"What do you mean astonishing? That’s simply monstrous! Who would have thought that after thousands of years, the outside world has produced such an unmatched genius again? Given enough time, it’s not impossible for him to become a Martial God."
"Martial God? Hmph, it would be quite amusing to destroy a future Martial God."
Several dark figures stared coldly at Chen Fan.
The more powerful the person they killed, the more satisfied they felt,
but deep within Hei Shan’s heart, the sense of unease grew stronger.
It felt like things were beginning to spiral out of control.
...
Baijiang City.
It’s a super-large city where the Ice Emperor resides.
Similar to Flame Emperor City, the landmark building here is the towering Awakened Association Headquarters.
A few kilometers away from the headquarters, there was another tall building, about ten meters shorter, complementing the high-rise of the association.
This is the Elder Council.
Although the Elder Council could be established in other super-large cities without any danger,
given that the Ice Emperor belongs to a noble family, the Elder Council naturally felt more at ease.
At this moment, on the top floor of the building, there were five elders sitting around a round table with a diameter of a hundred meters.
They all looked quite old, some even with full heads of white hair, but even the three strongest Awakeners in Yan Country did not dare to underestimate them, because each of them represented one of the strongest families in Yan Country, five elders from five noble families.
The depth of their background was something the Awakened Association did not dare to meddle with lightly.
"I don’t think I need to say much about the reason I’ve gathered everyone here today, do I?"
said an elder wearing traditional Tang clothing, sitting in the northern position.
He represented the Su Family. In several elections for the Elder Council, the Su Family always remained stable. Not only because their lineage span thousands of years, but also because the Ice Emperor originated from the Su Family.
For this reason, one seat in the Elder Council was defaulted to the Su Family.
"Isn’t it just a few dead people from Feng Country? What’s the fuss about? Do we really need to hold a special meeting for this?" an elder sitting to the left of the Tang-clad elder said nonchalantly, picking his ear with his hand.
"It’s not just any ordinary person who died; it was Carl from the Revival Association!" an elderly man in black clothes opposite him said sternly.
"That’s right. The Larsen Clan holds a significant position in the Revival Association, and more importantly, the one who died was Carl, the leader of the Larsen Clan. The impact is too significant," another elder in white clothes agreed.
There was only one elder who remained silent, looking completely unperturbed.
"I told you a long time ago not to bring those Feng Country people back. You all didn’t listen, and now that a few of them have died, we’re left to clean up the mess. Isn’t it just causing unnecessary trouble for ourselves?" the previous elder continued, still picking at his ear.
"So what if we brought them over? Not bringing them would have shown our nation’s arrogance?"
"Alright, this isn’t the time for arguments."
The elder in Tang clothing glanced at the ear-picking elder.
It was he who had advocated bringing in the Feng Country people back then.
Was he deliberately going against him now?
But it didn’t matter. According to the principle of majority rule, even if the other opposed, it would only be one vote.
"Revival Association just called, requesting us, the Elder Council, to handle this matter swiftly and give them an explanation. What do you all think?"
"The Jiangnan Martial Arts Association has gone too far, especially that kid named Chen Fan, who dared to kill a member of the Revival Association in broad daylight, in the city, completely lawless. In my opinion, given time, he will become a wanted criminal again. He should be immediately eradicated. As for the other members of the Jiangnan Martial Arts Association, although they didn’t commit the murder, they are still closely linked to this incident. Why not capture them and hand them over to the Revival Association for punishment?"
the elder in black clothes snorted coldly.
"I agree with Old Qin."
The elderly man in white clothes beside the black-clad elder nodded. "I’ve also looked into the details of this incident. The people from the Jiangnan Martial Arts Association normally bully their fellow citizens, which we could tolerate as long as it’s not too much.
But this time, they targeted those from Feng Country and even killed them. This is outrageous. It’s foreseeable that this incident will worsen the impression of Feng Country people towards us, and if it spreads, it might cause other surviving forces to become suspicious of us. The impact is quite severe."
The elder picking his ear burst into laughter upon hearing this.
"Zhao Chunyuan, what are you laughing at? What’s so funny about this?"
The elder in black couldn’t resist slamming the table in front of him.
He had endured this guy for a long time.
"You guys, you never change."
Zhao Chunyuan shook his head, looking at them with eyes filled with sympathy.
"What exactly do you mean?"
The elder in black showed a hint of anger in his eyes.
"I mean, the information I got about this incident is different from what you said. Clearly, those Feng Country people were the ones robbing others first and ended up being killed because they were not skilled enough. Then, those brats from the Song Family, along with someone named Carl, went for revenge,
but they ended up being defeated too. It’s strange. The Song Family is never one to suffer losses quietly. Why haven’t they made any moves on Jiangnan City for so long, instead going to the Revival Association for help? If my guess is right, the Revival Association was pushed by the Song Family in this case as well."
"So what? The fact that the kid named Chen Fan killed Carl from the Revival Association is undeniable. The Revival Association certainly expects an explanation from us, the Elder Council," the elder in black said sternly.
"Also, the Song Family, although competing with us, are still a noble family. Someone dared to openly oppose a noble family. Such defiance cannot be allowed to flourish!"
"Since there are different opinions on this matter, let’s stick to the old rules and vote,"
the elder in white said, looking at the leading elder in Tang clothing.
The latter nodded slightly and then said, "Those who agree with the Elder Council intervening in this matter, please raise your hand."
With that, he raised his right hand.
At the same time, the elders in black and white also raised their hands.
He glanced at the elder sitting diagonally opposite him, who had remained silent since the meeting began.
But he was used to it.
The Yan Family excelled in Beast Taming and had formidable strength, with a Demon Beast of Divine Cultivation Realm guarding the family, thus holding a seat in the council.
Fortunately, unless it involved the family’s interests, he was like a transparent figure.
But just then, that elder slowly raised his hand as well.
The Tang-clad elder was slightly surprised.
"Four votes in favor."
He looked at Zhao Chunyuan.
To his surprise.
The latter shrugged and then slowly raised his hand as well.
"Don’t you despise the Revival Association?" the elder in black mocked.
Of course, he would have mocked him equally if Zhao Chunyuan hadn’t raised his hand.
"Although I hate that you guys are standing up for the Revival Association, especially when they were in the wrong first, you did get one thing right. Even though we compete among ourselves within the noble families, this is between us.
But when it comes to outsiders, the Jiangnan Martial Arts Association dared to challenge us noble families, so we must make an example out of them. Otherwise, what if other Martial Arts Associations follow their lead?"
The Tang-clad elder’s face lit up with a smile.
Indeed, the dignity of the noble family cannot be challenged!
Especially these martial artists in the associations needed to be reminded of who truly called the shots on this land.
"Since it’s unanimously agreed, I will later issue a decree in the name of the Elder Council to the Jiangnan Martial Arts Association, demanding them to come and plead guilty. If they comply, we might be lenient. If they don’t, the Jiangnan Martial Arts Association will cease to exist from then on."