On the nineteenth of May, Jiang Wang personally stood guard outside the Xiashan Villa, awaiting a guest whose appearance was less than stellar.

There are many ugly people in the world, but among the unsightly men whom Jiang Wang would treat with such warmth, none other than Lian Que fit the description.

In the past, when Lian Que sought to become the family head, he needed to connect with Chongxuan Sheng through Jiang Wang, a clandestine collaboration where they subtly leveraged each other. Now that Chongxuan Sheng has advanced, and Jiang Wang is renowned throughout Qi, their relationship no longer needs to be hidden.

Befriending Jiang Wang has become a powerful bargaining chip for Lian Que.

The Lian clan of Nanyao is a sacred land for armament masters, and they share some connections with the owners of famous artifacts. However, such connections are, after all, fleeting and not a form of conventional power.

Due to the saying, “Qi’s military armaments are in Chiyang, and Chiyang’s armaments are in Nanyao,” the Lian family has some ties within the military. Furthermore, with Nanyao’s weapons being unparalleled, they enjoy considerable wealth.

However, the Lian family itself lacks truly formidable experts, a stark and undeniable weakness. The fact that Yin Guan, still at the peak of the Outer Tower realm, once threatened to annihilate the Lian clan provides a glimpse into the family’s strength.

Hiring powerful individuals with money is ultimately less reliable than cultivating one’s own. Inviting unmanageable powerhouses also brings the risk of them usurping control. Sometimes, inviting a deity is easy, but sending them away is difficult.

Lian Que, Jiang Wang, and Chongxuan Sheng have all discussed that the reason the Lian family fails to produce strong individuals is due to the Soul Tablet system.

How can there be powerful individuals whose life and death are in the hands of others?

But they are not the only intelligent people, and they are not the only ones who can see this point. The very reason the Soul Tablet system still exists is precisely because it is the foundation for the stable continuation of the Lian family.

It has integrated into the very flesh and blood of the Lian family; every family elder, every high-ranking member of the clan, is a beneficiary of this system.

To change the Soul Tablet system is to challenge the fundamental interests of all high-ranking Lian family members.

Cutting off someone’s financial path is like killing their parents; this is a fundamental contradiction that cannot be compromised.

Even with Lian Que’s determination and Chongxuan Sheng’s wisdom, they can only proceed gradually.

The only way is for Lian Que, after gaining control of the family, to attract and cultivate a group of people who do not rely on the family system for sustenance and who deeply detest the Soul Tablet system, like Lian Shao, to become the new high-ranking members.

Once this power grows, it will be possible to complete a blood transfusion from within to without, from top to bottom, allowing this sacred land of armament masters to be reborn without destroying the Lian clan.

And the prerequisite for preventing people from relying on the family system for sustenance is to open up new financial avenues for them and to show them a more distant future.

This is not something that can be achieved overnight.

The long-term plan personally drafted by Chongxuan Sheng for Lian Que is still only focused on the struggle for the order of succession.

Of course, solely in terms of the family’s right to succession, Lian Que now holds an absolute advantage.

After all, the main connections of the Lian family are within the military, and the Chongxuan family’s influence over the Military Affairs Hall is among the most significant in the entire state of Qi.

With the support of the Chongxuan family’s first-in-line successor, it is difficult for Lian Que to lose.

Even if the current patriarch, Lian Zhuping, dislikes him, and even if individuals like Lian Zhuping glare at him, it cannot stop more family elders from successively expressing their support.

It is currently obvious who can bring them more benefits. After establishing a connection with the Chongxuan family, the number of scroungers and opportunistic military figures who used to eat and take advantage has significantly decreased.

Of course, once Lian Que reveals his intention to abolish the Soul Tablet system, the elders who currently support him will all become his opponents.

“The things you wanted.”

Upon meeting, Lian Que produced a cast iron box and directly handed it to Jiang Wang.

He still retained his usual straightforward manner; besides the ideal of rebuilding the Lian clan hidden deep within his heart, he generally could not keep anything from being said.

