"I only got tricked because I wasn't paying attention. Next time, once I'm prepared, I definitely won't be tricked again. And I'm telling the truth—they still haven't contracted a single Black Iron summoned beast."
"That's true. Every year, many of them take part in the contract ceremony, but it's been a long time since a Black Iron summoned beast appeared."
"There definitely won't be one this year either. Those lowly outsider races can't possibly be stronger than us purple people."
"Indeed. Other than having sharper minds, their aptitude is nowhere near that of us purple people. Last year, our Bai Family contracted two Black Iron summoned beasts."
The younger members of the Bai Family and Cha Family chattered away, deliberately speaking loudly enough for everyone to hear.
The Zhao Family members' faces darkened at those words.
A handsome youth standing at the very center of the square could not help but let a cold glint flash through his eyes.
He was Zhao Buhui, someone in whom the Zhao Family had placed great hopes. He had always regarded his family as extremely important.
Now that he heard these people mocking the Zhao Family, Zhao Buhui was furious. He shot a meaningful look at a fat man nearby.
The fat man nodded and raised his booming voice as he spoke to the clansmen beside him.
"I heard the Bai Family hadn't produced a Black Iron summoned beast for decades. Two appeared last year, but one of them didn't belong to the Bai Family at all—it belonged to their neighbor.
"They forcibly dragged that person over to make up the numbers. Later, that person joined the City Lord's Manor, yet the Bai Family still had the cheek to claim that it awakened in their family. Their skin is really thick enough."
"Yeah, the