I Can See Your Combat Power

The lack of effort on the part of most people precludes any comparison of talent. For example, if we consider the majority of warriors, their current performance levels suggest a potential rating of 0.8 or even 0.7. But the lowest potential rating for a warrior starts at 1. That’s why Tang Luo can make such bold assertions.

A massive flood engulfed the western region of Longzhou, affecting tens of millions of people, 99% of whom were commoners. It is heart-wrenching to imagine just how many of these people were hiding exceptional talent within this huge population.

The flood took not just the people of Xiling but also the foundation of Tang Luo’s rise to glory. He resented his lack of power to save all these people.

Fortunately, he had disseminated the news of the flood three days in advance to the entire city of Xiling, which, being a commercial hub of Lingjiang, had a large agglomeration of merchants and Wind Media personnel. These individuals would have spread the news about the impending flood, and although it was tremendously powerful, the towns after Xiling should have been prepared for it, unlike Zhang, where the entire city was submerged.

Previously, everyone assumed that Yuanzhou’s strength was merely due to Xu Sheng’s “Spiritual Power Analysis,” which was inscribed on the monument in southern heaven. But upon hearing Tang Luo’s description, they understood why Yuanzhou was known as a holy land of martial arts. And unknowingly, it had transformed into a holy land where the entire populace practices martial arts – a truly unbelievable phenomenon.

But this conversation wasn’t entirely one-sided. Intelligent people tend to think and consequently question while assimilating new information. The Great Elder was the first one to raise doubts.

“It doesn’t add up.” Tang Siyuan exclaimed with a furrowed brow, “If I were a noble leader at the boundary of Xu Clan’s territory in Yuanzhou, knowing that the commoners there have such progression in their martial arts skills, I would be incessantly recruiting warriors from Yuanzhou. If hundreds of nobles were to do the same, wouldn’t the fact that Xu Clan’s subjects possess such skills be revealed to everyone? How come only the holy sects knew about this?”

No clan leader is incompetent. Recruiting such well-developed warriors armed with Spirit Arts would be like a windfall, which would inspire any audacious noble family to completely disregard the terrifying power of holy sects.

If the Xu Clan had really acted as Tang Luo described, this information would have spread far and wide by now. Keep in mind, the Tang Clan once traded with Yuanzhou, and Tang Sen even swept over the younger generation there. Even though the Wancheng Treasure Ship stopped sailing to Yuanzhou due to the issue regarding Xu Shuhui, if this sort of arrangement was really in place, there is no way they wouldn’t have heard of it.

Because once there is suitable interest, noble families become bold. Ordinary treasures, even if they are in illusions, are enough to make them take risks; and when faced with secret martial arts techniques, they dare to defy any authority in the world. If it’s about a huge benefit that could transform the entire house, they wouldn’t give a damn about any saint clans.

These quality commoners scattered within Xu Clan’s territories, without knowing martial arts, are merely stronger than an average person. It wouldn’t be difficult at all for the nobles to abduct them.

With these questions raised, everyone turned their doubtful gazes back to Tang Luo. There is no smoke without fire, and this total lack of news was just far too irregular.

In response to these queries, Tang Luo shook his head, sighed and said lightly, “My lords, do you know what the purpose of Xu Clan’s three army is?”

“How do you think the reputation of the three armies – Falling Star, Divine Sword, and Cavalry – was established over these centuries? Was it not formed by Xu Clan defeating one noble family after another in the name of justice, and rescuing their subordinates from ‘sufferings’? Do lords truly believe that the noble Xu family was born to maintain justice in the world and that all these small noble families who have been defeated by the Xu armies over the years “deserved to die”?”

As a real noble family, the Tang Clan is no longer very interested in destroying some smaller families to grab resources. Not to mention competing with commoners for profit.

The bottom line is that the power of the noble families is driven by the pursuit of interests. Nowadays, the benefits that the commoners and smaller families can bring to Tang Clan are minimal, thus the Tang Clan does not mind showing them their benevolent side, as there is no conflict of interest.

If the noble Tang Clan behaves this way, it’s likely that other noble families in various states and regions are not too different in their actions. Therefore, the patrols of Xu Clan’s three armies along the borders of their territories and their frequent invasions of noble families appear rather bizarre.

Darkness resides within the light, not on the back of it.

The world is neither entirely black nor wholly white; it is a mixture of shadows and light.

Is it true that every generation of Saint Lords from the Xu Clan lives by the moral standard of benevolence and righteousness? Even Tang Luo himself doesn’t believe it. So, he can only speculate based on the tangible advantages and drawbacks of the Xu Clan’s actions.

Does a noble family need an army? Definitely. But without enormous secrets, why would three armies vigilantly patrol the border of their territory day and night? Does it imply a noble family would dare to attack the Xu Clan?

Remember, Yuanzhou is different from Longzhou, Zhongzhou, and Beimang. Xu Clan is the only holy land there!

“I believe the smartest move the Xu Clan made a few centuries ago was to move the entire clan from southern heaven to Yuanzhou,” Tang Luo shrugged and spoke in a soft voice. “In the fertile land of southern heaven, the Xu Clan would never have been able to establish itself as the strongest clan on earth through a few centuries of discreet cultivation and aggression. Only by relocating the entire clan to the barren land of Yuanzhou at that time could the Xu Clan teach the people of Yuanzhou how to live as saviors. They possessed the most fertile land, built the highest walls and even made the oldest families in Yuanzhou kneel before them, making them their vassals.”

“So, do you understand now? The next growth point of our clan is neither plundering other clans nor merchant shipping. It’s whether we can accumulate a massive number of martial artists in the shortest time and nurture top-notch talents!”

Centuries ago, the construction of the Wancheng Treasure Ship and the implementation of the plundering and trading policy made the Tang Clan far more powerful than others, making it one of the top families in western Longzhou. But today, centuries later, resources and martial arts methods collected from small clans by plundering and destruction can no longer effectively benefit the clan. The next target of the Tang Clan can only be those sects that occupy the magical lands and have a history of thousands of years. With the current rate of growth of the Tang Clan, this goal is almost impossible to achieve. By reaching the level of the noble houses, all family progress slows down because forming an army unit in the Fierce Realm is decades of work.

You can’t guarantee that there will be astonishing talents in the Fierce Realm in every generation. It would be extremely fortunate if there’s even one like Tang Mi in every generation.

But the most interesting aspect of family development lies here. Although Tang Clan doesn’t know how to quickly accumulate strength at the noble house stage, they can always imitate, right?

Just look at what Xu Clan is doing in Yuanzhou.. Why can’t we follow their example in western Longzhou?