I Can See Your Combat Power

“Minister Luo!” Tang Zhi suddenly turned serious after hearing Tang Luo’s words, “The Tang Clan’s ability to survive and continue to grow to this day is not due to showing respect to the old and yielding to them, but to the principle of promoting the competent and demoting the mediocre!”

“Respecting the elders in the clan is because of their past contributions to the family! But if the elders’ abilities are no longer suited to the current situation, then new blood needs to take their place. We cannot hesitate because of their age or seniority!”

“I know what you are worrying about, but remember this.” Tang Zhi said with a solemn expression, “Ancestors are not always right, and one shouldn’t concern oneself too much with public opinion! Now that you’re at the stage you are today, you need to shoulder this honor. Don’t forget your real responsibility because of considerations about seniority and propriety!”

Tang Luo’s reluctance seemed to have struck a sensitive nerve of the clan leader, so both of them unexpectedly heard Tang Zhi express views about the clan’s future and people management.

Tang Luo also vaguely felt that the clan leader’s words were not only intended to comfort him but also represented a lonely outcry.

At the beginning of this plan, apart from the young Mountain Head and Sect Head, almost everyone in the clan was disgruntled. Had it not been for the interruption by wartime regulations, a clan-wide impeachment might have occurred, and Tang Zhi could have become the first clan leader in Tang Clan’s history to be ousted.

At last year’s annual meeting, a third of the clan’s subsidiary families did not attend as a sign of their dissatisfaction with him. To this day, there are still messages circulating in the clan criticizing Tang Zhi’s mediocrity. Some clan members even believe any one of the three main representative figures would perform better than Tang Zhi.

Public opinion must be disregarded! These five words might seem simple, but they embody countless painful reflections he had made.

Here was a man in his forties, yet Tang Luo could sense a youthful exuberance in him, like a treasured sword yearning to test its mettle after ten years of honing.

In contrast, he, the actual young man, seemed tentative and reserved, even afraid to take on the title of Chief of Defence confidently.

Having reflected quickly, Tang Luo adjusted his mindset and said to Clan Leader Tang Zhi, “Thank you, Clan Leader, for your teachings. I will not hesitate to take charge of the defence work of the North Mountain as the Chief.”

“Excellent!” Tang Zhi hadn’t felt such excitement in a long time, and this thrill came from the support of the most outstanding young man in the clan.

How could he not know about the rumors within the clan concerning the new and old factions? Ever since he announced his plan to the Elder Council in its entirety, it has sparked disagreements and political differences within the family.

Many elders disliked his aggressive strategy, feeling it was pushing the Tang Clan into a dangerous situation. Even the clan’s chief executive thought his decision was imprudent. Nonetheless, he persisted amidst immense pressure.

He wasn’t shy about the current opposing political views within the family. After all, no policy can satisfy everyone. But he held an unshakable belief that the Tang Clan would ultimately triumph and the new faction would prove to all clan members that they could lead the family towards a better future!

Tang Ming had known Tang Zhi for more than twenty years. This was one of the few times he’d seen Tang Zhi so worked up. Looking at the pair full of spirited verve, he suddenly felt that those top Martial Ancestors riding Blue Lotuses weren’t that scary.

…

As Tang Zhi predicted, although the “Divine Feathered Eighteen Cavalry” had lured away Tang Siyuan and several Defence Martial Ancestors, their aim wasn’t to ambush, but to lure Tang Siyuan and the others away to launch a counterattack on North Mountain.

While the clan’s people on Shooting Crow Mountain, Singing Phoenix Ridge, and South Enoch Mountain were still silently mourning their losses and recuperating, the blue sky suddenly turned green. As the Tang Clan members looked up in surprise, they saw a blue lotus explode through the cloud layer and fall towards the mountain peak.

The joint attack of the top Fierce Realm of the True Azure Technique – Blue Lotus Rage!

The Blue Lotus, formed from a massive amount of True Azure Qi, spun and twirled in mid-air. As it fell, its green petals gradually unfolded, looking beautiful beyond description.

The Blue Lotus grew larger and larger in everyone’s eyes, starting from the size of a fist, then growing to the size of a house, and finally, a small mountain.

The falling Blue Lotus didn’t emit a bit of murderous intent, seeming more like a divine gift to humans that made people want to embrace it with open arms.

For cultivators below the Unity of Spirit and Intent level, the mesmerizing effect of Blue Lotus Rage would make them lose the will to fight and only desire closeness to it.

Compared to the Heavenly Pathway Technique – Buddha’s Majesty, Mi Clan’s top joint attack was known for its special effects. When combined with the archery of the Divine Feather Guardians, it was unstoppable!

“Prepare for the joint attack!!!”

The bewitched Tang Clan members couldn’t hear the desperate cries of the martial artists. On a mountain peak where hundreds or thousands of clan members gathered, only a few dozen people managed to stay sober under the Blue Lotus.

About ten or so sporadic Flame Dragons rushed towards the massive Blue Lotus. Their Ascendancy joint attack was easily annihilated by the Blue Lotus, offering not even the slightest resistance.

The unstoppable giant blue lotus fell onto the heads of the Tang Clan members, and then exploded with a loud crash. The petals and the flower seat separated. The beautiful and pure blue petals turned into lethal blades, spinning and shooting into the crowd.

Each petal became an envoy of death, bringing about whirlwinds of mortality.

Wherever they went, all the Tang Clan members were smiling as they were cut in two. Brief contact with the True Azure Qi seeping into the clan members’ bodies was enough. With the sweeping of dozens of petal whirlwinds, not a single living person remained.

The ground was strewn with crystals and thin fabric, like a multitude of discarded remains. Each face wore a peaceful smile, as if they were ascending to paradise.

The three elders on their Blue Lotuses looked down from the sky, smiling as they watched the flower seat explode, watching the Tang Clan members being cut into crystals by the blue whirlwind. Without the protection of Martial Ancestors, high-level Martial Ancestors indeed had such a high killing efficiency.

“Big brother, there are countless caves in this central peak, let’s throw another Blue Lotus over there!” an old man with a red nose full of rosacea suggested to the bald, eyebrow-less leader.

The bald man, addressed as “big brother”, had a fierce countenance, but spoke with calmness and assuredness, “This is Tang Clan territory, let’s avoid causing unnecessary trouble. Retreat!”

Their mission was to continually launch sneak attacks on Tang Clan territory and wear down the clan’s middle-tier forces. The head-on confrontation with hundreds of Martial Ancestors was meant to create opportunities for them. He didn’t want the plan to be jeopardized due to a moment of reckless ambition.

Although they were not afraid of the Tang Clan’s ancestral deities, their Blue Lotuses could not withstand a finger of extreme radiance.