Chapter 0929: New Hall Master Ox Biaobiao
Chapter 0929: New Hall Master Ox Biaobiao
Li Jingzhe turned towards Li Luo slowly and asked, "Who would you like to nominate?" A curious look feigning ignorance hung on his face. The other elders did not comment on this either. After all, one could not possibly question the Lineage Chief's actions, right?
At this moment, Li Luo put his hands together and responded in a deep voice, "I would like to nominate the respected guest of the Dragon's Fang Lineage, Ox Biaobiao." This was an identity that he had gotten when he arrived at the Dragon's Fang Lineage with Li Luo. Although it was a position with little authority, it still signified that he was part of the Dragon's Fang Lineage.
After hearing Li Luo's recommendation, Zhong Yushi smiled indifferently. This was what he had expected as well.
After all, it had only been six months since Li Luo came to the Dragon's Fang Lineage. There was no way he could have gotten close to any of the Dukes that were stationed across the lineage.
"Banner Leader Li Luo, it's been less than half a year since Ox Biaobiao joined us. He has not contributed to the Green Nether Hall. It would be hard to convince others that he's a worthy candidate," Zhong Yushi said gently.
"We have many City Lords within the Green Nether Hall's borders that have worked hard and contributed a lot to our development. If they knew that a newcomer, an outsider, obtained the position of Hall Master so easily, there would surely be grievances and unrest. Banner Leader Li Luo, if you truly want to nominate Ox Biaobiao, why not wait a few more years before you do so? Once he's contributed more to our lineage, it'll be easier to convince the others too," Zhong Yushi added thoughtfully.
None of the other elders in the discussion hall said anything. According to the rules and regulations, it was indeed inappropriate for Ox Biaobiao to participate.
As Li Rouyun watched the conversation unfold, she also sighed a little in her heart. She knew that there would be considerable opposition if they nominated Ox Biaobiao. Only Li Luo would dare to bring it up, as he had a special background and was the grandson of the Lineage Chief. The other elders would have to give him some face ultimately. If she was the one that had brought it up instead, she would be reprimanded for sure.
However, Li Luo did not change his expression. He simply smiled and said, "That's not entirely true, Second Hall Master. Although Ox Biaobiao has just arrived at the Dragon's Fang Lineage, his contributions to the Green Nether Hall likely exceed everyone else’s."
Zhong Yushi frowned a little when he heard this. "What do you mean? What contributions?" he asked.
Calmly, Li Luo explained, "Ox Biaobiao protected the Main Hall Master of the Green Nether Hall in the journey from the Heavenly Origin Divine Continent to the outer divine continent. It was an arduous odyssey that even left him greatly injured, resulting in the destruction of his Duke Bergfrieds. This caused him to lag behind in cultivation over the past few decades. Is such an action not considered a sufficient contribution?"
Many of the elders took a look at each other after hearing this.
Zhong Yushi was also stunned for a moment. A dark gloominess shrouded his face. Li Luo was really crafty! Li Taixuan and Tan Tailan had offended the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Qing back then. However, the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li did not extend a helping hand at all. In other words, Ox Biaobiao was simply helping Li Taixuan out with a private matter of the Hall Master. Could this even be considered a form of contribution to the lineage?
But... Li Luo did not mentioned Li Taixuan by name. He had simply referred to him as the Main Hall Master.
Li Taixuan was indeed the Main Hall Master of the Green Nether Hall at the time.
Since Li Taixuan was the Main Hall Master, Ox Biaobiao's protection and actions had naturally been a huge contribution to the Green Nether Hall.
If not, were they supposed to deny the fact that Li Taixuan was the Main Hall Master of the Green Nether Hall?
Or were they supposed to argue that Ox Biaobiao should not have protected Li Taixuan at all? This would surely enrage the Lineage Chief. It was something that even Zhong Yushi would not dare to do.
As such, he was at a total loss for words all of a sudden.
"What Little Luo said is true. Ox Biaobiao's actions may not have benefited the other halls, but he has indeed contributed greatly to the Green Nether Hall. With this, I feel that there will be no issue if he's allowed to participate in the Green Nether Hall's Hall Master selection," Li Jinpan said slowly as he expressed his agreement with this idea.
Li Qingpeng also grinned and agreed with him.
"The Main Hall Master is the leader of the Green Nether Hall. He represents the face of our hall. Since Ox Biaobiao defended him with his life, the Green Nether Hall will forever remember his favor. If we don't at least do that much, won't we be regarded as a joke to outsiders?" Li Rouyun added at this point.
Hearing these words, the various elders turned towards Li Jingzhe indifferently as they had reached the same consensus.
This had nothing to do with their halls, so there was no need for them to argue over it.
Zhong Yushi's heart sank a little when he witnessed their changing attitudes. Who would have thought that Li Luo could bypass the stringent requirements with just a few words?
"Hehe. In that case, Ox Biaobiao's contribution to the Green Nether Hall is indeed sufficient." These words had come out of the mouth of Zhao Xuanming, the Main Hall Master of the Gold Light Hall. He cupped his hands together as a sign of respect for Li Jingzhe before he continued, "I guess there will be three candidates participating in the selection. In that case, shall we follow the existing rules and have the three of them fight it out? The winner will be the last one standing."
