Chapter 85 - 85: Will You Submit To The Wuxin Clan?
"Successor, are you really fourth in strength?"
Inside the Yiran Inn, An Jiuniang covered her small mouth with disbelief all over her face.
The successor whom she managed to invite by chance, was fourth on the list of elites? It was simply a dream!
She had never heard of him accomplishing any impressive feat. There was no need to mention the new king since he was a terrifying existence that could step into the Golden Core stage at any time.
Lin Jin the successor of the Green Dragon Clan had once escaped from the hands of an expert at the Golden Core stage and was famous in the State of Jin!
On the other hand, Ye Wusheng the successor of the White Tiger Clan who had killed the young clan master of the third division of the demon clan was also extremely famous.
Although the other successors were not as good as those two, they at least had some considerable accomplishments, unlike the successor in front of her. Yet, Chen Chen came in fourth place.
"Fourth place? The Wuxin Clan is very unreliable," Chen Chen said with frustration.
An Jiuniang heaved a sigh of relief after hearing his words. 'It seems that the Wuxin Clan has made a mistake. If this successor in front of me is fourth among the elites, I'll kneel down...'
"In fact, it is reasonable to say that I should be the first..." Chen Chen murmured seriously.
Half a month ago, he succeeded in building his foundation, and since then, his status of cultivation had soared to the middle stage of foundation building. Now, he was almost at the late stage of foundation building.
Besides, he had an unprecedented 21st-tier Qi training status. His master said that he was an invincible cultivator below the Golden Core realm.
'I'm obviously in first place.'
'Unfortunately, my status of cultivation soared too quickly and I couldn't spread the word about it in time.'
"Ah, I really envy those who cultivate slowly. They can slowly pretend to be impressive but I can't. I cultivate too quickly. No one noticed me and I was already ahead."
Chen Chen sighed.
On the other hand, An Jiuniang really treated Chen Chen as a lunatic and left in a wretched state while the girls in Yiran Inn were huge fans of his bragging as they seemed to be intoxicated.
...
At this time, countless people in the capital were looking at the so-called State of Jin Elites Ranking List, and Chen Chen's name as the successor of the Tianyun Clan was also widely circulated.
In the Drunken Red House, Hua Hongyan looked at the list with a gloomy expression.
The fourth elite of the State of Jin was completely different from an ordinary successor.
Now, an elite like him actually stayed in a brothel. How great of an honor must that be!
Thinking of this, she couldn't help but be jealous of the Yiran Inn, regretting her decision not to offer 500 Spirit Stones to take the successor of the Tianyun Clan home.
"No, we still have to find a way, this will not work."
...
On the other hand, inside the Floral Moon House, Gu Qingcheng looked at the Elites Ranking List lazily, wondering which one she should make his prey. However, when she saw the fourth name, she sat up violently.
"That shameless freeloader is actually in fourth place! How is that possible!? Could it be that the Wuxin Clan is out of their mind?!"
However, after thinking about it again, Gu Qingcheng changed her mind.
The Wuxin Clan was the dominant force of the State of Jin. Hence, if there was something wrong with her head, the Wuxin Clan would not be affected either.
Could it be that the very unreliable-looking successor of the Tianyun Clan actually is actually that competent?
'If it's true...'
'We'll have to find the stupid authors and fabricate some stories to spread them around. As for whether or not the successor of Tianyun Clan agreed... she couldn't be bothered.'
'It's that idiots fault for teasing me!'
...
The successors of the other clans had also seen the ranking. Some didn't care but some had doubts.
Some were furious too.
For example, Xuan Hong, the successor of Xuanwu Clan, who was at the peak of Foundation Establishment. Among the elites of the State of Jin, he was the strongest in defense.
Usually, he did not even find Lin Jin and Ye Wusheng impressive. This time, he was ranked sixth.
It was a huge insult!
"Chen Chen of Tianyun Clan? Did the Wuxin Clan just pull out such a random person to disgust me? Let's go, I'd like to see how strong this elite in fourth place really is!?"
Xuan Hong smashed the list and hollered angrily.
Xiao Huo of the Vermilion Bird Clan was fine. After all, it had been established a long time ago but who is Chen Chen? He had never heard of him before!
Cultivation was a long process and the ones who were competent would definitely stand out. Could it be that Chen Chen has suddenly attained Foundation Establishment!?
You must be kidding!
Just as he was about to go outside, the two disciples accompanying him hurriedly pulled him back from behind.
"Successor, don't be impulsive.This is the Wuxin Clan's conspiracy. They just want to worsen the conflict between the 35 clans using this list! Don't be fooled!"
"Yes, the Wuxin Clan created this list to cause further conflict. There are many unreasonable points in it, you must not take it seriously!"
Hearing the words of the accompanying disciple, Xuan Hong closed his eyes, the veins on his face bulging. He finally suppressed his anger.
...
In the blink of an eye, another day had passed.
It was the day of the enthronement ceremony for the new king, which had an extraordinary significance for the entire State of Jin.
