On this day, the Zhou Family of Jiufeng Ridge was quite lively.
Many Zhou Family Cultivators had gathered near the entrance of the mountain gate, ready to welcome the homecoming of the Zhou Family soldiers from the battlefield.
Indeed, today was the day when the Cultivators from the Zhou Family who had been sent on an expedition to Yunzhou were to return.
After being stationed in Yunzhou for more than a year, the Cultivators from the Zhou Family who had been conscripted were finally able to return home.
This was not because the war between Yunzhou and the Dragon Transformation Sect had ended but after negotiations coordinated by the Green Lotus Temple and other sects of Jingguo Country, reinforcements from various sects and states of Jingguo Country had already arrived on the battlefields of Yunzhou.
With the addition of these new forces, the number of Jingguo Country Cultivators in Yunzhou was now quite sufficient, so the Green Lotus Temple allowed the previously urgently conscripted Cultivators from Lanzhou, Lingzhou, and Lianzhou to return to their families for rest and recuperation.
Of the fourteen Zhou Family Cultivators in the Qi Refinement Realm who had set out initially, only seven had returned alive, and among them, two were left disabled with severed arms and blinded eyes!
At this moment, led by Zhou Jiarui, the fourth Elder of the Zhou Family, a group of Zhou Family Cultivators slowly entered through the mountain gate that had been opened for them and proceeded inside.
Then, they saw Zhou Chun, Zhou Jiahe, and as many as sixty or seventy Zhou Family Cultivators of various statuses standing facing them.
Even the uninformed Zhou Jiarui was startled upon seeing this gathering.
He had not expected so many clan members to be there to greet them.
Facing several people with surprised expressions, Zhou Chun opened his arms, smiling broadly and said, "Welcome back to all the brave warriors who have fought abroad!"
"You are all heroes of our family, and the family is proud to have such selfless clan members!"
"On behalf of all the Cultivators of our family, I sincerely thank you for the sacrifices and contributions you have made for the family!"
With these words, he also deeply bowed to the several people as a sign of respect.
Then he gazed at them sincerely, expressing, "Welcome home!"
Behind Zhou Chun, Zhou Jiahe and other Zhou Family Cultivators also spoke in unison, their faces likewise filled with smiles.
This scene made Zhou Jiarui and the others, who were already in a good mood because they could finally return home, feel extremely comfortable. Their hearts were greatly satisfied, and their faces overflowed with happy, excited smiles.
"You young man, you always come up with new tricks!"
Zhou Jiarui approached with a smile and patted Zhou Chun on the shoulder rather heavily, clearly very satisfied with the reception Zhou Chun had arranged.
Although everyone knew that these Cultivators from the family who had been conscripted were essentially cannon fodder, unlucky souls.
But no one could deny that their deployment solved a big problem for the family and provided the other clan members with a stable opportunity for cultivation.
To call them heroes of the family was also reasonable.
And for those Zhou Family Cultivators who initially felt abandoned, seeing the Vice Clan Leader and Elders come with so many clan members to greet them upon their return dispelled much of that feeling of being discarded.
If they truly had been abandoned?
Why bother with such a grand reception to welcome them back?
Thus it is said, hearts can change easily.
For those who know how to manipulate hearts, there are always many ways to make the fickle-hearted turn back to oneself.
Zhou Chun was by no means a master of manipulating hearts, otherwise, in his previous life, he wouldn't have ended up so old without a wife.
But one doesn't have to eat pork to have seen pigs walk.
Although he was not a master at manipulating hearts, he knew some ways to win over and change people's hearts.
When these methods were combined with the power and influence he now wielded, naturally, the effect was very good.
When an ordinary person does a good deed and is praised by another ordinary person, does he feel as happy as if praised by the ruler of a country?
Or as happy as if praised by the whole nation?
This is a simple and easily understood truth!
Of course, Zhou Chun also deeply understood that mere verbal praise could only make people happy momentarily. Once that excitement passed, the sense of emptiness might even more likely erode at people's hearts.
So he had prepared concrete benefits for all these returning Zhou Family Cultivators.
These included substantial rewards for good deeds, Spirit Coin bonuses, and a three-year exemption from all family chores, among others.
Even the Cultivators who had fallen had these rewards, to be inherited by their direct relatives, if they had any Cultivators among their direct kin.
Now with both face and substance provided, the returning Zhou Family Cultivators naturally had no grievances left.
Even the battlefield experiences that once filled them with fear and pain had now become their capital for bragging and showing off, proving even more effective during arguments.
When they truly got into a quarrel, they'd just lift their clothes, reveal the scars from their injuries, and assert passionately that they had bled for the Zhou Family, they had made achievements for the Zhou Family, they had taken bullets for everyone...
Most Zhou Family Cultivators with no such experiences, even if they were elders with higher status, might find themselves at a loss for words, their momentum immediately weakened!
"I never thought that in just over a year of being away, so many things would have happened in the family!"
"Not only did you succeed in your Foundation Establishment, but you have also become the Vice Clan Leader, taking charge of all family affairs!"
At Baozhi Peak, in his own living room, the returning Zhou Zhengyong, his face full of emotion, looked at the younger clan member before him, his eyes brimming with astonishment.
After a year of battling, although he had also gained something, advancing to the 10th layer of the Qi Refinement Realm.