"Lord Patriarch, the Wang Clan has been put under house arrest and is being monitored closely, as you ordered."

"Good, inform me should the situation develop."

"Yes Lord Patriarch!"

Wu Jian continued reading the documents in front of him as the servant scampered away, never having looked up from them in the first place. His eyes read and reread the words on the page, his mind working furiously to try and glean any bit of useful information from them that he hadn't already over the past few days.

The documents contained details and reports on the Gao Clan, a mid sized clan that occupied the neighbouring territory that was closer to the centre of the Qin Dynasty, the Empire that both clans resided in. Apparently they had taken an interest in the Wu Clan's future and had decided to make them into subordinates before they too reached the rank of a mid sized clan and joined the political stage of the empire's outskirts.

They used a light element cultivation technique and were known for delivering swift and precise attacks through beams of light that they could generate. But aside from that, there was no information on their Clan Treasure or whatever other Daos the clan pursued, at least none that was available to him, so he was going half blind into the situation.

In Wu Jian's mind, there were 3 potential path that he could take. First was fortifying his clan's defences and raising its overall strength to try and make it so that the resources the Gao Clan would have to commit to take over his Wu Clan be too much for them to commit to. Of course, this was a generally unfeasible plan due to the sheer might that the Gao Clan possessed, having multiple Nascent Soul masters and dozens of Core Formation experts before you counted any that they kept hidden to shroud their strength.

The second path he could take was giving in and submitting to the Gao Clan. This would forever put his Wu Clan in the position of a vassal to a force they could never hope to overcome, since the majority of their rare and powerful cultivation resources would be going to their overlords. That, and Wu Jian refused to surrender the clan his father had entrusted to him. He could put aside his pride for the greater good of the clan, but he could not put aside his father's memory.

The third and final plan he had in mind was to find an ally or benefactor that would scare off the Gao Clan from attacking. Doing this without becoming subservient to another power would be tricky, but it was by far the best of the three options in his mind. As part of the order to gather information on the Gao Clan, he had also bid his information to bring him knowledge of the other mid sized clans nearby. He hoped he could find one that needed something he could offer and he could strike a bargain with them for protection. Unfortunately, the clans guarded their inner workings jealously and his search had not turned over much, so all he could do was attempt to delay the Gao Clan's takeover until a solution presented itself, and that meant he had to be ready to bleed.

"Lord Patriarch, two of our trading caravans were accosted by the local authorities of where they were passing through and are being held under suspicion of transporting illegal goods."

A servant entered, bowed and reported.

"It looks like they've begun to make their moves. Make an offer to the offending city's lords, they may keep the goods in the caravans as long as they return our people to us. And send squads of our clan members to meet the returning caravans at our border, any cultivator who sets foot on our land without permission is to be be apprehended."

"Understood lord Patriarch, by your command."

The servant vanished to complete their tasks. Wu Jian suppressed his anger at the blatant move against his clan, the bell in his soul sea chiming in assistance. For now his rage would be set aside so that he could focus upon the task at hand, but later it would be unleashed upon those who attempted to bring down his father's legacy.

He got up from his seat and made his way towards the meditation chambers reserved for main family members, finding himself alone in there as the only other direct relative of his was off travelling and exploring the world. His progress had stagnated since he reached the Nascent Soul Realm, but he kept trying to inch forward on his path through the habit of cultivating each night instead of sleeping that he had built up over the years. The process was relaxing to him, the gentle waves of energy that he circulated within himself lulling him into a meditative state where he could almost feel his father's arms wrapped around him like he had during their final embrace. He preferred the task now that he could feel his father's presence, though he did half miss the state of absolute peace he would cultivate in before. It was like the former patriarch's soul had stayed behind to comfort him instead of moving straight to the cycle of Samsara.

"It won't be long father."

He whispered.

"I have avenged you and once I have dealt with those Gao dogs your body will be enshrined with the ancestors'."