“Hehe,” Otto Jiang chuckled upon hearing these words, unfazed. He simply smiled, flicked open his folding fan, and spoke with deliberate slowness, “Second sister-in-law, there’s no need to rush. We have our reasons for making such a decision.”
“Firstly, as a woman, you shouldn’t be as exposed as us men, fighting for the Jiang Family’s interests in public.”
“Secondly, just as our third brother mentioned, Emma will eventually marry into another family. It would be too much of a loss for our Jiang Family to invest resources in her.”
“A loss?” Sophia Xu looked at Otto Jiang incredulously. “Is this really a matter of loss? You have a daughter too. Do you feel it’s a loss to invest in your own daughter?”
Otto Jiang cleared his throat, “That’s different.”
“How is it different?” Sophia Xu challenged. “Isn’t your daughter going to marry someday?”
Robert Jiang laughed heartily from the side, “Second sister-in-law, don’t forget, big brother has a son! I have a son too. What’s wrong with using our resources to cultivate our sons?”
“Sons?” Sophia Xu looked disdainfully at Stewart Jiang and Timothy Jiang seated below, snorting coldly through her nose, “What about sons? Sooner or later, my daughter will surpass them!”
Her words caused Otto Jiang and Robert Jiang’s faces to change simultaneously!
If there was one thing that truly bothered both men, it was Emma Jiang’s natural talent for Martial Dao.
Although Emma was a girl, her Martial Dao talent surpassed that of Stewart Jiang and Timothy Jiang.
At fifteen, Emma had already reached the ninth layer of the Inducing Qi Realm. In comparison, twenty-year-old Stewart was also at the ninth layer, while seventeen-year-old Timothy was only at the eighth layer.
It was foreseeable that by the time Emma reached their age, her achievements would far exceed their current ones.
For a moment, both Stewart and Timothy’s eyes revealed a hint of jealousy.
“It seems you’re not willing to give me this face today,” Otto Jiang said with a heavy tone.
Sophia Xu responded coldly, “The Jiang Family is a Martial Dao family, and it’s only natural to decide everything based on talent. Big brother, if you don’t allocate resources based on talent, it’s hard to convince others, right?”
“The Second Lady makes a good point…”
“Allocating resources based on talent is the fairest way…”
The Jiang Family’s side branch Martial Practitioners began to discuss among themselves.
Otto Jiang listened to their discussions, his expression remaining calm and composed!
Having decided to withhold the Minor Origin Elixirs from the second branch today, he had made thorough preparations and would not leave any room for criticism.
“Stewart!” Otto Jiang called out to his son.
“Father!” Stewart immediately stood up, stepped forward, and faced Emma.
Otto Jiang said indifferently, “Second sister-in-law, since you insist on allocating resources based on strength, let’s satisfy you. Let these two children have a match!”
“If Emma wins, the second branch will keep receiving ten Minor Origin Elixirs per month. If Stewart wins, it will be reduced to two per month. How about that?” Otto Jiang proposed.
“Hmph, why not?”
Sophia Xu snorted coldly. She had seen through Otto Jiang’s ruse. He had deliberately switched “talent” for “strength,” forcing an unfair competition between fifteen-year-old Emma and twenty-year-old Stewart.
However, Sophia Xu believed in her daughter. Emma and Stewart were both at the ninth layer of the Inducing Qi Realm, and their Martial Techniques were equally matched. If it came to a real fight, Emma might well have a chance to win.
Soon, the two tables in the middle of the council hall were moved aside, clearing a space for the competition.
Stewart Jiang and Emma Jiang stood facing each other in the center of the hall.
Just as the two were about to begin their match.
“Hold on!”
Uncle Robert Jiang suddenly interrupted.
“Just having Stewart and Emma compete seems insufficient!” Robert Jiang boomed.
Sophia Xu frowned, “What do you mean?”
“Him!”
Robert Jiang pointed directly at Terra Su, who was sitting beside Sophia Xu.
“Since it’s a competition among the younger generation, how can your nephew not participate?” Robert Jiang smirked.
Sophia Xu instinctively wanted to refuse, “Little Terra isn’t part of the Jiang Family…”
“It doesn’t matter whether he’s part of the Jiang Family or not. Since he’s sitting at the Jiang Family’s main table, he’s considered one of us,” Robert Jiang coldly interrupted Sophia Xu, his eyes filled with undisguised mockery.
The implication was clear: who asked you to let this nephew sit at the main family’s table?
Since he’s taken that seat, it won’t be so easy to back out now!
Robert Jiang had already investigated Sophia Xu’s nephew, a castaway expelled from the Orthodox One Sect, presumably without much strength to speak of.
While the Orthodox One Sect was much larger and more prestigious than the Jiang Family, a castaway ranked below a thousand in the sect was certainly no match for the Jiang Family’s top direct descendants. Even a fool would know the latter’s strength was far superior.
Without waiting for Sophia Xu to react, Robert Jiang called out, “Timothy!”
Timothy Jiang, Robert’s son, stood up from his seat and walked over to his father.
“No!” Sophia Xu immediately objected, knowing Robert Jiang’s intention was to have Timothy compete against Terra Su.
But Timothy was at the eighth layer of the Inducing Qi Realm, and when Terra Su had arrived in Clear River City, Sophia Xu had checked his cultivation, which was at the seventh layer.
With a whole layer difference in cultivation, how could Terra Su stand a chance?
Robert Jiang laughed loudly, “Second sister-in-law, you’re not afraid that my Timothy will hurt your nephew, are you? Don’t worry, I’ll tell him not to go too hard!”
“Trash!” Timothy Jiang scoffed disdainfully from the side. As a Martial Practitioner, to not even dare to step into the arena and needing a woman to shield him, what else could he be if not trash?
Whoosh!
At the very moment Timothy Jiang’s words fell, Terra Su, who had been resting with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them!
His gaze was like a sharp sword, piercing straight into Timothy Jiang’s eyes!
Timothy Jiang felt a shiver in his heart, and under Terra Su’s gaze, he experienced a chilling sensation as if his back was crawling!
It was as if a sheep had suddenly been targeted by a wolf, and the instant chill made Timothy Jiang feel as if he had fallen into an ice cave.
“If you lose to me, what does that make you?” Terra Su said calmly.
“Lose to you? Impossible!”
Timothy Jiang reflexively retorted, his heart filled with annoyance for being intimidated by someone weaker than him.
It must have been an illusion; this guy was not to be feared!
“Hope you remember your own words,” Terra Su said with a faint smile, standing up from his chair and walking over to Sophia Xu.
“Little Terra, are you really going to compete?” Sophia Xu asked.
“Yes,” Terra Su nodded.
Sophia Xu hesitated, not wanting to undermine Terra Su’s confidence, but in her view, Terra Su had almost no chance of winning.
Terra Su, however, remained calm and composed. In fact, from the moment Robert Jiang pointed at him, he had guessed that Robert Jiang intended to drag him into the fray.
In his previous life, Robert Jiang had not done so, probably because Terra Su was already a cripple and there was no need to humiliate him again.
Thinking this, Terra Su couldn’t help but sneer inwardly. He hadn’t expected that in this life, not having become a cripple, he would be targeted by Robert Jiang.
But this was just fine. Those who targeted him never ended well.
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