Chapter 356 High-profit Temptations
A small man slowly walked out from the crowd. He had a height disadvantage, but the other people looked at him with fear.
Ou Yangming had an extremely deep impression of the man. He was Qian Yuxing, the Qian family’s Supreme Great Ancestor, and was one of the powerhouses who benefited during the Myriad Treasure Meet. Ou Yangming still remembered the man’s valiance during their fight that day. Faced with the big multicolored tiger, many powerhouses were unwilling to admit defeat until the very end. Nonetheless, Qian Yuxing was the only Yang Grade powerhouse who had the guts to go head-on against the tiger and did not suffer a huge loss. He had a tough character and cultivated an incredibly unique technique. Moreover, his body was not inferior to a half-spirit beast.
Among his peers, putting aside the elements and differences between pieces of equipment, he could triumph over everyone in terms of raw capabilities. “Brother Ou.” Qian Yuxing cupped his fists at Ou Yangming. “I dare not doubt your ability, but to smith 26 magic tools, I’m afraid that even you…” He did not finish his sentence, but everyone else understood his concern. In actuality, the other people were worried about the same thing too.
“Brother Ou, as long as I return to Changlong County’s prefecture, I’ll have enough raw materials to smith magic tools. Besides…” Ou Yangming grinned and glanced at everyone with sharp eyes. “I’m not going to smith 26 magic tools.” Qian Yuxing was stunned. “How many can you smith? Half of that?”
Everyone else paid attention to Ou Yangming, and the atmosphere had somehow become tense.
Nevertheless, the powerhouses had the same thought; they would head to Changlong County regardless of the costs as long as Ou Yangming could complete half of what he promised.
If there were 13 magic tools in total, every two clans could share a magic tool each.
A Supreme Great Ancestor was very important for a clan. Without a great ancestor, a clan would decline to a lower level. In a way, a figure as such was the backbone of a clan. Despite that, a magic tool’s importance was not at all inferior to a Supreme Great Ancestor’s significance. This was because a magic tool was a treasure that could be inherited in a clan, and having one meant that a great ancestor could be produced in almost every generation.
In comparison, the powerhouses who paid more importance to their clans’ inheritances were more passionate about magic tools than they were about having an extra Supreme Great Ancestor in their clan.
After all, a Supreme Great Ancestor represented the present, whereas a magic tool symbolized a clan’s glory for centuries.
Ou Yangming looked at Qian Yuxing and answered, “I’m going to smith 100 magic tools.”
“What?” Qian Yuxing shuddered, and he looked dubiously at Ou Yangming. When he turned around and saw the other people being dumbfounded too, he confirmed that he heard it right. “Master Ou, you… 100 magic tools?”
If someone else had said that, the Supreme Great Ancestors would have charged at the presumptuous fellow to beat him up.
However, when Ou Yangming boasted about it, the powerhouses looked at each other as they were dazed. Although their rationales were telling them that it was likely impossible, they somehow became fervent when they looked at the casting table and the young fellow’s interspatial bag, which stored sufficient pieces of equipment. The powerhouses realized that they were willing to trust him.
Qian Yuxing took a deep breath, which went straight to the bottom of his heart and seemingly reduced the heat in his body.
Following that, he asked out loud, “Master Ou, why do you want to smith so many magic tools?”
He no longer questioned if Ou Yangming could smith that many magic tools, which was evident that he chose to trust the young fellow.
“Because I’d like to lead an army of 100 great ancestors back to my hometown, and a magic tool’s might can only be fully unleashed by a Supreme Great Ancestor,” Ou Yangming noted with a proud smile. He glanced at the other people again but noticed entirely different looks on their faces. “I hope your clans can provide more dependable powerhouses at the peak of Yang Grade.”
Qian Yuxing’s eyes lit up right away, and he shouted, “The Qian family can provide 10 powerhouses!” “Brother Qian, you’re going overboard!” “Exactly. The Fang family can provide 15 powerhouses!”
“Hmph, we can provide 20 powerhouses!”
Ou Yangming was struck dumb. He did not need ordinary Yang Grade powerhouses, but those who had been at the peak of years and accumulated enough experiences. He needed powerhouses who had a high chance to enter the Extreme Grade.
It would be great if a big clan had 2 or 3 of those powerhouses, but Qian Yuxing, Woo Lejia, and the other people claimed that they had more than 10 of those powerhouses from their clans. As such, Ou Yangming was truly shocked.
‘Are these clans so profound that they have so many hidden powerhouses at the peak of Yang Grade?’ He wondered.
