Please vote to recommend this story.
Just as Tang Yusheng was about to erupt again, Tang Potian first turned his attention back to Chen Zhang. He put on a "heart-to-heart" expression, his voice brimming with "grievance." "Brother Zhang, this is where you're in the wrong!"
"With such profitable business opportunities, why didn't you think to share a little with our Clear Sky Sect?"
"You know we've always been dirt-poor. We're nothing like your Chen Clan, so rich you practically drip oil."
"Our ancestors shared a deep friendship, and our families have known each other for years. Surely you could let a little broth slip through your fingers for us to taste?"
His words were half sincere and half false, mixing soft appeals with hard pressure. He plainly intended to thrust himself into the affair and disrupt it.
At these words, every gaze in the hall instantly converged on Chen Zhang. The air seemed to freeze as everyone awaited his response.
Faced with this almost shameless provocation, Chen Zhang's expression remained unchanged. A faint, utterly untroubled smile even rose to his lips, as though he were stating something perfectly obvious. His voice rang clear. "To be frank, it isn't that we don't want to. It simply wouldn't be appropriate."
Meeting Tang Potian's suddenly sharpened gaze, he calmly offered a reason none of them had expected. "Brother Potian, the Clear Sky Sect is flourishing at the heart of the Empire, shining like the midday sun. Three Titled Douluo in a single sect-your prestige is formidable."
"If our Chen Clan were to cooperate with your sect on sensitive matters such as armament forging, and word got out, the Heaven Dou Imperial Family..."
He spread his hands, looking quite helpless. "They might well think our two families were conspiring over something we shouldn't,