Chapter 77

When Long Chen raised his head, he saw a vast city in front of him.

This was a city made of white jade, with towering city walls and buildings that soared into the clouds, all as white as jade. Under the sunlight, they reflected a dazzling and brilliant light.

Fortunately, he had already seen the Yuanling City, so the size of the Lingwu City did not surprise him much.

However, the city before him, which resembled a huge and regular cloud, left Long Chen in awe of its grandeur and beauty.

The other four had already seen the Lingwu City before, but today they could finally live inside it, and they were very excited.

Looking at these five young boys, Gan Lin smiled faintly and said, "Alright, now follow me in. After we settle down, I will introduce you to our Lingwu Family."

Under Gan Lin's lead, Long Chen and the others entered the Lingwu City. In Long Chen's eyes, the Yuanling City was already a symbol of wealth, and this Lingwu City was even more exquisite, no wonder it could become the residence of the Yuanling City's mayor.

"Lingwu City is divided into the outer city and the inner city. The outer city is divided into nine major areas, each being the base of one of the nine outer clans. Our Qing Clan is in the Qing Domain. The place you are now is the Qing Domain, and the city gate you entered is exclusively for the Qing Domain."

While walking, Long Chen occasionally saw martial artists passing by. Some were at the ninth level of the Dragon Vein Realm, just like them, but most were at the Human Core Realm or even higher levels.

In this place where almost everyone was stronger than him, Long Chen completely reined in his temper.

From what he had seen so far, the Lingwu Family was not as harmonious and peaceful as it appeared on the surface. The hidden undercurrents and dangers made Long Chen secretly alarmed.

"In this terrifying place, it seems I will have to keep a low profile and act like a nobody..."

Thinking of this, Long Chen felt depressed and wanted to escape.

However, after going through great efforts to enter the Lingwu City, it was a pity to leave now. Moreover, Long Chen was not one to fear challenges, so he decided to stay.

"Now that I am part of the Lingwu Family, I will ask about the Crimson Blood Holy Sect and see if there is a way to deal with them."

Along the way, people often greeted Gan Lin. When they saw Long Chen and the others, they whistled and said with a smile, "More rookies? Your Qingyang Hall will be lively for a while. I hope these young bulls won't cause you any trouble."

Long Chen secretly remembered their words.

Soon, Gan Lin led them into a large courtyard. This courtyard was very large, with at least a hundred rooms.

At this moment, Gan Lin turned around and said, "This area is the territory of our Qingyang Hall. This large courtyard is under the jurisdiction of the Liu Steward, named Qingliu Residence. We are all disciples under the Liu Steward. Now I will arrange your accommodations and then explain the matters related to the Lingwu City."

It was daytime, and the courtyard was sparsely populated. Gan Lin was very familiar with the place and quickly led them into a row of small rooms, pointing to the exquisite houses and saying, "This is where the fourth-level disciples live. You five will live here from now on. When you become third-level disciples, you will leave this place. Now choose a room each, register, and I will wait for you at the martial arts hall."

Following Gan Lin's instructions, the other four immediately went to choose their rooms.

Long Chen felt that any room would do, so he casually looked at a door number and then followed Gan Lin to the fourth-level disciples' martial arts hall.

Gan Lin had already known that Long Chen would follow him. He sat down on the first chair, looked at Long Chen for a while, and said, "Sit down first. When they come, I will explain the matters of the Lingwu Family to you all. If you have any questions, you can ask them all at once."

Long Chen nodded and sat down. Soon, the other four arrived, all looking excited.

Seeing the hopeful expressions on their faces, Gan Lin shook his head. However, Long Chen's calm expression pleased him. Seeing that everyone was present, he nodded and said, "I will first explain the nature of the outer clans of the Lingwu Family and the daily tasks we need to do. If you have any questions, you can ask me."

Everyone nodded obediently.

Although not intentional, the strength of the Lingwu Family still put pressure on their hearts.

"The Lingwu Family is one of the two major forces in the Yuanling County. Because it has always been at an advantage in the recent conflicts with the Yuan Emperor City's Beast Soul Temple, it has been the mayor's residence of the Yuanling City for over a hundred years."

Gan Lin smiled and continued, "The Beast Soul Temple follows an elite path, while the Lingwu Family has about ten times as many people, with a total of over 20,000 registered clan members. About 2,000 of them are inner clan members. We, the outer clans, consist of nine major lineages: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple, Silver, and Gold."

"Each lineage has about 2,000 outer clan members. However, the first thing you need to understand is that although the Qing Clan has a similar number of people as the inner clan, the inner clan is the true Lingwu Family. As outer clan members, you must understand that we are just the enforcers of the Lingwu Family, their subordinates. Therefore, you must never conflict with them, or no one will mourn your death!"

