Chapter 43

Yang Junshan ultimately failed to get a jade coin from his father's pocket. Yang Tiangang easily overturned the previous agreement with his son.

On the surface, Yang Junshan seemed anxious, but in his heart, he was certain. It seemed that his father had made a significant gain; otherwise, he wouldn't be acting so stubborn. Clearly, the number of jade coins he had obtained was so large that he didn't think Yang Junshan, a child, should have so many.

After a moment, Yang Junshan carefully asked, "Father, did you return to Chenyu County a few days ago?"

Yang Tiangang nodded, taking one puff of his tobacco after another.

Yang Junshan asked again, "Did you tell them about the red-rusted raw stone?"

Yang Tiangang nodded again, blowing out a smoke ring and saying, "I told your Uncle. After all, it's too slow for just your mother and me to collect it. Your Uncle has the status of an outer disciple of the Heaven-Shaking Sect, and his connections are much broader than mine. As for whether your Uncle will tell your grandmother, that's his business."

Yang Junshan nodded and said, "Our family has already established our own household. Although your Uncle is your blood brother, he is still the eldest son of the Yang family in Qingstone Town. Handing this matter over to him is quite reasonable. Even if they want to label us as selfish, they have no reason to do so. However, Father, are you sure your Uncle will report this to the family?"

Yang Tiangang remained silent, smoking his tobacco without speaking.

Yang Junshan continued, "You know your Uncle's character best. He will never let go of the benefits first. Even if he does notify the family, it will be delayed. However, I guess this time your Uncle won't notify the family, nor will he wait to get enough benefits first."

Yang Tiangang finally broke his silence, raising his head with a hint of confusion, "You're just talking nonsense!"

Yang Junshan smiled mockingly and said, "Father, you forgot that the Heaven-Shaking Sect's assessment of outer disciples is at its most critical point. Your Uncle has long coveted the status of an inner disciple. If your Uncle reports the matter of the red-rusted raw stone to the Heaven-Shaking Sect, wouldn't that be a great achievement? Wouldn't he be promoted to an inner disciple as a result?"

Yang Tiangang was finally stunned, clearly having thought of this possibility. He sighed and said, "Your Uncle is doing this for the good of the family. After all, becoming an inner disciple of the Heaven-Shaking Sect means receiving the *Earth-Covering Treasure Technique* after reaching the high stage of the Martial Realm. This is a cultivation technique one level higher than the *Earth-Covering Spirit Technique* passed down in our family."

Yang Tiangang paused and continued, "The cultivation technique passed down in the Yang family was derived from this treasure technique. When your grandfather reached the peak of the Martial Realm, it was because the *Earth-Covering Spirit Technique* was not of high enough grade that he repeatedly failed to break through to the True Person Realm. The last time he forced a breakthrough, he ended up going mad and dying on the spot."

Speaking of his grandfather Yang Lie, Yang Junshan's memory was already very vague. He only remembered that it was a very strict old man. If his grandfather were still alive, Yang Tiangang would never have come to Chenyu County to establish his own household.

"Your grandfather always regretted not becoming an inner disciple of the Heaven-Shaking Sect and not receiving the *Earth-Covering Treasure Technique*. If your Uncle can successfully be promoted to an inner disciple, it will also fulfill your grandfather's wish. If your Uncle can truly achieve the True Person Realm in the future, the Yang family will also have the qualifications to inherit the *Earth-Covering Treasure Technique*. In any case, this is a good thing."

Yang Junshan said resentfully, "I hope so. I hope he won't forget you, the brother who helped him!"

Yang Tiangang fell silent again. If his elder brother Yang Tianchen had stood by him back then, even without his father's support, he wouldn't have had to come to the remote Tuqiu Village to be the village chief in such a miserable state.

At this moment, Yang Junshan's eyes were rolling, seemingly calculating something. Just then, Yang Tiangang suddenly said, "When I returned to the village today, I heard from Uncle Tieniu that Xu Lei has also refined a middle-grade immortal spirit and reached the peak of the Immortal Spirit stage."

"Oh!" Yang Junshan was not concerned. Whether it was Zhang Huzi or Xu Lei, he didn't take them seriously. Even if they achieved some success, they would probably be on par with their fathers.

Yang Tiangang, seeing that Yang Junshan was not concerned, naturally understood his thoughts. His son had refined a high-grade immortal spirit, and his body-strengthening technique was also suspected to be high-grade. From the start, he had already surpassed these people by a large margin. However, what he wanted to say was actually something else: "Xu Sanlang has already notified the villagers. Once Xu Jing has completely refined her immortal spirit, she will be betrothed to Xu Lei."

Although they were only twelve or thirteen years old, such things were not uncommon. However, Yang Junshan smiled and said, "Xu Sanlang is in a hurry."

Yang Tiangang also smiled and said, "Once Xu Jing breaks through the Immortal Spirit acupoint and advances to the third level, she is very likely to develop a natural talent. According to what Chen Ji, an inner disciple of the Heaven-Shaking Sect, said at Baique Mountain, the Heaven-Shaking Sect may very well take her as an outer disciple. If she doesn't secure this daughter-in-law now, she might find that her son is no longer good enough for her in the future."

