Chapter 9: Family War (Part 1)

Nan You turned around and smiled, saying, “Elder Bo Ruoli, what are you doing here?” Guo Shier nodded. He had met Bo Ruoli a few times before and knew he was also an honorary elder hired by the Ancestor of Nan Qiang.
Bo Ruoli said, “I came to pick you up. There’s a flying vehicle.” He was usually quiet and seemed cold toward others. Everyone was aware of his temperament, so they weren’t surprised.
It was a small flying vehicle that could carry about ten people. Bo Ruoli led everyone aboard and ordered, “Let’s go. It will take two days to get there.” After saying that, he found a corner to sit in and stopped talking.
A few disciples from the Gu Nan family stepped forward and bowed, saying, “We greet the Ancestor and the Grand Elder.”
Nan You waved his hand and said, “Ignore us. Just do your own things.” The men replied respectfully and piloted the flying vehicle southward.
Guo Shier wanted to learn more about the situation, but seeing Bo Ruoli’s aloof attitude, he lost interest in asking. He thought it would be better to ask the Ancestor of Nan Qiang once they arrived.
Two days later, the flying vehicle reached the outskirts of the Chijin ore vein, the large settlement of the Gu Nan family. Countless flying vehicles and hunting cars circled in the sky, with professionals divided into various teams patrolling through the air.
On the ground, there were numerous temporary tents arranged in dozens of areas. From above, it looked endless.
The flying vehicle slowly landed. It was a huge parking lot filled with tens of thousands of flying vehicles and hunting cars, neatly arranged—reminiscent of a military airport or parking lot from his past life, covering a vast area. In this world, though other things might be scarce, land was never in short supply.
Guo Shier got off the flying vehicle and exclaimed, “It’s fucking spectacular…”
Ying Mo was also shocked at first glance. He said, “Is this the strength of the Gu family? Impressive…” He thought of the North Talisman Sect and the Chenxiao Sect, which seemed like mere ants compared to the Gu family. When he first arrived at the Chenxiao Sect, he had been amazed by their strength, but now it seemed the Chenxiao Sect wasn’t much to speak of either.
Luo Zhan shook his head without saying anything. Having followed Guo Shier for so long and visited countless places, he now understood that his hometown was just a remote and poor area, nowhere near as good as the outside world. Fortunately, he was already a high-ranking Great Sage Master and considered an elder within the Gu family, so he didn’t feel much regret. Unlike Ying Mo, he didn’t have great ambitions.

Nan You said, “There are currently about five hundred thousand people stationed in this camp, and more clan disciples are arriving continuously. Perhaps in not long, there will be over a million professionals here.”
Guo Shier had served as a military commander in his past life, and he understood the cruelty of war well. He said, “I don’t know how many people won’t be able to return home… Nan You, I still don’t understand why you had to go to war with the Gu Jin clan.”
Nan You smiled bitterly and said, “Wars between clans are always due to conflicts of interest—there are no exceptions. Our Gu Nan clan and the Gu Jin clan have fought countless times, not to mention countless smaller conflicts. Countless clan disciples have died, and the hatred has grown deeper and deeper. I’m not surprised at all that war broke out this time.”
He added, “It’s just that this war is on a larger scale, with the entire clan mobilized. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have invited guest experts to help.”
Guo Shier was curious and murmured to himself, “Guest experts? I always thought they were just pawns. But it seems they’re valued here.” His voice was low, but Nan You was close enough to hear clearly.
Nan You couldn’t help but laugh and said, “Ancestor, where did you hear that… guest experts are pawns?”
Guo Shier asked, “Aren’t they?”
Nan You replied, “The guest experts hired by the Gu clan are at least high-level Great Sage Masters. Those below that rank won’t be hired. Using high-level Great Sage Masters as expendable resources would be far too extravagant. As for the clan elders and ancestors-level experts, they are the clan’s top fighters—how could they be used casually?”
Guo Shier had fallen into a misunderstanding, stemming from his past-life mindset—that those who aren’t from one’s own clan must have ulterior motives. But here, such a notion didn’t exist. What mattered was strength, mutual benefit, and only lastly, friendship.
Eagle Demon asked, “How far is it to the Ancestor’s residence?”
Bo Ruoli said, “Not far. Follow me.”
Ancestor Nan Qiang lived in the northern corner of the camp, near the outskirts of the Red Gold ore veins—a rather dangerous area. It actually took over ten minutes to fly there from where they parked. After all, even under normal flying conditions, Guo Shier and the others were quite fast.
Ancestor Nan Qiang and Ancestor Nan Qin had already been informed of Guo Shier’s arrival. The two of them were waiting at the door, accompanied by dozens of clan elders, the grand elder, and hundreds of other elders—all of whom were high-level Great Sage Masters and the leaders of various teams in this operation.

In the ancient clan wars, the real main forces were not the clan ancestors or elders but the grand elders and elders, who were the commanders of actual operations. As ultimate powers, the clan ancestors and elders would not engage in battle from the start; they mostly served as a deterrent force to hold back the opponents’ clan ancestors and elders, without participating in regular fights.

