I Was Forced To Marry The Phoenix Empress-Chapter 156: Doing What He Wants
"???"
Feng Ning and Feng Duli simultaneously jerked their heads towards Yi Chen when they heard what he had just stated.
"B-Brother Chen, did you just..." Feng Duli tried asking in order to confirm that he didn’t mishear.
However, before he could finish those words, Yi Chen nodded his head and confirmed.
"You didn’t mishear. By today’s end, I’ll ensure that we’ll be first in the Major Clans Rankings."
Yi Chen said with full confidence.
"Brother Chen, while I appreciate your optimistic nature, I think you’re misunderstanding something..."
Feng Ning said with furrowed brows before continuing.
"Unlike the He clan and the Tao clan, whom we are going to face next, the clans above the fifteenth rank will start having cultivators in the Seventh Meridian Refinement Stage.
Even if you’re a genius, there’s no way you will be able to outdo this massive difference in cultivation levels. From what I know, there has never been any such precedent in the thousand-year-long history of the White Jade Kingdom.
What’s more is the fact that the Seventh Meridian Refinement Stage is not the limit.
The Top Ten Major Clans will start having Eighth Meridian Refinement Stage cultivators in their team, not to mention the First Ranked Clan, who have Ninth Meridian Refinement Stage cultivators in their lineup!"
Feng Ning took a deep breath and said after a slight pause.
"So, although I’m impressed by Brother Chen’s desire to contribute towards the clan, I still find it necessary to inform you about the ground realities," Feng Ning spoke.
It wasn’t that she was trying to make Yi Chen feel down, but she didn’t want him to overestimate his abilities and hurt himself, especially now, when their clan was facing no imminent threat.
Hearing her words, Feng Duli nodded from the side and spoke.
"Sister Ning is right, Brother Chen. If we are able to secure even the eighteenth rank today, that would already be more than we can be grateful for.
Anyways, even if we don’t, it’s completely fine as we are already satisfied with being the Nineteenth. With this rank, we can strengthen ourselves for the next year’s Inter Clan Tournament while having peace of mind.
Hearing the two’s well-intentioned words, Yi Chen just smiled and allowed them to finish instead of interrupting them.
It was only after the two had finished speaking that Yi Chen was about to speak his mind, but just then, the Imperial Envoys’ words resounded in the entire arena.
"Preparations for the next round have been completed! Feng Clan, send your Challenger!"
When these words entered their ears, Feng Ning was about to stand up, but before she could, Yi Chen was already on his feet as his hand gently pressed down on Feng Ning’s left shoulder, telling her to let him go this time aswell.
At first, Feng Ning had a confused expression, but when she understood his intentions, creases developed on her forehead.
She was about to voice out her objection, but Yi Chen spoke before she could.
"Miss Ning." A gentle yet confident smile formed on his face as he said, "Just because there have been no precedents before doesn’t mean there won’t be any in the future as well.
As cultivators, we must always have the mindset to be the ones who will be setting up those precedents for the future generations, don’t you think so?"
"This..."
Hearing his words, Feng Ning was momentarily at a loss for words as her mind rushed to think of an appropriate response to his question.
However, even though Yi Chen had asked her this question, he didn’t wait to hear her response and simply said.
"I’ll be going for my next match then. See you in a while."
With those words, he briefly waved towards her and Feng Duli before turning around and making his way towards the fighting stage.
’So cool...’ Feng Duli inwardly thought to himself.
Meanwhile, on the arena’s first floor, all the members of the Feng Clan were in a euphoric mood now that they had secured the nineteenth rank.
"Brother Yi Chen is so amazing!"
"Hey, is Brother Chen single by any chance....?"
"Have you looked at your face? With Sister Ning beside him, why would he even glance at you?"
"Huh? From what I’ve heard, Brother Chen’s already married. Even Sister Ning doesn’t have a chance, it seems..."
"So? Isn’t the spot for the second wife still open?!"
.
.
.
Several discussions were being exchanged among them, and the centre of all these discussions was, of course, Yi Chen.
