Chương 21: The Merit Point Reform

Every member of the family who received their allowance walked away beaming with joy. Even Zhang Yunli was no exception. Having recently broken through to the first level of the Qi Refining Realm, she was now officially recognized as a true cultivator of the Zhang family. Zhang Lixian slowly took his seat.

"This year's harvest has been good," he began, "but the family's resource shortage is severe. We need to increase income and reduce expenses. If any of you discover rare resources like spirit veins, spirit fields, cubs of rare spirit beasts, or the like report it to the family, you will receive not only a substantial reward in resources but also a permanent twenty percent dividend from the vein. That right is permanent. It passes from father to son until the resource is exhausted.

As long as this family endures, the agreement stands." Zhang Lixian's voice rang through the hall. The cultivators gathered in the hall exchanged whispers and low conversations. If someone could find just one spirit vein, their entire future would be set. Handing it over to the family meant the family would bear the costs of mining, guarding, and negotiating with other families, perhaps even sharing the mining rights. A twenty percent share showed the family's deep sincerity. Then Zhang Lixian spoke again.

"Starting this year, family allowances will be reformed. From now on, everything within the family will be distributed using Merit Points. One merit point can be exchanged for one low grade spirit stone." Ignoring the murmurs that followed, Zhang Lixian took dozens of blank identity jade tokens from his storage pouch.

"These are identity jade tokens I refined," he announced.

"One for each of you. All merit point transactions will be conducted through these tokens." As Zhang Lixian finished speaking, the hall grew restless.

"Is this really necessary?" asked Zhang Linyi, another adopted son of Zhang Chongwen. His tone carried doubt.

"We're just a Qi Refining Realm family. Have we really reached the point of distributing merit points?" Zhang Linyi's cultivation was respectable, he stood at the seventh level of the Qi Refining Realm. Zhang Chongwen had three adopted sons, all raised by him from early childhood. One had died in a skirmish with the Hu family. Zhang Hong had suffered from Yin spiritual energy affliction, which had wasted more than a decade of his life. But now, his suffering has finally paid off.

He had also broken through to the seventh level of the Qi Refining Realm. The Zhang family now boasted five late stage Qi Refining Realm cultivators. Zhang Chongwen and Zhang Lixian were at the ninth level. Zhang Hong, Zhang Linyi, and Zhang Huaijin's second uncle, Zhang Liliang, were at the seventh level. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Mid stage Qi Refining Realm cultivators were fewer: Zhang Huaijin, his eldest brother Zhang Hanren, and Zhang Chongwen's youngest son, Zhang Huaijin's uncle, though the same age as him, Zhang Liwei. Zhang Liwei possessed three spiritual roots. Earth, Fire, and Wood. His talent far surpassed Zhang Lixian's. Because those three elements were complementary to each other, his cultivation speed was faster than that of an ordinary three root cultivator.

He was also twice as effective at artifact forging, pill refining, and talisman drawing. Zhang Hanren, a thirty year old with four spiritual roots, was at the fifth level of the Qi Refining Realm. He currently managed the family's spirit wine shop in Langya County and had not returned for the meeting. The Zhang family was still too small. The third generation had yet to mature; most remained at the early stage of the Qi Refining Realm.

But given another ten years, the family's core strength would grow, and their current difficulties would ease.

"Now that we have five late stage Qi Refining Realm cultivators," Zhang Lixian continued, "the family's strength will steadily increase. But the old system was chaotic. We lacked rules. We need to establish these regulations now. Otherwise, as our numbers grow, will the family's spirit stone reserves be able to support everyone? We also need to save stones for rare resources and auctions when opportunities arise." Zhang Lixian had clearly thought this through. His words silenced the main hall.

Replacing spirit stones with Merit Points within the family meant the clansmen's benefits would not change, but the family would have far more liquid spirit stones reserved on hand. This would allow the family to develop faster.

"Merit points can be exchanged for spirit stones," Zhang Lixian said firmly, "but spirit stones cannot be exchanged for merit points." He let that sink in before continuing.

"Starting this year, all family resources will be distributed through merit points. The resources in the family treasury have been priced and can be redeemed with merit points. If anyone objects, speak now." Zhang Lixian looked around the room. Zhang Huaijin agreed with his vision. It would help the family grow stronger. The identity jade tokens would also strengthen the clansmen's sense of unity.

"Let me add one more thing," Zhang Chongwen said, speaking up first.

"Clansmen who guard spirit fields or manage shops for the family will receive additional merit points each year. This applies to everyone. Working for the family earns a fair reward."

"Agreed," Zhang Huaijin said immediately. He was the first to voice his support. This was beneficial for the family, with no downsides.

"Agreed," Zhang Linyi followed. He had clearly been convinced by Zhang Lixian's reasoning. The other clansmen agreed one after another. The Zhang family was still a tiny cultivation clan with only a dozen or so cultivators. There were few conflicts among them. Everyone was united, their thoughts fixed on one goal: growing and strengthening the family. Zhang Lixian's proposals were approved without exception.

After that, the family took stock of their resources and discussed future prospects before finally ending the meeting. —— Beyond the Green Bamboo Mountain, the family owned three other spirit mountains: Heavenly Yang Mountain, Azure Gale Mountain, and Heavenly Blaze Mountain. Each mountain had a tier 1, low grade spirit vein. On each mountain lay forty acres of spirit fields. This year, the family treasury had a slight surplus of spirit stones. They wanted to upgrade the spirit vein grades on all three mountains.

In the cultivation world, as long as you paid enough spirit stones, you could artificially raise a spirit vein's grade. But the Zhang family's surplus was only enough to upgrade one mountain. After discussing it, Zhang Lixian and Zhang Chongwen chose to upgrade the vein on the Heavenly Yang Mountain. Zhang Lixian withdrew fifteen hundred spirit stones from the family treasury and channeled them into the mountain's spirit vein. Zhang Hong would continue to guard the mountain.

Within a month, the vein would be upgraded to a tier 1, mid grade spirit vein. Then, Zhang Hong's cultivation speed would no longer be hindered. The withdrawal took most of the spirit stones from the family treasury, nearly five years of savings. But it was worth it. As long as the vein was not violently mined, it would continuously draw spiritual energy from heaven and earth, producing energy that was gentle and stable. For a cultivation family, this was a long term, sustainable investment.