The Xiao Family Is Heaven!

The crowd began to argue over whether Little Pagoda really was a legacy of the Transcendent Civilization. Some agreed, while others were skeptical.

After a long argument, a man stepped forward and looked at Ye Tianming. "Young Master Ye, besides being impervious to weapons and immune to all arts, what else is special about this pagoda?"

Ye Tianming had already prepared his answer. "There's a whole other world inside it."

The man hurriedly asked, "What sort of world?"

Ye Tianming made something up. "All the wealth of the Transcendent Civilization is inside Little Pagoda."

The man asked again, "Then do you have a way to open it?"

Ye Tianming looked at him without speaking.

The man understood what he meant and said, "If you can open it, leave the pagoda and go. We absolutely won't make things difficult for you. Everyone here is only after treasure."

Ye Tianming said, "I can't open it either."

"Why?" the man asked.

Ye Tianming said, "The old man told me that every time I advance a realm, one floor will open automatically. If I don't advance, it won't open."

The man fell silent.

Ye Tianming said, "You can't open this pagoda, but I'm sure your families must have a way to open it, don't they?"

He glanced around at everyone, then said, "Your biggest problem right now isn't whether you can open it, but how to divide Little Pagoda among yourselves, right?"

The man nodded. "That is indeed the problem at present."

The reason they had allowed Ye Tianming to keep holding Little Pagoda was that they had yet to find a good way to settle who would own it.

Ye Tianming suddenly said, "I do have an idea."

The man looked at him. "I'd like to hear it."

Ye Tianming glanced at the crowd. "Forgive me for speaking frankly, but none of you here has the ability to swallow Little Pagoda alone. Besides, many of you probably know one another, so you can't possibly fight to the death over it. In that case, why not develop it together?"

The man frowned slightly. "Develop it together?"

Ye Tianming nodded. "Everyone can work on it together. As for how to divide it, that isn't yours to decide anyway. Just leave it to the people behind you."

Develop it together!

At Ye Tianming's words, everyone present was somewhat tempted.

As Ye Tianming had said, none of them had the strength to swallow the Transcendent Civilization's legacy alone. And even if someone did have the strength, actually doing so would offend everyone present. The best solution was therefore to develop it together, so everyone could get a share of the benefits without damaging their relations.

Just then, the man suddenly asked, "Then who will be in charge of Little Pagoda?"

At those words, everyone began eyeing one another warily again. Once Little Pagoda fell into one person's hands, who could guarantee that person's family wouldn't keep everything for themselves after unlocking its secrets?

Just then, Ye Tianming suddenly said, "Why not let me stay in charge of it?"

Little Pagoda: "..."

Everyone looked at Ye Tianming. He said seriously, "If you trust me, you can let me stay in charge. I have four reasons. First, I don't have a powerful force backing me, so I can't keep it all to myself. I don't have the strength, and I wouldn't dare try. Second, I currently lack the ability to fully develop Little Pagoda myself, so you don't need to worry about me keeping it all. Third, I'm just from a lowest-tier family. If I really try to play tricks, it'll be easy for you to deal with me. But if this pagoda falls into the hands of a second-tier family and they play tricks, it'll be far, far more troublesome. What do you think?"

Everyone fell silent at his words.

On careful thought, what he said made a lot of sense.

Ye Tianming continued, "The fourth reason is that I am, after all, the person chosen by the Transcendent Civilization. I've had contact with its people, so I think I can help everyone develop it."

Someone suddenly said, "Ye Tianming, why should we trust you?"

Ye Tianming looked at the speaker. "Then you can have Little Pagoda. I have no objections."

The man's face darkened. Naturally, he wanted it, but he knew perfectly well that the others would never let him have control of it.

Ye Tianming looked around at everyone. "We can all establish an alliance and call it the Transcendent Civilization Development Alliance. It can be based at Guanxuan Academy in the Central Divine Province. Everyone present gets a share, no matter how strong or weak the force behind them is. We'll develop it together and all come out ahead."

At those words, the people from less powerful families immediately grew excited. Some stepped forward at once to voice their agreement.

