Ximen Rongcheng was resting with his eyes closed and paid no attention to this guy.
Yang Zhiqiang was another Soul Douluo of the Yang Family. He had originally been the one to act against the Magic Sheep Sect last time.
In the end, an Older Sister one rank higher could scare a man to death, and the mission had been snatched away. That was right—he was Yang Jingxue's younger brother.
"Old Xunzi, your sacrificial hall is already all set up. Tsk, tsk, tsk, the fabric of those gorgeous, elegant red embroidered skirts draped around those large offering tables has some years on it, doesn't it? The horizontal banners, couplets, and paintings are all hung too. Do you need pigs and sheep slaughtered? I'm good at that." The show-off was always instantly familiar with everyone.
Men in their fifties had usually endured hardship, weathered storms, and been tempered by time, showing a kind of mature depth, or refined grace, or steady experience, and so on, forming a stark contrast with youth, handsomeness, and impulsiveness. In short, Sunset Glow lit up half the sky.
So steadiness and restraint were traits they had in common, but Ma Zhibin's personality was no different from twenty or thirty years ago.
"Oh, right, right, where is your Hall of Grace? I need to go pay respects to my family's Old Ancestor," Ma Zhibin shouted.
The Hall of Grace was where people who had shown kindness to the Chen Clan were worshiped. The Ma Family had been longtime friends of the Chen Clan, and ancestors of the Ma Family were enshrined here.
"You're already half an old man. Can you stop making such a racket?" As head of the External Liaison Department, Xue Tianming cared quite a lot about etiquette and had always found Ma Zhibin's personality somewhat hard to stand.
"Lao Xue, while we're alive, being happy is what matters. You're just too stiff.
"Take the way you dress, for example. You're dressed meticulously every day, but I've never heard anyone call you handsome.
"The men of Spirit Hall have always been at the forefront of the continent's fashion trends. Then look at you—an old steel coin."
Ma Zhibin never let anyone off with his mouth. Even when he had no reason, he still had to argue three points.
"..."
"Uncles, brothers, my father will be here shortly. Please wait a moment. Come, have some tea." Seeing this, Chen Xun smoothed things over.
"It's fine. We came together without notifying you beforehand and have disturbed your honored clan. Uncle Yu..." Ximen Rongcheng saw Chen Yu.
"Nephew Rongcheng, Brother Zhiqiang, I'm delighted that all of you could come. This time, you must stay a few more days and let our Chen Clan properly fulfill the duties of a host."
Chen Yu stepped inside, wearing a long front-opening robe. On each shoulder was a relatively narrow lotus-leaf-shaped sword sleeve, and at his chest and abdomen were symmetrical diamond-shaped silver ornaments. The hem was slit up to the waist on both sides. It had a gray-blue base with patterns in the same color family, though they were not embroidered, looking very simple and grand.
"Yu Ge..."
"Uncle Yu..."
Everyone rose and saluted.
"Please sit, please sit!" After Chen Yu took his seat, he waved for everyone to sit as well.
"For all of you to come to the Chen Clan is giving our Chen Clan face..."
After the two sides exchanged pleasantries for a while, Ximen Rongcheng and Yang Zhiqiang got up, saying they were going to Shaolin Lake to enjoy the breeze and the scenery.
Xue Tianming said he needed to use the restroom. At this point, even an idiot like Ma Zhibin could tell they wanted to speak privately, so he tactfully said he would go to the Ancestral Hall to help.
Only Ning Ze and the four members of the Chen Clan remained in the council hall.
"Nephew Ning Ze, thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to come observe our Chen Clan's ceremony. Allow me to thank you first.
"However, permit me to ask: have you come this time for some other matter?
"There are no outsiders in this room. Feel free to speak."
The Ximen Family and Yang Family were the Chen Clan's staunch allies, so it was not surprising that the two families had sent representatives to observe the ceremony this time.
The other three were not necessarily the same.
Ning Ze was the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's permanent representative stationed in Soul Fighting City, with full authority to handle all matters. Of course he had come this time to discuss something important.
"Uncle Yu, my sect's guardian offering, Long Youjun—Uncle Jun—has reached the end of his term as offering. It has been thirty full years, and he is returning to his clan.
"In addition, the continent's situation has been somewhat complicated lately, with undercurrents surging. My sect hopes your honored clan can support us with one or two people.
"If possible, we would like someone from your honored clan to serve as an offering of our sect. As for personal salary and treatment, as well as compensation to your honored clan for combat strength during the period of service, we certainly will not let your honored clan suffer a loss!" Ning Ze said slowly, word by word.
