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Every member of the Tang Clan practices martial arts, and only the most outstanding ones are chosen to train in the First Cultivation Ground as selected proteges. However, all clan members, from scholars to idle rich kids, are required to reach at least the Foundation Building stage.

This requirement means that even the most unimpressive descendant of the Tang Clan must reach the peak of the Mortal Realm. With the advantage of the Heavenly Pathway Technique, even a novice would be many times stronger than an average civilian martial artist. Add to that a well-nourished and physically robust body, thanks to a balanced diet and the use of Spiritual Food, and the disparity in combat power becomes even more significant.

However, the difference between the clan’s educational institution and the Martial Hall lies in their seven academic disciplines: miscellaneous studies, mathematics, agriculture, medicine, metallurgy, martial arts research, and political economics.

Students of the institution are required to choose one or several specializations from these academic disciplines, in addition to their cultivation practice. Although this multitasking could slow down their progress slightly compared to those training in the First Cultivation Ground, most of them manage to enter the Mortal Realm by the age of twenty.

The number of students of the institution considerably exceeds the number of proteges in the First Cultivation Ground. The graduates of the Martial Hall are first to serve the leaders of the sub-clans and then serve the clan’s offspring as family retainers. The shortage of graduates caused by this distribution system is a lingering problem. The Tang Clan alone has more than two hundred sub-clans, along with a vast number of clan members and proteges. Even if the thousands of orphans they recruit each year were trained into martial artists, they would still be far from enough.

The reality, however, is that only one in a thousand commoners can become a protege in the Martial Hall, and this is with the Foundation Building stage being delayed until the age of thirteen or fourteen. If a scion of the Tang Clan dared to delay Foundation Building until such an age, he would likely be punished regardless of his status within the family.

Such a situation forces the young masters of the Tang Clan, who have just established their households, to fight their own battles, as the commoner martial artists they recruit are rarely of any substantial use. With only basic skills and a weak realm of power, they are incapable of holding their own against formidable opponents, causing the young masters to suffer harm and bear grudges.

Tang Luo can see this problem as clearly as anyone else can, but recognizing a problem is not in itself a solution; the key is how to resolve it.

The Clan Head Tang Zhi feels obligated to provide an answer to this dilemma. “Regarding the shortage of martial artists within the clan, the recent influx of refugees in Chengzhou, which numbers over three hundred thousand, could possibly provide a solution. After removing non-combatants, almost everyone among these refugees is a martial artist. Their integration should suffice in alleviating our current problem of a lack of martial artists. As for the commoners in Xiling, the ambitious ones have already been taken to North Mountain by their instructors. As for the others, there is no potential left to exploit.”

The lack of breakthroughs among commoners is not due to the Tang Clan neglecting their training. It’s because the foundation-building stage, which precedes formal martial arts training, must be completed by individuals themselves. Innate talent and commitment determine the time required for this stage. But when compared to the privileged children who can complete foundation building within five years, very few commoners can do it in less than six.

Even the apprentices in the martial halls can only have incorrect actions corrected and their progress pushed by the Instructor. The actual foundation building process is still up to the apprentices themselves. During the ancient times, martial arts were not well-documented. Some martial artists treated simple manuals of bone strengthening during the foundation-building stage like treasures and learned to build a foundation through self-study by comparing the moves to the ones depicted in these manuals.

In other words, if a commoner can read, he can buy an ordinary Mortal-level martial arts manual and complete foundation building himself. But in reality, most martial artists are more willing to pay tuition fees to martial halls for foundation building rather than learning to read and studying on their own.

The reason why most commoners never take a step towards martial arts training despite a lifetime of hardship, is that they seem to be able to bear all kinds of bitterness, but not the hardship of learning. They never save enough money to enter a martial hall, instead, placing their hopes on their next generation.

But under such circumstances, with all these examples before them, even if a prospective youth appears in the second generation, they would still need to solve the problem of obtaining food and warmth first. With the bizarre trend of early marriage among commoners, many of these kids are engaged from childhood. By the time they are thirteen or fourteen, they are already married and have children, too afraid to extinguish their lineage. After taking responsibilities at home, they cannot practice martial arts anymore.

In this state, poverty seems like a curse, relentlessly trailing most commoners and keeping them in misery, with no hope of advancement.

The reason Tang Zhi only focuses on the current military strength of the clan and not the potential of the one hundred and sixty thousand commoners is not that he can’t see it, but that he thinks that the clan has already done everything it can by widely distributing Mortal-level martial arts manuals, setting up numerous martial halls, and recruiting many orphans. But what’s the result? These commoners still couldn’t make it…

Tang Zhi’s statement receives nods of agreement from everyone at the table. The Tang Clan’s genealogy distinctly notes their ancestors’ humble beginnings, but they managed to develop exceptional skills through decades of arduous training that allowed them to assert themselves in the world. They later seized the opportunity of the development of Longzhou, enabling the Tang Family to officially rise from commoners, becoming a powerful force.

The difference between nobles and commoners today is the result of generation after generation of effort. Still, the weakness of commoners is due to the repetition of tragic cycles from generation to generation.

Of course, Tang Luo understands the problem with commoners. It is precisely because of these issues that he believes ruling over commoners is far more profitable than ruling over nobles.

“The clan head’s operation in Chengzhou is breathtaking, but in my opinion, these noble families ultimately joined us only because of Tang Clan’s military force. Even if they appear to comply, they do so begrudgingly. If any geniuses arise among them, they would most likely hide them and never reveal them. Do any of you agree?”

Despite acknowledging the inherent superior combat power of the noble families, Tang Luo maintains that loyalty will always be an issue with varying degrees of severity.

Even if they don’t want to admit it, these noble families and the Tang Clan are undoubtedly not on the same page. But with the Tang Clan’s resourcefulness, they are certainly capable of finding solutions. That’s the benefit of having a clever clan head.

Tang Luo notices the expressions of everyone at the table. They seem to reveal a sentiment that “Even if the noble families are not loyal, they are still more useful than commoners.”

Tang Luo shakes his head dejectedly. Their preconceived notions about commoners are apparently immovable. Nonetheless, he earnestly tries to explain, “In my opinion, the biggest difference between commoners and noble families lies in their loyalty and governability. Even without any loyalty training, as long as they are given basic living guarantees, these people would willingly express their allegiance to the clan. If we distribute resources received from Chengzhou refugees evenly among Xihng commoners, I believe the long-term gains would far exceed what the various departments of Chengzhou could ever offer our clan.”

Tang Luo’s statement fails to convince everyone present. Apart from Tang Sen, who nods in agreement, everyone else appears noncommittal.

The sixth elder, Tang Gaomin, dismissively elaborates: “Even if all one hundred and sixty thousand people pledged allegiance to the Tang Clan, how many martial artists could they produce? Orphans raised from infancy have only a ten percent success rate. Even if one out of this group becomes a martial artist of Mortal Realm, or one in a thousand ascend beyond Mortal Realm, it’ll be considered a huge fortune.. If we spent the same amount of time recruiting noble families, the returns would be more than tenfold!”