The Hong Family's Clan Association was held once every ten years.
Each ti, all direct lineage branches of the Hong Family were summoned back to gather at the Hong Family estate in Shishui City.
From early in the morning, the air filled with the sound of gongs, drums, and the crackle of fireworks.
The festive atmosphere made all of Shishui City exceptionally lively.
Luxurious chariots and grand, sprawling processions stread endlessly toward the Hong Family's estate.
Among them were guests and friends, admirers drawn by the family's reputation, and, of course, the various direct lineage mbers returning from their endeavors abroad.
"Second Brother, I've received word that Third Elder and his group want to promote Hong Yu to the position of Honorary Elder."
The Fourth Elder and Fifth Elder were both present in an exceptionally large procession, and it was the Fifth Elder who spoke.
He and the Fourth Elder had left the Cyan Nether Sword Sect and were rushing back to Shishui City when they happened to encounter the procession led by the Second Elder, so they joined them. The two of them belonged to the Second Elder's faction. The Second Elder was in charge of the Hong Family's overseas trade, controlling over seventy percent of the family's financial power.
Furthermore, their faction had the Four Kings, who swept through the junior disciples of the Grand Elder's faction, making their influence extrely strong.
The Second Elder was the magnificently-robed old man seated in the center of the chariot.
His eyes were slightly closed, and his graying eyebrows trembled gently with the rhythm of the moving chariot.
After a mont, the Second Elder spoke faintly, "Hong Yu? Is that the little whelp who defeated that brat Renjie to beco the Cyan Nether Sword Sect's new First True Disciple?"
The Fifth Elder nodded.
The Fourth Elder angrily clenched his fists. "To think that little bastard is so capable. If we had known, we should have acted with Lao Qi when he first decided to deal with him. If we had killed that kid back then, we wouldn't have all this trouble now!"
"Idiot."
The Second Elder snorted coldly.
His cold gaze swept over them, causing the Fifth and Fourth Elders to shiver and fall silent. "I warned you repeatedly before I left: if you discover a promising junior disciple, do your best to win them over. If you can't, then eliminate them directly. At the very least, don't let them be recruited by the other side. But look what you've done. You took such a fine prospect and forced him right into the arms of the Grand Elder and Third Elder."
"Th-This really isn't our fault!"
"It's all that bastard Lao Qi's fault. He hid information about Hong Yu from the very beginning and dealt with him in secret. By the ti we found out, their relationship was already like fire and water."
The two of them forced bitter smiles.
A glint flashed in the Second Elder's eyes. "Enough," he said lightly. "Lao Qi is already dead. Stop shifting the bla onto him. By the way, you keep saying that Hong Yu killed Lao Qi. How certain are you?"
"We're about eighty percent certain."
The Fourth Elder continued, "Moreover, we've discovered that the kid's weapon seems to be our family's heirloom treasure, the Breaking Army Spear."
'He even managed to get his hands on the Breaking Army Spear... Just who is this Hong Yu?'
The Second Elder's eyes darted about, glinting with a cold, sinister light. "A re mber of a lowly branch family dares to dream of becoming an Honorary Elder? Don't worry. If he dares to accept the position, I'll make him understand the aning of a fate worse than death..."
His gaze drifted imperceptibly to an iron cage outside the chariot, one covered by a black cloth.
An unshakeable coldness and cruelty settled on the Second Elder's face.
...
The Hong Clan Association was divided into two parts.
The first was a high-level eting, which was essentially a summary of the past decade's developnt and a discussion of future plans.
Hong Yu was naturally among those invited, but he wasn't concerned with family matters and did not attend.
"Nine hundred thirty-six million, seven hundred thirty thousand Gold Coins. That is the profit I have earned for the family over the past ten years."
Amidst a wave of applause, the Second Elder wore a faint smile. He raised his hands slightly to quiet the crowd, and once they had settled, he turned to Patriarch Hong Yuanfeng. "Patriarch, the Hong Family's developnt has been growing stronger and stronger over the years. With such a large and thriving enterprise, we need to appoint more people to manage it."