"Support us with one or two people," for the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, meant at least Soul Douluo. Soul Sages would not do. In truth, everyone knew this was a smokescreen. Having them would naturally be pleasing, but not having them would not matter.
In fact, the main point was still the sentence after it. Inviting someone from the Chen Clan to serve as an offering was the real goal.
An offering would inevitably be a Titled Douluo. Either Chen Yu or Chen Hong would have to go, and it would start at ten years.
When everyone heard this, they instantly fell silent.
After pondering for a moment, Chen Yu replied, "This is something we need to discuss. These next few days, you can stroll around our Chen Lin Village. The scenery is still quite good."
"Very well. I will await Uncle Yu's good news. Ze will take his leave first!" Chen Yu's reaction was only to be expected, and at the same time, he was also signaling for Ning Ze to leave first.
After watching Ning Ze leave, Chen Yu had someone invite Xue Tianming back.
Chen Yu got to the point. "Nephew Tianming, in coming here this time, did brother Chen have any instructions?"
As one of the seven major ministers of Soul Fighting City, Xue Tianming was tied up with all kinds of affairs, so of course he would not have come with nothing better to do.
Xue Tianming rose and saluted. "In coming this time, the first reason is to congratulate the Chen Clan on its Clan Celebration. As for the second, Chief Manager Chen entrusted me with a matter to consult your honored clan about."
In Soul Fighting City, the highest authority was the Council of Elders. Each elder family held one seat.
Ordinarily, authorized and entrusted individuals conducted day-to-day management. They were known as Grand Managers and also served as the city lord of Soul Fighting City.
They had to be Titled Douluo in cultivation to keep the people below under control, and they also had to come from an elder family. Each term lasted twenty years, with no consecutive terms allowed!
As a check and balance, three deputies were appointed: one was the administrative deputy, the General Manager of General Affairs; one was the Chief Supervisor, both of whom had direct access to the Council of Elders; and the last was the Soul Fighting Legion Commander, who was subject to dual management by the Grand Manager and the Council of Elders. The current one was Ximen Rongcheng. In this world, the military department was the most important.
This Grand Manager, Chen Weining, was a member of the Profound Heaven Gourd Chen Family, a Level 95 Titled Douluo, and had inherited his clan's title of "Profound Heaven"!
"Oh? If you have any thoughts, brother Chen, please speak."
"Chief Manager Chen means that although wiping out the Magic Sheep Sect this time will have an immediate effect, how things react afterward will take a long time to show its influence, and it still lacks something. So in the long run, we need outsiders to see our potential—our future."
"Then what brilliant plan does brother Chen have?"
"The Grand Manager's idea is to set our sights on the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament, take part in the competition again, and preferably win the championship."
"Continuous deterrence. Not a bad idea."
"But relying solely on the student intake of Soul Fighting Elite Academy won't be enough. This requires the support of the major clans!"
"Then what do the other clans think?"
"Chief Manager Chen entrusted me with consulting the opinions of the various clans. Your noble clan is the first one I've visited."
"If it goes smoothly, what requirements would there be for the candidates?"
"It has already been three years since Qian Daoliu of the Spirit Hall's Qian Clan led his team to win the championship in the last tournament. The new one will begin in two years. In terms of time, we may not make it.
"The Grand Manager means to aim for the next one. This year, we'll have the outstanding twelve- or thirteen-year-olds from each clan enter the Middle School Department of Soul Fighting Academy first. Then, after seven years of training together, the team will have taken shape, their coordination will be smooth, and they'll also be nineteen or twenty years old by then—the most suitable age for geniuses to win the championship.
"If they're too young, their Soul Power Level will be on the low side, making it hard to achieve the goal of winning. If they're too old, it won't show our ability either."
The implication behind "outstanding youths" was that without Innate Soul Power at Level 8, there was probably no need to go.
"That makes sense!"
"And to be safe, we'll arrange another batch in five or six years as double insurance. Even if we can't win the championship either time, as long as the results are good, that'll be enough to deter people!"
"Brother Chen has considered everything thoroughly."
"Then what does Uncle Yu think?"
"Then give us some time to discuss it. Tianming, you're not in a hurry, are you?"
"Not at all, not at all. After your clan's Clan Celebration, I hope Uncle Yu can give me an answer."
"Of course!"
"Very well, Uncle Yu. Tianming will take his leave first."
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