Family Cultivation: My entire family are Villains

Chapter 345: 183, Zhan Taiqing's Dominance_2

Bai Yunfan finished speaking, and beside him, Li Sanyun nodded and continued, "There's another piece of news, I'm not sure if it's good or bad. Three days ago, most of those who died at the hands of the demons were the old, weak, women, and children. Now, out of more than four hundred thousand people in the city, over three hundred thousand are able-bodied adults, and the total number of martial artists has reached more than twenty thousand. Apart from the eleven thousand plus people we have at hand, there are still over nine thousand martial artists."

Out of these nine thousand, besides over a thousand loose cultivators, more than five thousand are from the former Great Luo Sect, and over three thousand are from the former Lonely Moon Sect, Ling Cheng Escort Agency, and Qijue Gate."

Hearing about so many wandering martial artists, Hou Yuxiao's eyes suddenly brightened. Zhao Mansha, Tong Yun, and Yu Guixin had all been killed by him in the secret realm, and Ding Buhai had also escaped. Now, the martial artists under the Great Luo Sect and the other three factions were truly leaderless. He had actually forgotten such an important matter and hurriedly asked, "How have you dealt with these nine thousand plus people?"

"The more than five thousand people from the Great Luo Sect were all charged with the crime of betraying the Holy Church. Initially, the mansion army had arrested them. These past few days, the mansion army was just right in repairing the city walls, so they pulled this group of people to strengthen the workforce, ordering them to work.

Additionally, the over three thousand people from the three factions of the Lonely Moon Sect have already been persuaded by the third miss; many have joined the Hou Clan, and the remaining should also gradually join our Hou Clan, no major issue!"

After the three factions merged into the Hou Clan, the total number of martial artists in the Hou Clan has reached over eleven thousand, among which more than three thousand are martial artists above the five levels of body refinement.

Although the five thousand from the Great Luo Sect are criminals, as long as they are alive, they probably won't be able to escape. Also, with the over three thousand people from the three factions of the Lonely Moon Sect, when added together, that makes over eight thousand, which means currently, out of the twenty thousand plus martial artists in Tongling, the Hou Clan has already controlled ninety percent. The remaining ten percent, even if they don't join, won't make much difference. Hou Yuxiao roughly calculated this and his expression immediately became somewhat exhilarated.

He saw a lot clearer after this chaos in Tongling!

In this world, an individual's martial power is naturally still the most important, especially at the stage of great capabilities. According to Hou Yuxiao's current observations, except for those with cultivation levels comparable to theirs, there should be nothing that could threaten them. But the problem is that he wanted to become a great power, which, for a long period, would likely be impossible.

So he could only settle for the next best thing, expanding the martial base of the family, training a private family army, which is also an important way to enhance the competitiveness and influence of the Hou Clan.

An army of warriors above ten thousand could contend against a heaven-level Grandmaster, and with an army above fifty thousand, it would be enough to threaten the top experts at Full Completion of Yuandan!

Hou Yuxiao, currently at the Second Realm Grandmaster, controlled an army of over three thousand martial artists. He could clearly feel the suppression from the collective vitality of more than three thousand body-opening fifth level martial artists gathered together; if it really came to a desperate fight, he might not necessarily win.

Now, with the war between the two states increasingly close, although the Xingnan mansion army is still surrounding Wanyang County City, who could guarantee that the next moment the war might not reach Tongling? Thus, although the chaos caused by the demons was over, Hou Yuxiao's heart was getting increasingly tense.

Using Tongling as a base, absorbing the population and resources of surrounding counties and towns, cultivating his own martial artists, was not only to enhance his personal strength but also to enable the Hou Clan to better preserve itself in the upcoming unstable situations.

"Master of the Hou Family looks refreshed, seems like you are in a good mood!"

After walking about ten miles, a stretch of greenery entered everyone's view, but Hou Yuxiao remained in deep thought on horseback until a slightly teasing female voice reached his ears, jolting his thoughts. He looked up to see a figure clad in white entering his view, hurriedly got off the horse, bowed his head deeply and respectfully.

"Your subordinate Hou Yuxiao, greets the Master!"

Hou Yuxiao had guessed that Zhan Taiqing would summon him, only he didn't expect to wait three days for Fan Longhe to notify him, which was somewhat beyond his expectations.

Hou Yuxiao of course understood what Zhan Taiqing's teasing meant.

The chaos in Tongling had passed, not only had the number of martial artists in the Hou Clan skyrocketed, but it had also become the only remaining third-rate force in the county. The Great Luo Sect, including several other forces' stations' gold and silver treasures, martial arts scriptures, their businesses, and even the resource-industrial estates outside the county city— the Hou Clan had reaped countless benefits.

In this disaster, the only one who really made a fortune was the Hou Clan. Hou Yuxiao, this Family Head of the Hou Clan, was more than just in a good mood these past three days, he was utterly exhilarated, and for three consecutive nights, due to excessive excitement, he hardly slept well.

However, such matters, clear in the mind, must never be revealed in speech. Therefore, faced with Zhan Taiqing's teasing, Hou Yuxiao could only play dumb. After finishing the salute, he stood and said, "In these three days, I, Mr. Hou, have been assigning clan members to help the survivors of Tongling rebuild their homes. This time, thanks to the Holy Church, Tongling was preserved. The Hou people's words carry little weight, and our strength is also lacking, so we can only manage these minor repairs and fixes, I ask for the Master's understanding!"

"Are you implying something? What, are you afraid I will ask for people?"

Talking with a wise person saves energy. Hou Yuxiao, bowing his head, corners of his mouth twitching slightly, hurriedly explained, "The Master is overthinking it. I truly speak only the truth. Tongling is in need of reactivation, and the over ten thousand people from the Hou Clan are all aiding the citizens in rebuilding their homes. Even our over five thousand mansion army brothers have come to help. This is absolutely true. If the Master doubts it, you can personally inspect the city. If there's half a lie from me, I am at the Master's disposal!"