"What is the Second Elder's aning?" Before Hong Yuanfeng could speak, a white-robed old man seated to his left asked faintly.
This was the Hong Family's Grand Elder.
The Second Elder snorted coldly and said lightly, "My aning is that we should promote so talented younger mbers of the later generation within the family to take on important responsibilities."
The Grand Elder nodded. "And does the Second Elder have any good candidates in mind?"
"Hong Ying, Hong Sheng, and Hong Tianshuang are all talents capable of holding their own. I think we could very well appoint them to Elder positions. As for the Honorary Elder position, which has been vacant for many years, it is of utmost importance to our Hong Family. It requires soone of imnse strength and prestige. I believe no one is more suitable than Renjie!"
The Second Elder spoke each word with resounding force, finishing with a cold glare fixed on the Grand Elder.
The Grand Elder calmly replied, "This old man, however, feels that Hong Yu is more suitable for the position of Honorary Elder."
"Hong Yu?"
The Second Elder sneered. "A mber of a lowly branch family dares to dream of becoming an Honorary Elder? Grand Elder, making Hong Yu the Honorary Elder would be like trying to prop up a wall with mud."
"Heh heh."
The Grand Elder gave a faint smile and did not respond.
The others, however, began to whisper amongst themselves...
"The position of Honorary Elder exists as a deterrent for our Hong Family against other powers. We absolutely cannot be careless about this."
"The Grand Elder's faction is at a clear disadvantage right now. If even the Honorary Elder position is taken by soone from the Second Elder's side, the Grand Elder's faction will be completely marginalized. Besides, those young n the Second Elder just proposed for Elder positions were all personally grood by him."
"I actually think the Second Elder has a point. The Honorary Elder serves as our Hong Family's deterrent tower against other powers; it must be soone with sufficient weight. Young Master Renjie is a True Disciple of the Sword Sect, and I hear he has even broken through to the Celestial Soul Realm. He is more than qualified!"
"So what if he's a True Disciple? Don't forget, Hong Yu defeated Young Master Renjie. He's the esteed First True Disciple!"
For a mont, the entire eting hall erupted in a clamorous din.
Seated at the head of the hall, Hong Yuanfeng's gaze wandered. He glanced at the Second Elder, who was repeatedly giving him aningful looks, and sighed inwardly. 'Second Elder, oh, Second Elder, do you really think I don't want my boy Renjie to be the Honorary Elder? In the past, I wouldn't have even needed your suggestion; I, the Patriarch, would have directly appointed him. But now...'
An image of Hong Yu surfaced in his mind.
He let out a low sigh and said slowly, "Alright, everyone, please quiet down."
Seeing all eyes on him, Hong Yuanfeng took a deep breath. "The matter of the Honorary Elder will be decided later. For now, let's proceed with the second part of the event: the clan's martial tournant! All the major powers of Shishui City are waiting for us at the Martial Arts Arena. We mustn't be rude!"
"Yes!"
Everyone responded in unison.
The Grand Elder and Third Elder, their expressions calm and composed, followed Hong Yuanfeng out of the eting hall.
In contrast, the faces of the Second, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Elders were considerably gloomier. They exchanged a look and followed them out.
The Hong Family's Martial Arts Arena was massive, capable of holding ten thousand people.
The Hong Family's power was imnse, especially after Hong Yu's overwhelmingly domineering return to Shishui City, which had completely awed all the powers, big and small. Now, every prominent figure in Shishui City had gathered at the Martial Arts Arena, specifically to show their support for the Hong Clan Association.
"Thank you all for gracing us with your presence. Next up is the competition between the junior disciples of our Hong Family. After the competition, there will be a major announcent!"
Hong Yuanfeng announced in a booming voice.
The crowd feigned enthusiasm, but they were even more curious. 'What major announcent could be so mysterious?'