"Probably more than that," Yang Junshan added. "Xu Sanlang herself found a赘婿 (a man who marries into a family). Although her son bears the Xu surname, he ultimately has a father from another family. Therefore, although Xu Sanlang has a say in the Xu family, her son is not very well-liked in the Xu family. By betrothing the Xu family's talented girl Xu Jing to her son, she is likely trying to dispel doubts within the Xu family and pave the way for her son to inherit the position of the Xu family head."

Yang Tiangang nodded frequently, clearly pleased that his son could see this. However, when he mentioned "赘婿 (a man who marries into a family)," Yang Tiangang thought of something and said, "Your Seventh Uncle will come to visit us in a few days."

"Really?" Yang Junshan's face lit up, but then he thought of something and asked in a serious tone, "Is it because of the land distribution?"

Yang Junshan's Seventh Aunt, Yang Tianyan, was the youngest sister of his grandfather Yang Lie, who was the fourth uncle of Yang Junshan. The Yang family in Qingstone Town began to rise during the time of Yang Junshan's grandfather Yang Lie. At that time, the four Yang siblings successively advanced to the Martial Realm, which was a topic of discussion in Chenyu County.

After becoming an outer disciple of the Heaven-Shaking Sect, Yang Lie began to establish the Yang family with his three siblings. To seize control of Qingstone Town, Yang Lie remarried and married the widow daughter of a True Person Realm elder of the Heaven-Shaking Sect, thereby obtaining the elder's support and successfully making the Yang family a prominent family in Qingstone Town.

Despite this, the Yang family's foundation was still shallow. To consolidate the family's power, the four Yang siblings established a very strict family rule: any Yang woman with cultivation talent, after reaching adulthood, was not allowed to marry out but could only take in a赘婿 (a man who marries into a family).

To set an example for the younger generations, the Third Aunt, Yang Yan, led by example and was the first to find a赘婿 (a man who marries into a family).

Yang Junshan's Seventh Uncle, An Xia, was saved by his fourth uncle, Yang Jiao, when he encountered danger in the cultivation world as a young man. While recuperating in Qingstone Town, he fell in love with his Seventh Aunt, Yang Tianyan. However, the Yang family's rule did not allow women to marry out, and An Xia, being a free-spirited and proud person, was unwilling to be a赘婿 (a man who marries into a family). This perfect match was thus at an impasse, and the Seventh Aunt was often in tears.

During An Xia's recuperation, Yang Tiangang and An Xia became close friends. Yang Tiangang even sought help from his father, Yang Lie, hoping to make an exception for the Seventh Aunt to marry, but was scolded severely.

Later, unable to resist the Seventh Aunt's pleading and to repay the Yang family for saving his life, An Xia reluctantly joined the Yang family as a赘婿 (a man who marries into a family).

After marriage, Yang Junshan's Seventh Uncle often traveled outside and rarely returned home. Sometimes he even took the Seventh Aunt with him to enjoy the mountains and rivers. In the Yang family, he only maintained a close relationship with Yang Tiangang, while his relationship with others was very distant.

Yang Junshan had met his Seventh Uncle several times, and his Seventh Uncle also liked him very much. When Yang Tiangang came to Tuqiu Village to establish his own household, only his Seventh Uncle accompanied them all the way to Mengyu County. On the journey, his Seventh Uncle told Yang Junshan many stories of his travels, which greatly broadened Yang Junshan's horizons.

Seeing Yang Tiangang nod, Yang Junshan asked, "So how should the spirit fields be divided? Do you have a plan, Father?"

Yang Tiangang changed the tobacco in his pipe, pressed it down with his hand, and blew a small flame from his mouth, which landed in the pipe and quickly ignited the tobacco. He placed the pipe in his mouth, "puffed" a few times, and then, while blowing out a smoke ring, said, "Seven parts, we will take seven parts of the three acres of spirit fields!"

"How much?" Yang Junshan immediately objected, "Only seven parts? If it weren't for you, Father, where would the extra three acres of spirit fields in Tuqiu Village come from? In the past three years, how much effort have you put in? By merit and contribution, our family should at least get one acre!"

"What do you know!" Yang Tiangang glanced at him and said, "Do you know how many households there are in Tuqiu Village? How many of these households have spirit farmers? How many have spirit fields but no spirit farmers? How many have spirit farmers but no spirit fields?"

"Even if we don't get one acre of new spirit fields, the Xu family, who make up one-third of the population in Tuqiu Village, can at most propose one acre of spirit fields, and they might not even give us that much."

"Our family has only three households in the village. Including the few households that are close to us, the seven acres of spirit fields we are getting, based on the number of people, is already the highest. This also includes the two parts of spirit fields promised to Baozhang's child."

At this moment, Yang Junshan blinked and said, "Father, have you considered bringing some Yang family members from Qingstone Town here? Don't rush to refuse. I know you have a few close friends like Uncle Tieniu and Uncle Qingniu. Now that you have already established a foothold in Tuqiu Village, why not secretly encourage them to move here? This way, our family will have more people and more influence in Tuqiu Village!"