16 Family Clan Meeting

Today, Anyang City's defenses had become exceptionally tight. Anyone entering or leaving the city had to undergo strict inspection, while multiple squads of armored guards conducted crisscrossing patrols through the streets.

The entirety of Anyang City was the Chen Family's private domain, and its army had likewise been established by the Chen Family. These soldiers received no salary from the Izumo Empire; their provisions and pay came directly from the Chen Family. Thus, they carried out the Chen Family's orders with absolute rigor.

No one with ill intentions could be allowed to infiltrate the Chen Family's Family Clan Meeting.

The Chen Family's Family Clan Meeting was an exceptionally grand event.

Aside from the direct descendants already at the Chen Family headquarters in Anyang City, the Chen Family's branch lines from other towns had also sent their most outstanding juniors to participate.

For those from the Chen Family headquarters, the Family Clan Meeting was an occasion to show off, while for the descendants of branch lines, it was an opportunity to soar to greatness in a single leap.

Should any branch descendant display extraordinary talent and catch the eye of the clan's higher-ups, they would qualify to enter the family headquarters. Not only would their own status change beyond recognition, but the branch they belonged to would also receive immense benefits.

A massive plaza within the Chen Family grounds had been furnished with temporary seating. Apart from the direct members of the Chen Family headquarters, the branch lines from each town occupied their own sections. Representatives of other factions had also been invited to attend as guests.

The Murong Family, along with several other forces that had business dealings with the Chen Family or connections with King Yanling and Marquis Anyang, had sent representatives from the military to attend as well.

The many awnings around the enormous plaza were already packed with people. In the middle of the plaza stood a Testing Platform, upon which rested a pitch-black Magic Stone Tablet.

"Family Head has arrived!"

Following the loud shout of an attendant, three figures descended slowly into the plaza from the sky, their Dou Qi Wings trembling behind them.

The man in front wore solemn red-and-black robes. The deliberately grown beard on his face made him appear imposing and steady, while his long black hair was bound beneath a purple-gold royal crown, revealing his blazing ambition. Behind him, a pair of jet-black Dou Qi Wings displayed boundless dominance.

This was the Chen Family Head, Chen Yuan—a Five Star Dou Huang and one of the strongest experts in the Izumo Empire.

Even without releasing any aura, those dazzling Black God Wings alone placed tremendous pressure upon everyone present.

The two men following behind Chen Yuan were Chen Ming and Chen Yang. Both possessed the cultivation of a Dou Wang and held equally lofty positions within the Chen Family.

"Greetings, Family Head!"

All the Chen Family members in the plaza, including both direct descendants and those with outside surnames, cried out excitedly upon seeing Chen Yuan in person.

The outsiders who had come to observe also rose from their seats. Though they did not need to salute with the same fervor as the Chen Family descendants, they still showed sufficient respect toward a Dou Huang expert.

The Chen Family's current standing in the Izumo Empire owed much to Chen Yuan and the former Family Head, the two Dou Huangs.

Certainly, the other members of the Chen Family had also contributed to its development, but none could compare with the two Dou Huangs.

The Chen Family's current power had already become a serious threat to the Chu Yun Royal Family, yet the royal family did not dare touch the Chen Family precisely because it possessed two Dou Huangs.

The weight carried by a Dou Huang expert was simply too great. There were only seven Dou Huangs in the entire Izumo Empire.

Chen Yuan waved his hand, calming the crowd's fervor. He then headed toward his exclusive seat with Chen Ming and Chen Yang.

Only after Chen Yuan had taken his seat did everyone else return to their places.

Chen Yuan swept his gaze over the seats below but did not find Chen Cheng. His brows furrowed slightly, and he summoned a Steward serving nearby, asking, "Was Cheng'er informed about today's Family Clan Meeting?"

The Steward Chen Yuan had called over hurriedly replied, "In reply to the Family Head, this old servant informed the Young Master long ago. Since the Young Master has not arrived yet, he has probably overslept."

