Looking to the Future

In the courtyard, Zhou Changhe arrived to find Zhou Ping playing with young Zhou Chengming. He stepped forward and spoke respectfully.

"Uncle, the Azure Cloud Sect has come to the county seat to recruit disciples."

Zhou Ping cradled Zhou Chengming in his arms, pondering for a moment before replying, "I will call Minghu and the others over so we can deliberate on this properly."

With a flick of his fingers, he activated the spiritual formation, sending a call to Zhou Xuanya and Zhou Minghu, who were tending to the spirit fields.

Once the two arrived, Zhou Changhe explained the situation to them once more.

Zhou Ping asked, "What are your thoughts on the Azure Cloud Sect's recruitment?"

Under ordinary circumstances, even though Qingshui County lay a thousand li away from the Azure Cloud Sect, the sect would still dispatch recruiters once every five years.

Back then, Zhou Ping had been brought into their ranks through this very process. Yet, he had never expected the life of a menial disciple to be so wretched. If granted another choice, he would rather have selected a minor sect closer to home; it was far better to be the head of a chicken than the tail of a phoenix.

As for why the Azure Cloud Sect had neglected recruitment for over a decade, Zhou Ping could guess the reason.

It was highly probable that a great cultivator from the sect had attempted a breakthrough years ago, triggering a celestial phenomenon that scorched a thousand li of the prefecture and left the land littered with skeletons. To atone, the sect had to expend immense effort to restore prosperity to Nanyang Prefecture. Furthermore, Qingshui County was remote and impoverished, rarely producing any children with decent aptitude, which led to years of neglect.

Zhou Minghu fell into deep thought before asking, "Father, given Cheng Yuan's aptitude, could he become a novice disciple of the Azure Cloud Sect?"

"He could, but his treatment would be abysmal."

With a spiritual light of only two inches and six fen, he barely scraped the threshold for Qi Condensation. While he could certainly break through with the aid of certain treasures and spiritual medicines, his subsequent cultivation would be nothing more than a long, grueling grind.

Hearing this, Zhou Minghu looked at the others around him and lowered his voice. "In that case, I see no need for our family to participate in this recruitment."

"The distance between us spans a thousand li; the journey is long and perilous."

"If Cheng Yuan is sent there only to end up as an ordinary outer disciple, he would be better off staying home to cultivate. Though our home cannot compare to an immortal sect, we possess a respectable cultivation technique and dedicated pills to assist his training. His cultivation will not lag far behind."

Beside him, Zhou Xuanya nodded in agreement. "Father, Brother is right."

"If Cheng Yuan could enter the Azure Cloud Sect and become the personal disciple of a Foundation Establishment expert, he could provide our family with a powerful backer."

"But if we gain nothing from it, it is simply not worth the sacrifice. The clan is short-handed right now. Keeping Cheng Yuan at home is the wiser choice. If he breaks through to the Qi Condensation realm, he can lighten your burden, Father."

"Besides, you have not stepped down from the mountain in over a decade."

A sudden realization struck Zhou Ping. He had genuinely wished to send Cheng Yuan to the Azure Cloud Sect, hoping his grandson might find a more prestigious path and a brighter future.

Yet, listening to his two sons, he could only dispel the notion.

"Changhe, what are your thoughts?" Zhou Ping turned to his nephew, hoping to hear a fresh perspective.

Zhou Changhe weighed his words carefully before speaking. "Uncle, I wish to ask-if Cheng Yuan joins the Azure Cloud Sect, what stands to benefit our family?"

Zhou Ping shook his head. "Nothing."

The Kingdom of Zhao was unlike smaller states, and Nanyang Prefecture differed from other prefectures.

The Azure Cloud Sect was the weakest among the major sects, and its sphere of influence reached only the northern territories of the prefecture. Remote southern regions like Zhaoping Commandery were merely standard grounds to harvest fresh blood to replenish their numbers.

If Zhou Chengyuan joined the Azure Cloud Sect, he would share Zhou Ping's past fate-his ties to the family would be nearly severed. He would fail to forge connections with any powerful figures, nor could he offer the clan the slightest aid in the near term.

