Clan Building System: I'm not the Protagonist?!-Chapter 90: Clan Meeting [1]

Early next morning the grand hall of the Phoenix Soul Pavilion was radiant with morning light, spilling through the high-arched windows and casting golden slants over the polished stone floor.

A long, rectangular table stretched down the center, filled with elders and seated dignitaries, each with their own aura and distinct robes embroidered with the lightning raven insignia.

At the highest seat of honor sat Fang Yuan, upright and composed.

His robes was a midnight black, trimmed with silver along the cuffs and collar.

Around him sat the pillars of the clan:

Elder Chen, Elder Sun, Elder Yin, Elder Jingyi, Elder Ra, Elder Joshua, Elder Long and Elder Mei.

And at the secondary seats half formal, half anticipatory, were the younger generation:

Fang Tian, Fang Ruì, Fang Bo, Fang Yang.

The room buzzed with suppressed excitement.

Murmurs exchanged.

Everyone knew what today meant.

Except for Fang Tian.

He alone sat still, not even bothering to join in the quiet chatter. His fingers tapped lightly against the wood.

Fang Yuan glanced down at the scroll in front of him, a faint smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

"Another Golden Core cultivator... and from my own clan."

He didn’t say the name, but he didn’t need to. Every elder here had heard.

His younger brother, Fang Tian, had stepped into the Golden Core realm.

But that wasn’t even the most exciting part.

Four new elder appointments.

Four.

And in a clan like this, where "Power is Truth", no one could be called an Elder without at least being at the Qi Transformation stage.

That meant four more cultivators had passed the threshold and the number of elite cultivators in the Fang Clan had swelled dramatically.

Even the juniors from the same batch were showing remarkable progress, most teetering at the peak of Qi Condensation, with only a thin veil separating them from breakthrough.

If this continued, it wouldn’t be long before they rewrote the family standard again:

"Only Golden Core realm cultivators would hold elder positions."

Fang Yuan leaned back in his seat slightly, his mind briefly drifting.

"Power is one thing," he mused internally, "but power without wisdom is just an expensive blade in a toddler’s hand."

From a modern mind, he knew, what you need is knowledge, insight, and balance.

He looked up and his voice rang out, steady and confident.

"Looks like everyone’s here."

He laid the scroll down with purpose.

"Let the family meeting commence."

A ripple of spiritual energy hushed the hall.

The first to rise was Elder Chen, Fang Chen, the paternal uncle of Fang Yuan and former acting clan head.

Clearing his throat with a practiced ease, he began,

"Nephew, first of all... during my tenure as acting head, I’m pleased to report that there were no major incidents aside from that one... ahem..."

A few of the elders coughed to suppress their laughter.

Even Fang Tian, sitting calmly moments ago, subtly turned his face to the side, the corner of his mouth twitching.

Fang Yuan, however, didn’t share their amusement.

His voice cut through the room, cold and clear.

"Enough. I’m not marrying that snake."

A palpable silence fell.

Elder Chen gave a stiff cough, quickly moving on before the topic could further derail.

"Right, well then. On a more relevant note—regarding Fang Tian."

He gestured toward the younger man briefly.

"During the recent crisis when our primary herb storage warehouse was burned down, it was he who took the lead in assisting the alchemists.

He proposed several new refining methods and restoration recipes, all of which are already being adopted by the Pill Pavilion."

Fang Yuan nodded slowly, clearly already informed.

"It’s noted. I’ve read the report."

His eyes flicked over the scroll once more, then he placed it aside.

"If there’s nothing else pressing, I’d like to move to the main topic—the Gu Family."

The room shifted at that. The lightness of before drained quickly from the air.

Fang Jingyi, his ever-dramatic aunt, stood up with a rustle of her robes.

"Family Head," she began, voice lilting with mock formality, "the Gu family has been spreading very specific rumors about you."

Her eyes narrowed as she flicked her fan open, purely for effect.

"Two months ago, they started claiming you’ve reached the peak of the Nascent Soul realm... and oddly enough, those whispers began the very moment you returned and slipped into seclusion. So tell us.. is what they say true?"

Fang Yuan met her gaze with calm composure... and lied as smooth as flowing ink.

"No. I’m still at the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm."

Fang Jingyi raised a skeptical eyebrow but said nothing, her lips twitching as she folded her fan with a loud snap and returned to her seat.

Fang Yuan then shifted his focus.

"How many business ties do we currently hold with the Gu family?"

The Finance Elder, Elder Joshua, stood up next, tugging awkwardly at his sleeves as if the numbers itched his conscience.

"Well... ah... some," he began, avoiding Fang Yuan’s eyes. "Actually, quite a lot. More than half of our outer-market trade flows through Gu-controlled channels."

He cleared his throat.

"To be blunt, severing ties with them would... cause our finances to drop by at least 50%, and push us dangerously close to deficit."

The hall grew quiet. Fang Yuan exhaled through his nose and rubbed the bridge of his nose with two fingers, his thoughts racing.

"There are no alternative channels we can reroute through?" he asked.

Elder Joshua gave a solemn bow. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

"I’m afraid not, Clan Head."

Silence. Fang Yuan stared down at the table before slowly raising his head, his voice crisp and resolute.

"Still.. cut all business ties with the Gu family. Immediately."

The silence that followed was sharper than a sword.

Elder Joshua hesitated for a fraction of a second... and then bowed again.

"Very well. As you wish."

Fang Yuan leaned back slightly and added,

"If the need arises, we’ll use what remains in the clan treasury to buffer our expenses."

At that moment, Fang Jingyi abruptly stood again, her face lightly flushed, clearly battling embarrassment.

"Ahem... Nephew—" she corrected herself with a loud slap to her lips,"I mean... Clan Head. There’s, um... something else."

Fang Yuan narrowed his eyes. "...What is it?"

Jingyi chuckled awkwardly and looked away.

"Our treasury is, well... it’s also empty."

His eyes froze. A single word popped into his mind.

"The banquets?"

Fang Jingyi nodded sheepishly, her fan now covering half her reddening face.

"Uh-huh. The banquets."

Fang Yuan exhaled deeply and leaned back in his chair, the wooden seat creaking faintly beneath him.

His gaze drifted toward the ceiling, eyes distant, deep in his own world.

Well I still got the system points... I could exchange them for cultivation pills and sell them on the outside market for sustentation...

His thoughts trailed off, spiraling like smoke.

But that is such a waste of resource.

His jaw tightened, a flicker of frustration shadowing his features.

And yet... what other choice do I have?

He sat in silence for a moment longer, fingers tapping lightly against the lacquered armrest. Every option he explored in his mind led back to the same place.

He needed to follow it. No matter how inefficient it felt.

I need to raise a living clan... not preside over a crumbling monument of glory past.

His fingers stilled.

So be it.

After a long silence, he finally spoke again.

"I’ll handle it. I’ll find a way to replenish the treasury."

Fang Jingyi gave a small nod, though the uncertain look in her eyes made it clear, she wasn’t entirely convinced.