JUNIOR ANCESTORS

The elders were truly stunned by Leonel's words. Their first assumption was that Leonel didn't understand what he was talking about, lacking in too much experience to see what the problem was.

Take, for example, two individuals of vastly different standings, one of which was a man of average class and fit well amongst the common people, and the second of which was a noble existence, an Emperor or King, even.

Would the man of average class be able to make a deal of equal with the King? According to the rules of society, they would be, by their very nature, two existences of vastly different worths. Making a deal of equals first necessitated being equals in the first place.

A King could order a man of average class to do as he pleased, the vice versa would ever be true.

How this applied to the current situation was obvious. The Morales might be a King if it was dealing with any one family, but the problem was that it wasn't dealing with one family or even one organization, it was dealing with the entire Human Domain. How could they match up?

What did it mean to make a deal of equals? It meant that if one party should default on their word, the consequences the opposing party could force them to pay would be too great for them to ignore. This would force both parties into upholding their word.

What could a man of average class do to a King? And in this situation, in an exchange of life for treasure, if these families defaulted on their words, they would lose one genius, true enough. But they would also be able to gain a reason to retaliate in kind.

But what about the Morales? If Leonel didn't follow through, then he would bring down the wrath of the entire Human Domain on the Morales.

This was fundamentally not a deal of equals. So when Leonel spoke of just "accepting" the gifts, it sounded like a joke, like a peasant trying to force the hand of a King to give him treasures for doing something easily within his power.

However, Leonel didn't seem to notice their reactions at all. He walked forward, taking his seat at the helm, his mother standing to his back, though only for a moment. At an unknown time, a flash of green surrounded Alienor and she vanished into thin air as though she had never been there. It was impossible to tell if she was still behind Leonel, or if she had gone off to some other place.

Leonel smiled. "Ancestor Issa, Ancestor Alvaro, I'll have to ask you two to leave. Our guests have only brought forward Seventh Dimensional experts, it would be beneath your station to appear here, no? Leave this matter for a junior like me."

The eyes of the two Ancestors flickered. Leonel's words just now was probably the nicest thing he had ever said to them. Well, it was at the very least not as rude as the usual. But it was clear what his intentions were. If they really left, then what happened from here on would be dictated entirely by Leonel's temper, and they didn't know if they could trust such a thing.

However, what they didn't expect was that they wouldn't get a chance. Leonel tapped a finger subtly after he spoke, and the world's power descended. In the eyes of others, it looked as though the two had disappeared under their own power.

The other Ancestors looked toward one another and one by one, they too vanished.

Leonel radiated a confidence that left the remaining elders a bit stunned. In the end, they too took deep breaths and found their positions, taking a seat.

"Elder Kriss."

A middle-aged woman with a stern face and short cut hair stood immediately. "Yes, Patriarch."

Leonel tapped his armrest for a moment, in thought. "Do we have any promising youths in this coming generation?"

Elder Kriss was one of the Head Commanders of the Divine Guards and also one of the strongest among the Peak Seventh Dimensional Morales. For those like this, the Morales had their own unique names for them, and they called this group of elders the Junior Ancestors, though there was nothing junior about them at all. From .

She would be among the best in knowing what promising youths there were, at least in combat. The Morales had yet to get used to the fact that the Spear Domain Lineage Factor and the Metal Synergy Lineage Factor had now become one.

"Among the Post-Nova Generation, there are indeed a few good seedlings," she nodded in affirmation.

"Pick one, call them here," Leonel said.

Her gaze flickered, but Leonel had already moved on.

"Elder Aria."

Yet another older woman stood, straight and tall. She didn't look nearly as stern, but there was still a hint of authority between her brows. Her hair was long and tinged with deep hints of silver that alternated with the usual deep brown of the Morales, and from her neck hung a pair of glasses.

She was one of the Head Crafters and led the Crafters of the family in many things. She wasn't a Junior Ancestor in raw strength, but rather in the power of her Divine Armor and how cleverly she implemented her Crafts. In this way, she was a lot like the Radix family, but on a completely different level.

Unlike Elder Kriss, though, she didn't call out to him as Patriarch, not that there was a rule for this.

"Do the same as Elder Kriss, call one here."

She frowned. "P.. Patriarch," she said slowly, "this matter is quite delicate, it isn't very appropriate for..."

Leonel looked over and met her eyes. Elder Aria could see an almost indifferent sort of gentleness within, but it still froze her. The weight of the world bore down.

"Inappropriate? I think it will be fine," Leonel said with a smile. "We just need a few flower girls and ring boys."

The hearts of the elders skipped a beat, but everything was quickly put into motion. Soon, the doors of the Morales Palace were opened wide, and at the forefront, two teenagers, one young man and one young woman, stood forward, their pride beaming and the arrogance of the Morales blooming out from deep within them.

"The Morales family welcomes you!" They roared.