Chen Cheng did not ask any further after hearing the Steward's words. Still, he could not help feeling somewhat disappointed that his son had failed to attend such a grand event.

"Hehe, Family Head, I recall that some time ago, the beautiful young woman at the Young Master's side had an unusual relationship with him. Young people are full of fire, after all, so it is inevitable that they might lose restraint. It is understandable that he got up late." Chen Ming smiled meaningfully as he spoke in a low voice beside Chen Yuan's ear.

Chen Yuan glared at Chen Ming. Chen Ming immediately shrank back, chuckled awkwardly twice, and hurried back to his seat. Chen Yuan did not reprimand him for his loose tongue. Instead, he called over the Steward and gave him an order.

"There is no need to wait. Go notify Chen Guang and have him announce the start."

Upon hearing this, the man quickly stepped down from Chen Yuan's seating area and headed toward the center of the plaza. He then relayed Chen Yuan's words to the attendant presiding over the Family Clan Meeting.

The attendant overseeing the Family Clan Meeting was only a Da Dou Shi named Chen Guang. Though his cultivation was not high, he was an excellent speaker. He had hosted many Family Clan Meetings, each of which had concluded successfully.

Having received the Family Head's order, Chen Guang delivered an inspiring speech before officially announcing the start of the Family Clan Meeting.

The gathered youths had finally been waiting for the meeting to begin. Every one of them was eager and exhilarated, hoping to make a stunning impression and steal the spotlight at the Family Clan Meeting.

"You all know the rules, right? Next, when I call your names, come up and undergo the test," Chen Guang announced loudly.

"East Mountain Town: Chen Xiaoyue, Chen Yu, Chen Han," Chen Guang read from a list.

To prevent confusion caused by duplicate names, Chen Guang always announced both the location and the name. Aside from the Chen Family headquarters in Anyang City, there were quite a few Chen Family branch lines in other small towns.

These branch lines generally held a preliminary test in their own towns. They then selected the three to five most talented individuals, who would be brought by an elder to the Chen Family's Family Clan Meeting.

Each time, the younger generation of the branch families was tested first, followed by the youths from the headquarters.

The branch lines submitted their lists in advance. During each test, all participants from the same branch line were called onto the stage together.

After Chen Guang called the names, three people stepped onto the Testing Platform in the middle of the plaza. Two boys and one girl, all of them flushed with excitement.

"Line up and come one at a time. Chen Xiaoyue, you go first. Focus your power and press your palm against the Magic Stone Tablet," Chen Guan instructed softly.

"Yes," Chen Xiaoyue quickly answered.

She was fifteen years old. The fact that she had been chosen to represent her family at the Family Clan Meeting was enough to prove that her talent was exceptional.

Following Chen Guang's instructions, Chen Xiaoyue gathered her strength and pressed her palm against a smooth, enormous black stone.

The young girl was immensely excited, staring fixedly at the Magic Stone Tablet. Slowly, five large words appeared upon its surface.

"Dou Qi, Ninth Stage."

The dazzling golden words were especially eye-catching. Everyone's gazes were drawn to those five words.

"Ninth Stage? That is truly impressive. The very first participant has already given us such a huge surprise." The crowd below began murmuring among themselves.

"Her talent is truly impressive. I've heard of East Mountain Town. It isn't far from Yellow Rock City and seems to be a very small town. Resources are scarce there, yet Chen Xiaoyue managed to cultivate to the Dou Qi Ninth Stage in such an environment. It seems she has a good chance of entering the headquarters for further training this year," said a young member of the Chen Family.

"That's not bad either. She's quite pretty too. If she comes to the headquarters, she'll be a blessing for us as well," a young man said with a grin.

"Don't you dare mess around. Bullying a fellow clansman is a serious crime. If the Family Head holds you accountable, even your grandfather won't be able to protect you," said another young man beside him, his face changing drastically as he hurriedly warned him.

