270: Chapter 270 The Chen Family Visits

Watching the back of Chen Yuanba as he left, Pei Qingyun's mind was filled with a thousand thoughts.

He was not surprised by Chen Yuanba's arrival.

Long before Chen Yuanba entered Wuyang, he had already received the news through a scout.

In other places, Pei Qingyun dared not claim that the Pei Clan's intelligence was particularly strong.

But within the territory of Wuyang, the Pei Clan was undoubtedly the best.

As long as he wanted to, he could know the color of the underwear that any Great Family head in the city changed into the next day.

His surprise lay in Chen Yuanba's true intention.

The reason the Pei Clan stood on the same side as the Chen Clan was, firstly, because Chen Yuanba was exerting effort, and secondly, because the Pei Clan was too weak back then.

If one wanted to survive in the cracks between two major Alliances, one had to pick a side; otherwise, being squeezed in the middle would only lead to being crushed to death.

In a true sense, the relationship between the Pei Clan and the Chen Clan was not very close; it almost entirely relied on the relationship between Pei Qingyun and Chen Yuanba as a bond.

Just like when the contraband incident happened back then, the Chen Clan and He Clan gave a reminder on the surface, but in essence, they were just watching from the sidelines.

If the Pei Clan truly could not hold on, Pei Qingyun believed that the Chen Clan and He Clan might step in, but only to obtain greater benefits from the Yuanhang Trade Caravan.

The Chen Clan and He Clan were not wrong to do so; this was how it mostly went between Great Families.

After all, any discerning person could see the benefits on the surface.

But potential value was different; it required vision and a bold gamble.

For example, investing in an inconspicuous Genius is because one values their potential.

When the Yuanhang Trade Caravan was first established, it was like an inconspicuous Genius obtaining a treasure.

Unable to protect it with its own strength, it had no choice but to distribute the benefits.

Today is different from the past; his strength is no longer what it was when he first entered the Six Bowels Realm Early Stage.

With his current strength, he is enough to sweep through Grandmaster Martial Artists.

Unless more than ten Grandmasters besieged him together, could they threaten his safety, but that was all.

To endanger his life, it would require a Meridian Opening Realm Great Grandmaster.

It is not an exaggeration to say that his personal combat power is invincible in Jinhuai Prefecture.

Even so, there was no need for him to prematurely escalate conflicts with any of the Four Great Families.

After all, time was on his side, and the overall strength of the Pei Clan was still too weak.

If the conflict escalated and the other party used some underhanded means in secret, the Pei Clan would certainly suffer significant casualties.

Therefore.

After returning to Wuyang, Pei Qingyun had been waiting, slowly waiting for the Pei Clan to develop.

Now it seems he still underestimated the temptation of the profits brought by the first phase of the Yuanhong Trading Market.

The Four Great Families could not sit still.

The Chen Clan, which stood on the same side as the Pei Clan, wanted to get involved in the profit distribution of the second phase of the Yuanhong Trading Market, let alone the Qian Clan and the Lü Clan, who were hostile to the Pei Clan.

"Forget it, what comes will come. Perhaps, it is time for me to show some strength at the right moment." In Pei Qingyun's cloudy eyes, a calmness like a mirror appeared.

...

The day after Chen Yuanba left, Pei Qingyun received a report from a servant that members of the Chen Clan had come to visit.

The leader was the Chen Clan's Third Elder Chen Zexi.

Regarding intelligence on the Four Great Families of Jinhuai, Pei Qingyun had long since ordered people to collect it specifically.

The Chen Clan, ranked second among the Four Great Families, had five Grandmasters on the surface.

They were the former Head of the Chen Clan, the current Head of the Chen Clan, Chen Yuanba, as well as a clan Elder of the Chen Family and the Chen Clan Elder Chen Zexi.

Chen Zexi had only stepped into the Six Viscera Realm ten years ago.

The Six Viscera Realm was not so easy to break through; judging by Pei Qingyun's perspective, Chen Zexi was highly likely to be stuck at the Six Bowels Realm Early Stage, with a small probability of having broken through to the Six Viscera Realm Middle Stage.

