189: Chapter 189 The Feast at Hongmen

Zhan Wuji turned around and shouted at Guo Xi.

Guo Xi looked helpless, "I didn't want this either. You were always jumping around there; how was I supposed to know you'd bump into me yourself!"

Zhan Wuji was fuming, but he couldn't really bring himself to fight Guo Xi. Roughhousing was fine on other days, but they were in the Abyss now. If they continued to act so brazenly, it would be a disgrace.

Long Junhao also had a face full of black lines.

It was fortunate that he hadn't brought more people in initially, otherwise, it would likely be even more chaotic now.

Looking at the level increase of only three, Long Junhao was naturally a bit anxious.

At this rate, when would they ever reach level 420?

Not only him, but Dean, Qiao Jingshan, Wu Hongyi, and the others were also very anxious.

Although they had all gained two to three levels, they had only just crossed the threshold of level 400, and they were still far from level 420.

Furthermore, they had been fighting for a whole day.

Although for Professionals of their level (400+), gaining two or three levels in a day was definitely not slow,

they were clearly dissatisfied with this speed themselves.

They were all core leaders of the school, so naturally, they couldn't stay in the Abyss for long.

Before coming, they had already agreed that they could only stay in the Abyss for five days at most; any longer, and the school would likely fall into chaos.

Long Junhao had already discussed this with Yao Kangbo beforehand, so that he could look after the school with peace of mind while they were away.

Yao Kangbo was originally unwilling, but in the end, Long Junhao persuaded him with a set of saint artifact-grade equipment.

Yao Kangbo sighed, "I didn't want to either, but he offered too much."

In the conference room on the top floor of the Professional Management Association headquarters building in Xiaan City,

Ye Shao was sitting at the head of the oval conference table, with the heads of the ten major families of Xiaan City below.

Duanmu Hongkuo, Li Hengfu, and Wang Hongyang were naturally among them, but the three of them were arrogant, and their insufferable, high-and-mighty attitude was very unpleasant to look at.

Ye Shao saw everything and was naturally furious.

After several failed communications, Ye Shao had no other choice but to summon the heads of the ten major families together, hoping to put some pressure on those three families to make them yield.

After all, they were all children of Daxia, and Ye Shao did not want things to reach the point of taking up arms against each other and fighting among their own.

The meeting began, and Ye Shao first announced to everyone the date of the auction and the grades of equipment that would be sold during it.

Upon hearing that there would be a large number of diamond-grade equipment and supreme-grade equipment at the auction, the heads of the other seven major families were immediately pleasantly surprised.

At this moment, however, a discordant voice rang out.

"What is this? They're actually bringing out diamond-grade equipment to sell? I'm afraid they've hidden all the good stuff for themselves."

No sooner had Duanmu Hongkuo finished speaking than Li Hengfu took over, chiming in repeatedly, "Exactly, exactly! I heard that in this battle against the Orc Allied Forces, they captured no less than six thousand pieces of supreme-grade equipment alone,"

"And yet, they're only bringing out a few pieces for this auction. Isn't that a bit unjustifiable?"

The shrill voice echoed throughout the room, and the atmosphere instantly turned cold.

Wang Hongyang also continued, "That's right. Over the years, the contributions our families have made to Daxia have been clear for all to see. To avoid us now that there are some benefits is just too disheartening."

It had to be said that Wang Hongyang was much more cunning than Li Hengfu; he directly roped in all the family heads present, wanting to create some pressure for Ye Shao.

But the family heads at the table were all shrewd individuals; how could they be easily provoked by him?

Contributions to Daxia? Wang Hongyang was likely referring only to his Wang Family, the Duanmu Family, and the Li Family.

Among the ten major families, only the Wang Family, the Duanmu Family, and the Li Family possessed alchemy.

Daxia's original national treasures, the magic energy assault cannons and the magic energy crystals, were all manufactured by these three families, which was why they dared to be so unbridled.

But the other seven major families were very self-aware.

Their own status and strength were inseparable from the support of the Daxia authorities. If they went against the Daxia authorities, they would definitely not have a good ending.

Therefore, the seven family heads all remained silent and did not rush to answer.

Seeing that no one responded to him, Wang Hongyang looked a bit embarrassed, and Duanmu Hongkuo also realized that something was wrong.

Ye Shao sneered inwardly. Long before the meeting, he had already sent people to coordinate with the seven family heads.

Although some family heads had initially expressed implicitly that they did not dare to easily offend the three families of Duanmu and the others—after all, the other party was a behemoth that controlled the manufacturing of magic energy assault cannons and magic energy crystals—

but after the people sent by Ye Shao showed enough muscle, the seven family heads all, without exception, expressed that they would firmly support the Daxia authorities.

Therefore, this meeting had turned into a Hongmen Banquet targeting the Duanmu Family, the Li Family, and the Wang Family.

"Hehe, I originally wanted to share the good things with everyone, but there are some who truly don't know what's good for them and actually detained a large portion of the supreme-grade equipment in advance. That is why I had to add a portion of diamond-grade equipment to make up for it."

As he spoke, Ye Shao gave a meaningful look at Duanmu Hongkuo and the other two.

The Duanmu Family, the Li Family, and the Wang Family had indeed made significant contributions to Daxia, but if they asked their own consciences, in recent years, the portion they had embezzled and extorted from the Daxia authorities accounted for a much larger share.

Often, ten portions of materials were required to yield one magic energy crystal, and the rest was all embezzled by them.

In the past, the Daxia authorities had to swallow their anger for the sake of the bigger picture,

but now it was different.

Daxia not only had strong Professionals like Tang Mo, but the Daxia authorities also possessed divine artifact items.

Even without magic energy crystals in the future, they could still defend their home and country.

Furthermore, having experienced the battle against the Orc Allied Forces, Ye Shao understood that magic energy crystals were already outdated and it was time to phase them out.

If the Duanmu Family, the Li Family, and the Wang Family could repent and turn back, Ye Shao would not investigate too deeply.

As soon as Ye Shao finished speaking, someone from the seven major families chimed in, "Who would dare to detain the Association's supplies?! That is simply outrageous! If I find out who it is, my Song Family will be the first to not spare them!"

Song Feng, the older brother of the Guard Army commander, Song Hai.

With this background, he naturally did not fear the Duanmu, Li, or Wang families.

The other family heads also nodded in agreement.

Thus, Duanmu Hongkuo, Li Hengfu, and Wang Hongyang instantly became the targets of public criticism.

This forced Duanmu Hongkuo and the other two to suppress their initial arrogance and plan to keep a low profile until the meeting ended.

But Ye Shao clearly did not want to let them just quietly keep a low profile; they had to give an account for the equipment today.

Seeing that the situation was unfavorable, Duanmu Hongkuo could not be bothered to pretend anymore and simply laid his cards on the table.

"The equipment cannot be returned. After all, for the contributions my Duanmu Family has made to Daxia over these years, this little bit of equipment compensation is far from enough."

"I, Duanmu Hongkuo, am not greedy. The three urban districts in the east of Daxia will belong to the Duanmu Family from now on; let that be the compensation."

"Rest assured, I will continue to supply magic energy crystals to Daxia in the future, but as for the materials, of course, they will still be provided by you authorities."