Chen Yang grasped the ins and outs of the matter and cast his consciousness further out.

At his current late-stage Qi Gathering realm, the span of his "observing" consciousness could already encompass the entire North Bank village.

At this moment, a long line of horse-drawn carriages waited at the village's western entrance, guarded by Clan Soldiers.

The entire Liang family, over seventy people in all, waited there anxiously.

This was their first time in the Songshan territory, and they curiously stretched their necks to peer inside.

"This is a village under the Yang family's rule? To think it's so prosperous!"

"Indeed. Aside from its size, it looks no different from a town!"

"Quick, look over there! Heavens above, those golden-painted red walls must be the Yang family's compound! It is truly far more imposing than the Town Lord's Manor!"

Having witnessed the Yang family's strength with their own eyes, the Liang family members murmured in awe.

Just then, someone noticed the thick mist lingering over the cliffs to the north of the Yang family estate.

"How could there be such heavy mist right at high noon?"

Amidst the discussion, several people pointed toward the misty mountain.

"Clang!"

At that moment, the Clan Soldier standing guard flew into a rage. He slammed the butt of his spear into the ground and shouted, "Audacious! Show some respect to the Immortal Mountain!"

The Liang family members hurriedly bowed their heads in apology and shrank back into the procession.

However, the gazes they directed at the Clan Soldiers carried more envy than fear.

Before coming here, they had never seen a family capable of cultivating its own private force.

"Sigh... The Yang family is already so powerful. They wouldn't miss us if we left, nor would they gain much if we stayed. Are they truly willing to take us in?"

"I fear that after we submit, we'll be forced into hard labor to pay off our debts."

"Enough. If we can find shelter and ensure the survival of our bloodline, what does a little hardship matter?"

Just then, a commotion arose at the front of the line. Yang Xiaolei arrived with a squad of Clan Soldiers.

Using the information on Liang Yi's register, he verified their identities and let them through one by one. In the end, a total of seventy-four members of the Liang family entered the village.

After these people followed Yang Xiaolei to their quarters, a villager who had been observing from afar scrambled frantically toward the eastern end of the village.

Running until he was completely out of breath, he finally stopped before a large courtyard. A plaque hung above the gates, reading "Zhao Mansion."

"Steward, what has happened?"

Seeing this, the servant guarding the door hurriedly stepped forward to support him.

"Quick, help me to the master. A disaster has occurred!"

The steward stumbled his way into the rear courtyard. There, Zhao Dapeng was leisurely feeding the koi in the pond alongside a few visiting guests.

"What is the matter, rushing about in such a panic?"

Seeing the steward gasping for breath, he frowned in displeasure.

At this moment, Zhao Dapeng was clad in bright robes woven of silk and brocade. He wore a pearl-adorned hat, held a piece of white jade in his hand, and sported a plump figure with a ruddy complexion.

Not a trace remained of the old farmer from over a year ago; he looked every inch the wealthy patriarch.

Discarding all formalities, the steward hurried forward and whispered a few words into his ear. Zhao Dapeng's expression drastically shifted.

He promptly made an excuse to dismiss his guests and retreated to his room with the steward.

"Is what you say true?"

"Master, I saw it with my own eyes. Over seventy people, I swear it is true!"

Zhao Dapeng leaned back in his chair, rotating the white jade beads in his hand as the look in his eyes flickered uncertainly.

"Master, the main family has truly made a move this time..." the steward whispered.

Hearing this, Zhao Dapeng instantly flew into a rage.

"Damn them! A pack of useless trash who can't accomplish anything, but excel at ruining everything! I told them to restrain themselves, but they wouldn't listen. Now they've angered the main family. What are we supposed to do? It infuriates me to death!"

Zhao Dapeng slapped the armrest and stood up. "Go, call everyone in the family to the back courtyard! Remember, everyone! Drag those little bastards back here for me!"

"Understood, I will go at once!"

The steward scrambled out the door, leaving Zhao Dapeng alone in the room with a dark, gloomy expression.

"Sigh... What a wicked sin!"

He recalled his days toiling in the fields, when he couldn't even afford to hire a single helper. Whenever he visited a relative's home, they would look at him with utter disgust.

