New One Formed Old One Destroyed
It was a moment of peace and settlement. And Arthur who had plenty of time on his hand at present made himself busy with the supervision of the clan's construction project. It was a painful experience for the clan members because they found Arthur's blueprint for the whole project to be too tedious and unnecessary. They found the plan such that the place left for the main road was too large, and the distance between the houses was very far. It was like walking in a town or a city. They had a public bath system and also well-designed toilets with a proper drainage system. Every house had toilets which were constructed like modern toilets, that he had on earth. There were aqueducts and canals which flows throughout the new community place. The clan members found it unnecessary to build them because they have already built houses, clan halls, mass toilets and baths for their members. Most of the adults would go and work on the new projects from dawn until dusk. At first, they complained but later they started to rejoice to build it because they had nothing to do. The food inside the groove was aplenty, there were multitudes of games for hunting and fishing and also the ginormous meat left of the flood dragon was plentiful; except for the hunting party which leaves the groove from time to time and a dozen of people who left for the swamp to retrieve their belongings, they had no other work to do. All of them were at the pinnacle stage of their respective cultivation Rank and growing soul space don't depend much on their cultivation of Spiritual Battle Qi. The conversion of Spiritual Battle Qi to Spiritual soul power was necessary but the process acts on its own and it takes a long time. They already had an abundance of Battle Qi reserved in their body to last for years. The only person who was not at the Pinnacle stage was Arthur, he was at the Intermediate stage of the Beginner Cultivation Rank by now. He could have effortlessly joined the Rank of Progressives Learner if he was not at all suppressing his cultivation but to make his foundation strong and stable he had to do so.
Time went by and the new settlers eventually spent their 7th peaceful month inside the groove which they named the Woodsman Village. The construction was almost complete as they were only building the houses necessary for the present members to live in. The architecture was a mixture of traditional and modern buildings. They installed a giant Ferris wheel to lift and channel the water; a windmill and a water turbine to rotate the wheel. It was no engineering marvel to Arthur, it was a primitive and medieval technique to transport water but the clan members looked at Arthur like an ingenious monster.
Arthur was also almost 3 years by now and his cultivation was at the rank of Progressive Learner Advanced Stage. One day when he was cultivating he noticed that there were seven crystals beside the energy source left behind by Li Jun. When he picked it up he found out that it was a condensed form of spiritual energy which was too concentrated but comparatively lesser in purity than the spiritual energy stock that fed him regularly. He theorised that it must be the spiritual soul power of the flood dragon which was destroyed, and condensed because of the pressure exerted by the turbulent source. Subsequently, he called all his close confidants and said, "I have gifts for all of you." Then he distributed one to each of them; one to his dad and one to his mom, one for his grandpa Hai and Ye. The remaining three were given to his grandfather to decide for distribution to whom he sees fit.
Before they could say anything he said, "These are condensed spiritual energy left behind by the flood dragon. I have checked it and these crystals can enhance your spiritual energy to grow. It is not suitable for me because I have my own source. I hope you can accept and increase your cultivation."
They were happy and at the same time, they wanted to decline as they thought Arthur would need it more. But after seeing how Arthur doesn't even care about its value they finally thanked him and accepted it.
Seeing this Arthur laughed and said, "You guys are good people, thinking about me first instead of thinking about yourself." Then he left the room without waiting for their reply. What he hated the most was the shower of praises on him, he liked it when people appreciate his goodwill but he did feel uncomfortable and awkward when someone praises him too much. Even when he was a billionaire he didn't like it when someone praise him on his face. Praising him in newspapers and magazines or behind his back was what he likes the most.
The next day Lu Donghai called Lu Kong, previously Jia Kong, into his room and asked, "Elder Kong if you don't mind sharing then can I ask something personal?"
"Sure, do ask anything," Lu Kong answered.
"Elder Kong, why did you decide to join our clan, isn't it giving away all of your pride and identity? How will you face your ancestors after your death? I don't get why you abandoned your clan's name to adopt ours," asked Donghai.
Lu Kong laughed and said, "Chief, what you say is true for most of the people but not for us. Actually, my father was an orphan who knew not his surname. He was without a clan so when he grew up and joined the hunting group they called him Jia because he was added to the group. This later became our clan's name, it was not our clan's name at all, we didn't have any. My father, on his death bed, told me to join and change our clan's name to an appropriate one when we find the right clan. There were two of my younger brothers standing beside me so he whispered in my ears saying, 'Son if you truly want to be respected by others, find a good clan and adopt the name of the real clan. If you join a powerful clan then even if you are accepted, you'll always be looked down on and scorned so find a weaker clan which has the potential to grow big.' And chief Hai, I see a potential in young master Sansan. Only now do we have a proper clan's name to be called our own."
Donghai smiled and said, "Your father was a wise man and you are clever nonetheless, I also see tremendous potential in my good grandson. That's why we have to become stronger and protect him until he becomes stronger." Then he gave one energy crystal to him explaining its use in expanding the soul energy.
