Monarch Night

"In my opinion, high-class families, in terms of family descendants’ competition, can be divided into three stages."

Feng Yun gazed at the green leaves of a flowering tree by the pavilion, and said softly, "The first stage is when the family is formed and has wealth, but it’s not about foundation yet; at this time, the family descendants are busy fighting for power and profit. Fearing that you gain more and I get less. Fearing that after the older generation passes, the little I control will be swept out... In this stage, the struggle is merely a struggle for interests. Rarely does it involve life and death, and when it occasionally does, it’s just an isolated case."

The Starlight Master chewed on this carefully, comparing it with the small families he had encountered.

Just like the Fang Family in Bibo City, Fang Zhenghang just took power with his brothers; and the internal strife within the Su Yue family...

He felt it made a lot of sense and said, "What about the next stage?"

After Feng Yun finished speaking, he patiently waited for the Starlight Master to consider it thoroughly, then asked this question, only then did he smile faintly.

He knew the Starlight Master had completely understood.

He continued, "The second stage is... when the family is formed, the foundation is deep, and the family’s goals are singular, like martial arts, commerce, or politics... The efforts of generations have led the family down this path, when the goal is unified... There’s a saying that brothers united, their strength cuts through metal."

"At this time, the family is the most united, most harmonious, everyone is working together, helping each other, never holding back. And in this type of family, it’s already rare to have good-for-nothings."

Feng Yun smiled and said, "This is what most people recognize as the true high-class noble family, aristocratic bloodline. With a strong foundation, unshakable, outstanding descendants, and mostly united. Envy of all."

This, Fang Che also understood.

Because the truly admirable large family, is such.

Then asked, "What about the third stage?"

"The third stage is the supreme stage, also the topmost families on the continent."

Feng Yun sighed and said, "They are already qualified to covet the peak of power. And within the family, there are all sorts of things, the whole family is equivalent to a small society... Among the direct descendants of the family, competition arises."

"And for families at this level, competition is no longer about success or failure, but life and death."

"Without any mention of familial love, trust, or morality."

Feng Yun sighed lightly.

"I’ll give you an example to understand. For instance... the Imperial Family. For so many years on the continent, for the emperor’s bloodline, there’s no talk of leisure princes, if you do not fight, you are actually fighting. Everything is for that seat. Thus, the so-called wise prince, so-called leisure prince... only appear after the new emperor ascends, but this is also only done for self-preservation. That’s it."

The Starlight Master remained silent, this time, did not question further.

And this time, Feng Yun also didn’t wait for him to ask, but continued on his own: "And currently on the continent, families that can be said to have reached this level do not exceed five. Our Feng Family is one of them."

At this point, the meaning in Feng Yun’s words was already very clear.

He did not continue speaking.

He believed the Starlight Master had already understood.

The Starlight Master’s silence now was proof.

"And such families only exist in Wei Wo Zheng Sect. But on the Guardian Continent, there is not a single one."

Feng Yun’s bitter smile held a hint of admiration.

The Starlight Master clearly showed a sign of relief and asked, "Why is that?"

"Starlight, you are really smart."

Feng Yun smiled as he turned to look at the Starlight Master.

The Starlight Master gave a bitter smile, "Just don’t dare to speak."

Feng Yun laughed heartily but brought the topic back, saying, "The Guardian Continent, the Feng, Yu, Xue Family, has already reached such a level long ago. Even more powerful than our family’s strength, yet it doesn’t happen, do you know why?"

The Starlight Master was about to speak, but Feng Yun said, "I know you understand, so if you say you don’t know, I’ll be very unhappy."

The Starlight Master smiled bitterly, "Young Master Yun, this leaves me no choice."

Feng Yun indifferently said, "I’ve already given you the greatest freedom to choose."

"Yes."

The Starlight Master said, "Is it because of the Dongfang Strategist of the Guardians?"

"Correct!"

Feng Yun clapped his hands and said, "The first reason is that the Dongfang Strategist has directly charted the path of the Wind, Rain, and Snow Three Great Families onto martial arts. Within the family, no other path is better than this one and is bound with honor and sacrifices of the predecessors, forming a tradition; making it impossible for these three families to step out of the martial arts path!"

"The second reason is that there are no supreme positions left to compete for among the Guardians."

"As long as the Dongfang Strategist is around, no one in the Guardians can surpass him! Because his achievements are just too high. No one else has the confidence to say they can do better than the Dongfang Strategist. This is a statement no one on the Guardian Continent dares to make!"

"If the Dongfang Strategist were gone, then whoever takes over would find themselves divided, because there is a perfect predecessor for comparison."

"Therefore, the Dongfang Strategist doesn’t dare to retire. He himself understands the consequences."

"That’s why he has charted all qualified families on the Guardian Continent into martial arts families. By having a single goal, it not only enhances combat capabilities but also reduces the likelihood of future power struggles. In this regard, it’s much stronger than our current Wei Wo Zheng Sect’s structure."