Furthermore, if he utilized the sect's resources to reach the Qi Condensation realm, he would be bound to serve them for many years before he could ever return home.

"Alas, since we are in agreement, we shall not send Cheng Yuan to the sect," Zhou Ping sighed. "Minghu, travel to the county seat tomorrow to convey our family's respects."

Although the Azure Cloud Sect's power did not fully extend to the southern prefecture, it remained the undisputed leader of the righteous path in Nanyang Prefecture. Within the region, only the Imperial Immortal Bureau could contend with it.

The Zhou family was a mere minor immortal clan; as local hosts, they could not afford to slight a superior sect.

"Uncle, I have not finished," Zhou Changhe continued. "While Cheng Yuan may not join the Azure Cloud Sect, why should we not look at what lies right before our eyes?"

"What do you mean, Changhe?" Zhou Ping asked, puzzled, though a gleam soon kindled in his eyes.

"Exactly, Father!" Zhou Minghu added excitedly. "The Azure Cloud Sect is far too distant to be of any help to us, but we can look to a nearby sect to borrow their strength and foster our own."

"The Baishan Sect in the north of the commandery is an excellent choice."

Zhou Ping was well-acquainted with the Baishan Sect's reputation. It had been established a century ago by a rogue cultivator who successfully reached the Foundation Establishment realm. Even the late Li Mu had once been a disciple there.

Though deemed a sect, true authority remained concentrated within that rogue cultivator's clan, with numerous disciples from various immortal families holding vital positions.

"I have been blind all along," Zhou Ping murmured with a bitter smile.

He had always focused on keeping the clansmen gathered together, working in unison to strengthen the family. Yet, such an approach carried tremendous peril. Should an overwhelming enemy emerge, the clan risked being completely wiped out in one fell swoop.

Conversely, placing pieces across multiple boards would naturally dilute the intimacy between clansmen, but it would immensely safeguard the family's survival.

One branch rooted in the family, another entwined with the sect-the two supporting and complementing each other.

"The Baishan Sect will not recruit disciples for another year. We have ample time to prepare."

However, Zhou Minghu shook his head. "Father, I believe it is better to wait until Cheng Yuan achieves the Qi Condensation realm before he joins."

"The internal factions of the Baishan Sect are tangled and complex, filled with various collateral branches of different immortal clans. If Cheng Yuan enters with only a Spiritual Awakening cultivation, his weakness will inevitably drag him into power struggles where he cannot protect himself."

"But if he advances to the Qi Condensation realm first, he can enter as a mid-level steward. Though he still will not touch the core secrets of the sect, he will at least not be left at the mercy of others."

Zhou Changhe stepped forward. "When the time comes, we can have Lin Feng and the others join as well, ensuring Cheng Yuan establishes a firm foothold."

"Through that sect branch, we can finally remedy our family's lack of spell techniques and low-tier inheritances."

In truth, every immortal clan understood this strategy, yet few dared to execute it.

The bottleneck lay in their inheritance.

Some clans, despite their status, possessed only two or three Spiritual Awakening cultivators alongside their lone Qi Condensation master. When maintaining their own lineage was a struggle, how could they spare anyone for outside ventures?

Meanwhile, established clans with centuries of heritage like the Huang family possessed the strength, but they could not bear to part with a Qi Condensation cultivator for nothing.

After all, as decades passed, a branch embedded in a sect might easily drift away from the main family.

Furthermore, the Huang family had long relied on a solitary Qi Condensation cultivator to guard them, making such a move impossible. It was only in recent years that Huang Zhengming emerged as their second Qi Condensation master.

Now, with the successful refinement of the Green Jade Pill close at hand, the Huang family aimed to become the supreme leader of the southern commandery's clans, not some minor tail within a sect.

But the Zhou family was different. Though Zhou Ping refrained from artificially raising his descendants' aptitudes too blatantly, the family inheritance would never break so long as he stood guard.

What the Zhou family currently lacked were the various cultivation arts and other spell inheritances.

Zhou Ping looked upon the three men, a gratified smile gracing his face. "With you all steering the family, I can truly rest easy."

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