I Can See Your Combat Power

Chapter 699 -695: Considering the Overall Situation

Tang Yao, who convinced the students, didn’t hesitate to apologize to the head of the clan on the stage. More than a hundred top students went to Chengzhou, but only about twenty returned. Ancestor Tang didn’t want to bully too much, so he gently mentioned this huge and trivial mistake, and continued to announce the merit ranking of the clan members.

Unquestionably, Tang Yao was ranked second on the merit chart, followed by Tang Ming in third place, and Tang Qi in fourth, both of whom were representatives of the subsidiary clans.

Being able to suppress the two representatives of the subsidiary clans and take the second place in the rank of the clan’s merit list is an incredible achievement at any time. But at this moment, Tang Yao couldn’t even smile.

Although he persuaded the students to sit down in just a few words, he didn’t trust this ranking at all in his heart. Even though he was severely wounded and taken back to North Mountain by Xiao Jinlin, he consciously collected information about the big battle after he woke up. Compared to other students’ ignorance of the name Tang Luo, he believed he knew more about him.

It’s no exaggeration to call Tang Luo the most talented martial arts researcher in the history of the Tang clan. He has created a Mortal Realm Spirit Art, namely the Martial Master’s Index, and a Vermillion Bird mark skill to shed mortal body and merge into one. With his achievements in killing Prince Chu, and being known as the number one son of Xiling, no one could dispute his reputation.

Late on, after the surprise attack by the Divine Feathers Eighteen Riders on North Mountain, Tang Luo had taken the role of Steward from elder Tang Zhen and completely shattered the six teams led by top martial ancestors due to his strategic foresight and planning.

So Tang Yao understood from the beginning that Tang Luo should be his strong competitor. However, this strong opponent lost his shine during the end of the battle between the two clans, so no matter how he calculated, it was too surreal to overshadow his two years of achievements with these two merits.

He attended the rewards distribution meeting with firm belief in victory, but to his surprise, he was indeed left behind. Upon hearing this ranking, his initial reaction was indeed that someone in the internal affairs department was corrupting for personal gains.

Even so, he still came forward to calm the enraged students. Because he aspired to become the leader of the Tang clan, he knew how to maintain the dignity of the family.

He didn’t believe that this act of corruption was a collective act of the Stewards in the Internal Affairs Department. It must be that a few Stewards made this stupid move to please the Number One Son of Xiling, or even Tang Luo could be the sole conductor behind this corruption.

The aim was to use the first place in the merit list to plot for the position of clan deputy leader in exchange for his role during his term as the Steward. After all, the Stewards also had families, and only the Head of the Mountain, Tang Kuan, and the Steward had the right to revise the evacuation order of the entire North Mountain. Therefore, in a split second, Tang Yao made his judgment.

He might be facing the biggest scandal of the Tang clan since its inception, and this matter must not be announced publicly in the Internal Affairs Department because too many people were involved.

In addition to the two parties involved, there were Stewards of the Internal Affairs Department, the Head of the Martial Hall, and the neglected Sect Head and Chief Justice.

Once confirmed that the Stewards of the Internal Affairs Department were corrupt and selfish, it would cause a turmoil in several departments of the Tang Clan and make the clan lose their trust in the Internal Affairs Department. The impact on the clan that is currently in a good situation would be immense. Hence, even if this matter needed to be dealt with, it should be done quietly behind closed doors. For the sake of the overall situation, the grievances he suffered were not worth mentioning.

It was because of these considerations that Tang Yao came forward to comfort the students. But how frustrated he was inside, and who could know.

Without the anger of young and inexperienced people, the merit distribution meeting proceeded in an orderly manner. However, even after the merit distribution meeting concluded, the Sect Head Tang Zu did not announce the heir of the deputy clan leader. This caused a sense of unrest among the students in the southwest corner.

Tang Yao was even more certain of his speculation. He had obviously completed the exam assigned by the elders, but had not taken over the position of the deputy clan leader after returning. If no one sabotaged it, it would be too strange.

But Tang Yao, who thought he had seen through everything, did not lose his temper. Instead, he comforted everyone, saying: “What belongs to me will ultimately be mine, and no one can take it.”

Just like when he was hiding in the South Ridge and faced dangers several times, the more he was at a low point, the stronger Tang Yao’s mentality and will. This also reassured the students around him, and they felt that the leader who had led them to stir the South Ridge was back.

The Internal Affairs Department was not that large, and the small commotion of the students was naturally seen by others. Tang Yao’s few words of comfort were greatly appreciated by all, and they nodded in silent agreement.

“If it weren’t for the fact that Tang Luo was an extraordinary individual, this position of deputy clan leader would undoubtedly belong to Tang Yao.” Chief Tang Feng whispered to clan leader Tang Zhi next to him. As an independent intelligence agency, the wisdom of the clan leader to a large extent determined the upper limit of an intelligence agency. Therefore, Tang Feng had a lot of his own opinions about the yet to be appointed deputy clan leader: “Is he still refusing to take up the position of deputy clan leader?”

“Yeah.” Tang Zhi nodded, “A few days ago, the stewards of the Internal Affairs Department asked me to persuade Tang Luo to accept a discount on his credits, so as not to dampen the morale of the clanspeople. So, I made a trip to Lanshan City.”

“Why didn’t Tang Luo come?” Tang Feng frowned, glanced at the empty spot next to Sect Head Tang Sen not far away, and wondered, “Is he angry because of the merit discount?”

If it were him, he would be dissatisfied if he concealed the great achievement he had made for the clan in order to take care of the emotions of other clan members. He would feel this way, let alone the sixteen-year-old boy. It seems reasonable for him to be upset.

Tang Feng, who thought he had guessed correctly, saw clan leader Tang Zhi shake his head helplessly: “I wish it were that simple. He readily agreed to the Internal Affairs Department’s request to keep some details of his merits confidential, saying that it doesn’t matter if they were not counted as merits, and left it to the stewards of the Internal Affairs Department. I initially thought these were just his rash words, so I invited him to participate in the merit award meeting and brought up the issue of deputy clan leader succession again.” freёnovelkiss.com

“What did the kid say?”

“He said the merit award meeting is meaningless and he won’t come. He also said he is not interested in the position of deputy clan leader, and he will be happy just to be the head of his Marshal Star Pavilion.” Tang Zhi said helplessly. The position of deputy clan leader attracted many talented young people in the clan to compete, but the tasks assigned by the elders were too difficult, so to this day only Tang Yao completed it.

It was unusual to come across a junior whom the elders unanimously deemed did not need testing and could inherit the position of deputy clan leader, but he disdained the position. It could only be said that fate was making a fool of people.

“This kid really is…” Tang Feng couldn’t think of an evaluation for a while, but he thought of a plan and suggested to clan leader Tang Zhi, “I think this kid just lacks training. Why don’t you transfer him to my Wind Media Department, I guarantee that he will be obedient after three to five years.”