Martial Arts: I Have Chapter 102 - 100: The Great Affairs of a Nation and a Clan:

Chapter 102: Chapter 100: The Great Affairs of a Nation and a Clan: Rites and War

Once a few people in his family beca Martial Artists, so of his ideas could be put into practice, turning them into sources of inco.

’Looks like I really offended Chang Younian this ti. It would be fine if other doctors could find a cure for the plague. Otherwise, the adults in my family probably won’t be able to enter the city anymore.’

He didn’t linger. Since everything had been burned to ashes, there was nothing to feel sentintal about.

In the future, even if they left the mountains, they would move directly into the county seat, not back to the village.

But that was a matter for the future.

Wanted posters? Let them do what they want. His supplies were enough to last the family for a year, not to ntion they could start farming later on.

He carefully made his way back into the mountains. In a relatively open area, he took out everything he had prepared in the Wilderness World one by one, piling it all around him.

This spot wasn’t far from their dwelling, only a short walk away.

Once everything was out, he used a stretcher to drag a portion of the heavier rice and flour toward ho.

Things at ho were stable; there had been no mishaps.

Next, while the two elders watched over the little ones, everyone else pitched in to help move all the supplies back.

Looking at all the supplies, the four families were all very happy.

At least their future looked bright.

They had water, grain, and their families were all together. They didn’t have to worry about the plague or attacks from refugees.

Everyone was content.

In the days that followed, Cheng Zongyang gave the Seven Herbs Powder and Lotus Powder to his second uncle, claiming he’d bought them on the black market. His second uncle was to first prepare the Seven Herbs Powder, while the won made simple Purses to hold the powder, reducing the danger to the family.

Afterward, he helped his family continue building the houses.

They were still far from having enough houses.

They built houses during the day, and at night, they took dicinal baths, ate dicated als, and trained in the Body Refining Skill and Basic Saber Technique.

Since this was the first ti he’d demonstrated it in front of everyone, they were all quite frightened.

It was no wonder—anyone would be scared watching soone soak in a dicinal broth that had just been brought to a boil.

Only later did he manage to put their minds at ease.

「Three days later. Morning. At the Inner Mountain Pass.」

"Dad, toss

the rope on that log," Cheng Zongyang said to his father below, perched atop a large house.

Hearing this, Cheng Guanghai imdiately picked up a hemp rope from the ground, coiled it, and threw it up.

Cheng Zongyang easily caught it from the roof and then used it to hoist up the thick log. Below, Cheng Guanghai, Zhou Hansong, and Zhou Hanchang quickly moved to support it.

This was the first large wooden house. It was mainly a place for everyone to eat and talk together. It contained an incense table, also serving as the ancestral hall.

The elders’ idea was that since each family now had its own small ho, they also needed a large, ancestral hall-style house like this.

For now, they didn’t need to divide it into two rooms, but they could partition it left and right. It didn’t need to be built too well either. They could separate it properly later, once the Inner Mountain Pass settlent was more complete.

Inner Mountain Pass was the na everyone had given to the place they were in.

His maternal grandfather, Zhou Fengshun, had said that since they had moved, the ancestors needed to know where their descendants were, and the descendants must not forget their ancestors.

The adults agreed on this point. Cheng Zongyang, of course, had no objections.

In his view, the great affairs of a nation or a family were inseparable from ritual and warfare.

Ritual represented thought, spirit, and cohesion—it was internal.

Warfare represented conflict, expansion, and the power to grow—it was external.

Now, the ancestral hall was the family’s ritual center, a crucial point of cohesion for the family’s existence and long-term survival.

It would let future generations know where their roots were, whom they were protecting, and where they were headed.

Although the current wooden house didn’t have adobe walls, plastering the walls with mud bricks later would ensure it was airtight.

As for keeping out mosquitoes, insects, rats, and ants, that wasn’t necessary.

The effects of the Seven Herbs Powder had exceeded Cheng Zongyang’s expectations. It had exceeded everyone’s expectations.

After Cheng Guangshan prepared the powder using the dicinal Materials Cheng Zongyang had brought back, everyone carried a sachet of it with them, and no insects or mosquitoes would co near.

When sprinkled throughout their entire territory, it drove away countless hidden mosquitoes, insects, rats, and ants. It was even more potent than regular insect repellent.

In the mountains, one feared getting sick from insect bites. Now that this was no longer a worry, the requirents for building the houses were a little less strict.

Once the houses were finished, they could place a sachet in every corner and not even worry about walking around shirtless.

A quarter of an hour later, Cheng Zongyang set the largest crossbeam in place and clapped the dust from his hands.

Next ca the bamboo, which would be covered with layers of large leaves tied down to form the roof.