As soon as Zhong Yushi heard this, he heaved a sigh of relief. That's right. Even though Ox Biaobiao's contribution was significant, he still lacked the strength to become a Hall Master!
Ox Biaobiao might have been considered a ferocious character in the past, but his Duke Bergfrieds had been shattered. With his foundation destroyed, he possessed the strength of a second-grade Duke at best. This was far too weak to be comparable with the other two candidates nominated by Zhong Yushi.
"In the end, strength is the most important part of the Hall Master selection. If he can't get past this, his past actions do not matter," Zhong Yushi commented slowly. He had made his point clear to prevent Li Luo from engaging in wordplay.
To his surprise, Li Luo did not object to this at all. Instead, he nodded seriously and agreed with him. "Yes, one's strength is the most crucial factor. Only the winner deserves to be the Hall Master!"
This led Zhong Yushi to watch him with eyes full of suspicion. It was odd that Li Luo would agree to this so easily. He had spent so much effort to recommend Ox Biaobiao, and considering how weak the man should be, why had he agreed so quickly?
It did not matter either way. At this point, Zhao Xuanming stated, "In that case, the three contestants can prepare for battle."
As soon as he finished speaking, an astonishing wave of energy swept across the discussion hall. Everyone could sense frightening undulations coming from the outside. Their faces changed immediately, and they turned around to have a look.
"Who's this?!" They frowned as they stared out of the discussion hall. Who would dare to create trouble in Dragon's Fang Mountain?
However, none of them left to check it out. After all, Li Jingzhe had remained in his seat without any reaction.
This astonishing energy undulation only lasted for a few moments before it gradually retreated. There was no doubt that this had come from a Duke.
As all the elders frowned and pondered about what was happening, a man confidently walked into the discussion hall. There was a fearsome, murderous aura surrounding him, and his bald head reflected the light brilliantly. The air in the discussion hall trembled with each step, as if a primordial, savage beast had entered.
When the man approached, the elders finally recognized him. Their eyes changed immediately.
"Ox Biaobiao?!" Zhong Yushi's face changed completely. He nearly lost his voice from the shock.
He could clearly tell from the terrifying pressure coming from Ox Biaobiao that he was not any weaker than himself. Did that mean that he was a seventh-grade Duke?!
“When did Ox Biaobiao recover from his injuries and reach this stage?”
Similarly, Li Rouyun stood with eyes wide open as she stared at Ox Biaobiao in surprise.
Whispers broke out in the discussion hall.
Under the penetrating gazes, Ox Biaobiao simply smiled. It formed a clear distinction from the rest of his fierce and plump face. With a pig-butchering knife in his hand, he declared, "I just met two guys outside who said that they were coming for the Green Nether's Hall Master selection. We had a good talk and they decided to give up."
Everyone fell silent after hearing this. With that terrifying energy wave that had swept across the room earlier, it seemed like the discussion had turned pretty intense.
With that, it was clear that the two candidates suggested by Zhong Yushi had admitted defeat to Ox Biaobiao. This was to be expected. After all, even the stronger of the duo, the City Lord of Huangji City, had not reached the sixth stage. On the other hand, Ox Biaobiao was at the seventh stage. There was no way they could match up to him.
Nonetheless, the most shocking part of all this was... how had Ox Biaobiao repaired his Duke Bergfrieds? That was an extremely serious injury for a Duke.
Some of the Elders turned over and looked at Li Jingzhe, who had not said a word yet. The Lineage Chief was the only one in the Dragon's Fang Lineage with the ability to do something like this.
In that case, Li Jingzhe had prepared the Hall Master seat for Ox Biaobiao since the very beginning.
Li Rouyun's eyes were also full of surprise. It was extremely good news to know that Ox Biaobiao had regained his strength. This would mean that he would surely get to be the new Hall Master of the Green Nether Hall. With his help, she would have the power to stand up against Zhong Yushi from now on.
Indeed, Zhong Yushi was totally dumbfounded by this sudden development. Without uttering a single word, he fell back into his seat. Things had been set in stone before the meeting had even begun. His plot to obtain the Hall Master seat had failed. The stalemate in the Green Nether Hall would similarly be broken.
At this moment, Li Jingzhe slowly enunciated, "In that case, are there any objections against Ox Biaobiao becoming the sixth Hall Master of the Green Nether Hall?"
No one raised any objections.
With that, Li Jingzhe concluded decisively, "Things are decided, then."
The various elders nodded in agreement. Afterwards, he even glanced briefly towards Zhong Yushi. It seemed that from now on, Zhong Yushi would no longer be able to have everything go his way in the Green Nether Hall. Most importantly, it also demonstrated Li Jingzhe's attitude towards this.
He was sending a signal to everyone present that the Green Nether Hall belonged to Li Taixuan, the father of Li Luo.
Even if he did not return in the future, Li Luo would be the one taking over as the Main Hall Master once he grew up.
Zhong Yushi might have coveted the role, but his efforts had been useless.
There was nothing more he could do. Even though Li Luo did not have many connections within the Dragon's Fang Lineage... he was still the beloved grandchild of the Lineage Chief.
All these actions were meant to compensate for his tough childhood in the outer divine continent.
As long as Li Jingzhe remained in the Dragon's Fang Lineage, no one within the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li would be able to touch Li Luo.