Chen Yixian approached Ou Yangming discreetly and expressed softly, “Brother Ou, Yifan, my dear younger brother, asked me to send his regards to you.” Ou Yangming nodded and asked, “Is General Yifan well?”
“He’s fine. There are some changes in the immense forest, but the military camp hasn’t been attacked yet, so everything is still under control,” Chen Yixian answered softly and added after a pause, “The Chen family has more than 20 of such powerhouses.”
The young fellow’s face changed, and he could not help but ask, “Brother Ou, does a noble clan really have so many suitable powerhouses at the peak of Yang Grade?”
“Our clan obviously doesn’t have that many powerhouses, but we can definitely gather more than 20 powerhouses at the peak of Yang Grade from our vassal clan and independent tributaries.” Chen Yixian could not help but laugh, then he whispered to Ou Yangming, “Don’t forget that the Chen family are also friends with many clans from the eight counties. If you give us sufficient time, we can find at least 50 suitable candidates.” Ou Yangming’s eyelids twitched as he came to a sudden realization. It turned out that the other big clans had also considered their vassal clans and independent tributaries.
He frowned and stressed to the powerhouses, “Brothers, I hope to form an army of 100 great ancestors. The army will be dismissed after the spirit beast is killed, but the pieces of equipment will be the members’ to keep. If there’s a fallen comrade, I guarantee that his pieces of equipment will be handed to his family, but…” He suddenly changed his tone and continued, “If someone violates the military order halfway, clings to his life like a coward instead of braving death, where he dares not fight the spirit beast…” The young fellow looked fierce at that instant and seemed to have turned into an aggressive ancient giant beast, who was giving the other people goosebumps.
He uttered word by word, “I swear I’ll eradicate that person’s clan at all costs-even if I have to smith 100 more magic tools!”
Everyone else shuddered. When they looked at Ou Yangming, they fell silent as they sensed his strong killing intent and unmatched resolution.
Earlier on, they could not wait to secure more Supreme Great Ancestor slots for their clans. They knew while the other people apart from the members of their clans had some shortcomings and flaws, but as long as they were giving the opportunity, they would be the ones benefiting from it after those powerhouses entered Extreme Grade.
That said, many of them gave up the thought after Ou Yangming threatened them. What if the powerhouses that they recommended were hesitant to fight? Would it not affect their clans?
Without an opportunity, one would simply not become a Supreme Great Ancestor, but if one advanced and caused trouble afterward, the clans would be doomed. Therefore, nobody made high-sounding claims to ask for slots after some thought. Needless to say, the big clans still had many talents, thus it was still possible to select a few suitable powerhouses at the peak of young grade from trustable relatives.
Before long, 74 slots were given. Ou Yangming even offered a few backup slots because he could not guarantee that every powerhouse could successfully become a Supreme Great Ancestor.
“Since you’ve all agreed, bring them here. Remember, you’ll take turns to send your candidates, and we’ll stop once we reach 100 great ancestors,” the young fellow noted as he glanced at everyone. He later pondered and added, “Once I return to Changlong County, I’ll start to smith magic tools and join you.”
The powerhouses looked at each other and nodded. At that point, they seemed to have forgotten about His Majesty’s decree.
Ou Yangming was not allowed to leave the capital before the catastrophe ended. It was not only His Majesty’s decree but was also a collective decision from the influential clans.
A person who perfectly grasped the Simulated Spiritual Fist and could smith magic tools could not take any risk. His life was so important that he was as valuable as the imperial family’s supreme elder.
Having said that, when Ou Yangming kept tempting the powerhouses, their standpoints changed drastically.
The fact that each clan could averagely gain two more Supreme Great Ancestors and could receive three inheritable magic tools was enough to make them cast their worries aside. The powerhouses somehow became willing to disobey the order, which they normally would not have the guts to do so.
Even though the powerhouses were still in the square, their respective followers left in a hurry.
Chen Yixian approached Woo Lejia and asked with a smile, “Brother Woo, you knew this was going to happen when you gathered us here, didn’t you?”
Woo Lejia shook his head with a bitter smile. “Brother Ou was the one who arranged this. Ah, he was already aware of the consequences, so he avoided my clan on purpose.”
“Brother Woo, what are you going to do if the imperial family comes to stop you?” Chen Yixian lowered his voice and asked.
“What about you?” Woo Lejia pursed his lips and asked in return.
The two powerhouses forced a smile at each other. Countless thoughts crossed their minds when they saw the highly-spirited Supreme Great Ancestors, and they became undecided.
