“The Yan family… is planning to make a move.” After reading the letter in his hand, Bai Jingfei slowly stood up, his face filled with worry.

Previously, when they had visited the Yan family with gifts, everything had been calm.

They had thought that the matter would just pass.

After all, the Yan family had not suffered any losses.

They assumed that the Yan family had let go of the matter, thinking that they didn’t want to make a big fuss.

With Ma Sandao dead, they could only swallow their losses.

They had to give the lion’s share of the business to the Yan family, which was inevitable. But today’s invitation from the Yan family clearly showed that they were not satisfied with this.

“What exactly do they want to do?” Bai Jingfei walked to the door, clutching the letter in his hand. He saw the busy members of the Bai family outside, as well as the elders who had been busy for half their lives.

Bai Jingfei was somewhat lost in thought.

As he walked slowly through the family compound, people greeted him along the way, but Bai Jingfei didn’t hear them.

He was very worried.

He was afraid that the Yan family would do something outrageous, causing the Bai family to be irreparably damaged.

Walking on, Bai Jingfei came to a large willow tree.

A gentle breeze blew, and the willow branches brushed against Bai Jingfei’s face.

He couldn’t remember how many years this willow tree had been in the Bai family. He vaguely remembered playing ball under this tree when he was a child.

With his childhood friends.

But now, those friends of his were long gone.

Only this willow tree remained.

“Did we really make a wrong move?” Ever since Ma Sandao died, all the families regretted taking this step, which was equivalent to offending the Yan family to death.

Although Ma Sandao was dead, and the Yan family had no evidence that he was sent by them, did such a thing still need evidence?

Wasn’t it as obvious as a louse on a bald man’s head?

However, the news of Yan Yushi’s birthday spread throughout the not-so-large Changting Town one afternoon.

The Yan family made a grand gesture this time, not only sending invitations to all the families and many nobles, but also holding a grand feast, inviting all the people in Changting Town to eat.

Such a grand gesture truly shocked the people of Changting Town.

The Yan family couldn’t possibly accommodate so many people, so the feast was even set up on the street.

The people naturally didn’t mind, they could eat anywhere.

Who wouldn’t eat free food?

Did they care where they ate?

On ordinary days, the porters on the dock could only eat coarse grains with pickles, but today, seeing the meat on the table, they didn’t care about being full, they were overjoyed.

Everyone was praising the Yan family’s generosity.

The Yan family was brightly lit and bustling, and those who didn’t know would think that someone in the Yan family was getting married today.

Yan Yushi was rather confused, because he remembered that his birthday hadn’t arrived yet, and the birthday banquet prepared by the Yan family seemed a bit too extravagant.

But Yan Yushi didn’t ask too many questions, he knew there must be a reason for his family to do so.

Recently, Yan Yushi had received a lot of resources from the Yan family for cultivation. Coupled with the tiger statue given to him by Li Changqing, Yan Yushi’s cultivation had made great progress.

He had already reached the eighth level of the Transcendence Realm.

And he had even comprehended a set of “Subduing Tiger Dizang Divine Method” from the tiger statue, which was a very powerful body refining martial art.

In order to cultivate Yan Yushi, the Yan family could be said to be very generous.

They continuously provided resources, hoping that Yan Yushi could step into the innate realm in the future.

It was not yet noon.

The streets were bustling.

People from all the major families had also arrived outside the Yan family.

“Congratulations, congratulations.”

Upon entering, they presented their gifts, and the patriarchs of each family had smiles on their faces, doing a good job of keeping up appearances.

The elders of the Yan family had been waiting for a long time, and then they led the patriarchs of the major families into the inner hall.

The food and drinks had been prepared here, and they invited everyone to take their seats.

This place was relatively quiet. After everyone sat down, they looked at each other, their eyes filled with confusion and worry. But in the Yan family, they couldn’t say anything.

They could only wait and see.

“Master Bai has arrived.”

“Master Zhao has arrived.”

At this moment, two voices came from outside.

It was Bai Jingfei and Zhao Yiqiu.

Hearing that these two had arrived, the many family heads present breathed a sigh of relief. The Bai and Zhao families were their mainstays. If these two were not present, they really wouldn’t know what to do.

Seeing Bai Jingfei and Zhao Yiqiu walk in, everyone quickly stood up to greet them.

“Please take your seats, the family head is dealing with some matters and will be here soon.” An elder of the Yan family said politely.

“Alright.”The guests had all taken their seats, but the host was nowhere to be found. This was a breach of etiquette anywhere, especially considering that the attendees were all people of status. If this had happened elsewhere, they might have left already.

But this was the Yan family’s place, and they didn’t dare to leave.

They had been waiting for a good while, and many were losing patience.

“Apologies for the delay, everyone.”

At this point, two figures slowly walked in.

Leading the way was Yan Botao, followed by the Yan family’s eldest elder, Yan Leisheng.

