Lingzhang

Chapter 832 The Wind and Clouds Sweep Away
really.

When Yue Hanzhang killed the patriarch of the Fu family.

He then understood that with the prestige he had accumulated through blood and fire, there would be no more obstacles to any great undertaking of revolution within the Dao Alliance's territory.

Even the Dao Lord of the Inner Realm Threefold Heaven, who was stationed in the outer star sea and had already reached the peak of the Daoist realm in this extraordinary life, died under Yue Hanzhang's supreme divine weapon.

There is no way to resist!
The momentum of the Taoist Alliance is now irreversible!

Given this prospect, the collapse of the conservative aristocratic alliance, or even a bottom-up counterattack by the various aristocratic families, and the reckoning of the rising stars in those families against the aristocratic heads and elders who now hold power, will all begin.

However, Yue Hanzhang could not predict the exact extent of the event or how many people would die during the process.

but.

They followed closely behind.

The Lei family patriarch in the outer star sea was in an unknown state of mind. Perhaps he was annoyed that his family had been used as a pawn, or perhaps he was resentful that the heads of the various families in the Dao Alliance seemed to want to use him even further.

From the moment he revealed this secret to the public.

Yue Hanzhang knew that.

This counterattack is now inevitable.

And it was destined to end with nothing but a brutal struggle of life and death, blood and fire!
The stubborn heads of various aristocratic families, led by the Tao family patriarch, and the elders of these families are doomed!

If they don't die, then all the powerful families should be wiped out in the face of Yue Hanzhang's majesty!

now.

Yue Hanzhang looked past the young family head and towards what was behind him.

really.

The elders of the Xinghu Tao family standing behind him were all young men, each exuding a strong aura of menace.

Upon closer inspection, many of the younger elders still had injuries that could not be healed in a short time.

It's unclear whether these wounds were inflicted during the battle with the Demon King or during the purge of the previous generation of elders.

But Yue Hanzhang knew.

Everything regarding the Xinghu Tao family has now come to a complete end.

Those once familiar figures were reduced to ashes and dust under the intense burning of the furnace, and then vanished into thin air.

They all died because of Yue Hanzhang.

But in the end, he didn't even have the right to die at Yue Hanzhang's hands.

With these thoughts in mind, Yue Hanzhang's gaze returned to the young Tao family head.

"Was he really drunk and then mistakenly drank poisoned wine before he died?"

For an ordinary mortal, such a death would be considered rather absurd.

Not to mention, the one who ended up like this was a dignified head of a prestigious family who had mastered the essence of form, spirit, and Taoist principles to an extremely refined degree in post-production.

Such an outcome is utterly absurd.

Such a way of dying would even be recorded separately in history. After hundreds or thousands of years have passed, and even the Tao family may have faded away, the head of the Tao family who died in such a bizarre way will still be active in ancient historical records.

Perhaps the head of the Tao family really did die this way, but the young man in front of him made no attempt to cover it up in the slightest.

Or perhaps the head of the Tao family actually died in another way, either by suicide or by the young man before him.

However, when the information was released to the public, the young people still chose to use such an absurd explanation.

They're not going to leave any reputation for the Tao family head after their death!
It is evident that the head of the Tao family made the same mistakes time and time again, leading the Xinghu Tao family to this predicament, and his descendants now deeply resent him!
then.

After asking this question, Yue Hanzhang waved his hand again before the young Tao family head could respond.

"never mind."

"That's not important anymore."

"Let's get back to the matter of serving the country—"

"The Zhenzhou Dao Academy will be established in Yuzhou. The name will be left to the people of the Dao Alliance's General Altar Education Department. The first master of the Dao Academy's Sacred Realm will be Senior Wei Ruyu, who will hold my Venerable King's Edict and be stationed in Yuzhou."

"Senior Wei is my mentor. He was the one who guided me through the key points of refining the Seven Stars of Martial Arts."

"After that, there will be the rotation of the elders of the Dao Alliance headquarters, including the top Dao paths inherited by the Dao Academy. Everything will follow the precedent of Jinzhou Yudu Dao Academy."

"As for your Xinghu Tao family..."

"Let's go back to our ancestral home and govern the prefecture!"

"In addition, in the mortal world, every year, all the Tao family members who can enter the Yuzhou Hidden Dragon Tournament must come to the Northern Protectorate, the northernmost border city facing the demon army, to guard the border for ten years after the tournament."

"For every one person who dies in battle, the Tao family will provide ten to replace them!"

"If one deserter is found, the Tao family will provide a hundred men to replace him!"

"If you dare to disobey orders, pass off inferior goods as superior ones, or secretly harbor descendants of exceptional talents, once the Patrol Bureau discovers this, your Tao family will be wiped out!"

It's the same as investing in service.

The Su family of Wu'an, as well as the Jiang and Sang families, all received preferential treatment.

But when we arrived at the Tao family's place in Xinghu...

Without the newly built Zhenzhou Taoist Temple, there is no lineage bound to a specific Dharma lineage and position for ten thousand generations, nor is there any guarantee of the continuation of the Three Cycles.

The entire Zhenzhou Taoist temple in Yuzhou followed the precedent set by the Yudu Taoist temple in Jinzhou.

The Tao family has absolutely no share in this!

In the end, they didn't even manage to get a share of the common state-level aristocratic families.

