“You are going to head out? Cough cough!” Luo Ganzhen nearly choked on his saliva.
It was in view of the fact that Luo Tianya was from the side family and didn’t feel a sense of belonging toward the Luo Clan that he allowed the other party to take so many resources at once. His motive was simple—he wanted to bring Luo Tianya onboard the massive ship known as the Luo Clan and convince him to willingly serve as its captain.
Yet, before that fellow even stepped out of the doors of the treasure vault, he was already thinking of slipping away…
You callous man! Can you be any more heartless than that?
I know that you don’t have much regard for the clan head position, but you can’t just dump it aside like that as if it’s dirt!
“Clan head, please hold on for a moment. The elders of the Luo Clan has just pushed a motion forward, and they are waiting for your call on the matter… Once this matter is resolved, you can head anywhere you want to!” Sighing helplessly, Luo Ganzhen said.
“What matter is it?” Zhang Xuan asked.
“Clan head, I believe that you should have heard about how the Zhang Clan has publicly rejected us during the engagement ceremony!” Luo Ganzhen said.
“Un!” Zhang Xuan nodded.
As the primary culprit of the incident, how could he possibly have not heard of it?
“The Luo Clan is the second largest Sage Clan on the Master Teacher Continent, and it has always been held in high esteem. Yet, it was humiliated before all of the powerhouses on the Master Teacher Continent, causing its reputation to be pulled through the gutter! Given that we are weaker than the Zhang Clan, we have resigned ourselves to the fact already… But clan head, you are someone who can defeat even the experts of the Hundred Schools of Philosophers…” At this point, Luo Ganzhen’s eyes lit up.
The middle-aged man before him had comprehended the Spatial Quintessence of Sealing, granting him invincible prowess within his power class. Without a doubt, the latter’s talents had reached a height far beyond his imagination.
“So… our elders have proposed to have you return the humiliation we have suffered back to the Zhang Clan! We hope to re-establish the dignity of our Luo Clan and let the world know that we aren’t to be humiliated!”
“You want to exact vengeance against the Zhang Clan?” Zhang Xuan’s eyebrows shot up in horror.
“Indeed! The head of the Zhang Clan, Zhang Xuan, is at Saint 9-dan primary stage, and he has only made a breakthrough three days ago. No matter how talented he may be, three days will only be enough for him to reinforce his cultivation. There’s no way he could come close to matching you! Clan head, given how you were able to subdue even Nangong Yuanfeng, surely teaching that Zhang Xuan a lesson should be a walk in the park to you!”
The more Luo Ganzhen spoke, the more agitated he became.
“The intention of the elders is to have you challenge the head of the Zhang Clan and teach him a lesson he will never forget. Make him crawl around the ground searching for his fallen teeth! Through cleansing the humiliation that we have suffered, we’ll rebuild the reputation of the Luo Clan and rise up once more!”
In the end, the reason why the Zhang Clan dared to be so arrogant was because Zhang Xuan was the head of the Sanctum of Sages, Yang shi’s senior, and the teacher of leaders of many powers.
But in a fair duel, all those titles he had wouldn’t do him any good! As long as Clan Head Luo Tianya displayed his dominance over Zhang Xuan, no one would dare to laugh at their Luo Clan anymore!
Since the Zhang Clan dared to trample on their dignity to establish their authority, then they couldn’t blame them for doing the same as well!
“I…” Zhang Xuan clutched his hair maniacally.
What the hell is with this turn of events?
Indeed, it is understandable that the Luo Clan would want to cleanse their reputation, especially after they have found themselves a powerful clan head… but the problem is that the darned Zhang Xuan you have been cursing all this while is me!
Are you seriously asking me to beat myself up?
Just what did I do that gave you the impression that I have an interest in self-harm? Do I look like a masochist to you?
“Once this matter is settled, we’ll be able to restore the lost confidence in the Luo Clan and even bring our reputation up to a whole new level… Clan head, I ask of you not to turn this matter down. Once this matter is done, you can go wherever you want to, and we won’t question your decision…” Luo Ganzhen quickly added.
The reason why the Luo Clan wielded so much influence on the Master Teacher Continent was partly because there were many other powers subordinated to it. However, if those powers were to lose confidence in the Luo Clan, they could very well tear away from the Luo Clan and follow other powers such as the Zhang Clan instead.
As such, it was of utmost importance for them to restore their reputation as soon as possible, or else there could be disastrous consequences.
And just establishing a new clan head wouldn’t be enough to restore confidence in the Luo Clan. In the end, the most effective way to convince the other powers that the Luo Clan hadn’t grown weak was to return the humiliation to the Zhang Clan and give that damned Zhang Xuan a hell of a pummeling!
Of course, the earlier conflict with Nangong Yuanfeng did showcase the prowess of the Luo Clan, but the problem was that it might not necessarily be a good decision to besmirch the reputation of the Hundred Schools of Philosophers.
While they might have driven away Nangong Yuanfeng, Luo Ganzhen wasn’t so arrogant as to think that the Luo Clan would actually be able to withstand the wrath of the entire Hundred Schools of Philosophers. At least for the time being, it wouldn’t be a good decision to fall out with them.