"Hey, what are you thinking? Do I look like that kind of person?" the first man hurriedly defended himself.

The first person tested had already reached the Dou Qi Ninth Stage, causing quite a stir. However, the most shocked were the few people from the Green Mountain Town branch of the Chen Family.

"Xiaoyue, y-you... when did you break through to the Dou Qi Ninth Stage?" one of the two people who had gone onto the stage with Chen Xiaoyue asked in shock.

"Exactly! During the family tournament just a few days ago, you were only at Dou Zhi Li Rank 8. It's only been a few days—how did you break through already?" The other person looked equally disbelieving.

Chen Xiaoyue withdrew her hand, and the large golden words on the Magic Stone Tablet slowly faded away. Unconcealable delight filled her small face as she smiled brightly at her two companions. "I broke through just two days ago."

The girl's casual tone, as if chatting about everyday matters, dealt a severe blow to the two companions who had come with her.

Just a few days ago, the three of them could still be said to be evenly matched in talent. But now, after the test, they realized that their meager Dou Qi amounted to nothing before the girl.

"Xiaoyue, you really gave us a huge surprise," Chen Yu said bitterly.

Below the stage, in the seating area for the East Mountain Town branch of the Chen Family, the branch elder who had come with the testing group was also beaming with delight, unable to hide his smile.

"Good, excellent! I never expected Xiaoyue to break through to the Dou Qi Ninth Stage at this time. It seems she has a chance to enter the headquarters this year. And once someone from our branch enters the headquarters to cultivate, our branch will receive a batch of cultivation resources from the headquarters." The branch elder's thoughts ran wild.

"Chen Zhengshan, congratulations. I never thought your East Mountain Town would produce such a genius. It seems your status will undergo a major change this year," people from other branches beside the East Mountain Town seats congratulated him warmly.

"Haha, same to you, same to you." The elder from East Mountain Town laughed excitedly and returned each person's congratulations.

On the Testing Platform, Chen Guang looked at Chen Xiaoyue with a little more satisfaction. He spoke kindly, "Chen Xiaoyue, you are quite good. According to family rules, anyone who reaches the Dou Qi Ninth Stage may collect one portion of Qi Gathering Powder from the clan's medicine pavilion. Once the test is over, I'll take you there."

At his words, Chen Xiaoyue's eyes curved into crescents. She thanked him excitedly, "Thank you, Elder."

After reaching the ninth stage of Dou Qi, one could attempt to condense a Dou Qi Vortex. If successful, one would advance to become a Dou Zhe. But if one failed, one would fall back to Dou Zhi Li Rank 8.

Qi Gathering Powder was a fourth-grade medicinal pill. Its effect was to allow a person at the Dou Qi Ninth Stage to condense a Dou Qi Vortex with absolute certainty.

The value of a fourth-grade medicinal pill like Qi Gathering Powder was not low. Yet for a family of the Chen Family's level, they would not begrudge spending one fourth-grade pill in exchange for a young genius.

"Hehe, I'm not an elder. Just call me Deacon," Chen Guang said with a smile.

The Chen Family only had four elders—the four great Dou Wang of the direct line. Everyone else was merely a deacon. Deacons held a lower status than elders, but they were still figures with real authority in the Chen Family. Beneath them were managers and stewards with surnames from outside the family. They held no real power and handled miscellaneous affairs, serving the direct descendants of the Chen Family.

On the main platform, Chen Yuan's gaze was also fixed on the Testing Platform.

He had been watching the first person to be tested. Although Chen Xiaoyue's Dou Qi Ninth Stage cultivation was nothing remarkable among the Chen Family's direct line, he also knew that the conditions of the Chen Family branches were vastly different from those at the headquarters.

