Song Taiyi, the founding ancestor of the [Moon Viewing] Song Clan, was an expelled member of the Golden Core Family, the [Brocade Banner] Song Clan.
After the clan removed him from their records, he grew disheartened and traveled to Ling Province. There, he founded his own family, calling it a collateral branch of the Song Clan, but in truth, it was never acknowledged by the [Brocade Banner] Song Clan.
Before his death, Song Taiyi's greatest regret was his failure to regain the acknowledgment of the Ancestral Vein. He ultimately died with this sorrow unfulfilled.
This regret was passed down to his descendants, and the entire Song Clan strove to earn the acknowledgment of the Ancestral Vein.
But their efforts were futile; the high-and-mighty Golden Core Family wouldn't give them so much as a glance.
This situation persisted until a century ago. At that time, although Song Yungui had been grievously wounded, the Song Clan was still a Purple Mansion Family and considered a renowned power in the Daqi Cultivation World.
Meanwhile, the Ancestral Vein suffered a major catastrophe, resulting in disastrous losses among their able-bodied clan members and leaving them with a severe shortage of successors.
It was then that the lofty Golden Core Family finally deigned to look down upon the collateral branches scattered across the land.
They sent representatives to Vast Mist Peak. The clan was at the height of its power back then, and the visitors were very pleased. They verbally acknowledged the [Moon Viewing] Song Clan's status as a collateral branch.
Rejoining the fold naturally came with a division of benefits and obligations. The benefit was that the Ancestral Vein would periodically supply the collateral branch with Foundation Establishment Pills and other precious cultivation resources—for a price, of course.
Aside from that, there were no other benefits.
The benefit was simple, but the obligations were numerous. The most important ones were, first, to offer a tribute every ten years—this wasn't a great burden on the clan, so it was acceptable.
Another, far more critical obligation, was the requirement to send the clan's most outstanding members back to the Ancestral Vein. This was a mandatory condition, and someone would come in person at regular intervals to make the selection.
Faced with such a humiliating treaty, the Clan Leader of that time, Song Yunhan, endured immense pressure from all sides and signed it.
The reason was simple: Song Yungui was about to pass away. Without this pillar of support, the other powers in Ling Province would surely rise up to challenge the clan's dominance.
The clan needed Foundation Establishment Pills to raise enough Foundation Establishment Cultivators to maintain its position.
Unfortunately, the clan lacked the raw ingredients to cultivate the herbs needed for Foundation Establishment Pills. They had always purchased them from various sources, which was not only unreliable but also expensive.
For the Ancestral Vein, however, Foundation Establishment Pills were not particularly rare, and their supply was stable.
Thus, the unequal contract was signed—a compromise born of desperation.
As it turned out, the decision was a wise one. The clan managed to survive after Song Yungui passed away and successfully nurtured many new Foundation Establishment Cultivators.
However, as the clan failed to produce a new Purple Mansion Cultivator, the Ancestral Vein gradually lost interest. In recent years, not only has the supply of Foundation Establishment Pills dwindled, but contact has all but ceased.
This explains what Song Luyao said at the meeting. Their relationship was purely transactional; though they shared the same name, they were long since two separate families.
If they couldn't provide sufficient benefits, the main branch would just cast them aside again without a second thought.
Song Xianyun sighed deeply. "That may be true, but it's only speculation. We must still prepare enough Spirit Stones for five pills—at least 150,000. If we don't need them all, the remainder can be returned to everyone."
The hall fell silent. 'Such is the sorrow of lacking the ingredients for Foundation Establishment Pills…'
Hearing this, Song Luyao said no more and stated bluntly, "I can contribute 1,800."
The others also generously opened their purses, contributing all they had. In total, the clan's upper echelon managed to gather just under 30,000 Spirit Stones; the rest would have to come from the other clan members.
"Then it's settled," Song Xianyun declared. "Once the Spirit Stones are gathered, we'll send them to Luke. We'll take however many pills he can secure."
