Chapter 1171 The Guardian of the Second District
Huo Laoban sneered inwardly. In his eyes, Yang Haoran being the first to arrive at the conference room today was definitely intentional, his purpose self-evident: to make a good impression before Luo Yao, the Great Emperor. If Great Emperor Luo Yao had been waiting in the conference room for the other Guardians to arrive, then being the first to step into the room would certainly have only benefits, never drawbacks.
He himself had rushed to the conference room with this very thought in mind, so he believed Yang Haoran was plotting the same.
But now, all eight living Guardians of their Jingling Continent Underworld Division were present, and Great Emperor Luo Yao had yet to appear. In his opinion, then, who arrived first at the conference room was utterly meaningless, since Great Emperor Luo Yao wasn't even there to see it. He felt Yang Haoran's little scheme had fallen flat, and so he sneered inwardly, even feeling a sense of satisfaction.
Yang Haoran, however, was quite different from Huo Laoban at this moment. He paid no mind to Huo Laoban, his rival, not even sparing him a thought. He was currently looking at Xu Meijing, and Xu Meijing was looking back at him.
Due to the restrictive environment, both Yang Haoran and Xu Meijing, like everyone else, remained silent. Yet, their eyes spoke volumes to each other. Without uttering a word, they were able to exchange simple communications through their gazes.
It had been some time since Yang Haoran last saw Xu Meijing. She was still the same as ever: beautiful, domineering, arrogant, and brimming with presence. Outwardly, nothing seemed to have changed, but Yang Haoran was certain of one profound transformation: the Spirit Power within Xu Meijing!
Yang Haoran believed that after not seeing her for a while, Xu Meijing's strength must have significantly improved. After all, like him, she possessed a Soul-Refining Cauldron, and coupled with her competitive, unyielding personality, Xu Meijing would undoubtedly seize every moment and opportunity to enhance her power. As for resources, Xu Meijing had no shortage whatsoever. Whether it was the Soul Pills refined by the Soul-Refining Cauldron or those yielded from the profits of Jingran Pharmacy, the numbers were immense, not to mention the Soul Pills obtained through other channels. Therefore, Yang Haoran was certain that Xu Meijing's current strength had definitely ascended another level.
Of course, no matter how swiftly Xu Meijing's strength advanced, in Yang Haoran's estimation, she would at most be at the peak of the late Earth Soul realm, just like him. This was because breaking through to the Life Soul realm was simply too difficult; he wouldn't be so naive as to believe that Xu Meijing had already reached the Life Soul realm.
The conference room was already extremely quiet, and the sound of footsteps immediately drew the attention of all eight Guardians present. Everyone's gaze turned towards the conference room door, and two figures entered their sight one after another.
The first was none other than the head of the Jingling Continent Underworld Division, Great Emperor Luo Yao of Jingling. As for the person behind Luo Yao, the eight Guardians present also recognized him: it was Yongle, the Emissary of Death from Xuewu City!
In the past, Yongle had quite a reputation in the Jingling Continent Underworld Division. Although he was only an Emissary of Death, many Underworld officials knew him due to his formidable strength.
Now, Yongle not only held considerable fame within the Jingling Continent Underworld Division but also throughout the entire Underworld. This was partly due to his formidable strength and partly because he had recently achieved one remarkable feat after another for the Underworld Division.
It was rumored that Yongle's cultivation realm had not only long since reached the peak of the late Earth Soul realm but was even quite close to the Life Soul realm. Though merely an Emissary of Death, he surpassed all the Guardians of the Jingling Continent Underworld Division in terms of cultivation.
While this was merely a rumor, its truthfulness was something no one could definitively state. Yet, despite that, many still found the rumor highly credible, even believing its content entirely.
Regardless of whether the rumor was true or false, one thing was undeniable: Yongle's strength was indeed exceptionally formidable, a fact acknowledged throughout the Jingling Continent Underworld Division.
The first time Yang Haoran saw Yongle was during the martial competition between himself and Xu Meijing to contend for the Guardian position. At that time, although he hadn't directly sparred with Yongle, he had witnessed Yongle's prowess. Now, after such a long time, it was certain that Yongle's strength had improved, though to what extent, Yang Haoran couldn't say.
Seeing Luo Yao enter the conference room with Yongle, the Emissary of Death, the eight individuals wore various expressions, each realizing something in their hearts. However, none of them spoke up to ask questions at this moment. Instead, they rose from their designated seats and respectfully saluted Luo Yao.
“Greetings, Great Emperor! ”
The eight spoke in unison, their attitudes uniformly respectful, though whether that respect was truly heartfelt was hard to say.
