139: Chapter 139 Being a family elder isn't easy either.

Ultimately, Lin Xiao still didn't refuse this Divine Being's request, merely tossing out a casual remark.

“The reception hall will still be used in the future, so don't make too much of a mess here.”

As for those deities, they naturally couldn't bring themselves to do something like sleeping on the floor. Looking at it this way, having a high Realm wasn't entirely a good thing.

With this group of free deities, Lin Xiao's own deity subordinates were finally able to free themselves from the tedious and repetitive reception work.

The second-floor dining hall was modeled after [Qingxu Heaven] by Lin Xiao. It was open 24 hours a day, and although the automatically cooked spiritual meals didn't taste as good as those made by deities specializing in culinary arts...

...they were still quite excellent, since they all used the flesh and blood of Yao Beasts from the Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, or even Nascent Soul Realm.

With such high-end ingredients, it would actually be quite difficult to make them taste bad.

The dining hall, usually quiet and peaceful, was somewhat noisy today.

The newly joined deities, holding their trays, were currently staring at Meng Ning and the others with faces full of anger. This was because their path was being blocked by Meng Ning and a group of other deities.

“Why can't we eat those spiritual meals?!”

“Even those Divine Beings can eat them as they please, so why can't we?! You are targeting us!”

A hot-tempered deity even threw his tray onto the ground. The spiritual meal on the tray, cooked from a third-order beast, instantly spilled all over the floor.

“There are clearly better spiritual meals available, so why are you making us eat this garbage?! Are you trying to withhold our benefits?”

Meng Ning, who had still been maintaining a restrained smile, saw this person actually throw away the spiritual meal. The smile on his face instantly turned cold, and a majestic wave of Divine Power instantly swept toward this deity.

“Pick it up and eat it clean before I lose my temper! My Lord once said that spiritual meals are not to be wasted!”

The suppressed deity felt the bones and flesh all over his body letting out cries of agony.

His face was pained and distorted, and he gasped out word by word with great difficulty.

“You... are the ones... being unfair! We... are not in the wrong!”

As the last words left his mouth, this Elder let out a muffled groan. A streak of red-and-white blood slowly trickled down the corner of his mouth.

Seeing the atmosphere in the hall grow increasingly tense, Pavilion Master Yan Yao was somewhat worried that Meng Ning might go too far and provoke My Lord's displeasure. Thus, he spoke up first.

“Your spiritual meal standard was specifically designated by My Lord, whereas the spiritual meals over there were specially prepared by My Lord for us.

You should understand the principle of closeness and distance. Although you are nominally My Lord's subordinates now, we all know this is only temporary.

Spiritual meals made from third-order beasts may not be considered top-tier, but they are definitely not bad either. My Lord has already said:

‘If you want better treatment, then perform well.’ If you keep making a scene, I'm afraid you won't even be able to keep your current benefits.”

In a corner of the dining hall, several Family Elders were currently watching everything unfold from a distance. One of them picked up a piece of Nascent Soul Realm Yao Beast flesh and put it into his mouth; the Spiritual Qi within it was so dense it could barely dissolve.

As the grilled meat entered their stomachs, a torrential downpour immediately began to fall within the divine kingdoms of several Elders—a downpour formed entirely of Spiritual Qi!

Seeing the blissful expressions on their faces, the nearby Family juniors like Hu Rong and Fang Yuan found it quite amusing.

This was the very first time they had ever seen these Elders looking so unaccustomed to the world. Seeing this, Fang Yuan's eyes rolled as he spoke to the Elder from their Fang Family.

“I told the Elders in the clan long ago to join My Lord's banner early on. Yet they thought I had been brainwashed and controlled. Look at these spiritual meals.

Elder, you naturally understand the value of Nascent Soul Realm Yao Beast flesh and blood far better than I do. Yet here, it is unlimited!

Just the food alone has reached such a level, let alone other things. Unfortunately, even if you want to join now, Elder, it's too late. My Lord doesn't seem very keen on taking in subordinates anymore...”

