Chapter 453 - 448: Intervening in Dali City

Du Youqian had actually started laying his plans long ago.

But back then, he was only in the Golden Core Late Stage. For a Golden Core Master to try and interfere in who controlled Dali City would simply be seen as overreaching.

Besides, getting involved would have been useless.

If they couldn’t produce a Nascent Soul Master, Dali City would be demoted to a Second-class Immortal City, losing its access to the resources reserved for a First-class Immortal City.

For the past century, although the loss of their Nascent Soul Master had led to a smaller share in various resource allocations, they were still able to participate.

But if a Nascent Soul Master didn’t appear within a hundred years, they would be demoted to Second-class and lose even the right to participate in the allocation!

So, Du Youqian’s earlier arrangements had simply been to make connections, befriend people, and become a familiar face.

But now, Du Youqian had also advanced to the Nascent Soul Realm.

He could now openly and legitimately participate in the struggle for Dali City.

As the "nephew"!

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"Uncle!"

"Master Xiao!"

The two men, both beaming, did not embrace.

Cultivators, after all, weren’t mortals. They had to maintain some decorum.

All that hugging and embracing—so undignified.

"Hey, Uncle, don’t be so distant. I’m your nephew!" Du Youqian said with a chuckle.

"That won’t do. We must observe the proper etiquette."

This person before him was indeed Du Youqian’s uncle.

His biological uncle, in fact.

He was Duan Shuma, a Golden Core Late Stage Cultivator. As a descendant of the direct lineage of the Dali Duan Clan’s main branch, he was also the biological brother of Du Youqian’s mother, Duan Shurui.

He was over three hundred years old this year. As a Golden Core Late Stage Cultivator, he still had four to five hundred years of life left, with plenty of time to push for the Nascent Soul Realm.

But... while he had plenty of time, Dali City did not.

If he couldn’t achieve Nascent Soul Formation within a hundred years, Dali City would be reduced to a Second-class Immortal City and lose ninety percent of its resources.

So, could Duan Shuma achieve Nascent Soul Formation within a hundred years?

Outwardly, of course, he was full of confidence, claiming he definitely could.

In reality, though, if he could even reach Golden Core Perfection in a hundred years, it would mean his luck was exceptionally good.

Du Youqian sized up the man before him.

Although he had sent Sui Yu to Dali City to deliver gifts countless times and had even seen portraits of Duan Shuma, this was indeed the first time he had met the man in person.

Not long ago, during his Nascent Soul Ceremony, it was said that Duan Shuma was in seclusion and had only sent someone to deliver lavish gifts.

Duan Shuma was handsome and distinguished, sharing a strong resemblance with Duan Shurui.

But it wasn’t her gentle beauty; his was a rugged, masculine handsomeness. He was remarkably presentable.

As Du Youqian looked at him, he thought he strongly resembled someone.

’Who is it?’

’Ah, he looks like me in this life.’

Duan Shurui had come along as well. It was her first time back in Dali City in the hundred years since she had married and moved away. She hadn’t even gone to see the old haunts of her youth, instead accompanying her son to win over her brother.

It couldn’t be helped. Once a woman has a son, he becomes her whole world.

’As for her husband? What was a husband, anyway?’

Duan Shurui said from the side, "No matter how high Xiao’Er’s Cultivation is, he’s still your nephew. If you really want to be polite, just call him by his name. ’Xiao’Er’ is fine."

Duan Shuma chuckled. "That wouldn’t be appropriate, would it?"

"It’s perfectly appropriate."

Duan Shuma then grasped Du Youqian’s hand, his eyes glistening with tears, and called out emotionally, "Xiao’Er!"

"Uncle!"

The two acknowledged each other with a sincerity that could move heaven and earth.

How sincere was it?

About as sincere as a Courtesan telling her patron, "I’ve never met anyone stronger or better than you!"

It was about that sincere.

At the side, Duan Shurui was so moved she was wiping away tears. The greatest achievement of her life wasn’t successfully reaching Core Formation herself, but raising a son who had reached the Nascent Soul Realm.

And a Nascent Soul Cultivator who had a chance of pushing for Divinity Transformation, no less.

And now, this son of hers was showing his affinity for the Dali Duan Clan.

For her, this was the most gratifying thing of all.

’Alright, so maybe her son has his own agenda.’

’But so what?’

She was a daughter of the Duan Clan’s direct lineage. Her son was naturally entitled to a position and could compete for the highest seat of power in Dali City.

After this uncle and nephew had their reunion, they took their respective seats.

After some casual chatter, and after Duan Shurui and Duan Shuma reminisced about old times for a while, Duan Shuma finally asked tentatively, "Xiao’Er, you only just achieved Nascent Soul Formation. You should be in seclusion consolidating your Cultivation. Why did you rush to Dali City? Could it be for some important matter?"

Du Youqian smiled. "Coming to see my uncle is the most important matter of all."

"HAHAHAHA!" Duan Shuma stroked his beard and smiled, seemingly very satisfied.

After laughing for a moment, he said, "Your timing is perfect. Your uncle has been in need of assistance recently."

