Nine Astra Skies

Two days later, Ye Changxuan and his men returned to the Ye Castle from their raid. When asked about the details, it was said the Yun Clan had fallen. Yun Yiyang had perished in the battle and they even discovered Ye Kongyan's corpse in the Yun Castle's cellar with his meridian channels crippled. Following Ye Moyang's death, there was no one to care for him. Naturally, the Yun Clan had him thrown into the cellar and left him to fight for his own life.

The Ye Clan members cheered as they received news of the Yun Clan's demise. Words could not describe their joy. The Ye Castle had fortified the castle. They were under the impression that the Second-Rank Prince of Donglin would make a move and so, they were on their greatest guard. The Ye Clan members had only eased up after two to three days when the prince did not show up. In the event that the prince appeared, the clan would be under massive pressure.

With the prince nowhere in sight, Ye Chen got down to the letter for Mingyuan to take back to Leo King. Ye Chen relayed his message while Little Tanuki jotted down the words for him. Mingyuan was set to depart from the Ye Castle tomorrow.

During that period, Ye Chen continued to train Crimson Cloud Searing Skies and Fury of Shattering Earth. Ye Chen had finally mastered Crimson Cloud Searing Skies while Fury of Shattering Earth was Minor Arete. After thorough research, Ye Chen reworked Crimson Cloud Searing Skies with a touch of thunder element and named it Heaven Thunder Rend so that his people could study and practice it. As for Fury of Shattering Earth, he required more time to fully grasp it.

For a moment, the Ye Castle had seen many peaceful days. The men trained diligently. There may be many proficient fighters in the clan but the Second-Rank Prince of Donglin's threats were etched into their minds like a dark cloud looming over them.

"Third Brother, are you sure you want to send Little Xuan to the Emerald Cloud Sect? She might just accomplish something if she stayed a little longer right here." Ye Zhantian suggested. It was around that time of the year where the Emerald Cloud Sect was beginning to recruit students. Ye Zhanxiong had packed all of Ye Xuan's belongings.

"Yeah. I've given it a long thought. Little Xuan isn't doing much for the clan anyway, best to send her off to the Emerald Cloud Sect. Besides, we might come into contact with them at some point, so I might as well send her there for some training beforehand," Ye Zhanxiong explained. After ingesting a large amount of medicinal pills and herbs, Ye Xuan's power level was mid Eighth Level, which was considered impressive. With so many Ninth Level combatants in the castle, one less Eighth Level combatant did not matter. With her talents, she ought to be placed at the Emerald Cloud Sect where she might be a boon to the Ye Clan in the future.

"Little Xuan, do you really want to go to Emerald Cloud Sect?" Ye Chen asked Ye Xuan, having overheard the adults' conversation.

"Yeah, Brother Ye Chen. I'd like to see the world and grow stronger before coming back home." Ye Xuan nodded her head. The Ye Castle was her roots so she would never forget them.

"Well, if that's the case, I won't say anything else. I'll let Third Uncle send you off. Remember to watch yourself in your journey. As I said, no matter where you go, the Ye Clan will always be your home. If someone ever picks on you, you come back to me. I'll defend you."

"Yeah." Ye Xuan nodded. The girl was overwhelmed with sadness as tears were welling up in her eyes.

Following a discussion with the elderly, they too had agreed for Ye Zhanxiong to send Ye Xuan off to the Emerald Cloud Sect.

With Ye Xuan and Ye Zhanxiong gone, the core members of the clan gathered at the grand hall for another meeting.

"Little Chen, we're close to using up all of our Chi Amassing and Chi Deposition Pills as well as herbs too. We can't sit around drinking and eating our days away. The fact that the Second-Rank Prince of Donglin had barely made a move nor send someone to apologize to us or the fact that he has attacked us shows that he might be fearful of our power. Your grandpa and I were thinking if we should continue to mine for Xuan-Iron behind the mountains?" Ye Zhantian asked. Without Xuan-Iron, the clan would have little money for their expenditure in the days to come.

Ye Chen thought about it. "Technically, we should continue to make use of the mines. Then again, with the prince cutting off all supplies of Xuan-Iron within the county, we might not have any ways of selling our Xuan-Iron."

"Not to worry." Ye Zhantian gave an assuring smile. "I know the Chairman of Commerce Association of Donglin County whom I share a close relationship with. Now that I think about it, you should address him as your uncle too. I've sent some men to touch base with him. The amount of Xuan-Iron we have here will be the amount he would be selling. We need need to be careful during trading." These days, the Ye Clan no longer feared the Second-Rank Prince as much as they used to.

"If that's the case, let's continue with the mining." Ye Chen agreed. He thought about how he could put the gunpowder to good use again. If the prince ever found out that the clan had began mining the mountains, he might send some people over to create trouble. With so many proficient fighters in the clan, so long as the prince did not send an armada over, none of it would be a problem.

"Previously, we didn't employ as much labor to do the mining for us. This time, we can head to the village to employ more laborers. I'm sure the earnings from the mines would garner us one to two thousand Chi Amassing Pills at least," Ye Zhantian said.

"Just the earnings from the mines alone might not be enough," Ye Changxuan reasoned. He was not usually in charge of the clan's finances. Back then, whatever they had earned from the mines was enough to sustain the entire clan's expenditure. Now, the Ye Clan had grown and they were no longer the same as before. With so little income, there was no way they could expand their mining business.

"The Xu Clan has given word that they're willing to split half of the salt business that they had recently discontinued to us. There were also a couple of other clans who have offered their partnerships and we have regained control over one of the Yun Clan's mines. If the business goes well, we could be looking at millions of Chi Amassing Pills a year." Ye Zhantian predicted.

The crowd smiled at the thought of it. Back in the days, the clan would be happy if they had gained thousands of Chi Amassing Pill in a year. Now, with the clan's production increasing by ten-fold, this was truly their moment of joy. With how the clan had used up all the Chi Amassing Pills, Chi Deposition Pills, Earth Quintessence Pills, and even the super herbs, naturally, their taste for the finer things in life had increased too. Now, even millions of Chi Amassing Pills were somewhat mediocre for them. All that good quality medicinal pills and herbs that they had received were Ye Chen's hard work. It was important that they expanded the clan's mining business legally and grow stronger the right way.

"Let's take a look at the mines first," Ye Chen suggested. He had made some gunpowder and was eager to put it to good use. With gunpowder, the miners' productivity was sure to improve ten-fold or more. He had seen the speed at which villagers mined. How much can they mine with a pickaxe, right?

The crowd made their way to the mines behind the Ye Castle.

Back at the Second-Rank Prince of Donglin's palace, a messenger eagle flew in.

The prince was seated in the grand hall.

"What's the news, Little Zhen?" A middle-aged man dressed in golden robe seated at the upper end of the hall asked. He was muscular, tall, and possessed a menacing presence. One look and people could tell he was a brave hardened warrior. It was no other than the Second-Rank Prince of Donglin, whose title was bestowed by the Great Emperor Mingwu himself, Liu Xun.