Those from more powerful families were unwilling to share with everyone, but at the moment, they lacked the ability to claim it all for themselves. Moreover, opposing the proposal now would undoubtedly make enemies. If they failed to claim it all and ended up offending people instead, they would surely be punished when they returned to their families.

Seeing that no one was opposed, Ye Tianming hurriedly said, "Those in favor, please raise your hands."

With that, he raised his right hand.

"I think it'll work."

Just then, Gu Qi from the Other Shore Civilization suddenly said, "If we don't do this, we'll undoubtedly end up fighting. But forgive me for speaking frankly: none of us can actually kill the others. In that case, why not all come out ahead? Besides, Brother Ye is an honest man of good character. Just like me, he's trustworthy!"

With that, he raised his hand as well.

After Gu Qi voiced his support, those from weaker families raised their hands one after another. Before long, eighty percent of the people present had their hands up.

Those who remained were all from more powerful families.

Ye Tianming looked at Zhou Yun, who had not raised his hand either.

Zhou Yun smiled. "Brother Ye, well played. But I have one last question: if we uncover the secret of Little Pagoda, how do we divide it?"

Ye Tianming said, "That's simple enough. Whoever contributes the most gets a larger share, and those who contribute less naturally get less. If you don't contribute anything at all, you'll only get a participation prize."

No one said anything to that. There was no absolute fairness in the world to begin with, and for some of them, getting a share at all was already a gain.

Zhou Yun thought for a moment, then nodded slightly. "That works."

With that, he raised his right hand.

Soon, the remaining people raised their right hands as well.

Develop it together, cooperate and all come out ahead!

Everyone could accept that.

Seeing this, Ye Tianming breathed a sigh of relief. For the time being, his life was no longer in danger, and Tower Ancestor was safe too.

As for the development to come...

He hadn't lied. Tower Ancestor was extraordinary to begin with, and there was enormous value to be developed. As for whether they could actually develop anything, everyone would have to work hard together.

"I disagree!"

Just then, a voice suddenly came from the sky.

Everyone turned to look and saw a group flying through the air. Leading them was a man who appeared to be eighteen or nineteen, dressed in an ornate robe and carrying himself with an impressive bearing.

"It's Xiao Lin of the Xiao Family."

Someone in the crowd suddenly cried out in surprise.

Xiao Lin was one of the core members of the Xiao Family's main branch. Though he was not among its most central members, he still belonged to the inner circle and was quite well known outside the family.

Xiao Lin led the Xiao Family members behind him straight into the crowd. His gaze immediately fixed on Ye Tianming. "Everyone, my earlier words were not directed at you, but at this man. You should all know about the grudge between him and my Xiao Family. Just now, we found the body of Xiao Xue, a member of our family. According to our investigation, he was the one who killed her. So today, my Xiao Family will settle both old and new scores with him."

With that, he walked straight toward Ye Tianming, a powerful presence sweeping out from within him.

Peak Divine Being Realm!

"Wait!"

Just then, Gu Qi suddenly stepped forward and demanded, "Xiao Lin, what do you mean by this?"

Xiao Lin turned to look at him. "Didn't I already say it? Today, my Xiao Family will settle both old and new scores with him."

Gu Qi said, "Your old grudges have nothing to do with us. But now he has the legacy of the Transcendent Civilization, and we've just reached an agreement with him to develop it together so we all come out ahead. What are you trying to do, sticking your nose in now?"

The others also looked toward Xiao Lin, many with hostility in their eyes. It wasn't that they truly wanted to help Ye Tianming. They believed Xiao Lin's talk of killing him was a pretext, and that his real aim was to seize the Transcendent Civilization's legacy.

Sensing everyone's gazes, Xiao Lin frowned. He stared at Gu Qi. "Who are you?"

Gu Qi said, "Never mind who I am. Answer my question first."

Xiao Lin stared at him. "You're not qualified to question me!"

Gu Qi was so furious that he laughed. "Look how damn full of yourself you are. Anyone who didn't know better would think your Xiao Family was a first-tier family! At the end of the day, your Xiao Family is only a second-tier family..."

