Seeing his eldest grandfather finally nod, Marcus and the others broke into wide smiles. Excitement shone on their faces, knowing this meant their path forward would become much smoother. If their strength improved faster, they would no longer be confined to the Grey Stone Mountains. They could enter the Endless Mountains openly and hunt there.
Kaito noticed their eager expressions, and an idea crossed his mind. He turned toward his grandfather, but before he could say anything, the old man spoke again. His tone was firm, but there was a faint hint of humor buried in it.
"Alright," his eldest grandfather said, "you all may have come out unharmed, but that doesn't mean you'll escape punishment. What you did was reckless, and punishment is necessary."
The words wiped the smiles from their faces. Kaito's own grin faltered, and Marcus and the others stiffened, their earlier excitement dissolving into silence. They exchanged uncertain glances, waiting for the judgment to come.
His eldest grandfather's eyes settled on Kaito, "Listen carefully. From now on, all matters concerning this Spirit Stone Mine the distribution of resources, allocation of techniques, the mining itself, and even how to divide the spirit stones among the family will be handed over to you, Kaito. You may take help from your cousins, but you will carry the responsibility. This will be your punishment."
For a moment, Kaito's face twitched. He understood immediately. This wasn't punishment it was their way of passing the workload onto him. The elders didn't want to deal with the hassle of organizing such a complex matter, so they had disguised it as discipline. He let out a slow breath, then gave a small nod.
"Understood, Eldest Grandfather. I'll take care of it."
Though he felt the weight of the task, Kaito also recognized the opportunity. With his memories of his previous life, he had knowledge and foresight others did not. Handling the distribution of resources personally meant he could maximize the family's growth in the shortest possible time. Even if it was troublesome, it would allow him to assign things according to his experience and ensure the family's strength increased rapidly.
He also thought of Kia. With her help, he could refine a proper plan, one that would raise the entire family's strength within just a month. That alone made the responsibility worth it.
The family dispersed soon after, each returning to their rooms. Kaito also excused himself, heading back to his chamber. He still had to return to Glory, but before logging in, he activated his Holo tab and called Kia. Together, they began taking an inventory of the resources currently available for the estate. Every item mattered, and each had to be distributed carefully.
He checked through the list once more, the mythic potions, the EX-grade potions, and the S-grade potions and the other resources that he had brought with him, Each was precious, and each had to be given to the right person to avoid waste. Kaito worked through it methodically, assigning them according to who could make the best use of them.
Meanwhile, his eldest grandfather and second grandfather, after assigning the work to Kaito, made a decision of their own. They both planned to go into secluded training. With the new techniques in hand, they had resolved to restart from Rank 1, rebuilding their foundations and climbing again. According to their estimates, it would only take a week to regain their current level of strength. With the support of higher-grade resources and techniques, they would even surpass their old limits this time.
The technique they had was the Celestial Ascension Codex, a powerful cultivation method from the library ruins. Even Kaito had already noticed during the earlier meeting that most of the elders had begun practicing it. Their progress was visible. His father and uncles had all improved greatly, with many already reaching Rank 2 high grade. Some were only a single step away from breaking into Rank 3.
Even his grandfather, who had recently stepped into Rank 3, was advancing quickly. With the help of the mythic-grade potion, his cultivation had already stabilized at mid-stage Rank 3. Kaito suspected that his grandmother, who was also training diligently, was not far behind.
He paused to consider. Counting carefully, he realized the family's overall strength had grown impressively. Among the elders alone not including servants or guards every uncle and aunt had already reached Rank 2. The aunts who lived in the ancestral estate had also taken up the Moon flow Petal Art like his mother and aunts, a graceful but powerful technique suited for them, and they too had progressed to Rank 2.
Adding them all up, the Ren family now had fifteen Rank 2 experts. Seven were based in the Silver crest City's Ren Family villa, while eight were in the ancestral estate. And this number did not even include the family guards. Some of the guards had recently broken through to Rank 2 as well, further boosting their fighting power.
The picture was becoming clearer to Kaito. His family was no longer as weak as before. With the right planning, careful distribution of resources, and secret use of the Spirit Stone Mine, they could reach new heights. The Endless Mountains, which once loomed as an impossible danger, might soon become a place they could tread confidently.
But for now, he had work to do. His punishment or rather, his responsibility was to take these resources and use them wisely. It was a burden, yes, but it was also the chance to shape the future of the Ren family with his own hands.
Kaito then refined his thoughts carefully and, with Kia's help, began shaping a detailed plan for distributing the family's resources. They spent time going through every item one by one, deciding who should receive what and when. It wasn't just about giving things away it was about using each resource in the most effective way possible to maximize growth across the family.
In addition to the medicals baths he planned to assign, most of the S-grade potions to his young cousins. They were the future of the family, and their foundations had to be strengthened early. With those resources, they could raise their base cultivation much faster, ensuring the family's younger generation would not fall behind. The EX-grade potions, however, he reserved for his uncles. They were closer to the threshold of Rank 3, and with the EX potions, they would be able to make that critical breakthrough and even raise their strengths further after that.
This fit perfectly into Kaito's larger plan. From the beginning, he had decided to reveal only a portion of the Ren family's true strength in Silver crest City. Too much exposure too quickly would only invite attention and danger from stronger families. By allowing his father or his uncles to break into Rank 3, the Ren family could qualify for the recognition of a Bronze-ranked family without showing their full power. That alone would give them protection and status.
As for the other requirements for becoming a Bronze-ranked family. After their successful takeover of the Velthorn family and with the credits he had provided to his second uncle, Kaito was confident they already had enough financial backing to meet the second requirement. Now, all that was left was waiting for his father and uncles to achieve Rank 3. Once that happened, his plan could finally move forward.
As for the family vote, The final decision on whether to bring the ancestral estate out of hiding and let it join the outside world Kaito knew not everyone would agree, but he was already preparing for this. So quietly, he had already spread the word that both his grandfathers were in favor of leaving seclusion. Their support carried great weight in the family, and by letting his uncles hear this in advance, he gave them a gentle push toward his side.