Later, left with no other choice, he was forced to bring young Zhao Qi into the fields with him.

Every night, looking at the blisters worn into his child's feet, his heart would ache terribly.

Originally, their farming life was still passable. His family of a few mouths could eat their fill each year and even save a meager surplus.

But who could have predicted the Beast Calamity? Simply to survive, they were forced to abandon their fields and property.

Zhao Dapeng had led his family to kneel outside Baishi Town for three days and three nights, but the gates never opened. Driven to a dead end, they carried their final shred of hope to the Yang family to beg for shelter.

By the grace of heaven, the Yang family was benevolent. They were willing to take in refugees like them, constructing temporary shelters and providing them with food.

From that moment on, Zhao Dapeng's loyalty was anchored to the Yang family.

Later, when some people spread idle gossip about the Yang family, he had been the first to stand up and curse them for letting dogs eat their conscience!

After the Beast Tide was quelled, they received land and were able to start a new life at the foot of Songshan.

Looking back now, the old Zhao family's fortunes had begun to turn from that exact moment.

By sharing in the Yang family's hardships, they gained clan status. Zhao Qi was then chosen by the Yang family's Immortal Master, and Zhao Dapeng's status underwent an earth-shattering transformation.

He obtained a large mansion, became a grand patriarch, and his life instantly grew prosperous.

Yet he never expected that with the arrival of good times, trouble would also come knocking.

As the saying goes: "Poor in the market, none ask; rich in the mountains, distant kin appear." After news spread that Zhao Dapeng had moved his family into a new mansion, all sorts of relatives who rarely contacted him before swarmed over to visit.

Not to mention immediate blood relatives like aunts and uncles, even distant relations with the slightest, most tenuous connection came to seek refuge.

That much was still manageable. But in the end, even strangers who merely shared the surname Zhao had the thick skin to show up at his door.

Zhao Dapeng's temper eventually flared, and he drove them all out.

Doing so once was fine, but they returned twice, three times-badgering him day after day until he grew sick of dealing with it.

In the end, he called all his relatives together and simply established a new family tree. Positioning himself as the Patriarch, he clearly divided the close relations from the distant ones.

He assumed life would be peaceful after that. Little did he know, this was the very source of his current disaster.

Those Zhao family members who had been written into the family tree felt they were now the kin of an Immortal Master, and they began to throw their weight around the village.

At first, they merely ran up tabs at the restaurants and shops. Later, seeing that the commoners feared them and no one was there to rein them in, their behavior became increasingly brazen.

Eventually, there were even incidents of market extortion and beating people in the streets.

Naturally, those offenders were apprehended by the Clan Soldiers, beaten soundly, forced to pay compensation, and finally hauled back to the Zhao Mansion in disgrace.

Zhao Dapeng even personally escorted those wretched juniors to the main family to beg for forgiveness.

He thought they would learn their lesson and calm down, but he never expected these useless fools to be entirely incorrigible. Since there were Clan Soldiers on the North Bank, they ran to the South Bank to cause trouble, making the lives of the South Bank commoners thoroughly miserable.

"A pack of brainless idiots! They've truly ruined me!"

The mere thought of these vexing matters made Zhao Dapeng's chest tighten with fury.

He himself did not care. Even if he had to present himself to the main family for punishment, he would harbor no complaints. His only fear was that these foul affairs would negatively impact Zhao Qi, who had gone up the mountain to cultivate.

Now, the Liang family's submission seemed on the surface like an act of charity by the main family. But in his heart, Zhao Dapeng knew perfectly well-this was a warning bell being rung for him!

From now on, the Zhao family's monopoly over the North Bank would cease to exist.

"Master, everyone has arrived," the steward reported from outside the door.

Hearing this, Zhao Dapeng steadied his nerves. The hesitation in his heart vanished entirely, and his eyes widened into a fierce, ruthless glare.

In an instant, the plump Master Zhao transformed back into the hardened old mountain farmer who used to keep the night watch alone.

Reaching under his bed, he pulled out an old grass-cutting blade and strode out the door.