CHAPTER 729: CHAPTER 274: TO STUDY ZEN AND BUDDHISM, FIRST CONTEMPLATE DEATH

With the internal struggle of the Ji Family finally coming to an end.

Ji Anquan stood expressionless on a pavilion, overlooking the view below. The long-lost sunlight pierced through the clouds, illuminating the floating dust in the air.

The noise and disputes were temporarily isolated from him, but he was well aware that this was only temporary.

Footsteps sounded from behind, and Ji Anyu approached.

This youngest Clan Elder of the Ji Family came to Ji Anquan’s side, and tiredly said:

"Of the four Clan Elders who participated in the rebellion, apart from the deceased, three others have completed their handover with the Federation..."

"Of the sixteen Supplicants, excluding the four deceased, two preferred to be sent to the Federation’s Heavenly Person prison. The remaining ten chose to sign deeper binding contracts."

Ji Anyu looked at his clan brother with a hint of reverence, who was now the head of the Ji Family.

The departure of the Great Grandmasters was too hasty, accompanied by the Divine Weapon within the clan.

Time left for Ji Anquan was barely enough. After confirming the departure of the Great Grandmasters, several Clan Elders of the Ji Family convened a clan meeting, initiating the highly visible power struggle within the family.

In this power game, Ji Anquan remained silent throughout, seemingly indifferent to the chaos.

When everyone thought he would be completely outmaneuvered, Ji Anquan had silently taken control of the remaining Clan Elders and won over many Supplicants.

While the rebellious party was still caught up in internal strife, he began his counterattack, ultimately crushing the once dominant rebellious party with a relentless purge.

Ji Anyu was always puzzled about when and how his clan brother managed to persuade and win over the other Clan Elders and Supplicants.

"Kindness does not wield power. Compared to our ancestors, I am still too merciful," Ji Anquan murmured softly, "Inform Supplicant Luo, those two Heavenly Person Supplicants who have left the Ji Family, let them be sent off on the way."

Ji Anyu’s expression froze, realizing that "sent off on the way" meant they would be killed.

"Four have already died, these two won’t make a difference," Ji Anquan looked up to the sky, indifferent, "The Federation has been peaceful for too long, too few have died, some people, sooner or later, will become complacent. I hope this news will give certain people a real jolt."

Ji Anyu hesitated for a moment and said, "Regarding the disciples of the four branches, are we really going to expel them all from the clan and strip them of the Ji surname?"

Ji Anquan spoke calmly, "The Ji Family is different from other families and is not short of clansmen. It also serves as a wake-up call for the disciples of the other five families."

Compared to the other major families, the Ji Family is considered prosperous for two reasons.

Firstly, Marshal Ji never left any descendants back in the day.

Marshal Ji was born into an aristocratic family but later rebelled and embarked on a life of martial affairs. It was not until after the Federation was established that he returned to his family, selecting several excellent bloodlines of the same lineage, and personally removed most of the deadweight...

This is the origin of the current Ji Family.

As for the second reason, it is simpler: Ji Anquan of this generation is the first Martial Artist in millennia to have mastered the [Heavenly Person Swordsmanship].

It can be said that Ji Anquan is the only one in millennia to inherit Marshal Ji’s martial legacy.

Ji Anyu did not offer any persuasion, only said, "East Three Bright Star has replied, Jing Qiu has finished his seclusion."

"Oh?" Ji Anquan turned his head, finally showing some interest.

...

"Hello?"

Ji Jingqiu connected to the communications with the Ji Family, unexpectedly greeted first by Ji Anquan’s "criticism."

"Ji, I heard about your feats in the West. Do you not realize that you are not only a successor of the World Venerable Lineage but also of Marshal He? A balance between the two is needed, it’s not excusable to spare everyone."

Ji Anquan’s tone was very serious.

Ji Jingqiu paused, was his compassionate heart overly criticized?

"Heavenly Persons are considered very important ’resources’ to the Federation, aren’t they?"

Ji Anquan’s reply was cold: "It is better for the Federation to lose a few Heavenly Persons now than to have more tyrants in the future. Do you know why the Federation’s territory has never expanded outward to this day?"

"Related to the deity system," Ji Jingqiu replied solemnly.

That was a secret he had only learned not long ago.

The deity system of the Federation, as Hel said, is a kind of "evil way," neither orthodox nor sustainable.

Within it lies a contradiction.

On one hand, the Federation’s population is far from sufficient to sustain the "Twelve Divine Venerates, Four Great Divine Masters" deity system.

Even if the population were to increase tenfold or a hundredfold, it would still be "far from enough."

The current Divine Monarchs barely sustain themselves by relying on past Daoist careers, so their end is inevitable, and they could easily end up similar to the Supreme True Buddha.

On the other hand, the population of the Federation cannot continue to expand uncontrolled, because the more people there are, the greater the burden on the Divine Monarchs and Divine Lords presiding over the Extreme Abyss to protect the citizens of the Federation—it would accelerate their deterioration.

This contradiction has led the Federation to deliberately control its population, maintaining it at an extreme limit.

Ji Anquan spoke slowly:

"Population size does have a significant connection with the deity system, but territory size is more related to political stability."

"The current territorial scope of the Federation is a safe value deduced by our ancestors. Exceeding this scope means the Federation’s political power may not remain stable for thousands of years without change."

"Especially in the current absence of Grandmasters, whose Martial Artists possess an ’ubiquitous’ trait. Spatial distance holds little significance for them, the interstellar era and planet era are indistinguishable to them."