Family Cultivation: My entire family are Villains

"Of course, there are. My elder brother made it onto three different rankings all at once, bringing tremendous fame to our Hou Clan this time. Currently, with the major battle across two states at its height, many astute individuals have already sensed the signs of impending chaos across the world. Many have flocked to Wanyang County to join the Hou Clan. Although there are no Grandmasters, there are quite a few Warriors of the Gang Qi Realm and even more Martial Artists of the Open Body Realm," he said.

Last year, when my elder brother and second brother left Wanyang County, the clan's warriors numbered less than forty thousand. In just this short span of half a year, the total number of warriors in our clan has reached nearly eighty thousand, with those who are at five levels of body refinement and above accounting for half of them. Based on the plan my elder brother made earlier for the four prefectures in Hexi Prefecture, all the warriors from the established forces combined do not match the numbers we have in the Hou Clan," he continued.

I didn't know before why so many people had come. Later I learned that most of these loose cultivators hailed from Xiayuan Road, Xingnan, Jianye, and Pingjin, as well as from Zhaotong in the Zhongyuan Road prefectures. That gives me a rough idea!"

Upon hearing this, Hou Yuxiao immediately understood and said, "This time Zhan Taiqing went to campaign in Hedong, mobilizing mansion troops mainly from these four prefectures. It seems that the second elder brother and I have been quite conspicuous on this side of Hedong. It must be these people who let the news slip, along with the three rankings that drew so many people here."

Speaking of the clan's situation, Hou Yuduan's face, previously stern, seemed somewhat exhilarated as he said, "The number of warriors in our clan is skyrocketing every day. Besides what my elder brother mentioned, there is another, even more important reason."

The Battle of Hedong continues, and news of the Great Yu Holy Dynasty being attacked from both sides has already spread. Additionally, in December last year, the Demon Derivation Holy Sect suddenly deployed a million troops in the northern border of Liangzhou, clearly aiming north at Fenzhou. Great Jin also showed no weakness, with the Fenling Emperor Helian Ba personally leading a large army stationed at the southern foot of Fenzhou, ready to engage the Demon Derivation Holy Sect at any moment."

There's also news that the sect master of the Qingzhou Haoran Holy Sect, Ruangxiang Tian, the sect master of the Wanjian Holy Sect, the Cloud Sky Sword Saint Su Jinghan, and the sect master of the Ziqing Holy Sect, the God Talisman Taoist Ancestor Shen Daoling, have consecutively appeared in the capital of Great Yu, seemingly intending to dissuade Great Jin and Qinjian Villa from continuing their assault on Zhongzhou, to offer relief to Great Yu."

All these pieces of information indicate that the world will soon be... in turmoil!"

A troubled world means disaster for ordinary people and for loose cultivators as well, but unlike ordinary citizens, martial artists can still try to join an established force by leveraging their martial skills. Though it doesn't guarantee complete safety amid chaos, it at least adds an extra layer of protection. At this time, the rising reputation of the Hou Clan in Hexi makes it a good choice."

"It's not just us, recently many forces must have been recruiting and purchasing horses!"

Hou Yuxiao's gaze flickered slightly. He had already heard about these developments from Zhang Zhenwei, and any knowledgeable leader of a force should have already sensed that something was amiss.

Hou Yuduan nodded and said gravely, "That is indeed the case. However, it's a bit different from what elder brother expected. Last year, our third sister stationed many spies from the Lower Hou Sect in the prefectural city and the surrounding counties. According to the information they sent back, the Xiong Yun Gang in the prefectural city, Shen Clan of Jinling County, Shaying Sect of Yinling County, Yuzhao, Jiujun, Yunxiang, and other second-rate forces are indeed recruiting and purchasing horses, but they are doing it covertly and very discreetly. Our people spent a lot of effort to barely detect this through some clues because these forces dare not publicize it widely. Thus, their effects are not as conspicuous and recently, the number of warriors they have recruited is far less than our Hou Clan."

Hou Yuxiao was slightly startled and his brows furrowed in confusion, but a flash of realization soon crossed his mind and he quickly raised his head and said, "They fear the Rakshasa Holy Sect?"

Hou Yuduan nodded and replied, "That's the only possibility. After all, Yongzhou is still Rakshasa Holy Sect territory. These forces recruiting and purchasing horses is fundamentally undermining the Holy Sect. If caught, it would amount to a grave crime of treason. At this critical juncture, the Holy Sect could easily exacerbate the situation. Even as powerful as Xiong Yun Gang, they likely wouldn't dare to take too much of a risk."

Compared to them, our Hou Clan has been lucky. Currently, three counties in Hexi are still considered war zones, and this side of Hedong is in a deadlock. Generally, people only focus on the major battles in Hedong and barely have time to notice the Hou Clan. Additionally, with my elder brother's fame rising recently, I've instructed our clan to act as discreetly as possible. The fact that we've recruited a large number of warriors is not widely known yet to the outside world."

"Eighty thousand people, over forty thousand of them being Martial Artists of five levels of body refinement," Hou Yuxiao pondered for a moment before asking directly, "How many are there above Ten Layers of Body Openings?"

"Only a little over four thousand, of which 212 are Warriors of the Gang Qi Realm!"

Hou Yuxiao shook his head upon hearing this, but then he thought about it; compared to the end of last year when he left Wanyang County, the cultivation level of the warriors in the clan had improved tremendously.

If he remembered correctly, last year there were only over five hundred Martial Artists above Ten Layers of Body Openings and fewer than one hundred Warriors of the Gang Qi Realm. Now, the former has increased by about eight times, and the latter has doubled. This progress in just half a year is indeed terrifying.

But it depends on who you compare it to!

Having spent half a year in Hedong, accustomed to seeing a hundred thousand from Wolf Slaughter Guard, a hundred thousand from the Huben Guard, two hundred thousand from the Brahman World Purifying Army, as well as the hundred thousand from the Qingyang Army of Bailu Academy, the hundred thousand Earthshade Monastic Soldiers from Leiyin Temple, and the two hundred thousand Jinjia Army from the Wanjian Holy Sect.

Compared to these forces, the strength of his clan indeed felt rather disheartening.