Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 855: Chapter 626: You’ve Had It Too Easy and Forgotten How to Fight!

After the Innate Martial Artists pass away, these descendants will gradually withdraw from the center of power.

Thus, a unique class system has been formed within the Zhu family.

Main branch, collateral branches with Innate Martial Artists as ancestors, collateral branches without Innate Martial Artists as ancestors.

This class system appears to honor Innate Martial Artists, but in reality, it is those few branches that firmly control the Zhu family’s power.

Because power represents resources, and resources easily breed strong individuals.

Once a collateral branch produces an Innate Martial Artist, the descendants of that branch can access abundant cultivation resources and have better prospects.

So the ultimate result is that there are four branches in the Zhu family that always control the power of Earth Fire Island, and most Innate Martial Artists cultivated by the Zhu family come from these four branches.

As for the exceptionally talented who could defy fate, don’t joke. The class within the Zhu family has long been solidified, and they will never allow geniuses outside the four main branches to grow up.

This is also what Yang Zhenshan most disdains about the Zhu family.

However, whether Yang Zhenshan looks down on them doesn’t matter; the Zhu family has been able to pass down for hundreds of years, naturally having their advantages.

Currently, the Zhu family still has three masters: First Master Zhu Bowen, Second Master Zhu Changxing, and Third Master Zhu Yanshan. After the original First Master passed away, those in line behind him succeeded, so Zhu Changxing moved from Third Master to Second Master.

In the study of the Zhu family’s mansion, Zhu Changxing was wildly wielding a wolf hair brush.

In a moment, the four big characters ”Vast Seas in Turmoil” appeared on the rice paper.

Beside him, Zhu Yanshan looked at the four characters, tugged at his slightly messy curly beard, his full beard adorning a very tall figure—over two meters tall—with arms thicker than the thighs of an average person. He wore a short shirt, revealing dark and robust arms with muscles bulging like iron anvils.

”Third Brother, how do you think my calligraphy is?” Zhu Changxing asked smugly.

Zhu Yanshan looked at the large characters on the rice paper for a long time, finally uttering a word: ”Good!”

”Just good?” Zhu Changxing found his answer unsatisfactory.

”Uh, very good!”

”...”

Zhu Changxing felt a bit bored and threw down the brush. ”Can’t you read more books?”

”Second Brother, our Zhu family lives by forging iron; reading isn’t as good as forging!” Zhu Yanshan said reasonably.

Zhu Changxing was completely at a loss for words.

Although this wasn’t wrong, reading more books would still do no harm.

As for forging, he, as the Second Young Master of the Zhu family, never liked forging.

”Forget it, have you finished forging what I asked you for?” Zhu Changxing didn’t want to chit-chat with this simpleton and went straight to business.

”It’s done, I’ll go get it for you!”

Zhu Yanshan didn’t wait for Zhu Changxing to agree, he simply ran out of the study, and moments later, he came back carrying an eight-foot-long lance.

The lance was eight feet long, much taller than Zhu Yanshan, wholly jet black, with a sharp tip and a small disc mounted a few inches below the tip embedded with blades; the tip of the lance weighed twenty-four hundred eighty-two catties, forged with high-grade Mystical Iron using their Earthfire Steel forging method, which he called Earthfire Mystical Iron Steel.

He waved the lance shaft, which wobbled, displaying a width of an arc of about a foot.

Don’t underestimate the butt of the lance; though it’s only four inches long, the iron spike weighs two hundred thirty catties, enough to smash gold and crack stone when it hits.

”I spent more than half a year forging it, with every strike just right and every detail carefully studied!”

He struck a pose indicating he was very skilled, expecting to be praised by his Second Brother.

However, Zhu Changxing kept staring at the broken tiles on the floor.

A piece, two pieces, three pieces, stone pieces—damn, that was top-tier blue-white jade, each piece worth thousands of silver, and most importantly, the blue-white jade floor tiles in this room were cut from a single large block of jade, with uniform quality, color, and pattern; replacements couldn’t be found.

”You simpleton, stop it!” Zhu Changxing couldn’t hold it in any longer.

”Huh!” Zhu Yanshan was a bit confused.

Zhu Changxing felt like crying but had no tears. ”Take your lance and get out!”

His beautiful blue-white jade! Either all replaced or patched up with similar stones.

Ordinary people might not notice the difference, but he could see it at a glance.

Zhu Yanshan looked at his somewhat angry Second Brother, at a loss for what to do.

Still, he quickly picked up his lance and ran out of the study.

”Wait, send the lance to Star Moon Island for Mr. Yang; we can’t help with the Divine Wood Island issue now, so send Mr. Yang a handy weapon to boost morale!” Zhu Changxing instructed.

”Sure!” Zhu Yanshan responded, then ran off at a fast pace.

Second Brother is angry; if I don’t run now, I’ll get beaten, better to run first!

...

Inside the government office on Star Moon Island.

”Dad, I’ve found out; Divine Wood Island relies on not Jiuxing Island, but the Taro Dynasty. It’s said that the Taro Dynasty’s Whale Navy has reached the outer sea areas of Divine Wood Island, and they could attack at any moment!”

Yang Mingzhi stood beside Yang Zhenshan, speaking in a low voice.

No one on Star Moon Island took Divine Wood Island seriously; to them, provoking Star Moon Island was courting death.

But facing the Taro Dynasty, they exercised caution.

The difference between a dynasty’s force and an island’s force is profound, primarily due to differences in population and resources.

An island power’s population might top out at a million, with thirty to fifty thousand in its navy at most.

However, a dynasty’s power typically has populations in the tens of millions; though their top-tier martial power might be similar, there’s a vast disparity in navy and military strength.

Then there’s resources, which includes not just cultivation resources but all kinds, like the timber needed for shipbuilding—from all the trees on Star Moon Island, you couldn’t build a single Da Fu Ship.

A Da Fu Ship requires over a thousand giant trees—where would you find so many giant trees on Star Moon Island?

Thus, all the ships Star Moon Island owns were bought from Da Rong.

Population and resource gaps mean island powers versus dynasty powers have an inherent disadvantage that’s nearly impossible to bridge.

”The Taro Dynasty? Aren’t they at war with the Zhang Dynasty?” Yang Zhenshan asked.

”It seems they’ve been at peace for two years now,” Yang Mingzhi replied.

Yang Zhenshan thought for a bit and said, ”The Taro Dynasty, indeed a problem, but there’s no need to worry too much yet. Let’s wait until the Tenglong Guard’s navy arrives!”

”I’m just afraid that the Tenglong Guard’s navy won’t arrive in time before the Taro Dynasty and Divine Wood Island’s navy attacks!” Yang Mingzhi said, a bit concerned.

Yang Zhenshan stroked his beard, maintaining a calm demeanor, and said, ”Let them come if they dare. You all have grown too comfortable over the years, almost forgetting how to fight!”

Star Moon Island only has two thousand sailors, clearly incomparable to the Taro Dynasty’s Whale Navy.

But Star Moon Island has over thirty thousand people, most of whom are Martial Artists, trained in basic military tactics.

Star Moon Island might not be a match for the Whale Navy at sea, but on the island, if the Whale Navy dared to land, they’d become meat on the chopping block.

”What do you mean, Dad?” Yang Mingzhi asked, somewhat puzzled.

”Get everyone out for some training. Want to live a stable life? That’s fine, but you must always be prepared for combat!”

”We can also take this opportunity to temper their arrogance!”