The Cheng Family Ancestral Hall.

Cheng Zongyang watched as Zhang Guangwen, who had left less than half an hour ago, returned. His expression was stern.

"Are you certain you’ve thought this through? Once it’s signed, there’s no going back. And it must be done of your own free will."

Zhang Guangwen nodded solemnly. "I have!"

Cheng Zongyang then asked, "Do you have any objections to the conditions I’ve offered?"

"None!"

Cheng Zongyang turned to his uncle at his side. "Uncle, go ahead and write down the terms of the pledge. When you’re done, let him look it over. If there are no issues, he’ll sign it and add his fingerprint. Afterward, the contract will be entrusted to the Sect Hall for safekeeping."

Zhou Hansong nodded.

A moment later, Zhou Hansong finished writing and handed the beast hide to Zhang Guangwen for another review.

After seeing no problems, Zhang Guangwen wrote his name. It was a bit crooked and messy, but that didn’t matter. Finally, he used a small dagger to make a tiny cut on his thumb, and once the blood welled up, he pressed it down over his name.

After waiting for three breaths, Cheng Zongyang saw that both the name and the fingerprint were in place, and he smiled. At the same time, a notification appeared in his mind:

[Immortal Ancestor’s Oath successfully signed. Three days have been deducted from your Lifespan. You may summon the original contract for viewing at any time.]

Cheng Zongyang committed the last sentence to memory, then looked at his uncle. "This contract will be kept in the Sect Hall. Zhang Guangwen, if you need anything in the future, just find the Chief Steward."

With that, Cheng Zongyang turned back to Zhou Hansong. "The other nine beast hides are on the shelf in the small hut by the ancestral hall. You can retrieve them later. Just let me know when you run out. I’ll have to trouble you to handle the rest, Uncle."

The entire process was just like that. In the future, his uncle could handle it all himself.

"It’s my duty," Zhou Hansong said with a nod, then looked at Zhang Guangwen. "Come with me. I’ll arrange some things for you."

"Thank you, Young Clan Leader. This humble one takes his leave," Zhang Guangwen said, cupping his fist in his hand.

"From now on, just refer to yourself as ’this subordinate’," Zhou Hansong mentioned.

Hearing this, Zhang Guangwen immediately complied. "Yes. This subordinate takes his leave."

After they had all departed, Cheng Zongyang set the booklet aside, waiting to have the tutor transcribe it later.

For the next period of time, Cheng Zongyang did little else but compile an ideological education booklet for the clan.

The content wasn’t extensive. Its core message was the importance of the clan, with the rest being numerous examples to prove the significance of having the clan as one’s backing.

Lest they venture out, encounter an enemy, and discover their foe had a powerful background, while their own was just a lonely silhouette.

This kind of education was a long-term project. It couldn’t be too overt and could only be instilled through subtle influence.

Work in Cheng Family Village continued in full swing. The increasingly cold winter could not stop their march toward a better life.

「While Cheng Family Village developed in silence, the situation in Jade Peak County took a sudden turn for the worse!」

Jade Peak County had not been waiting for enemy soldiers from Qianye Commandery City. Instead, an army of the Thirteen Royal Families from the direction of Linchuan crossed the Tianduan Mountain pass and arrived at the gates of Jade Peak County Town in Xiangyang Prefecture!

When Luo Dingran learned of the situation, while not entirely unexpected, there was still an element of surprise. Ultimately, however, he remained relatively calm.

The fall of Jade Peak County was within his expectations.

’I thought it would be the army of the Thirteen Royal Families that was besieging Qianye Commandery City,’ he mused. ’I just never imagined it would be a different one!’

But this army’s arrival told Luo Dingran that the regions south, southeast, and east of Linchuan had likely all fallen into the hands of the Thirteen Royal Families!

Therefore, he was quite decisive, putting up little resistance before being captured.

Likewise, all the officials in the entire County Magistrate’s Office were arrested!

There was a simple reason: there were almost no Martial Artists in the city, so they had no ability to resist! Even if there were some, they couldn’t have stopped a siege by several hundred Martial Artists.

As a disciple of the Luo Family, he was fated not to surrender or flee. To do so would change the nature of the situation. As a proper descendant of a Noble Family, he understood one principle very clearly: you cannot leave your political rivals an opening to use against your family!

So, the best result was to be captured after being "overwhelmed," rather than retreating without a fight and abandoning the city!

And so, his fate upon coming to Jade Peak County had long been sealed.

After the Thirteen Royal Families conquered Jade Peak County, the various family factions loyal to them began to take over. They intended to carve it up like a cake, swallowing and dividing the original local powers.

According to the rules, the Commandery Mansion belonged to the main Royal Family, while the lesser territories were divided. The power in the County Towns was to be split among the vassal families.

However, after these families took over the County Town and learned of the situation in Jade Peak County, they were all infuriated!

They were furious, it seemed, because Luo Dingran had ruined their resources. If the local families hadn’t been consolidated, they could have carved them up according to their own strength. The resources would have been all theirs!

Now, there was nothing left for them to divide.

No one was willing to evenly split what little resources remained.

As the disputes continued, and with some of the family members still fuming, Luo Dingran was the first to suffer the consequences.

Unsurprisingly, he was killed on the spot at the entrance of the Government Office! To all the powers of the Thirteen Royal Families, the laws of the Dynasty were not needed in the lands they governed. The Royal Family was the highest law!

As long as one followed the Royal Family’s rules, they would not interfere with how things developed!

Therefore, every time they conquered a County Town, they would purge all the officials and allow the place to develop freely. They would wait until the war was over and the outcome decided before sending people to manage the County Town and establish new rules!

After all, they had come from a thousand miles away without many supplies. They were naturally unable to manage the livelihoods of so many people in the County Town. Fueling the war with war was their true method. Otherwise, if they had to return the territory to the Da Liang Dynasty later, wouldn’t all their efforts be for nothing?

Having dealt with the matter of Jade Peak County, these family members reluctantly divided the bulk of the county’s existing resources among themselves and headed north toward Qingfeng County with their spoils. Naturally, they wouldn’t spare any towns they encountered along the way.