"Insolence!"

Xiao Lin suddenly swept his sleeve, sending a terrifying force surging toward Gu Qi.

Gu Qi raised his hand and thrust his spear, shattering the force.

Xiao Lin stared at him. "Who are you?"

Gu Qi said, "Never mind who the hell I am. I fucking can't stand the sight of you. Come on, I'll represent the Other Shore Civilization and fight you one-on-one!"

With that, he charged straight at Xiao Lin.

Everyone: "..."

Watching Gu Qi charge at Xiao Lin, Ye Tianming suddenly realized that, for scions of these great families, face was often the most important thing. They had a sense of family honor and couldn't bear being slighted. They could lose anything, but they absolutely could not lose face; that was worse than killing them.

Face!

After a moment's thought, Ye Tianming suddenly looked up at the Xiao Family members, his face full of grief and indignation. "Doesn't your Xiao Family just want the Transcendent Civilization's legacy? I know your Xiao Family is vast and powerful, and we can't beat you. I'll give it to you!"

With that, he hurled Little Pagoda toward the Xiao Family members.

But just then, a man in purple robes suddenly rushed out and snatched Little Pagoda out of the air. He turned to Ye Tianming. "Young Master Ye, the Xiao Family is only a second-tier family. They're not invincible. And remember, Little Pagoda belongs to everyone now!"

With that, he hurriedly returned Little Pagoda to Ye Tianming, because everyone around him was staring at him, afraid he would seize it.

After taking Little Pagoda back, Ye Tianming said gravely, "You have no idea how terrifying a second-tier family is. I'd advise you not to offend them."

The purple-robed man hesitated, then said, "Young Master Ye, forgive me for speaking frankly, but a family like the Xiao Family really is a behemoth to you. To us, though... they're not that much. I don't mean anything else by saying this. I just want to tell you that many of us here come from families with some power. Do you understand?"

Ye Tianming shook his head. "Not really. I only know that the Xiao Family said they were heaven in the Guanxuan Universe."

"Fuck!"

The purple-robed man frowned. "Have they gone mad?"

The others around them frowned as well and looked at the Xiao Family members. Had the Xiao Family gotten that full of itself?

The Xiao Family members, meanwhile, looked utterly bewildered. Had anyone in their family ever said that?

Ye Tianming held Little Pagoda out to the purple-robed man again. "Brother, you'd better hold on to the pagoda! I wouldn't dare offend the Xiao Family. You simply don't understand how terrifying a second-tier family is. A single word from them can decide a family's life or death. Take my advice and don't offend them lightly, or a single word from them could leave you dead without a burial place."

The purple-robed man did not take Little Pagoda. He looked at Ye Tianming. "I'm from a second-tier family myself. I'm Li Zheng of the Li Clan."

He leaned closer to Ye Tianming and said in a low voice, "Brother Ye, I know you're putting on an act. You want to turn everyone's anger against the Xiao Family. I can play along, but you need to give me your word and show me your sincerity."

Ye Tianming looked at Li Zheng in silence. Damn it, not one of these scions of top families is simple.

Li Zheng looked back at him, waiting for his answer.

Ye Tianming naturally understood what he meant. He said at once, "I obtained some special things from the Transcendent Civilization... I can share them with you."

Li Zheng stared at Ye Tianming for a moment, then smiled. "I believe you."

With that, he suddenly turned to the crowd. "Everyone, I am Li Zheng of the Li Clan. My ancestor served as chief minister of the Inner Pavilion for a long time... Little Pagoda belongs to all of us, yet the Xiao Family has come to seize it by force today. They clearly don't take us seriously at all. Didn't the Xiao Family say they were heaven in the Guanxuan Universe? Then today, let's see whether the Xiao Family really is heaven in the Guanxuan Universe!"

"Fuck them!"

Someone suddenly raised an arm and shouted, "What's so great about the Xiao Family? We support the Li Clan! Fuck them!"

"We support the Li Clan!"

"We're willing to follow Young Master Li..."

"..."