Meixiu Xia was the one to open the conversation.

“If I may, I would like start out by saying that we should all be happy over Elder Wei’s impressive feat of breaking through to the eighth stage. I am aware, that there are some amongst us that hold a degree of personal animosity towards him. But I ask all of you to put that behind you for a moment and see this for what it is: a great opportunity for our sect as a whole.”

Liu Wei agreed with her on this, even though his idea of an opportunity now strongly deviated from hers. It wasn’t as if she was truly happy about his breakthrough either way. This was just a roundabout way of reminding him of the loyalty expected of him. By framing his strength as an opportunity for the sect, she simultaneously framed it as belonging to the sect. Which in turn, at least in her mind, belonged to the pillar families.

“Which is why I’m certain that I speak for all of us when I say that the pillar families would love to further our cooperation with you, Elder Wei, and do our utmost to support you in your further cultivation.”

The fact that Sun Liang continued sitting in his chair with a straight face further confirmed what Liu Wei had already known: There had been talks between the families prior to the meeting and this entire speech was most likely pre-written.

“I certainly agree with that statement, though I would like to add that not just the pillar families would be keen on working together with Elder Wei.” Ma Rong spoke up.

“Nobody questioned that, Uncle. It is just not important enough a declaration to be spoken in the same sentence as the cooperation with the pillar families.” All eyes turned towards the speaker, Zheng Rong.

The Patriarch of the Rong family had a deep seeded hatred for Ma Rong that went back to the fact that the later had turned away from his family decades before Zheng Rong had even been born. This wouldn’t have been that big of a deal if Ma Rong hadn’t gone on to become not just an Elder but also the greatest alchemist throughout the northern sect alliance, taking away the dominant position that the alchemy focused Rong family had previously possessed.

“Please calm yourself, Elder Zheng Rong. This isn’t the time to live out your personal feuds.” The Patriarch’s voice wasn’t loud, but very firm, the kind of voice that doesn’t allow any objection.

“Let us instead talk about the benefits we are able to provide to Elder Wei. As you all know, this sect has a traditional focus on the Dao’s of Earth and Water. For that reason, most of the central treasures are sadly of little use to you, Elder Wei.

Which was a great stroke of luck to the pillar families, since it provided them the perfect justification for not handing him any of them, something they would have refused to do either way.

“That being said, the Zhao family has recently acquired a sunfire gem of perfect purity from one of the southern volcanoes which I am sure would be beneficial to your cultivation. We would be happy to provide you with it as long as you guarantee to remain a force that defends our sect’s traditions.”

This was it. The bidding had begun.

“The Zhong family possesses a fire attuned sword of the peak Dao Comprehension tier that we would happily add to that of the same conditions.”

“The Peng family can offer a millennia old cinder flower that has achieved consciousness.”

The Patriarchs of several other families continued making their offer until Ma Rong spoke up.

“I don’t believe our traditions to be worthy of preserving simply on the merit of them being old. Quite the opposite actually, I think all of you have already heard me point out that something being old is in fact all the more reason to consider changing it. Which is why I want to offer implore Elder Wei to instead work towards bettering this system for all of us. Under that condition I can offer something the alchemy hall has recently produced: A tier nine Dao Realization Pill.”

This had the room go completely silent for a short while. Ma Rong’s status as the best alchemist far and wide gave him access to incredible amounts of wealth, but this was impressive nonetheless. A tier nine Dao Realization pill would be an incredible boon to any cultivator in the Dao Comprehension realm. It alone was easily worth twice what the pillar families had offered up until now.

For all that they were shocked by the fact that Ma Rong could successfully produce such a pill, they weren’t intimidated however. The pillar families had spent millennia building up their wealth as rulers of this sect. When they worked together, no one could ever dream about outbidding them. Patriarch Long Zhao spoke up.

“It is our traditions that have allowed our sect to thrive for the thousands of years it has existed. Protecting them is paramount to ensure our continued prosperity.”

What he meant but didn’t say of course was the prosperity of the pillar families.

“But as you have made such a generous offer, nobody shall call us stingy. The Zhao family expands its offer by the spiritual essence of a true Phoenix.”

Before the elders could continue bidding further, Liu Wei decided to finally speak up. Since couldn’t even use cultivation resources anymore, he had never intended to accept any of the offers in the first place.

The sole reason he hadn’t spoken up yet was to have the elders take their guard down a little. Surprise was a powerful tool of negotiation and having everyone present be absorbed in a bidding war before interrupting them in the middle of it was the perfect way of throwing them out of balance.

“If I may interrupt you, I would like to say something.” He kept a decidedly neutral face as all eyes in the room turned to him.

For the first time this evening he could make out a hint of anxiousness on some of the faces of the otherwise so confident heads of the pillar families. Until now, the conversation had been going exactly the way they wanted. Outbidding the reformers and buying his complacency was the perfect way to reestablish the stability of their rule. Whatever he had to say now could hardly benefit them.

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“I am honored by the esteem in which you hold me to be so willingly ready to give up your resources to help me further my cultivation. But since this discussion concerns my future position in the sect, I feel the need to tell you that this isn’t what I currently desire.”

Their anxiousness increased slightly. It was still only a miniscule amount, something that nobody without extensive experience would ever be able to discern, but it was enough to confirm to Liu Wei that his plan was working.

“I have thought long and hard on this over the last days and I have already arrived on a conclusion about what I think my future within this sect is.”

They knew he was playing up their fears, it was a method as old as day, but that didn’t matter. The reason this method was so old and so widely used was because it was very much effective.

“Let me be frank: As I have reached the same level of cultivation as the sect patriarch, sect law states that I have the right to challenge him to a duel for leadership of the sect.”