As for the Six Viscera Realm Late Stage, there was no possibility at all.

The Chen Clan sent Chen Zexi, this Grandmaster, to visit. On the surface, it looked like an expression of importance placed on the Pei Clan.

But Pei Qingyun knew very well that this was actually to show off their strength.

After all, he had only stepped into the Six Bowels Realm for two years; with Chen Zexi's strength, it was enough to intimidate him.

According to the etiquette between Great Families, when a Six Viscera Grandmaster visits, they need to be received by a Martial Artist of the same status.

If they are not available or if there is none, then the person with the highest status in the clan should welcome them.

Of course, this also depends on the gap in the levels of the two Great Families.

For example, if a second-rate family visits a first-rate Family, the first-rate Family can arrange anyone to dismiss them, and the second-rate family can only hold it in.

The Chen Clan was a second-rate family, while the Pei Clan was a third-rate family. When Chen Zexi visited, if Pei Qingyun was in the clan territory, he had to come out personally; this was the most basic etiquette.

In fact, even without this etiquette, Pei Qingyun would still come out this time.

Although he did not intend to cooperate with the Chen Clan to jointly develop the Yuanhong Trading Market, he still wanted to see where the other party's sincerity for cooperation lay.

Under the arrangement of Pei Tianrong, Chen Zexi and his party entered the main hall.

At this time, Pei Qingyun was already in the main hall.

Both sides were meeting for the first time, and upon seeing each other for the first time, they began to size each other up.

Chen Zexi was about fifty years old, with a slender and upright figure, straight shoulders and back without stooping. He wore a dark cyan brocade robe, with a piece of warm white jade hanging at his waist. His whole body carried a gentle scholarly aura, making him look more like a scholar.

In terms of appearance alone, the first impression was quite good.

Even most Martial Artists themselves could not appreciate a burly figure and a fierce, menacing appearance.

To this, Pei Qingyun did not have much of a reaction.

He was mainly focused on Chen Zexi's cultivation.

Just as he had expected, Chen Zexi was still stuck at the Six Bowels Realm Early Stage.

Compared to Pei Qingyun's calmness, after seeing Pei Qingyun, the surging emotions in Chen Zexi's eyes could hardly be concealed.

On Pei Qingyun's body, he felt a surging vitality, which was simply not something an eighty-something-year-old elderly Grandmaster could possess.

Even at his own age of over fifty, he did not have such vitality.

If it were only this point, he could still justify it; perhaps it was a characteristic of a wood-type Cultivation Technique.

This point was not a secret among Martial Artists.

It is well known that Martial Artists who Cultivate wood-type Cultivation Techniques have strong vitality and are long-lived.

Pei Qingyun being able to have such vitality might be because the wood-type Cultivation Technique he Cultivates is special.

But a Martial Artist who Cultivates wood-type Cultivation Techniques could not change their aura.

From the aura Pei Qingyun emitted, what he felt was powerful and a deadly threat.

A Grandmaster who had entered the Six Viscera Realm for less than two years was even more powerful than him.

Was it the Six Bowels Realm Middle Stage, or the Late Stage!

In an instant, these two answers flashed through Chen Zexi's mind.

Long before meeting Chen Yuanba, Pei Qingyun had already thought about today's scene.

The tactic of playing the pig to eat the tiger is not applicable at all times.

For example, if he hid his cultivation and Chen Zexi was tough on the Pei Clan.

Then he would show his strength and slap the Chen Clan in the face.

It might look like he felt good, but it would have no benefit to the Pei Clan.

Instead, it would easily cause the relationship between the two families to freeze.

Although he was no longer afraid of the Chen Clan, there was no need to make enemies.

He was not a protagonist, nor was he alone.

And it was not like he could just leave after slapping them in the face.

Not to mention, he had some personal friendship with Chen Yuanba, so there was no need to make things so ugly when interests did not conflict.