Dragon's Origin

Chapter 767: Interests (Part 2)

The heads of the eight great families looked at the report in silence. Except for Song Yan and the Tang family head, who already knew the result, the other six family heads were speechless.

It was heartbreaking! An average of over fifty legendary experts per family; even killing eighty-one super demon beasts wouldn't have resulted in so many losses! The six family heads felt as if they were bleeding internally.

Having just finished scolding the Dai family head, the family heads now turned their resentful gazes towards Dai Xiao. Because of the Dai family's premature action, the top combat power of each family had instantly been reduced by more than half!

Even though Dai Xiao was already a peak ninth-level master, only one step away from entering the legendary realm, he still lowered his head guiltily in the face of the angry stares from the family heads.

Regardless of the other family heads' attitudes, Dai Xiao could only endure it at this time. If he were to ignorantly retort at this moment, directly provoking the other families' anger, the eight great families might directly become seven. The Dai family's foundation couldn't withstand a seven-on-one attack.

Ahem, two coughs pulled everyone's attention back to the center of the room. The person coughing was the Tang family head. Seeing everyone looking over, he coughed again and said, "The matter has already occurred. Now is not the time to pursue responsibility. What do you all think of the royal family's and other forces' requests?"

This was the real problem that needed to be faced immediately. If it wasn't resolved properly, it could be a world war, and the eight great families might lose a few members. Those small families might not seem like much, but united, they were terrifying.

Dai Xiao secretly breathed a sigh of relief, feeling secretly grateful and very thankful to the Tang family head. If it weren't for his reminder, the Dai family wouldn't have gotten through this so easily.

"Dai Xiao, don't think that the matter is over," the Tang family head said, having of course seen Dai Xiao's actions. He snorted coldly, "The compensation that your Dai family should make afterward must still be made."

"Yes! Yes! This junior will certainly comply," What else could Dai Xiao say? The Dai family's strength was now at the bottom along with the Xia family. Having offended everyone, they had no choice but to accept whatever was said.

In one sentence, the Tang family head decided that the Dai family would definitely have to compensate afterward. As for how much compensation, someone from each family would naturally go and carefully calculate the accounts with the Dai family. This small matter didn't require the family heads and grand elders to personally tear each other apart. However, if the Dai family didn't bleed heavily and lose ten layers of skin, they would be letting down the lost experts.

"How should we reply to the royal family?" The Tang family head once again raised this issue that had to be faced immediately. Relatively speaking, Wang Sheng's matter was not so urgent.

Of course, since learning that fewer than fifty of the four hundred plus experts had returned—a one-tenth survival rate, and only because they had fled early when things looked bad—no one was going to send experts to hunt down Wang Sheng and Lin Ling. That would be suicide. None of the families were that stupid.

Even if they were to deal with Lin Ling, they would have to wait until the twenty-four ancestors came out. Lin Ling was the mortal enemy of those ancestors; they would never refuse.

"What would happen if we didn't include them?" Song Yan and Dai Xiao were the youngest of everyone present. In terms of age, Song Yan was even younger, so when she spoke, she had a strong youthful fire.

Everyone present knew about Song Yan and Wang Sheng's ill-fated relationship, so they naturally understood why Song Yan's temper was so high. If anyone's man was hooked away by a woman who inexplicably appeared from five hundred years ago, they probably wouldn't have behaved any better than Song Yan.

"Trouble!" The Feng family head didn't speak, but the grand elder opened his mouth, giving Song Yan an answer: "You also know that if a few or a dozen of the twenty-four ancestors inside aren't from our families..."

The rest of the words didn't need to be said. Everyone was an old fox; who didn't know the consequences? In fact, including Song Yan, everyone already knew the advantages and disadvantages of dominating and the advantages and disadvantages of sharing. Now, everyone was sitting together just to make a decision. Song Yan's words were just a lead, eliciting everyone's opinions.

"We probably don't have much time to waste on making decisions," the Gan family head reminded. Everyone knew these things, so he just gave a reminder, not mentioning the reasons or the results at all. If they couldn't even think of these things, then what qualifications did they have to be family heads or grand elders?

"Let's take a vote!" The Shi family head didn't waste any words, directly proposing the fastest solution: "Should we let them join? Our Shi family agrees." As he spoke, the Shi family head raised his hand.

"Let them join!" The Tang family head also raised his hand.

"Agree!" Song Yan also raised her hand.

The Qiu family and Feng family successively raised their hands, leaving only the Dai family, Xia family, and Gan family not speaking. However, after a few breaths, the Gan family head also raised his hand.

Although the Dai family and Xia family were very unwilling, with three-quarters of the family heads having already passed the motion, even if they disagreed, it wouldn't mean anything.

The Shi family head seemed to be moonlighting as a host, and without waiting for Dai Xiao and the Xia family head to raise their hands, he directly announced the result: "The majority agrees, so we'll agree to let them join. Next, what price will they need to pay to join, and what restrictions will there be?"

"They must be in step with us and under unified command." This time, Song Yan took the lead, quickly stating her request.

"That's natural. What would we want disobedient people to join for?" The Tang family's old fox stroked his beard and nodded, "In addition, the experts from each family must help, and all the necessary supplies must be shared. If they want to join, they have to contribute money and effort. We can also take the opportunity to find out how deep their pockets are now."

Everyone nodded. Letting those small families send experts would probably also reveal the strength of each family, giving the eight great families a clear reference.

"Only give them three days. Those who don't arrive on time will be considered eliminated," the Qiu family's grand elder added, "We don't have much time to wait for them."

This request was not excessive at all, and everyone agreed unanimously. At this point, the decision had basically been made, and a reply could be given to the royal family first. With everyone's nods, the Tang family and Shi family's grand elders went out together to handle the matter of sending a letter to the royal family.

Although they agreed to let the royal family and others join, it wasn't over just because they joined. There were even more important issues to discuss. This was also very cautious for each family. The core issue was the division of spoils.

"After the seal is lifted, how will each family share?" The essence of all conflicts actually lies in this issue. If this issue isn't resolved, not to mention the difficulty of balancing the royal family and those people who join, even within the eight great families, there would be no way to be calm and peaceful.

Interest is the root cause of all disputes.