Returning to the ancestral town of Zhenjun.

Moreover, while serving in the prefecture, they were also required to send their most promising young talents to the northern border for ten years each year without concealment.

This fundamentally disrupted the rhythm of how all the prodigies of the Tao family could unleash their innate talents amidst the struggles on the path to enlightenment.

If this continues, among the powerful families at the town and county level, the Xinghu Tao family will be the weakest.

In one day.

The Xinghu Tao family was thus abruptly plunged from a powerful clan to the lowest tier of clans, reduced to obscurity. Even with such harsh treatment...

As Yue Hanzhang finished speaking.

The young family head, who was standing there, suddenly breathed a sigh of relief.

After all, the late patriarch had committed numerous crimes, and his final, desperate struggle dragged all the other patriarchs down with him.

He offended Yue Hanzhang, offended various powerful families, and even offended more than one Inner Realm Dao Lord!

Such fruitful results.

His death alone cannot wash away his sins.

Given such a long list of crimes, the fact that Yue Hanzhang did not destroy his family and clan was already considered an act of "extrajudicial mercy."

"I will obey the decree of King Lingye!"

With a sense of relief, and even some gratitude, the young head of the household immediately responded in this way.

And as soon as he finished speaking, he flipped his hand and took out several Sumeru jade boxes, which he respectfully presented to Yue Hanzhang.

“From now on, my Tao family will govern a prefecture. We will be diligent in managing our household and act with utmost care to atone for our past sins.”

"However, if we consider the position of a prefecture-level family, then the resources, secret teachings, and rare treasures that my Xinghu Tao family possesses today far surpass those of any prefecture-level family."

"My Tao family is of humble status and lacks virtue."

"To continue possessing such resources is not a good thing; on the contrary, it will bring disaster!"

"Since you are going to pledge allegiance to the Daoist Alliance, simply giving up your position as a prominent family in Zhenzhou can hardly be considered a pledge of allegiance."

"I now offer up nine-tenths of my Tao family's Buddhist scriptures and nine-tenths of my Xinghu Tao family's foundational treasures for the public use of the Daoist Alliance. All our resources are contained here. How to dispose of them is up to King Lingye to decide."

This is not considered a major hemorrhage.

This is like taking out your heart, liver, spleen, and lungs all at once.

But ironically, this is the truly wise move.

The Xinghu Tao family, a prominent clan in the prefecture, could not hold onto their enviable legacy.

If one stubbornly defends the position, disaster is inevitable.

Putting aside everything else, even if Yue Hanzhang spared the Tao family, the other stubborn aristocratic families would not let the Tao family off the hook!
The various aristocratic families would certainly be extremely interested in using the Tao family's heritage to heal themselves, who have also suffered losses.

Since this family heritage is destined to be lost, for the young family head, it's better to hand over this legacy rather than wait until disaster strikes in the future.

Instead of being passive, we should take the initiative.

They voluntarily dedicated this foundation to the Taoist Alliance.

It was not merely a convenient display of weakness to the powerful families.

He even managed to acquire a talisman through this.

The Xinghu Tao family was the first stubborn aristocratic family to pledge allegiance to the Taoist Alliance, and the first to voluntarily contribute their family fortune to the Taoist Alliance.

Before this foundation is exhausted.

Anyone who dares to touch the Tao family of Xinghu is tantamount to shaking the reputation of a part of the Daoist Alliance.

At such a critical juncture, which once-stubborn and conservative family would dare to offend Yue Hanzhang?

In place.

Yue Hanzhang took another deep look at the young family head.

Then, without any hesitation, he put away those Sumeru jade boxes.

"You are a smart man."

"At least he's smarter than your Tao family's former patriarch."

“If you were him, the Xu Tao family wouldn’t be in this situation today, or they would have already been wiped out by Yue.”

"Go and settle down in the prefecture!"

"Don't meddle in other things anymore!"

Say it.

The new generation of Tao family heads and elders respectfully withdrew.

With this resolution of the dispute between the Tao family and Yue Hanzhang, the matter was finally settled.

Almost at the same time.

When Yue Hanzhang's gaze swept across most of the Dao Alliance's territory.

Above the sacred realm of the diehard family.

One by one, the young family heads and elders, just like the Tao family head before, revealed their figures.

The furnace of the world burned away an entire era of the stubborn aristocratic family.

They clasped their hands and bowed one after another, as if to pay their respects to Yue Hanzhang.

Yue Hanzhang waved his hand to stop their conversation, then turned to look at Liu Jingqiu, who remained visible above the Lingdu Sacred Realm.

"As I have already said, the alliance of stubborn aristocratic families has no reason to exist!"

"Whether you volunteer or not, in the end, you will all end up with the same fate as the Xinghu Tao family."

"There's no need to repeat yourself twice about things that are already too much to say."

"I, Yue, will only ask one question: Is there anyone who dares to resist and is prepared to defy my decree at the cost of their family's destruction?"

The entire territory of the Dao Alliance was utterly silent.

So, Yue Hanzhang nodded slightly and spoke.

"In that case, the affairs of the stubborn aristocratic families in various states shall be handed over to Elder Liu through your family heads."

"All of this follows the precedent agreed upon by Yue and the head of the Tao family!"

"It's settled then!"

(End of this chapter)