Family Cultivation: My entire family are Villains

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Despite having been here for two years, Hou Yuxiao still felt somewhat unreal when reflecting on everything that had happened to him, as well as the many unique aspects of this world.

This was a world where the martial path prevailed, divided between the righteous and the wicked, somewhat reminiscent of an ancient world from a comic-based film or TV series in his previous life.

A thousand years ago, the Great Yu Dynasty lost its grip on power, and the heroes of the world pursued it jointly; in the end, a total of ten major forces emerged victorious, among which six were of The Righteous Path and four of the Demon Path.

These ten factions not only declared themselves as holy-level powers and divided the thirteen provinces of the world among themselves but also jointly established a five-tiered power system to categorize and govern all the smaller forces under their command.

The so-called five-tiered power system consisted of five levels below the holy level: heavenly, earthly, first-class, second-class, and third-class. The level of these forces corresponded to their martial prowess as well as their influence on the surrounding area.

People say that third-class powers do not extend beyond the county, second-class dominate counties, first-class pacify prefectures, earth-level forces radiate across several prefectures, and heavenly-level powers suppress an entire region, considered to be among the world's greatest forces, second only to the ten major holy sects.

These five tiers, along with the ten major holy sects, firmly controlled everything in this world.

The Hou Clan that Hou Yuxiao belonged to was merely a small family in a county town, not even reaching the level of third-class.

Two years ago, the Hou Family encountered a major crisis. The family head, Hou Tong, was murdered, and the original soul of this body was also killed, providing him with the opportunity to cross over.

The five sons of the Hou Family, relying on the reputation of their father Hou Tong, known as the Black Ape Demon, committed all kinds of evil in the village. The body he inherited was that of the eldest son, the worst of the bad bunch, who had done all sorts of despicable things.

Two years ago, with the death of their father Hou Tong and his own body dying, the remaining family members were either dead or injured. One could imagine the dire situation the Hou Family was in at that time.

After understanding the power hierarchy of the world and realizing the Hou Clan was just a minor, unrecognized family of the Demon Path, he originally planned to leave considering the circumstances he faced.

However, when he saw his three younger brothers and younger sister, his heart softened. Coupled with the obsession of the original soul s concerning the great catastrophe, he ultimately decided not to leave, but instead to stay.

Heaven doesn't seal off all exits; The Good and Evil Divine Lotus he brought with him lit up a black petal at that time, granting him the ability to perfectly transform himself.

So, with this ability, along with decent strategies, and of course... some small bit of luck, Hou Yuxiao miraculously kept the Hou Clan alive through the siege of the other three unrecognized forces in Zhaoyang County.

The title of Thousand-Faced Handsome Man, now famous in the nearby three counties, was earned through these two years by using the transformation ability of The Good and Evil Divine Lotus.

It was rumored outside that he was an expert at facial transformation, but that wasn't the case.

In the martial world, there were too many ways to counter facial transformation. Not to mention the Yuan Gang Beads, even slightly more experienced martial artists could tell the difference by scent or even by body movements and gestures.

But the transformative effects of The Good and Evil Divine Lotus, whether in appearance or aura, changed him into an entirely different person seamlessly.

Of course, there was one major condition: he must have seen the person and must have made physical contact with them.

As he approached Zhaoyang County, Hou Yuxiao's mind also relaxed considerably. After all, Tianling County of Xuzhou belonged to The Righteous Path's domain, and as a member of the Demon Path, he had spent over a month there, which left him somewhat uneasy.

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"Elder brother, have you obtained the Yuan Gang Beads?"

Though Hou Yucheng was usually prone to violent tempers and bloodlust, he was quite docile in the presence of his older brother, Hou Yuxiao. Seeing that the frown which Hou Yuxiao had worn on the official road had finally relaxed, he took the initiative to ask, his tone laced with a hint of excitement.

Ever since the Hou Family's Sky-Piercing Pillar, their father Hou Tong, had passed away two years ago, Hou Yucheng rarely displayed such excitement.

A faint smile appeared on Hou Yuxiao's lips as he took four thumb-sized, transparent beads out of his bosom and showed them to Hou Yucheng for a glance, then spoke with a slightly sorrowful tone.

