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Having returned to Zhu Gate, it was already nearing nighttime.

After a busy day, he was tired and soon fell asleep early.

However, deep into the night, Qin Yang suddenly appeared in his room, startling the alert Zhu Minglang.

“The master has sent for you,” Qin Yang, who appeared and vanished like a phantom, was dressed in black brocade that blended into the night. If not for the glimmer in her eyes, Zhu Minglang would have thought there was a ghost in his room.

“What is it that can’t wait until tomorrow?” Zhu Minglang was still very sleepy.

“It’s about the matter of taking an oath of residence,” Qin Yang added.

Zhu Minglang immediately sprung up from his bed and splashed his face with cold water.

Zhu Minglang’s building was quite far from Zhu Heavenly Officer’s study, chosen precisely to avoid disturbance from his father.

This father of his might command awe and authority without showing anger outside, but in truth, he was quite the chatterbox, which Zhu Minglang sometimes found annoying.

Approaching the study, the building itself wasn’t particularly large. It was surrounded by peach trees, an open and spacious wooden bookhouse without an attic, filled with many ancient artifacts, mostly historical casting tools.

The night was cool, stepping into the study, one could see that the opposite side was completely open, facing a glistening lake.

The stone lanterns standing in the water illuminated the gently swaying waves with even more grace. Looking along the lake surface, one could even spot several wooden boats slumbering under the moonlight at a great distance…

“Hungry?” Zhu Heavenly Officer was sitting in front of a long table laden with food and drink.

Observing his ravenous eating, it seemed he must have been busy with something during the day and hadn’t managed to eat.

“Not hungry, please go ahead,” Zhu Minglang shook his head.

“The matter regarding the Li Chuan Continent is almost certain now; there truly are Ancient Ruins there. No matter how I threatened or tempted, those old codgers just wouldn’t budge,” said Zhu Heavenly Officer as he took a sip of his liquor, casually using a nearby piece of silk to wipe his mouth.

“Then I’ll have no choice but to hurry back to Li Chuan as soon as possible and take those people I know to flee,” Zhu Minglang said helplessly.

Zhu Minglang could not stand idly by and watch the people of Li Chuan Continent be reduced to slavery.

“Now we have two options. The first is to break faces with them directly, eliminating whoever competes with us.”

“The second… well, this is a method they proposed, and it puts us at Zhu Gate at a great disadvantage, so I believe declaring war directly on them is the more secure option.”

Clan war declarations were somewhat rare in the stable and clear-cut power structure of the Supreme Court Imperial City, but were quite common in other major realms.

It was nothing more than irreconcilable differences between powers, turning them into enemies, where upon encountering members of the opposing side, a fight was almost certain.

At the lighter end, they would leave someone crippled or wrecked, at the worst, it led directly to slaughter.

“Just tell me about the second method for now, how is it detrimental to us?” Zhu Minglang inquired.

Implementing the first method directly was too violent!

Zhu Heavenly Officer actually suggested such a course of action; he must be confident enough in his ability to wipe out competing powers, or at the very least, leverage the growth of Zhu Gate to force the opponent to back down knowing the difficulty.

But by doing so, Zhu Gate would likely make many enemies!

Zhu Gate itself had only risen to become the leader of the clan powers in recent years; its foundations were not yet firmly established.

“The second method, plainly put, is their way of humiliating us. You know that the true strength of Zhu Gate doesn’t lie within the clan itself, but rather in those powers that prosper and suffer together with us, like your grandfather’s Yaoshan Sword Sect…” Zhu Heavenly Officer stood up and faced the open wall, gazing out at Droplet Lake enveloped by the night.

“I’m aware of that, so even if we have to eliminate those powers, it is mostly up to others to take action,” Zhu Minglang said.

“They know our clan’s focus isn’t on nurturing Divine and Mortals or Dragon Shepherds, so they deliberately integrated the competition into this major power contest. Those shrewd old foxes don’t want to wade into murky waters themselves, so they push it onto their young disciples.”

“Integrate the competition into a major power contest?” Zhu Minglang was somewhat surprised to say.

A competition was a contest between powers.

Plainly speaking, it meant employing the entire power’s might to secure greater benefits for one’s own power.

It is usually the figures at the level of Uncle-Master and Grandmaster who jointly make decisions, especially in the case of territorial disputes where large-scale conflicts and direct declarations of hostilities often occur.

In fact, it’s the influence of the Dragon Shepherds; dragons consume an enormous amount of resources, and even a wealthy city may not be able to sustain the expenses of a Dragon Shepherd Team.

Not to mention those forces involved in dragon raising—they invest huge sums of money and a great deal of manpower each year in feeding Juvenile Spirits, collecting Juvenile Spirits, and selecting Juvenile Spirits.

Rich territories are fiercely contested for control, with forces frequently clashing on a grand scale!

As for the major comparison of forces, it is purely a competition among the young disciples of the major forces, focusing on friendly sparring and stopping when a point is made.

