Protect Our Chief

...

At the same time.

Xinping Town.

Compared to the original Ping’an Town, Xinping Town is geographically closer to the eastern sea.

Its land area is also vast, about four to five times larger than Ping’an Town. It has mountains and hills, as well as lakes and rivers, and even the largest lake within the territory of the Wang Family—Deep Taihu Lake—is within the boundaries of Xinping Town.

The Wang Family places great importance on hydraulic engineering, and the overall design and planning were completed at the start of developing Xinping Town.

According to the original plan, all the interlaced rivers and lakes were connected, with any necessary excavation done, any needed levee repairs made, and gates established in various places, all forming a dense waterway network.

Don’t underestimate this waterway network.

It’s important to know that in an era when aerial transport capacity is still quite limited and land transport is not quick enough, the roles of rivers and inner lakes are extremely significant.

Transport, irrigation, flood control, drainage... all these waterway functions are crucial for overall development and livelihood.

If not for considering the Wang Clan members’ attachment and nostalgia for the "ancestral land," establishing Xinping Town as the main base of the Wang Family would be more suitable and cost-effective.

At the mouth of the river downstream of Anjiang, there is a small delta with a wide channel leading into Xinping Town’s interior. At a slightly narrower section of the channel, the Wang Family built a large gate named "Xinping Gate."

This "Xinping Gate" serves many functions.

But the most important one is the Kun Dao Gate.

As Wang Zongkun grows larger, its appetite becomes increasingly astounding, and the expenses the Changning Wang Family incurs for feeding it grow daily.

With Wang Zongkun advancing to Tier Five, even the affluent Wang Family found it difficult to sustain such high expenses. Naturally, the rearing of Wang Zongkun changed to a "half-feeding, half-herding" approach.

This involves having senior clan members with strong abilities take Wang Zongkun out to the ocean periodically, where it can satisfy its increasingly large appetite by preying on the abundant aquatic ferocious beasts.

Of course, for reasons well known, the seniors would usually take Wang Anye along when herding.

However, as Wang Anye and Wang Zongkun’s strengths rapidly increased, the duo already possessed sufficient self-preservation capability in the deep sea, so the "herding" task was completely entrusted to Wang Anye.

On this day.

An Ye, after a hearty meal with Wang Zongkun, swam back into the channel from the estuary, heading slowly toward Xinping Gate.

This trip to the sea gained them both substantial "harvests." Even though Wang Zongkun had a separate space in its belly to store food, it still felt a bit overstuffed, swimming lazily as if going for a digestion-promoting walk.

Currently, Wang Zongkun’s strength had reached Tier Six. Though not yet fully matured, it had grown quite large. Even the river channel outside Xinping Gate, which had been widened considerably, felt cramped when it swam inside.

In the sunlight, its streamlined body resembled a moving fortress, exuding an imposing presence, with a hint of the majestic "Dragon Whale" from the deep sea.

Wang Anye sat cross-legged on Wang Zongkun’s back, tallying this sea voyage’s spoils, planning what to send to the elders, and what to keep for his younger brothers, sisters, nephews, nieces, and grandnephews.

Thirty years have passed, and Wang Anye had grown into a handsome young man.

Now forty-two years old, he had advanced to the Celestial Human Realm a few years ago, and his strength was no longer comparable to the past. Even compared to the talent-laden Imperial Family, his cultivation speed was in the top tier.

With the Imperial Family’s resources backing Wu Yiluo and Wu Xue Ning, their current strength was still not as comparable to his.

Of course, in the Wang Family, he could only be considered part of the second tier for now.

After all, the Wang Family had too many exceptional talents.

But this was only temporary. Once his strength improves a bit more, he can follow the guidance of Jii Wuchen and enter the Inheritance Land left by his master to receive further inheritance. By then, both his strength and bloodline talent could soar, and he might even successfully enter the Wang Family’s top tier.

As Wang Anye focused on tallying the harvest, unknowingly, the duo was approaching Xinping Gate.

...

A medium-sized river patrol vessel cruised slowly along the wide channel.

This kind of patrol vessel was specifically for maintaining local security, capturing those detrimental to the territory. It acted as both a deterrent and a warning, reminding would-be troublemakers to behave within Wang Family’s domain.

This patrol ship, numbered 003, had two Spirit Platform Realm cultivators as captain and vice-captain, with the rest being ten middle-tier or above Qi Refining Realm soldiers. Apart from cold weapons, they were also equipped with new-style shotguns and thunder bombs, among other advanced weaponry.

In addition, the captain and vice-captain had a storage ring for carrying essential supplies, such as ammunition, healing medicine, and some peculiar yet useful seeds.

The captain, Shentu Hongyi, was of civilian origin from Wang Family’s jurisdiction, educated through the Wang Clan Academy, graduating with excellence and becoming a focus of Wang Family’s grooming.

Now in his sixties or seventies, Shentu Hongyi had a Third-Layer Cultivation in the Spirit Platform Realm, becoming a key member under the Wang Family. With acute perception, calm stability, impressive academic background, and marrying a Wang Clan collateral girl who also graduated from the Clan Academy.