Chapter 1017: 104 Chapter 1017: 104 “There’s no need for me to elaborate on why this meeting was called; you all know. Let us now discuss how we should approach this new Martial Supreme.”

In the Douglas family’s conference room, the current clan leader spoke from the highest seat, his voice filled with an authoritative air.

“Three hundred and sixty years have passed since the calamity of Destruction. Since the rise of the Star Armor Masters, a Martial Supreme has finally emerged. It’s hard to imagine that in this era, someone could go against the current.”

As the meeting began, one of the elders couldn’t help but speak up with a sigh.

“Regardless of whether it’s hard to imagine or not, such an existence has appeared. What we need to discuss now is how we should treat this Martial Supreme,” another elder said with a serious expression.

“Has any information been gathered about this Martial Supreme?”

“Yes, it has. The Martial Supreme is named Aine; he was born in a fifth-tier small city, his family extremely poor. His father was a chronic gambler who lived on the federal poverty subsidies. The situation improved slightly after Aine enrolled in school, as his excellent grades allowed him to receive scholarships from the Federation, alleviating the pressure of life.”

“This Martial Supreme comes from such a dire background?” The many elders of the Douglas family couldn’t help but express their surprise upon hearing Aine’s origins and experiences.

“With such pitiful conditions, he managed to get to where he is now. How strong must his talent be?” An elder exclaimed in awe. Whether for martial artists or Star Armor Masters, growth requires a vast amount of resources for support.

“No, during his youth, in his own neighborhood and even the city, Aine was a joke because his detected Star talent was only 3%.”

“3%? Is that a mistake? Can Star talent even be that low? I could go out and grab any insect or bird, and they’d have more than 3%!”

An elder’s face showed disbelief. After the descent of the meteors, all intelligent creatures essentially possess Star talent. Humans, by virtue of their vast numbers, select those with the most outstanding talents, create Star armor to arm them, thus forming the powerful combat force of the Star Armor Masters.

“This has been repeatedly confirmed by our clan’s intelligence personnel; it is indeed true, otherwise, I wouldn’t be discussing it here.” The elder responsible for intelligence spread his hands somewhat helplessly, honestly surprised by this news himself.

“Indeed, to become a Martial Supreme, one must have endured what ordinary people cannot bear. With such inferior talent, it’s hard to imagine the kind of ridicule Aine must have faced in his youth. Probably, it was these experiences that forged the Martial Supreme, turning all hardships into nourishment for his progress.”

“You only say that because he is now a Martial Supreme. If he had failed, then all those trials would have been just that—trials.”

“Can we return to the main topic?” Seeing the conversation veering off, the clan leader knocked on the table with a bit of helplessness.

“How should we treat this Martial Supreme? Should we try to win him over, ignore him, or eliminate him?”

“We can rule out elimination. Times are different now. It’s been over three hundred years, and only one Martial Supreme has appeared. If we dare to lay a hand on him, those old fossils who survived the age of Destruction will go mad.”

“As for winning him over, compared with the government and the other three families, we don’t seem to have any advantages.” The clan leader’s face showed distress. Having the same goal but four other competitors indeed caused a severe headache.

“That may not necessarily be the case.” Someone’s face revealed a knowing smile.

“How so?”

“Don’t you find the timing of this Martial Supreme’s appearance a bit too coincidental? Haven’t any of you thought to connect him with our clan’s martial arts genius, Jelos?”

“Hmm?”

“According to the information I’ve gathered, this Martial Supreme spent a significant amount of time in Dovalir, at the same time Jelos was there studying.”

“I see. How could a kid achieve such martial arts accomplishments in this age? It turns out a Martial Supreme was guiding him. No wonder.”

With this piece of information, the elders all showed a look of sudden realization, immediately attributing a large part of Muria’s martial arts accomplishments to this Martial Supreme.

“We can try to contact this Martial Supreme through Jenos and find a way to draw him into our clan.”

“It’s worth a try, but I suggest we shouldn’t hold out too much hope. Those who have made it this far won’t easily be swayed by others’ opinions.”

“No harm in trying. Regardless, with Jenos, we’re one step ahead compared to the government and the three families.”

“Then let’s inform him.”

