts were indeed as troublesome as her master had said, causing significant losses in the early stages.

Immediately, she abandoned solo combat and switched to leading her troops.

It must be said, Wang Yingxuan, who aspired to be a Valkyrie from a young age, demonstrated strong leadership and command abilities at the age of ten. Over the years, her skills in this area had only grown, far surpassing ordinary people.

She restrained the beasts while commanding her hundred-man army to form a formation and encircle them.

In no time, she managed to slay the bear-like fierce beast with minimal cost, gaining its fur, claws, and precious flesh.

She took out five hundred pounds of meat, had it cooked on the spot, and shared it with her soldiers, personally bandaging the wounded and boosting morale.

This act transformed the soldiers' fear from the previous harsh training into awe and even worship.

Thus, she began using war to sustain war, relying on hunting to conduct practical military training.

The army she painstakingly trained did not disappoint her, growing and transforming rapidly in battles against fierce beasts.

Their eyes became firm and composed, their will resolute, and their actions steady and silent, gradually turning into an elite force.

Despite their still rudimentary weapons and equipment, their actual combat power was entirely different from Zhen Shicong's hunting team.

Meanwhile, a large amount of meat was sent back to the farmstead, and the prestige of the heaven-blessed Yingxuan skyrocketed, quickly entering a positive cycle.

Although her pace in resolving the first wave of food crises was much slower than Wang Lici's, she proceeded more steadily.

Not long after everything was on track, Wang Yingxuan received intelligence.

A nearby bandit lair had raided two farmsteads, seizing their remaining food and able-bodied men, leaving behind the old, weak, sick, and disabled.

Wang Yingxuan's eyes lit up immediately, recognizing the arrival of the second task.

According to her master Jiang Zhencang, she should fortify the farmstead, arrange patrols, and guard against bandit raids. As long as she could withstand one wave of bandit attacks, she would pass the test.

But Wang Yingxuan had different ideas.

She saw it as an opportunity to annex the two farmsteads. However, she didn't rush to attack. Instead, she sent people to gather the old, weak, sick, and disabled, collecting specific intelligence on the bandits, while initiating reconnaissance mode, selecting the ten best from her team to act as scouts.

Having grown up listening to stories in Shouzhe's arms, her grandfather Wang Shouzhe was undoubtedly the closest and most admired hero in her heart.

Her grandfather's obsession with intelligence deeply influenced her combat philosophy.

Through intelligence gathering, reconnaissance, and even infiltrating spies, she quickly gained a thorough understanding of the strength comparison between the enemy and her forces.

The bandit lair's leader was also a formidable "heaven-blessed," originally commanding two hundred elite troops, and later plundering two hundred young adults from villages 3977 and 8172.

On the surface, the strength disparity was significant.

But Wang Yingxuan was unfazed. After making arrangements, she boldly launched a surprise attack, using her infiltrated spies to create chaos, while relying on the old, weak, sick, and disabled she had gathered to divide the two hundred young adults, further escalating the chaos.

Simultaneously, Wang Yingxuan led ten personal guards in a surprise attack on the bandit leader. After a life-and-death struggle, she successfully beheaded the bandit leader.

Subsequently, the demoralized bandit organization quickly surrendered.

In this battle, although she was severely injured and lost thirty elite soldiers, she achieved a small victory against a larger force, eliminating an entire bandit organization and gaining a large number of able-bodied men, money, food, and weapons.

She also dealt with the surrendered bandits.

After returning, she screened the bandits, executing some key members, and gained prestige in the two villages. The remaining bandits were used as laborers for building houses, reclaiming wasteland, constructing walls, and more.

Inside the trial hall.

The Daoists who had witnessed Wang Yingxuan's battle from start to finish fell into silence.

When Holy Master Jiang insisted on making Wang Yingxuan the next Holy Master, they were initially very resistant. Wasn't this predetermined? Why should the Holy Master's disciple automatically become the Holy Master?

Moreover, Wang Yingxuan's young age and lack of prestige only fueled their dissatisfaction.

Yet, unexpectedly, she not only possessed outstanding cultivation aptitude but also demonstrated exceptional talent in training troops and waging war.

She not only had a knack for training soldiers but also had a keen sense of warfare, often able to pierce through the enemy's weakest point like a sharp blade.

Under her leadership, the army seemed capable of winning every battle.

"Good, good, good." Jiang Zhencang was also taken aback, tears streaming down his face. "My disciple is both brave and wise, truly surpassing her master."

He had thought his plan was the most stable, only to realize it was his lack of military command skills. If he had possessed such abilities back then, the situation on various battlefields of the Great Qian might have been different.

Even Wang Shouzhe couldn't help but feel emotional.

When she was a child in his arms, Yingxuan preferred listening to stories about the Three Kingdoms and military strategies over traditional journeys to the West. Clearly, she favored the use of military power over personal bravery.

Her various performances in the clan school also showcased her talent in this area.

His decision to send her to the Holy Land was largely influenced by this. After all, the Wang's Clan couldn't teach her military command, but the Holy Land offered more practical opportunities, with the protection of mentors, and the Holy Land's library was the richest in the Great Qian, allowing her to grow faster.

Yet, over the years, Yingxuan's growth far exceeded his expectations. Clearly, she hadn't stopped learning in this area alongside her cultivation.

"Could it be? This time, will it be Yingxuan or Lici who secures the position of Saintess?" The Daoists were filled with doubt.

Compared to the outstanding performances of these two, the others seemed ordinary, including Wang Liyao, who had the best bloodline aptitude but showed no remarkable performance.