"These things aren't cheap, 1500 taels each. I only brought just over 5000 taels of silver with me. If I hadn't brought some medicinal herbs to exchange for silver, I might not even have had enough money!"

Hou Yucheng's eyes immediately brightened when he saw the beads. Hearing Hou Yuxiao's words, he shook his head and said, "No matter the cost, it's worth it! If elder brother can break through to the Gang Qi Realm, we won't have to take crap from those three families anymore. Even County Lord Ren Feng would have to give you face."

Hou Yuxiao naturally understood all of this. However, 6000 taels of silver was indeed extremely costly for the current Hou Clan.

The Hou Clan's two major businesses were an iron mine and medicinal materials, both located in the Nanling Mountains of Zhaoyang County, and the combined annual income was around 410 taels of gold. After deducting nearly half for costs, the actual amount available for the family was only about 210 taels of gold, which converted to silver, was around 21000 taels.

If they had been born into an ordinary household, with the market price of two copper coins for a steam bun and one tael of silver trading for one hundred copper coins, then 21000 taels would definitely be considered a huge sum of money.

But the issue was, although the Hou Clan was not influential, it was still a legitimate force in the martial world, and the five siblings couldn't just settle for mere subsistence.

'The poor study, the rich train in martial arts' was not an empty saying.

Besides, it wasn't just the five of them in the Hou Clan. With nearly a thousand people from top to bottom, every move cost money.

It was no wonder Hou Yuxiao felt the pinch after spending 6000 taels on this trip.

"By the way, I took 6000 taels from Old Fifth when I left. Have there been any problems with the clan's accounts this past month?"

Hou Yucheng shook his head, looked at Hou Yuxiao, and his expression turned somewhat strange.

"There hasn't been any problem with Hou Yuduan keeping an eye on things. But you took the silver from the storeroom without saying a word, and he has a big problem with that. He's been saying that 'A gentleman loves money and takes it in the proper way.' Taking it without informing is akin to stealing. When you return, he's certain to have a talk with you about it!"

Hearing this, Hou Yuxiao's entire face darkened at once. The thought of being lectured by Hou Yuduan upon his return considerably dampened the joy of returning home.

"Oh elder brother, there's something I haven't told you yet. Five days ago, I killed more than twenty people from the Flying Eagle Sect on Nanling Mountain. They're probably holding a grudge, and they'll definitely want to discuss it with you once you're back."

"Why did you start fighting with people again?"

"It's not my fault, I was taking people to Nanling Mountain to gather herbs and just happened to run into Tie Tucheng. That bastard didn't watch where he was going and even glared at me. I couldn't help but exchange a few moves with him, who knew he couldn't take a hit. I stayed fairly calm, knowing that killing him would lead to trouble, so I just slaughtered those twenty or so people around him."

Watching Hou Yucheng display a smug expression, evidently proud of his 'calm' handling of the situation, Hou Yuxiao's face showed helplessness.

Then thinking of his younger brothers Hou Yuling and Hou Yujie, he sighed softly in his heart.

"Oh well, given this family, it's no surprise. To only stir up this little trouble after being away for more than a month is actually not too bad, not too bad at all!"

"Let's talk more after we get back."

.........

Zhaoyang County is located in the east of Yongzhou, under Xiayuan Road of Xingnan Prefecture, and it is one of the three county towns under Tongling County. At the same time, it is also the weakest among the three county towns.

There's no helping it, for it has the smallest area, the least population, and the weakest strength. Not having even a third-rate force is a serious handicap.

The entire territory of Yongzhou is under the jurisdiction of the Rakshasa Holy Sect, and naturally, the officials in charge of governing are appointed by the Holy Church. Generally speaking, the Count should at least be at the Gang Qi Realm in cultivation.

The Count of Zhaoyang, Ren Feng, is indeed a martial artist in the Gangqi First Realm.

But the problem is that the man is already over 130 years old, and martial artists in the Gang Qi Realm have a lifespan of at most 150 years. He has, at most, another decade or two of good years left.

