Chapter 1069: The Election of the New Elder
All of a sudden, it became so quiet in the spacious hall that a dropped needle could be heard.
If it weren’t for the fact that Luo Wanxiang and Sikong Cuo didn’t look alike at all, Nie Tian would even suspect that Sikong Cuo was his son born out of wedlock.
The way Luo Wanxiang stood up for him had come to the point where he didn’t even bother to mask it.
Nie Tian had let Sikong Cuo have a taste of his own medicine in the Domain of Nether Heaven, causing the deaths of many of his subordinates.
His strength had plummeted because of it. At this moment, his force was roughly at the same level as Nie Tian’s, which was at the very bottom among the Sons of the Stars.
However, if Mou Luo’s subordinates were to join his force, he would become even stronger than before.
As far as Nie Tian knew, even though Mou Luo had been killed, his Saint domain subordinates hadn’t suffered too many casualties.
If they actually took Sikong Cuo as their new master, his strength would rise to an unprecedented level.
Of course, the other Sons of the Stars wouldn’t want to see Sikong Cuo get all of Mou Luo’s subordinates. However, the Ancient Fragmentary Star Palace had rules in this regard.
The subordinates of a deceased Son of the Stars would have the right to choose their new master.
If they thought that Sikong Cuo would be a brilliant leader and had the best chance at becoming the next Lord of the Stars, and thus chose to follow him, no one should thwart their decision.
“If you have doubts, you’re free to go talk to them, and see if you can persuade them to join your forces,” Luo Wanxiang said slowly, his face calm as ever. “As long as they agree to choose any of you instead of Sikong Cuo, they’ll be your subordinates from now on. I won’t interfere.”
Nie Tian exchanged a glance with Fang Yuan.
With a bitter smile, Fang Yuan shook his head.
The two of them had talked in the Vast Heaven Pavilion. According to Fang Yuan, he had recently paid a visit to Mou Luo’s domains, harboring the same thought as Sikong Cuo, which was to enlist Mou Luo’s Saint domain subordinates into his own force.
However, Mou Luo’s subordinates had refused to give him a clear-cut answer.
Fang Yuan had thought that Mou Luo’s subordinates probably wanted to compare the terms of each interested Son of the Stars, and then choose the highest bidder.
Now, only after Sikong Cuo and Luo Wanxiang announced that Mou Luo’s subordinates had already chosen to join Sikong Cuo did Fang Yuan realize that Sikong Cuo must have reached out to them and won their acknowledgment before everyone else.
“If there are no objections, let’s move on to the next issue,” Luo Wanxiang said loudly.
“Wait,” Chu Rui, the other vice sectmaster, said leisurely. “Since you testify that Mou Luo’s subordinates have decided to follow Sikong Cuo, there’s nothing to question on that front. But we haven’t reached a conclusion as to who will take over the four domains that belonged to Mou Luo, right?”
“That’s right,” Luo Wanxiang said.
Many people’s eyes lit up, as they clearly hoped to have a piece of that cake.
Fang Yuan also braced himself upon hearing this.
Glancing over the restless crowd, Luo Wanxiang said, “The sect has already reassumed ownership of Mou Luo’s domains. Proper prices will be determined after careful assessment. Once the prices come out, all Sons of the Stars will be allowed to compete for them with their contribution points.”
Chu Rui nodded. “Alright. Enough for this issue. Let’s move on.”
Luo Wanxiang turned to look at Xiao Xihe’s seat, which only had an empty mirror in it now, and said, “The death of elder Xiao Xihe has left a void. We need to elect a new elder to fill it.
“I think we can all agree that we have three suitable candidates: Ge Ling, Peng Siyi, and Ji Yanchuan.
“They’re all at the late Saint domain, and as senior members, they’ve all dedicated themselves to our sect. Each and every one of them qualifies to take the position as an elder. So let’s take a vote among us, and the one with the most votes will become our new elder.
“Any objections?”
Luo Wanxiang asked loudly.
