The Yi Matriarch was not as socially adept as the Ci Clan Head and she was mouthing the word ‘outsiders’ a few times, or well that’s what it looked like to Sage. He wasn’t really a lip reader after all. He wanted to chuckle at the exchange, but he felt a little bad for these Branch Clans so he held it in.

“Please don’t tease us like this, Brother Lang. We are all family and we should stick together. We were always left out and looked down upon and this is our chance to be rid of that heavy burden.”

“There are some relations between our clan, and while we don’t need any help we can make an exception. If you truly wish to stay, then I suppose the Lang Clan can afford to take care of you. We won’t accept any others, but if the Chong Clan’s branches want to instead become the Lang Clan’s branches, then we won’t treat you badly. The Lang Clan repays all kindness and remembers all slights.”

With such a blunt declaration, it didn’t leave much room for the Branch Clans to negotiate. In the Inner World, Yating had quite the reputation as a ruthless businessman. With a Purple Mist Sect member always shadowing him, he always had a reliable method of dealing with people who tried to use violence to force a deal. He didn’t let anyone intimidate him using strength and his deals could be conducted purely based upon the value of the goods and services. He never had to lose money because the party he was dealing with was powerful, and he also never took advantage of anyone in that manner either. His ruthlessness was related to supply and demand, though he wasn’t truly merciless when lives were at stake. He never drove up the price of food in a famine, or coal in winter.

Yet, this was not one of those situations. The Branch Clans had not shown them much kindness in the past, so there was no reason for the Lang Clan to share any authority with them. There was not much they could do when the Lang Clan was destroyed, but just like the Chong Clan they didn’t even bother to help the last few remaining members when the Fu Clan finished the job. Later, Sage was driven off and nearly lost his life, yet none of them came to assist him. Yating knew these stories well, and there were only a few groups that could be considered their friends. The Chong Clan and its branches were not on that list.

If these fellows wanted their favor, they would have to earn it first.

The wide fellow that seemed to weigh far more than should be possible, the Jie Clan Head, had a blank, but somehow menacing look upon his face. The coldness in his eyes seemed to intensify as he spoke, “It would be in your best interest to reconsider, Brother Lang.”

Next to him, the foppish man moved a square of cloth to his forehead, dabbing up the sweat that was forming without messing up his makeup. He put on a big smile and tried to look as genuine as possible, which he failed at, and tried to help the conversation along.

“Yes, we’re all friends here. We should join hands and work together to build each other up. You don’t need to do that.”

“It’s already done. This isn’t something that is still up for consideration. The Lang Clan is now in charge of Ten Thousand Wave. In the next few years, the Chong Clan will withdraw completely. If you are still branches of the Chong Clan, then you should go with them or else others will get the wrong idea. The Lang Clan will not be harsh, you can take your time to sell your assets so you don’t get a bad price, but you must make it known that you are in the process of leaving.”

Yating’s earlier stance of allowing them to stay was something of a polite pretense and now he had revealed the truth in a blunt manner. They were going to officially break off from the Chong Clan, or else they might become a target. The other first rate powers were sure to send people to test their capability, but it would be far less likely for them to team up against them if they didn’t threaten the balance of power. The Dou Kingdom’s first rate powers had already split into three factions, and they would not like the idea of a fourth faction coming into existence. The Chong Clan was currently part of the neutral faction. Conveniently, the Kang Clan and Mount Song Sword Sect were also neutral factions. It was already known that Sage had a good relationship with the Mount Song Sword Sect, and if they also decided that he was friends with the Kang Clan they might think the four of them were building a new faction. If they did, they would want to wipe out the Lang Clan sooner rather than later.

Yating spoke so harshly to the heads of the Branch Clans and made himself very clear specifically so those from outside the Chong Clan could overhear him. He wanted to make the split between the Chong and Lang very clear, but he also couldn’t just blatantly insult the Chong Clan. They’d just been granted control of their old province, so they had to be properly thankful for this kindness. So, the best choice was to use the Branch Clans to show their stance to the world. They would be able to act with arrogance and exhibit an indomitable nature without acting ungrateful to their benefactors, the Chong Clan.

Three of the four branch heads were considerably upset, enough that they couldn’t even hide the emotion from their faces. Surprisingly, the fourth had a very strange look on their face. It changed from rage, to confusion, then understanding and finally determination. That person was the first to have spoken out, the Ci Clan Head. She had been the most fiery and eager to lump the branches together into one boat, and being denied so directly had filled her with rage. Then as the others started to take over, she went through a flurry of emotions and Sage thought that she had already changed her mind and put on this exaggerated show to prepare them for her change of heart.

She stared at Yating with a burning intensity. Then she turned around and walked over towards where Xie Bian was standing. She stepped in front of the Chong Clan Matriarch and then suddenly dropped down to her knees. Then, without concern for the giant crowd around them, she bent over at the waist and brought her forehead and palms down to touch the ground. Xie Bian’s eyes narrowed, but she said nothing.

“The Chong Clan had sheltered us for more than a thousand years and never treated us wrongly. The Ci will always remain in debt to the Chong Clan, but we think the Lang Clan will have greater need of our assistance than the Great Chong. Please forgive us, Matriarch.”

Xie Bian was silent for what seemed like half a day. Besides the narrowing of her eyes, her face remained completely still. Nobody could quite tell what she was thinking about. Was she unsure of how to handle this issue, or was she merely letting the importance of this event sink in? Then, she finally spoke.

“The Ci wish to change their allegiance to the Lang Clan. Are the Ci sure about that?”