"Everyone who should be here is basically here."
Wang Chao replied with cupped fists.
In the Southern Barrens today, who would dare ignore their lord?
Even if they were unwilling in a thousand different ways, every faction had still sent heavyweight representatives.
Chu Jiang sat upright upon his throne, his gaze sweeping over the big shots on the cloud platform below, each wearing a different expression. He said mildly:
"Very good."
"I invited you all here today for only one reason: to announce something."
"From this day onward, the Southern Barrens shall have only one voice—the Chu Tian Division."
The moment those words fell, quite a few faces changed slightly.
Yet Chu Jiang acted as though he had not seen it and continued, "The Southern Barrens are a tangled mess of factions, with hills upon hills of petty powers. There are far too many motley forces, which is detrimental to development. I intend to establish the Chu Tian Alliance and consolidate the Southern Barrens."
"Only then can our Southern Barrens gain a firm foothold in the struggles of the great age to come."
He leaned forward slightly, his gaze like lightning as it swept across the entire gathering:
"I have said my piece."
"Who is in favor? Who is against?"
Dead silence.
Several breaths later, a suppressed commotion suddenly broke out across the cloud platform.
The representatives of the various sects wore livid expressions, exchanging uncertain and alarmed glances.
They had thought that Chu Jiang's banquet was, at most, meant to extort some resources and make their factions pay protection fees. After all, that was exactly how the Chu Tian Division had operated when it unified the Land of Chaos.
Pay up, and stay safe.
But who could have imagined it?
The Chu Tian Division's ambitions were actually this immense!