To send such a person, who is half in the grave, to be the Count of Zhaoyang, one can imagine how little attention the upper echelons pay to Zhaoyang County!

Regardless, Hou Yuxiao quite likes this feeling of being overlooked.

In a short while, a party of four arrived at Zhaoyang County Town.

After spending more than a month in Tianling County, Hou Yuxiao had gained quite a lot of insight.

Being governed by the Demon Path, in terms of street layout, the appearance of residents, and even the level of prosperity, Zhaoyang County Town was quite different compared to Tianling County, which is under the Righteous Path.

The whole town had only four main streets and a large residential area, with the four streets located in the south, west, north, and middle. The first three streets were dominated by the Hou Family, the Flying Eagle Sect, and the Green Wolf Gang respectively, while the middle street was naturally under the jurisdiction of the County-appointed Count, Ren Feng.

From this, one could also see the terror of the Holy Church. Even in an insignificant place like Zhaoyang County, the shadow of the Rakshasa Holy Sect could be found, let alone elsewhere.

Leading the group was the slight-framed Hou Yuxiao, followed by the burly Hou Yucheng leading a fiery-maned horse, escorting Tian Honglu and Duan Zhengqi into the city gates.

Zhaoyang County was still within the territory of the Demon Path, and there was no shortage of villainous and nefarious types.

Not to mention the unusual combination of the four people, just the splendid fiery-maned horse of Tian Honglu was enough to draw many malicious gazes from around the city. People stopped along the streets, looking at the four and began whispering amongst themselves.

"Tsk tsk, such a tall horse, it could probably sell for over one thousand taels!"

"Such a divine steed for over one thousand taels? You've got quite the imagination."

"That young woman looks mighty fine, we should..."

"Are you out of your mind? Don't you see Hou Lao Er standing there?"

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In Zhaoyang County, there wasn't anyone who didn't know who Hou Lao Er was—that was simply impossible.

He was the most hot-tempered one in the Hou Family, the ruthless type prone to bathing the streets in blood. Rumor had it that when he was in a bad mood, he would even kick stray dogs on the roadside.

Just last year, in front of Count Ren Feng himself, he split Tan Gang's lead disciple from the Green Wolf Gang, Yu Cheng, clean in half with a single stroke of his sword.

At the time, Hou Yucheng's cultivation was only at the Open Body Eightfold.

If it hadn't been for his elder brother, Hou Lao Da, stepping in to mediate, he probably would not have hesitated to even challenge the Gang Leader of the Green Wolf Gang.

After that incident, everyone in Zhaoyang County knew that Hou Yucheng was someone who did not care for his own life, and unless you were confident you could get Hou Lao Da to plead on your behalf, you'd better just wait for death!

"Hee, that's really Hou Lao Er, but who's that skinny one in front?"

"Idiot, with Hou Lao Er following obediently behind, who else could it be…"

......

The volume of the discussions in the crowd was neither loud nor soft, but as soon as the last voice spoke out, everyone suddenly fell silent, turning their gazes toward Hou Yuxiao—with a hint of fear on their faces.

"It's Hou Lao Da!"

"Is Hou Lao Da back?"

"Definitely, there's no one else but him."

"I was wondering why there's been no news of Hou Lao Da these days. Look at that young woman, she must've been kidnapped from somewhere by him. Don't know whose daughter she is, another one to be ruined. Sigh…"

"You seem to pity and cherish the fair sex quite a bit. Why don't you go play the hero and save her? Maybe the young woman will be so moved that she'll repay you with her body."

"Get lost, get lost, get lost, I want to live a few more years!"

Hou Yuxiao, almost at the end of the street, heard the voices around him and the corners of his mouth slightly curled up.

"In two years, my notoriety in Zhaoyang County has become deeply entrenched in people's hearts. It's a pity that I can't unlock the second black petal for now; I have to find a way to do some good deeds first and light up the first white petal… Do good deeds... I'll have to find Old Fifth then!"

Thinking of the silly scholar at home who was fond of lengthy lectures, a look of helplessness appeared in Hou Yuxiao's eyes.