…

“Young Master Genos, I apologize for disturbing you once again.”

“What is it? Speak,” Muria calmly replied, having already anticipated that the clan would contact him.

“I know you prefer to be straightforward, so I won’t beat around the bush. Do you, by any chance, know the newly hailed Martial Supreme Aine from the Federation?”

“Hmm, I know him, he has given me quite a few pointers,” Muria admitted without any hesitation. When he had interacted with the Reincarnated Body of Ansol, he hadn’t made any effort to conceal it; hence, it wasn’t too surprising for the Douglas family to have discovered this.

“It seems the family’s speculation was correct.” Hearing Muria’s response, Butler Paris showed a smile, “Since you know the Martial Supreme, this will be easy. The family would like you to request a meeting with him on our behalf, if that would be possible?”

“Getting in touch should be no problem.”

“Young Master Jelos, you should understand what the family intends to do. I wonder if you could speak on our behalf during this matter?”

“I can only say I will try my best; I can’t guarantee that I will be able to persuade him,” Muria replied in an even tone.

“As long as you’re willing to speak to him, that will suffice. The rest will be handled by other members of the family.”

“Alright, then. Just after closing the communication with the family butler, Muria immediately dialed another number,
“My family has sent me a message; they want me to contact Father,” Muria relayed the task he had just received to the blonde-haired woman sitting opposite him.

“It seems Ansol is making quite the impression this time, to have one of the Federation’s top great families so eager,” Golden Dragon Mother couldn’t help but reveal a slight smile, indicating that their family had officially secured a foothold in this world.

“Do you have any arrangements for my father, or does he have any plans of his own?”

“Joining the federal government or the other three clan leaders would be fine choices, but the Douglas family is the last option.

Having you in the Douglas family is one thing, but if your father were to join, it would inevitably weaken your influence, which would be detrimental to your future development. This also wouldn’t maximize our interests.”

“Hmm,” Muria nodded. If he were merely a member of the Douglas family, he should be figuring out how to persuade Ansol to join the clan now.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. In his heart, his own family’s interests took precedence, with the interests of the Douglas family coming afterwards. When the two conflicted, Muria naturally chose the former without hesitation.

“Have you settled on a target now?”

“It’s still early for that. Your father has only just defeated a Titled Star Armor Master and hasn’t attracted much attention yet. Aside from your Douglas family, the federal government and the other three Great Families are still acting quite reserved.”

“When Father has defeated more Titled Star Armor Masters, they won’t be able to maintain this aloof demeanor. I’m quite curious to see how these families will behave in their attempts to recruit Father.”

“Heh, I’m looking forward to that too, but even more so, I wonder what price these four families will offer to win Ansol over,” Golden Dragon Mother’s eyes started to sparkle with an unusual light.

“You’ll just choose the one that offers the most benefits to join, right?”

“What else?” Golden Dragon Mother raised an eyebrow, her world having no ties to any power; naturally, they would ally with whoever offered the highest bid.

“From the looks of it, it’s likely that you’ll form an alliance with the government,” Muria stroked his chin thoughtfully. The history of the four top clans of the Federation was long, their existence even predating the establishment of the Federation itself.

Therefore, their need for a Martial Supreme of such stature wasn’t pressing, with each family having one or more old Monsters who had lived for hundreds of years.

But the federal government was different; it had no such heritage. So, to narrow the gap with the four Great Families in this respect, the federal government might be willing to pay a very high price to recruit Ansol.

“As I predicted, the federal government might be the highest bidder,” the blonde-haired woman slowly nodded in agreement with Muria’s thoughts, “but they might also attach the most conditions.”

“If it comes to it, we can look somewhere else. This world isn’t limited to just the Zijing Federation; there’s also the Flash Silver Empire and the Stars Congregation. I think the empire, which is in a constant state of war, would be quite suitable for Father,” Muria said with a laugh. As long as one possesses great power, many choices are available, one is not bound to any single place. This isn’t something a Titled Star Armor Master can achieve—the stronger a Star Armor Master gets, the more they are bound by their group, as their Star Armor is dependent on the clan.

“We’ll see after your father has challenged all the Titled Star Armor Masters I’ve selected for him. By then, he can go anywhere he wants.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read