Within the inner main hall of the The Benson Family in Qingzhou, the over-a-hundred-year-old Samuel Benson was actually standing below the dais at this moment, displaying an attitude of utmost respect—such a scene was truly astonishing.

At the seat of honor in the main hall, a middle-aged man clad in purple-gold battle armor, with an imposing and extraordinary appearance, spoke in a deep voice: “The borderlands are in urgent danger. By order of the King of Zhenman, I am here to conscript, from the three thousand noble families of the nine counties and eighteen prefectures, a total of one hundred thousand sons to join the army. As the great clan of Qingzhou, the The Benson Family is required to provide five hundred men for enlistment. There must be no disobedience.”

“Five hundred men…”

Upon hearing this number, Samuel Benson’s expression changed dramatically. In all the years the army had conscripted sons from the three thousand noble families for the Great Virtue Dynasty, it had never been as excessive as this time. The entire The Benson Family, even counting the old, the young, the women, and even the servants, numbered just over three thousand. To conscript five hundred for the army was simply an impossible task.

“Honored envoy, is it possible to slightly reduce the number of conscripts? It’s not that this old man refuses the king’s order, but my The Benson Family simply cannot gather five hundred able-bodied men!”

Before this middle-aged man, Samuel Benson adopted an extremely humble posture, for he knew that the man before him was from the “Blood Soul Army” under the King of Zhenman. Not to mention how formidable his strength was—just the name “Blood Soul Army” alone was enough to make Samuel Benson bow and scrape.

“Insolence! The King of Zhenman’s order is as unyielding as a mountain. Any who disobey will have their entire clan exterminated.”

“Please, envoy, do not be angry. This old man will certainly comply.” Samuel Benson, shrewd with age, could easily hear the utter lack of room for negotiation in the envoy’s tone, and hurriedly replied.

The imposing middle-aged man’s expression eased slightly, and he nodded: “All those conscripted will undergo three months of training. If thirty percent of your clan’s conscripts fail the training, it will be considered a grave crime of deceiving the king, and three branches of your clan will be exterminated.”

With that, the envoy tossed down a token that glimmered with a faint blood-red light and said, “You have ten days to prepare. In ten days, you must lead five hundred sons of your clan to meet me on the Qingzhou official road. This is the Blood Soul Summons, as proof that today’s order is genuine and binding.”

In just half a day, the three most powerful clans in Qingzhou—Benson, Brooks, and Johnson—all received the Blood Soul Summons. Besides them, all the other families in Qingzhou were the same. Under the envoy’s unyielding summons, no one dared utter a word of protest.

Though the three thousand noble families of the Great Virtue Dynasty wielded great power, few dared say “no” to the King of Zhenman.

A hundred years ago, a millennia-old clan that dared say “no” to the King of Zhenman was wiped from the ranks of the three thousand noble families, and that alone was warning enough.

Even the current emperor must respectfully address the King of Zhenman as “uncle” and treat him with utmost courtesy. Such is his power and influence.

Within the main hall of the The Benson Family’s inner residence, it was a rare occasion for the heads of the Benson, Brooks, and Johnson clans to gather together.

Dressed in a red robe, with a face as ruddy as a jujube, the Grandpa Brooks was the first to lose his composure, speaking with a trace of anger: “The King of Zhenman has gone too far this time. My entire The Brooks Family numbers just over two thousand, yet we are to provide four hundred conscripts. This is simply…”

“Little Brooks, don’t be angry. My clan has been ordered to provide six hundred…”

The Grandpa Johnson said helplessly from the side, “This Blood Soul Summons, conscripting one hundred thousand new soldiers from the three thousand noble families to the borderlands, is unprecedented. I fear something major is about to happen on the frontier.”

Upon hearing this, Samuel Benson’s eyes flashed with a sharp light, and he said in a deep voice, “Little Johnson, if I remember correctly, your eldest granddaughter is the wife of the only son of the current Left Prime Minister. Do you have any news?”

A trace of pride appeared on the Grandpa Johnson’s face as he nodded slightly: “Our three great clans have always been close. I came today precisely to share some news with you both. Perhaps sending all our able-bodied men this time is not a bad thing for us…”

“What do you mean by that?” Grandpa Brooks frowned.

“Do you two know who backs the Nanman tribe?” Grandpa Johnson replied with a question.

“The reason the barbarian tribes have been able to harass our borders for a thousand years is all thanks to the support of the ‘Beast Spirit Sect’ behind them,” Grandpa Brooks interjected, his expression growing even more grave.

“In terms of strength, the Beast Spirit Sect is no weaker than the Supreme Qingxuan Sect that protects our Great Virtue Dynasty. Could this massive conscription be related to them?” Samuel Benson asked nervously.

“Yesterday, I received a letter from my granddaughter, and what she wrote was truly shocking. It turns out that more than ten days ago, the King of Zhenman personally went to the capital and stated that within half a year, the barbarian tribes would make a major move. At that time, the Beast Spirit Sect would also intervene heavily in the border war, and he frankly admitted that our dynasty would face the most brutal border defense battle in its history.”

“For this reason, the King of Zhenman not only petitioned His Majesty to approve the conscription of one hundred thousand new soldiers from the three thousand noble families to the borderlands, but also obtained the ‘Imperial Immortal Decree’ before hastily departing.”

“The Imperial Immortal Decree!”

At the sudden mention of these three words, both Samuel Benson and Grandpa Brooks stood up in shock, clearly shaken by this item.

At the founding of the Great Virtue Dynasty, it was only with the support of the Supreme Qingxuan Sect that it flourished. The Supreme Qingxuan Sect became the dynasty’s guardian sect and bestowed three “Imperial Immortal Decrees.”

Over the past thousand years, the Great Virtue Dynasty has weathered several great calamities—northern Qiang invasions, eastern Tujue occupation, bloody battles in the western seas, attacks from three dynasties, and so on. Some were resolved by the court’s own forces, but on two occasions, it was only with the help of the “Imperial Immortal Decree” that the nation narrowly escaped destruction.

When the Imperial Immortal Decree is used, the Supreme Qingxuan Sect can be called upon for powerful aid. Back then, the sect declared that after three such interventions, the decrees would be lost, and the Great Virtue Dynasty would have no further ties to the sect.