The two walked out of the room. In the courtyard, an incredibly aged, withered old man leaned against a wooden pillar, playfully teasing a two-year-old child.

Five years ago, Lin Cuilian had become pregnant before Chen Nianqiu and gave birth to a boy named Zhou Changxi, making him a few months older than Zhou Minghu. Three years ago, she had conceived again-another boy, named Zhou Chang'an. This was the child Zhou Dashan was currently amusing.

Thus, Zhou Hong had three sons to his name: Zhou Changhe, Zhou Changxi, and Zhou Chang'an.

Among them, Zhou Changhe had already begun his early education and had gone to the county town academy to study.

"Father," Zhou Ping and his brother called out as they approached. "There's a matter in the village; we need to go take a look."

"Ah?" Zhou Dashan's eyes were cloudy. He turned his head sluggishly and shouted, "What did you say?"

Zhou Ping looked with concern at the hunched Zhou Dashan. Even though he used Spiritual Qi to help nurse his father's body, Zhou Dashan had overworked himself in his youth and still aged to this state. He called Zhou Minghu over and said in a low voice, "Go keep your grandfather and little brother company."

Then he turned to Zhou Hong and asked in confusion, "Brother, where is Changxi?"

"You know how it is. Changxi prefers his mother; he's in the back courtyard right now."

Zhou Ping nodded slightly. His three nephews had distinct personalities. Because of the various hardships in his childhood, Changhe had developed a ruthless and profound nature. In the future, when the Zhou family was managed by him, Zhou Ping would naturally feel completely at ease.

As for Changxi, he was born when the family was affluent. Surrounded by many female family members and heavily doted upon, his personality was delicate, soft, and extremely kind-hearted. However, he was somewhat indecisive, which would make it difficult for him to stand on his own in the future.

Regarding Zhou Chang'an, it was precisely because his older brother saw the weakness in his second son that he sent the youngest to Zhou Dashan, hoping only that he would grow up to be a bit more steady.

Zhou Ping then looked at his own eldest son, a hint of melancholy rising in his heart.

Zhou Minghu was sensible and obedient, deeply cherished, and was the second cultivator of the Zhou family. But at a very young age, Chen Nianqiu had instilled in him the thought of revenge. By the time Zhou Ping discovered this, it was already too late to correct. As a result, while his personality seemed agreeable, he was actually quite fiercely impulsive. Zhou Ping genuinely feared this would lead to trouble down the road.

Zhou Minghu sat down beside Zhou Dashan, the grandfather and grandson enjoying each other's company. The two Zhou brothers then walked toward the main gate.

Since they were only moving within the village, Zhou Hong stopped the servant who was heading off to fetch the horse-drawn carriage and prepared to walk to the Liu family.

Exiting the residence, fertile fields and mu of farmland stretched out on one side, while village houses lined the other. A few passing farmers, seeing the two brothers, cheerfully bowed their heads in greeting.

"Good day, Masters."

Five years ago, Zhou Ping had squandered his wealth entirely to avoid the covetous eyes of thieves.

But the Zhou family had few members; even including the servants, they barely numbered a dozen mouths to feed. Even collecting only forty percent rent, they could still accumulate a considerable amount of silver each year. Zhou Hong used these funds to continue buying land, increasing the Zhou family's holdings to over one hundred and seventy mu.

The Zhao state's taxation had always been one-in-ten, which was already exceedingly low. Yet for many impoverished families, they still had to eventually sell their land just to survive.

This was due to natural and man-made disasters, as well as the basic realities of mortal life and reproduction.

For example, a peasant family with three people and ten mu of land could barely scrape by. If a natural disaster reduced the harvest, or if they had another child, they would naturally run short of silver and grain. To survive, their only option was to sell their fields to the great households in exchange for life-saving silver.

But after selling their land, they no longer possessed enough fields to feed themselves. Meanwhile, the wealthy households had few people but abundant land. Even if the rent was crushing, the poor had no choice but to lease land from the wealthy to farm. However, those great landlords were shrewd; they naturally would not lease enough land to any single household. This ensured the tenant farmers toiled for a whole year just to barely keep their families from starving, entirely unable to accumulate even a sliver of wealth.

As long as they couldn't accumulate wealth, they were naturally doomed to till the land for the great landlords for their entire lives.

The great households sat idle and reaped the rewards, only growing wealthier. They then used that silver to purchase even more fields, rolling larger and larger like a snowball.

Baixi Village was nestled in a mountain valley. No matter how much land was reclaimed, there were only one thousand three hundred mu in total. Over eight hundred mu of this belonged to the five major families, leaving the remaining sixty or seventy peasant households to divide the other five hundred mu.

And poor families had many children. If they didn't sell their fields or lease land, it was fundamentally impossible to feed their old and young.

This resulted in a situation where, even though the Zhou family never actively schemed to seize land from others, their holdings still grew larger and larger due to these inescapable reasons.

Zhou Ping couldn't possibly force his family to play the great philanthropist. Setting aside the fact that the kind-hearted are easily bullied, doing so would draw a united attack from the other four families. Nevertheless, the Zhou family's rent remained the lowest among the five, taking a mere forty percent. Even so, the other four families complained that the Zhou family was ruining the market, since the rest all demanded fifty percent or more.

"Mm." Zhou Ping nodded in response to the tenant farmer, then led Zhou Hong toward the Liu family compound.

Before the two even got close, they could hear a boiling clamor of voices from the Liu family courtyard. It was exceptionally lively.

"Brother Xiu, what is the military camp like?"

