Previously on Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather...
Yang Mingzhao discovers that many people, including his own subordinates and relatives, are being arrested for corruption and abuse of power in the Spirit Source Land. His father, Yang Zhenshan, reveals the widespread systemic corruption that has festered over sixty years, leading to the arrest of his sons and grandsons, including Yang Jilin, who is accused of worse offenses. The scale of the purge becomes apparent as Yang Mingzhao witnesses the widespread arrests throughout the city and learns about the deep-seated issues from his father.
"Dispatch him to the mining grounds to serve a hundred-year sentence!" Yang Chengmao declared.
"As a descendant of the Yang family, his punishment ought to be graver. Let him toil in the mining grounds until his days are numbered!" Yang Zhenshan stated frigidly.
Within the Spirit Source Land, capital punishment is non-existent. The harshest penalty is assignment to the mining grounds. In truth, even a hundred-year sentence would effectively mean Yang Jilin spends his entire remaining life there. Yang Jilin, an Innate Martial Artist, possesses a natural lifespan of approximately one hundred and fifty years, and he is currently nearing forty.
However, Yang Zhenshan's decree completely extinguished any prospect of Yang Jilin's eventual release from the mining grounds.
Such a sentence is by no means lenient.
"And for those four, haul them out and administer one hundred lashes with the military rod, as a stark warning to all others!"
Yang Zhenshan gestured towards the four brothers of Yang Mingcheng standing nearby.
"Ah, Father, we committed no wrongdoing!" Yang Mingcheng protested innocently.
Yang Zhenshan fixed him with a glare, "Two hundred lashes!"
"Eldest Brother, do not utter another word!" Yang Mingzhao urgently tugged at Yang Mingcheng's sleeve.
Yang Chengye scanned the surroundings and couldn't help but question in a hushed tone, "Grandfather, are they truly to be beaten?"
His own father was among them.
"Nonsense, they must receive lashes until their skin is broken and blood flows!" Yang Zhenshan affirmed.
Upon hearing this, Yang Chengye cast a look of resignation towards his father.
Yang Chengmao also appeared helpless.
Let them endure the beating; two hundred lashes won't prove fatal, after all.
Yang Mingcheng and his three brothers no longer dared to voice any objections and could only obediently proceed to receive their caning in front of the Ziwei Tower.
With a touch of consideration, Yang Zhenshan had even personally selected the individuals tasked with administering the punishment.
"Gentlemen, kindly indulge us!" Wang Lei said with a grin, hefting a Mystic Iron Rod.
"This implements?" Yang Mingzhao exclaimed in surprise upon noticing the Mystic Iron Rod in Wang Lei's grasp.
Wang Lei chuckled, "As Mr. Si's cultivation has not yet ascended to the Golden Body Realm, a standard iron rod will serve adequately."
"That is acceptable, that is acceptable!" Yang Mingzhao visibly relaxed.
While he felt relieved, the countenances of the other three brothers grew somber.
"Is such severity truly necessary?" Yang Minghao grumbled.
"Alas, just endure it!" Yang Mingzhi replied with a sigh of resignation, dutifully positioning himself on the tiger bench.
Wang Lei and Li Chang exchanged a knowing glance before raising their rods and striking with considerable force.
Had any other individuals been assigned to discipline these four brothers, some restraint might have been exercised.
However, Wang Lei and Li Chang harbored no such intentions of holding back.
Each strike from the Mystic Iron Rod landed with brutal impact, and even bodies possessing the resilience of Golden Body Realm Martial Artists found their flesh torn asunder.
Yang Zhenshan observed the unfolding scene from his elevated vantage point.
Did the four brothers of Yang Mingcheng deserve such a thrashing?
Undoubtedly, they did!
As scions of the Yang family's second generation, they represented the most formidable figures within the Spirit Source Land, second only to Yang Zhenshan and Yu Qingyi.
While Yang Zhenshan and Yu Qingyi largely abstained from mundane affairs, they remained principally responsible for overseeing matters within the Spirit Source Land.
Yang Zhenshan's imposition of punishment served a dual purpose: as retribution and as a potent warning to the populace.
With this decisive round of chastisement, the Spirit Source Land was poised to maintain tranquility for many decades to come.
...
The disquiet that had permeated the Spirit Source Land dissipated within a mere three days.
Despite the considerable number of individuals subjected to punishment during this period, the overall repercussions for the Spirit Source Land were remarkably limited.
After all, it was patently clear that Yang Zhenshan held the reins of authority; who would dare to voice dissent in his presence?
Once these matters were settled, Yang Zhenshan promptly instructed Yang Chengmao to orchestrate the transfer of personnel for the assumption of control over both the Wuxiang Sect and Wuxiang City.
The Wuxiang Sect and Wuxiang City were not akin to Yang Family Town, which could be simply taken over by a few hundred individuals.
To say nothing of the Wuxiang Sect's precarious circumstances, Wuxiang City alone, as the paramount city under the Wuxiang Sect's dominion and the sole territory directly administered by it, boasted a scale comparable to the Xuanqing Sect's esteemed Green Jade City.
With a populace numbering three hundred thousand, Wuxiang City stood as one of the most significant urban centers in the Sea of Spirit.
Following the upheaval involving the Wuxiang Sect, Wuxiang City had descended into a state of chaos. Although disciples from the Xuanqing Sect later stepped in to maintain a semblance of order, the city remained turbulent, and its inhabitants were gripped by widespread panic.
Approaching the outskirts of Wuxiang City.