Jia Kong thanked Lu Donghai sincerely and then mumbled, "I didn't make mistake when I wanted to join the Lu Clan, I didn't make mistake." He was truly happy, he felt that he made the right choice. If he becomes a Pinnacle Stage of Alleviation Realm soon and Perhaps Tribulation Realm one day then his clan members would stop doubting his decisions. He hadn't told anyone about the secret of the Jia clan except Lu Donghai. He knew that the energy crystal was too precious and limited, giving it to him instead of his own clan members shows how Donghai trust him.
Lu Donghai on the other hand gave the energy crystal to Lu Kong because he wanted the support of the entire Jia clan members and also make them accept the Lu clan full-heartedly. Then he gave one Crystal to Granny Nuan and the other to Lu Yehan, which was in turn given to his son Lu Ping.
After three months the small peak where Lu Donghai was cultivating suddenly became the most precarious place in the entirely peaceful valley where they resided. Their residences were far away but the clouds covering the small mount expanded towards them, it became darker and darker until a crackling sound of thunder and lightning resounded. At first, it started with numerous small flashes of light but soon the lightning gathered and thunderous lightning lighted up the whole sky to strike at Lu Donghai. Lu Donghai, who was fully prepared for the tribulation underestimated the wrath of heaven and he was completely charred black. He was too weak but he somehow gathered his wits and sat on the broken stone platform, stabilising his body and soul. His soul space was completely shattered and was replaced by a bigger soul space, a sturdier and bigger domain. All his muscles, bones and meridian changed too and he felt that there was a sea of Qi energy building up in his abdominal area, a pure energy source slowly taking shape into an energy centre, a lower dantian. Lu Donghai came to realise that only now did he actually embark on a true cultivation path. All cultivation processes that he thought he had come across were not even actual cultivation. Those were just body tempering and soul improving phases. Real Cultivation is a tough and arduous process because it is not to temper the body alone but to challenge the heavens instead. The soul crystal was lower in purity compared to Arthur's spiritual energy source but it was very stable and more compatible with his body to absorb because it was not turbulent and easy to tame. Thus, within three months of cultivation, he reached a new height of cultivation.
Within these three months, Lu Yehan, Lu Kong and Lu Nuan(granny Nuan) were also at the Pinnacle Stage Alleviation Realm. Lu Xiang, Zhao Mei and Lu Ping (Son of Yehan) had also joined the Rank of lower stages of the Alleviation Realm. The overall power of the Lu clan grew exponentially. They would easily become a major player in the town if they go there, not an influential one because of the smaller number of clan members but surely a place among the strong ones.
There were also lots of changes in the clan during these three months. The project was completed, and they had shifted to a new place. It was a beautiful and the most comfortable place to live, the kitchens were efficient and the toilets were great; it was clean and the flush system was marvellous. The most impressive thing for them was the toilet which was attached to the homes but was constantly cleaned by running water. It was without any pungent smell or bad odour. Instead, it was filled with a nice fragrance coming out from the toilet seat, which was made from the hardwood of an aromatic tree. The central region had parks and water fountains with small colourful fishes living in them. The garden had no plants or flowers yet but it was neat and systematic. The water canal from the river that flowed in the plains and the constant water supply that was sent upward by the giant wheel was fully functional. After learning the true purpose of the whole construction they thought that their village was a true paradise. The constructed area had a large gate and above it was written: "Woodsman Village."
After shifting to the new area, the idle people entered a new profession. That is: ''harassing the Liu and the Bai Clan.''
Inside the Liu clan, not everything was going on well. First, their hunting parties were attacked and robbed by unknown miscreants. Second, the Bai clan also had a Pseudo Tribulation Realm among them. It was rumoured that they might have another member of that rank soon. Hence, the alliance quickly turned bitter and a power struggle occurred between the two. Liu Longwei, who was still the strongest wanted to eliminate Bai Dong before they acquire another Pseudo Tribulation Pill from the Bai clan's business association.
The Bai clan on the other hand bought Liu Clan's people secretly and mercenaries to fight with Liu Clan using their power of wealth and influence. Like most smaller clans many of the Lu clan members who followed Lu Fang left for town discreetly except for Lu Fang and his direct descendants. The apprehension of the outbreak of war, the subordinate clans leaving the village for towns and other villages, and the influx of mercenaries and opportunists altogether brought complete chaos into the village.
The only reason that prevented the war to explode until now was the fear of Breaking Down Village's interference. Both sides knew that If Breaking Down village was waiting in the dark to fish in the troubled waters then their fight would be of no significance.
Therefore, on the fifth day of the standoff between the two major clans Bai Dong sent an emissary to negotiate with Liu Clan. To carve out a solution for peaceful existence between the two clans. But, unfortunately, the frustrated direct descendants of Lu Fang, who were not permitted to leave the boundary of the Liu clan upon seeing the Bai clan's emissary struck him down with his blade. Shortly, The war broke out and many people on both sides lost their lives.
The Liu clan turned victorious but they had barely 40 members left in their clan. Lu Fang and his descendants died in this war, Bai clan too were left with few people left alive, they were Bai Dong's direct descendants who escaped beforehand. As expected, the people from the Breaking Dawn Village entered the scene and cleared out all the people and ransacked the whole place.