Zhang Dong took a sip of some green tea while still being in bed. He was looking to the side through the windows at the destroyed scenery. The whole city was trashed and only a small circular spot where the grand defensive formation was placed remained. There was much work to be done and his face was solemn. It cleared up instantly though after he looked at the teacup in his hand.
"Tea huh?"
This was left by his junior sister Feng Liena. She was now part of the sect he was running and also part of the big three along with him and Huo Qiang. He thought to what transpired a few moments ago which put a dumb smile on his face.
'Well... I guess she is interested in me?'
He thought back to the interaction that they just had but most of his thoughts were pulled to the moment that he hugged her while sleeping. That soft sensation against his face was hard to forget along with that nice smell that she had.
'Does this mean that I have a girlfriend now?... What do you do with girlfriends? Wait, she only asked me out for tea...am I getting ahead of myself?’
He moved his head up and stared at the ceiling, he had agreed to go get some tea with Feng Liena later. This was akin to going on a date in this world and showing interest in a person of the opposite sex. He was someone with zero dating experience, not in his previous life or this. He had that small encounter with the merchant lady two years ago, but that couldn't be considered as dating but more of a one night stand.
'What do people do for fun here?'
He had no idea how relationships worked in this world, he only knew his grandfather and Huo Qiang that had many wives. They would probably not be the right people to ask about help unless he wanted to build a harem. He wasn't really the type of person to go for such things and having multiple wives felt like the road to disaster.
'I'm probably worrying too much about it... I should get dressed, there are many things to be done.'
His date would have to wait, the sect problems came first. There were also millions of people waiting in the woods probably hoping of returning to their homes. He needed to figure out if he wanted to still stay in this location or to move to a different area to establish a proper sect. This city was already destroyed and they had to rebuild it but the spiritual energy concentration here wasn't really adequate for a large sect.
'I promised them a meeting, it's already the next day.'
He had been forced to sleep it off by Feng Liena, the woman was apparently more strong-willed than he anticipated. He didn't want to argue too much so he decided to take the day off and just sleep it off. After a good night's rest, he was feeling much better, his spiritual energy wasn't fully recovered but it was enough to move around without needing others to look out for him.
He chuckled while thinking back, Liena had remained in this room and had scared other people from going in. She finally left in the morning after keeping watch, making sure that no one disturbed his rest.
'Wonder if she will be so overprotective if she has any kids,... why am I thinking about kids?'
He shook his head while standing up, he used his spatial ring to remove a fitting white robe for himself. He would need to design some uniform sect robes for the future.
'Hm, should I make them have different colors depending on the element a practitioner is adept at?'
He had the system with him, finding out what a person was talented at wasn't a problem. Still, no one was really locked to an elemental proficiency as even his disciples could train up in his lightning Dao. But it was still faster to progress in something you were naturally gifted.
He called over Zhang Kuo and Zhang Ya, he had to clear up some things with his two main retainers. The two looked a bit concerned and had their heads dropped, they both knew that the time came for their punishment.
"The main crisis is over... but there is still much work to be done."
"You two..."
He looked at them with a stern expression. The two withheld valuable information from him, they didn't inform him about the city his clan members were going to and that it was ruled by the Dark Palm sect. Still, no one knew that they would meet some kind of crazy young master there that would then lead into a full-blown war.
Could the clash have been avoided if he knew? He felt that even if he knew, his grandfather would probably have convinced him into allowing his clan's juniors to participate. He might have even put off his ascension into the nascent soul if he knew which would spell instant disaster. He wouldn't have been able to go against Wu Ming or any of the other nascent soul masters, running would have been the only option then.
"You held back information from your Patriarch. Do you have anything to say in your own defense?"
The two dropped down to their hands and knees.
"We are sorry Patriarch... no Sect Leader, we deserve death!"
The two nodded, Matt raised his brow at the instant death sentence that the two gave themselves. In their eyes, they caused a massive disservice to the whole clan that almost caused their downfall. Matt on the other hand didn't really blame them, they were only following orders that Zhang Jin gave. Those orders weren't actually wrong as he might have caused a bigger scene if he ever went together with their small expedition.
"Death? Do you really think that I want to see more people die?"
He was slightly ticked off by their response, why were these people always so quick to go to their demise for things like making their superiors look bad.
"S-sect leader?"
"There have been enough deaths already! You two, I want you to work hard, harder than you ever worked before!. After the sect is well established and doesn’t need you, you have the permission to die, if you so wish."
These two were talented managers, they had already lost people to this useless war. There was no reason for two loyal people like this to be sent to their deaths over a small mistake.
"Do you think you can do that? The Sect needs you!"
"Yes, Sect Leader!"
The two started smashing their heads into the hard floor tiles.