Basically, none of the Chen Family branches had an alchemist in residence. Obtaining medicinal pills for cultivation was exceedingly difficult. For Chen Xiaoyue to cultivate to the Dou Qi Ninth Stage in such an environment, her talent was indeed worthy of praise.

"Family Head, this little girl has good talent. We can let her enter the main family and study for a while," Chen Ming said to Chen Yuan.

"Mm. After some time, we'll see how her actual combat ability is during the family assessment. Oh, go make the arrangements. When drawing opponents for the matches, give her a Two-Star Dou Zhe opponent," Chen Yuan said, nodding in satisfaction before giving Chen Ming his instructions.

"A Two-Star Dou Zhe? Isn't the Family Head expecting too much of her?" Chen Ming's face showed some surprise.

Although Chen Xiaoyue would have taken the Qi Gathering Powder by the time of the family assessment a few days later, and her cultivation would advance to One-Star Dou Zhe, she would only have just become a Dou Zhe. While she would have the authority to choose a Cultivation Method, there would be too little time for her to begin cultivating one. She still could not compare to a Two-Star Dou Zhe who had already come into contact with a Cultivation Method.

"She doesn't need to defeat her opponent. As long as she displays sufficiently outstanding combat awareness, she can enter the main family," Chen Yuan explained.

"Fine. I'll handle it when the lots are drawn," Chen Ming said with a nod.

The tests for Chen Yu and Chen Han afterward were not as attention-grabbing as Chen Xiaoyue's. Both were at the seventh stage of Dou Qi, with mediocre talent.

After that, people from several other branches of the Chen Family were tested, but there were basically no particularly outstanding individuals. There were not even many who had reached the Dou Zhe level.

Most of these branch families had settled in small cities and towns, where resources were scarce and it was difficult to cultivate geniuses.

Only after testing the members of the Chen Family's branch lines did they begin testing the direct descendants of the Chen Family.

The direct descendants had been placed later in the testing order because they feared that their exceptional talent would severely discourage the talented youths of the branch lines and cause them to lose confidence.

Although testing later would still discourage those people, at least before their own tests, they could still dream of standing out.

"Chen Linna." Chen Guang continued calling names. By now, all those being tested were direct descendants of the Chen Family.

After Chen Guang called the name, however, there was no movement below the stage, nor did anyone step onto the Testing Platform.

"Chen Linna, come onto the stage for testing at once." Chen Guang's expression turned somewhat displeased as he shouted again.

Inside a shaded awning at the edge of the plaza, two girls were gathered together. When Chen Guang called Chen Linna's name, one of them immediately revealed an extremely unwilling expression.

"Why do I have to go first? This is so annoying." Chen Linna wore a miserable expression as she spoke with great reluctance.

"Alright, Nana, hurry and go. If you don't, Uncle Chen Guang is going to get angry. Your cultivation isn't bad either, so there's nothing embarrassing about it. Besides, aren't I here with you?" The girl beside Chen Linna tried to persuade her, but Chen Linna failed to notice the schadenfreude on the girl's face.

"Xiao Rou, you're so nice." Chen Linna forced out a small smile and spoke to the girl. Then, dragging her feet, she headed toward the Testing Platform.

Just as Chen Linna was about to step onto the Testing Platform, a sudden commotion broke out among the spectator seats.

"Wow, look! Who's coming over there? She's so beautiful!"

"So gorgeous! A goddess—I'm fainting, I'm fainting!"

"I've never seen her before. Is she from a branch of the Chen Family too? I never expected a branch to produce such a stunning beauty. She's simply too beautiful."

"But who is that man beside her?"

The disturbance among the crowd affected more and more people. Soon, everyone in the plaza had gathered their gazes in one direction, unable to look away.

On the road behind them, a man and a woman walked side by side at an unhurried pace.

The woman wore a dark red dress that made her shine brilliantly. Her steps were light as she moved forward with elegance.

Though she was too far away for her features to be seen clearly, her perfect figure alone made everyone present pale in comparison.