n

n

n

nThe elders were now really feeling that the Millennium forest might just have been another one of the fake legends made up by some 'expert'.

n

"Fool's grave, huh…

" Though among the elders' there was one whose reaction was different.

nThe voice was low and was not noticed by other elders, but Lian Dajian certainly did. His cultivation base was the highest in the hall here and he was at the Dao Treading realm. His sense could pick up even if an ant was trying to sneak in here several meters deep in the ground.

n

"Do you have something to add, Junior Elder Kai Li?

" Patriarch Lian Dajian suddenly spoke.

nThe junior elder in question, stood up in etiquette and cupped her hands.

n

"I do patriarch.

" Junior Elder Kai Li replied.

n'She really did speak up in the middle of a discussion… she must be rather sure.' A few elders thought.

nCurrently in the hall, there were elders of two ranks present. The Normal elders and the Junior elders. Of course, the number of normal elders greatly exceeded that of junior elders and there were barely three such junior elders.

nThe high elders of the clan were not present here as they were perhaps the most busy out of the entire clan. They worked directly under the patriarch and were mainly involved in the biggest businesses of the Lian clan.

nThe high elders didn't even live in the clan most of the times and spent their days working in the biggest of the businesses directly. They were only called back once a year for an annual meeting.

nIt would seem like the treatment of the high elders was less than the normal elders as the normal elders got to enjoy at the clan, but it was not so. In fact, if any of these normal elders were given the chance to be a high elder they would take it in a heartbeat.

nAfter all, becoming a high elder meant not only did they get to run one of the clan's main businesses, they would also get a higher share of the profits.

nThe profit shares of the entire clan were fixed and very strict. If it was found that some member was not contributing their share honestly, they would be greatly punished. In fact, the harshest punishment in the clan, the death penalty, wasn't given to those that insulted the patriarch or something similar to that, but rather to those that dared to embezzle money from the clan.

nThe punishment for that was death, but death didn't come easily. The torture before that was what they dreaded the most, and it was a lesson that had been taught many times over the years.

nAfter all, a business and profit minded clan like the Lian clan knew better than anyone just how big of a temptation money was and that greed could make someone do anything.

nWhich was why their rules were greatly based on money and profits.

nA normal member of the clan needed to contribute 90% of their earnings to the clan, a junior elder contributed 80%, a normal elder contributed 70% while a high elder contributed 50%.

nThis difference was what dictated just how far a clansman could go. Those with greater personal income could expand their businesses faster than others and could also improve their cultivation base.

nThough this great 'tax' also came with benefits to the clansmen, whether they be normal ones or elders. They could get a fixed amount of resources regardless of their overall contribution.

nAlso, since they were contributing so much, they didn't need to do any missions, which was often mandatory for other clans and sects. It was rare for the Lian clan to assign a mandatory mission.

nThough this also worked in the clan's favor, as whenever a volunteer mission was given, there were easily hundreds of applicants. As they all knew, this was just a way to make more profits.

nNo one wanted to let anyone else get a mission if they could get it first.

nJunior elders were often those clansmen who rose by doing many missions of the clan. Junior elder Kai Li was one such person. She was a lowly member of the clan at the start, being from a distant branch.

nAnd yet, she had done her very best to reach this point and becoming a Junior elder. She was at the nascent soul realm too, thus it wasn't like she was weak either. Besides, she had a rather notorious reputation.

nThis was due to the fact that she had instincts to detect bad deals. And she had used these to flip these deals onto her competitors. This had made quite a few people mad as well as scared of her.

nEven the elders were warned of her back when she was still a normal clansmen, but since she hadn't broken any rules and was still doing her part as a clansman diligently there was nothing they could accuse her off.

nRather, it was the people who had complained who ended up getting fined for wasting the time of the elders.

nThis simply became another feather in the hat for her and no one dared to easily offend her after that. She had become a junior elder only recently in the past five years and had kept a low image among the elders.

nThis was actually the first time she had spoken like this in the middle of a discussion between the patriarch and the elders. Most junior elders would be far too scared to ever do this. And even if they weren't punished, they would still end up getting humiliated and losing face in front of the patriarch.

nNo one wanted this, and they kept their heads low. Which was also what the elders thought Kai Li was doing. But now she had finally spoken up.

n

"Patriarch, I think we should consider adding more people to the team that would visit the Millennium forest. The rumor might not be a rumor at all..

" She stated firmly.

n