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"That's enough, go and call over all the elders for a meeting, we must discuss our next move, stop hitting the floor with your heads, it's going to leave a crack..."
He was more concerned about the holes in his floor than about the damage these two would suffer from hitting it. They were both close to reaching the end stages of foundation establishment so they were really resistant, the floor wasn't.
After some more apologizing and bowing he managed to get rid of his two unruly retainers. He fixed his clothes one last time and went on with the day, he moved to the large auditorium looking room where they had their meetings. His people worked hard as even before he got there almost everyone was there and waiting.
"We greet the sect leader!"
"Welcome, Patriarch."
He got the usual greeting from his Zhang family members, the Feng clan women were quite enthusiastic as well, though the people from the Huo clan looked a bit reserved from how they handled themselves. He could see Huo Qiang waving at him, next to him was an old man that he saw before, he was even more muscular than his red-haired sect brother and the two looked alike.
Before he could start the meeting the two moved over and he got a nice smack to his shoulder from his little bro. Thanks to having his body refining upgraded, he didn't feel the hit all that much.
"Ha ha, hard as fine spirit metal, you see that father, that's what a real man should be like!"
Matt looked at Qiang and then to his so-called father. The man was big, but due to his musculature, he was even more imposing. He didn't look pleased, he didn't even bow his head at Zhang Dong which bothered most of the people from the Zhang faction.
'Oh he looks mad... well, we did pull them into a war with the sect and it's still unclear if we will be left alone...'
From Huo Gang's perspective, his son was at the same level of power as this man now.He was the father of a nascent soul senior, so he saw himself above the others by association. His son was right next to him, so he felt reassured while talking to Zhang Dong.
"Zhang Clan Patriarch... what are you planning, my Huo Clan never agreed to any of this! My son isn't the clan leader, I am!"
"Hey, you old fart, what are you talking about!"
Huo Qiang looked at his father with a frown on his face.
"Quiet, I am still your father!"
The man shouted out loud, he was obviously mad for the way this all played out. From his point of view, this was all too risky. There weren't enough nascent soul elders and he didn't trust Zhang Dong at all. He hadn't seen the immortal grade techniques either, so he had no idea why his son and so many others were following this white-haired man.
'Uh...if I explain everything this guy will probably see reason, but...'
He did a quick scan of the room. Every person from the senior generation was here, they were all leaders and future elders of the sect. Some of them could probably reach the nascent soul level if they got the correct techniques and more time. His authority was getting questioned by this man if he pulled back he would probably look weak in front of these old fashioned cultivator types.
'I bet he is banking on me respecting Qiang's authority and not going overboard...'
To Matt, it looked as if this man was doing some kind of strange power move. He probably wanted to show that he was the father of one of the core sect elders and that he wasn't afraid of the sect leader. Maybe he was even convinced that Huo Qiang would jump into his defense if Zhang Dong went on the offensive.
‘Maybe he thinks that I wouldn’t dare to offend the father of an important ally as Huo Qiang?’
'I guess I need to make a show of force… this is the way these old farts operate…’'
He also noticed Feng Liena fuming in the back, her eyes were staring daggers into the man's back and she was ready to pounce.
"How dare yo..."
She shouted out but Zhang Dong moved his hand up while looking at her with a gentle smile. He then looked to the man while still having the same smile. Huo Gang then felt a rise in spiritual energy in the area and it was focusing on the place he was standing in.
Zhang Dong's eyes glowed with golden light and small lightning bolts started getting expelled from his eye sockets. The man felt a massive amount of weight getting put on his shoulders. He was unable to resist as he collapsed to his knees, sweating under Zhang Dong's aura. Huo Qiang was surprised by his senior brother's fast reaction and by reflex tried reaching out to help his own father. He felt a jolt to his hand the moment he leaned in, the suppressive aura was even strong enough to push him back who was a nascent soul cultivator.
"Your son agreed, that was enough at that time. I will not keep your clan here if you wish you may leave. Though, I'm not sure the other sects would allow you to do this after your association to the United Element sect is known."
"The Zhang Clan, Feng Clan, and the Huo Clan... those names won't matter much in the future. We are a sect now and as a sect I expect everyone to work together, I might be the Sect Master but I will still consult the senior members on important matters."
"I do not wish for this sect to eat itself from the inside as the Dark Palm sect did."
He released the pressure allowing Qiang's father to stand up, he patted him on the shoulder while continuing to speak.
"Your son is like a brother to me, I do not wish to see you using him to further yourself. I know that you are afraid about your position and your clan's in this sect. I assure you that I will not treat your family with scorn. Everyone's place will depend on their individual achievements and nothing more!"
He finished his speech and moved over to the spot of honor at the helm.
"Well then, let us start this meeting, any questions?"
Everyone looked a bit bewildered by Zhang Dong's outburst and most of them were now afraid to bring up any personal matters.