At this point, Gan Lin's gaze turned cold, and Long Chen and the others felt a shock. Hearing the word "subordinate," Long Chen frowned and asked, "So, whatever they say, we must do, even if it means sending us to our deaths?"

Gan Lin said calmly, "Don't be too pessimistic. The outer clans of the Lingwu Family have developed to this level without rebelling, which shows that the inner clan treats the outer clans well, as long as you don't conflict with them. Think about it, even in a regular family, subordinates don't dare to conflict with the master, right?"

In Long Chen's understanding, the inner clan were the masters, and the outer clan members were all subordinates. Although he was initially very不服气 (unwilling to accept it), he thought about the Lingwu Family being the platform for his rise and his current low level of strength...

"The Lingwu Family, with such immense power, making me their subordinate is still a favor to me. Besides, from what Gan Lin said, as long as I listen and contribute, there are many benefits. I am a man who can bend and stretch, so why should I fear the inner clan?"

At this moment, Gan Lin scanned them, his eyes revealing a look of reverence, and said, "I didn't mean to make you hostile towards the inner clan. To be honest, although the inner clan has a similar number of people as the Qing Clan, their overall strength is even greater than the combined strength of the nine outer clans!"

"In a sense, the inner clan is the protector of the outer clans. We work for the inner clan, and they provide us with abundant resources and a strong backing. We are like vines, and they are the trunks. Without the support of the trunks, the vines can only lie on the ground."

"Of course, if any of you show extraordinary talent, there might be a chance to be directly recruited into the inner clan. Historically, such cases have not been unheard of!"

When he mentioned this last point, Gan Lin's gaze mostly fell on Long Chen.

In his view, Long Chen was the most promising among the five, but thinking of the extremely harsh conditions, Gan Lin could only smile helplessly.

Long Chen was very interested in entering the inner clan and quickly asked, "Gan Senior Brother, what kind of talent is considered extraordinary?"

Gan Lin smiled bitterly and said, "I'm not sure, but... among the young people in the outer clans, who number about ten thousand, only a few can enter the inner clan each year. You can imagine that at your age, you would at least need to be at the Earth Core Realm."

Long Chen was taken aback.

"At my age, the Earth Core Realm... How many geniuses are there in the Lingwu Family? I was called a world-class genius in Baiyang Town, but here, I am nothing!"

This immense pressure did not weigh him down but turned into motivation and passion. Thinking that he might be able to rise step by step in the Lingwu Family, Long Chen was filled with determination!

Seeing the slightly passionate look in Long Chen's eyes, Gan Lin was about to discourage him but then thought, "Forget it, I won't crush him now. In the future, as he stays longer in the Lingwu Family, he will naturally understand that some things are simply beyond human control..."

Recalling his own past, when he was also naive and thought he could enter the inner clan, only to face repeated setbacks and injuries, he finally reined in his ambitions and focused on cultivation.

"Young people are truly wonderful..."

Gan Lin's wistful gaze was not lost on Long Chen, who understood his meaning but was not someone who would be easily defeated by a little underestimation.

At this moment, Gan Lin continued, "I won't explain the inner clan's power for now. In our nine outer clans, each has a supreme ruler, known as the Grand Elder. Under the Grand Elder of the Qing Clan, there are eight elders, each overseeing one of the eight halls of the Qing Clan. Our Qingyang Hall is under the jurisdiction of one of these elders, whose name is Liu Yuan. Under Elder Liu Yuan, there are five stewards, each overseeing about fifty people. We are under the jurisdiction of Steward Liu. Do you understand this system?"

Gan Lin explained very clearly, and there was no way Long Chen and the others could not understand.

However, such a strict system still made Long Chen's scalp tingle. Under this clear system, he always felt that countless people were pressing down on him!

This feeling made him very uncomfortable, but in reality, he had no power to resist!

Before Long Chen and the others could fully digest this, Gan Lin continued, "Our current status is that of disciples. Martial artists at the Dragon Vein Realm are fourth-level disciples. Those who have just entered the Human Core Realm are third-level disciples. Those who have achieved a small success in the Human Core Realm are second-level disciples. Those who have achieved a great success in the Human Core Realm are first-level disciples. I am a first-level disciple. Once you reach the Earth Core Realm, you become a formal manager of the Lingwu Family, and those with high cultivation can directly become an outer clan steward of the Lingwu Family."

"Our Qingyang Hall is relatively weak compared to other outer clans. Among the people under Steward Liu's jurisdiction, there are fewer than ten first-level disciples, and there are only four Earth Core Realm experts, including Steward Liu."

Long Chen asked, "Gan Senior Brother, why are the disciples divided into levels?"

Gan Lin looked at Long Chen approvingly and said, "This relates to what I will explain next. That is, what you are supposed to do in the Lingwu Family!"

...

[The next day has arrived, and the flowers have already been generated. Please send them quickly.]

{Piaotian Literature}