Clan Cultivation: Starting from Beast Taming

If Xiao Lingyan and the others could lure the Zhou Family's prodigy to Spirit Beast Manor for dedicated cultivation, Zhou Mingde might have turned a blind eye to the issue and not pursued it.

But now, having heard that Zhou Zhengkang was played with like a male pet by Xiao Lingyan, directly resulting in the loss of a "Jiacheng" rank cultivator from the Zhou Family and forcing Zhou Mingde to personally execute his most cherished junior,

Yu Jinghua could not contain his rage!

"What audacity! Such audacity they have!!"

Yu Jinghua's angry roar was unmistakable, his face flush with anger.

This rage of his could be said to be seventy percent genuine and thirty percent feigned, not entirely an act.

He immediately assured Zhou Mingde, "I know about this matter, and when they return, they will certainly be strictly punished, with no leniency!"

"Don't try to fool me with those words, Elder Yu. What does strict punishment amount to? Are you going to kill them or cripple their cultivation levels? One is a Purple Mansion Phase Cultivator, the other is your junior. Can you do either of those things?"

"Without accomplishing either, what significance does 'strict punishment' have?"

Zhou Mingde looked at Yu Jinghua with a cold smile, shaking his head continuously, which made Yu Jinghua's eyelids twitch and his complexion look extremely unsightly.

By the end, Zhou Mingde was even more infuriated and shouted, "At most, you will ground them to seclusion for a decade or two, but what Zhou lost is a beloved grandson!"

"Then what do you want to happen? How do you want me to compensate you?"

Yu Jinghua, with brows tightly furrowed, looked at Zhou Mingde and asked, already aware of Zhou Mingde's intention for coming today.

Clearly, knowing that it was unlikely he would kill or cripple Xiao Lingyan and the other, Zhou Mingde's angry confrontation was solely aimed at gaining benefits.

Zhou Mingde was not shy about his demands and immediately requested, "Half of the [Jade Spirit Bees] and a Qingning Tea Tree will quell the resentment in my heart!"

"That's impossible!"

Yu Jinghua rejected this proposition without hesitation.

Zhou Mingde wanting to leverage this incident for some benefits was something he could understand, and he was willing to offer some compensation to move past this event.

However, that certainly did not include anything as exorbitant as what had been asked for!

He then solemnly addressed Zhou Mingde, "I understand the sorrow in your heart, Mingde, and I am willing to offer some compensation to make amends, but I ask you to consider your demands carefully."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Mingde promptly changed his demand, "Then half of the [Jade Spirit Bees] is a must; I insist on them!"

After hearing this, Yu Jinghua also fell into a deep thought.

After contemplating for a long time, he finally faced Zhou Mingde and said, "One hundred [Jade Spirit Bees], including one Bee King, is the greatest compensation I can offer."

"If it is only that much, then a Qingning Tea Tree must be added!"

Zhou Mingde's brows twitched as he bartered anew with his conditions.

"So be it!"

Yu Jinghua frowned, but ultimately nodded slightly in agreement.

Immediately, he personally accompanied Zhou Mingde to retrieve the agreed items.

Once Zhou Mingde had left with the items, Yu Jinghua's face turned ashen as he summoned all the Purple Mansion and Foundation Establishment Cultivators in the sect, giving them a severe talking-to.

Through this incident, he had come to realize that despite being a Golden Core Stage Cultivator, his deterrent control over the cultivators below him was not as strong as he had thought.

To say it plainly, Spirit Beast Manor's grassroots structure had been hastily established.

The Foundation Establishment and Purple Mansion Cultivators within the sect had mostly no former connection to him, Yu Jinghua, and many had even belonged to the factions of the Li and You Families.

Under these circumstances, if he didn't handle matters personally, defiance both overtly and covertly was inevitable.

He had been aware of some of these issues and had wanted to keep the Zhou Family within Spirit Beast Manor from the start. That way, he could use the Zhou Family Cultivators to monitor and control these people.

Unfortunately, the Zhou Family was not inclined to serve a turncoat like him, unwilling to sacrifice the interests of the entire family for his sake, thus abandoning him proactively.

Now, if he wanted to mend this link, he could only rely on himself to help and nurture trusted followers to rise in rank again.

But did he truly have such an ability?