"Brother Xiu, how is this blade so sharp?"

When Zhou Ping and his brother approached, the noise of the crowd diminished significantly in an instant.

"Why are the Zhou family here?" a Liu family man muttered softly.

The person beside him pursed his lips. "I reckon they knew Brother Xiu returned home, so they came to pry for details."

"Who gives a damn? Our Liu family hasn't committed any crimes. If he comes, he comes. It's not like he can arrest us."

Zhou Ping ignored these voices and walked straight into the Liu family courtyard. There, he saw a man with a fierce and baleful aura sitting to Liu Quan's left. The man's body was covered in hideous scars from blades and swords; with the slightest movement, they looked like writhing centipedes.

His eyebrows were long and dense, his gaze cold and vicious-it was entirely the visage of a ruthless killer.

Zhou Ping's heart trembled. He understood that this was a truly ferocious individual who had waded through life and death. Beneath his sleeve, he involuntarily began to pinch a technique seal, subtly shielding Zhou Hong behind him to guard against any sudden mishap.

Cultivators in the Spirit Awakening Realm, apart from possessing Spiritual Qi, were fundamentally not much stronger than mortals. In the cultivation world, there were frequent cases of arrogant individuals ultimately losing their lives at the hands of mortals. Even Qi Condensation Realm cultivators had instances of being overwhelmed and swarmed to death by mortals.

The man's eyes shifted. He then stood up and bowed deeply to Zhou Ping, saying, "Liu Xiu of the Liu family greets the Village Head."

Zhou Ping was briefly startled before he smiled. "I heard a hero of the military had returned home, so I came to take a look and witness your glory."

"You jest, Village Head. Xiu is nothing but an illiterate brute, returning home destitute. There is no glory to speak of," Liu Xiu replied composedly.

After a few more polite pleasantries, Zhou Ping led Zhou Hong away. He had come here simply to gauge Liu Xiu's situation; now that things were clear, it was naturally unwise to linger.

The Liu family members remained boisterous for quite some time before finally dispersing, leaving only Liu Quan and Liu Xiu behind.

"Eldest Uncle," Liu Xiu looked around to ensure they were alone before speaking to Liu Quan. "Over the years, I have received the clan's grace yet achieved nothing. Even worse, I sent Liu Wu and the others to their deaths. Xiu has failed the clan; I have failed everyone!"

As he spoke, this hardened man who had survived the battlefield actually buried his face in his hands and broke down in bitter tears.

How could he not know his own family's situation? Yet the clan had not only cared for his elderly mother at home but had tightened their belts to send him silver and grain, even dispatching Liu Wu and the others into the army to support him.

He had engraved all of this in his heart, originally intending to secure an official military post to return home and repay the clan. But now he had returned maimed, with a crippled leg, and Liu Wu and the others had lost their lives. How could he face his clansmen? How could he face his elderly mother?

In truth, Liu Xiu had led Liu Wu and the others deep into the enemy's heartland alongside that Colonel, and in the end, only Liu Xiu and the Colonel had survived!

But Liu Xiu did not dare to spread this news. He could only ask Liu Quan to spread the word that Liu Wu and the others had remained in the army and were given heavy responsibilities. This was solely to make the other families wary, preventing them from acting rashly.

"It's alright. It is enough that you came back safely." Old tears streamed down Liu Quan's face as he gently stroked Liu Xiu's forehead. "You are all good children of our Liu family!"

"Eldest Uncle, I have failed you all." Liu Xiu dropped to both knees, throwing his arms around the withered Liu Quan as he wailed aloud. "I have failed little brother Liu Wu..."

Liu Quan wiped away his tears with an aged hand and gently patted Liu Xiu's back.

Only after a long while did Liu Xiu's emotions stabilize. He pulled an object from his robes-this was what that Colonel had tossed to him upon parting.

"This was bought with the lives of our brothers. It is an Immortal Master's cultivation method to seek the Dao!"

Liu Quan shuddered violently, his hunched frame suddenly straightening a fraction.

He had considered his clansmen studying literature or practicing martial arts to forge a path forward, or even shedding blood to roam the martial underworld. But to think that their Liu family would also see the day they could cultivate immortality!

"Does this say how to test if one has aptitude?" Liu Quan asked with desperate urgency.

Although Immortal Masters from the mountains came to the county town every three years to test mortals for aptitude, the journey was long, and in reality, many commoners had never been tested.

What if? What if someone in their Liu family possessed aptitude but simply did not know?

As for seeking out Zhou Ping to test their aptitude, Liu Quan did not trust him, nor did he dare to ask.

As long as no new Immortal Master appeared in the village, the Zhou family's status would remain unshaken. How could Zhou Ping ever sit idly by and allow the Liu family to birth an Immortal Master? If that happened, he would likely not only extort the Liu family but also deliberately muddle the truth and hide the results from them.

Liu Xiu shook his head. "But the Colonel said that as long as one cultivates according to this, if they can produce a sense of Qi within their body, then they possess cultivation aptitude."

"Good, good, good!" Liu Quan burst into hearty laughter. "With this Immortal Method, why should our Liu family worry about being unable to rise?"

"However, this matter cannot be rushed. It requires long-term planning, and we absolutely must not let outsiders know."

"Otherwise, our Liu family will face utter ruin!"

"We can first call over two tight-lipped children of the right age. During the day, Liu Ming can teach them to read, and at night, we will let them attempt to cultivate in the main courtyard."

"Even if it takes five or ten years, our Liu family can afford to wait. Eventually, we will find a child with Immortal destiny."