Luo Yao's face was stern. He let out a soft hum, then paused his steps and turned his gaze to Yongle behind him.
Yongle's reaction was somewhat different from that of the eight Guardians present. He wore a carefree smile, and when the eight looked at him, he not only showed no embarrassment but instead flashed them a brilliant grin, utterly unconstrained by the difference in their statuses.
Luo Yao halted, and Yongle likewise stopped. Seeing Luo Yao look at him, Yongle understood immediately and remained silent. Luo Yao then pointed to the vacant Second District Guardian's seat and spoke in a deep voice.
“From now on, that will be your exclusive seat, Yongle, until the day you die. Go on. ”
Although the eight Guardians present had long guessed Luo Yao's intention in bringing Yongle here today, hearing Luo Yao utter those words themselves still caused some of their expressions to change considerably.
Yang Haoran's expression showed no obvious change. When he had received the message within the Underworld Iron Tome, he had already surmised that Luo Yao's emergency meeting was very likely to select a new Guardian to fill the vacancy. After all, with the death of the Second District Guardian, their Jingling Continent Underworld Division was left with only eight Guardians, and the Second District, without a Guardian, naturally became the weakest area. Therefore, it was imperative to choose a new Guardian to fill the void.
Besides guessing this, he had also surmised that the person selected this time would very likely be Yongle, the Emissary of Death, as Yongle had recently been making waves and indeed possessed such strength.
As for the method Luo Yao would use for the selection, in his view, it certainly wouldn't be like the last time he and Xu Meijing rose through the ranks, because the current wartime situation simply did not support such a large-scale selection process. Thus, he personally felt that the selection method would be much simpler than before.
However, what he never would have imagined was that Luo Yao would be so utterly straightforward, so much so that he skipped all procedures, directly installing Yongle into the position of Second District Guardian.
Although he felt a slight surprise inwardly, Yang Haoran not only didn't show his inner astonishment on his face but instead smiled at Yongle as a gesture of goodwill.
Of course, there were also those whose expressions weren't so pleasant, such as Long Yan and Ye Xianglan, who were led by Wen Hexuan. After hearing Luo Yao's words, all three frowned, clearly dissatisfied with Luo Yao's arrangement. However, none of them immediately voiced a rebuttal.
Both Luo Yao and Yongle took in the instantaneous reactions of the eight individuals. Luo Yao offered no explanation, simply walking to his own seat as Great Emperor. Yongle hesitated for a moment, then flashed a brilliant smile at the eight. Under their varying gazes, he confidently walked towards the exclusive seat of the Second District Guardian, showing no awkwardness whatsoever.
By the time Yongle reached the exclusive seat of the Second District Guardian, Luo Yao was already settled in his Great Emperor's chair. Seeing that Yongle, like the other eight Guardians, was standing ready before the Second District Guardian's seat, he spoke with a solemn face.
“All of you, sit. ”
This was clearly not directed at any one person present, but rather, explicitly at everyone. Hearing this, the nine, who had been standing, now sat down.
Once all nine had settled into their seats, Luo Yao continued speaking.
“The death of the previous Second District Guardian is a matter of great regret for our Jingling Continent Underworld Division. However, a country cannot be without a ruler for a single day, nor a family without a head. The Second District must have a new Guardian to take up the mantle and oversee its operations, otherwise, the Second District will struggle to function normally and may even be exploited by enemy forces. Therefore, I have decided that from this moment forward, Yongle shall become the new Guardian of the Second District. Do any of you have any objections? ”
Faced with this situation, naturally there were those who agreed, those who remained silent, and of course, those who had doubts.
“Your subordinate has no objections whatsoever. ”
Yang Haoran spoke with a faint smile, being the first to express his stance. At this moment, his words were less about conveying his attitude and more about publicly declaring his position first.
“Your subordinate has no objections. ”
“Your subordinate also has no objections. ”
Following Yang Haoran, Huo Laoban and Xu Meijing also immediately expressed their attitudes. Xu Meijing didn't mind being preempted by Yang Haoran, but Huo Laoban naturally felt some displeasure, yet there was nothing he could do. This was because Luo Yao's words had barely fallen when Yang Haoran, without even a moment's thought, gave an affirmative response, while he himself had hesitated for just a moment and was consequently beaten to it by Yang Haoran.
Some of those who had remained silent also expressed their attitudes after Yang Haoran and the other two had successively stated theirs. Regardless of whether they harbored objections in their hearts, they all verbally stated they had none, and this included Wen Hexuan and Ye Xianglan. However, one person still had not stated his position: Long Yan.
The gazes of the others, due to Long Yan's lack of response, all turned towards him, including Luo Yao's. However, their expressions held subtle differences as they looked at Long Yan.
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