"Very well! Excellent!" Nalan Tianzhe lightly applauded, "Second Elder, you truly uphold righteousness! You've said all there is to say! What else can I add? Let's ask the family how many are willing to nominate the Young Master as the Young Master!"
Sensing the chill in Nalan Tianzhe's tone, many shuddered slightly. However, after a moment, the voices of support for the Young Master still arose in the hall. Naturally, these were mainly descendants of the Nalan Hao faction, so their support was expected. But as some initially neutral individuals hesitated for a moment, they eventually joined in, seemingly swayed by the atmosphere. Perhaps it was because Nalan He truly didn't have much support, but within moments, most of the Nalan family members in the hall seemed to lean towards Nalan Qing. This only deepened the already cold expression on Nalan Tianzhe's face.
"Young Master Nalan Qing is modest and extremely caring towards our clan members. If he becomes the head of our Nalan family, even if we encounter any mishaps, I believe our clan won't suffer any losses."
"The Young Master has excellent relations with nearby forces. If he becomes the head of the Nalan family, it will surely promote stability in the Northwestern region."
"Moreover, many matters in the family have been overseen by Young Master Nalan Qing in recent years. Although Young Master He is formidable, he may not be familiar with these matters... If Young Master Qing becomes the head and Young Master He becomes an elder in the future, with one leading and the other assisting, our Nalan family will flourish even more!"
"Yes! Yes! It's not that Young Master He is not good, but once the position of the Young Master is determined, he will become the head of the family! In this regard, Young Master Qing is more suitable for the position!"
"Besides, Young Master He was just taken away by the City Lord. Who knows if he'll ever come back? If we choose a dead man as the Young Master, won't our Nalan family be utterly humiliated?"
Various discussions erupted among the Nalan family members, and those who could attend this hall generally held a certain status in the family, representing various voices within the family. Thus, the implications behind this were even greater.
Nalan Ba, standing at the head of the room, involuntarily furrowed his brows. He naturally understood that at this moment, Nalan Tianzhe was on the verge of exploding, and the behavior of the Nalan family members seemed to infuriate him even more.
After a moment, perhaps feeling that it was enough, Nalan Hao smiled and said, "How about it, Master of the Family... with so many people in the family supporting the Young Master, what are your thoughts? Of course, if the Master insists on having Young Master He as the Young Master, we have nothing to say. Everyone, right?"
Nalan Tianzhe's facial muscles twitched slightly, but he also understood that as the head of the family, he absolutely couldn't act impulsively at this moment. He merely coughed and glanced subtly at the crowd.
Taking his cue, a seemingly sly and skinny old man sitting on the right suddenly cleared his throat and said lightly, "Second, your words aren't entirely correct... Although I don't know why you're always dissatisfied with Young Master He, who doesn't know that the head of the family should be the strongest person in the family? If you're talking about having good relations, then the kitchen boy in our Nalan family is even more friendly with everyone. According to your logic, wouldn't he be the most suitable as the Young Master?"
The commotion among the ordinary Nalan family members subsided involuntarily when this skinny old man appeared. However, the onlookers were still gossiping.
"Who's this guy!?"
"This is Nalan Hou, the third elder of the Nalan family... Do you really not know, or are you pretending not to know?"
"Isn't he the Nalan Hou who was known as the Butcher of a Thousand Miles?"
"Yes, that's him. It's said that years ago, when a mercenary group robbed the Nalan family's goods, this Elder Nalan Hou personally took action, exterminating the entire mercenary group. Even the fleeing members were pursued and killed by him for thousands of miles. Remember, that mercenary group had five or six Warrior-level powerhouses! So, this Elder Nalan Hou isn't a simple character!"
"It looks like things are going to get interesting today..."
Although there were constant whispers around, the faces of the Nalan family members were stiff, because at this point, the matter of who would be the Young Master was already closely related to their future interests.
"Third Elder... I didn't expect you to have already taken sides!" Nalan Hao sneered, then clapped his hands after a moment, saying, "Alright! Since you said only the strongest person can be the head of the family, then let me ask you this! Three days ago, Nalan He, who was defeated by Li Yi, where does his claim to be the strongest come from? Being beaten to death in front of so many people, what face does he have to call himself the strongest?"
Nalan Hou sneered, "Did you not witness Young Master He's skill that day? Although he lost, it was not due to his lack of ability... Think about it, when will your Young Master Qing ever have such skill? Furthermore, Young Master He is only a Warrior at a young age. Who knows if he will advance to King or Emperor in the future? If that day comes and he is not the head, wouldn't it be a joke?"
"Unfortunately, there are many geniuses like him on the Continent of Martial Gods, but how many of them have grown to such a level? Isn't it all because of their arrogance and ruthlessness that they all perished? If it weren't for the old man speaking up that day, your Young Master He would have died by now!"
"But that's still a thousand times better than your waste Young Master Qing!"
"You!" Nalan Hao slapped the armrest of his chair fiercely, stood up abruptly, and his martial energy surged as a martial energy robe slowly appeared!