Seeing him so quick on the uptake, Du Youqian dropped the act as well. "As they say," he said with a smile, "it takes brothers to hunt a tiger, and a father and son to go to war. There’s another saying: heaven is vast and earth is wide, but one’s maternal uncle is the greatest of all. Uncle, your business is my business. No matter what it is, I can’t let my uncle be wronged."

Duan Shuma wasn’t particularly shrewd, but he wasn’t a fool either.

He knew full well why Du Youqian was showing such an attitude.

But the current situation was that the branch lineages were steadily closing in, and the smaller vassal families were showing signs of wanting to usurp their masters.

The Yin Family was especially egregious. Relying on the fact that one of their daughters had married Master Changfu as a concubine, they acted with increasing arrogance, practically trying to walk all over the Duan Clan.

In the past, Duan Shuma had to yield to them.

But now?

His own nephew had come to back him up.

’What was there to be afraid of now!’

But the matter of splitting the benefits had to be made clear from the start.

Duan Shuma truly needed to borrow external strength, but he had no desire to invite a wolf into his house.

If the Duan Clan’s foundation of several thousand years was ruined under his watch, he wouldn’t be able to rest in peace after death and wouldn’t dare to face his ancestors.

Therefore, he asked, "Xiao’Er, I appreciate the sentiment. However, your uncle can’t let you work for nothing. What is it that you want?"

"Dali belongs to the Duan Clan." Du Youqian set the tone with his first sentence.

He didn’t covet a title like "Lord of Dali City." What he wanted were tangible benefits.

’Letting the Duan Clan continue to rule Dali City is perfectly fine.’

"There is a distinction between the direct and branch lineages. Tradition cannot be abolished. Dali City should be in the hands of the Duan Clan’s main lineage, now and in the future."

This second sentence made Duan Shuma even more satisfied.

Du Youqian continued with his third point: "Uncle, you are the person in the main lineage with the most hope of advancing to the Nascent Soul Realm. As your nephew, I will fully support your push for the Nascent Soul Realm. Resources must be centrally allocated to achieve the greatest effect. For now, let’s make the branch lineages suffer a bit. As long as you can become a Nascent Soul Cultivator, everything will be fine. As for the time limit, two hundred years is too tight. For a city like Dali City, which has produced several Nascent Soul Cultivators, it’s reasonable to be granted a small extension. I will go talk to the higher-ups in the alliance."

A look of pleasant surprise blossomed in Duan Shuma’s eyes. He stroked his beard and asked with a smile, "An extension? Can that really be done?"

"Where there’s a will, there’s a way," Du Youqian said with a laugh. "Your nephew has some friends in high places. Some things seem very difficult to the average person, but for certain people, they are a matter of a single word. As long as we find a suitable reason, a small extension won’t be considered breaking the rules."

Du Youqian’s words put Duan Shuma’s mind at ease.

After pondering for a moment, Duan Shuma said decisively, "Then Dali City is counting on you, Xiao’Er."

Now that the groundwork was laid, the next step was to discuss the details.

Du Youqian pointed out that compared to when the previous Nascent Soul Ancestor was alive, Dali City was now receiving too few resources, and too many people were splitting them.

Therefore, they had to pursue a two-pronged approach: increase their income and reduce their expenditures.

To increase their income, he would act in his capacity as the nephew of the Dali Duan Clan Patriarch. He would fight to reclaim the resources that rightfully belonged to Dali City but had been snatched away by others under various pretexts, all because the city lacked a Nascent Soul Cultivator.

To reduce their expenditures, they would cut the provisions for the various branch lineages and vassal families, concentrating the resources to support the few main lineage Cultivators who had a hope of achieving Nascent Soul Formation.

Of course, Du Youqian was no living saint, no great philanthropist.

He would certainly take a cut—and he intended to take the lion’s share.

In other words, he would guarantee Duan Shuma the resources for his Nascent Soul Formation, but before Duan Shuma achieved it, Dali City’s resources had to be skewed in his favor.

Duan Shuma had another concern: he might not actually be able to achieve Nascent Soul Formation.

This was a reasonable worry. After all, of the Golden Core Late Stage Cultivators who had a chance at Nascent Soul Formation, less than one in ten would actually succeed.

Even with a nearly unlimited supply of resources, his chances of achieving Nascent Soul Formation were no more than one in five.

Du Youqian simply reassured him and told him not to feel pressured.

’Truthfully,’ Du Youqian thought, ’even if Duan Shuma fails to reach the Nascent Soul Realm, it doesn’t matter. I can just support another member of the Duan Clan.’

’If that doesn’t work, I could always groom someone from the Sui Family to reach Nascent Soul Formation, arrange a marriage with the Duan Clan, and use the in-law relationship to get my hands on Dali City. That’s also a viable option.’

Then again, if Du Youqian simply wanted to take over Dali City, it might be simpler for him to just marry a daughter from the Duan Clan’s direct lineage and become Lord of Dali City in his capacity as their son-in-law.

But Du Youqian felt it was unnecessary. Dali City was already in the bag; there was no need for him to make such a sacrifice.

The only thing Du Youqian was curious about now was, would Master Changfu dare to make a move?