After Lan Shi's results were announced, the awakening ceremony continued. There were no results beyond expectations, except for Feng Jiu Ge's. He was the grandson of Elder Feng Yong, the leader of the Feng Faction. He obtained a B-rank talent with a Primordial Sea level of 76%.
...
Lan Family House
"Hahaha, your performance was amazing today. With an A-rank talent, the position of Clan Leader won't be out of reach."
The speaker was a middle-aged man with a rather large build and bronzed skin. His facial features would have been handsome if it weren't for the scar on the right side of his face that left him with a single golden eye. This was Lan Zhao, Lan Shi's father.
"You speak as if the Clan Leader doesn't have a son with an A-rank talent." Lan Shi sat opposite his father while enjoying a Four-Fragrance Tea from the Eastern Sea.
"Humph, just an A-rank talent with an 89% Primordial Sea level is nothing compared to your 99% Primordial Se you're more than that. You're the genius of Huang Jin Mountain, the person who brought prosperity to the Shen Clan"
Huang Jin Mountain's genius, since he was recognized as a genius, had been given this title over the years. Lan Shi wondered, "Is it possible that I am the chosen one destined to rule the world?" As an adult who lived a normal life in his previous life, he denied this, but everything pointed to the truth. When he was young, he didn't understand how good he was at the Refinement Path and assumed everyone else was as good as him, or even more so. However, time has proven that no one is his equal at the Refinement Path. Knowing he has an A-level talent, he began to think again. Maybe I am.
Sigh. There's no point in thinking about these things. Only the future will decide everything.
"Okay, I'm going."
"Where? The day is still early."
"I'm tired. This has been a long day. I had to receive congratulations from many people, and I still have to go meet my mother and her guests."
When his mother's name was mentioned, his father became angry and automatically placed his hand on his scar. "Okay, I'll go to that bitch."
Lan Shi sighed. He was used to this quarrel between them, and then left.
When Lan Shi was six years old, his mother discovered that his father was cheating on her, which led to a quarrel between them. Lan Zhao didn't back down and insisted. Over the years, he became more open in his relationships with women and no longer kept it a secret. The quarrels between the couple escalated until they quarreled every time they met. One time, during their quarrel, Yi Hua, Lan Shi's mother, became enraged and attacked Lan Zhao with her Gu, injuring him in the eye. From that time on, they were a couple in name only, meeting only on rare occasions and living in a separate part of the Lan family mansion.
.....
After visiting his mother, Lan Shi went to his room, which was large and cluttered. It contained towers of books stacked close together, in addition to various types of refining materials and bowls containing various types of Gu worms, some even of the third rank.
Since Lan Shi's arrival in the Gu world, he had begun trying to learn everything about it for two reasons.
The first was that he was fascinated by this world and found it entertaining to learn about it.
The second was that he understood the value of information and tried not to neglect any information, no matter how trivial it seemed.
His favorite books were the book The History of the World from Ren Zu to Thieving Heaven Demon Venerable was a history book that summarized the world's history, but the older the period, the more vague and unreliable the information became. The Lives of the Venerables and Introduction to the Geography of the Five Regions and the Wildlife of the Southern Border were also among his favorite books. However, his favorite was Legends of Ren Zu. Although most people thought it was just a children's story, as a history buff in his previous life, he knew that legends concealed a great deal of truth.
"Stop hiding and come out."
"As expected of the genius of Mount Huang Jin, it seems you'll find us no matter how hard we hide ourselves."
From the corners of the room, two second-rank gu masters emerged.
They were wearing two white masks devoid of any detail except for four black lines that crossed the two masks lengthwise. This was a Rank 2 Shadow Gu, allowing its user to sneak into dark or shadowy areas without leaving a trace. But how could a Gu of this level deceive Lan Shi, let alone a Rank 2 Gu? Even a Rank 5 Gu wouldn't be able to sneak near him without him noticing.
"Enough with this nonsense and get to the point. I want to finish this quickly, because I'm tired today."
Lan Shi knew these two men, as the Clan Leader had assigned them to accompany him long ago for two reasons:
To protect him, as Lan Shi was considered one of the most important people in the Clan, and many wanted to assassinate him.
The second reason was to serve as a secret means of communication between Lan Shi and the Clan Elders.
"You have new orders from the Clan Leader. He asks you to stop your research on food supplies and focus on strengthening the Clan's military power."
"What?! Did something happen?"
"You announced The Liu Clan announced that they would cut off food exports to our clan starting today.
Of the three clans inhabiting Huang Jin Mountain, the Shen Clan has the smallest area and is also the most densely populated. In contrast, the Liu Clan has the largest area, occupying more than half of the mountain.
This means that the Shen Clan has the smallest area of agricultural land, so it used to import 70% of its food. Thanks to Lan Shi's research, this percentage has been reduced to 60%.
18% of food is imported from the Gong Clan, while 52% is imported from the Liu Clan, which owns the largest area of agricultural land.
By depriving the clan of 52% of its food, this means that our clan will enter a food crisis within about a year.
This means that Liu Bai Zu will enter closed-off farming in the coming months, marking the beginning of a war.