“Congratulations, Brother Yan.” Seeing Yan Botao, everyone quickly hid their dissatisfaction and stood up to congratulate him.

“I heard that Yushi is extraordinarily talented and is close to reaching the Postnatal Realm. Such an achievement at such a young age, it won’t be a dream for him to step into the Innate Realm in the future.”

“The saying ‘like father, like son’ must be referring to Brother Yan and Yushi, right?”

“Ever since I saw Yushi as a child, I knew he would be successful.”

Everyone hurriedly flattered him.

Zhao Yiqiu and Bai Jingfei’s faces darkened. Had these people rehearsed their lines at home?

“You’re all too kind.” Yan Botao smiled, “I’m truly grateful for your presence at my son’s birthday banquet amidst your busy schedules. Allow me to propose a toast.”

With that, Yan Botao picked up his wine glass, and Yan Leisheng poured him a drink.

Everyone quickly poured their own drinks and joined Yan Botao in a toast.

After the drink, everyone fell silent, curious about the Yan family’s intentions.

“Everyone, I invited you here today because there’s good news I’d like to share.” Yan Botao said with a smile, “Our families have a long history in Changting Town. We’re all familiar with each other, so I thought we could discuss something together.”

Here it comes.

Everyone’s hearts skipped a beat.

But no one responded.

“I wonder what good news Brother Yan is referring to.” Bai Jingfei glanced at the crowd, then slowly asked.

“Of course, it’s about expanding our businesses.” Yan Botao looked at Bai Jingfei, “Brother Bai, we’re not young anymore. We’ve been managing the businesses passed down from our elders, and we’re still stuck in this small town of Changting, waiting to pass it on to the next generation.”

“Are you really content, Brother Bai?”

Upon hearing Yan Botao’s question, everyone remained silent.

Who wouldn’t want to get rich if they could?

Who wouldn’t want to expand their family business and reach other places?

The small town of Changting is indeed peaceful, and their families are well-respected here. But who would know them outside?

Over the years, not only them, but even large families like the Bai and Zhao families have never produced an Innate Realm cultivator.

Is it really because of talent?

Or is it more about resources?

With their family’s strength, getting a painting from a mid-level Painter is already quite an achievement.

High-level Painters’ works are scarce and too expensive for them to afford.

How to reach the Innate Realm?

Without an Innate Realm cultivator, it would be a dream for their family to leave Changting Town.

“Brother Yan, there’s no point in saying this.” Bai Jingfei snorted, “The Yan family hasn’t left Changting Town either. If you have something to say, just say it.”

“Alright, since Brother Bai is so straightforward, I won’t beat around the bush.” Yan Botao put down his wine glass and scanned the crowd.

“In essence, my Yan family wants to be the pioneer and leave Changting Town.”

“Not only does my Yan family want to leave, but I also want to take you all with us.” Yan Botao said, “We can all make money together.”

Upon hearing this, everyone remained silent.

Their expressions didn’t change, but they were all guessing the meaning behind Yan Botao’s words.

“How does Brother Yan plan to leave?” Zhao Yiqiu, who had been silent all along, calmly asked, “And what do you mean by ‘taking us with you’?”

Yan Botao didn’t respond, but Yan Leisheng, who was standing behind him, spoke up, “What our family head means is quite simple.”

“If you all want to leave Changting Town, to further strengthen your families, we must unite. But it’s impossible to achieve this with the strength of one family alone.”

“So, the Yan family wants to form an alliance with you all. After all, we’ve been neighbors for hundreds of years. We’ve known each other since our ancestors’ time. If we can unite, we can go further.”

“An alliance?”

Yan Leisheng’s words made everyone’s faces change.

It sounded nice to call it an alliance.But everyone immediately understood the meaning of this word.

The Yan family wanted to swallow them up!

“If we are to form an alliance, there must be a leader. So, who will be this leader?” Bai Jingfei roared in anger.

He was staring intently at Yan Botao.

“What if our Zhao family chooses not to participate?” Zhao Yiqiu also clenched his fists, his eyes becoming fierce.

He had thought that the Yan family would do something before he came, but he didn’t expect the Yan family to be so greedy, actually wanting to swallow them all up!

Aren’t they afraid of biting off more than they can chew?

Facing the questioning from the two families, Yan Botao smiled slightly and slowly said, “If we form an alliance, my Yan family will be the leader, and the Zhao and Bai families can be the deputy leaders. We will present a united front.”

“As for not participating…” Yan Botao played with the wine glass in his hand, and after a long pause, he only said one sentence: “What will happen, I don’t know.”

PS: I want to tell everyone that this book is now on the shelves. The update time has also been slightly changed. It will no longer be updated all at once. I will guarantee at least 6,000 words per day. The update time will probably be one chapter at eight in the morning and one chapter at four in the afternoon. If there are additional updates, there will also be one chapter at twelve noon. I hope everyone can support it more.

(End of this chapter)