Clan Cultivation: Starting from Beast Taming

Lin Hongyu did not deliver the promised treasure to the Zhou Family as scheduled, which indeed disappointed Zhou Mingde, who had been greatly anticipating it.

However, the stay of Lin Wan'er somewhat compensated for this.

Lin Wan'er's presence in the Zhou Family was not just about having an additional Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator at their disposal; it also meant that the espionage network she controlled would now serve the Zhou Family.

According to Lin Wan'er's own account, the espionage network she was assigned to manage by Lin Hongyu currently had twelve core members and thirty-four peripheral members.

These twelve core members were cultivators nurtured by Lin Hongyu and her, who could be turned into combatants at any time.

The thirty-four peripheral members were also those who could be commissioned to fight through money and treasures.

As the Dragon Transformation Sect was severely damaged and she herself had escaped the cage, Lin Hongyu no longer wished to spend resources to maintain this espionage network. Thus, she handed it over to the Zhou Family along with Lin Wan'er as one of her compensations to the family.

The Zhou Family was currently short-staffed, so this espionage network was undoubtedly a powerful supplement for them.

Therefore, when Lin Wan'er chose to follow Lin Hongyu's arrangement to stay with the Zhou Family, Zhou Mingde immediately expressed that he would continue to let her manage the espionage network and provided full financial support for it.

Lin Wan'er proved to be very cooperative; she not only swiftly handed over all the information on the core and peripheral members to the Zhou Family, but she also quickly went to Zhou Daoyi to get the Flood Dragon Spirit Blood and started practicing the Dragon Transformation Secret Technique.

While Lin Wan'er was beginning her secluded cultivation of the Secret of Dragon Transformation atop Pagoda Peak, Zhou Chun sought out Zhou Mingde to discuss the matter of assigning her status within the clan.

"Taoist Friend Lin joining the Zhou Family is certainly a wonderful event, but what kind of status should the family assign to her to be appropriate?"

The Zhou Family was no longer a small clan; the sudden appearance of a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator in the family could not be concealed from its own cultivators, nor from outsiders.

Therefore, exactly how to assign a status to Lin Wan'er was troubling Zhou Chun as well.

The Elders in the Zhou Family were positions only held by native Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators, and even in the future, not every ordinary Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator would necessarily qualify to be one.

It was definitely not appropriate for Lin Wan'er to become an Elder of the Zhou Family.

Yet, with her Foundation Establishment cultivation level there, and if not as an Elder, the Zhou Family's current system of titles had no suitable position for her.

Thus, after pondering the matter for a while without coming to a conclusion, Zhou Chun had no choice but to consult Zhou Mingde.

At that time, upon hearing Zhou Chun's words, Zhou Mingde was also somewhat stumped and unsure how to respond.

After pondering in thought for a while, he finally said to Zhou Chun in a soft voice, "How about we establish a new position of Guest Elder within the family? This position would be equivalent in status and treatment to a Family Elder, but without voting rights in family Elder meetings, and they cannot be invited or attend those meetings."

Guest Elder?

Zhou Chun was taken aback for a moment and thought carefully before remembering the origins of this position.

Generally, cultivation families do not have such a position as Guest Elder; it is usually established by cultivation sects, and it is designated for high-ranking cultivators from outside the sect who are very close to the sect.

For example, Green Lotus Temple has a few Guest Elders, and those Guest Elders are all Golden Core Stage cultivators from Golden Core families.

These Golden Core families were either established by disciples of Green Lotus Temple, or the family had a long history of many clan members joining Green Lotus Temple, creating deep ties with the sect.

In such situations, to win over these Golden Core cultivators, Green Lotus Temple would appoint them as Guest Elders so that they could enjoy some of the treatments offered to the Elders of Green Lotus Temple.

With this in mind, he immediately spoke up, "If we call it Guest Elder, I'm afraid outsiders might find it laughable upon hearing it, and Taoist Friend Lin might not be willing either."

"In my opinion, why not call it Honorary Elder? It gives the honor and respect of an Elder without involving themselves in the internal affairs of the family!"

"Honorary Elder?"

Zhou Mingde paused for a moment, murmuring "Honorary Elder" to himself, then smiled and said, "Good idea, this title of Honorary Elder is indeed very fitting. Let us establish a position of Honorary Elder within the family!"
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Seeing his agreement, Zhou Chun immediately said, "Since the Supreme Elder agrees, I will announce it to the whole family right away. Once Elder Lin finishes her seclusion, I will invite the Supreme Elder to personally bestow this honor on her."

"Agreed, when the time comes, Elder Daoyi and I will together confer this honor on Taoist Friend Lin."

Zhou Mingde nodded, agreeing without hesitation.

After Zhou Chun left his dwelling, he quickly announced the news.

The sudden addition of a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator and the special creation of an "Honorary Elder" position for her indeed aroused the curiosity of many in the Zhou Family.

Many went to Zhou Chun and other familiar Elders to inquire about the identity and origins of this foreign-surnamed Elder, as well as what kind of etiquette to observe when dealing with her.

Zhou Chun had already coordinated in advance with Elder Zhou Jiarui and others who had met Lin Wan'er, and at this time, they provided a unified response.

According to him, Lin Wan'er was a Loose Cultivator who grew up in Yunzhou and, knowing the difficulties of cultivating alone, decided to seek out a family to join.