Chapter 637: Returning Home
Just now, Hui Yue agreed with what Lan Feng said, but he understood that killing the patriarch was not something he was capable of.
He simply did not have the strength to do anything to the patriarch, so all he could do was use his backing to threaten him to give up his position. In some way, it might be even more frustrating to live on after having to give up such a position. It would without a doubt be a huge blow to him.
It was clear that his family was quite unhappy with him. The entire family had been gathered outside in the courtyard of their manor, and even the elders who had previously supported the patriarch with all their might were disgruntled.
All the youngsters and guards that were under threat of being killed had blood ties to these elders, but the patriarch had said nothing to even try to save them. When it came to his patriarch seat, he had, however, argued with all his might. It was clear to see what mattered to the patriarch and what did not.
Since the patriarch was not thinking about the best interests of the family, the elders were already contemplating in their minds who would be fit to be the next patriarch.
"I understand..." The patriarch's face turned green as he spoke, "I understand that it is time for me to pass the baton to another expert of the family and retire."
Although he was unsatisfied with the results, the patriarch understood that even though Hui Yue, himself, could not truly do anything to him, the two elders, Pei Bai and Yang Juan, were capable of killing him if they truly wanted to do. Their formations were frightening.
Although this patriarch was unhappy, he understood that he had no choice but to follow the orders given by this young man. Although he was unhappy with the situation, he was the kind of person that would rather cower and survive than challenge authority and perish for their ideals.
Hui Yue nodded his head approvingly happy that the patriarch made the right decision.
"The new patriarch needs to swear to never cause problems for the Heavenly Dragon Gate; it would be best if they committed themselves to the sect and became a guardian family." Hui Yue continued with a smile causing all the elders to frown.
They knew that the Celestial Sword Sect had multiple guardian sects and that these guardian sects had all increased the strength of the Celestial Sword Sect. One could even say that although the Celestial Sword Sect was ranked as one of the strongest sects in the galaxy most of their fighting force came from these guardian sects.
While the Chen family was unhappy with his request, the Heavenly Dragon Gate was excited. Yang Juan looked at the elders with curiosity in his eyes as he wondered what choice they would make.
"If you choose to become a guardian sect of the Heavenly Dragon Gate then we will forget about you owing us a million Worldpower Stones." Yang Juan said with a smile, "We will treat you well, and your family’s overall strength will rise drastically compared to before. You will get many benefits and cultivation resources for your younger generation as well. We will only require you to help in case a life and death battle involving the Heavenly Dragon Gate erupts. We will not go in and take over the Chen family."
The reason that Yang Juan dared to make these promises on his own without asking anyone for permission was that he already knew what the other elders would say.
If the Chen family joined the Heavenly Dragon Gate, it was clear that they would rank much higher than they did already, and their strength would soar. It would also guarantee everyone’s safety all the more.
Although most sects avoided battling with the greatest of the sects, sects like the Heavenly Dragon Gate would fight in wars every ten thousand years or so with other sects around their strength.
The reason for their frequent fights was that although the Heavenly Dragon Gate's World was filled with snow, it was rather highly ranked on the heavenly rankings, and other sects were eying this world with greed. To keep it they needed to participate in bloody battles time and time again. They needed to be so strong that no one would wish to engage in war with them, much like the strong sects that have existed for the countless eons without their position ever being shaken.
"Let’s talk some more about the benefits," one of the elders of the Chen family finally said as he cleared his throat and stepped forward. His eyes were sparkling, and his voice was rather forceful. He had decided that for their family becoming a guardian family was without a doubt the best decision they could make.
Voices erupted in the courtyard as everyone was shocked and unsure what was happening. They did not dare to guess what the future held for them, yet the ones who had been spared only cared that they were still alive. This was the most important thing for them, whether they served the Chen family or the Heavenly Dragon Gate was not something they cared about especially not now that they had seen their patriarch was willing to sacrifice them.
"We need to get going back to the Celestial Sword Sect," Hui Yue reminded Yang Juan who nodded his head. He flipped his hand, and a communication orb appeared in his palm.
It was clear that he had contacted someone, and Yang Juan spoke in a low voice, clearly repeating everything that had happened with the Chen family.
After a few moments, he straightened his back and smiled at Hui Yue. "Your Worldpower Stones will arrive shortly," he promised, and Hui Yue nodded in approval. He did not care who paid so long as long as there were enough stones to provide for the late guards' families.
