I Can See Your Combat Power

“If the Tang Clan wants to truly break free from the constraints of the great clans and become a top power in the world, it must learn from the most enlightened policies in the world. If Martial Saint Mountain and Wuxiang Zen Temple can do so, can our clan choose to ignore this?” Tang Luo scanned the shocked crowd, having said all that he wanted to say, then silently awaited their response.

The Clan Head, the Sect Head, the thirteen Elders and the old man from the Secret Arts Pavilion were still immersed in the news announced by Tang Luo, unable to extricate themselves. Who would have thought that in the eyes of all the powerful and influential families and sects, the common folk were considered a burden, which is why most of the sects in the world chose to retreat and seclude themselves from the world.

Yet, in this prosperous era of martial arts a thousand years later, the Xu Clan has proven to the world with incontrovertible facts that even without seclusion, living amongst these ordinary people, they can still guarantee the leading position in martial arts cultivation and even accumulate immeasurable power. The first to recover from the shock was Tang Zhi, who managed a smile, “I understand what Minister Luo is saying.”

The silent hall was awakened by this slightly weary voice. Everyone at the main table turned their attention to Tang Zhi’s face and found that this usually calm man looked somewhat guilty.

Tang Zhi indeed felt some guilt. If he’d known the true state of the Xu Clan in Yuanzhou earlier on, he might not have used such an aggressive strategy. However, he did not regret it, as in doing anything, one first needs to solve whether it’s possible, before considering whether it’s a good decision.

After all, the Tang Clan is a family created by a common martial artist. Even though it has developed to the size of a great clan, its vision has not surpassed the norm, and all its forces are tightly concentrated in the city of Xiling. This abnormal progress is not only due to the scrutiny of the Mi Clan.

It is also due to a deep-seated fear. Over the centuries, the Tang Clan had committed many acts of killing. Why did the crew of the Wancheng Treasure Ship scatter countless amounts of money along the banks of the Lingjiang River upon each return voyage? It was not just for the sake of showing off, but also for salvation deep in their hearts.

No one is a born killer, especially not aristocrats who have material wealth, as they receive elite education and rarely have twisted natures.

But for the honor of the family, from the moment they boarded the treasure ship, they became robbers and murderers.

So-called clan annihilation is not about killing every single individual of a clan, but about seizing the clan’s land, looting its treasury, and destroying its core strength.

Although every time the Tang Clan carried out its atrocities, it was tens of thousands of miles away, no one could guarantee that the descendants of those slaughtered clans would not find the Tang Clan and seek revenge.

Even if a thousand or ten thousand voices inside their hearts say that there’s nothing to fear from a bunch of homeless dogs, there will always be one voice asking what if, what if?

Because of this ‘what if’, the Tang Clan, as though someone were chasing after them for their life, desperately strengthened its own power, until today.

The Tang Clan has now mastered the art of judging a power just by looking at it, accurately calculating how many Martial Ancestors should lead the team, how many teams of transcendent cultivators should be added, what tactics should be used, when the battle will end, and how long it will take to clean up the battlefield.

Annihilating clans and breaking through cities is as easy as reaching into a bag for them. The current Tang Clan can immodestly boast about this, but sadly, the benefit this skill brings to the Tang Clan is growing smaller and smaller.

Even if the Tang Clan destroyed tens of thousands more small clans, it couldn’t bring about another explosive growth in strength. This is the limit of the path of growing strong by killing.

At each year’s most important clan meeting, the elders of the Tang Clan always discuss where the future of the Tang Clan lies, but despite numerous debates, there is still no conclusion.

Until today at this late coming-of-age ceremony, a conclusion was drawn from the lips of a boy barely fifteen years old.

“From today onwards, the Wancheng Treasure Ship will continue to do business as usual, but will no longer voyage to the Outer Continent. There are countless areas in the world where people cannot survive due to their bitter circumstances. With the capacity of the treasure ship, at least one hundred thousand common people can be gathered each month. After settling the issue with the Mi Clan, within a maximum of two years, we can present Minister Luo with a Xiling City with a population of three million.” Tang Zhi finally understood why Tang Luo had a tantrum in the rear hall that day. What originally seemed like adolescent temperament turned out to be Tang Luo struggling with the clan’s powerbase.

But after all, a youngster is a youngster, with a narrow view restricted to gains and losses of a city or a town. The most valuable thing in this world is talent, but the least valuable is the common folk.

For the Tang Clan, dealing with the Mi Clan comes first, that’s the most important thing among all strategies. As for the issue of population that Tang Luo mentioned, it really isn’t a big deal for the clan.

If the Tang Clan desired it, gathering tens of millions of people would not be difficult, Tang Zhi aspired for much more, as it was just a matter of numbers.

What was initially just an adolescent coming-of-age ceremony had somehow turned into a clan assembly, not only indicating the future path of the Tang Clan, but putting a final halt to the pirate business that the family had been engaging in for centuries.

Some of the elders who were originally sitting at separate tables were now gathered around the main table, looking at each other and smiling. They all had complicated expressions. At present, all those at the core of the Tang Clan’s power, who could sit in this hall, had sailed on the treasure ship and slaughtered and plundered for the clan.

They had also once wondered when this bloody journey could come to an end. They assumed it would be centuries from now, when the family has become a renowned power in the world that can compete with sects. They assumed it would be at a very grand occasion when the core members of the family formally sealed the treasure ship.

Unexpectedly, it happened at such an odd place, basically at a dinner, at a young man’s coming-of-age ceremony, where the use of the Tang Clan’s Wancheng Treasure Ship was completely rewritten.

The thirteen elders shook their heads and smiled bitterly. Even though it was such an absurd occasion, they still had to do what they had to do.

The Great Elder, Tang Siyuan, stood up, his face solemn, “I second the motion.”

Although it was only two words, it seemed to have consumed almost all of the energy of this powerful man. Afterward, there were twelve more “seconds”.

After the last “second” fell, the elders glanced at each other and burst into laughter.

On the eighth day of the eighth month of Longzhou Calendar year 1780, proposed by Clan Head Tang Zhi, and supported by the thirteen elders, the Tang Clan’s bloody voyages came to a definitive end.

Tang Luo, holding his bowl, shoveled a large mouthful of rice into his mouth and chewed vigorously, feeling incredibly excited.

The times and the rules were different, and naturally the concepts of family, country, and world were also different. But, without a family, how can one talk about country and world?

People can’t choose where they are born, but his established values make him unable to stand by indifferently watching the Tang Clan continue its bloodshed. However, if this is the only way for a strong clan, then he can only accept it. Even if he doesn’t like the Tang Clan’s bloody voyages, he must be grateful, because it is the plundering of countless ancestors that has allowed him to enjoy a superior life.

But after all, he wishes there could be another path he finds more acceptable. Many people say that “altruism” and “self-interest” cannot coexist.

But Tang Luo feels that there must be a way in this world that is beneficial to both oneself and others. If such a way hasn’t been found, it only means that one’s abilities are limited or that one’s method is wrong.

He is thankful for the testimony of the Xu Clan, which allows the Tang Clan to grow in the manner he prefers.