Family Cultivation: My entire family are Villains-Chapter 714 - 319, Hou Yujie amazes everyone with his skills

New Yu Era 1327, early May

At the west gate of Hexi Prefecture City, Hou Yujie, clad in dark red attire, led over a hundred black-clad guards, dusty and weary from travel. Although they rode warhorses, they moved slowly, their faces showing clear signs of fatigue. Only when they reached the city gate did their expressions relax considerably.

"We are finally home!"

"This trip took almost two months, right?"

"Seventy-four days. We left for Jiujun County on the sixteenth of the second month."

"It feels like it's been several years."

...

Before Hou Yujie could get close to the gate, a small squad of soldiers approached from afar and knelt respectfully: "Greetings, Fourth Master!"

"Rise. Has anything significant happened in the city while I was away?"

"Three things: In March, a fifth-rank demon caused havoc in the city, and Fifth Master personally took action and killed it;

Last month, a peak Xuanyin Realm expert from Feiyun Sect in Xuzhou, Yu Xianyuan, wielding the Divine Courtyard Sword, came to challenge the Family Head. The Family Head initially refused to accept the challenge, but after Yu Xianyuan taunted him for a while, he had no choice but to respond. Naturally, Yu Xianyuan was thoroughly defeated. Although the Family Head intended to escort him out, Yu Xianyuan refused to leave and then disappeared midway. Feiyun Sect's sect members gathered many experts in Xuzhou and came here demanding the person responsible; they haven't left yet, and these past few days have been quite troubling for the Family Head;

Additionally, someone from Ziqing Holy Sect came to visit the Family Head!"

After hearing about the three incidents, Hou Yujie nodded, his expression unchanging. He led the hundred men behind him directly into the city towards the direction of the Hou Mansion.

At the city gate, soldiers gazed at the hundred riders behind Hou Yujie, their eyes betraying hints of envy.

"Those hundred men must be the Black Feather Guards carefully selected by the Fourth Master at the Upper Hou Gate. I heard that in March in Jiujun County, they killed hundreds of demons, and Fourth Master led them alongside the Jiujun County garrison to kill three fifth-rank demons; those were master-level warriors from the Yin Yang Holy Realm!"

"To enter the Black Feather Guard, one must at least be a warrior of the Gang Qi Second Realm, and also have mastered three first-class martial arts to the transformative realm. These two requirements alone would eliminate a large number of people. Moreover, Fourth Master also specified that the Black Feather Guard would only consist of one hundred men. Those who wished to join had to challenge their way in, which made it even more difficult."

"The benefits are quite good too. I heard that aside from the standard cultivation resources provided by the family, each member of the Black Feather Guard receives an annual salary of ten million taels of silver, and they also get to keep half of the spoils from killing demons. Given the demon situation this year, which you all know about, I heard that thirty percent of the Black Feather Guard had advanced to the grandmaster level within the year."

"Thirty percent? You mean, in that group of a hundred just now, at least thirty are grandmasters? How is that possible?"

"Don't be so shocked. Among the fifty thousand elite members of the Red Flame Army in our Hou Clan, a small portion of the regular units are Grandmaster Realm warriors. My cousin is a soldier in the Red Flame Army; he told me there are at least three hundred Grandmaster Realm experts in the Red Flame Army, and the warriors of the Gang Qi Realm number over two thousand!"

"The ten units of the Upper Hou Gate that Fourth Master commands total five hundred people, all of whom are in the Gang Qi Realm or higher. The leaders of these ten units are all in the Master Third Realm or higher. In our Hou Clan, Grandmasters are nothing special." fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com

"Wow... you guys might not know about the Hexi Army, right?"

"What's up with the Hexi Army?"

The sudden secretive inquiry from one soldier caused everyone to turn their heads, their faces showing puzzlement.

Looking around to ensure no one else was nearby, the soldier leaned in and whispered: "Last year, weren't seventy thousand of the Hexi Army in Baiye Camp attacked by demons, resulting in over a hundred thousand dead?"

"Yes, I heard it was three fifth-rank pinnacle demons, extremely powerful. The seventy thousand troops at Baiye Camp couldn't withstand them. If it weren't for the Family Head taking action, even more would have died."

"What fifth-rank pinnacle? The leader of those demons was a fourth-rank!"

"What... a fourth-rank demon? How is that possible?"

"That's equivalent to a powerhouse in the Fragmented Realm!"

"Absolutely true. There's been talk about it outside for some time now. The Family Head has long been at the scale of a Fragmented Realm powerhouse. Otherwise, the battle at Longxiang Ferry last year wouldn't have made Leiyin Temple in Jianye Prefecture to the east lose so much face. If it were anyone else, those monks would have led their armies over here long ago. I heard that because the Family Head is stationed here, those monks are hesitant to start a war."

"Now that you mention it, that does seem to be the case."

"But wait, if the Family Head is so strong, then why is Duan Hong the Alliance Hierarch of the Hexi Alliance? It should be our Family Head instead."

"Foolish. Do you really think the Hexi Alliance is led by Duan Hong?"

The soldier's face immediately showed confusion. When the Hexi Alliance was formed a year ago, Duan Hong was appointed as the Alliance Hierarch. Since then, almost all internal and external affairs of Hexi had been managed by Duan Hong. If not him, who else could it be?

The faces of the others showed varying degrees of amusement, obviously thinking this soldier lacked common sense, until one person could not stand it anymore and pointed out.

"Just think about what is most important to the Hexi Alliance."

After pondering briefly, the soldier lifted his head and replied: "The Hexi Alliance was established by the four major families; naturally, the most important thing is the assembly of elite forces and all military power under the Hexi Army."

"And who commands the Hexi Army?"

The Hexi Army's commander...

The soldier's expression froze, then his pupils dilated as if he'd suddenly realized something vital, his eyes gleaming with excitement and exhilaration.

"One year ago, the Hexi Army assembled at Baiye Camp, which was already a clear signal. Six months ago, Second Master was appointed as the commander of the Hexi Army. Any smart person could have guessed what that meant, you fool. Until now, you still thought the Hexi Alliance was led by Duan Hong? Haven't you noticed that Duan Hong, Wan Xingyun, and Shen Gu Yun visit Hexi Prefecture City almost every month?"