All the materials had been prepared in advance. Cheng Zongyang and the adults worked quickly, finishing the roof in less than a morning.

Looking at the completed ancestral hall, everyone felt as if they had found their backbone. Like aquatic plants, they had finally put down roots.

His maternal grandfather was very emotional and had everyone move the prepared tables and chairs inside.

These tables and chairs had been made by themselves. Although they couldn’t compare to those made by a professional carpenter, they were still usable.

"You all go handle other things. Leave the items for the ancestral hall to this useless old man to sort out slowly." Zhou Fengshun smiled happily, seemingly delighted to have a task he could truly call his own.

Seeing this, the younger generation of adults left the arrangent of the ancestral hall to the old man.

"Ti to eat!" Mrs. Zhou of the Cheng Family called out at that mont.

Soon, in the courtyard next to the kitchen, two large tables were laden with food.

The won and children sat at one table, making it easier to look after the little ones as they ate.

The elders, the n, and the eldest son of each family sat at another.

Beside the tables were two large buckets of fragrant rice, cooked with a mix of White Rice and Old Rice.

There was at, soup, and wild vegetables on the tables.

The variety wasn’t great, but the quantity more than made up for it.

Stir-fried at, stewed at, and at soup—all necessary to replenish the energy they had expended.

The at, consisting of gray wolf and so snake at, had all been brought back by Cheng Zongyang from the Wilderness World under the pretext of hunting.

They had it every day, so there was no shortage of at.

Laughter and lively chatter filled the air around the two tables.

The won served food to the children, while at the other table, the n ladled a spoonful of fragrant at stew over their large bowls of rice before shoveling it into their mouths.

They all ca from farming backgrounds and did strenuous work, so their energy consumption was naturally much higher than that of city folk.

Plus, enough food had been cooked for everyone, so they all ate their fill.

They had been working like this for the past three days, building houses from dawn till dusk.

Cheng Zongyang glanced at the children’s table. The two sisters from the Chen Family had already started to adapt, but they were still a bit reserved.

The als these past few days had also greatly improved their spirits. Although they were still rail-thin, they would slowly recover.

As for his younger brother Cheng Zongliang’s behavior, it left him rather speechless.

While stuffing his own face, he didn’t forget to put at into the two sisters’ bowls, urging them to eat.

Cheng Zongyang didn’t mind, of course; he was just thinking that it was about ti for them to start the dicinal baths.

When everyone had more or less finished eating, Cheng Zongyang spoke up.

"Grandfather, Dad, Second Uncle, Uncles," Cheng Zongyang addressed them one by one. "For the houses here, all that’s left is to build two or three more children’s huts and add two storehouses."

"So, my plan is to have the younger siblings under sixteen take dicinal baths, learn to read and write, and hold off on Martial Arts Training for now. Once they turn sixteen, they can start the dicinal soaks and Martial Arts Training, just like ."

Hearing this, the adults didn’t react much, but his three cousins of the sa age at the table stared in horror at their cousin.

For the past three days, they had watched Cheng Zongyang soak in the dicinal broth and temper his body every night.

The image of him stepping into what was basically boiling water was sothing they couldn’t forget even if they tried.

’Is that sothing a human can do?’

’Even a pig being slaughtered isn’t soaked for that long.’

They had originally thought about pursuing Martial Arts Training, but after seeing his thod, they had given up on the idea.

They never thought he would actually bring it up today!

"The sa kind of dicinal bath as yours?" his second uncle, Cheng Guangshan, asked.

Cheng Zongyang nodded.

He was prepared to hand over the first stage recipe for the Body Refining Skill and the Foundation Establishnt dicine Recipe to his second uncle. He would put him in charge of the children’s Foundation Establishnt.

The Body Refining Skill recipe wasn’t that important, but the Foundation Establishnt dicine Recipe was definitely a secret. It concerned the future foundation and aptitude of the family, so he could only let his second uncle know about it.

He had too many things to do and needed to focus on his own Cultivation. The family needed a top-tier combatant to act as a deterrent and protector. He couldn’t personally oversee the dicinal baths for his younger siblings.

Besides, his second uncle was a Doctor and could study these recipes.

dicine and martial arts were two sides of the sa coin. Having a second uncle with excellent dical skills was another form of insurance for the family.

Cheng Zongyang added, "Don’t worry, everyone. There are two types of dicinal baths. I’m talking about the other kind, the one that lays the foundation for future Martial Arts Training."

Hearing this, everyone’s expressions relaxed considerably. After all, his previous thod was just too terrifying.

Not just anyone could endure the process of being scalded like that. It required imnse willpower, sothing almost impossible for a child. Even most adults would find it nearly impossible.