This iron box was also incredibly ugly, with unpolished edges, clearly hammered out on the fly.

It was absolutely impossible for anyone to use it to hold a gift.

Jiang Wang didn’t mind at all. As he turned to lead him into the courtyard, he opened the iron box.

Inside the cast iron box lay five hollow, translucent awls. These five awls, however, were exquisitely crafted, their raw materials derived from the special bone spurs obtained by Jiang Wang after slaying a sea creature in the Misty Realm. That sea creature was not powerful, but the bone spurs it left behind were extremely rare.

Jiang Wang examined them and felt quite satisfied: “You do know what looks good after all.”

Yan Fu, that fastidious fellow, shouldn’t reject them because they aren’t aesthetically pleasing.

Lian Que said in a muffled voice, “I don’t know much about this type of magical artifact. I asked a clan uncle for help with it.”

He explained, “This set of Five Element Restraint Awls, when filled with fire elemental energy, restrains fire elemental energy; when filled with water elemental energy, it restrains water elemental energy… it fully utilizes the characteristics of the raw materials and can absorb the same type of elemental energy within a five-mile radius in a single breath. Of course, there is a limit, which depends on the maximum amount of elemental energy the Five Element Restraint Awls can absorb.”

“Outer Tower?” Jiang Wang asked.

Lian Que nodded, “They can be used at that level.”

“What’s their approximate value?” Jiang Wang asked again, “How do they compare to talismans like the Water Restraint Talisman at the Outer Tower level?”

Lian Que was an honest man and stated truthfully, “The price of talismans is a bit exaggerated right now. They’re probably only worth about three or four hundred talismans. However, if we calculate based on their true value, they’re worth at least a thousand Water Restraint Talismans.”

Jiang Wang nodded. In any case, it was good that they were worth the value of that box of talismans, so Yan Fu wouldn’t suffer a loss.

While examining them, he praised, “Your clan uncle’s craftsmanship is really good. The price for his work, compared to the market price plus ten percent, you can have someone settle directly with the Desheng Chamber of Commerce later.”

The Desheng Chamber of Commerce is quite wealthy now, and Jiang Wang’s words carried a lot more confidence.

Lian Que wasn’t polite, “Alright.”

He then looked at the Changxiangsi sword on Jiang Wang’s waist, grinned, and said, “You’ve kept it so well!”

As the most talented armament master of the Lian clan and the creator of Changxiangsi, he could naturally discern the changes in this sword at a glance.

Jiang Wang casually unbuckled it and handed it to him, saying, “Take a look.”

Lian Que held it with both hands, as if embracing a child, cherishing it immensely. Changxiangsi itself did not resist Lian Que, remaining silent.

This sword was made by his hands, and he became famous because of this sword. Naturally, there was a connection.

“Excellent, truly excellent.” He smiled so wide his mouth couldn’t close, “This shall be a renowned sword under heaven!”

Previously, Lian Que had specifically designed a method for nurturing Changxiangsi. Jiang Wang had always strictly followed that method to nurture the sword without interruption.

This was also an important reason why Changxiangsi was able to quickly develop a sword spirit.

Lian Que’s nurturing method primarily utilized Divine Ability Seeds.

Jiang Wang now possessed three Divine Ability Seeds, allowing him to rotate them tirelessly, naturally nurturing the sword even better.

The person nurtured the sword, and the sword also nurtured the person.

“It’s still thanks to your nurturing method,” Jiang Wang said with a smile, “You came at a good time today. A friend from the Northern Yamen just invited me for drinks. Let’s go together.”

No matter how unskilled Lian Que was at socializing, he knew that Jiang Wang was helping him build connections. The importance of connections with the Capital Patrol Office in Qi was self-evident.

He harbored the ideal of rebuilding the Lian clan, so he couldn’t solely focus on armament crafting.

“Alright!” Lian Que’s ugly face immediately broke into a polite smile.