“I agree to choose from the three of them.” Chu Rui stated his stance first.
Mo Heng’s soul shadow nodded expressionlessly within the mirror.
The other elders and Sons of the Stars also assented. Clearly, they all thought the three candidates qualified to fill in as the new elder.
“Six Sons of the Stars, eleven elders, Brother Chu, and myself, we all have one vote each.” Luo Wanxiang addressed the meeting.
“I vote for Peng Siyi.” Chu Rui was the first to state his choice.
“I choose Ge Ling.”
“Ge Ling.”
“Ji Yanchuan.”
The Sons of the Stars and elders took turns to state their choices.
Nie Tian, however, remained silent. Eyes glittering, he listened and observed.
He was well-aware that the election of a new elder was a matter of great importance.
Every single elder would have a vote in who would become the next Lord of the Stars of the Ancient Fragmentary Star Palace.
Ge Ling, Peng Siyi, and Ji Yanchuan... Some of them might be close to Luo Wanxiang, some of them might be close to Chu Rui. Whoever had the new elder’s support would gain an advantage in the future.
However, Nie Tian had never seen or even heard of any of them.
If he made his choice rashly, and chose the one who sided with Luo Wanxiang or Sikong Cuo, wouldn’t he regret it?
Therefore, he remained silent and observed.
Soon, he discovered that both Luo Wanxiang and Sikong Cuo had chosen Ge Ling, and so had two other elders who were attending the meeting with their soul shadows. Nie Tian instantly realized that Ge Ling probably had close connections with Luo Wanxiang and Sikong Cuo.
As for the other vice sectmaster, Chu Rui, he deemed that Peng Siyi should fill Xiao Xihe’s slot and become one of the twelve elders.
Nie Tian still stayed put.
Only until Mo Heng’s soul shadow softly said Ji Yanchuan’s name from within the mirror did he call out, “I vote for Ji Yuanchuan!”
Mo Heng took a sideways look at him and nodded in a very subtle way.
“Ji Yanchuan,” Fang Yuan said.
“Ji Yanchuan,” Han Wanrong said.
“Ji Yanchuan!” Yan Zhan called out.
“Ji Yanchuan.” A voice echoed out from within one of the mirrors.
Looking surprised, Luo Wanxiang took a glance at Mo Heng, an unfathomable look appearing in his eyes.
Nie Tian and a few others had remained silent before Mo Heng gave his choice, as if they had been hesitating over their choices.
However, as soon as Mo Heng stated his choice, they all seconded his choice and voted for Ji Yanchuan.
“Mo Heng...” Luo Wanxiang said inwardly.
Chu Rui let out a long laugh and said, “Alright. This is it. I’m surprised that so many of you voted for Ji Yuanchuan. From today on, Ji Yanchuan will be one of the twelve elders of our sect. And Xiao Xihe’s responsibilities will fall on him now.”
No vote count was necessary. Judging by how often Ji Yanchuan’s name was called, they already knew that he was getting far more votes than the other two candidates.
Nie Tian also found the result surprising.
He had thought that Ge Ling, who had vice sectmaster Luo Wanxiang’s support, would eventually win the most votes. Who would have known that after grand elder Mo Heng gave his vote, all of the remaining votes would go to Ji Yanchuan as well.
At this moment, Mo Heng had just become even more unfathomable in Nie Tian’s heart.
He wondered why so many elders and Sons of the Stars would second his choice.
“The grand elder’s status should have been lower than the vice sectmaster’s, but he seems to have more people’s support. I wonder why this is.” Nie Tian thought to himself.
No matter how Luo Wanxiang felt about this, he had to respect the rules set by the sect. “Since Ji Yanchuan has the most votes, he’s the new elder,” he announced.
“Next issue: Demons,” Luo Wanxiang continued, his face turning grim, “The Demons crossed a line by killing Mou Luo. Our sect will lose face if we don’t teach them a bloody lesson. So all of our next major moves will be centered around them!”