Chapter 419: Song Family

"Has my grandfather's condition deteriorated to this extent?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Tong couldn't help but frown, instinctively asking:

"Are there no other treatment options? If specific heavenly treasures or rare medicinal herbs are needed, I can have my family help gather them."

The Zhou family behind Zhou Tong was also an eighth-rank Grand Master clan, though not as historically ancient or deeply rooted as the Song family.

But for tasks like collecting heavenly treasures, they could still lend some assistance.

"No need."

Song Feng shook his head and sighed, "That's the conclusion of Councilor Wu."

"Councilor Wu's conclusion? Then there truly is no way." Zhou Tong blinked in surprise, then sighed as well.

Wu Zhou, a ninth-rank Martial Saint-level psychic, possessed an A-rank healing psychic ability.

If even he said it was impossible, then it truly was.

"It's such a pity my grandfather's talent. If his injury hadn't been so severe, hadn't damaged his foundation..."

"He wouldn't have reached this age and still been unable to hold on."

The higher a psychic's rank, the longer their average lifespan.

A seventh-rank Master-level psychic could live to about 150 years.

An eighth-rank Grand Master-level psychic could live to around 200 years.

As for ninth-rank psychics, no one knows the limit of their lifespan.

After all, humanity has only had psychic abilities for a little over two hundred years since the Reawakening of Yuan Energy.

No ninth-rank psychic has ever died of old age.

"So what should we do next?"

Zhou Tong asked, her expression filled with concern.

Elder Song Daoyuan was the very soul of the Song family; if he passed away, the entire family would inevitably suffer.

"Contract our sphere of influence. Abandon all industries we should let go of."

"Also, have the Glory Battle Group withdraw from major demon cave activity zones." Song Feng said grimly.

Elder Song Daoyuan, who rose to prominence over eighty years ago, was an S-rank psychic.

Though his rank was merely peak eighth-rank, and his strength had declined due to injury,

his actual influence was equivalent to that of a ninth-rank Martial Saint.

With this elder alive, many of the Song family's industries were still granted respect by other factions and clans.

Even the Glory Battle Group, cultivated under the Song family,

could operate in wilderness zones rich in rare flowers, herbs, and heavenly treasures.

But now, the Song family, including him, had only two eighth-rank Grand Masters.

And the highest-ranked among them was merely mid-eighth-rank.

After the elder's death, under such a mismatch of status and virtue, the Song family's industries would inevitably suffer setbacks.

Better to shrink proactively than to lose more passively.

"In the end, it's our generation's failure. Over the past few decades, our family hasn't produced a single S-rank psychic—

not even one who reached the highest rank beyond mid-eighth-rank. How shameful."

Song Feng gazed out the window, his eyes deep and distant.

"Which psychic clan has ever remained prosperous forever? Our Song family is already lucky to have two Grand Masters at this point."

Zhou Tong viewed this quite calmly.

And indeed, the truth was exactly that.

Reaching eighth-rank Grand Master was no easy feat.

Many great clans that rose decades ago had only one Grand Master—like her own Zhou family.

"Speaking of talent, Xiao Yun's boyfriend is truly impressive.

Not only does he possess an extremely rare SS-rank psychic ability, but his cultivation talent is also extraordinary.

If he and Xiao Yun stay together, once he reaches eighth-rank Grand Master, our entire Song family will benefit.

Our scale of development might even surpass what we have now!"

Song Feng said with a faint smile.

An eighth-rank Grand Master with an SS-rank psychic ability carried the same deterrent power as an ordinary ninth-rank Martial Saint.

"It's just a pity that it'll take ages before Xu Jingming becomes an eighth-rank Grand Master.

Until then, we can only choose to contract..."

The Song family estate was vast, with three villas alone.

One villa was for Xiao Yun's immediate family; the other two were for guests and relatives.

Xu Jingming lived in one of the guest villas.

At 11 p. m., Song Qiuyun had already returned to the main villa, but Xu Jingming was still in the training room.

He wore only shorts, wild lightning dancing across his bare upper body.

His entire body was drenched in sweat, his hair soaked through.

"Thrust!"

He shifted his stance and lunged forward with the Flowing Cloud Golden Edge Spear, its shaft wrapped in golden lightning.

Boom!

A sonic boom erupted as terrifying energy radiated outward.

Immediately, he stepped forward and swept the spear horizontally in a continuous motion!

Swish—

Compared to before, this strike was slow—but carried immense oppressive force!

After reaching fifth-rank, with his full SS-rank Heavenly Thunder energy infused, the Flowing Cloud Golden Edge Spear weighed a staggering twenty tons.

Now, he maintained only half-infusion, keeping the spear's weight around ten tons.

Only then could it serve as effective training.

Within this not-very-spacious training room, Xu Jingming alternated between blurred motion, becoming a golden phantom,

and solid stances, each spear thrust radiating terrifying power.

The Deep Blue System could allocate points to rank and combat techniques, but ultimately, Xu Jingming himself had to master their use.

Thus, when not in the wilderness,

he spent one or two hours daily on this basic training to maintain his touch.

"Compared to elementalists' methods, close-quarters combat truly stirs the blood.

No wonder when I visited Teacher Su, she was also training with her sword in the gravity chamber."

Swish—

After another thrust, the spear was stored in his space ring.

"Time's up. I'll take a shower, then go to sleep.

I stayed up all night studying the manual last night—I can't do it again tonight..."

Ten minutes later, refreshed and clean, Xu Jingming left the bathroom and entered his room.

Click—

The lights turned on, instantly illuminating the pitch-black bedroom.

There, sitting on the edge of the bed, was Song Qiuyun.

She had just finished bathing; her delicate face glowed pink with freshness.

Her black hair fell loosely down her back, trailing to her slender waist.

She wore only a simple nightgown, yet against her stunning figure,

the loose fabric clung slightly, hinting at the fullness of her curves.

"Didn't you go back to the main villa? Why are you here again?"

Xu Jingming coughed lightly and quietly shut the door.

"What? Not welcome?"

Song Qiuyun's beautiful eyes turned toward him, her gaze sultry.

"No, I was just worried your father might find out..."

Before he could finish, he saw Song Qiuyun slowly slip off her nightgown.

Instantly, a flawless, beautiful body lay bare before him.

"Alright, I'll pretend I said nothing..."