It wasn't that Lin Xiao was no longer keen on taking in subordinates, but rather that he had now shifted his primary focus onto the Intermediate Gods.

Regarding the lower deities, he naturally no longer had his previous sense of urgency.

The Elders who were sent out as part of the bet were just like those Divine Beings—they belonged to the group that held no real power and was neglected within the Family.

Elder Fang Huaian was one such person. In his youth, he had also been high-spirited and full of mettle.

He had battled his peers and ascended to demigod.

After more than three hundred years, he finally became a deity. He still remembered how ecstatic he had been when he achieved godhood.

From then on, he was also a Family Elder. With the Family's support and his own talent, he even felt he could try to strive for a Third-order Deity.

Unfortunately, when he officially became an Elder, he discovered that not only did the Family not provide him with more assistance, but they instead burdened him with endless trivial matters.

Whether it was a Family or a faction, they were essentially a microcosm of the Divine Domain. If the Family were in a period of rapid development, he, as an Elder, would naturally be able to obtain more resources.

Unfortunately, the Family's power structure had been stagnant for over a thousand years. How much resource could be obtained each month, how much tribute had to be paid to those above, and how much each person received were all fixed amounts.

After he was promoted to Elder, it wasn't actually a huge boost for the Family. Instead, he had to take a share from everyone else's bowl, so he was naturally not well-received.

It wasn't that Elder Fang Huaian hadn't fought for himself, but unfortunately, when facing the established Elders of the Family, he was completely crushed in terms of both personal strength and subordinate forces.

Ultimately, during a Family martial competition, the Elder who was at odds with him 'accidentally' injured him severely.

Although that Elder subsequently offered a lot of resources to 'apologize' to him, it was all useless. It took him over eighty years to nurse that injury.

For a full eighty years, his strength had not only failed to advance an inch, but had actually deteriorated significantly. Over such a long period...

Many juniors in the clan had achieved godhood through their own Opportunities, leaving even less of a place for him in the Family.

Ultimately, he became a high-level manager in the clan, responsible for handling matters related to the Family's shop businesses on ordinary days.

Any disputes that the shop managers below couldn't handle would be handed over to him. As for his monthly salary, it was 1,300 divine power points.

While it wasn't so bad that he would starve and have his strength regress, it was barely enough to maintain his current strength and Realm. As for taking a step further, there was no hope for it in this lifetime.

Over the years, he had naturally fathered some offspring, but those children either had mediocre talent or were too headstrong, ultimately losing their lives who knows where...

After more than five hundred years, he had become completely disheartened.

Living day by day, it wasn't until this bet that he was fished out from the high-level managers by the Family and sent over to make up the numbers.

He didn't have any particular feelings about coming here. It was merely a change of environment; things hadn't been particularly great for him in the Fang Family anyway.

Earlier in the reception hall, he had been deeply shocked by the luxurious layout. It was hard to imagine just how wealthy Young Friend Lin's Family background was to allow for such extravagance.

And when he arrived at the dining hall, sensing the Spiritual Qi that was even more abundant than in the reception hall, and looking at the spiritual meals radiating surging Spiritual Qi, he felt momentarily dazed.

Since when could resources of the Foundation Establishment and Golden Core Realms be consumed so freely?

When the Nascent Soul Realm Yao Beast flesh entered his mouth, feeling his Believers and Yao Beasts within his divine kingdom going wild because of this Spiritual Qi downpour...

He suddenly laughed. If the Elders and the Family Head in the clan knew about this, would they regret giving this slot to him?

Fang Yuan's words, however, pulled him back from his drifting thoughts.

“To gain is my fortune, to lose is my fate. As for those old fogeys in the clan, there's no need to pay them any mind. They are all just a bunch of petty people who only know how to scramble for power and profit; the Family will be ruined in their hands sooner or later.

You are different. It is rare to encounter such an Opportunity. Your future achievements will definitely be higher than mine, or even higher than the Family Head's!

When the time comes, it's not impossible for you to establish a new Fang Family. At that time, if you don't mind, this old man is willing to contribute his effort to this newborn Family!”