A formidable and battle-hardened army advanced with imposing menace.
A contingent of three thousand, entirely composed of cavalry, thundered forth from the direction of the Wuxiang Sect.
In mere moments, the military force had arrived at the very gates of Wuxiang City.
Upon the battlements of the city walls, the Xuanqing Sect disciples on duty felt a surge of apprehension.
"Elder, observe that!"
A disciple nervously approached Chu Lingxiao.
Gazing sternly at the approaching army outside the city, Chu Lingxiao declared gravely, "There's no need to panic; those are the Yang family's troops!"
"The Yang family? Which Yang family is it?" The disciple beside him looked utterly bewildered.
"Which other Yang family could it be? Naturally, it's the esteemed Yang family of Immortal Cultivation!" someone interjected.
"I never imagined the Yang family possessed such a formidable army!"
"Just look at their mounts – all Mutant Beasts! Gale Grey Wolves, Cloud Tiger Cubs, and those horses are actually Red Cloud Horses! Yes, Red Cloud Horses are indeed the Mutant Beasts the Yang family sells!"
"Mutant Beasts are one thing, but their armor and weapons are all spiritual weapons!"
A group of Xuanqing Sect disciples engaged in an animated discussion about the 3,000 Yujing Guards positioned outside the city.
The current three ranks of the Yujing Guard could be described as being outfitted to the absolute limit.
The soldiers of the Yujing Guard were typically categorized into three distinct types: spearmen, sword shield bearers, and archers, each group boasting unique equipment.
Spearmen were clad in a complete set of top-grade spirit armor and bore a top-grade spiritual weapon spear, supplemented by an additional eight mid-grade spiritual weapon short spears.
Sword shield bearers were equipped with full top-grade spirit armor, along with a top-grade spiritual weapon shield and a longsword, one of each.
Archers presented perhaps the most singular unit within the Yujing Guard. They, too, wore top-grade spirit armor, but crafted from leather rather than iron, affording slightly diminished protection. Their primary armament was their longbow, yet the most prized possessions they carried were the arrows stored within their spatial bags.
A full three hundred arrows accompanied each archer, all of spiritual weapon quality, with many reaching the top-grade.
It could be confidently stated that each archer's storage bag contained the equivalent of three hundred spiritual weapons.
Such an arrangement was far beyond the capabilities of any common military contingent.
The 3,000 Yujing Guards halted directly beneath the imposing gates of Wuxiang City, their collective murderous aura instantly flooding the area, compelling the previously chattering Xuanqing Sect disciples to fall silent.
Chu Lingxiao observed the soldiers below, unable to suppress a sharp intake of breath.
Three thousand soldiers might not seem like a vast number; even the Spirit Three Sects once maintained a city defense force in Anhu City. However, the military discipline of the Spirit Three Sects' army was inferior to that of true cultivators. Put simply, their soldiers were more akin to individual martial artists than a cohesive, disciplined force.
In stark contrast, the three ranks of the Yujing Guard could rightfully be considered a genuine army, meticulously organized along a strict military model. Regardless of the individual cultivation levels of the soldiers, they operated as a unified military entity.
"Song Dashan, Guest Elder of the Yang family, has arrived to assume control of Wuxiang City. We request the Xuanqing Sect Elder open the city gates!" Song Dashan, mounted on a Cloud Tiger Cub, bellowed from below.
The walls of Wuxiang City towered over six zhang in height. For cultivators who had achieved Innate Martial Artist status, ordinary walls presented no significant obstacle, as they possessed the ability to fly.
However, the walls of Wuxiang City were no common fortifications; they were imbued with powerful defensive arrays.
Even though these arrays were only of the lower second-order, they still offered formidable protection.
This was one of the primary factors that had prevented the Nether Prison Sect from launching an assault on Wuxiang City previously.
Chu Lingxiao emerged from the city ramparts, gracefully descending to a position directly before Song Dashan.
"Chu Lingxiao of the Xuanqing Sect!"
"Song Dashan of the Yang family greets you, Senior!" Song Dashan offered a respectful salute, cupping his fists.
Chu Lingxiao assessed Song Dashan, thinking inwardly, "Another Golden Body Realm Martial Artist I haven't seen before! Just how many Golden Body Realm Martial Artists does this Yang family possess?"
"Do you possess the Yang family's official credential?"
She had a tangential connection to the Yang family through marriage, as her granddaughter, Li Qianqian, had wed into the family.
However, ever since Li Qianqian married into the Yang family, she had not once returned to visit the Xuanqing Sect.
Consequently, her knowledge of the Yang family's current affairs remained quite limited.
Nevertheless, she had received substantial benefits from the Yang family; the promises Yu Qingyi had made to her years prior had not been forgotten. Throughout the intervening years, the Yang family had generously provided her with numerous cultivation resources, enabling her own cultivation to advance to the late stage of the Golden Body Realm.
"Indeed, I do!" Song Dashan produced a Jade Token and presented it to Chu Lingxiao.
After examining the token, Chu Lingxiao nodded slightly and then called out to the disciples stationed on the city walls, "Open the city gates!"
The Yang family's official credential was a Jade Token, which had been duly registered with Hidden Sword Mountain, the Xuanqing Sect, and the Illusion Moon Sect.
The primary method for verifying the token's authenticity resided in the unique restrictions imprinted upon it.
However, the specific Jade Token Chu Lingxiao held was not the one that conferred access to the Spirit Source Land, as it conspicuously lacked the Spirit Seed of Yang Zhenshan. It was, in essence, merely an ordinary token.