“I need some time to think over the matter…” Zhang Xuan replied with a stifled expression on his face.
Why does everyone want to step down on me so much… Does my face look like a good stepping stone?
It’s not as if I had intentionally rejected the engagement to humiliate the Luo Clan…
“There’s no need to think about this matter. Clan head, we have absolute trust in your strength!” Luo Ganzhen continued heaping pressure on Zhang Xuan as he led the latter out of the treasure vault. “The elders are already waiting in the main hall. Once you are done preparing, we can set off right away!”
“Set off right away?” Zhang Xuan nearly fainted on the spot upon hearing those words.
“Indeed, vengeance is a dish best served piping hot! In the tens of thousands of years since the founding of our Luo Clan, when have we suffered such humiliation before? Of course, we can’t and won’t go around spreading the battle between the clan head and the Hundred Schools of Philosophers due to the severe implications of the matter, but given the Zhang Clan’s intelligence network, it’s only a matter of time before they find out about it. If Zhang Xuan were to flee in fear after hearing about it, we would no longer be able to exact our vengeance anymore!” Luo Ganzhen exclaimed in agitation before clasping his fist toward Zhang Xuan.
“Clan head, we implore you to accede to our request this once. This is for the members of our Luo Clan and its tens of thousands of years of heritage!”
“…”
Zhang Xuan had never wanted to cry as much as he did in this very moment.
All of you are so preoccupied with thinking about the interests of the Luo Clan, but have you considered my feelings?
I am not just the head of your Luo Clan but the head of the Zhang Clan as well… Are you all really going to be so cruel as to force me to challenge, slap, and humiliate myself?
Zhang Xuan’s instincts were to flatly reject Luo Ganzhen, but looking into the burning desire in the older man’s eyes, he found that he had no idea how to go about doing so. Thus, after a moment of hesitation, he could only try to put off the decision as long as he could, “Allow me to listen to the opinions of the elders first…”
On the other hand, hearing that the clan head didn’t reject his request straight, Luo Ganzhen heaved a sigh of relief inwardly as he gestured Zhang Xuan forward, “Clan head, this way please!”
As much as he hated Zhang Xuan, he had to admit that the fellow possessed extraordinary capabilities. In fact, it would be no exaggeration to say that he was the greatest pride of the Zhang Clan. If they could just give him a good pummeling, the disgrace suffered by the Luo Clan would be cleansed. Perhaps, they might even be able to bring its prestige to a whole new height!
Very soon, the two of them arrived in the main hall.
The elders of the Luo Clan were already seated within the main hall, and as soon as they saw Luo Ganzhen and Zhang Xuan, they quickly rose to their feet with agitated looks on their faces.
“Clan head, shall we set off right now?”
“Let’s rip that bastard Zhang Xuan a new one!”
“We’ll make that bastard know that snubbing our Luo Clan is the greatest mistake he has ever made!”
…
Impassioned voices could be heard all over the room. It felt as if someone had poured gasoline all around the area, and raging flames would break out as soon as someone snapped his fingers.
“…”
Two words flashed across Zhang Xuan’s mind in this very moment—I’m doomed.
It really felt as if he had dug a pit for himself this time around.
He had come with good intention in mind, wanting to compensate the Luo Clan for what he had done… But in a weird turn of events, he ended up becoming its clan head instead!
And if that wasn’t enough… before he knew it, he was being pressured to pummel himself!
If he were to toss away his disguise and reveal his true identity as Zhang Xuan right now… not only would his ‘compensation’ not be appreciated, the Luo Clan might even think that he was toying with them, thus removing any possibility of reconciliation between the two clans!
In the worst case scenario, it could even provoke a war!
It took Zhang Xuan a very long while to calm down all of the elders enough for him to speak, “I understand your emotions, but I don’t think it’s a good timing to challenge the Zhang Clan right now…”
“I don’t deny that Zhang Xuan is very powerful, such that there’s nearly no one in his cultivation realm who would be a match for him… but clan head, you are someone who managed to defeat even Nangong Yuanfeng! We believe that you’ll be able to thrash Zhang Xuan easily too! We’ll send an official challenge letter to the Zhang Clan and invite the Master Teacher Pavilion to officiate the duel… As long as we follow the proper procedures, the Zhang Clan would be forced to accept our challenge! Why do you say that it’s not a good timing to challenge the Zhang Clan?”
“Clan head, I don’t mean to refute your words, but I feel that this is the ideal opportunity for us to challenge the Zhang Clan too. You are from the side family, and hardly anyone in the Luo Clan has heard of you. If not for your pure bloodline, we would have even doubted if you are a member of our Luo Clan… Since this is the case for us, it would be even more so for the others. This means that we’ll be able to catch the Zhang Clan off guard and teach that bratty Zhang Xuan a lesson. On top of that, we’ll also be able to build your reputation and let the entire Master Teacher Continent know of your prowess…”
…
It didn’t even take a minute for the impassioned elders to tear down all of Zhang Xuan’s arguments.
“…” Zhang Xuan.
Wow, all of you make so much sense… I don’t even know what I can say anymore.