"Sigh, we have to trouble young Luke with this again," a Clan Elder lamented. "He left the clan when he was just a boy, but he has continued to work tirelessly for us all this time. It's truly been hard on him."
"The clan will not forget his contributions. If an opportunity to break through to the Purple Mansion realm arises within our clan, we will do everything in our power to support him."
"That settles this matter for now. I want to discuss something else. During the clan trials a few days ago, the Earth Fire Sect..." Song Luyao then recounted the entire incident.
After she finished, a Clan Elder's face lit up with joy. "That mother and son have rendered a great service! They must be handsomely rewarded."
"That boy Changsheng is indeed impressive," Song Luzhou chimed in, offering rare praise for Song Changsheng.
Song Luhuai and the other Clan Elders were also full of praise for Song Changsheng.
"Luyao, why don't you say what you really want to say," Song Xianyun said, understanding that her goal wasn't simply to have them praise Song Changsheng.
"Everyone, what I want to say is that given the talent and strength Song Changsheng has demonstrated, we can no longer judge him simply by his Spirit Root."
"Among the younger generation, his Spirit Root isn't top-tier; one might even call it rather poor. And yet, he is now second to none among the clan's youths."
"Furthermore, his disposition, courage, and innate talent are all first-rate. Therefore, I believe it is time for the clan to select a Young Clan Leader. This would not only be an acknowledgment of Song Changsheng but also an inspiration for the entire younger generation."
Song Luyao's words left everyone looking at each other, stunned. None of them had expected her to propose this.
Song Luzhou smacked his lips thoughtfully. "Changsheng as Young Clan Leader... I think that could work. The boy is certainly outstanding."
"I have no problem with it either," Song Luhuai agreed. "The clan hasn't selected a Young Clan Leader in almost a hundred years. Choosing one now would be truly meaningful for the younger generation."
But another Clan Elder voiced his doubts. "A century ago, Ancestor Yunhan abolished the Young Clan Leader system precisely to prevent a single family line from monopolizing power, which could eventually lead to the clan fracturing into main and collateral branches."
"And history has proven her right. For the past hundred years, the distinction between the direct and cadet lines has been completely eliminated, which is how our clan has remained so united. Are we to roll back that progress now?"
"I believe it's quite the opposite," another Clan Elder proposed. "It is precisely because the clan no longer holds such concepts of direct and cadet lines that we *should* reinstate the position of Young Clan Leader."
"However, the selection method must be different. Instead of choosing from the Clan Leader's descendants as before, the decision should be based on multiple factors like talent, disposition, and so on."
"Although Song Changsheng is the Clan Leader's grandson, neither the Clan Leader nor the Fifth Elder is present today to influence this discussion. So, his nomination is a coincidence of birth; the primary reason is his exceptional ability."
"When selecting future Young Clan Leaders, we should use him as the benchmark and choose from all suitable youths across the entire clan," the Clan Elder proposed.
These words managed to persuade the few who had been opposed. If the selection were to follow such standards, then it might just be acceptable.
"Ahem." Song Xianyun cleared his throat and addressed the room with a wry smile. "No matter how heated our discussion gets, it's ultimately pointless. This matter must be decided by the Clan Leader himself."
"You all know his temperament. He is Ancestor Yunhan's staunchest supporter. Even if he agrees to reinstate the position of Young Clan Leader, he most likely will not choose Changsheng."
"However, I will bring this matter to him and convey everyone's opinions. But as for the result, it's hard to say."
"What I *can* do, however, is make the decision to elevate his status from a Foundation Establishment Seed to that of a Purple Mansion Seed. This can be considered his reward."
"An excellent idea."
"Excellent."
Everyone was satisfied with this proposal.
And just like that, without his knowledge, Song Changsheng became one of the clan's only two Purple Mansion Seeds.
Why not the *only* one? Because ever since Song Qingxing was discovered to possess an Abnormal Spirit Root, he had already been designated as the clan's Purple Mansion Seed.
...