Strongest Family System

When he got back to the Osborn clan compound, night had already fallen upon Magical City. The atmosphere inside the clan walls was more subdued, but the city outside was still bustling. The training grounds and courtyards were illuminated by constant pools of light created by lanterns lit along the stone walkways. From the outside yard came the faint echoes of wooden weapons clashing with one another.

Even at this hour, several clan members continued their training. The Osborn clan had changed considerably during the past months.

Discipline inside the compound had grown stronger, and more cultivators had begun dedicating long hours to cultivation practice. The steady supply of spirit stones had accelerated their progress, and the results were slowly becoming visible.

He walked through the courtyard without interrupting the training and headed toward the inner residence, where the clan head usually handled important matters.

Inside the study room, John Osborn sat behind a wooden table reviewing several written reports from the clan's recent activities. A single lantern illuminated the room, and stacks of bamboo slips rested beside him. When he entered, John looked up and set the reports aside.

You returned from the forest, he asked. Robert nodded slightly and took the seat offered across the table. There was no need for unnecessary explanations. He calmly began describing the events that had taken place earlier that day.

Deep inside the Forbidden Forest, he had witnessed a battle. Two extremely powerful cultivators had appeared there.

One of them possessed strength that had already reached the ninth level of the Soul Manifestation Realm. The other was a young cultivator whose cultivation had already entered the same realm at a surprisingly early age. He explained the details of what he had learned at Grey Shadow Hall.

The names of the two cultivators are Elder Varis Valen and young girl Aria Valen.

He also repeated the information revealed by Elder Delvin Lee. They had come from a faraway cultivation region connected to Grey Shadow Hall. The young woman was the daughter of the sect leader who controlled the organisation, while the elder acted as her protector.

John Osborn remained silent for several moments after hearing the report. His expression did not change dramatically, but his gaze became more serious.

A cultivator at the ninth level of the Soul Manifestation Realm was not someone ordinary clans could ignore. Even the strongest clans surrounding Magical City would treat such a person with extreme caution.

John leaned back slightly and spoke in a calm voice. This magical city is beginning to attract attention.

He explained that the growing activity inside Magical City had likely spread through various trade routes and information networks. When cities expanded quickly, and forest activity increased at the same time, powerful forces often began paying attention.

For now, however, there was nothing the Osborn clan needed to do about those cultivators directly.

If they truly came only to observe the region, then interfering with them would only create unnecessary trouble.

The Osborn clan should focus on strengthening itself. John then mentioned something else. Several elders of the clan had already entered closed training recently.

The steady supply of spirit stones had allowed them to attempt breakthroughs in cultivation. Because of that, many of them would remain unavailable for clan affairs for some time.

The situation inside the clan required someone reliable to organise daily information and reports.

John's gaze shifted slightly. Sai will handle that work for now. Sai had always been calm and disciplined, and he paid close attention to details during both training and hunting. Assigning him responsibility over information management was a logical choice.

He nodded in agreement. John continued explaining that Sai would also oversee the three informers who had recently begun gathering information across Magical City Loran, Cedric and Mira.

Their reports would now be collected and organised through Sai before reaching the clan leadership.

Training those three informers would also become part of Sai's responsibility. Information gathering required patience and careful judgment, and they would need time to improve those skills.

The Osborn clan's intelligence network was still small, but it had already begun forming the foundation of something more useful.

The conversation between father and son gradually slowed as the discussion reached its natural end.

The situation surrounding Magical City was changing, but reacting too quickly could create more problems than it solved.

For now, observation remained the best approach. After leaving his father's study room, he stepped back into the courtyard. The night air had grown cooler, and most of the training had already finished. A few younger clan members continued meditating quietly while circulating spiritual energy through their bodies.

Across the compound, the newly constructed information building stood partially completed under the lantern light. The stone foundation and lower structure were already finished, while wooden beams for the upper level rested nearby, waiting to be installed.

Workers would continue construction in the coming days. Once completed, the building would become the centre for organising reports from the clan's growing information network.

He walked slowly across the courtyard while observing the progress.

The Osborn clan was still far from becoming a major power, but its foundation was growing stronger with each passing day.

Training, Information and Resources.

Each of those elements was gradually falling into place. As he stood near the courtyard gate, footsteps approached from the outer path.

One of the guards stopped nearby Robert and bowed slightly before speaking. The guard from Grey Shadow Hall has arrived.

The message caused him to pause for a moment. The guard continued explaining that the Grey Shadow hall guard had requested a meeting with the clan head.

John Osborn had already been informed.

The reason for their visit had not yet been explained.

He looked briefly toward the inner residence where his father remained. Grey Shadow Hall rarely sent investigators to clans without reason.

If someone from the organisation had come directly to the Osborn compound, it likely meant something important had drawn their attention.

The quiet courtyard remained still as the guard stepped aside. Somewhere near the outer gate, footsteps echoed faintly as the visitors were escorted inside the compound.

The night air felt calm.

But something about the sudden arrival of those investigators suggested that the situation around Magical City might already be beginning to shift.