Perhaps because of this curiosity, the crowd showed little interest in the subsequent martial tournant. Furthermore, with Hong Yu and the other top talents absent, the performance of the Hong Family's junior disciples was diocre. The matches were like children playing house, making the audience drowsy.
Fortunately, the tournant didn't last long, concluding after just an hour.
Wang Tong had already returned to his family. He had arrived bright and early today specifically to curry favor with Hong Yu. Unfortunately, he hadn't seen Hong Yu even by the end of the tournant, so he could only turn to Hong Yuanfeng. "Patriarch Hong, why haven't we seen your family's Hong Yu, the Eldest Young Master Hong?"
"Er..."
Hong Yuanfeng was taken aback.
'This Wang Tong has always been arrogant and domineering. In the past, he wouldn't give even an ounce of face, even when dealing with directly. But now, he's being so attentive to Hong Yu?'
For a mont, an even more unpleasant feeling stirred in Hong Yuanfeng's heart.
He gave a bitter smile. "Don't be anxious, Patriarch Wang. Hong Yu will be out soon!"
Seeing this, the Second Elder at the side snorted coldly and said in a sardonic tone, "Hmph. For the great Patriarch of the Wang Family to be so concerned about a disciple from a lowly branch family... isn't that a bit shaless?"
Wang Tong shot the Second Elder a glance and retorted shalessly, "So what if I'm concerned about the Eldest Young Master? What are you gonna do about it? Ma Le Gobi, I say, you old goat, did you get too much sea breeze doing business overseas? Did your brain short-circuit? A genius like Young Master Hong Yu being born into your Hong Family is a blessing you should be burning incense and praying to the gods for, yet I hear you're targeting him at every turn?"
"You..."
The Second Elder flew into a rage.
Wang Tong snorted coldly. "Hit if you've got the guts!"
"I... I..."
The Second Elder was fuming, but his strength was only at the Late-stage Earth Soul Realm. How could he possibly be a match for Wang Tong?
Gritting his teeth in frustration, the Second Elder sullenly sat back down.
Hong Yuanfeng could only smile bitterly.
At this mont, the Grand Elder reminded him, "Patriarch, it's about ti."
Hong Yuanfeng paused, then nodded. He stood up, cleared his throat, and announced loudly, "Today, on this joyous occasion of our Hong Clan Association, I, the Patriarch, will announce another major decision! The position of Honorary Elder of the Hong Family, vacant for eight long years, finally has an outstanding clan mber worthy of it."
"I declare that the Hong Family's Ninth Young Master, Hong Yu, will beco the thirteenth Honorary Elder of our Hong Family!"
Hong Yuanfeng pointed to the entrance of the Martial Arts Arena. "Let us welco our Honorary Elder, our peerless genius, the First True Disciple of the Sword Sect—Hong Yu!"
BOOM!
The tens of thousands of people in the Martial Arts Arena erupted in thunderous applause, the sound waves shaking the heavens like a stampede of ten thousand horses.
Beneath the massive entrance, Hong Yu strolled in leisurely, as if taking a walk in a garden.
He walked straight toward the central arena platform. At this mont, Third Elder Hong Tianduan was already standing on the platform, holding the Honorary Elder Token and waiting for him.
"Honorary Elder, please accept the Elder Token!" The Third Elder's face was stern, but inwardly, he was blooming with joy.
Hong Yu felt a little helpless. He hadn't wanted to get involved in this ss, but he had no choice but to agree after the Third Elder's persistent and heartfelt pleas. With a wry smile, he nodded and reached for the Elder Token.
However...
Just as he was about to grasp the Elder Token and beco the supre Honorary Elder of the Hong Family, a cold voice, suppressing a towering rage, suddenly rang out across the Martial Arts Arena. This cold shout instantly silenced the boisterous arena.
"A re mber of a branch family dares to dream of becoming an Honorary Elder? Hmph. Truly audacious. I, this Elder, object to this decision!"
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