Chapter 1699 — How Very Sad

Only after escorting the Kang father and son all the way to the gate of the Yu residence did Yu Feng hurry back to the reception hall.

"They've gone?" Yu Shuixing asked.

"Yes, gone. I had Yu Haitian arrange for men to follow them and see what they get up to these next couple of days," Yu Feng said.

Yu Shuixing nodded. Though he had already agreed to let the Kang family be promoted to a great clan, he was still not entirely at ease about them, and so he had told Yu Feng to send people to tail Kang the Divine Physician and Kang Guifeng, to see whether they were playing any tricks.

The moment they were out of the Yu residence, Kang the Divine Physician could not wait to say to Kang Guifeng, "Guifeng, you must call Zhaoming and tell him to find some way to get the formula for the Longevity Detox Pill out of Guan's Pharmaceuticals as quickly as possible — by any means necessary. It must be done fast; we are running out of time. Smooth as this promotion went, the Yu family will not keep a clan with no real strength in the ranks of the great clans forever!"

"Yes, Father. I'll call Zhaoming right away..." In truth, Kang Guifeng was not at all comfortable with this. Lately, Kang the Divine Physician seemed to think very highly of Kang Zhaoming, and if Kang Zhaoming really did obtain the formula for the Longevity Detox Pill, then Kang Zhaoming would undoubtedly become the next young head of the Kang family, and his own son, Kang Zhaolong, would be in grave danger...

But there was nothing Kang Guifeng could do. Becoming a great clan was still better than the Kang family's present state. Even if Kang Zhaolong could not become the head of the family, his standing would at least be far better than it was now — that was the benefit a great clan brought.

Neither Kang the Divine Physician nor Kang Guifeng was a ** practitioner, and their conversation was relayed word for word to the men Yu Haitian had sent. Though the only core figures left in the Yu family were Yu Shuixing and Yu Feng, plus a half-dead Yu Kun, the Yu family still had a few ** practitioners; their strength was not high, but it was more than enough for tailing the Kang family.

And so, at the same time, the conversation between the Kang father and son was relayed word for word to Yu Shuixing.

"It seems they have their eyes on the formula," Yu Shuixing said. "But no matter — so long as they can get it, it makes no difference to us where they get it from."

"Father... the matter of Song family's Qiu Lingshan..." Yu Feng asked, unwilling to let it go.

"I have already brought pressure to bear on that old fool Song Xiangwen. When the great clan assembly comes, I will raise the matter again. If the old fool still refuses to see reason, then he can simply be sent packing!" Yu Shuixing grew angry every time he thought of Song Xiangwen. The man had agreed so readily at the time, and then trouble had cropped up on his granddaughter's side. It made Yu Shuixing feel utterly humiliated.

"Thank you, Father!" Yu Feng was overjoyed.

The great clan assembly — some families rejoicing, others grieving — convened as scheduled all the same.

The so-called great clan assembly was in truth not a grand affair. Only the heads of the nine great clans, together with the younger generation of their families, came to the meeting room of the Yu family's auction house. Of course, apart from these nine great clans, this time there was one more family present — the Kang family!

The others were merely surprised and thought little of it, but when the old master of the Chen family and the old master of the Song family saw the situation, their hearts lurched. The implication was unmistakable: if the Kang family could attend this great clan assembly, it meant the Kang family might become one of the great clans!

And as for the total number of great clans — if one were to be added, that would be fine enough, but if the number stayed the same, then one clan was destined to be purged! Yet by the agreement made among the great clans in the beginning, to guarantee the quality of the great clans, it was better to have none than a poor one; so any clan that did not measure up would certainly be struck from the ranks of the great clans at this assembly!

Seated at the head of the meeting room was Yu Shuixing, with Yu Feng standing behind him. As the host of the great clan assembly, it was only natural that the Yu family sat at the head; the younger generation had come merely to broaden their horizons, and naturally did not take seats.

Next, seated in the meeting room were the old master of the Liu family, Liu Zhenhu; the old master of the Wu family, Wu Gonggao; the old master of the Yang family, Yang Daocha; the old master of the Song family, Song Xiangwen; the old master of the Sun family; the old master of the Chen family, Chen Kuanglan; the man in charge of the An family, that is, An Jianwen's father, An Mingyue; and the current head of the Xiao family, Xiao Ji, with his younger brother Xiao Ben standing behind him. They had not brought Xiao Wangba and Xiao Wangdao!

The ones left — somewhat conspicuous and out of place — were Kang the Divine Physician and Kang Guifeng of the Kang family. The two of them sat at the very end, but once this great clan assembly concluded, the rankings would likely be redrawn.

"Everyone is here, and we are all old acquaintances, so I will not waste words!" Yu Shuixing made a gesture for silence and spoke slowly. "The great clan assembly is a rule of long standing, and you all understand it well. The first stage is the re-ranking! The superior rise and the inferior fall — an immutable law of ages. And the standard by which a great clan's standing is assessed is a comprehensive judgment based on the clan's wealth, the level of its ** practitioners, and the backing and background of each family!"

Everyone knew this rule, but what usually came out of it were four strongest clans and five somewhat weaker ones — the so-called Four Great Clans and Five Minor Clans. In truth, there was no specific individual ranking.

Naturally, the Yu family, with the greatest overall strength, had always played the role of leader.

This first stage filled Old Master Chen Kuanglan with sorrow. His family had originally held a great advantage at this great clan assembly. Chen Yutian had actually become a cultivator of the early Mystic rank, and added to that was the Chen family's ambiguous betrothal arrangement — at this assembly, there should have been no question of their securing a place among the Four Great Clans!

But because Chen Yutian had meddled in matters that were not his concern, he had been beaten into a cripple. This time, the Chen family was thoroughly finished; they likely would not even hold a place among the Five Minor Clans.

"The second stage is the settling of grievances. If any of you have conflicts between you, speak them now, and I and the others will help mediate. If mediation fails, then by the old rule, it can only be settled by force! Of course, if you waive your right to pursue the matter, then you may never bring up the old grievance again. This is the rule by which we great clans have lived in peace all these years! Everyone's aim is to make a little more money and have a little more time to **; if we are forever spending effort and time on old feuds and passions, I doubt anyone wishes to see that!" Yu Shuixing continued, though as he spoke, he glanced at Old Master Chen Kuanglan of the Chen family.

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