Fan Wubing stood hidden behind his father, grinning and thinking,

"Different world, same damn shit. Damn it, they’re evading the war tax? Aren’t they afraid they won’t be able to hold the Fallen Immortal Land?"

He listened to the people around analyzing the situation. After a while, Fan Wubing understood that these forces fleeing to Little South Continent to evade taxes were continuously transporting resources and precious disciples from their headquarters. To accumulate these resources, they naturally needed a good spot.

Gotta say, Dad has good foresight. Fan City’s location is perfect, not inferior to the mountaintop of the Eternal Immortal Sect.

Located at the junction of four major Spirit Veins, the terrain is a natural Spirit Gathering Basin, the transportation is extremely convenient, and even the feng shui and luck are exceptionally good.

That’s why we were targeted as soon as we arrived.

Fan Qi tapped the armrest, saying, "For Fan City, we’ve worked tirelessly for twenty-six years! We absolutely can’t hand it over."

A hot-tempered elder with muscles all over said, "Right, not an inch should be given! A bunch of celestial forces, grabbing gold with their eyes closed. Instead of finding a way to resist the True Demons of Fallen Immortal Land, their minds are full of theft, evasion, and looting. Celestial forces? Bah! At worst, we’ll just tear into them and have a fight."

Fan Qi frowned, saying, "I’m just afraid these people won’t make a move regardless, waving big flags, wearing tiger skins. Today they nibble away a street, tomorrow they nibble away at a district. Under the pretense of being for the whole continent, they want to force the Fan Family into opposition with all forces."

The second elder said, "No matter what, the Fan Family mustn’t make the first move. Once we act, they’ll start waving the flag of enacting justice and upholding fairness."

"Third Uncle is right." Fan Qi exhaled a long breath, "Lately, they’ve been spreading rumors, creating scams, provoking incidents, blocking routes, intimidating, the key is, they do all these harmful things yet remove themselves cleanly. They even formed a tripartite alliance, working together. These methods are too high. They’re indeed celestial forces..."

The elders and guests started discussing it loudly.

Fan Wubing listened for a while, only feeling that the Fan Family’s situation was too passive.

Zhengyuan Hall, Xinghai Sword Sect, and Shan Jue Sect, all are celestial forces with at least five thousand years of heritage. They’re nurtured by competing with many forces. Planning, backing, resources, everything is better than the current Fan Family.

Fan Wubing pondered for a bit, "Speaking of which, the banner these three houses wave is to transform this surrounding area into a Profound Realm. And Fan City is the most suitable hub place." He sneered internally, "Profound Realm? They probably want to turn it into a small heaven and earth warehouse, for stockpiling resources transported from headquarters, right? A bunch of selfish bastards, consuming the world, using the world, now contributing to the world is such a burden to them." 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Fan Qi summarized everyone’s opinion, "We must be more proactive."

"The key is, how to be proactive?"

"The Great Li Dynasty and the Luo Family of Everlasting Realm, both sent people to Little South Continent, the implication is clear, which is to back up the Fan Family. But without a rightful reason, they definitely can’t intervene directly. So, the Fan Family must take the lead." Fan Qi sighed, "This favor and assets are left to the Fan Family by Wubing, we must grasp it no matter what."

Everyone sighed regretfully.

"If that child were still here, he would have been famous all over the world, and the Fan Family wouldn’t suffer such bullying."

"What a pity."

"Everyone, don’t be pessimistic, the princess of Canglang Country also said, Wubing will return. She’s the Human World Executor Dao of Wangxian Pavilion, having been to White Jade Capital, and conversed with numerous Celestial Venerables and ancestors. Moreover, she and Wubing share deep sentiments, they were engaged when they were just kids."

Engaged with Man’Er? Fan Wubing was stunned, was there such a thing? He suddenly remembered, long ago, his father gave Man’Er a token. Does that count as an engagement?

"Just afraid that the kid said this because she loves Wubing too much."

"Old Seventh, can’t you look on the bright side?"

Fan Qi’s eyes flashed with hope, silently clenching his fists, "Everyone, think carefully. We should have been the sturdy backbone for our family! Wubing’s pace is too fast, and we can’t keep up. But I think, if we can’t catch up with his pace, we should at least not become his burden."

A family, to become a true family, is to be able to operate normally without any one person. If missing someone causes it to falter, it’s merely this person’s false prosperity.

"The patriarch is absolutely right."

Fan Qi’s brows were deep, he stood up, placing his hands behind his back, eyes sharp and spirited as he looked at the Qi Mechanism Sand Table, saying,

"The place where Fan City is located is a convergence of Qi Mechanism, it hardly leaves any trace of turbid Qi, the scenery in all directions is rich, the sunlight is abundant, it’s also less affected by the influence of the weekly heavens, it’s a thoroughfare of the Grand Dao, the fortune of the continent sweeps past here. Not only Zhengyuan Hall, Xinghai Sword Sect, and Shan Jue Sect are eyeing it covetously, they are just the first to make a move. If we actively invite other major forces to discuss the matter of the Profound Realm and enlarge the pie as much as possible, we can buy quite a bit of time."

"Won’t that be inviting trouble?"

Fan Qi shook his head, "Actually, we shouldn’t be anxious. They are. Currently, with the battles in various Fallen Immortal Lands becoming urgent, the Book of Heaven is definitely increasing recruitment. They are in a hurry to transport resources, only getting more anxious than us. Making the situation more chaotic is better, our Fan Family just needs to guard the most core part."

Then, he proceeded with some deductions on the Qi Mechanism Sand Table.

Fan Wubing watched with great interest, quite agreeing with his father’s idea.