It was quite in the entire capital where countless armored soldiers were patrolling the city to prevent chaos.
At the altar outside the royal palace, the civil and military officials had already gathered, all ready and waiting for the enthronement ceremony to begin.
At this very moment, a high-pitched voice spread throughout the entire royal palace.
"The 36 clans are the foundation of the State of Jin! According to the custom, the enthronement of the new king must be approved by the 36 clans, so I now invite the successors of the 36 clans to represent their clan masters on stage!"
A soon as he said those words, 35 people stepped on the stage and onto the platform in the middle.
It was just a process and the successors of the 35 clans definitely wouldn't step forth and say that they didn't approve of it.
Chen Chen stood in the middle of the crowd with a solemn expression.
He felt that a lot of people were sizing him up, including the ministers and military personnel.
There was no shortage of Golden core powerhouses among them.
After taking a deep breath, Chen Chen looked ahead while secretly hiding all the ethereality in his body.
He had an Innate Spirit Body and trouble would ensue if anyone saw through him.
"System, I ask you, where is the strongest person within a 30-meter radius?"
It was rare for the successors of the 35 clans to gather and the others were far away too. Hence, Chen Chen had a rare opportunity to ask such a question.
"Putting aside the equipment, you are the strongest, Host."
Chen Chen was slightly stunned to hear those words.
'What does this mean? Doesn't it mean that my equipment can't make the cut?'
Actually, it made sense too. His storage ring was full of treasures and there was barely any equipment. However, he was wearing an inner armor that his Master had gifted to him, though compared to Ye Wusheng who was fully shrouded in armor...
They were worlds apart!
"Seems like I have to organize the equipment when I have the time to. Otherwise, others are going to catch up to me in terms of strength."
Chen Chen felt a sense of pressure, which was rare.
Fortunately, the capital of the country was abundant in resources and since there were 28 auctions, it should not be difficult for him to get some impressive equipment. As for the Spirit Stones, he wasn't bothered at all.
When he slayed a dragon previously, he brought back a few storage rings that contained tens of thousands of Spirit Stones, which was as much as the entire fortune of several Golden core powerhouses.
If nothing worked, he could just take out some treasures and sell them for hundreds of thousands of Spirit Stones.
Hence, he no longer had a concept of Spirit Stones.
...
When Chen Chen was thinking about those nonsensical things, the corners of Chong Ye's lips suddenly curled up when he was on the high platform. He said calmly, "Are you willing to submit to the Wuxin Clan and help us unify the 36 sects?"
As soon as he said those words, the entire altar fell silent!
Some stand-in successors even couldn't help but shiver!
'It's coming! Is the Wuxin Clan trying to figure out what to do? They're so straightforward!'
If they said that they didn't want to, would they be able to return to the clan safely?
The silence lasted for several minutes, and Chen Chen could even hear the heartbeats of some of the successors around him.
Chong Ye, who was on the stage, was looking at everyone and observing the changes in their expressions.
Practicing the Supreme Wang Qing Dao required one to abstain from romance and lust but it was also the technique that was the most sensitive to emotions.
Hence, he could tell at a glance which successors were determined to rebel and which ones were uncertain.
After a long time, a slightly thin figure stood up.
He said in a firm tone, "King, it's better not to joke about some things."
"Oh? Brother Lin, do you think I'm joking?" Chong Ye said indifferently.
"Are you not?" Before the thin figure answered, Ye Wusheng stood up and asked again rhetorically.
When the two of them stood together, their auras fused with that of the high and mighty new king of the State of Jin. All of a sudden, they actually formed a formidable storm on the altar.
The other successors were horrified to see this!
The difference between the strength of the top three elites of the State of Jin and theirs was too drastic. They were not even on the same level!
A few moments later, the storm suddenly ceased.
Chong Ye turned around and said calmly, "Since the two of you think I'm joking, let's take it as a joke."
"However, I'm here to announce another important matter that is not a joke. The ranking of the 36 clans of the State of Jin has been fixed for hundreds of years, but the original ranking seems to be somewhat inappropriate now. Hence, the Wuxin Clan and the royal family have jointly decided to hold another ranking battle in three days. The clan masters are the pillars of the nation and cannot be hurt at all. Hence, the 36 clans will be ranked according to the strength of the successors. Apart from the 36 clans, another 18 smaller clans will be taking part too. Everyone, please be careful not to get into any slip-ups and lose your status as one of the 36 clans."
After saying that, Chong Ye flew away from the altar and floated away.
The group of successors below were looking at each other with different expressions.
The status of the 36 clans was not only related to the affiliation of the clans but also their share of the only medium-grade Spirit Stone mine in the State of Jin.
Besides, medium-grade Spirit Stones were necessary for cultivation after the Golden core stage...
If they lost a share of the mine, the Golden core powerhouses would have a hard time cultivating in the clan!
Upon thinking about that, many stand-in successors could not help but break a sweat!