Chapter 320 - 5: Advancement to Foundation Establishment, The Prelude
Chapter 320: Chapter 5: Advancement to Foundation Establishment, The Prelude
"Supreme Elder, it is a matter of great importance." As Chu Hanzhen spoke, her voice held an unmistakable sigh of emotion and excitement. "I have discovered another Child of Heaven’s Will! Of course, he doesn’t admit it himself, but his Talent is absolutely on that level."
With that, she recounted everything that had happened in Luo Zhiwei’s courtyard in great detail. She described how Zhong Ming had seen through the Time Array Patterns at a glance, achieving Initiation in the top-tier Array, the *One Origin Rebirth·Chronological Tree Diagram*, and then cultivating it to the Third Realm within half a day.
"Initiation at a glance? Reaching the Third Realm in half a day? Hanzhen, are you sure you’re not mistaken? Or was it just an ordinary Array?"
After she had said her piece, Chu Hanzhen saw, just as she had expected, that the family elders could hardly believe her words.
Seeing this, Chu Hanzhen shrugged, her voice calm yet firm. "This matter concerns the future of our family. How could I make such a reckless claim? Besides, if his Talent weren’t truly on an exceptional level, I wouldn’t have hastily convened an emergency family meeting."
Her guarantee, rather than quelling the discussion, only made the clamor in the hall grow louder.
"If his Talent is truly that exceptional, he must be another Child of Heaven’s Will."
"Prince Qinghe controls a vast territory. It’s not all that surprising for him to find a Child of Heaven’s Will within his borders."
"It’s just... ’In all of heaven and earth, I alone am supreme’... This Child of Heaven’s Will’s disposition seems a bit too arrogant."
"After suddenly gaining such Talent, those who can maintain their composure are few and far between..."
After some discussion, the elders of the Chu Family all came to accept Zhong Ming’s status as a Child of Heaven’s Will.
According to family custom, when they encountered such a Child of Heaven’s Will, they would diversify their investments and seek to build a relationship.
But when it came to discussing who should be responsible for recruiting him, a strange silence fell over the hall, followed by a wave of evasive excuses.
"AHEM. My branch of the family has no outstanding members in this generation. I’ll leave this wonderful opportunity to the rest of you."
"My Yun’Er has already been by Lu Yuan’s side for over half a month. We simply don’t have anyone to spare."
"..."
This wave of deflections and refusals made Chu Hanzhen falter for a moment, but she quickly understood the reasoning behind it.
Clearly, while the elders acknowledged Zhong Ming’s status as a Child of Heaven’s Will and believed he had Talent, they had never met him. They hadn’t experienced the same shocking impact firsthand.
In contrast, they had met Lu Yuan many times, and all the elders had personally witnessed his exceptional Talent.
More importantly, in their eyes, the alliance of Zhong Ming and Prince Qinghe was far less formidable than the one between Lu Yuan and the Celestial Sea King.
After all, Prince Qinghe was merely a rich and idle prince, whereas the Celestial Sea King was a prince with true, substantial power.
’Zhong Ming and Lu Yuan are both Children of Heaven’s Will, so their strength should be comparable. But the gap between the Celestial Sea King and Prince Qinghe is immense. Prince Qinghe is only aiming for the position of Vice Military Commander, and it’s uncertain if he’ll even succeed. The Celestial Sea King, on the other hand, commands a powerful army and wields immense authority. He’s vying for the position of Military Commander, and the Vice Military Commander role is practically already in his grasp.’
’With such a massive disparity in their backers, as long as there’s a choice, the other members of the Chu Family would naturally prefer to support the Celestial Sea King.’
’Besides, while diversifying the family’s investments lowers the risk for the family as a whole, the benefits are also shared. If an investment fails, however, the branch responsible is demoted to a lesser lineage, creating a vast disparity with the main lineage whose bet paid off.’
Having figured this out, Chu Hanzhen was still unwilling to give up on Zhong Ming. She was keenly aware of his Talent and believed it was highly probable that he was even stronger than the other Child of Heaven’s Will, Lu Yuan.
But just as she opened her mouth to speak, she was cut off by a sardonic voice.
"AHEM. In my opinion, there’s no need for any of you to argue." The speaker was the Fourth Branch Elder, who had never gotten along with Chu Hanzhen. His gaze swept across the crowd as he spoke slowly, "Judging by niece Hanzhen’s tone, she clearly thinks very highly of this Zhong Ming. Besides, she was the one who discovered this Child of Heaven’s Will in the first place. Why not entrust the task of recruiting Zhong Ming to Hanzhen’s lineage?"
"Huh?"
At these words, many of the Chu Family elders were taken aback. Then, not wanting to handle this messy affair themselves, they all nodded in unison, approving the suggestion.
Even those on good terms with Chu Hanzhen backed down one by one under the Fourth Branch Elder’s threatening gaze, which clearly said, ’If you disagree, the task of recruiting Zhong Ming falls to you.’ None of them dared to speak up.
"Whoever discovered him recruits him. A fine idea."
"Niece Hanzhen is exceptionally capable. We can rest easy with this matter in her hands."
The crowd’s agreement made Chu Hanzhen’s expression turn cold. She never expected to be treated like this after serving the family with all her heart.
But then, Chu Hanzhen’s eyes narrowed as she noticed something else—being assigned to recruit Zhong Ming, she only felt the indignation of being cast aside by the family after rendering a great service. She did not feel the panic of being abandoned by the family, or the fear that her own lineage would be demoted to a lesser branch.
’Deep down, am I not opposed to recruiting Zhong Ming?’
Although she wasn’t opposed to it in her heart, she put on a timely expression of grief and indignation. Raising her head to look at the Supreme Elder in the main seat, her voice choked with emotion, she asked, "I found a Child of Heaven’s Will for the family, and this is the reward I receive?"
Such an accusation made the Supreme Elder frown slightly. He shot a displeased glance at the Chu Family’s Patriarch.
Seeing this, the Chu Family Patriarch, Chu Xundao, quickly tried to placate her. "Hanzhen, rest assured. Rewarding merit is an ancestral creed of our Chu Family. You found a Child of Heaven’s Will, which is a great accomplishment. The subsequent effort to recruit him will also be considered a great service. This year’s allocation of family resources will be tilted in your lineage’s favor. And... you may also apply for a few precious treasures from the family’s Treasure Vault..."