On the upper rows, where the patriarch and elders were seated, something else was going on currently.
"Congratulations to Patriarch Haoran for rising to the Nineteenth rank!"
The Patriarch from the previously defeated Kai clan had come to congratulate them in an attempt to repair and establish a new relationship.
"Ah, if it isn’t Patriarch Kai Zuo," Feng Haoran nodded in a meaningful manner. A feeling of utter glee was evident in his heart, seeing how sincerely the other party was bowing towards him.
However, experienced in politics, he didn’t let that show on his face and asked, "Thank you for your well wishes. I believe if the Kai Clan persists, then sooner or later they too will be able to become a major clan."
Feng Haoran said while patting Patriarch Kai Zuo on his shoulder.
When Kai Zuo heard this, his eyes glimmered. How could he not understand what Feng Haoran was implying?
"Yes! The Kai clan will continue to pour all efforts into strengthening our forces and defeating the He clan!" Kai Zuo declared.
It was time for him to choose a clear side, and he did exactly that before continuing.
"However, that’s something we’ll work on slowly. The reason why I visited the Patriarch is not only to congratulate him but also to apologise."
The next moment, he bowed deeply towards Feng Haoran and spoke.
"The Kai clan is deeply regretful regarding our past actions. Under the instructions of the He clan, we were misguided. Therefore, as the Patriarch, I humbly apologise to Patriarch Haoran," Kai Zuo declared his intention the next moment and continued.
"Since just an apology is not enough, we’ll be sending 500 High Grade Spirit Stones, Alchemy ingredients, a few handpicked artefacts from our clan’s treasury and lastly ten bottles of wine specially concocted by the Violet Cloud Pavilion. Please accept these as a token of our apology."
’This?!’ Feng Haoran’s eyes glimmered with greed and joy the moment he heard the full list of items.
However, he took a deep breath the next instant to stabilise his mind and said, "I’m seeing that the Kai Clan had deeply deliberated over the rewards. Fine! I accept. You may rise now."
With that said, Feng Haoran poured wine into a cup and said while handing it to Kai Zuo.
"Here’s a cup towards the establishment of our new ties! Cheers!"
"C-Cheers!" Kai Zuo exclaimed while clinking the cup with Feng Haoran.
’If our relationship further develops in the future, then I can definitely expect the Feng Clan to help us defeat the He clan in the tournament...at that time, all this loss would mean nothing!’ Kai Zuo’s eyes glimmered with conviction as he emptied the whole cup in one shot.
It was that moment that the Imperial envoy’s voice resounded in the arena.
"Alright, you may go now since the next round is starting." Feng Haoran swept his hands towards him, and with that, Kai Zuo left for his seat after a respectful bow.
The First and Third Leader who were sitting right next to him, had a gleeful expression on their faces.
"Father, it looks like we’ll not be lacking in resources for a while now," The First elder said with a snicker.
"Haha, Brother-in-law is right! It was so difficult to use all our resources so sparingly in order to cultivate the young cultivators," The Third Elder commented from the side with similar joy in his tone.
Hearing the two’s words, the smile on Feng Haoran widened as what they had just said was the exact thoughts which were going on in his mind.
’All this has only become possible because of that brat. We must make sure to pay more attention to him and nurture him properly.’ Feng Haoran nodded to himself while momentarily glancing towards the Feng Clan’s stands.
’Huh? Where did he go?’ a frown developed on Feng Haoran’s face when he noticed Yi Chen was no longer in his seat.
It was at that instant that his attention was pulled by an exclamation in the lower rows.
"What? Why is Brother Chen going to the stage again?" Qin Yao, who had momentarily gotten busy with Feng Min, suddenly exclaimed when he noticed Yi Chen’s figure walking towards the Fighting Stage.
It was only then that Feng Haoran’s eyes fell on a figure who had just stepped onto the Fighting Stage.
’H-He’s going at it again?’
An expression of disbelief appeared on Feng Haoran’s face, which was in sync with everyone else who was witnessing this scene.
