Chapter 206: Chapter 142: Clan Ideology
With the matter of the four blueprints settled, Cheng Zongyang moved on to the first order of business: a discussion about the contract for Martial Artists.
"Elders, our Martial Arts Hall has currently recruited seven individuals to train as Martial Artists. Judging by his progress, Zhang Guangwen is nearly at Entry Grade. Even the slowest among them will reach Entry Grade in about a month."
"But this is only the beginning. If Cheng Family Village is to grow stronger, the number of Martial Artists, whether from the village or the family, can only increase, not decrease.
You’ve all considered the impact it would have on us if the number of Martial Artists who are Outsiders were to grow. Currently, anyone with one thousand Contribution Points can enroll in the Martial Arts Hall for Martial Arts Training. However, their subsequent advancent and the learning of new Martial Arts must be restricted.
But this only treats the symptoms, not the root cause. The human heart should never be tested. The only ones we can truly trust are ourselves. Therefore, for the sake of stability, I have created a kind of Oath Contract."
"This contract is quite detailed. The goal is to require any Martial Artist who wishes to advance to Eighth Grade or learn our Martial Arts to sign it. Everyone can pass it around for a quick look."
As he spoke, Cheng Zongyang handed an object with the texture of a beast hide to his father.
"Immortal Ancestor’s Oath?" Cheng Guanghai used the light from a nearby oil lamp to take a closer look. When he saw the large, black characters on top, he was a little surprised. "Yang’Er, you didn’t write this wrong, did you? It’s ’ancestor,’ not ’immortal ancestor,’ right?"
After several months of study, Cheng Guanghai was now sothing of a literate man. Reading the words on it was no problem at all.
He thought his son had written the wrong word.
Cheng Zongyang took the opportunity to address the others who hadn’t yet seen the scroll.
"That’s right. ’Immortal,’ as in an Immortal. This is a contract, much like an oath sworn to one’s ancestors. Of course, this ancestor is our Cheng Family’s own ancestor. What I’m about to say is also related to the sixth matter, the education of the village’s children. It’s about fostering a clan-centric ideology."
"I intend to create an origin story for the Cheng Family. The story goes that the first ancestor of the Cheng Family was once an Immortal Master. Thus, the Immortal Ancestor’s Oath."
When he said this, the elders exchanged bewildered glances, their faces a picture of confusion.
’Immortal Master? Immortal Ancestor?’
’This sounds like sothing out of a storybook.’
Seeing their dumbfounded, speechless expressions, Cheng Zongyang couldn’t help but smile. ’Originally, I was going to call it the "Oath of the Azure Heaven," but that felt too fantastical and unbelievable. It’s better to go with sothing a bit more somber and realistic—swearing an oath to the Cheng Family’s ancestor.’ He imdiately continued speaking.
"This Oath Contract will have them swear an oath to our ancestor..."
And so, Cheng Zongyang proceeded to tell them the new "story" he had ticulously crafted over the past two or three months.
The gist of it was that the first ancestor of the Cheng Family was a farr’s son from the Wilderness World—and a Cultivator. For the sake of his Mortal Transformation, he had gone into seclusion in Da Liang, which gave rise to the Cheng Family bloodline and, eventually, its various collateral branches. The line in Jade Peak County was one such branch.
Later, the Cheng Family’s Immortal Ancestor successfully completed his Mortal Transformation and returned to the Wilderness World to pursue the great Dao and seek eternal life, but not before leaving behind the Immortal Ancestor’s Oath to protect the Cheng Family.
With the Immortal Ancestor protecting the Cheng Family, anyone who signs their na on the contract cannot violate their oath, otherwise they will suffer a punishnt from the great beyond. The most severe penalty is death, after which their Soul Returns to the Wilderness.
As the elders listened, they beca utterly captivated by the story.
Cheng Zongyang painted a grand saga of a farr’s son who, step by step, walked the path of Cultivation Immortality, referencing places like Yellow Maple Valley and the Chaotic Star Sea...
It was as if they could almost believe such a world truly existed beyond their own.
If they hadn’t been sitting right there in the ancestral hall, they might have actually believed the story was true.
"Zongyang, I have to hand it to you, your ability to spin a tale is truly impressive."
His older cousin Zhou Zhendong sighed. The story was so imrsive he’d felt as if he were there, as if he were one of those Immortals who could fly through the heavens and traverse the earth. Even now, having returned to his senses, his mind still yearned for that world.
"Indeed. It’s no wonder the younger kids all say Zongyang is full of stories, that he can tell the sa one in a dozen different ways."
Zhou Zhenyuan was also at a loss for how to describe the story he had just heard.
With complicated expressions, the elders began to examine the contents of the Beast Hide Scroll one by one.
Cheng Guanghai shook his head. "If the ancestors of the Cheng Family could hear this story you’ve fabricated, they’d probably be laughing their heads off. But Yang’Er, this so-called oath is just a promise on paper. Would soone truly intent on betrayal really care about such an ethereal vow?"
Cheng Zongyang smiled. "This is ant to be a psychological deterrent. It plants a seed in their minds about the consequences of betraying the Cheng Family, selling our information, leaking our core secrets, harming the Cheng Family, or damaging our interests. Besides, as they say, the heavens are always watching. What if it’s true? What if the ancestors of the Cheng Family really are protecting us?"
Upon hearing this, no one dared to comnt further on the matter.
When gods and ancestors were involved, they could only fall silent. They also felt that this approach was quite good.
Although they knew it wouldn’t be overwhelmingly effective, it might have so influence on people who possessed a conscience and a moral compass.
The human heart is forever unfathomable and ever-changing. No restraint can truly bind it! In the end, it all cos down to conscience and one’s moral baseline.
To Cheng Zongyang, the logic was simple: those with nothing to hide wouldn’t mind signing. And for those who did harbor ulterior motives, this thod could help identify them, allowing him to give them special consideration when it ca to training or assigning them to important posts.
He had spent the last two or three months ticulously drafting and refining the detailed clauses of the oath.
Minor infractions didn’t matter; the oath couldn’t be expanded to include punishnts for every little thing.
Reviews
All reviews (0)