"I must not have heard correctly,"
"What did the Grand Elder just say…"
"Has Grand Elder Liu Yan gone mad?"
"How is that possible? Setting aside whether we'd be fools, even if we were, if we drained every last drop from the Liu family, sold everyone off, we still couldn't support so many refugees! Patriarch, please do something!"
"Quiet down, everyone, quiet down.
A'Yan, what are you thinking? Perhaps you could explain in more detail, otherwise, it will be hard for everyone to understand.
Our Liu family's current assets are already strained just by paying one thousand low-grade spirit stones to undertake missions, let alone being responsible for the daily sustenance of two hundred thousand refugees assigned to the entire Jiyun City!
Have you been provoked or something…"
The Liu family patriarch was also quite surprised, but his tone was considerably more tactful, he didn't directly call her mad.
He just hoped she could provide a reasonable explanation.
However, Ding Yun didn't explain immediately. Instead, she first set up a barrier and then released a wisp of her Nascent Soul perfect stage pressure within it, letting everyone present feel it before she retracted it and said,
"There's something I've been keeping from you all.
That is, I am no longer a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator. Although I am currently at the Nascent Soul perfect stage, due to my unique cultivation technique, my strength rivals that of a Nascent Soul Venerable, making them no match for me.
Therefore, our family, within the Great Gan territory, while we may not be able to walk with impunity, we no longer need to excessively fear other sects or families. We can now expand our influence with abandon.
So many refugees, so much barren land.
Isn't this the perfect opportunity for our Liu family to expand?
I know some of you may not understand. Let me put it this way: my cultivation technique is quite special and is an excellent choice for farming. It is sufficient to easily grow enough grain to support these refugees in a short period.
It can also restore the land, which has now become barren soil, back to fertile land in a short time.
So, the refugees and barren land that others shun are precisely the resources for our family's development and growth.
Tell me, if I can lead the Liu family to accept all the refugees assigned to Jiyun City and settle them properly, will our family gain some renown? If, subsequently, our family can successfully settle nearly ten million refugees in the entire Beihai Prefecture,
Then, it wouldn't be unreasonable to make demands of the imperial court, would it?
At that time, we will offer to help the imperial court house and resettle all the refugees, and in return, ask for half of the territory that has become barren land. What do you think, will the imperial court agree?"
If this were an ordinary mortal world, Ding Yun certainly wouldn't be able to pull off such a scheme, nor would the imperial court agree to hand over so many civilians to Ding Yun's family for resettlement.
They would rather let these people starve to death or kill them,
Rather than entrust them to Ding Yun's family.
After all, with so many refugees, couldn't they easily form an army of millions and rebel? They would rather kill them all than hand them over to others and pose a threat to themselves.
But this is not a mortal world; this is a world of cultivators, a world where a Nascent Soul Venerable can stir up the seas and rivers and easily obliterate millions of lives.
The Great Gan imperial court is not afraid of these mortals rebelling.
It's just that excessive slaughter can affect cultivation, breed inner demons, and even risk qi deviation, so they are not very willing to see these mortals rebel and have to act against them, thereby affecting their own cultivation.
Not to mention the resentment and malevolent energy that arise from excessive mortal casualties, which will reduce national or regional luck, and to some extent pollute the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and other negative effects.
In short, it's very troublesome and has many future consequences.
This is also the main reason why the Great Gan Dynasty, in conjunction with several major sects, even at the risk of offending other small aristocratic families and sects, dispersed the refugees to reduce casualties.
If more refugees die, reducing luck or polluting spiritual energy will inevitably affect their cultivation speed.
At this moment, the Liu family patriarch and the other elders were all dumbfounded, staring in disbelief at Ding Yun's suddenly revealed Golden Core stage strength and her subsequent words. Some individuals even suddenly pinched their thighs hard or slapped their own mouths, suspecting they were dreaming.
However, facts spoke louder than words.
Under the deterrence of the terrifying pressure, they quickly accepted this reality. Without even bothering to address what Ding Yun had said earlier, they all laughed heartily with excitement, proclaiming that their Liu family was now a Golden Core family.
They had finally achieved the unfulfilled goal of their ancestors.
They were overjoyed and wanted to offer sacrifices to their ancestors.
After a period of such jubilant celebration, they only then, under the deterrence of Ding Yun's re-released pressure, calmed their emotions and continued to discuss the possibilities Ding Yun had just mentioned.
To make them believe she truly possessed the ability,
Ding Yun specifically demonstrated some of her special grain seeds in front of them, showcasing her technique of rapidly ripening those seeds to maturity within minutes, as well as special spirit seeds that could absorb the power of drought demons and the scorching sun, and water-elemental spells to quell drought disasters.
At this point, the Liu family elders were finally completely convinced. Simultaneously, the Liu family patriarch directly announced his abdication on the spot.
He ceded the position of patriarch to Ding Yun.
When Ding Yun had only revealed her Foundation Establishment stage strength before, he could still sit on the patriarch's position with a relatively clear conscience. But now that his granddaughter had revealed Golden Core stage strength and wanted to lead the family to further heights, he naturally couldn't hold them back any longer.
The expansion phase and the conservation phase are different.
If it were just about conservation, then he could naturally continue to be the patriarch, and Ding Yun could continue to serve as Grand Elder, acting as the family's foundation. Many aristocratic families and sects operate this way; the patriarch and sect leader are not their most powerful individuals. The most powerful are always the ancestors in seclusion within forbidden areas, who have been in closed-door cultivation for countless years.
But the expansion and entrepreneurial phase is different.
For expansion and entrepreneurship, it is necessary to have the strongest person as the patriarch to possess sufficient strength to expand and deter others. In the initial stages of establishment for various aristocratic families and sects, it was generally like this; the founding patriarchs charged to the forefront.
After all, they had no ancestors to rely on.
They could only charge forward themselves.
If the Liu family now wants to expand, they can't expect the few Foundation Establishment cultivators in the family to lead the charge, so only Ding Yun can take over the patriarch's position and charge to the forefront. It was precisely because of these considerations that Ding Yun immediately agreed and quickly completed the initial transfer of power.
As for the formal handover, it had to be more grand, and the patriarchs of other local families needed to be invited to witness it.
They also needed to announce to the outside world that Ding Yun was now a Golden Core True Monarch. Therefore, after deliberation, the Liu family elders decided to combine the patriarch's succession ceremony with the Golden Core celebration ceremony.
And then, of course, came the issuance of invitations, which were invitations imbued with a trace of Ding Yun's Golden Core mana.