I Can See Your Combat Power

Chapter 866: Chapter 160: Ideas

“The director is right; we should start preparing early for the great war a hundred years from now,” said Tang Gaomin, the sixth elder, agreeing with Tang Feng’s words. Yet he hesitated, “But once the war begins, where in the world would be safe to live? Even Martial Saint Mountain, known for its neutrality, would hardly dare to shelter clans suspected to be Han Family descendants, right? Perhaps we could go to Yuanzhou?”

Thinking it over, only the top human sanctuaries could maintain neutrality in a war of such scale. Aside from the An Clan of Zhongzhou, there are only a few other places, and the only one with any ties to the Tang Clan is the Xu Clan of Yuanzhou.

Having sat in silence until now, Tang Zuo spoke up coldly after hearing the sixth elder, “Going to Yuanzhou is indeed an option, but if we choose to do so, the Tang Clan will never have the chance to rise again. Because everything in Yuanzhou belongs to the Xu Clan, is this the outcome you all desire?”

“With the survival of the clan at stake, we must, of course, choose a safe place first. Whether or not we can make a comeback is a matter for later generations to consider. After all, our clan is not some sect that has a secluded Minor Spiritual Realm to recuperate in and wait for the future!”

Since the sixth elder is a businessman by nature, and a businessman always needs to calculate costs and control risks before trading, if the Han Family were defeated, the cleansing by the An Family of Zhongzhou would certainly be especially brutal. By then, if the Tang Clan could survive, it would already be considered extraordinarily lucky, let alone make a comeback.

“Um… actually, we do have a Minor Spiritual Realm,” Tang Luo suddenly piped up, drawing everyone’s attention back to him. The surprise and confusion on their faces made the peerless prodigy feel a great deal of pressure, and he hurriedly explained, “Do you all remember the Minor Spiritual Realm under the Fox Immortal Temple of the Han Family?”

“Wasn’t that realm cast adrift in the void because of the Demon King’s self-destruction, with no fixed place for decades? Besides, with its realm spirit destroyed and Boundary Breaking Stone submerged, the means to locate it again were long gone. Although we possess the control mantra for realms, with no way to use it, what difference does it make?”@@novelbin@@

The second elder, Tang Hongjun, spoke up because many present had not been central members of the family at that time and had only a vague understanding of the Minor Spiritual Realm. His explanation seemed to dash the hopes of those gathered.

“The second elder is unaware of something.” Touching his nose, Tang Luo said, “Before the Demon King’s self-destruction, I left a way to locate the Minor Spiritual Realm. Once it reestablishes its boundaries, we could find it first. Using the control mantra, we can reformulate a new Boundary Breaking Stone, making this our clan’s contingency plan—surely more stable than Yuanzhou.”

Nobody had anticipated that the Minor Spiritual Realm, thought to be adrift in the void, could be recovered. The elders could hardly hide their joy, and even the usually stern Tang Zuo almost laughed out loud, not to mention the other clan members.

The clan leader, Tang Zhi, stood up excitedly, turning to Tang Luo with earnestness, “Minister Luo, you have once again rendered great service to the family. Please accept my bow!”

All clan members in the central hall stood up in response, including the elders and the chief officials, each one bowing solemnly to Tang Luo.

Looking at dozens of people, many over a hundred years old, collectively bowing, Tang Luo also felt rather helpless and could only return the bows with equal solemnity.

Fortunately, the clan conference still needed to proceed, otherwise who knew how long the bowing would have lasted.

Having discussed the retreat and gaps, it was now time to consider some practical issues, namely how to narrow the gap between the Tang Clan and the sacred grounds within a century.

The clan needed feasible methods, but given the current level of general talent, achieving that goal was like a fool’s dream.

After all, what makes a human is possession of many desires. Living in cities filled with endless temptations, how could they cultivate with as much focus and frugality as a sect?

Not to mention anything else, even the most prodigiously talented descendants of the great families may find themselves stuck in the Mortal Realm, unable to accumulate enough to transcend to the Fierce Realm.

Even though Tang Luo had narrowed down the time frame in which those disciples could break through, it couldn’t stop people from doubting.

Ultimately, it’s the frivolous city life that leaves them yearning for the worldly delights outside, making it hard to wholeheartedly forge their martial paths.

All night long, the central hall brimmed with discussions on how to spur the clan and citizens towards the martial ethos.

Some suggested imposing great rewards to motivate the people towards martial pursuits; some proposed implementing punishments, forcing those who wouldn’t practice to labor, making them cultivate out of fear of punishment; some suggested holding competitions, establishing arenas to inspire people’s martial spirit with the glory of victory…

There was even a proposal to confine the most talented descendants of the clan to arduous cultivation in the mountains, just like the sects do, but it was quickly dismissed.

The discussion again reached an impasse, with everyone lost in thought and seemingly without a solution.

The reason for such a vast difference between the family system and sect disciples is their divergent attitudes towards the martial path. The great families see it as a tool for governance, while sacred grounds strive for ceaseless ascent.

Thus, the desire for rule can only push a martial artist so far before stopping, whereas ascension is boundless.

If surpassing the sects were as easy as one meeting’s discussion, the world’s sects and sacred grounds would have long ceased to exist.

Tang Luo had pondered this issue countless times, and today, he felt it was time to present his own idea to see if it could gain the family’s support.

“To dream of catching up in a century with sacred grounds that have developed over thousands of years is fantastical. Yet, even in terms of the sheer number of martial artists, there’s an oceanic gap. Even our most desperate efforts can’t close it.”

“Instead of wasting energy on an utterly impossible task, why not pursue something more attainable?”

“For example, how can we create more Grandmasters in a hundred years?”

“Of course, I’m aware of the difficulty, but this is the only direction in which we can exert our efforts. It’s better to work on what we already have rather than starting from scratch.”

“If we could have dozens of Grandmasters within a hundred years, that would be a force no one could ignore. Even if the Han Family’s restoration fails, we wouldn’t be wiped out at one stroke.”

As Tang Luo shared his thoughts, he didn’t receive much support. Even ex-First Head of the Martial Hall Tang Baichuan, a powerful individual, had been stuck at the second step of spiritualizing the physical body, potentially never reaching Grandmaster status. This made everyone aware of how difficult it was to achieve Grandmaster level.

Moreover, could the presence of Grandmasters ensure a carefree existence? The central hall’s clan members were skeptical.