“At certain times, there could be wisdom even from the words of the young.”

Qai sat on a chair together with the city lord and the clan patriarchs.

Surprisingly for most of them, Qai, like Teng Gui, was also in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage. And such cultivation base was no different from most of the powerful patriarchs who sat with him.

But Qai was just about 21 years of age.

Apparently, he spent the entire 2-month period prior to the tournament inside the pocket dimension and had bathed himself with the lake water for about 6 hours daily—while the rest of the days were spent cultivating on top of the stone Artefact.

With such a breakthrough, his Spiritual Sense could already extend up to a maximum of 5 miles.

“Young lord, your so young yet your cultivation base is so profound.”

A random clan patriarch was in awe when he made the comment.

“You praise me too much. I only happen to have a bit of resources, that’s why. But look at your descendants, they're not bad either. And I’m telling you, the grand winners of this tournament would also have the same opportunity that I have since my Saints Hall is willing to open the doors of our ‘Transformation Stone Lake’.”

Obviously, Qai was not afraid to reveal the existence of the pocket dimension.

Apparently, he does not fear the greed of the ‘powerhouses’ who heard him. He knew that his own Saints Hall was the real hegemon of the surrounding area. That was given since he had his giant Ants to back him up—and besides, that was just one of his ways to lure the patriarchs to follow him.

For some reason, the aristocratic attitude in him was inspiring him to establish supremacy and make the entire surrounding territories his fiefdom.

When the clan patriarchs heard the words of Qai, they felt the competitive spirit in them surged like fire.

The city lord, meanwhile, couldn't help but look at him with disdain.

He could feel that slowly Qai was indirectly roping in the clan patriarchs on the latter’s side. And if that happened, he worried that the position of city lord would soon be useless.

“Young lord, if I may ask. What is this lake you’ve been talking about?”

It was the city lord who asked.

“Well, I don't plan to keep it a secret anyway. It is a cultivation sanctuary that I brought with me when I came here. And I am open to the idea that a few select from this area of the continent should have access to such cultivation resources so I put it as part of the rewards.”

‘What!?’

“Are you not afraid that we would steal such a treasure from you?”

Apparently, the city lord was trying to instigate some maliciousness in the minds of the patriarchs.

In his mind, once all of the patriarchs decided to join hands, the Saints Hall would be doomed.

However, Qai knew what the city lord was thinking.

“Well, since I am revealing them to you. I’m afraid that no one here has the ability to steal it from my Saints Hall. But then again, you are all welcome to try.”

Right there and then, a sinister aura comparable to a late Core Formation stage cultivator surged from underneath Qai’s body and instantly hovered around the platform.

A sense of crisis immediately welled up inside the city lord and the patriarchs present.

“S.. Senior.”

It was the Queen Ant.

The Spirit Beast did not reveal itself though. It just overwhelmed the area with it's spiritual Qi energy.

The city lord’s face sank.

He couldn't really figure out if it was Qai who was actually an elite cultivator or someone hidden—but whichever the case it was, the fact remained that Saints Hall had a late Core Formation cultivator.

The city lord had already seen a dozen of level 5 Ant Soldiers once. And he thought they were the ones responsible for the death of the Devil Dao cultivator he hired and his city guards.

He never imagined that there was a much stronger hidden elite within the shadows of the Saints Hall.

On the other hand, the patriarchs had different thoughts about the Saints Hall.

‘Where did these people come from? They have an overall strength comparable to a sect.’

While these things were happening in the platform, the hunting tournament had long begun.

“Young lord.”

One of the clan patriarchs called to ease the tension.

“If I may be blunt, if you are willing to share resources to us, then why don't we make this traditional tournament done more regularly like every 3 years instead of 5.”

The other patriarchs agreed delightedly—and for once, they were united in intention.

Qai paused for a moment then took a deep breath.

“In as much as I would like to do that, it is obviously not my call to suddenly change the long-standing tradition of the Rising Sun City. As you can see, I also advocate stability, and I do not want to create the impression that I am overstepping boundaries should I initiate such change.”

He then looked at the city lord as if he wanted to imply something.

“Besides, my Saints Hall hosted this tournament at the request of the city lord himself. We were just happy to comply with it. But I must say that our Crimson Edge Continent has been seeing a lot of changes already brought by the recently concluded war.”

“That is indeed true, young lord.”

“You, my dear patriarchs should know well that this time’s peace would not live long. All the big sects are just licking their wounds. Perhaps in 10 years' time, a bigger war would break out. And this place is not really far from the center of chaos. So it might not be wrong if all the cultivator clans and families should have one stand in the future. And I am only trying to protect ourselves and our territories by helping our younger generation become strong in the fastest way possible.”

Qai’s seemingly long speech penetrated the thoughts of everyone who surrounded him on the platform.

Even the city lord felt pressured when he thought that it was indeed possible that one day, the scale of war could reach his city. Should that be the case, what could he possibly do to save himself, his position, and his territory.

“Young lord, your words have opened my eyes. I am the patriarch of the Yang clan. My Yang clan is just a small village clan but we pride ourselves in being fierce cultivators. While we are not afraid to defend our territory when war comes to us, we understand that we would only be defeated in the end. We can only rely on the strength of Saints Hall should your words come true. So from this day forth, I am swearing an oath to my Dao heart that my entire clan will follow you. I only wish that like the Fang clan, you can extend your support to us and take our young talents as disciples as well.”

Qai was taken aback by the sudden oath of allegiance of the Yang clan Patriarch.

He did not know what to make of it.

However just as he was about to refute the old patriarch’s words, another clan patriarch followed suit.

It was the patriarch of the Lin clan—another village clan.

But after that, the much bigger cultivator clans were not yet convinced to easily surrender their autonomy to another—especially when the Saints Hall really had a questionable origin.

In the end, it was obvious in the eyes of the many, that the Yang and Lin clans were just looking for protectors and would want to benefit from being the dogs of the Saints Hall.

Of course, Qai really had no intention to rope any clans this early.

But on second thought, he saw that it might have some use to accept the proposal of the 2 patriarchs.

“If your intention to follow the steps of the Saints Hall is for the greater cause, then I don't find any reason to decline your offer. So I suggest that once this tournament is over, the two esteemed patriarchs should stay here for a while and show you the rest of the mountain peak around.”