Beast Taming Clan: I Have a Jade Book

Yet, the spiritual light in her eyes shone even brighter.

She knew this was proof of Ye Jingyu’s high regard for her, and she absolutely could not betray that trust.

”Your status as a Spiritual Child is settled, but you still need to perform well in this clan competition,” Ye Jingyu said. Although she wasn’t the Hall Master, her words held even more weight here.

”Please rest assured, Seventh Granny. I will make it into the top ten of the Foundation Establishment stage this time,” Ye Yunmei replied with absolute certainty.

Beside her, Ye Qingyuan couldn’t help but nod in agreement.

***

Compared to the Spirit Plant Hall, where the Hall Master and elders decided who would become a Spiritual Child, the selection process for the Pill Hall, Artifact Hall, and Array Hall was far simpler and more straightforward.

It only required a single competition.

For example, in the Pill Hall, Qi Cultivation Cultivators had to refine a Tier One Top-Grade Spirit Pill, while Foundation Establishment Cultivators had to refine a Tier Two Top-Grade Spirit Pill. As for Purple Mansion Cultivators, since they had already broken through to the Purple Mansion realm, they were naturally excluded from this competition.

The reason the standard required top-grade pills was simply because there were only two open slots for Spiritual Children. If one could not refine spirit pills that surpassed their standard tier, they naturally wouldn’t qualify to be a Pill Hall Spiritual Child within the Ye family.

The Ye family’s Spiritual Children were the reserves for future high-tier Technique Masters. Naturally, it was impossible to just make up the numbers or fake one’s way through.

Thus, even though the Nascent Soul ceremony had not yet begun, people were already secretly competing all across the Spirit Mountain.

***

Following the Celestial Phoenix Oasis’s Spirit Vein upgrading to Tier Five Middle-Grade, the entire oasis had gained quite a few more Spirit Mountains. The environment was growing more and more similar to the Taichang Mountain Range. These mountains—some towering, others low and flat—were arranged according to specific array groups.

Chuanyuan Peak was a rather gentle mountain located near the center of the Celestial Phoenix Oasis.

Several plazas dotted the mountain, each heavily guarded. However, these plazas were not used by Ye family cultivators for martial practice or cultivation; rather, they housed teleportation arrays.

The Ye family’s teleportation array secret techniques were still relatively rudimentary, and the Spatial Jades refined by Ye Jingcheng were of the lowest grade. Because of this, the teleportation arrays set up by the Ye family only functioned as one-way point-to-point connections.

Currently, the network only covered two large oases. One was the Yuanling Oasis, which connected to the Celestial Departure Grassland. The other was the Poplar Oasis, which was the furthest from the Celestial Phoenix Oasis and served as the primary outpost for the Ye family’s current explorations beyond the Desert Sea.

At this moment, the teleportation array connecting the Celestial Phoenix Oasis to the Yuanling Oasis flared with spiritual light. A moment later, the figures of Ye Xueliang, Ye Haicheng, and Ye Qingnian appeared on the teleportation platform.

The serious expressions they previously wore had melted into relaxed, comfortable smiles, and they were chatting and laughing with one another.

The Yuanling Oasis had indeed experienced a considerable disturbance recently, but fortunately, it had not spiraled out of the Ye family’s control.

First, the Ma family had the audacity to instigate a war using the Cyan Yang Camel. Following that, the Wan family and Xu family struck as if they had prearranged it. The Wan family seized three oases, while the Xu family took one.

There were even two weaker Qi Cultivation Clans whose oases were stolen by loose cultivators.

However, with the exception of the Haoyu Oasis, the Ye family had long anticipated the fall of the others.

The major families had all come prepared. The Ma family acted on the basis of secretly hoarding a Cyan Yang Camel, while the Xu family, the Wan family, and the remaining few used historical grievances as their excuse—all of which were ancient grudges.

Furthermore, the Ma, Xu, and Wan families had all offered up double their usual tribute in spirit stones and resources.

At the same time, the various large oases had completely bought out the array discs sold by the Ye family, and certain magical artifacts and spirit pills had also sold phenomenally well. Moreover, the number of families sending their cultivators and marriage proposals to the Ye family’s Foreign Affairs Tower had significantly increased.

For a time, the entire Yuanling Oasis was shaken.

”Eldest Ancestor, that move of yours was truly brilliant,” Ye Qingnian said, turning to look at Ye Haicheng.

Their trip to the Yuanling Oasis this time was naturally not for simple mediation. Since the Ma, Xu, and Wan families hadn’t broken the Ye family’s rules, there was no reason to punish them. Instead, the Ye family capitalized on the ensuing widespread panic to raise the tribute quotas across the board.