Since they are all young, with limited connections and power, even if some friction arises between two forces during the competition, it’s unlikely to affect the overall harmony. The disciples will ultimately seek their elders’ decision, and the elders usually handle issues amicably, taking both sides’ backgrounds into account.

Even if there are incidents like Zhu Tong being killed in action or Zhu Heavenly Officer killing Hao Shaocong, it wouldn’t lead to an eruption of grudges between Zhu Gate and the Purple Sect Clan.

“Do you think they’re going too far?”

“It seems I, Zhu Heavenly Officer, have been far too lenient with these pedantic, stubborn, arrogant fools.”

“Don’t go out casually these days. I’ll have the people from Broken Gate first wipe out a few of the minor forces causing us trouble, cut off a few of the Imperial Dynasty’s military supply lines, and also call over the Black Armor Army from Pei Country…”

Zhu Heavenly Officer was seething with fury, as if he had suffered a grave injustice over the competition for succession during his recent visit to the court.

“Father, please calm down,” urged Zhu Minglang.

“Calm down? They’re practically trampling all over us. Our Zhu Gate doesn’t cultivate Dragon Shepherds or God and Mortal beings, but they want us to compete for the territorial rights of the Ancestral Dragon City-State in the major comparison of forces. It’s no different from them telling us to get lost. Son, even if the land had nothing to do with you, even if it were a completely new land with which we had no association, the way they’re pushing us out is too much to swallow. Do they really think we’re still the insignificant family from before?” Zhu Heavenly Officer said indignantly.

“Father, let’s follow their wishes and decide the competition based on the major comparison of forces. Nan Lingsha and I have both already entered and made it to the second round,” Zhu Minglang said.

“How could that be okay? When compared to those Sect Forests with thousands of years of heritage, our Zhu Gate disciples are at a great disadvantage. Why don’t they compare their forging skills with us instead?” Zhu Heavenly Officer stated.

“So, Father, would you rather wipe out their Sects than believe that I can distinguish myself in this major comparison of forces?” Zhu Minglang asked.

“It’s not a question of trust, it’s a matter of fairness. We are the newest and largest of the Six Great Clans; there will always be old clans and Sect Forests who disapprove of us. If we compromise on certain matters once, there will be a second time, a third time… There’s no need to bother with their so-called major comparison of forces. I’m going to see what they’ll use to compete with us for that parcel of land in the Ancestral Dragon City-State—we, the Zhu Gate, will claim it!” Zhu Heavenly Officer declared.

Zhu Minglang nodded.

Indeed, when it came to the whole matter, the various forces of the Supreme Court Courtyard Continent bullying Zhu Gate in this manner was just them throwing their weight around.

“How about this? We can accept their proposal, but all the major forces need to contribute more resources to the competition. After all, it’s a competition between forces, not just a contest between disciples. Why would they only offer such measly trinkets? If we’re going to play, let’s play big!” Zhu Minglang suggested.

Zhu Heavenly Officer’s eyes lit up.

What a good idea!

Agree to this method, but with everyone upping the stakes, increasing the scale to what is appropriate for a true competition.

As for the Zhu Gate, we basically don’t need to offer anything; we just need to share the ownership rights of the Li Chuan Continent, allowing all forces to qualify for the competition!

“The Red Bird City of Purple Sect Clan, Thunder Iron Mine of the Royal Family, the True Fire Refining Ding of Azure Dragon Palace, the Forging Camps under the control of the Church’s empire… I have long desired these valuable resources and have been at a loss for a reason to have them transferred to us.” A smile quickly spread across Zhu Heavenly Officer’s face.

“They want to make things difficult for us; we’ll just strip them of a layer of skin. Father, tomorrow you just need to put on a warlike stance. Then, let those forces friendly to us feign dissuasion and suggest everyone raise the stakes for the competition…”

Zhu Minglang picked up his wine cup, handed it to Zhu Heavenly Officer, and continued,

“The forces friendly to us should make big bets first, at least of a city-state’s resource level, to force the other forces to either withdraw from the competition, fearing too great a loss, or to scrape off a layer of skin. When Nan Lingsha and I win this competition and take all the benefits, we will return the resources of our friendly forces in full, and split the resources of the other forces fifty-fifty between us.” Zhu Minglang picked up his wine cup and poured a glass for both himself and Zhu Heavenly Officer.

Upon hearing this speech, Zhu Heavenly Officer’s previous annoyance vanished, and his face was full of smiles.

He raised the glass that Zhu Minglang had poured for him, clinked it against his son’s, and said, “To fifty-fifty shares!”

In front of the house, Qin Yang, clad in black brocade, stood quietly.

Her gaze swept across the faces of the father and son, noticing their smiles and unspoken understanding, as cunning as a pair of old foxes…

Which power was about to have a streak of bad luck?

Even when Zhu Gate was only the least of the Six Great Clans, Zhu Heavenly Officer and Zhu Minglang seldom came out worse in dealings with the major powers.

Now that the family was prospering, those forces still troubling Zhu Gate everywhere likely wouldn’t fare well.