Let's not mention how much effort Yu Jinghua put into securing his position as the patriarch of his sect,

But after Zhou Mingde returned to the Zhou Family with the items, he started discussing the next steps with Zhou Daoyi.

"Although the number of Jade Spirit Bees has decreased, with the Bee King present, given careful cultivation in the future, they are bound to flourish."

"It's just a pity that Yu Jinghua still played a trick on me. Giving only a small sapling of the Qingning Tea Tree, it will likely take decades before it can grow and produce Spiritual Tea in quantity!"

As Zhou Mingde said this, he was also somewhat annoyed and angry.

On the contrary, Zhou Daoyi, after hearing his words, maintained a very calm attitude, not showing any regret or disappointment.

He simply shook his head and said, "Being able to get Yu Jinghua to cough up these items is already quite good. After all, the constraints formed by the relics left by our ancestors are just so. If he really set his heart on giving us nothing, could we truly risk the entire clan's lives in a do-or-die struggle with him over this matter?"

Zhou Mingde actually understood this point, but when he thought of how those items originally belonged to the Zhou Family, he couldn't help but let out a long sigh of discontent, "Alas! I just hope that the future generations of the Zhou Family will be able to reclaim what we have lost!"

"If they can achieve this while I am still alive, I will die without regrets!"

After discussing who would take care of the Jade Spirit Bees and the Qingning Tea Tree, Zhou Mingde suddenly thought of something.

He looked at Zhou Daoyi and asked, "Now that Zhou Zhengkang, the traitorous beast, has been executed, who do you plan to have take the Foundation Establishment Pill that was meant for him?"

"This junior has not yet decided, do you have any suggestions, Great-Uncle?"

Zhou Daoyi looked at Zhou Mingde and asked in return, showing no attitude.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Mingde was not shy in responding immediately, "I suggest giving it to Jiacheng. He achieved excellent results in the cultivation battle hosted by the five major cultivation families and is the direct grandson of Elder Daofu who sacrificed his life for our family. He deserves to consume a Foundation Establishment Pill!"

"Then let's give it to Jiacheng, I have no objections," Zhou Daoyi nodded and directly agreed.

Seeing his agreement, Zhou Mingde's expression relaxed and he immediately said, "Then that's settled. I am going into seclusion for a while, so I will have to trouble you, Daoyi, to take care of the aftermath."

"Great-Uncle, rest assured, I will handle the follow-up affairs well," Zhou Daoyi replied and then escorted Zhou Mingde out of the hall.

After Zhou Mingde left, he commanded the blue parrot "Lan Lan" to summon Zhou Chun.

"In any case, that's the situation. Now that Zhengkang has been punished, this matter comes to an end. You must continue to keep the secret and not reveal the true nature of what happened, understand?"

Inside Central Peace Hall, Zhou Daoyi did not conceal anything from Zhou Chun, telling him all about how he discovered and executed Zhou Zhengkang and instructed him to keep it confidential.

Zhou Chun was profoundly shocked by Zhou Mingde's decisive and ruthless methods when he heard about them.

A descendant he had doted on and nurtured for decades, upon whom he had placed immeasurable hopes, could just be executed upon proclamation.

Such decisive ruthlessness was not something an ordinary person could achieve.

In his amazement, he also quickly promised, "Clan Leader, rest assured, I understand the consequences and will surely not leak a single word!"

"It's a pity your cultivation level is still lacking. Otherwise, I would have fought for you to get that Foundation Establishment Pill left open by Zhengkang's demise," Zhou Daoyi sighed lightly as he looked at the young junior in front of him whom he increasingly favored, lamenting the timing.

Then his eyes narrowed slightly, and he looked earnestly at Zhou Chun, saying, "But don't be disheartened. Once your cultivation reaches the twelfth level of the Qi Refinement Realm, I will do my best to support your Foundation Establishment."

This was the first time he had explicitly stated that he would support Zhou Chun.

With his words, Zhou Chun's path to Foundation Establishment would undoubtedly be much smoother.

Hence, even with Zhou Chun's composure, he was overwhelmed with emotion at this moment and promptly bowed deeply in gratitude to Zhou Daoyi, "Clan Leader's grace is deeply appreciated. I am immensely grateful. Please accept my bow!"