The other guards were moved to tears. They all looked at Hui Yue with gratitude. Although they were not getting any of these stones, they appreciated that their dear brothers who had lost their lives would not have to worry about their families while floating in the Yellow River.
As Yang Juan had promised, it did not take long before someone came by with a storage ring which was handed over to Hui Yue with the utmost respect. Hui Yue could not help but wonder if the delivery boy was aware of what was within this storage ring, or if he was just fearful because of the two massive sects behind him.
"Thank you," Hui Yue said with a smile and a slight bow to Yang Juan and the others. "I will leave this to you guys to sort out yourself. The patriarch is to be replaced, and you are to either pledge that you will never again cause problems for the Heavenly Dragon Gate, or you can become their first guardian sect."
As he told them the only two outcomes that could happen, Hui Yue turned to leave, and behind him, the guards and Pei Bai followed. Although Pei Bai was the leader of their group, he could not bring as many threats as Hui Yue could. Also, his only option would have been to create some formations and simply slaughter them all, and although he felt like doing so, much like Hui Yue, he also understood that it would be going overboard.
The group from the Celestial Sword Sect did not linger any longer in the Heavenly Dragon Gate's World and instantly left. They returned to the vast galaxy where they produced their shuttles and traveled at a speed much swifter than any God could ever fly.
The route back to the Celestial Sword Sect was the same as the one they had taken on the way towards the Heavenly Dragon Gate and their trip was quite peaceful.
Hui Yue spent the time cultivating. He knew that his personal strength was still too little and that although his formations were strong, he still needed to have enough Ancestral Worldpower and daos to back him in one on one fights.
He was far from being a Grandmaster in formations, but he was already considered not bad for a younger generation member. Because of this, he decided that it was time to stop focusing on formations, and instead once more focus on the many daos that surrounded him alongside increasing his Ancestral Worldpower pool.
The trip was smooth, and after a month of constant travel, they returned to the Celestial Sword Sect's World.
When one entered a world, it was impossible to say where one would arrive. Only the Sovereign, or Crowned Sovereign in the cases of heavenly worlds, were capable of teleporting within their worlds, everyone else had to travel the old fashioned way. Therefore after arriving in the Celestial Sword Sect's World, they still traveled for four days before they returned to the sect.
As they reached home, they all felt a mixture of emotions. Although they were happy to be back, they were also unhappy about the fact that not all of them were there to celebrate the return.
The rumor about their return spread quickly, and family members came rushing from the valleys to see their dear ones who had been away for a couple of months.
Many of the family members who had appeared quickly found the one they were looking for in the crowd, but a few took a bit longer to find their targets. Unfortunately, there were also a group of family members who kept searching, but no matter how long they looked, they could not find their husbands or fathers.
These were the ones who had lost their family members without knowing it. Pei Bai, who was in charge of the trip, was the one who needed to tell them the sad news.
Slowly, the others started withdrawing making space for the three late guards' families, and both Hui Yue and Pei Bai stayed behind to speak with them.
When they noticed that they were not there, their eyes turned misty, and the children started crying. Only the women held back their tears forcing themselves to stay strong now that they had lost their support.
Although they could stay in the Celestial Sword Sect now that they had married into the sect, they had still lost the one person that made them come here in the first place, and many of them were filled with grief.
"I am sorry for your loss," Pei Bai started out as he was genuinely sorry. He felt that he should do something to make them feel better, unfortunately, he had no idea what he could do to make them feel better.
"Your husbands and fathers were brave men. I traveled with them for a short period of my life, but even so, they left an everlasting impression on me. I am aware that it is impossible to heal the wounds you are feeling now that you lost someone dear. I know the feeling all too well," Hui Yue stepped forward to speak causing Pei Bai to look at him gratefully.
"The three brilliant guards who lost their lives on this mission did not lose them due to bandit attacks but because they had gathered wealth unlike any others could fathom. They accidentally revealed the wealth they had gathered, and a greedy young master summoned his family to deal with them."
"This young master has been executed, and his soul will never again join the Yellow River; he will never again be reincarnated."
"The wealth that he stole has been retrieved by us and will be split between the three of your families. Although, I know that Worldpower Stones will not replace the loved one in your hearts, nor will it cause you to feel at peace with what has happened, but even still please accept the stones that I am giving you."
Having said this, Hui Yue found three storage stones and passed them over to the wives of the late guards. These wives were hesitant at first, but they all accepted the stones nodding their heads. This wealth might have been something they would have begged for previously, but now they would gladly exchange it all if it meant that they could have their husbands back.