"Not necessarily," Mingcheng Zhenren shook his head. "Although Lici and Yingxuan's performances are impressive, this is just the beginning. Look at our Luo Qiu, she's already completed internal reorganization and started external exploration."

"And the most impressive ones are actually the seemingly ordinary Gongyang Ce and Wang Liyao. Notice how they've listed every aspect of the farmstead and are systematically handling everything. It may not seem flashy, but their development speed is actually not slow."

This is the detail of management!

It may not look dazzling, but it accumulates strength in every aspect. Over time, these small accumulations will build up, eventually forming a significant advantage.

This is the potential.

"Yes, Gongyang Ce himself has great potential, and he's grown a lot this time. After traveling in the Immortal Dynasty for so many years, it wasn't in vain." Wang Shouzhe sipped his spiritual tea, a hint of satisfaction in his eyes.

Looking back now, the days of conflict with Gongyang Ce seemed like yesterday.

At that time, the alliance of Gongyang Ce and Commandery Prince Kang put considerable pressure on the Wang's Clan, prompting everything that followed and even altering the political landscape of the Great Qian and the family hierarchy.

Now, Wang Shouzhe had grown to stand on equal footing with the heads of the Holy Land's various veins. The Divine Realm princes of the royal family and the Divine Realm ancestors of third and second-grade families no longer dared to underestimate him, unconsciously treating him as an equal.

The once lofty Gongyang Ce had gradually become a junior in Wang Shouzhe's eyes, akin to Liyao and the others.

Such changes, who could have predicted them without experiencing them firsthand?

"Actually, I must thank Master Wang Shouzhe for teaching Ce'er, suppressing and refining his arrogance and complacency, allowing him to settle down completely." At this time, a steady middle-aged man's voice sounded nearby.

The speaker was Langya Daoist, the peak master of the Taiyi Golden Sun vein.

They were all "big figures" sitting in the front row of the spectator seats, not far apart. However, due to various reasons, there had been no interaction between him and Wang Shouzhe, as if an invisible barrier existed.

At this moment, Langya Daoist took the initiative to speak, and Wang Shouzhe naturally returned the courtesy, saying, "How could I dare? It was merely a matter of different camps at the time, and some measures had to be taken. I hope Daoist will forgive me~"

"Master Wang Shouzhe is too kind. In fact, it was my disciple's overestimation of himself in participating in the Imperial Heir Struggle. Upon closer examination, Langya must thank Master Wang Shouzhe for sparing his life." Langya Daoist also returned the courtesy.

He was well aware that if Wang Shouzhe had been determined to take Gongyang Ce's life back then, the boy would have long since turned to dust. It was only due to saving face that he had been somewhat cold towards the Wang's Clan.

But now, the times had truly changed.

The Wang's Clan had become a formidable force, with increasing influence both in the court and the Holy Land. The position of the Holy Land's master was almost in the Wang's Clan's pocket.

Such a figure and momentum, how could he, a mere peak master of Golden Sun Peak, contend with it?

Rather than overestimating himself and courting humiliation, it was better to take the initiative to ease the awkward atmosphere between them. After all, in a few hundred years, the Wang's Clan might very well become the most powerful family in the Great Qian.

And not just one of them...

Meanwhile, Wang Shouzhe was also considering that the future Holy Land would be overseen by the Wang's Clan's children. Golden Sun Peak, being an old branch of the Holy Land, needed to be appeased and drawn in for the family's children.

After all, they were not genuine enemies, and there was no need to act like foes.

In this "mutual affection" scenario, Wang Shouzhe and Langya Daoist, the two big shots, chatted more and more warmly, and in a short time, their "relationship" heated up rapidly.

"Actually, speaking of which, Miss Liyao's management and control of details surpass my disciple. Every step she takes is steady and leaves plenty of room," Langya Daoist sighed. "She applies the concept of patience and accumulation to her development strategy. If she becomes the Holy Land's master, she will surely manage the Holy Land to flourish."

"Not at all, Yaoyao is still young. Even if she assumes the position of Holy Master, she will need the guidance and support of all her elders," Wang Shouzhe said modestly.

"Of course, everything is for the Holy Land, for the survival and development of the entire human race," Langya Daoist said with idealism. "I hope that one day, our human race can truly dominate this world and live in peace."

"Daoist's righteousness is truly admirable," Wang Shouzhe praised.

While the two chatted happily, Jiang Zhencang, listening nearby, couldn't even bother with his "tears of joy" and couldn't help but glance at them repeatedly.

Goodness, Shouzhe, your speed in winning over the various veins is truly impressive. In the blink of an eye, you've already appeased Golden Sun Peak?

At this rate, it's possible that before the Holy Son Struggle ends, Shouzhe might have already integrated the nine veins of the Holy Land.

He recalled how, when he first won the position of Holy Son, he was cautious and walked on thin ice, not daring to make a single misstep. When dealing with the big shots of each vein, he always approached them as a junior.

This situation only improved gradually after he truly became a Void Realm.

Yet, unexpectedly, this generation's Saintess hadn't even taken office, and Wang Shouzhe had almost paved the way for her!

Alas~ It was all because his Jiang's Clan was not supportive enough back then. Not only did they fail to provide any support, but they also became overly inflated due to "chicken and dog ascending to heaven," constantly causing trouble and hindering him.

If only he, Jiang Zhencang, had a father or grandfather as capable as Shouzhe to pave the way and remove all obstacles, perhaps the entire situation would have been completely different.

……