The tension in the room rose to a maximum. This was what they feared. This was the reason that him breaking through was such a big deal.

It was impossible to tell who would win in a duel between them. The Long Zhao possessed by far the better weaponry, but Liu Wei’s Dao of fire was amongst the strongest Daos in terms of combat strength. Long Zhao was half a century older but Liu Wei’s rapid early growth had meant that they had spent roughly the same time in the Dao Contemplation Realm. Both of them had fought countless battles in countless wars against beasts and cultivators alike and as such held extensive combat experience.

Liu Wei took in the heavy atmosphere for a few more moments before continuing to speak.

“I do not intend to do so.”

A wave of relief traveled through the room.

Becoming patriarch would not help him accomplish his goals. Becoming patriarch didn’t mean taking control of the sect from the pillar families. Even the current patriarch couldn’t do so, despite simultaneously leading one of them. They didn’t fear losing power. They feared the humiliation it would bring onto them if someone not from their ranks took the role of representing the sect.

From the moment he assumed the role of patriarch, they would be monitoring his every move. They would never let him make any significant changes, especially not once they realized his true ambitions for the sect. As such, becoming patriarch was not a viable option. He had a different plan.

“However, I do want to change the position which I occupy within the sect. As such I would like to propose a change of responsibilities in hall leadership.”

The prevailing mood switched to curiosity. Halls were usually only reassigned upon the previous leader’s death. Switching halls was possible, as long as both the involved leaders agreed on it, but it was rarely done. The Enforcement Hall that Liu Wei led was considered to be one of the most powerful halls alongside the Alchemy Hall and the Outer Relations Hall, which made his proposition especially curious.

“I would like to request a three-way-switch: I want Elder Lai to take charge of the Resource Gathering Hall, Elder Shi to take my position as leader of the Enforcement Hall with me taking over the Training Hall.”

This had the room dumbfounded. Why the hell would he want the Training Hall? Had he gone mad? The Training Hall was the weakest of the halls by a long shot. The only reason it was even considered one was that it made the administration of the outer disciples and their instructors easier.

The training hall had no economic output whatsoever, its only income came as direct funding from the sect. It also lacked any other kind of power, both militarily and politically. Being leader of the training hall was basically as good as not leading any hall at all.Why would someone who had just gained himself such an advantageous position just hand away their power like that? The elders couldn’t make sense of it.

Meixiu Xia was the first to catch herself.

“If you want to take charge of the training hall, may I ask why you don’t want to simply swap with Elder Hui?”

Liu Wei couldn’t help but admire her ability as a politician. She had already overcome her confusion, or at least managed to suppress it, and was trying to gain as much ground as possible.

The real reason Liu Wei wanted Lan Shi to have the Enforcement Hall rather than Meng Hui was the same reason Meixiu Xia would prefer the later: Meng Hui was of weak character, a proper coward. He wouldn’t get in the way of the pillar families even though he was part of the opposing faction. Lan Shi on the other hand did not only hold no fear of them, she despised them.

Of course, he couldn’t openly say that. That was what Meixiu Xia was banking on in asking him this question in the first place. To her misfortune however, he had long foreseen this questioning and had taken the time to craft a proper response to it.

“Of course you may ask, Elder Xia. As you know, Elder Lai practices the Dao of Nature. In my opinion, this is a better fit for the Resource Gathering Hall than Elder Shi’s Dao of Earth. On top of that, Elder Shi’s martial focus means she is the perfect candidate to take over the Enforcement Hall in my stead. Since I was already proposing a swap, I thought it beneficial to the sect, to include this additional clause.”

An airtight reasoning. He could practically see the gears turning in her head, as she tried to come up with a reply that could invalidate it, but she couldn’t. The whole situation had caught her too unprepared. Even so, Liu Wei didn’t want to risk giving her and the other elders any additional time to think.

“As is common practice, in addition to the leadership I would also like to swap any current financial assets the halls possess.”

This was paramount as he would need the funds if he wanted any chance at executing his plans for the training hall.

“I would first like to ask Elder Hui and Elder Shi if they agree with the swap.”

This was the easy part. The swap was entirely to both of their benefits as both of them would gain control of a more powerful and profitable hall than they currently held. He looked towards the two. They were still confused by the whole thing, but they had managed to compose themselves for now. They understood that pushing the deal through as fast as possible was paramount if they didn’t want the other elders to start attacking it. Lan Shi was the first to speak.

“I agree to Elder Wei’s proposal.”

“I agree as well.”, Meng Hui echoed.

“Then I will now ask Patriarch Zhao to cast a vote of the council.”

The patriarch hesitated a moment before giving in.

“I will do so.” Then, announcing in a louder and more official voice: “As per the request of Elder Wei, the council shall hold a vote over his proposal. If you wish for the swap to take place as proposed, answer with a yay. If you don’t want it to, answer with a nay.”

This was the critical part. The deal wasn’t truly to the pillar family’s advantage, after all none of them were losing any power and while the reform faction was gaining power, Liu Wei had just clearly taken their side with this proposal. If he were to belong to the opposing faction either way, weakening him as its potential strongest member was actually in their interest. The sole reason for them to block the deal was to foil any potential plans that he might have.

But for all that the pillar families controlled the sect, their margin in the council was actually not that big. The reform faction only had four actual members to the pillar families nine, but counting Liu Wei, Xue Yan who had recently been brought to support the reform faction, and librarian Shirong Yuan who, neutral as he was, had no reason to vote the proposal down, only two of the pillar family’s members would need to vote in favor of the proposal for it to have a majority.

In the end, it wasn’t even that close. The pillar families’ votes were split in half on the issue and all other elders supported it.

That finalized it: With a majority of eleven to four, the swap of halls would take place.