"Want to make a move? Second, do you think I'm afraid of you?" Nalan Hou also sneered and stood up, his martial energy robe slowly unfurling. The auras emanating from both men were boiling, and they stared at each other without yielding an inch. If they were to fight, the Nalan family would lose an elder.
"Enough!" Nalan Ba suddenly uttered a light drink from the head of the room, "Second, third, sit down! You're both in your forties, still arguing in public, what kind of example is this?"
As Nalan Ba spoke, Nalan Hao and Nalan Hou exchanged a glance, snorted, and slowly sat down, dissipating the martial energy robes around them. As Nalan Ba's voice echoed, the Nalan family members quieted down, subdued.
After a moment, Nalan Ba slowly sat down, saying, "According to the rules of our Nalan family, the successor, the future head of the family, must undoubtedly have the support of the majority... In the current situation, it seems that only Qing and He are qualified to compete for this position, right? He is not present... So, Qing, what do you think?"
Nalan Qing slightly bowed, saying, "Grandfather, Qing still holds the same opinion... He is a brilliant talent with outstanding strength, truly the best candidate for the family's successor! So, please, grandfather, make the decision and let him take that position! As for me... to prevent certain people from having other ideas again, once He returns, I will voluntarily withdraw from our Nalan family! To show my sincerity!"
"No!" Nalan Hao slammed the table behind him, his voice heavy, "Young Master Qing, although Young Master He has always had a grudge against you, if you really do this, I'm afraid you won't even leave Yunshui City alive! Big brother, please consider! Who is truly qualified to be the successor?"
"Please consider, Master!" a simultaneous shout came. Then, at least three-quarters of the seated Nalan family members stood up, swiftly half-kneeling down... Witnessing this scene, everyone in the hall was astonished. Even Nalan Qing couldn't help but reveal a slight smile...
Nalan He, oh Nalan He, ordinarily, I wouldn't be able to compete with you, but at this moment, you're making one wrong move after another. How can you be my opponent? Although everyone knows that the title set today has no real meaning, it's the bloodshed in the future that truly matters... But without righteousness, how many will follow you?
"This..." Nalan Ba rubbed his beard with one hand, seemingly unable to anticipate such a development. After a moment, he sighed and said, "Tianzhe, as the family head, it's up to you to decide... But remember! Whoever wins the people's hearts, wins the world!"
Nalan Tianzhe's face twitched slightly, and after a moment, he sighed and said, "In that case..." His gaze swept around before he continued, "Since so many in the family support Qing, from today onwards, Qing is the young master of the Nalan family!"
"Next, let's proceed with the inheritance ceremony! Those not involved, leave!" Nalan Tianzhe then bowed to those around him and said, "Today, Nalan Qing is the young master of our Nalan family. Please bear witness. As for what comes next, it's a family secret, so... everyone, please dine in the outer hall. My family doesn't entertain."
"Where would we dare to intrude! It's our honor to witness such an event today!"
"Then we'll take our leave. Congratulations, Young Master Nalan!"
Various voices rang out, and soon, these people dispersed, leaving only the Nalan family members in the hall. Nalan Tianzhe took a deep breath and said, "Except for the three elders and Nalan Qing, everyone else, leave! From now on, the area within a hundred meters of the hall is an absolute restricted zone. Anyone who enters without my permission will be killed!"
"Yes!" The Nalan family members all bowed swiftly, then retreated. Soon, only six people remained in the hall. Nalan Ba sat at the head, stroking his beard. Nalan Tianzhe stood with hands behind his back. Nalan Qing lowered his head slightly, silent. Nalan Hao and Nalan Hou glanced at each other, a flash of anger in their eyes. At the far end on the left, there was a chubby old man who looked surprisingly young despite his white hair. These six remained silent, creating an eerie atmosphere in the hall.
"It seems like the real drama is about to unfold..." Li Yi couldn't help but whisper, "I didn't expect everything to go according to Nalan Qing's plan so smoothly..."
"Whether it's smooth or not remains to be seen," Gong Wushuang whispered back.
Li Yi nodded slightly, his gaze falling on the chubby old man at the end. He furrowed his brows, "That's Nalan Fei, the Nalan family's grand elder, right? Wasn't he supposed to be the most mysterious and unpredictable person in the Nalan family? Why do I feel no trace of martial energy from him?"
Gong Wushuang frowned, "I remember, Elder Nalan Fei suffered severe injuries during a battle years ago, leaving him paralyzed, but he won the fight, and his opponent died. After that battle, a major family in Yunshui City, which could have rivaled the Nalan family, had to leave the city, making Yunshui City the domain of the Nalan family. So, although Nalan Fei seems to have lost his abilities, he's highly revered in the Nalan family. Moreover, he's Nalan Ba's biological brother, so no one dares to look down on him..."
"Is that so?" Li Yi frowned slightly, "But I still feel like this person is not as simple as he seems... Anyway, as long as he doesn't interfere with our plans, I don't care. Let's just watch for now..." The two exchanged glances before their gaze returned to the scene below, silently observing.