The overall commanders of the battles over the Red Gold ore veins were the two clan ancestors. The professionals who participated in these battles were all disciples of the clans belonging to these two clan ancestors. Just the clan of Clan Ancestor Nan Qiang alone possessed seven continents and dozens of secret realms, with a population of over ten billion, including several million professionals. It was no problem for them to mobilize hundreds of thousands of troops.

The clan of Clan Ancestor Nan Qin was slightly weaker but still controlled five continents, with a population not much less than that of Clan Ancestor Nan Qiang’s clan. They also mobilized hundreds of thousands of troops this time. Both of them were the only clan ancestor-level experts in their respective clans, representing the highest military strength within their clans. They were also important figures in the Gu Nan clan, members of the Clan Ancestors’ Assembly, and held significant influence within the clan.

In other words, the highest commanders and most powerful fighters here were the two clan ancestors. No wonder they valued Gu Shier so much—adding another clan ancestor-level figure would be of great help to them. Given Gu Shier’s strength, even if he couldn’t defeat the clan ancestors of the Gu Jin clan, he could still hold back one of them, making it impossible for them not to take him seriously.

Gu Shier said with a smile, “Clan Ancestor Nan Qiang, Clan Ancestor Nan Qin, there’s no need to be so formal.”

Clan Ancestor Nan Qiang replied with a smile, “Clan Ancestor Gu Shier, uh, it’s so awkward. From now on, I’ll call you Clan Ancestor Shier…”

Clan Ancestor Nan Qin laughed heartily and said, “That could easily lead to misunderstandings. Clan Ancestor Shier… hehe, is there anyone who ranks twelfth as an ancestor? How about calling you Clan Ancestor Gu?”

Gu Shier said, “No… just call me Shier. It’s more familiar.”

Clan Ancestor Nan Qiang turned around and said, “Everyone, come and greet our guest clan ancestor.”

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Gu Shier got to know some of the clan elders and grand elders, including several experts at the second-tier altar level. These people were also among the top figures among the elders and could quickly reach the clan ancestor level. There were three such people. The other elders were experts at the first-tier solid altar level, while the grand elders were experts at the virtual altar level, including Nan You, who was also a grand elder.

It was a massive talisman house. Guo Shier never had seen such an outdoor talisman house before—it was like a huge castle. He also had an outdoor talisman house of his own, but the one before him could be called an outdoor talisman fortress. Entering the main gate led to a huge living room, covering thousands of square meters. To Guo Shier, it resembled a small sports stadium from his past life.

In the middle of the hall stood a huge talisman disk, which resembled the sand table he had seen in his past life, but this one was more advanced, like a virtual topographic map of light and shadow. The disk was eight meters long and six meters wide, with undulating mountains on it and countless light dots—blue, green, and red—so tiny that they were hard to spot without close inspection.

Guo Shier wondered, “What do these talisman light dots represent?” Then he realized and exclaimed in surprise, “Could they represent the family’s disciples?”

Ancestor Nan Qiang nodded and said, “Yes. There are special mapping talismans on the armor worn by the disciples, which can be reflected on the talisman disk.”

Guo Shier was astonished—this was incredibly advanced. Combined with the precise topographic map, any battle could be clearly understood at a glance. Having been an officer in his past life, he knew the advantages of such talisman disks and couldn’t help but praise, “This is amazing. With the use of talisman gates to deploy troops, it’s truly convenient.”

Even the Eagle Demon was stunned. If a family like this wanted to invade the Northern Talisman Gate, just this talisman disk alone would ensure their invincibility.

Guo Shier asked, “What about those moving white dots?”

Ancestor Nan Qiang replied, “Those are hunting vehicles, while the slightly larger white lights are flying vehicles.”

Guo Shier couldn’t help but sigh inwardly—how advanced they were. He asked, “Can the opponent’s deployment be reflected on the talisman disk?”

Ancestor Nan Qiang said, “No. Reconnaissance is needed first, followed by sending back signal talismans. It won’t reflect immediately; some inference is required.”

Guo Shier nodded and said, “It seems no enemy traces have been marked yet.”

Ancestor Nan Qin smiled and said, “We’ve only arrived for a short time, and our reconnaissance teams have just been sent out. It will take some time before it appears on the talisman disk.”

Guo Shier asked, “Who is the actual commander?” He knew in his heart that the real commander couldn’t possibly be Ancestor Nan Qiang—it must be someone else. The role of a war commander isn’t something just anyone can take on.

Ancestor Nan Qiang smiled and said, “Let me introduce you. This is Nan Yong, our commander.”

An old man with a face full of wrinkles and white hair, hunched over, wearing a grayish-white robe, appeared unremarkable. Guo Shier’s sharp gaze immediately revealed that his cultivation level was merely that of an intermediate Saint Master. Four clan elders followed closely behind him, clearly there to protect him. Nan Yong said indifferently, “I greet the Ancestor.”