For example, for an identical oasis, a Foundation Establishment Clan would now need to pay double the tribute of a Qi Cultivation Clan, while a Purple Mansion Clan would have to pay four times as much. Even the annual tribute required from Qi Cultivation Clans holding oases had been increased significantly.

By doing this, the likelihood of Foundation Establishment Clans targeting small oases decreased. Right now, instead of holding any resentment toward the Ye family, those smaller clans were filled with gratitude—even though they would be taking in fewer spirit stones each year going forward.

As for the Ma, Xu, and Wan families, they had acquired their small oases before the new policy was implemented. Consequently, the tribute required for those oases remained at the previous rate. They had gained substantial benefits, so despite bearing a bad reputation and being barred from further invasions, they were still quite satisfied.

The Ye family’s new tribute policy only applied to oases previously distributed by the Ye family; oases independently developed by these affiliated clans were exempt.

”This was decided by the family long ago; your father personally formulated it,” Ye Haicheng replied with a chuckle.

In the early years, the Ye family had kept tribute relatively low to support the development of their affiliated clans. But now, with a century having passed, it was naturally time for an increase. The affiliated clans knew this as well.

However, if the tribute had been raised without any precipitating event, they would have voiced many complaints. Now, with several oases changing hands, they were only worried that the Ye family wouldn’t raise the tribute high enough to ensure their protection.

”And how are you considering that matter of yours?” Ye Haicheng asked, turning his gaze to Ye Qingnian with a smile.

These words caused Ye Qingnian to blush, a rare sight.

During this trip, aside from the Cyan Yang Camel presented by the Ma family being a major harvest, another significant event was the Wan family’s offer to marry their female Wind Spirit Root genius to Ye Qingnian. This woman was none other than Wan Chengjie’s granddaughter, Wan Yulian.

At thirty-nine years of age, she was already at the Middle Stage of Foundation Establishment and possessed exceptional cultivation talent.

When the Wan family proposed this, both Ye Haicheng and Ye Xueliang had been taken aback. After all, Wan Yulian was considered the most talented member of the Wan family. She would have had absolutely no problem succeeding Wan Chengjie as the Wan family Patriarch in the future.

Yet, the Wan family had offered her up anyway. At thirty-nine, she still possessed immense potential for growth. One had to admit that Wan Chengjie of the Wan family was truly bold. This was a gamble to secure a Gold Condensing Pill for Wan Yulian.

The Ye family was also different from before. In the past, they would have needed time to deliberate over a marriage alliance with another clan out of fear that their secrets might be exposed. Now, however, the Ye family was already the undisputed king of the Desert Sea.

”This matter... I will defer to Father and Mother’s decision,” Ye Qingnian said, bringing his hands together in a respectful bow.

Of course, through this gesture, Ye Haicheng and Ye Xueliang already understood his general inclination. Wan Yulian had made quite a name for herself in the Desert Sea over the years, even being hailed as one of the three great fairies of the Yuanling Oasis. The other two fairies were naturally members of the Ye family, which was enough to prove just how beautiful Wan Yulian was.

Additionally, during his time at the Hidden Peak in the Celestial Departure Grassland years ago, Ye Qingnian had reportedly saved Wan Yulian’s life. By saying he would leave the decision entirely up to Ye Jingcheng and Chu Yanqing, it was obvious that he had some feelings for her.

”Our Xiao Qingnian has finally grown up!” Ye Xueliang chuckled beside them, a rare smile on his face. He thought back to the time when Ye Qingnian and Ye Qingfeng were born; they had rushed over to offer their congratulations immediately. Now, Ye Qingnian was about to get married and have children of his own. Naturally, a hint of nostalgia filled his eyes.

”I will speak to your father about this. However, regarding the family’s policy formulation over the next few days and several key points, you need to think them over carefully. I will personally test you on them when the time comes!” Ye Haicheng said, his tone turning serious as he saw Ye Qingnian’s earnest, somewhat goofy smile.

As a manager of the Ye family and a potential future Patriarch, he naturally couldn’t always wear his emotions on his sleeve like this. At the same time, he couldn’t neglect the most crucial administrative duties.

As for cultivation talent, Ye Haicheng wasn’t worried. Ye Qingnian possessed a Spirit Body and cultivated a perfectly suited technique. On top of that, he was already at the Middle Stage of Purple Mansion.

”Your father is already waiting in the Clan Assembly Hall,” Ye Haicheng added shortly after, having sensed Ye Jingcheng’s presence in the Assembly Hall.

The three of them steered their Spiritual Ship and flew toward the Assembly Hall, landing in front of it a moment later.

Inside, Ye Jingcheng and several of the Ye family’s Hall Masters were currently discussing the clan’s Central Domain plan. Since the Ye family now had a Nascent Soul Cultivator, they could gradually expand their operations in the Central Domain. Of course, it was primarily the Hall Masters who were doing the talking, while Ye Jingcheng sat and listened.